This is Not News

Why is this news?
(click on above for link)
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Of all places, this item ran on a British online newspaper.  The article is about an American woman who overdosed on heroin.  She is a nurse's aide, was in her vehicle at the time and while only twenty six, had four children.  I got the feeling that she had sturggled to get her life in order and had had her first child when quite young.  There were several photos of her and I suspect that this is why the story was of interest.  You see, she's attractive.  The people who commented took delight in making fun of the fact that she had obviously been too stoned to  put on her fslse eye-lashes properly.
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There have been a fair amount of drug overdoses where I live, many of them caused by a bad mix of fentanyl.  The only reason to mention it in the paper is to warn the public.  Addiction is sad and can hit anybody.  This story certainly won't help her children.  It's more of the old double standard that female addicts deal with.  It wasn't all that long ago that women had to have an escort in order to drink in establishments.  Those wanting help find that there are fewer beds available than there are for males in clinics.  The addict dad that abandons his kids and doesn't make payments is far too common to get mention in the paper, yet the children suffer all the same.
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The sad fact is that if a parent with sole custody admits they have a problem and goes for treatment, who looks after the kids?  Who makes the payments and where do they go in the meantime?  Not everybody can afford to attend the Betty Ford and many people do not have insurance policies that even cover the basic twenty eight day standard.  So, they struggle and hold on by the skin of their teeth.
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Broadcasting their pain does not help.