news

Making News Today: parents suing doctors, sexual experimentation at school & Aussie blokes manscaping.

Karl was away today so I did my segment with Cameron Williams and we had lots to discuss on the Today Show this morning, including Down Syndrome , manscaping and banning kiss-and-catch at school.

[FYI the necklace I’m wearing is from Sanctus Stones motivational jewellery – thanks guys, I love it]

In case you can’t watch the video, here’s what we discussed:

1. Two families are taking legal action against hospitals for not detecting their unborn children had Down syndrome.

9MSN reports:

Both Victorian couples claim they would have aborted the babies had they been aware of their condition and are seeking compensation. The legal action surrounds a four-year-old girl and a two-year-old child.

The parents of the girl, born in July 2005, are suing the Royal Women’s Hospital after claiming an ultrasound taken during the second trimester failed to detect Down syndrome.

It contradicted a previous scan that gave an early indication of the chromosomal disorder. “Had the presence of Down syndrome been diagnosed at the time of the first trimester ultrasound and/or at the time of the second trimester ultrasound, a time frame which permitted the termination of the pregnancy, then the (mother) would have terminated the pregnancy,” the Herald Sun quoted the statement of claim as saying.

The second case sees Western Health being sued over a child born at Sunshine Hospital in December 2007. The parents claim they were not provided with the option of ante-natal screening and are suing for “depression, shock and anxiety” as well as “pain and suffering”.

2. How much sexual ‘experimentation’ is appropriate for kids at school?

The Courier-Mail reports:

QUEENSLAND teachers have been told that all children “require opportunities to engage in developmentally appropriate sex and sexuality exploration”.

A professional development series run by Education Queensland and Queensland Health, designed to help teachers cope with the growing problem, also questioned whether parents should be told about some incidents because of the distress it caused.

Child welfare group Bravehearts and the State Opposition claimed the information was “frightening” and “concerning” and came at a time of exponential growth in young children acting sexually towards their peers.

3. More than 50% of Aussie men admit to “manscaping” – is the ocker bloke stereotype dead?

News Ltd reports:

Sure, there’s beer and barbies and Barnesy – that holy trinity of blokeiness that supposedly defined Aussie guys for decades.

But a survey of more than 3000 Aussie blokes reveals a much softer side to modern man, with family values and loyalty trumping getting up to mischief with mates. Well, most of the time at least.

The online survey by AskMen.com found Australian men today see a happy family as the ultimate status symbol, ahead of material possessions such as luxury cars and houses.

And most men believe that the Hollywood hunk Hugh Jackman is the man who most embodies the modern Aussie male.

If you have anything to say about any of these topics, let’s hear it!