NEWSBYMARGARET HARTLEY

As state legislators wrestle with significant budget shortfalls, sometimes they have to make truly tough decisions. But other times they just make foolish ones. Take the case of  Michigan Representative Dave Agema, who recently submitted a bill that would eliminate funding for HIV prevention and other crucial public health initiatives throughout the state.

Where does Rep. Agema suggest the HIV prevention funding be reallocated? The former airline pilot -- perhaps not surprisingly -- recommends it should go to airport expansion and upkeep projects. As covered on the Gay Rights blog, Agema says that he wants to use the health funds to avoid having to raise the fuel tax on airplanes.

The short-sightedness of the proposal isn't just foolish -- it will ultimately lead to higher rates of disease and costs for the state. Currently, the Michigan Health Fund Initiative -- a special$9 million fund -- is paid for through sales tax. The money is used to fund HIV prevention, testing and care programs throughout Michigan.

This fund is critical for Michigan residents, as it offers free testing, provides counseling to at-risk community members and HIV positive individuals, as well funds programs for the prevention of chronic diseases like cancer and diabetes.

Rep. Agema claims that the $9 million investment will get more bang-for-the-buck if it is invested in fixing airports.

A hospital is usually where you go to get well. But with the rise of hospital-acquired bacterial infections, a visit can leave you worse off than when you came in.

Take, for example, the case of Katie Roche. A healthy 19-year-old, Katie went into the hospital for corrective spine surgery. The surgery went well, but unfortunately for Katie she shared a room with a six-year-old child with a fever. Katie contracted a bacterial infection that left her fighting for her life. The infection was so bad she lost 30 pounds in a few weeks. She had to have three surgeries to clear up the bacterial infections, which almost took her life.

The bacterial infection Katie contracted is one that plagues many hospitals and long-term care facilities -- Clostridium difficil, or C. diff. Though usually a problem with older adults, the bacteria has started to affect hospitalized children. A recent study found that infection rates have increased 15 percent per year in U.S. hospitals since 1997. Children who acquire the infection are much more likely to die or require surgery to fight off the infection than adults.

Over 7,000 children contracted C. diff infections from hospitals in 2006 alone.

In 2009, St. Joseph's Catholic Hospital in Phoenix, AZ made a brave choice to save a woman's life.

A woman who was 11 weeks pregnant faced complications that put her life at risk. She had an almost 100 percent chance of dying without the recommend emergency abortion (the fetus was also almost 100 percent likely to die as well), so the woman and her doctor decided to terminate the pregnancy to save her life.

The Catholic's Church's response? That the life-saving medical procedure is absolutely unacceptable in a Catholic hospital. The Bishop in Phoenix, Thomas Olmsted, gave the hospital an ultimatum: promise to never perform an abortion again, regardless of the medical need, or end the hospital's affiliation with the Catholic Church.

St. Joseph's Hospital chose to stand up for what they know is right - life.

St. Joseph’s released this statement about the Bishop’s demands: “Morally, ethically, and legally we simply cannot stand by and let someone die whose life we might be able to save.”

The case in Pheonix highlights a growing point of tension between Catholic hospitals and religious leadership.

Eating healthy, locally-grown and sustainable food is no longer relegated to the fringes of foodie society. There are TV shows about sustainable food, chefs who create their menus around food grown in their own kitchen gardens and blogs that offer recipes and information not only on eating more locally, but how to bring back traditional ways of cooking. This is called the slow food movement, a rebellion against fast and processed food.

Slow Food is an international grassroots organization founded in 1989 as a way to counter the rise of fast food, the disappearance of local traditions and the disconnect between people and their meals. For over 20 years, Slow Food has been developing programs and projects throughout the world to defend biodiversity and crop diversification, educating people about food quality and taste and connecting small-scale producers and consumers. Slow Food is growing – they have over 100,000 members in about 1,300 local chapters. And, who is leading the way? Young foodies!

In Boston, where there are over 250,000 college students and an emerging restaurant scene, young people are Slow Food's biggest advocates. Due to their highly engaged participation, Slow Food Boston is one of the most active and fastest growing chapters in the county. Boston University and Tufts both have their own college chapters.