CBS Evening News Online Edition - 2004-11-30

Channel: malgent

Transcript

Language: English (original, YouTube automatic captions)

[0:00] Hello, I'm Dan Rather and welcome to the

[0:02] CBS Evening News online edition. Just

[0:05] ahead, will or will not Iraq be ready

[0:07] for elections in just two months. In a

[0:10] rare interview, the US ambassador gives

[0:12] you his prediction. Also, an ulcer drug

[0:15] to induce labor. You heard right. But is

[0:19] it safe? An important investigation

[0:21] you'll see and hear only on CBS. And

[0:24] America's wild horses. The vast herds

[0:28] are a brave symbol of our great west,

[0:30] but a new law could change all that.

[0:33] We'll give you details. It's all

[0:34] starting now on the CBS Evening News

[0:37] online edition.

[0:40] Difficult as it is to protect the

[0:41] American homeland, the US military faces

[0:44] a far tougher security job in Iraq. The

[0:46] Pentagon confirmed today that November

[0:48] was as deadly a month as US troops have

[0:51] faced in the war. At least 135 American

[0:55] soldiers and marines were killed. The

[0:57] same number died last April. Also today,

[1:00] the US Army's Third Infantry Division,

[1:02] as many as 15,000 troops who led the

[1:05] charge to Baghdad began loading up to go

[1:08] back there. As CBS's Kimberly Doer

[1:10] reports, they may be needed to allow

[1:12] Iraqi elections in January.

[1:15] >> More roadside bombs hit US targets. The

[1:18] high cost of a stepped up campaign

[1:20] against militants. The coalition has

[1:22] just over two months to make Iraqis feel

[1:24] safe enough to vote, but insurgents are

[1:27] using violence and a boastful stream of

[1:30] videotaped propaganda of attacks on US

[1:32] forces to make many Iraqis doubt the

[1:35] coalition's ability to protect them on

[1:37] polling day. Some believe just talking

[1:40] about elections can get them killed. And

[1:42] >> he might, you know, attack me before I

[1:44] vote, might be waiting for me after I go

[1:47] home. In a rare interview, the US

[1:50] ambassador to Iraq says much of the

[1:52] country is secure and in two months it

[1:55] will be safer still.

[1:56] >> Security conditions will be adequate uh

[1:59] for these elections uh to go forward.

[2:02] >> He believes conditions are already right

[2:04] in all but three provinces and even

[2:06] there he thinks the turnout may be

[2:08] surprising.

[2:09] >> The Iraqi people do want to vote.

[2:11] There's a great deal of interest in

[2:13] voting even in those uh provinces

[2:16] >> in Sunni areas like Tree where Saddam

[2:19] loyalists are fighting elections.

[2:21] Provincial governors and the local US

[2:22] commander are trying to convince Sunnis

[2:24] to take a chance. The Shiites who make

[2:27] up the majority of Iraq's population

[2:29] have actually been ordered by their

[2:31] leaders to vote despite the dangers. US

[2:34] and Iraqi officials say it is a tough

[2:36] test for the Iraqi people. They can take

[2:38] the risk to go to the polls and choose a

[2:40] new government where they can stay away

[2:42] and be governed by fear.

[2:44] >> Maybe I will die when I vote.

[2:46] >> You will do what you need to do to

[2:48] survive.

[2:49] >> Yeah.

[2:49] >> And that means not voting.

[2:51] >> Yeah.

[2:52] >> While some Iraqis see voting as a

[2:54] declaration of independence from

[2:56] terrorism. Others have decided democracy

[2:58] is no good if you're not around to enjoy

[3:01] it. Kimberly Doer, CBS News, Baghdad.

[3:04] >> A health alert for mothers to be. It's

[3:07] about an ulcer drug that clearly states

[3:09] on the label that pregnant women should

[3:12] never take it. So why do some doctors

[3:14] give it to them to induce labor,

[3:16] especially when the result can be a

[3:18] lifetime of heartbreak? CBS's Sharon

[3:21] Alonsi investigated for tonight's Eye on

[3:24] America.

[3:26] >> You want to walk?

[3:27] >> Kelsey Crot struggles with the little

[3:29] things. At four years old, she can

[3:31] barely walk, talk, or sit up. But that's

[3:35] not the worst part. We believe that what

[3:37] happened to our daughter could have been

[3:38] prevented had we been informed about the

[3:42] medication beforehand. The medication is

[3:45] called Cyotech. The tiny pill has been

[3:48] hailed as one of the most popular and

[3:50] effective laborinducing drugs ever. But

[3:53] what Kelsey's mother didn't know and

[3:55] what most women are never told is that

[3:58] Cyotech isn't approved by the FDA for

[4:01] labor induction. It's meant to treat

[4:03] ulcers. Even the drug's own manufacturer

[4:05] warns it should never be used on

[4:08] pregnant women.

[4:08] >> What was your reaction when you saw that

[4:10] warning label?

[4:10] >> I can look at it and say, "Hey, this

[4:12] you're not supposed to use this on a

[4:13] pregnant woman." But

[4:16] apparently the doctor didn't care.

[4:19] >> Dr. Marson Wagner says one in every five

[4:22] pregnant women will be induced and cite

[4:25] increases their risk of uterine rupture.

[4:28] >> Think blown out tire. The uterus

[4:31] actually ruptures wide open during the

[4:33] labor. And when this happens, it's an

[4:36] obstetric catastrophe.

[4:38] >> Dr. Wagner says some babies will die.

[4:40] Others, like Kelsey, will suffer severe

[4:43] brain damage. Mark Mueller, the crut's

[4:45] attorney, says using Cyotech on pregnant

[4:48] women should be illegal.

[4:50] >> We call it cytobomb because the effects

[4:53] on the uterus are are like a small bomb

[4:55] going off.

[4:56] >> But a leading obstetrics group

[4:58] disagrees. They publish their own

[5:00] guidelines supporting the use of cyotech

[5:03] and say doctors who violate those

[5:05] procedures are the ones whose patients

[5:07] have problems. If it's not FDA approved

[5:09] and the drug manufacturer says don't use

[5:11] it, why is it being used?

[5:13] >> Well, uh the short answer to that is

[5:16] that it works and it works better than

[5:18] the other available agents.

[5:20] >> Ultimately, it's up to the doctor, not

[5:22] the FDA. Any doctor can use any drug on

[5:26] the market any way they see fit. It's

[5:28] called off label use and it's actually

[5:31] quite common.

[5:32] >> Almost no drug used in obstetrics uh is

[5:36] is labeled for use in obstetrics.

[5:39] >> Dr. Lockwood says drug companies fear

[5:41] liability, so they often don't test on

[5:44] pregnant women. That keeps the cost of

[5:46] drugs down. The FDA approved drugs for

[5:49] induction cost hundreds of dollars.

[5:51] Scitec cost just 20.

[5:53] >> I think I'd have paid a whole lot more

[5:55] money for something else. But the crutes

[5:58] say they were never given that choice.

[6:00] And now it's Kelsey who continues to

[6:03] pay. In Brady, Texas, I'm Sharon Alonsy

[6:06] for Eye on America.

[6:08] >> We close tonight with creatures of the

[6:10] wild in this country. Wild horses,

[6:13] mustangs roaming the West. You and your

[6:16] children and your grandchildren may see

[6:18] a lot fewer of them in years to come.

[6:20] CBS's John Blackstone reports. It's not

[6:22] an act of nature that could take them

[6:24] away. It's an act of Congress.

[6:27] >> They now run free in only the most

[6:30] rugged and desolate parts of the West.

[6:32] Still, wild horses bring a sense of

[6:35] grandeur to the barren landscape and a

[6:37] lingering nostalgia for what the West

[6:39] once was.

[6:43] But now, another disturbing image is

[6:45] presenting itself with the possibility

[6:48] wild horses could be sold for slaughter.

[6:51] >> We've got a lot of horses. In fact,

[6:52] we've got too many of them. Montana

[6:54] Senator Conrad Burns has removed 33

[6:57] years of federal protection for wild

[6:59] horses with a provision tucked into the

[7:02] huge spending bill just approved by

[7:04] Congress

[7:05] >> because we appropriate a lot of money

[7:06] for the maintenance of these herds. And

[7:09] uh and so why not?

[7:11] >> Come on, you guys.

[7:12] >> But critics say Burns used the spending

[7:14] bill to avoid debate and opposition from

[7:17] horse lovers across the country. People

[7:20] like Moren Pinto. If we're supposed to

[7:22] be about freedom, the wild horse is the

[7:24] best symbol of freedom there is.

[7:27] >> While many see wild horses as a symbol

[7:29] of western freedom, 50 years ago, they

[7:31] were almost wiped out by those who saw

[7:34] them as little more than a pest and a

[7:36] nuisance. Ranchers complained the 36,000

[7:39] wild horses compete with cattle grazing

[7:41] on public land. The Bureau of Land

[7:44] Management rounds up 9,000 horses each

[7:46] year, but until now they had to be held

[7:48] for adoption. I know the cost of keeping

[7:51] and feed lots of small pastures out

[7:52] around the country is almost

[7:54] prohibitive.

[7:54] >> Senator Burns says only animals that are

[7:57] at least 10 years old and have failed to

[7:59] be adopted will be eligible for

[8:01] slaughter. But that is no consolation to

[8:04] those who see every wild horse as an

[8:06] embodiment of the disappearing spirit of

[8:09] the West. John Blackstone, CBS News,

[8:11] Marin County, California. More stories

[8:14] are just a click away, but be sure to

[8:16] join me on television for the on air

[8:18] edition of the CBS Evening News on

[8:21] Wednesday's broadcast eye on America. If

[8:23] you're short on time and need medical

[8:25] treatment, help is on the way. They're

[8:28] called Minute Clinics, and wait till you

[8:30] see where they're located. for

[8:33] cbsnews.com.