Same-sex couples can’t marry in Georgia, but children can, as long as they have unprotected premarital sex and conceive a child.

This nearly forgotten Georgia law came to light last week when a 37-year-old woman was arrested for having a sexual relationship with a 15-year-old boy. The woman had wed the boy several days before, under a law allowing a minor to wed, without parental permission, if the couple is expecting. Now, the woman’s lawyer says he will try to use the marriage to prevent the boy from testifying against the woman.

While this law is vile unto itself, it becomes even more so when one realizes that a year ago, Georgia passed a consitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. Among other things, the protection from testifying against a spouse is denied to lesbian or gay partners. Someone who molests and then marries a minor, however, may be protected from his/her victim’s testimony.

The law seems to fall into that category of ancient statutes few knew were still on the books–but at least one woman claims to have written to her lawmakers about it after her 13-year-old niece wed a 14-year-old boy last year. One might at least hope that Georgia lawmakers will quickly strike it. Early reports indicate, however, that the Republican majority is dragging their feet on changing the marriage requirements, saying they will focus instead on stricter child molestation laws.

Georgia law also requires parental notification before a minor has an abortion. Children are apparently not able to handle that decision on their own, whereas the decision to marry takes less mature thought.

What was that about sanctity, again?

The U. S. National Center for Health Statistics has released its analysis of birth data for 2004. One of the potentially worrisome findings was that C-sections in the U. S. are at an all-time high. The increase may be connected in part to the rise in multiple and preterm births, as well as a large drop in vaginal births after a C-section, both also documented in the NCHS report. The growth in C-sections, however, showed even for “healthy, first-time pregnancies with a full-term, single child.”

This is a complex issue, and driven by multiple factors: prevailing medical wisdom, some doctors’ fear of malpractice suits from problematic vaginal births, current public perception of the need for such a procedure, and the willingness of insurers to cover it. As someone whose child was born via an emergency C-section, I certainly will argue for C-sections in medically necessary cases. Whether the current overall trend reflects an appropriate use of medical procedures and a better survival rate for babies and mothers remains to be seen.

Reportedly, pulmonary embolism has overtaken all other causes of maternal mortality in the past two to three decades. Research from a thirty-year study just published in the Annals of Internal Medicine indicates that pregnant women and those up to three months postpartum are four times more likely than other women to suffer pulmonary embolism or a similarly dangerous blood clot, deep-vein thrombosis. Note, however, that the long-term study focused on women in a single county in Minnesota, and 98% of the subjects were white and non-Hispanic. It is unclear whether results would vary for women of different ethnicities.

Dr. Gary Hankins, chair of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists committee that is creating guidelines based on this research, recommends that new moms get up and walk as soon as possible in order to prevent such clots. In certain cases, doctors may suggest leg-compression devices as well. Obviously, this is general advice and you should discuss such matters with your own physician.

The Supreme Court ruled today, 6-2, that parents who challenge the adequacy of a disabled child’s “individualized education program” have the burden of proving it inadequate. The two dissenting justices felt that conversely, the school district should have to prove a program’s adequacy in such cases.

While much of the current press surrounding Supreme Court nominations has centered around abortion rights and same-sex marriage, it’s wise to remember the very many issues the Supreme Court touches, many of which are relevant to our identities as mothers, women, and lesbians. For more details on Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito and nominees for other federal judgeships, visit the NOW “Judicial Nominees” site or the Lambda Legal “Courting Justice” site.

Researchers at the Royal College of Physicians in Dublin, Ireland, announced a new screening test last week to detect Down syndrome in first-trimester fetuses. If the results of the test are positive, a woman can then choose to have further tests to confirm the diagnosis.

The new test, a combination of a blood test and ultrasound, is successful enough that the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists will update its prenatal screening advice to include information about it. Some people are concerned, however, that such information will lead to selective abortions. Others argue that at least such abortions would be at an earlier stage, when it is less risky and traumatic. They add that the test will in any case allow women to prepare themselves earlier for raising a child with Down syndrome, or will ease their minds earlier if the results are negative.

(Usual disclaimer: I’m not a physician. If you’re interested in further information, talk with your doctor.)

This weekend marked the 18th annual “Creating Change” conference sponsored by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. Among other things, the conference included a screening of “In My Shoes,” a half-hour movie produced by middle and high school-aged members of COLAGE, about their experiences as children of same-sex parents. I haven’t seen the film myself, but it’s won at least one film-festival award and is available for purchase through COLAGE. (There are no direct online sales, but you can download a form to mail or fax. Note also that although I get a small referral fee from some of the product links on this page, I’m not getting one here. It just seems a worthy cause.)

Inside Bay Area has a brief article on the conference, also focusing on how the gay-rights struggle affects children. Nothing new to Mombian readers, I’m sure, but nice to see the coverage.

Thanksgiving is almost upon us, so I thought I’d offer a recipe idea: Cranbanero Sauce, a fiery version of the classic condiment. If you like spicy food, and grandma’s lumpy gravy just isn’t doing it for you, try this.

• Buy a standard 16-ounce bag of cranberries at your local supermarket.
• Put cranberries, sugar, and water in pot according to directions on bag. (Personally, I usually halve the amount of sugar, but it’s up to you.)
• Halve four habanero (or scotch bonnet) peppers. Remove stem, seeds, and veins.
• Put peppers into pot with rest of ingredients and simmer till sauce thickens.
• Remove habanero halves. (It’s important to halve them, not chop them, or you won’t be able to remove them easily. The sauce will go beyond pleasantly searing and become truly blistering.)
• Cool. Strain if you like, or leave “rustic” and lumpy. Serve.
• You can experiment with adding orange juice instead of plain water. Habaneros complement fruity flavors well.

This is a great spread for turkey sandwiches the day after Thanksgiving, too. Enjoy!

A U. S. Senate panel led by Kansas Senator Sam Brownback yesterday approved a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. The amendment will now go to the full Judiciary Committee and, if it passes there, the full Senate, the House, and then the state legislatures. As the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports, however, Democrats are saying this tramples on states’ rights, especially with so many states now enacting bans on same-sex marriage. Funny that the traditionally pro-states’-rights Republicans are choosing to ignore this.

Of course, I’m not surprised that a Kansas senator is leading the charge here. Kansas is the state that just approved new public-school science standards drafted by “Intelligent Design” proponents. The new curriculum takes a skeptical view of the theory of evolution, and redefines science “so that it is no longer limited to the search for natural explanations of phenomena.” In other words, who needs science when you have God? (Not that the two are necessarily incompatible, as I’ve explained in my Salty Snack blog.)

I’d like to believe that the U. S. as a whole is more intelligent than Texas as a whole, which just added a same-sex marriage ban to its Bill of “Rights.” Hopefully there are enough people who realize that the purpose of the Constitution is not to restrict the rights of any group of citizens. Still, it never hurts to write to your Congresspeople and urge them not to vote for the amendment.

The protagonist lives in a realm that’s been described as “magical,” and which has some parallels with the United Kingdom. He finds adventures with his friends and is brave, kind, and sometimes a little cheeky. His stories and movies have had phenomenal success around the world and are beloved of both children and parents.

No, I’m not talking about Harry Potter, but rather Thomas the Tank Engine, my toddler’s current obsession. We’ve tried not to get him hooked on too much mass merchandise, but it’s hard to avoid Thomas. As such things go, Thomas is really fairly charming, although the stories sometimes discuss matters that are above a two-year-old’s understanding. (The story of steam engines and diesels learning to get along is a nice introduction to the perils of bias, but since my son thankfully has not encountered this yet, he sees it as just another fun tale with colorful trains and tooting whistles.) We just went to a “Day Out with Thomas” event at a heritage steam train museum, and had a great time. There was a real, working Thomas steam engine that took everyone for a ride, plus train tables, coloring and other crafts, amusement rides, and much more. All was included in the $16 ticket price except for food and gift-shop items. Well worth it to see our little guy bouncing up and down on the train seat and playing with more toy trains than he’s seen in his life.

With the new Harry Potter movie opening in nine days, this month seems to be bringing a confluence of blockbuster British children’s stories into my life. Not that I really want to take the parallel too far, but who knows? Maybe in Volume Seven Thomas will arrive, puffing and peeping, on Platform 9 3/4.

A brief political roundup for election week:

Yesterday, Texas voters approved a measure placing an amendment in the Texas Bill of Rights defining marriage as a union of one man and one woman. It is unclear whether the language of the amendment would also ban other legal ties between same-sex partners, a similar conundrum to that facing Michigan’s court system. PlanetOut notes, however, that as more states (19 so far) ban same-sex marriage, the harder it will be for the right to claim this should be federally mandated. Interesting from a legal perspective, but it doesn’t really make me feel any better. As someone who’s lived in five states, has relatives in at least seven, and loves to travel, I don’t want my marriage to switch on and off like a water faucet.

Voters in Maine, on the other hand, chose to keep a GLBT-inclusive non-discrimination law. I’m having a bowl of chowder to celebrate.

Finally, in California today, lawyers for 12 same-sex couples filed a brief arguing that the state’s ban on same-sex marriage was unconstitutional. While the result is still pending, this at least reminds us that the fight continues.