SUFFERING HERE NEEDS ATTENTION, TOO

It's wonderful that Sen. Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) and President Bush want to
spend $500 million of our tax money to stop the spread of AIDS from mothers
to babies in Africa and the Caribbean (June 20 article). However, could we
also reach out more to ease our citizens' suffering?

Perhaps someone in Arkansas or Washington could explain to me and babies
why it is not against the law in Arkansas to endanger the life of a fetus
by smoking crack cocaine or crystal methamphetamine. In Arkansas, if a
mother and her baby both test positive for illicit drugs, the baby still
goes home with the mother at discharge.

As a nurse who has struggled with this issue, I am convinced these children
have no chance to succeed or even survive.

Katherine G. Smith

Hughes, Ark.