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A
SSOCIATED
N
EWSPAPERS OF
M
ICHIGAN
P
AGE
6
October 4, 2012
Last week, an unmarried pair of
teens left their newborn baby on
the steps of the Van Buren fire sta-
tion because they feared the conse-
quences of the secret birth.
While we can only imagine the
desperation of these young people,
we have to remark on the presence
of mind they exhibited in attempt-
ing to ensure the safety of their
child.
How many horror stories have
been reported of newborns found
in garbage cans, tossed into alley-
ways or simply abandoned in
vacant houses or buildings? We
cannot help but be reminded of the
instances of young, unwedmothers
actually doing harm to their new-
borns because of their fear of fami-
ly repercussions.
This young couple took the baby
first to a Belleville clinic, which
was closed. They then drove to the
fire station, put the newborn, only
hours old, at the front door, and
knocked. Then they waited and
watched to ensure that she was
taken in.
When nobody came to the door,
the 17-year-old father made what
he thought was an anonymous call
to the police, telling the dispatcher
that he saw someone else drop off
the baby and that nobody was com-
ing to the door.
Of course, with technology
today, police almost immediately
tracked the teens down and inter-
viewed them about what had hap-
pened. That's all it took for them to
admit the baby was theirs and that
they were frightened of their fami-
lies' reaction to the birth. That fear
prompted them to find a "safe
haven" as provided by Michigan
law for their daughter.
Not only did they find a place to
leave her where she would be safe
and cared for, they stayed and
watched, to be sure that she wasn't
left to the elements or without
care. Perhaps their own fears of
their parents were paramount in
their decision, but their own
parental instincts were also
engaged, in this case, even if they
were only a fewhours old.
The "Safe Delivery of Newborns
Law" that has been in effect in
Michigan since 2001 allows parents
to surrender an infant to an emer-
gency service provider, a hospital,
fire department, police depart-
ment or by making a 911 call from
any location. The parents'
anonymity is also supposed to be
protectedby law.
While it is sad, this incident
proves that this law was necessary
and that it works. What would
these two desperate teens have
done without this option? Told
their parents and faced the conse-
quences? Perhaps. Or perhaps this
tiny scrap of humanity would be
one of those horror stories that
prompted this law and proves the
necessity for it.
These teens did the right thing
after getting themselves into a very
bad situation.
We think it's a good thing this
option was available to them…and
to their daughter.
The reason Paula Deen is my
favorite celebrity cook is pretty
simple. It's the butter.
No matter what Paula is mak-
ing, every recipe begins the same
way, with Paula drawling, “First,
you take a stick of buttah….”
She's my kind of cook despite
her recent attempts to try to get
healthy and fight diabetes.
Because no matter how hard I try,
there is no giving up that creamy,
delicate, rich, gooey stuff. There
are only a very few things that can't
be improved with a generous dol-
lop of butter…or bacon, but that's
another reason I cannot win the
battle of the bulge.
So just imagine my joy when a
friend recently sent me an internet
essay about the differences
between margarine and butter.
Now, I can't swear to the truth of
any of this, and since it is floating
through the World Wide Web
unchecked, there is no telling
whether any of it is accurate. It
sure made me feel a whole lot bet-
ter as I slathered my favorite dairy
substance on my toast this morn-
ing, though.
This is what the guywho says he
managed a margarine manufactur-
ing plant claims. Youdecide…
Margarine was originally manu-
factured to fatten up turkeys.
When instead, it killed the turkeys,
the investors who put all the
money into the research and man-
ufacture of the stuff wanted some
kind of return on their money, so
they put their heads together, hired
some other chemists, and tried to
figure out what to do with this glop
so as to get some of their money
back.
What they had was a white sub-
stance with no food appeal, at all.
Their first idea was to make it look
like butter, so they added yellow
food coloring and sold it to people
to use as a “healthy” low-cost sub-
stitute for butter.
There are, however, a lot of dif-
ferences between the two sub-
stances. For instance, they have
almost the exact same caloric
value, but that's by chemical
design.
Butter is slightly higher in satu-
rated fats at 8 grams, compared to
5 grams formargarine.
Eating margarine can increase
heart disease in women by 53 per-
cent over eating the same amount
of butter, according to a recent
HarvardMedical School study.
Eating butter increases the
absorption of many other nutrients
in other foods.
Butter has many nutritional
benefits while margarine has very
few, and only because they are
chemically added.
Butter tastes much better than
margarine and it can enhance the
flavors of other foods. Butter has
been around for centuries while
margarine was concocted less than
100 years ago.
Andnow, formargarine…
Margarine is very high in trans
fatty acids.
It triples the risk of coronary
heart disease.
It increases LDL (that's the
nasty, bad cholesterol) and lowers
HDL (the good
cholesterol).
It increases
the risk of can-
cers up to five times.
It lowers the quality of breast
milk.
It decreases immune response.
It decreases insulin response.
And here's the most disturbing
fact, margarine is only one mole-
cule away from being plastic and
shares 27 ingredientswithpaint.
These facts alone were enough
to have me avoiding margarine for
life and anything else that is hydro-
genated. That means hydrogen is
added, changing the molecular
structure of the substance.
Here's a home experiment to
help you draw your own conclu-
sions.
Open a tub of margarine and
leave it open in your garage or a
shaded area outside. Within a cou-
ple of days you will notice two
things. First, no flies, not even
those pesky fruit flies, will go near
it. That should tell you something,
right there.
And you will also notice that it
does not rot or smell differently
because it has no nutritional value;
nothing will grow on it. Even those
teeny weeny micro-organisms will
not find a home to grow. Why?
Because it is nearly plastic. Would
you melt your Tupperware and
spread that on your toast?
Same thing.
So I guess the real problem is
what I put the butter on and
in…and my own lack of self-con-
trol. But have you ever tried
Paula'sGooeyButter Cake?
I may be plump, but I'm a whole
lot happier than those skinny peo-
ple who live on twigs and tree
bark. But I bet even those could be
yummy with enough Hollandaise
sauce.
There's a new video campaign being cablecast urging peo-
ple to signup as organdonors.
If youhaven't seen it yet, youprobablywill soon.
And if you haven't signed up as an organ donor, you'll prob-
ably decide to do so after youdo see it.
The public service announcement features five local peo-
ple, all waiting for transplanted organs. One Canton
Township man needs a liver and a 10-yer-old girl from
Inksterwill not survivemuch longerwithout a newheart.
The videos are moving without being manipulative and
while they certainly touch the emotions, they aren't sappy or
tear jerking. They appeal to all those who haven't yet regis-
tered as organ donors on a personal level, putting names and
faces to five of the nearly 1,000 people in Wayne County who
will diewithout organ transplants.
It's a good strong message and it's well handled and well
played.
The fact is that only 25 percent of adults in Wayne County
are registered organ, tissue and eye donors while the need
here is much higher. Throughout the state, about 37 percent
of people have registered as donors, so there is amarked dis-
crepancy between the need and availability inWayneCounty.
The public service announcements were all taped around
easily recognizedDetroit landmarks, while the people asking
for help are from various communities in the county. Too
often, the concept of organ donation is an abstract, something
that few ever consider, particularly those still in the bloom of
youth which provides that universal feeling of absolute
immortality. Those young people are the ones most needed
as donors and the ones it seems, the hardest to reachwith the
message.
Most of us have, within our grasp, the gift of life itself. The
10-year-old girl from Inkster needs a heart. The man in
Cantonwho couldwell be your neighbor needs a liver to save
his life.
While our ownmortality isn't something many of us like to
contemplate, we each have the power to do great good in the
world even aswe leave it by donating our organs to thosewho
so desperately needhelp to survive.
Signing up and getting a little red heart to put on the front
of your driver's license is easy, too. Just access
www.giftoflifemichigan.org, call 800-482 4881 or visit any
Secretary of State branchoffice.
You can give the gift of life.
The best
of a bad
situation
...margarine is only one molecule
away from being plastic
and shares 27 ingredients with paint.
”
Those young people are the ones most
needed as donors and the ones it seems,
the hardest to reach with the message.
”
Disarmed by butter in the battle of the bulge
Give the gift of life to those waiting to live