« we are scrawdcasters | Main | phosita ::: short links for 2005-03-11 »

March 10, 2005

quote in the new york times

OK – I thought I would drop a post out to all my cyber-friends — especially since I have already gotten some calls and emails from the New York area already this morning.

Yes, I was quoted in the New York Times this morning.  No it wasn’t about technology issues — it was for a scientific article that was published today in the New England Journal of Medicine about the practice of euthanizing children born with severe medical conditions, such as spina bifida, in The Netherlands.  This is a very personal issue for me because I was born with spina bifida and I am currently the Chairman of the Board of Directors of The Spina Bifida Association of America.

I typically don’t blog about personal items on PHOSITA but since I had received so many private inquiries – I thought I would post a link to the article and confirm that I am the individual quoted.  Thank you for all the nice comments and thoughts sent my way – I do greatly appreciate them. 

To answer the question “How can I help?” — I would appreciate it if you took the time to tell one woman of child-bearing age today about the importance of taking folic acid prior to conceiving a child.  The amount of folic acid needed to prevent up to 75% of spina bifida affected pregnancies is found in any multi-vitamin.  This simple step, while not 100% effective, does significantly reduce the chances of having a spina bifida affected pregnancy.

Thanks again for all the supportive and encouraging comments.

Best -

Douglas

Posted by Douglas Sorocco at 12:33 PM.
Permalink: quote in the new york times
| Sphere: Related Content