All over America there were ongoing elections with many of them featuring important – but generally unreported – health-related issues. According to U.C. Berkeley there were 142 qualified state ballot initiatves, many of which were related to health care and health insurance in some form or another. It’s no wonder that health issues have become so very prominent in federal election topics!
Some of the many health topics that appeared on state ballots include the process of fluoridation which allowed a small quantity of fluoride to be added to the drinking water to help strengthen teeth. As a huge step forward in dental health, fluoridation is backed by all the major dental associations but is still a topic of contention among some skeptics who are against adding any chemicals to drinking water. Because of this, the topic of fluoridation is always one of contention on many ballots across the country. Proponents of the process realize that education is the key to getting the vote passed in their favor and information packages are usually sent out just before each election.
Medical marijuana use will always be a point of contention on many ballots due to the volatile nature of the topic among proponents and opponents alike. While many states already have laws allowing the use of medical marijuana in cases where patients have debilitating pain conditions, many states still find it hard to deal with the issue come election time.
Election Topics that Were Controversial
While many election issues cause some form of debate in many cases, the controversy surrounding embryonic stem cell research is one that causes some of the most troubling questions among many voters. The procedure allows research to be done using discarded embryonic stem cells left over from in vitro fertilization.
Proponents come out in favor of the research that can be carried out using these methods while opponents bring up the hazards of private stem cell harvesting and research problems that may arise. In other news, Washington State citizens are voting on an assisted suicide bill that will allow patients with less than six months to live to have the choice of clinical suicide procedures in which doctors would prescribe a lethal dose of medication – but not administer the dose themselves.