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Mar 30 2009
Photo of the Day: A Child is Born in Texas (2008)
Photo by Mona Reeder for the The Dallas Morning News
THE BOTTOM LINE In Texas, a child is born into poverty every 7 minutes. A child is abused or neglected every 10. Numbers such as these define the state as a place where benign neglect is part of business as usual. A scan of statistics shows Texas at or near the bottom of countless rankings: Dead last for the number of people without medical insurance. Home to the 3 poorest counties in the country. At the bottom of the heap in protection of the environment. But, first in capital punishment, 2nd in the size of the income gap between rich and poor, and 2nd for the number of people incarcerated. Behind every set of numbers is the possibility that yet another child will live a lesser existence. Does Texas not know what to do, or does it just not care? Texas has the most teen births and the most repeat teen births in the nation, earning a ranking of 50th in the U.S. Barely one day old, Jasmine Williams sleeps on her mother’s lap as they wait for the baby’s paternal grandmother to come and take custody of her. Her mother, Kimberly Williams, 15, is in TYC custody and correctional officers shackled her feet shortly after giving birth to her baby. Both of Jasmine’s parents were 15 when she was born.
Source: NPPA.org
Wax for the least of us.
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