[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 133 (Friday, October 5, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1824-E1825]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         VERMONT HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT CONGRESSIONAL TOWN MEETING

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. BERNARD SANDERS

                               of vermont

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, October 5, 2001

  Mr. SANDERS. Mr. Speaker, today I recognize the outstanding work done 
by participants in my Student Congressional Town Meeting held this 
summer. These participants were part of a group of high school students 
from around Vermont who testified about the concerns they have as 
teenagers, and about what they would like to see government do 
regarding these concerns.
  I am asking that these statements be printed in the Congressional 
Record, as I believe that the views of these young persons will benefit 
my colleagues.

    On Behalf of Blake Kinkaid, Craig Stevens, and Brittany Chandler


               regarding tobacco prevention--may 7, 2001

       CONGRESSMAN SANDERS: Now we are going up to the Northeast 
     Kingdom and the Northeast Kingdom Youth Services. Who is 
     going to begin?
       BLAKE KINKAID: Blake Kinkaid.

[[Page E1825]]

       BRITTANY CHANDLER: Brittany Chandler.
       CRAIG STEVENS: Craig Stevens.
       BLAKE KINKAID: That's a pretty tough act to follow, you 
     guys. I have been watching it. The whole Napster thing. That 
     is awesome. The cannabis thing. It is kind of hard to follow 
     up on, but Josh, the whole tobacco thing killed a lot more 
     people. He said that cannabis hadn't. Tobacco kills one 
     person every fourteen seconds, different related disease such 
     as cancer, heart disease, or anything like that. My dad, he 
     has been a smoker ever since he was 14. And it has been a big 
     shock to me. Last night, he was put in the hospital because 
     of his heart. He is 40 years old. He just turned 40, and he 
     is having heart problems through all the smoking. It scared 
     the crap out of me, because it is exactly what my grandfather 
     did when he was on his deathbed. Well, emphysema. He had 
     smoked all his life too. And I just realized: Oh, my god! I 
     wonder how many other people have to go through this every 
     day. And it is really hard. and our group, we belong to a 
     group called OVE, Our Voices Exposed, that helps get the 
     prevention world for tobacco. Brittany is a new member who 
     just started, and Craig is with me from the beginning. And we 
     help put out the word about prevention, such as we give kids 
     an alternative activity to do to keep them out of trouble. 
     And Craig will elaborate on it.
       CRAIG STEVENS: We are going to be having a dance coming up 
     this Friday.
       CONGRESSMAN SANDERS: Try to speak a little bit louder. We 
     don't have a mike. Sorry.
       CRAIG STEVENS: We have going to have a dance this Friday, 
     and we have had--what?--three dances in the past.
       BLAKE KINKAID: Five.
       CRAIG STEVENS: Five. We had five dances. We have had 
     sliding parties, bowling, pizza parties. We have had a whole 
     lot of stuff I can't remember.
       BLAKE KINKAID: We have had cookouts at Lake Willoughby and 
     Harvey's Lake sometimes. We have had jamborees down there in 
     the summer, having a battle of the bands, and we had a 
     haunted house that brought over 300 people. Everything we do 
     has a nonsubstance theme. We have these things to try to keep 
     kids off tobacco, and we try to give them something to do. I 
     found the biggest cause of smoking and all other substance 
     use in boredom. that is why I started, just boredom, pretty 
     much.
       CONGRESSMAN SANDERS: Brittany, do you want to add anything?
       BRITTANY CHANDLER: Well, most of my friends smoke, and I 
     have noticed that my friends that do smoke, most of them 
     don't do activities and stuff. And so they have nothing to do 
     with their time, and just sit around and smoke and 
     everything. And most of the people are around people that 
     smoke, like their parents and stuff.

    On Behalf of Danielle Harvey, Andrea Shahan, and Stephanie Gray


Regarding OPPOSITION TO PARENTAL NOTIFICATION FOR ABORTION--May 7, 2001

       DANIELLE HARVEY: This year, the Vermont House has discussed 
     the question of making parental notification for abortion a 
     requirement. We feel that this would be making a big mistake. 
     Having to tell your parents you are sexually active is hard 
     enough; having to tell them that you are pregnant as a result 
     could be dangerous, maybe even life-threatening. For this 
     reason, as well as others, some girls delay in telling their 
     parents about the predicament, which could cause some major 
     health risks, such as: When someone goes out of state to 
     avoid parental involvement laws, they are putting themselves 
     at risk during the trip home, because there may be long 
     stretches where medical care is not readily available. 
     Parents who are opposed to abortion Might force their 
     daughters to carry the babies to Term, regardless of any 
     possible or known health or life risks. Or a woman who is 
     pregnant and a few months short of her 18th birthday may wait 
     until she is 18 to have the abortion. A delay of even five 
     days can cause major complication in a procedure. If the 
     government and the state of Vermont, as well as the national 
     government, wants what is best for the nation's youth, they 
     should leave parents out of a girl's decision to have an 
     abortion. The decision is hard enough to make on her own, and 
     adding parents to the situation makes it almost impossible.
       STEFANIE GRAY: If a child is forced to tell her parents 
     that she is pregnant, then her parents would know that she is 
     sexually active. Most of the time, parents don't approve. 
     Finding out she is sexually active and pregnant could cause 
     verbal or physical abuse by her parents. The girl's parents 
     may force her to go through with the pregnancy, or they may 
     even kick her out. Family breakdown is a major result from 
     girls telling their parents that they're pregnant and want an 
     abortion. Girls that don't have a good relationship with 
     their parents to begin with will probably make it worse and 
     risk abuse. Families with good relationships don't need the 
     law, because they are supportive. Then again, you might lose 
     the family trust. In unsupportive families, the law will be 
     ineffective because the families would be more likely to be 
     abusive and add to the family's problems.
       ANDREA SHAHAN: Some supporters of parental notification 
     concede that some parents can become abusive when they learn 
     their daughter wants to receive an abortion, and they have 
     offered an option of going before a judge, instead of their 
     parents, to get permission to receive an abortion. This 
     option is known as the judicial waiver. Women who live in 
     sparsely populated areas usually have difficulty receiving a 
     judicial waiver, since easy access to a judge is not 
     possible. Women who live in large cities, however, have easy 
     access to courthouses, therefore not making it fair to many 
     women in the U.S. In receiving a judicial review, 
     confidentiality is not guaranteed. Many teens lack the 
     knowledge and experience of court procedures to obtain a 
     waiver. Students who need to attend their hearings will not 
     be able to do so during school hours. Many of the court 
     judges are very strongly pro-life. Even though the Supreme 
     Court requires judges to issue a waiver if the teen is mature 
     or if an abortion is in her best interests, several judges 
     still deny them a waiver. Judge Nixon, of the District Court 
     in Tennessee estimated that, even under the best 
     Circumstances, the judicial waiver process would take 22 days 
     to complete. This becomes a significant problem, given the 
     time-sensitive nature of pregnancy, and the risk involved in 
     later abortions. Representative Sanders, we oppose any 
     efforts to put into effect parental notification under 
     Vermont law, and we hope that you will oppose any efforts at 
     the federal level as well. Thank you, Mr. Sanders.

     

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