Using NewsHour Extra Feature Stories

Overview: NewsHour Extra features stories can help students identify and interpret key issues in current events. This activity anticipates one class period, but the follow-up essay might be assigned as homework, or in another period.

Warm Up: Use initiating questions to introduce the topic and find out how much your students know.

Main Activity: Have students read NewsHour Extra's feature story and answer the questions on the reading comprehension handout.

Discussion: Use discussion questions to encourage students to think about how the issues outlined in the story affect their lives and express and debate different opinions.

Follow-up: Students can write an 500-word editorial on the topic expressing their views and send it to NewsHour Extra [extra@newshour.org] for possible publication.

Evaluation: Students are graded on their answers to reading comprehension questions and/or their editorial.

Story: FDA Panel Recommends Sale of Silicone Breast Implants, 10/22/03
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/features/july-dec03/breast_10-22.html

Initiating Questions:

1. Why do you think people have plastic surgery?

2. What role should the government have in regulating medical procedures?

Reading Comprehension Questions: (click here for printout)

1. What significant event occurred that could impact women's health?

This month an expert panel set up by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) listened to testimony over two days from a variety of people both for and against the implants' sale. The panel, made up of plastic surgeons and other medical specialists, then voted 9-to-6 to recommend that silicone breast implants be allowed back on the market after an 11-year ban.

2. When were silicone breast implants banned? Why?

Silicone implants were banned for general use in the United States in 1992 after thousands of women reported serious side effects from leaking silicone including brain, nervous system and connective tissue disorders such as arthritis or lupus.

3. What is the alternative to silicone implants? What do users of this alternative complain of?

Saline implants are the alternative to silicone implants. Some users claim that the saline devices are not as natural in appearance and texture.

4. What have studies since 1992 shown about the relation between silicone implants and disease? What do critics say about these results?

Several studies since then could not find a definitive connection between the implants and disease, including a large review of many studies by the Institute of Medicine in 1999. But critics say that the studies were too small and too short to rule out any connection.

More controversial are the results of an Inamed study of 900 women with new implants that show that although more than 90 percent of the women were satisfied, between 20 and 40 percent required more operations to deal with side effects like severe pain and scarring within three years.

5. How popular has breast enlargement become? Provide statistics.

In recent years breast enlargement has become increasingly popular. Though some women get the surgery for medical reasons -- 73,026 in 2002 -- many more have the procedure for cosmetic reasons. According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, 32,607 women had breast augmentation in 1992. That number grew to 225,818 in 2002, an increase of 593 percent.

Discussion Activity (more research might be needed):

1. Should all women be allowed to have silicone breast implants? Why or why not? What restrictions or regulations, if any, would you recommend if you were the FDA?

2. Should patients be allowed to choose potentially dangerous procedures? Why or why not? Explain your answer.

3. Why do you think the number of breast augmentation procedures has increased so much from 1992 to 2002? What does this tell us about the culture we live in? Explain your reasoning.

Write a 300-500 word essay on any of these topics providing clear examples. Send your completed editorial to NewsHour Extra [extra@newshour.org]. Exceptional essays might be published on our Web site.