8 ▼ march 21, 1997 ▼ just out
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national news
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Rights linked to marriage?
Let me count the w a ys ...
A new congressional report—quietly released
six months after the Defense of Marriage Act was
passed in Congress— identifies 1,049 federal laws
in which, according to the General Accounting
Office, “marital status is a factor, even though some
of these laws may not directly create benefits, rights
or privileges.” The study, which the GAO concedes
did not and could not examine every law in the U.S.
Code, was ordered last September by House Judi
ciary Chairman Rep. Henry J. Hyde (R-Ill.) at the
behest of Steve Gunderson, former Republican con
gressman for Wisconsin.
Evan Wolfson, Marriage Project director for
Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund and
co-counsel in the Hawaii marriage trial, expressed
outrage that Congress approved DOMA before
obtaining this information: “The GAO report fur
ther proves our case for ending marriage discrim i
nation. With so many legal protections and re
sponsibilities linked only through civil marriage,
it is not possible to devise individual contracts or
domestic partner programs that could anticipate
all these needs or replace this institution.”
The 102-page report was finalized Feb. 7.
Some o f the categories o f federal law that refer to
marital status are: Social Security and related
programs, housing and food stamps; veterans’
benefits; taxation; employment benefits; im m i
gration; and trade and commerce. Copies o f the
GAO report are available on the Internet at http:
//www.gao.gov/ or from the Office o f General
Counsel, U.S. General Accounting Office, W ash
ington, DC 20548.
Strong bones may forecast
breast cancer risk
No
A Boston study of postmenopausal women
indicates a link between bone density and breast
cancer risk, corroborating a sim ilar study pub
lished in the Journal o f the American Medical
Association last November, reports The A ssoci
ated Press. The current study found that older
women with strong, healthy bones— believed to
be the result of high lifetime exposure to the
female sex hormone estrogen— have nearly four
times the breast cancer risk o f women with weak
bones. This could make bone strength the most
conclusive predictor o f breast cancer risk over
family history o f the disease, which increases risk
two to three times.
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Estrogen long has been suspected as a factor in
the developm ent o f breast cancer: Going through
puberty at an early age, having few or no children
and having menopause late, which all increase a
w om an’s lifetime exposure to estrogen, have for
years been known risk factors. Receiving the
hormone in birth control pills does not appear to
affect the risk level, but not all experts are in
agreement about the effects o f estrogen replace
ment therapy for postmenopausal women.
Douglas Kiel, geriatrics specialist at Hebrew
Rehabilitation Center for the Aged in Boston and
co-author o f the study, cautioned that the findings
should not dissuade women from trying to keep
their bones healthy. W hile estrogen production
has a potent influence on bone strength, exercise
and dietary calcium also keep bones strong and
healthy without increasing cancer risk. Kiel also
said the studies do not constitute sufficient evi
dence for or agai nst hormone replacement therapy
since the bone density m easurem ents considered
in the study are result o f the w om en’s estrogen
levels during their reproductive years.
Dr. Elizabeth Barrett-Connor o f the Univer
sity o f California at San Diego, however, said the
study at least raises fresh doubts about this treat
ment. She suggested that physicians should at
least consider this new evidence when deciding to
prescribe estrogen supplem ents.
Same-sex domestic violence
recognized as criminal
A state appeals court in Cincinnati, Ohio, has
ruled unanim ously that a homosexual can be
considered a dom estic violence victim, reports
United Press International. After Ronnie Yaden,
32, was convicted last year o f hitting his partner.
Joe Fields, and was sentenced to 180 days in jail,
he attem pted to reverse the decision by arguing
that the state’s dom estic violence law was not
intended to include hom osexual relationships.
The appellate ruling upholding Y aden’s convic
tion is based on the fact that he and Fields were
living together, presenting them selves as a couple
and providing em otional support to one another.
Y aden’s attorney, W illiam G allagher, ex
pressed concern about the ruling, saying the ram i
fications o f the decision could extend to room
mates and not just same-sex couples. Yaden, who
had been released on appellate bond during the
case, will be required to serve the rem ainder o f his
sentence unless he m akes an appeal to the Ohio
Supreme Court.
STD-prevention programs
work, need to be expanded
Research published Feb. 28 by the Centers for
Disease Control says two sexually transmitted
disease prevention program s, one covering six
mountain region states and another covering six
mid-Atlantic states, resulted in chlam ydia infec
tion reductions o f 16 percent and 31 percent
among women younger than 20, echoing the
results o f an earlier Pacific Northwest program
that has reduced infections by tw o thirds since
1988. In 1995 nearly 500,000 cases o f chlam ydia
were reported to the CD C, according to United
Press International, m aking it the most commonly
reported infectious disease in the United States.
A lthough accurate tests exist to identify
chlam ydia in both men and wom en and effective
antibiotic treatments are available, federal health
officials say there are nevertheless about 3.5
million undiagnosed cases o f the disease.
The estim ated cost o f caring for complications
o f untreated chlam ydia reached $2 billion nation
wide in 1994, whereas a com prehensive preven
tion program would cost about $175 million,
according to Judith W asserheit o f the C D C ’s STD
division. She added that programs should be
aimed at poor men and women and that chlam ydia
screening should be standard for sexually active
adolescents and young adults because the disease
most often hits young people.
San Diego AIDS agency
closes its doors
Already nearly $1 million in debt and facing
the loss o f $1.5 million in federal contracts, the
San Diego AIDS Foundation, the city’s oldest