This really clears things up. Kentucky isn't a laughingstock; it's just a state that prefers sick lesbians to healthy ones.

        Thanks, senator. With people like you working on Kentucky's image, who needs the Hatfields and McCoys?

What's in a name?

        Mr. Roeding, R-Lakeside Park, got his shorts in a bunch over a session on “lesbian health issues” to be presented at the fifth annual forum on Women's Health in Kentucky, Sept. 9-10 in Lexington.

        Mr. Roeding complained in a letter to UK President Lee Todd. Sen. Charlie Borders, R-Russell, threatened to disrupt UK funding if the session took place. Now Senate President David Williams says the university should have been more “sensitive” in naming the talk.

        Oh, great, let's encourage UK to wallow in mind-numbing political correctness. Avoid the word “lesbian” at all costs. Call the session “Health Issues for Women Like Rosie” instead.

        The annual forum is aimed at health-care providers and social workers. The session on lesbian issues is just one of 16. Other topics include hormone replacement therapy, heart disease and urinary continence.

        Also scheduled: Talks on the health issues of Hispanic, African-American and rural women.

        Mr. Roeding questions why lesbians should be considered separately.

        “One who engages in a different lifestyle does not have different body parts,” he writes. “How dare the university propose to recognize a lifestyle that the vast majority of women in Kentucky do not agree with.”

        Now wait a minute. This assumes too much about Kentucky women. The ones I know aren't particularly concerned with the sexual practices of other people.

        In fact, women generally hold less negative attitudes toward homosexuals than men, says Gregory Herek, a psychologist at the University of California-Davis.

Session requested

        UK's decision to offer the session didn't come out of the blue. Last year's forum participants requested information on the subject, says Phyllis Nash, an associate vice president at UK.

        More research is needed, but studies have indicated lesbians are prone to certain health problems, such as obesity, endometriosis and painful menstruation, Dr. Nash says.

        Also, they sometimes encounter prejudice when being treated by male doctors, which may discourage them from seeking health care. This is why the session will emphasize doctor-patient communication, Dr. Nash says.

        “We really feel it's part of our responsibility to meet the health care needs of all Kentuckians,” she says.

        Mr. Roeding is a retired pharmacist. He describes lesbianism as a “distasteful anomaly.” Thus, he proves that lesbians do have a special health concern: The hostility of people like him.

        Contact: ksamples@enquirer.com or 859-578-5584.

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