First Baby Appears on U.S. Currency

PRO-LIFE ACTION LEAGUE, Feb. 3—The latest coin from the U.S. Mint features a mother with her child.

“The new United States gold dollar coin is a sign of the changing attitude of Americans toward motherhood,” said Joseph Scheidler, executive director of the Pro-Life Action League. “This is the first U.S. coin in the 208-year history of the United States Mint to honor an infant.”

The U.S. Mint released the coin featuring the American Indian woman Sakagewea and her infant son Feb. 2. Sakagewea was the teen-age Shoshone woman who served as an interpreter and guide for Lewis and Clark on their exploration through the Northwest Territory in 1804-06. Her son, Jean Baptiste was born on the trip.

“For the past couple of decades motherhood has been treated as a second-rate vocation,” said Scheidler. “But polls show that women are, in increasing numbers, opting to leave the corporate world to take on motherhood as a full-time role. The new coin celebrates the contribution of not only Sakagewea, but of all mothers who focus their time and talents on creating stronger families and communities.”

Schiedler hopes the coin becomes popular. “I hope that the image of the child on this coin will help Americans recognize the value of each and every child, born and unborn. We love it! We are calling it the ‘Pro-life Dollar.’”

Ultrasounds Not Linked to Leukemia Risk

REUTERS, Jan. 28—Ultrasound examinations in early or late pregnancy do not increase a child's risk of getting leukemia, doctors in Sweden said.

They conducted a nationwide study on the effects of ultrasound and possible links to two types of leukaemia, Reuters reported.

“We could not detect any association between exposure to ultrasound during pregnancy and lymphatic or myeloid leukaemia,” they said in a report in the British Medical Journal.

The researchers compared the ultrasound exposure of all the children in Sweden diagnosed with leukemia between 1973 and 1989 and an equal number of healthy children, reported Reuters. Researchers said the risk of leukemia was not influenced by either the number of ultrasound examinations or when they were performed.

Bill Targets Assaults on Pregnant Mothers

DENVER POST, Feb. 2—Unborn children in Colorado are one step closer to legal protection from criminals that assault their mothers, the Post reports.

A bill, passed by the House State Affairs Committee Feb. 1, would make it a felon to attack pregnant women and injure or kill the unborn child. “We have no laws in Colorado for the crime of a fetus dying,” said Rep. Lynn Hefley, the bill sponsor. “If a woman's purse is stolen, that's a crime and there's punishment for that. Stealing away an unborn child from a woman – there's no punishment for that.”

Natasha Bergman, 17, of Colorado Springs told the committee that she had a miscarriage last June after her boyfriend punched her in the stomach when she was more than two months pregnant. She said he was charged with third-degree assault and harassment, but was never sent to prison, the Denver newspaper said.

“Something needs to be done. You need to make a law that will punish guys that do that,” she said after the hearing. “They should have to hurt the way they hurt someone else.”

The bill has several more steps before becoming law.