Cheryl Wetzstein
Articles by Cheryl Wetzstein
WETZSTEIN: Gay marriage issue still simmers
With Election Day here, it's time to assess the status of gay marriage issues. Published November 1, 2010
Mississippi voters can decide ‘personhood’
A traditional-values group is jubilant at the renewed likelihood that Mississippi voters — among the most pro-life in the nation — will have a "personhood" measure on their 2011 ballots. Published October 27, 2010
WETZSTEIN: Women’s roles in films flimsy
There is growing criticism about how too many actresses in family films are princesses or "eye candy." Published October 25, 2010
Pro-choice activist spoiling for a fight
Pro-choice advocates have been "forced … into a corner" by legislative maneuvering and should fight to "regain momentum," a Guttmacher Institute official says in a rally-the-troops article. Published October 24, 2010
WETZSTEIN: Fighting trafficking for the family
How is human trafficking a family issue? And what does this nation have to do with such a heinous activity? Published October 18, 2010
MTV’s ‘16 and Pregnant’ sobering for many teens, poll says
A poll found that out of more than 1,000 teens, six in 10 had seen the show. Of those teens, 82 percent thought the show helped teens understand the challenges of childbearing much better, while only 15 percent thought it glamorized having a baby in high school. Published October 12, 2010
WETZSTEIN: ‘Lack’ of sex ed is exaggerated
Today's observation is about the so-called lack of formal education about birth control for teens. If U.S. teens didn't know about birth control, they wouldn't use it, right? Well, according to another federal report, 28 percent of 10.4 million teen girls, ages 15 to 19, use a birth-control method. Published October 11, 2010
College-educated now more likely to get married
A review of 60 years of census data finds that college-educated men and women are now more likely to be married by age 30 than their peers who didn't attend or finish college, "a reversal of long-standing marital patterns," the Pew Research Center's Social and Demographic Trends project said Thursday. Published October 7, 2010
WETZSTEIN: Unlocking the secrets of the womb
With renewed interest in "fetal origins" science, women should soon receive even better answers to their questions. Published October 4, 2010
HHS ramps up funding to fight teen pregnancy
The Obama administration announced last week a major step in its effort to marshal the forces of the federal government to prevent teen pregnancies — and gave sex-education programs their biggest funding boost in 14 years. Published October 1, 2010
WETZSTEIN: Poverty study’s flip side is telling
The annual poverty numbers came out recently, and with them the annual onslaught of explanations and political posturing. Published September 27, 2010
Maelstrom erupts over pedophile laws
Oregon lawmakers carefully crafted two laws to prevent pedophiles from using sexually explicit materials to lure and "groom" their child victims. But a panel of three appeals court judges struck down the laws as "overbroad." What will the laws' defenders — Oregon's attorney general and 36 district attorneys — do next? Published September 26, 2010
More unmarrieds are living together amid tough times
The federal government doesn't know all the ways people are pinching pennies during the "Great Recession," but it thinks it has found at least one: More unmarried couples are living together. Published September 23, 2010
WETZSTEIN: A misguided prescription on abstinence
Parents are already crying out in vain against the hypersexualized messages spewing at their children day and night. But they expect their doctors to be on their side when it comes to promoting sexual sanity in their children — especially when most support abstinence for themselves, too. Published September 20, 2010
U.S. poverty rate hits 15-year high
Government figures released Thursday provided a new window on the deep pain inflicted by the recession, with the U.S. poverty rate rising to its highest level in 15 years in 2009 and a record 43.6 million Americans officially labeled poor. Published September 16, 2010
Census Bureau: Poverty rate highest in 16 years
American households held the line on income in 2009, bringing in $49,777, statistically the same as the previous year, the Census Bureau said Thursday, even as the national poverty rate rose to its highest level in 16 years and the actual number of Americans officially designated as poor was the largest since statistics were first compiled a half-century ago. Published September 16, 2010
School reforms, Rhee in limbo after D.C. vote
Michelle A. Rhee wasn't on the ballot in Tuesday's primary, but the hard-charging D.C. schools chancellor - and the cause of overhauling one of the nation's most troubled public school systems - took a major hit when the votes were counted. Published September 15, 2010
Teens report high exposure to sex education
More than 95 percent of U.S. teenagers report that they have had "formal instruction" in sex education in school or other venues outside the home, the federal government said in a survey released Tuesday, but only about two-thirds have been taught about birth-control methods. Published September 15, 2010
WETZSTEIN: Delusions and the ‘people problem’
"Eco-terrorist" James Jay Lee's recent brief, bizarre takeover of the Discovery Channel building in suburban Maryland should not be forgotten too quickly. Published September 13, 2010
Pediatricians shift on abstinence programs
A new policy statement by the nation's major professional group for pediatricians has won praise for its indictment of America's hypersexualized media. Published September 7, 2010
