PROGRAM OFFERS BIRTH CONTROL TO ADDICTS

Houston on Friday joined 10 cities that have programs that offer $200
to crack addicts, both men and women, who agree to permanent or
long-term birth control to prevent drug-damaged babies.

Barbara Harris started Children Requiring a Caring Kommunity (CRACK)
in California after she adopted four infants from the same
drug-addicted woman who kept having more children.

"But most of these babies are medically dependent and unadoptable.
They end up floundering around in foster care," Harris said.

Houston hosts the group's first Texas chapter. There are also chapters
in cities in New York, Florida, Minnesota, Illinois, Arizona, Nevada
and California.

Like other cities, Houston has billboards stating, "If you use
drugs/alcohol -- Get birth control -- get $200 cash."

A phone number is listed as 1-888-30-CRACK. Callers sign papers and
get either a free tubal ligation sterilization operation or the birth
control Depo-Provera or Norplant. Then they receive the cash, Harris
said.

The plan has its critics. In Oakland, protesters scaled a billboard
and tore down the sign last year in front of Harris, who is white,
with her adopted son, who is black.

"They claimed we were racists, targeting African-Americans and trying
to eliminate the black race," she said. "We're not targeting the race;
we're targeting the behavior. We don't drag these women in. They have
a choice."

Of the 140 women who have participated in the program, 56 are white,
60 are black, 20 are Hispanic, two are American Indians and two are
biracial.

While men are allowed to participate; none has stepped forward for
vasectomy, Harris said.

"Most men are not even using condoms, so I wouldn't hold my breath
waiting for them," she said.

While the numbers of "paid clients" may not seem like many, Harris
said, those women have had over 950 pregnancies among them before the
program.

There were a total of 609 births and 344 abortions; 342 children of
those 140 women had ended up in foster care.

"For each drug-damaged baby, we spend up to $1 million a year. We can
save that money to be used in drug rehabilitation," Harris said.

If the addicts chose to use the money to buy more drugs, that is their
decision, she said.

"But we also refer those interested to drug rehab programs. About 50
percent of our clients are in recovery," Harris said.

Jim Woodhill, a software company consultant, said he supports the
program and donated $50,000. "We are allowing such babies as precious
as my son to be born drug-damaged," said Woodhill, a first-time father
at age 50.

While his son is healthy, Woodhill said he came from a family that
battled many generations of alcoholism.

"The cycle needs to be broken. The $200 fee is nominal just to get
people's attention," he said.

Stephanie Sanders, a tax examiner for the Internal Revenue Service
from Fresno, Calif., traveled to Houston to laud the program.

"I'm appalled at all the concern for the irresponsible adults. How
about concern for the poor little victims?" said Sanders, a black,
single mother of three adopted crack babies.

She would have had four adopted children if her adopted son had not
died at the age of 3 after fighting on life support systems.

"We are saving the lives of these children, but at what cost? Zachary
cost the state of California $3.4 million while he lived. Even though
I loved him, I would rather that he never had been born than to suffer
like he did," Sanders said.

"My son, Zachary, was white. It's not a black thing. Crack has no
color," she said.