LIFEalerts 11 August 2017

Abortion

UK – Government to spend £1 Billion Promoting Abortion Worldwide

Ireland – ‘We can do better’ than ‘killing children before they are born’

Alternative Medicine

Ghana – Expedite passage of the alternative medicine bill

Euthanasia

Netherlands – Latest end-of-life statistics from the Netherlands

IVF& Surrogacy

No news today

Medical Ethics

USA – First American success with editing human embryos

UK – Charlie Gard dies in London hospice

USA – Doctors include contraceptive counseling in adolescent consultations

USA – Human embryos modified to eliminate a single-gene disease

Pedophilia

UK – Call to ban Sex Robots

Pornography

Australia – The future of pornography in Australia UK – Compulsory ID checks to watch porn online from 2018 Russia – Watchdog forces porn website users to lodge passport details USA – New Florida Law Allows Challenge to School Curriculum and Books

Same Sex Attraction

Ghana – Country won’t decriminalise homosexuality Switzerland – New strain of Gonorrhoea is resistant to antibiotics

Sexual Exploitation

South Africa – Four women rescued from sex trafficking

Substance Abuse

USA – Homeless problem may be triggered by marijuana laws

USA – Conflict in Government on Marijuana policy Mexico – Mexico legalizes medical marijuana  

Abortion

UK – Government to spend £1 Billion Promoting Abortion Worldwide

International Development Secretary Priti Patel said at a Family Planning Summit held in London that the UK Government’s spending on family planning will be an average of £225 million per year until 2022, an additional £45 million a year‎ for 5 years. Ms Patel later confirmed this sum would include the provision of ‘safe abortion’ in developing countries. The London Summit is co-hosted by Ms Patel, Melinda Gates (Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation) and Natalia Kanem (UN Population Fund UNFPA).

http://www.lifenews.com/2017/07/11/uk-will-spend-over-1-billion-promotion-abortion-worldwide/

Ireland – ‘We can do better’ than ‘killing children before they are born’ Over 70,000 people took to the streets of Dublin, Ireland, to tell the government not to repeal the 8th amendment to the Irish Constitution. The 8th amendment gives an equal right to life to both pregnant women and their preborn children. Pro-life groups in attendance included the Life Institute, Youth Defense, and the Northern Ireland group Precious Life. “This is an incredible, powerful day, when massive crowds of ordinary people turned out to Save the 8th, to say no to abortion and yes to Life,” Niamh Ui Bhriain of the Life Institute said.

https://www.liveaction.org/news/80000-rally-ireland-life/

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Alternative Medicine

Ghana – Expedite passage of the alternative medicine bill

The President of the Alternative Medicine Association of Ghana (AMAG), Dr Raphael Nyarkotey Obu, has called for the creation of a ministry for traditional and alternative medicine. He also urged Parliament to expedite action on the passage of the alternative medicine bill which is currently before the house, saying that would provide the legal backing for the mainstreaming of alternative medicine and ensure best practices by practitioners. Dr Obu further asked for the AMAG to be given a slot on the Food and Drugs Board to ensure that quality standards in alternative medicine were enhanced.

http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/health/Expedite-action-on-the-passage-of-the-alternative-medicine-bill-Association-to-Parliament-559974

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Euthanasia

Netherlands – Latest end-of-life statistics from the Netherlands

Here are statistics from the Netherlands based on the latest figures from 2015. Nearly one death in 20 (4.5{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4}) is now due to euthanasia. The figures come from a letter in the latest issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. “It looks like patients are now more willing to ask for euthanasia and physicians are more willing to grant it,” said lead author Dr. Agnes van der Heide, of Erasmus University Medical Center in Rotterdam. But the statistics for euthanasia only masks the proportion of end-of-life decisions in the Netherlands. The figures for some categories overlap, but 4.5{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4} of all deaths happened through euthanasia, 0.1{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4} through physician-assisted suicide; and 18.3{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4} through “continuous deep sedation”.

https://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/latest-end-of-life-statistics-from-the-netherlands/12378

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IVF&Surrogacy

No news today

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Medical Ethics

USA – First American success with editing human embryos

According to the MIT Technology Review, a team led by Shoukhrat Mitalipov of Oregon Health and Science University successfully edited a gene for a genetic disease in human embryos which had been created with sperm donated by carriers of the gene. None of the embryos were allowed to live more than a few days. Chinese scientists have published three papers describing how they edited human embryos but found not all the cells had been “edited” and that there were some “off target” effects. According to the MIT Technology Review, Mitalipov’s technique has overcome these difficulties. A report by the US National Academy of Sciences has already green-lighted research on germline modification, provided it is used only for curing genetic diseases.

https://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/first-american-success-with-editing-human-embryos/12366

UK – Charlie Gard dies in London hospice

Charlie Gard, the 11-month-old terminally ill child whose case has dominated international headlines for months, has died in a London hospice after having life-support withdrawn. Gard suffered from an extremely rare, inherited mitochondrial disease called encephalomyopathic mitochondrial DNA depletion syndrome. The typically fatal condition causes progressive muscle weakness, brain damage, and organ failure. His parents had sought to take Gard to the US for experimental nucleoside therapy, but the High Court ruled in April it was in the child’s best interests to have life-support withdrawn. On Thursday a British High Court judge ordered that the child be moved to an unspecified hospice, after no agreement on further treatment could be reached between the boy’s parents and Great Ormond Street Hospital.

https://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/charlie-gard-dies-in-london-hospice/12364

USA – Doctors include contraceptive counseling in adolescent consultations

The American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Committee on Adolescent Health Care has released new guidelines instructing clinicians to discuss contraceptive options in every consultation with adolescent patients as young as 13 and at the very first visit. The document discusses the need to allow adolescents privacy from their parents, and doctors are instructed to ensure patient confidentiality to the extent allowed by State law.

https://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/doctors-told-to-include-contraceptive-counselling-in-every-adolescent-consu/12362

USA – Human embryos modified to eliminate a single-gene disease

A paper in Nature explains how a team of scientists led by Shoukhrat Mitalipov of Oregon Health and Science University used CRISPR/Cas9 technology to eliminate a gene, MYBPC3, linked to a heart disorder. Stem cell scientist Paul Knoepfler said that the highly-anticipated paper was technically strong, innovative and rigorous – which suggests that other scientists will soon be building on Mitalipov’s achievements. David Albert Jones, of the UK’s Anscombe Institute, penned a withering critique, “Unethical research with eugenic goals”. “The whole rationale for this experiment is to take a step towards genetic modification as an assisted reproductive technology,” he writes. “We are manufacturing new human beings for manipulation and quality control, and experimenting on them with the aim of forging greater eugenic control over human reproduction. This is not a case of using bad means for a good end, but of bad means to a worse end.”

https://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/human-embryos-modified-to-eliminate-a-single-gene-disease/12375?utm_source=BioEdge&utm_campaign=456358cb96-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2017_08_05&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_76ab23e62c-456358cb96-124725519

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Pedophilia

UK – Call to ban Sex Robots

Human-like sex robots have taken the sex industry by storm and will hit the shelves by the end of 2017. The Foundation for Responsible Robotics has raised concerns in a report that the growth of cyborgs could lead to the increase of sickening sex crimes. Kathryn Taylor, of the Salvation Army’s anti-trafficking and modern slavery unit, said androids could encourage sex to be viewed as a “commodity”. Artificial Intelligence (AI) specialist professor Noel Sharkey, said guilt free sex with a submissive robot could encourage objectification, abuse, rape and paedophilia. Some believe that sex robots can help paedophiles who have urges to molest children but, Professor Sharkey, of the University of Sheffield, dismissed such therapy and has called for a ban on sex robots entering the UK.

http://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/latest-news/628559/sex-robots-warning-woman-children-uk-ban-report

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Pornography

Australia – The future of pornography in Australia

Britain has welcomed software that forces porn websites to verify the age of users. Cyber safety experts believe the same move can be used to protect Aussie children as well. Australia’s Julie Inman Grant, eSafety commissioner, said that technology solutions can help limit content types that kids can access, but they alone cannot be used to solve the entire problem. Some studies point to a connection between pornography and a rise in child-on-child sexual abuse. Jon Lawrence, Electronic Frontiers Australia executive officer, recognized that it is important the government takes action to protect Australian children from pornography.

http://www.ibtimes.com.au/future-pornography-australia-1557128

UK – Compulsory ID checks to watch porn online from 2018

The UK government announced compulsory ID checks in a bid to protect under-18s and digital minister Matt Hancock signed the commencement order for the Digital Economy Act, which introduces the requirement. An age-check requirement applies to any website or other online platform that provides pornography on a commercial basis to people in the UK. Businesses that refuse to comply can be fined and regulators can ask third-party payment services to withdraw support. Regulators will also be able to block porn websites if they fail to show that they are denying access to under-18s.

https://www.gamblinginsider.com/news/3734/israel-takes-a-hard-stance-on-internet-censorship

Russia – Watchdog forces porn website users to lodge passport details

A battle between adult streaming service PornHub and the Russian government has forced users to register their passport details if they wish to view content. Russia blocked 11 pornography websites in 2015 because of the illegal production, dissemination and advertisement of pornographic materials and objects. The censorship restrictions were implemented on the basis that the websites breached the nation’s child protection laws. In 2016 PornHub was also restricted but managed to have itself reinstated by requiring users to enter their dates of birth but it has once again come under fire, with viewers now forced to log in through state social media, Vkontakte, which requires users to register their mobile phone numbers and passport details.

http://www.9news.com.au/world/2017/07/11/11/27/russian-watchdog-forces-porn-website-users-to-lodge-passport-details

USA – New Florida Law Allows Challenge to School Curriculum and Books

New law HB989 has opened a Pandora’s Box of controversy for every school district in Florida. Under the new legislation local school districts must now offer an opportunity for residents of their county, whether they have children in the school or not, to challenge the curriculum or textbooks on offer. The new law requires school boards to hire an unbiased hearing officer who will handle complaints about instructional materials, such as movies, textbooks and novels that are used in local schools. If the hearing officer deems the challenge justified, he or she can require schools to remove the material in question.” To guide their decisions the law offers broad suggestions: Materials should be accurate, balanced, non-inflammatory, current, free of pornography and suited to students’ needs.

https://nonprofitquarterly.org/2017/07/10/new-florida-law-declares-open-season-science-education/

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Same Sex Attraction

Ghana – Country won’t decriminalise homosexuality

Amnesty International tried to get Ghana to decriminalise homosexuality but the speaker of Parliament, Professor Mike Ocquaye addressed Amnesty members saying Ghana won’t decriminalise homosexuality just because other countries are doing it. Professor Ocquaye says Ghana will remain one of the 34 countries in Africa where homosexuality is outlawed.

https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/We-ll-not-decriminalize-homosexuality-Speaker-557618

Switzerland – New strain of Gonorrhoea is resistant to antibiotics

The World Health Organisation (WHO) is warning the public about a “super” strain of gonorrhoea which is spread through oral sex and has become resistant to antibiotics. The WHO’s conclusion on this strain came from statistics of 77 countries worldwide. Cases in France, Spain and Japan have proved incurable and the WHO lists it as the world’s greatest health threat. Gonorrhoea infects the genitals, rectum and throat. WHO spokeswoman Dr. Teodora Wi said “In the U.S., resistance [to an antibiotic] came from men having sex with men because of pharyngeal infection.” Oral sex can transmit several STDs, such as gonorrhoea, genital herpes, and syphilis.

https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/increase-in-extramarital-sex-leading-to-new-std-epidemic

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Sexual Exploitation

South Africa – Four women rescued from sex trafficking

Johannesburg metro police rescued four women aged between 20 and 30 from a suspected human trafficking den in Randburg, Johannesburg. Two Nigerian nationals were arrested on suspicion of holding the women against their will and have been detained at the local police station. The four women confirmed to the police that they were raped and photos of them wearing nothing but lingerie were taken by force. Michael Sun, Johannesburg’s mayoral committee member for public safety has stated that the four women have since been taken to a place of safety by the SAPS after being rescued and one of them has been reunited with her parents.

http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/four-rescued-from-forced-prostitution-ring-in-randburg-20170805

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Substance Abuse

USA – Homeless problem may be triggered by marijuana laws

Colorado’s homeless population jumped 13{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4} from 2015 to 2016. While some blame pot laws others place the blame on the state’s housing dearth. Though there are no hard statistics to back it up, some people including Charlie Berry who grew up in Denver – says some of the homeless have came to Colorado for legalised marijuana, ‘basically all they want to do is just come here and smoke pot, when you legalise marijuana you open the door to a whole new level of hell’. Since Denver began cracking down, homeowners and businesses on the periphery of downtown say the problem has just moved outwards to where they are located.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2017/07/10/colorado-tries-to-fight-homeless-problem-that-may-have-been-triggered-by-pot-law.html

USA – Conflict in Government on Marijuana policy

US Attorney General Jeff Sessions is reportedly trying to build support to go after companies that sell marijuana in states that have legalised the drug.  However, while the executive branch contemplates fighting marijuana, the legislative branch is taking the opposite approach. Several US Senators introduced legislation that would end federal prohibition of medical marijuana with the primary goal to “Extend the principle of federalism to state drug policy”. That basically means let the states make their own decision instead of having federal government interfere when it comes to legalisation of medical marijuana. The bill would change the Controlled Substances Act in several ways; it would reschedule marijuana and THC (the primary psychoactive chemical in marijuana) as a schedule 1 drug instead of their current schedule 2 status. The legislation would also specifically exclude Cannabidiol (CBD) from the definition of marijuana in the Controlled Substance Act.

https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/06/20/marijuana-stocks-will-soar-if-this-legislation-pas.aspx

Mexico – President legalizes medical marijuana

President Enrique Pena Nieto has signed a decree legalising medical marijuana. The measure also classified the psychoactive ingredient in the drug as “therapeutic” although the new policy isn’t exactly opening the doors for medical marijuana dispensaries on every corner. Instead it calls on the ministry of health to draft and implement regulations and public policies. Uruguay has fully legalised Marijuana while Brazil, Peru, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Costa Rica have made marijuana more available in varying ways for medical or recreational use.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2017/06/21/mexico-just-legalized-medical-marijuana/

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Disclaimer: the views and opinions expressed in these articles do not necessarily reflect those of Doctors for Life International

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DFL's legal team

Advocate Reg Willis. Senior Advocate for DFL[/caption] [caption id="attachment_3648" align="alignleft" width="225"] Advocate Tererai Mafukidze[/caption] [su_spacer size="10"] [caption id="attachment_3649" align="alignleft" width="225"] Advocate Mpati Qofa[/caption] [caption id="attachment_3705" align="alignleft" width="211"]Advocate Julie-Anne Harwood Advocate Julie-Anne Harwood[/caption] [su_spacer size="10"] [caption id="attachment_3757" align="alignleft" width="214"] Helene Davidtsz (University of Pretoria Law Clinic- DFL’s attorney)[/caption] [caption id="attachment_3647" align="alignleft" width="225"] Christo van Eeden (DFL’s Legal Counsel)[/caption] [su_spacer size="10"] [caption id="attachment_3650" align="alignleft" width="225"] Miss Estelle van Eeden (DFL Communications and Media Liason)[/caption] [su_spacer size="10"]]]>

Dagga Court Case is Not the "Trial of the Plant"

DFL's legal team DFL’s legal team: Helene Davidtz (Attorney from Univ. Pta law clinic), Christo van Eeden (DFL legal counsel), Adv. J Harwood, Senior Adv. Reg Willis, Adv. Mpati Qofa and Adv. Tererai Mafukidze[/caption]

The public should not lose sight of the fact that the ‘dagga couple’ were arrested for posession of 1.87 kg of dagga worth roughly R500 000. The crux of the matter is that on their own version they are drug dealers. The courtcase is not in fact the “trial of the plant”.  It is about the plantiff’s trying to escape the consequenses of the law by having dagga removed from the list of dangerous and undesirable addictive substances, regardless of the destructive consequences of this psycho active drug. The ‘dagga couple’ is not acting in the best interest of South African society and particularly not our youth, the disavantaged, downtrodden and the socio-economically oppressed rural communities where dagga is rife.

Latest:

Two news agencies, CNN and Times Live have reported on a significant new article in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) about the effectiveness of Cannabis (Dagga) for the treatment of pain and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Press Releases 16 Aug 2017:  New England Journal of Medicine: Evidence is lacking that Dagga helps for chronic pain or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder 15 Aug 2017: Drinking something sweet or eating condensed milk may be insufficient for treating unintentional cannabis intoxication 13 Aug 2017: Schoolgirl Admitted to ICU: South Africans Brace Yourselves Should Dagga Be Legalised 12 Aug 2017: Fields of Green for All (FOGFA) expert witness repeatedly tries to trash top notch expert 1 Aug 2017: Dagga Courtcase postponed as DFL and the State oppose livestreaming by FOGFA 31 July 2017: The legalisation of dagga is not a matter of popular opinion but needs a scientific approach
  [caption id="attachment_3592" align="alignnone" width="605"] This morning early preparing documents and seats for the court[/caption] [caption id="attachment_3590" align="alignnone" width="605"] DFL and its legal team are in the row on the right[/caption]]]>

Dagga Courtcase postponed as DFL and the State oppose livestreaming by FOGFA

Media Release

Embargo: Immediate release Enquiries: Doctors For Life Int.
Date: 1 August 2017 Telephone: 032 481 5550
On the first day of the Dagga Court Case, the trial was postponed to Tuesday the 1st of August 2017 for the defendents who are the State government departments and Doctors For Life International (DFL) to obtain the reasons for Judge Natvarlal Ranchod’s decision on Friday 28 July 2017 to allow Fields of green for All (FOGFA) to control the livestream broadcast of the trial. FOGFA is the alter-ego of the first and second plaintiffs, Julian Stobbs and Myrtle Clark, the so-called ‘dagga couple’. The judge made his decision, which has far reaching implications for the State and the trial, without a formal substantive application by FOGFA, which they had always said they would bring. The Judge made his decision on the basis of correspondance only. Neither the State nor DFL are opposed to the mainstream media filming or broadcasting the trial, but insist that FOGFA is not a media entity regulated as the mainstream media are and that FOGFA is not bona fide. DFL has experienced hate speech by the ‘dagga couple’ and on FOGFA’s website. The State and DFL suggested that the trial proceed today, but without broadcasting until the issues can be addressed and the Judge consider the matter with all the facts before him. However, the ‘dagga couple’ did not want the trial to start today because they want it broadcast from day one. The public should not lose sight of the fact that the ‘dagga couple’ were arrested for posession of 1.87 kg of dagga worth roughly R500 000. The crux of the matter is that the presumption is on their own version they are drug dealers. The courtcase is not in fact the “trial of the plant”. It is about the plantiff’s trying to escape the consequenses of the law by having dagga removed from the list of dangerous and undesirable addictive substances, regardless of the destructive consequences of this psycho active drug. The ‘dagga couple’ is not acting in the best interest of South African society and particularly not our youth, the disavantaged, downtrodden and the socio-economically oppressed rural communities where dagga is rife. Doctors for Life International represents 1500 medical doctors and specialists, three-quarters of whom practice in South Africa. Since 1991 DFL has been actively promoting sound science in the medical profession and health care that is safe and efficient for all South Africans. For more information visit: https://doctorsforlife.co.za]]>

The legalisation of dagga is not a matter of popular opinion but needs a scientific approach

Media Release

Embargo: Immediate release Enquiries: Doctors For Life Int.
Date: 31 July 2017 Telephone: 032 481 5550
The cannabis court case, or so-called “trial of the plant” that starts today in the Pretoria High Court, is about the total legalisation of cannabis (dagga). The use of dagga for medicinal purposes is however being misused across the world as the thin edge of the wedge to get dagga legalised. In the World Drug Report of 2017, Executive Summary, Conclusion and Policy Implications, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime officially holds the same position that Doctors For Life International (DFL) has taken for the purposes of this court case: “Medical use of cannabis needs a scientific approach” “Research has shown that, notwithstanding the usefulness of some cannabinoids in the management of specific medical conditions, their use, particularly in the botanical form of herbal cannabis with unknown content and dosage, can be detrimental to health. To protect human health, it is therefore necessary that the principles of safety, quality and efficacy and the rigorous scientific testing and regulatory systems that apply to established medicines be applied also to cannabis-based medicines.” In light of the above mentioned rigorous principles for allowing dagga for medical use, we cannot see how South Africa can consider legalising dagga for recreational use. Doctors for Life International represents 1500 medical doctors and specialists, three-quarters of whom practice in South Africa. Since 1991 DFL has been actively promoting sound science in the medical profession and health care that is safe and efficient for all South Africans. For more information visit: https://doctorsforlife.co.za]]>

Download: Court Papers for Dagga Court Case

Download the full bundle: DaggaCaseCourtPapers_2017-07-14.zip (109 MB .zip file) or view separately:

1. Pleadings bundle

2017-06-09_Index_to_Pleadings_Bundle_KTvF.DOCX 2017-06-09_Pleadings_BUNDLE.pdf

2. Pre-amendment pleadings bundle

2017-06-09_Index_to_Pre-Amendment_Pleadings_Bundle_KTvF.DOCX 2017-06-09_Pre-amendment_pleadings_BUNDLE.pdf

3. Pre-trial bundle

2017-06-09_Master_Index_to_Pre-trial_Bundle_KTvFv2.DOCX 2017-06-09_pre-trial_BUNDLEv2.PDF

4. Notices bundle

2017-06-09_Master_Index_to_Notices_Bundle_KTvF.DOCX 2017-06-13_notices_BUNDLE_v2.pdf

5. Additional documents bundle

2017-06-09_Additional_Documents_BUNDLE.pdf 2017-06-09_Index_to_Additional_Documents_Bundle_KTvF.DOCX

6. First to Seventh Defendants’ Expert bundle

2017-06-09_Index_to_1-7_Defendants_Experts_KTvF.DOCX 2017-06-09_1st_to_7th_Defs_expert_BUNDLE.pdf

7. Eighth Defendant’s Expert bundle

2017-06-09_Master_Index_to_Eighth_Defendants_Experts_KTvF.DOCX 2017-06-09_8th_Defendants_expert_BUNDLE_for_court_file.pdf

8. Plaintiffs’ Expert bundle

2017-06-09_Master_Index_to_Plaintiffs_Expert_Bundle_KTvF2.DOCX 2017-06-13_Plaintiffs_expert_BUNDLE_v3.pdf

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Doctors For Life Court Case to Prevent Legalization of Dagga (Marijuana)

In RE: Stobbs and 2 others//National Director of Public Prosecutions and six ministers of government departments and Doctors For Life International

Download the Court Papers

Introduction

On the 31st of July 2017 a court case commenced in the Pretoria High Court concerning the constitutional legality of South Africa’s dagga legislation. The media is calling it the “Trial of the Plant”. DFL joined the case to be of assistance to the State and we are opposing the legalisation of dagga in the interest of all South Africans; especially our youth and their future. The case ran for the full three weeks that was set aside for it but has not been concluded and will therefore continue next year. The court will notify of the date on which the case will commence in due course. We appeal to you to assist us with covering the substantial legal costs of this important court case.

What is the “Trial of the Plant” about?

It is about the dagga plant and its prohibition in our society. Scientists have long since proven that the dagga plant is highly complex and dangerous and must be prohibited, but some believe it is not dangerous and even medicinal.

What does the law in SA say about dagga?

Except for medical and research exemptions, the possession, use, cultivation, transportation and distribution of dagga is criminalised in terms of the Drugs and drug trafficking act as well as the Medicines and related substances act.

Was the law not settled by the Constitutional court in 2002?

In 2002 a Rastafarian brought a case to the Constitutional Court about Dagga where he complained that the law prevented him smoking dagga as a religious observance and this violated his rights to religious freedom. The court accepted that a Rastafarian’s religious rights were violated but dismissed the case as there is no objective way for law enforcement officials to distinguish between the possession or use of cannabis for religious or for recreational purposes.

There was also a recent Cape Town High Court dagga case?

Earlier this year in the Western Cape High court there was a new attack on South Africa’s anti dagga legislation. The court found that the dagga legislation infringes ones right to privacy BUT only to the extent it prohibits the use of Cannabis by adults in their home. The court did not legalise Cannabis in public.

So people can now grow and use dagga in their own home?

No not quite yet, if ever at all.

Why not?

Because the court suspended the effect of this order for 24 months to allow the Constitutional Court to confirm, alter or overrule the decision and if upheld in full or in part, then for parliament to pass corrective legislation. However the court gave an order that until then, this case is a defence against a charge for possession, cultivation or use in your private home. The trial of the plant will in all likelihood be the final decider.

Why is that?

Because the Trial of the Plant will be the first and only case where there will be oral evidence given and tested, in the witness stand. These other cases were fought and decided on affidavit evidence in a day or two. The trial of the plant is very different and will take many days in court starting on 31 July and continuing through the month of August. There are three legal teams comprising 6 attorneys, 11 advocates, 16 expert witnesses and as many as 12 other witnesses. The trial will probably be recorded by the media and will also probably go all the way to the Constitutional Court to be finally decided. DFL’s lead counsel is Adv Reg Willis instructed by the University of Pretoria Law Clinic.

How did this case start?

In 2010 a couple were arrested with approximately R500 000.00 worth of dagga in their home. They became known as the dagga couple. To avoid prosecution they obtained an interdict in the Pretoria High Court against their prosecution, pending the outcome of a case to declare that all the SA dagga legislation is unconstitutional. The case is against various government departments and against Doctors for Life International. DFL joined this case to be of assistance to the State. So for example DFL will lead the evidence of Harvard Professor Bertha Madras who is one of the foremost authorities on cannabis in the world. She contends that the legalisation of cannabis has to be resisted in the interests of the human brain.

Who is Doctors for Life and what does it do?

DFL is a non-profit relief and civil society organisation of doctors who care and give voluntarily of their own time and money to the many needs of the poor. DFL is funded by its members for the needs of the underprivileged communities they serve in South Africa and Southern Africa. DFL also has an extensive track record of being involved in public interest cases predominantly as a friend of the court, especially to assist with scientific and similar evidence. Ordinarily lawyers act pro bono for DFL. However in a trial action of this nature it is impossible for lawyers to act for free but they have drastically reduced their fees. DFL has four advocates to pay, the work load is immense, and some have been working for a few years for free. DFL’s budget just for the trial is R1million and we have only raised R100 000.00.

So then how is the dagga couple funding their case?

The dagga couple dragged the case out for some years, while they raised money. They started an organisation called “Fields of Green for All” “FOGFA” which now has over 45000 supporters who are funding the case.

How important is this case for South Africa?

Given the role of dagga in crime, women and child abuse and the future of our youth, this trial is one of the most important to ever reach our courts. If the dagga couple win their case as they want to, there will be no restriction on the possession, consumption, cultivation, transportation and distribution of cannabis.  A free for all.

Read our dagga court case press releases and more info on cannabis

Media Release: Conflating marijuana plants with isolated cannabinoids to confuse the public Media Release: High Court Blunders into Dagga Minefield Article: Substance Abuse]]>

South Africa should know the implications of letting the LGBT teach our children on homosexuality

Media Release

Embargo: Immediate release Enquiries: Doctors For Life Int.
Date: 11 July 2017 Telephone: 032 481 5550
Gender DynamiX, SWEAT, the Sexual and Reproductive Justice Coalition, Partners in Sexual Health and Triangle are the few mentioned LGBT NGO’s that have made submissions to the South African Government which they might consider adopting. Some of these submissions include Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) that teaches South African children about homosexual practises and sex. Children who think they might be transgender will be allowed to use any bathroom they wish, compromising the privacy of both boys and girls. South African identity documents could be permitted to reflect the individuals’ preferred gender with which they identify as, this might sound harmless, but think of how identity fraud is made easier. The LGBT NGO’s are also calling for health facilities to be made available to trans-gender people for hormone treatment and surgeries. Prostitution and drug use is also called to be decriminalised and any practise or policy that excludes transgender or homosexual persons could be challenged and invalidated by the department. Dr. McHugh, who has studied transgender people for 40 years, said in an article for The Witherspoon Institute, that all such people “become feminized men or masculinized women, counterfeits or impersonators of the sex with which they ‘identify”. He also said that it is a scientific fact that “transgendered men do not become women, nor do transgendered women become men”. Dr. McHugh, who was psychiatrist-in-chief at Johns Hopkins Hospital, the medical institute that had initially pioneered sex-change surgery – and later abandoned the practice – stressed that the cultural meme, or idea that “one’s sex is fluid and a matter of choice” is extremely damaging, especially to young people. The idea that one’s sexuality is a feeling and not a biological fact “is doing much damage to families, adolescents, and children and should be confronted as an opinion without biological foundation wherever it emerges,” said Dr. McHugh in his article, Transgenderism: A Pathogenic Meme. “Think, for example, of the parents whom no one, not doctors, schools, nor even churches, will help to rescue their children from these strange notions of being transgendered and the problematic lives these notions herald.” They rarely find therapists who are willing to help them “work out their conflicts and correct their assumptions,” said McHugh. “Rather, they and their families find only ‘gender counsellors’ who encourage them in their sexual misassumptions.” There is plenty of evidence showing that “transgendering” is a “psychological rather than a biological matter,” said Dr. McHugh. “In fact, gender dysphoria – the official psychiatric term for feeling oneself to be of the opposite sex, belongs in the family of similarly disordered assumptions about the body, such as anorexia nervosa and body dysmorphic disorder. Its treatment should not be directed at the body as with surgery and hormones any more than one treats obesity-fearing anorexic patients with liposuction,” he said. In fact, at Johns Hopkins, where they pioneered sex-change-surgery, “we demonstrated that the practice brought no important benefits,” said Dr. McHugh. “As a result, we stopped offering that form of treatment in the 1970s.” In recent years, though, the notion that one’s sex is fluid has flooded the culture. It is “reflected everywhere in the media, the theatre, the classroom, and in many medical clinics,” said McHugh. It is biologically false that one can exchange one’s sex, explained McHugh. “The most thorough follow-up of sex-reassigned people – extending over 30 years and conducted in Sweden, where the culture is strongly supportive of transgendered people – documents their lifelong mental unrest.” “Ten to 15 years after surgical reassignment, the suicide rate of those who had undergone sex-reassignment surgery rose to 20 times that of comparable peers,” said McHugh. We need a public uproar for coherent science. Doctors for Life International represents 1600 medical doctors and specialists. Since 1991 DFL has been actively promoting sound science in the medical profession and healthcare that is safe and efficient for all South Africans. For more information visit: https://doctorsforlife.co.za]]>

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