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Planned Parenthood — The Enemy Within

Apr 24, 2018
by Caroline Miller
difference in brain development in children, helping the unborn child reach potential, how poverty effects brain development, John Gabrielli, Planned Parenthood, Silvia Bunge, The Stamp of Poverty
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Courtesy of www.BabyKidCenter.com

What if children in this country were treated as precious commodities, the way the desert treats rain drops?  What if each infant were given sufficient nurturing – healthy meals, a safe environment and a decent education?  What would our society look like in the future?  We’ll never know if we continue to tolerate raising so many of our young in abject poverty.

Giving every child the basics is neither difficult nor expensive.  As authors John Gabrieli and Silvia Bunge explain, “even modest financial assurance could make a big difference.”  (“The Stamp of Poverty,” by John Gabrieli and Silvia Bunge, Scientific American Mind, Jan/Feb. 2017 pg. 60.)  Sleep, nutrition, structured group play and learning how to follow rules  “can boost executive function within 10 weeks,” (Ibid pg. 81)  

Recent brain  studies show surprising differences between children reared in affluence and those who are not.  MRI studies indicate a strong correlation between poverty and a thinning of the cortex in the young.   “…people with higher scores in cognitive and achievements tests  had greater cortical volumes in the frontal and temporal lobes—and…poorer children had less cortical gray matter.” (Ibid pg. 58.)  While scientists are unwilling to conclude  poverty causes the differences in gray matter, they do admit a strong correlation.  One explanation might be the brains of children living below the poverty line  begin to prune away gray matter to conserve energy for survival functions.   Maintaining gray matter longer allows the brain greater flexibility as it develops.  (Ibid pg. 58).

Economic background alone isn’t the full picture, of course.  Some children raised in poverty become high achievers.  But environment does play a part, which suggests  enriching  children’s lives should be of primary importance to this nation.  Exposing young minds to stimulating experiences before the age of four provides the greatest overall benefit.  What’s more, doing so requires minimum investments:  food, safety, opportunity to interact with others and toys.

Giving a pregnant woman the means to feed and care for her  unborn child  is an effective way to prevent the effects of economic inequality.  Certainly, it is cheaper than maintaining mental health programs, building homeless shelters or sending people off to prison.  If we’d take the same chance on our children that we do when we buy a lottery ticket, we’d make the nation richer.  Unfortunately, too many in Congress imagine the problem isn’t with poverty but with Planned Parenthood.

(Originally published 12/16/17)

 

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Contact Caroline at

carolinemiller11@yahoo.com

Portland, Oregon author Caroline Miller had distinguished careers as an educator, union president, elected official and artist/advocate.

Her play, Woman on the Scarlet Beast, was performed at the Post5 Theatre, Portland, OR, January/February 2015

Caroline published a serialized novelette, Marie Eau-Claire, on the website, The Colored Lens.  She also published the story Gustav Pavel,  a parable about ordinary lives, choice and alternate potential, on the website Fixional.co.

Caroline has published four novels

  • Ballet Noir
  • Trompe l’Oeil
  • Gothic Spring
  • Heart Land

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