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'Who Will Cry for Our Children?' TV viewers might By JONEL ALECCIA Mail Tribune Robin Turgesen has watched too many newborns withdraw from drugs. Now, the Jackson County public health nurse says, it's your turn. "People don't want to think about babies being tortured by a drug that a mother, who is supposed to be loving, is taking into her body," says Turgesen, who coordinates an outreach program, Vital Links. "Denial is much easier." But Rogue Valley television viewers won't be able to easily deny the problem of drug-affected infants at 6:30 p.m. Jan. 20, when every local station plans to air "Drug Wars - Who Will Cry for Our Children?" The program, which graphically depicts the effects of prenatal drugs on babies, is part of a third "road block" show produced by Tom Monson of Crime Prevention Resources, a Medford video company. The 30-minute video explores the problem that has become pervasive here and elsewhere in the past 15 years, Turgesen says. Of the 2,100 babies born in Rogue Valley hospitals annually, between 400 and 500 are affected in some way by substance abuse, she estimates. "We have severely addicted babies who are born malformed, and we have severely affected babies with emotional and behavioral disorders who look perfectly normal," Turgesen says. "It's a whole range." Alcohol, marijuana, mushrooms and - overwhelmingly - methamphetamine are the substances pregnant women most commonly ingest. "Meth is still the drug of choice," she says. The video, filmed in Washington and featuring Washington infants, does more than simply condemn drugs and the women who use them, says Turgesen, who is featured in the program. Producer Monson was careful to capture the range of issues that contribute to the crisis. "I have two profiles in front of me, both women, both pregnant, both using meth," says Turgesen. "They were raped at 5 and 13, they were using drugs at age 8, their mother told them how to smoke meth. Is this just their problem? No, I don't think so." Larger impacts on society include increased costs for special education and social services for the increasing numbers of affected kids. Monson, whose previous films chronicled the methamphetamine epidemic, heroin abuse and alcohol use among teens, said he chose this topic after hearing Turgesen speak movingly about it. "She said, 'Who is going to care for this child? Who will care for this child for the rest of its life?'" Monson recalls. Monson spent $100,000 making "Who Will Cry for Our Children?" hoping to recoup costs in sponsorships. So far, however, he's acquired only $20,000 in support. Similarly, Monson's 2000 project left him $80,000 in the red and forced him to skip a 2001 broadcast. He says he'll take another year off to recover from the financial effects of this project. Despite the losses, Monson remains committed to making issue-oriented films. Hundreds of thousands of public viewers have seen his shows, and thousands more are exposed through airings by law enforcement and other agencies. He notes that heroin use in Oregon dropped after his show about the subject aired, and that juvenile alcohol use declined after that topic was explored. Monson doesn't take specific credit for those changes, but he says it's more than coincidence. "I don't know if it had any influence, but you're crazy if you don't think it did," he says. The particular influence on drug-affected babies might take time to be felt, Turgesen says. "I don't know that it stops kids from using drugs, but I do think the shock value has a way of creating dialogue," she says. "It might be the topic of the day for 15 minutes, but that 15 minutes improves the outcome." The program is sponsored by Asante Health System, Home Medical, the Oregon Department of Human Services, the Family Addictions Community Team, Regence Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Oregon and Pacific Office Automation. Local television and radio stations will promote the project, and the Mail Tribune will include a four-page supplement in the Jan. 18 edition of the newspaper's entertainment magazine, Tempo. Reach reporter JoNel Aleccia at 776-4465, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.