Publisher

Abortion

USA – Oklahoma College Offers Pro-Life Courses

USA – Activists Attack Governor for Shutting Down Abortion Clinic

Alternative Medicine

China – Traditional Chinese Medicine Seen to Block Lung Fibrosis in Mice

Euthanasia

Belgium – Will Belgium grant euthanasia for unwanted sexual attraction?

Holland – Let’s increase organ transplant rates by encouraging euthanasia

IVF& Surrogacy

Medical Ethics

France – Top court allows export of sperm to circumvent dead donor rule

USA – Bioethicists clash over death of terminally ill 5-year-old

Pedophilia

No news today

Pornography

Same SexAttraction

Peru – First Research to show the risks of chest binding

SexualExploitation

USA – Amnesty International defends pimps and traffickers

Canada – A case for arresting Vancouver’s Johns and pimps

UK – The dangers of rebranding prostitution as ‘sex work’

South Africa – Human trafficking thrives as economy slows

Substance Abuse

Abortion

USA – Oklahoma College Offers Pro-Life Courses

Oklahoma Wesleyan University (OKWU) plans to offer students an applied bioethics certificate for training in pro-life activism and pregnancy centre management. The program is in partnership with the Life Training Institute, a pro-life apologetics organization, and CareNet, one of the largest pregnancy resource organizations in the world. University spokeswoman Megan England said OKWU wants the program to train “leaders who are prepared to defend and protect the innocent in ways that are more than abstract.”

http://www.lifenews.com/2016/06/07/most-colleges-are-training-grounds-for-abortion-activists-but-this-one-offers-pro-life-courses/

USA – Activists Attack Governor for Shutting Down Abortion Clinic

Kentucky’s new pro-life Governer Matt Bevin has done a lot to protect unborn babies and crack down on the abortion industry. His administration has filed two lawsuits against abortion clinics after state inspectors discovered they were aborting without a state license. Bevin also signed the first pro-life law to reach a Kentucky governor’s desk in more than a decade. His administration recently won a court victory when a judge ruled the state could shut down a filthy abortion clinic that was masquerading as a doctor’s office. Bevin also signed the first pro-life law to reach the governor’s desk in more than a decade. The law requires consultation between a doctor and woman at least 24 hours before having an abortion.

http://www.lifenews.com/2016/06/22/activists-attack-governor-for-shutting-down-abortion-clinic-with-a-sick-song-crotch-crucifix/

Alternative Medicine

China – Traditional Chinese Medicine Seen to Block Lung Fibrosis in Mice

Salvianolic acid B, a compound isolated from red sage and a main component of the traditional Chinese medicine known as Yiqihuoxue formula, prevented fibrotic changes both in bleomycin-treated mice and in cell culture models. Research from Fudan University in China recently found that traditional blend could lessen skin and lung fibrosis. The study indicated that this was likely mediated by preventing changes in gene expression and cell signaling pathways, induced by TGF-β. Findings, published in the journal Scientific Reports, showed that Salvianolic acid B also had similar properties when tested in a cell type derived from human lung epithelium, where scientists triggered fibrosis using both TGF-β and TNF-α, an inflammatory molecule also believed to be involved in fibrotic processes.

http://pulmonaryfibrosisnews.com/traditional-Chinese-medicine-ingredient-blocks-fibrosis-in-mice

Euthanasia

Belgium – Will Belgium grant euthanasia for unwanted sexual attraction?

Along with unbearable physical pain, mental suffering, and dementia, a new reason for seeking euthanasia in Belgium has emerged in the media – pedophilia. Gilles Genicot, a bioethicist at the University of Liege, also a member of Belgium’s euthanasia review committee said: “It’s more likely he has psychological problems relating to his sexuality. I cannot find a trace of actual psychic illness here. But what you cannot do is purely rule out the option of euthanasia for such patients.”

http://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/will-belgium-grant-euthanasia-for-unwanted-sexual-attraction/11911

Holland – Let’s increase organ transplant rates by encouraging euthanasia

Ethicists and transplant specialists say, according to an article in the Journal of Medical Ethics that about 40 people in Belgium and the Netherlands have successfully combined euthanasia with organ donation since 2005. The doctors are so enthusiastic about the procedure that they have proposed legal changes which will speed up the procedure and maximize the number of donations. Although the numbers are still low, the idea is becoming more popular in both countries, according to the authors.

http://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/lets-increase-organ-transplant-rates-by-encouraging-euthanasia-patients-to/11912#sthash.SrKgMBD8.dpuf

IVF&Surrogacy

No news today

Medical Ethics

France – Top court allows export of sperm to circumvent dead donor rule

A French Court has ruled in favour of allowing a dead man’s sperm to be sent to a foreign IVF clinic, despite France’s prohibition on insemination using sperm from deceased males. The Council of State ruled in favour of Spanish national, Nicola Turri, who requested that the sperm of her deceased Italian husband be exported to Spain where she lives now. Mr Turri was diagnosed with cancer of the lymphatic system and froze his sperm before starting chemotherapy, a routine procedure due to the treatment causing infertility. The court acknowledged that Spanish law permits post-mortem insemination, and decided that the denial of the application would constitute “an excessive interference” with the widow’s “rights to respect for private and family life”.

http://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/french-court-green-lights-export-of-sperm-to-circumvent-dead-donor-rule/11901

USA – Bioethicists clash over death of terminally ill 5-year-old

Julianna Snow, a terminally ill five-year-old girl who suffered from a common inherited neurodegenerative condition called Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease has died. After undergoing painful medical, Julianna expressed to her parents a desire to forgo treatment even if it meant her death. New York University bioethics professor Arthur Caplan said, “This doesn’t sit well with me. It makes me nervous. I think a 4-year-old might be capable of deciding what music to hear or what picture book they might want to read. But I think there’s zero chance a 4-year-old can understand the concept of death. That kind of thinking doesn’t really develop until around age 9 or 10.”

http://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/bioethicists-clash-over-death-of-5-year-old/11928

Pedophilia

No news today

Pornography

USA – Rhode Island prohibits malicious practice of “Revenge Porn”

The Rhode Island House of Representatives has passed legislation that would prohibit a malicious practice known as “revenge porn.”Attorney General Peter Kilmartin announced that lawmakers approved the bill which would prohibit the posting of naked pictures on a website without the permission of the person in the photos. The images are often posted by ex-spouses, former partners or extortionists demanding ransoms to remove the photos. A person convicted of revenge pornography would face up to a year in prison. Second and subsequent convictions would be felonies punishable by up to three years behind bars. Extortion involving sexually explicit images would result in up to five years in prison.

http://www.dailyjournal.net/view/story/593db011727e413b94c30c5b9cd6e3e4/RI–Revenge-Porn-Bill

USA – New Gallup Poll: How Accepted is Pornography in America?

A Gallup poll found that pornography is viewed as largely unacceptable by the majority of Americans with 61{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4} finding pornography unacceptable. The movement against pornography and all sexual exploitation is gaining momentum across ideological and political spheres. TIME magazine recently ran a cover story on the physiological harms of pornography. The Washington Post ran a series addressing the negative impact pornography has on public health and gender equality. Utah has also declared pornography a public health crisis.

http://endsexualexploitation.org/articles/new-gallup-poll-accepted-pornography-america/

Same Sex Attraction

South Africa – Hopes and worries about hate crime legislation

The threat of violence against people because of their sexual orientation is not uncommon in South Africa, but will new laws help? Although South Africa has anti-discrimination legislation to address unfair bias, the Prevention and Combating of Hate Crimes and Hate Speech Bill distinguish hate crimes and hate speech as independent categories and provide specific sentencing guidelines. The bill is set to be tabled in Parliament in September, after local elections, and will undergo a public consultation process. The bill has not been free of controversy and the concern is that such legislation will limit freedom of speech.

http://www.groundup.org.za/article/targeting-hate-crime/

Peru – First research on the risks of chest binding

For the first time ever some well known information about chest binding has finally been done by the International Association for the Study of Sexuality, Culture and Society empirically and published in Culture, Health and Sexuality:  An International Journal for Research, Intervention and Care. The data was collected in the form of an online survey, where participants self-reported about their preferences, habits, and symptoms, as it relates to binding their chests.  The sample size was 1,800 people, from 38 countries, ages 18-66 years old, who were either assigned female at birth or intersex. 97.2{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4} of respondents reported at least one negative outcome from binding.  The most common symptoms were: back pain, rib or spine changes, shoulder joint “popping”, fatigue, weakness, and digestive issues.

https://janitorqueer.com/2016/06/21/28-risks-of-chest-binding

Sexual Exploitation

USA – Amnesty International defends pimps and traffickers

Dawn Hawkins, executive director of the National Center on Sexual Exploitation says Amnesty International’s new policy of advocating full decriminalization of prostitution “is a gift to pimps, sex buyers, and sex traffickers. Through their “irresponsible policy”, pimps and exploiters become mere “sex business operators” and “customers” while sexual violence and abuse inherent to prostitution is normalized as a form of ‘work. They have undermined the human rights of persons in the sex trade, mainly females, and has advocated for impunity for perpetrators of sexploitation. By decriminalizing pimps and sex buyers, they are sanctioning the abuses experienced by those in prostitution. Decriminalization of prostitution in no way rectifies the conditions of inequality, abuse, violence and dehumanization in prostitution.

http://www.wnd.com/2016/06/amnesty-international-defends-pimps-and-traffickers/#dKuLsvDU7pFKgdmT.99

Canada – A case for arresting Vancouver’s Johns and pimps

A situation has united people who have been calling on Vancouver Police and city to stop demand by stopping the men who buy women. Not a single charge has yet been made against a John under Canada’s prostitution laws. Amy, a resident of a Vancouver neighborhood, says she’s frustrated watching the sex trades operate right in front of her house. She understands some people may see prostitution as a choice, but says she sees girls who are young and manipulated, and clearly living in poverty. She says the trade comes with its trappings, like drugs and discarded needles, and that the trolling Johns are raising concerns among women.

http://www.cknw.com/2016/06/14/draft-the-prostitution-trade-in-vancouver/

UK – The dangers of rebranding prostitution as ‘sex work’

The steady creep of “sex work” into 21st-century vernacular is neither incidental nor accidental. The term didn’t just pop up and go viral. The Global Network of Sex Work Projects, an organization that openly campaigns for brothel-keeping and pimping to be recognized as legitimate jobs, credits itself as largely responsible for “sex work” replacing “prostitution” as the terminology for institutions such as the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/Aids (UNAIDS). The notion that being paid to perform sex acts should be recognized as a kind of service work is the rationale underpinning legalized prostitution regimes.

https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#search/The+dangers+of+rebran/155297cf4bcc382f

South Africa – Human trafficking thrives as economy slows

As the economy declines there is an increase in human trafficking because criminals view it as an easier crime to get into, as little or no capital input is needed, said advocate Dawn Coleman-Malinga of the Sexual Offences and Community Affairs Unit of the National Prosecuting Authority. It generates billions in profit each year and is one of the world’s fastest growing criminal activities. Internationally, it is the third most profitable business of organized crime after drug dealing and the small arms trade. Victims are seduced by offers of legitimate employment due to poverty, unemployment, lack of education, domestic violence and ignorance. Stockholm syndrome, which is a psychological phenomenon in which hostage’s express empathy and sympathy towards their captors, is also a problem.

http://www.iol.co.za/news/crime-courts/human-trafficking-thrives-as-economy-slows-2036895

Substance Abuse

USA – Long-term marijuana use changes brain’s reward circuit

Chronic marijuana use disrupts the brain’s natural reward processes, according to researchers at the Centre for Brain Health at The University of Texas at Dallas. In a paper published in Human Brain Mapping, researchers demonstrated for the first time with functional magnetic resonance imaging that long-term marijuana users had more brain activity in the mesocorticolimbic-reward system when presented with cannabis cues than with natural reward cues.“This study shows that marijuana disrupts the natural reward circuitry of the brain, making marijuana highly salient to those who use it heavily.” said Dr. Francesca Filbey, director of Cognitive Neuroscience Research in Addictive Disorders.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/06/160607151239.htm

USA – lifelong marijuana use correlated with troubled middle age

In a study in the journal Clinical Psychological Science researchers followed about 1,000 people from birth to age 38. “Our study found that regular cannabis users experienced downward social mobility and more financial problems such as troubles with debt and cash flow,” said Magdalena Cerdá, an epidemiologist at the University of California. “Regular long-term users also had more antisocial behaviours at work i.e. stealing money or lying to get a job and experienced more relationship problems, such as intimate partner violence and controlling abuse.” At age 18, those who went on to use marijuana heavily were no different from the rest of the cohort in their IQ, motivation, or impulsivity.

http://www.popsci.com/does-heavy-marijuana-use-really-make-you-broke-and-troubled-in-middle-age?con=TrueAnthem&dom=fb&src=SOC

http://www.ucdmc.ucdavis.edu/newsroom/pdf/2016_APS_Persistent-cannabis-dependence.pdf

UN – World drug abuse statistics

An estimated quarter of a billion people between the ages of 15 and 64 years, abused at least one drug in 2014 but that figure and the number of drug-related deaths have remained relatively steady over recent years, according to a U.N. report. At the same time, the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) report said that the number of heroin users in the United States in 2014 was nearly triple that of 2003 with five times as many deaths related to the drug than in 2000. UNODC put all drug-related fatalities at an estimated 207,400 worldwide in the 15-64 age groups.

http://medicalxpress.com/news/2016-06-world-drug-abuse-deaths-pretty.html

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

Abortion USA – Oklahoma College Offers Pro-Life Courses USA – Activists Attack Governor for Shutting Down Abortion Clinic Alternative Medicine China – Traditional Chinese Medicine Seen to Block Lung Fibrosis in Mice Euthanasia Belgium – Will Belgium grant euthanasia for unwanted sexual attraction? Holland – Let’s increase organ transplant rates by encouraging euthanasia IVF& Surrogacy No news today Medical Ethics France – Top court allows export of sperm to circumvent dead donor rule USA – Bioethicists clash over death of terminally ill 5-year-old Pedophilia No news today Pornography USA – Rhode Island prohibits malicious practice of “Revenge Porn” USA – New Gallup Poll: How Accepted is Pornography in America? Same SexAttraction South Africa – Hopes and worries about hate crime legislation Peru – First Research to show the risks of chest binding SexualExploitation USA – Amnesty International defends pimps and traffickers Canada – A case for arresting Vancouver’s Johns and pimps UK – The dangers of rebranding prostitution as ‘sex work’ South Africa – Human trafficking thrives as economy slows Substance Abuse USA – Long-term marijuana use changes brain’s reward circuit USA – lifelong marijuana use correlated with troubled middle age UN – World drug abuse statistics   Abortion  USA – Oklahoma College Offers Pro-Life Courses Oklahoma Wesleyan University (OKWU) plans to offer students an applied bioethics certificate for training in pro-life activism and pregnancy centre management. The program is in partnership with the Life Training Institute, a pro-life apologetics organization, and CareNet, one of the largest pregnancy resource organizations in the world. University spokeswoman Megan England said OKWU wants the program to train “leaders who are prepared to defend and protect the innocent in ways that are more than abstract.” http://www.lifenews.com/2016/06/07/most-colleges-are-training-grounds-for-abortion-activists-but-this-one-offers-pro-life-courses/   USA – Activists Attack Governor for Shutting Down Abortion Clinic Kentucky’s new pro-life Governer Matt Bevin has done a lot to protect unborn babies and crack down on the abortion industry. His administration has filed two lawsuits against abortion clinics after state inspectors discovered they were aborting without a state license. Bevin also signed the first pro-life law to reach a Kentucky governor’s desk in more than a decade. His administration recently won a court victory when a judge ruled the state could shut down a filthy abortion clinic that was masquerading as a doctor’s office. Bevin also signed the first pro-life law to reach the governor’s desk in more than a decade. The law requires consultation between a doctor and woman at least 24 hours before having an abortion. http://www.lifenews.com/2016/06/22/activists-attack-governor-for-shutting-down-abortion-clinic-with-a-sick-song-crotch-crucifix/   <Back to Top>   Alternative Medicine  China – Traditional Chinese Medicine Seen to Block Lung Fibrosis in Mice Salvianolic acid B, a compound isolated from red sage and a main component of the traditional Chinese medicine known as Yiqihuoxue formula, prevented fibrotic changes both in bleomycin-treated mice and in cell culture models. Research from Fudan University in China recently found that traditional blend could lessen skin and lung fibrosis. The study indicated that this was likely mediated by preventing changes in gene expression and cell signaling pathways, induced by TGF-β. Findings, published in the journal Scientific Reports, showed that Salvianolic acid B also had similar properties when tested in a cell type derived from human lung epithelium, where scientists triggered fibrosis using both TGF-β and TNF-α, an inflammatory molecule also believed to be involved in fibrotic processes. http://pulmonaryfibrosisnews.com/traditional-Chinese-medicine-ingredient-blocks-fibrosis-in-mice   <Back to Top>   Euthanasia  Belgium – Will Belgium grant euthanasia for unwanted sexual attraction? Along with unbearable physical pain, mental suffering, and dementia, a new reason for seeking euthanasia in Belgium has emerged in the media – pedophilia. Gilles Genicot, a bioethicist at the University of Liege, also a member of Belgium’s euthanasia review committee said: “It’s more likely he has psychological problems relating to his sexuality. I cannot find a trace of actual psychic illness here. But what you cannot do is purely rule out the option of euthanasia for such patients.” http://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/will-belgium-grant-euthanasia-for-unwanted-sexual-attraction/11911   Holland – Let’s increase organ transplant rates by encouraging euthanasia Ethicists and transplant specialists say, according to an article in the Journal of Medical Ethics that about 40 people in Belgium and the Netherlands have successfully combined euthanasia with organ donation since 2005. The doctors are so enthusiastic about the procedure that they have proposed legal changes which will speed up the procedure and maximize the number of donations. Although the numbers are still low, the idea is becoming more popular in both countries, according to the authors. http://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/lets-increase-organ-transplant-rates-by-encouraging-euthanasia-patients-to/11912#sthash.SrKgMBD8.dpuf   <Back to Top>  IVF&Surrogacy No news today   <Back to Top>  Medical Ethics  France – Top court allows export of sperm to circumvent dead donor rule A French Court has ruled in favour of allowing a dead man’s sperm to be sent to a foreign IVF clinic, despite France’s prohibition on insemination using sperm from deceased males. The Council of State ruled in favour of Spanish national, Nicola Turri, who requested that the sperm of her deceased Italian husband be exported to Spain where she lives now. Mr Turri was diagnosed with cancer of the lymphatic system and froze his sperm before starting chemotherapy, a routine procedure due to the treatment causing infertility. The court acknowledged that Spanish law permits post-mortem insemination, and decided that the denial of the application would constitute “an excessive interference” with the widow’s “rights to respect for private and family life”. http://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/french-court-green-lights-export-of-sperm-to-circumvent-dead-donor-rule/11901   USA – Bioethicists clash over death of terminally ill 5-year-old Julianna Snow, a terminally ill five-year-old girl who suffered from a common inherited neurodegenerative condition called Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease has died. After undergoing painful medical, Julianna expressed to her parents a desire to forgo treatment even if it meant her death. New York University bioethics professor Arthur Caplan said, “This doesn’t sit well with me. It makes me nervous. I think a 4-year-old might be capable of deciding what music to hear or what picture book they might want to read. But I think there’s zero chance a 4-year-old can understand the concept of death. That kind of thinking doesn’t really develop until around age 9 or 10.” http://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/bioethicists-clash-over-death-of-5-year-old/11928 <Back to Top>  Pedophilia No news today <Back to Top>   Pornography  USA – Rhode Island prohibits malicious practice of “Revenge Porn” The Rhode Island House of Representatives has passed legislation that would prohibit a malicious practice known as “revenge porn.”Attorney General Peter Kilmartin announced that lawmakers approved the bill which would prohibit the posting of naked pictures on a website without the permission of the person in the photos. The images are often posted by ex-spouses, former partners or extortionists demanding ransoms to remove the photos. A person convicted of revenge pornography would face up to a year in prison. Second and subsequent convictions would be felonies punishable by up to three years behind bars. Extortion involving sexually explicit images would result in up to five years in prison. http://www.dailyjournal.net/view/story/593db011727e413b94c30c5b9cd6e3e4/RI–Revenge-Porn-Bill  USA – New Gallup Poll: How Accepted is Pornography in America? A Gallup poll found that pornography is viewed as largely unacceptable by the majority of Americans with 61{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4} finding pornography unacceptable. The movement against pornography and all sexual exploitation is gaining momentum across ideological and political spheres. TIME magazine recently ran a cover story on the physiological harms of pornography. The Washington Post ran a series addressing the negative impact pornography has on public health and gender equality. Utah has also declared pornography a public health crisis. http://endsexualexploitation.org/articles/new-gallup-poll-accepted-pornography-america/   <Back to Top>  Same Sex Attraction  South Africa – Hopes and worries about hate crime legislation The threat of violence against people because of their sexual orientation is not uncommon in South Africa, but will new laws help? Although South Africa has anti-discrimination legislation to address unfair bias, the Prevention and Combating of Hate Crimes and Hate Speech Bill distinguish hate crimes and hate speech as independent categories and provide specific sentencing guidelines. The bill is set to be tabled in Parliament in September, after local elections, and will undergo a public consultation process. The bill has not been free of controversy and the concern is that such legislation will limit freedom of speech. http://www.groundup.org.za/article/targeting-hate-crime/  Peru – First research on the risks of chest binding For the first time ever some well known information about chest binding has finally been done by the International Association for the Study of Sexuality, Culture and Society empirically and published in Culture, Health and Sexuality:  An International Journal for Research, Intervention and Care. The data was collected in the form of an online survey, where participants self-reported about their preferences, habits, and symptoms, as it relates to binding their chests.  The sample size was 1,800 people, from 38 countries, ages 18-66 years old, who were either assigned female at birth or intersex. 97.2{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4} of respondents reported at least one negative outcome from binding.  The most common symptoms were: back pain, rib or spine changes, shoulder joint “popping”, fatigue, weakness, and digestive issues. https://janitorqueer.com/2016/06/21/28-risks-of-chest-binding   <Back to Top>  Sexual Exploitation  USA – Amnesty International defends pimps and traffickers Dawn Hawkins, executive director of the National Center on Sexual Exploitation says Amnesty International’s new policy of advocating full decriminalization of prostitution “is a gift to pimps, sex buyers, and sex traffickers. Through their “irresponsible policy”, pimps and exploiters become mere “sex business operators” and “customers” while sexual violence and abuse inherent to prostitution is normalized as a form of ‘work. They have undermined the human rights of persons in the sex trade, mainly females, and has advocated for impunity for perpetrators of sexploitation. By decriminalizing pimps and sex buyers, they are sanctioning the abuses experienced by those in prostitution. Decriminalization of prostitution in no way rectifies the conditions of inequality, abuse, violence and dehumanization in prostitution. http://www.wnd.com/2016/06/amnesty-international-defends-pimps-and-traffickers/#dKuLsvDU7pFKgdmT.99  Canada – A case for arresting Vancouver’s Johns and pimps A situation has united people who have been calling on Vancouver Police and city to stop demand by stopping the men who buy women. Not a single charge has yet been made against a John under Canada’s prostitution laws. Amy, a resident of a Vancouver neighborhood, says she’s frustrated watching the sex trades operate right in front of her house. She understands some people may see prostitution as a choice, but says she sees girls who are young and manipulated, and clearly living in poverty. She says the trade comes with its trappings, like drugs and discarded needles, and that the trolling Johns are raising concerns among women. http://www.cknw.com/2016/06/14/draft-the-prostitution-trade-in-vancouver/  UK – The dangers of rebranding prostitution as ‘sex work’ The steady creep of “sex work” into 21st-century vernacular is neither incidental nor accidental. The term didn’t just pop up and go viral. The Global Network of Sex Work Projects, an organization that openly campaigns for brothel-keeping and pimping to be recognized as legitimate jobs, credits itself as largely responsible for “sex work” replacing “prostitution” as the terminology for institutions such as the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/Aids (UNAIDS). The notion that being paid to perform sex acts should be recognized as a kind of service work is the rationale underpinning legalized prostitution regimes. https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#search/The+dangers+of+rebran/155297cf4bcc382f  South Africa – Human trafficking thrives as economy slows As the economy declines there is an increase in human trafficking because criminals view it as an easier crime to get into, as little or no capital input is needed, said advocate Dawn Coleman-Malinga of the Sexual Offences and Community Affairs Unit of the National Prosecuting Authority. It generates billions in profit each year and is one of the world’s fastest growing criminal activities. Internationally, it is the third most profitable business of organized crime after drug dealing and the small arms trade. Victims are seduced by offers of legitimate employment due to poverty, unemployment, lack of education, domestic violence and ignorance. Stockholm syndrome, which is a psychological phenomenon in which hostage’s express empathy and sympathy towards their captors, is also a problem. http://www.iol.co.za/news/crime-courts/human-trafficking-thrives-as-economy-slows-2036895   <Back to Top>   Substance Abuse  USA – Long-term marijuana use changes brain’s reward circuit Chronic marijuana use disrupts the brain’s natural reward processes, according to researchers at the Centre for Brain Health at The University of Texas at Dallas. In a paper published in Human Brain Mapping, researchers demonstrated for the first time with functional magnetic resonance imaging that long-term marijuana users had more brain activity in the mesocorticolimbic-reward system when presented with cannabis cues than with natural reward cues.”This study shows that marijuana disrupts the natural reward circuitry of the brain, making marijuana highly salient to those who use it heavily.” said Dr. Francesca Filbey, director of Cognitive Neuroscience Research in Addictive Disorders. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/06/160607151239.htm  USA – lifelong marijuana use correlated with troubled middle age In a study in the journal Clinical Psychological Science researchers followed about 1,000 people from birth to age 38. “Our study found that regular cannabis users experienced downward social mobility and more financial problems such as troubles with debt and cash flow,” said Magdalena Cerdá, an epidemiologist at the University of California. “Regular long-term users also had more antisocial behaviours at work i.e. stealing money or lying to get a job and experienced more relationship problems, such as intimate partner violence and controlling abuse.” At age 18, those who went on to use marijuana heavily were no different from the rest of the cohort in their IQ, motivation, or impulsivity. http://www.popsci.com/does-heavy-marijuana-use-really-make-you-broke-and-troubled-in-middle-age?con=TrueAnthem&dom=fb&src=SOC http://www.ucdmc.ucdavis.edu/newsroom/pdf/2016_APS_Persistent-cannabis-dependence.pdf  UN – World drug abuse statistics An estimated quarter of a billion people between the ages of 15 and 64 years, abused at least one drug in 2014 but that figure and the number of drug-related deaths have remained relatively steady over recent years, according to a U.N. report. At the same time, the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) report said that the number of heroin users in the United States in 2014 was nearly triple that of 2003 with five times as many deaths related to the drug than in 2000. UNODC put all drug-related fatalities at an estimated 207,400 worldwide in the 15-64 age groups. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2016-06-world-drug-abuse-deaths-pretty.html   <Back to Top>  Disclaimer: the views and opinions expressed in these articles do not necessarily reflect those of Doctors for Life International]]>

Abortion

USA – Kansas permanently defunds Planned Parenthood

USA – 175 babies saved from abortion pill

Alternative Medicine

USA – Herbal remedies an overlooked health hazard

USA – Acupuncture Licensing Signed into Law

USA – Home Remedy For Skin Cancer May Cause Damage

Euthanasia

Netherlands – Dutch pediatricians seek child euthanasia

Netherlands – Dutch euthanasia cases up by 4{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4}

Australia – Searching for meaning at the end of life

USA – Suicide on the rise

IVF& Surrogacy

Medical Ethics

UK/USA – Calls to extend 14-day embryo rule

France – Paris conference investigates CRISPR potential

USA – Scientists discuss synthetic human genome behind closed doors

USA – Experimentation continues on chimera embryos

Pedophilia

No news today

Pornography

Same Sex Attraction

Sexual Exploitation

USA – Stomping Johns: The Demand Side of Prostitution

USA – Inconvenient truths: sex buyers and prostitution harm denial

USA – Amnesty ignores downside of decriminalizing prostitution

Substance Abuse

UK – More than half of UK toddler poisoning deaths caused by methadone

Abortion

USA – Kansas permanently defunds Planned Parenthood

Kansas defunded Planned Parenthood and in doing so expanded access to healthcare for poor women. Kansas Senate Bill 436  reallocates $61,000 from the abortion provider to full-service healthcare clinics. Gov. Sam Brownback made the following statement: ”The time has come to finish the job. We must keep working to protect our most innocent Kansans, the unborn. Every year since I became governor we have enacted pro-life legislation. We have come a long way, but there is still work to be done.”

http://liveactionnews.org/kansas-permanently-defunds-planned-parenthood-sends-money-to-health-clinics/

USA – 175 babies saved from abortion pill

In 2006, Dr. Matthew Harrison from North Carolina was called to help a young woman that has taken the RU-486 abortion pill. There was no known antidote or treatment to stop the abortion. Focusing on how RU-486 works, he gave her a shot of progesterone. She received progesterone shots twice a week until about halfway through the pregnancy when her body began producing enough progesterone to support the pregnancy. She delivered a healthy baby at 40 weeks gestation. To date, 175 babies have been born alive and healthy, and 100 more are on the way, thanks to Dr. Harrison’s discovery. The success rate of saving babies after the first pill has been taken is about 53 percent.

https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/doctors-save-175-babies-from-abortion-through-abortion-pill-reversal

<Back to Top>

Alternative Medicine

USA – Herbal remedies an overlooked health hazard

Millions of people around the world use herbal health remedies and many of our allopathic medicines are derived from herbs. But researchers Dr. Donald M. Marcus, professor emeritus of medicine and immunology at Baylor, and Dr. Arthur P. Grollman, distinguished professor of pharmacological sciences at Stony Brook University, discussed the scientific evidence showing that the plant Aristolochia commonly known as birthwort, Pipevine or Dutchman’s pipe can cause aristolochic acid nephropathy (AAN). People with this condition experience interstitial nephritis, renal failure and cancers of the urinary track. According to the national prescription database, between 1997 and 2003, 8 million people were exposed to herbs containing Aristolochia. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/05/160503130532.htm

USA – Acupuncture Licensing Signed into Law

Governor Sam Brownback signed House Bill 2615 into law on Friday, May 13, 2016.  HB2615 includes provisions for the licensure of Acupuncturists in the State of Kansas. Previously, untrained and inexperienced practitioners had equal footing to perform acupuncture as fully trained acupuncturists. The Bill requires Kansas Acupuncturists to complete a nationally accredited certification program, pass national exams, and carry professional liability insurance. HB2615 goes into effect in July, 2016, even though it was removed from the list of therapies in the UK due to a lack of evidence that it works.

http://news.sys-con.com/node/3827311

USA – Home Remedy for Skin Cancer May Cause Damage

Despite the promise of an “easy and natural” treatment for skin cancer, home remedies such as black salve, also known as Cansema, can actually make things worse, new research shows. “There is a misperception that black salve ‘draws the cancer out,’ when, in fact, it just indiscriminately damages anything it touches,” study co-author Dr. Mark Eliason, a dermatologist at the University of Utah, said in a news release from the American Academy of Dermatology. “One of the reasons black salve treatment is so dangerous is that many users have no idea how harmful it can be.”

http://news.health.com/2016/05/23/home-remedy-for-skin-cancer-may-cause-damage-mask-new-growth/

<Back to Top>

Euthanasia

Netherlands – Dutch pediatricians seek child euthanasia

After neighboring Belgium passed legislation in 2014 enabling child euthanasia, doctors and activists in the Netherlands are keen to catch up. The Dutch Health Minister, Edith Schippers, has earmarked almost 400,000 Euros for a study of whether to expand eligibility for euthanasia to children between 1 and 12. At the moment, children under 1 may be killed with the consent of their parents following criteria set out in the Groningen Protocols, where children older than 12 are already eligible. The Dutch Paediatric Association (NVK) kicked off the debate on the topic last year. They already strongly support a change.

http://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/dutch-paediatricians-seek-child-euthanasia/11857

Netherlands – Dutch euthanasia cases up by 4{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4}

According to the latest statistics released by the government, in 2015 there were 5,516 euthanasia or assisted suicide cases. This is rise of 4{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4} over the figures for 2014. The most intriguing feature of the statistics was the steep rise in euthanasia for end-stage psychiatric disorders (56, up from 41 in 2014, 73{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4}) and dementia (109, up from 81, 74{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4}). According to the Dutch protocols for euthanasia, each doctor is supposed to lodge a report with one of the five regional review committees. In 4 out of the 5,516 cases, the committees detected some irregularities, which will be investigated further.

http://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/dutch-euthanasia-cases-up-by-41/11860

Australia – Searching for meaning at the end of life

Researchers from Australia and the UK have called for greater attention to be paid to ‘spiritual care’ in the treatment of elderly patients.  Psychiatrists John Wattis and Stephen Curran of the University of Huddersfield discussed the need for clinicians to provide holistic treatment for elderly patients: “The technical and the interpersonal aspects of clinical care should go together. Being prepared to assess spiritual need and deal with it – or signpost the patient to those who can help – should be part of good medical practice.”

http://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/searching-for-meaning-at-the-end-of-life/11881

USA – Suicide on the rise

Columbia University psychiatrist Jeffrey A. Lieberman has criticized the lack of funding for research into suicide prevention. A report from the National Center for Health Statistics gives a sobering set of statistics that the suicide rate has increased during the period 1999-2014. The average percent increase in the age-adjusted suicide rate was about 1{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4} per year from 1999 to 2006, which increased to 2{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4} from 2006 to 2014. The suicide rate for females aged 10-14 years had the largest percent increase, a 200{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4} increase.

http://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/doctors-call-for-government-action-as-suicide-increases/11883

IVF&Surrogacy

Medical Ethics

UK/USA – Calls to extend 14-day embryo rule

Policy analysts are calling for a change to the 14-day embryo experimentation rule requiring scientists to terminate embryos in vitro before two week of development after new embryology research in Nature, where scientists kept embryos alive until the 14-day mark. University of Manchester bioethicist John Harris argued a 21-day deadline would allow scientists to better understand miscarriages and stem cells to treat diseases. The Nuffield Council on Bioethics said they are considering whether to advocate for legal change. US ethicists writing in Nature this week called for clarification and re-evaluation of existing regulations. Reverend Tadeusz Pacholczyk of the National Catholic Bioethics Centre suggested the 14-day-rule was flawed and only paid “lip service to the moral status of the human embryo”.

http://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/calls-to-augment-14-day-embryo-rule/11867

France – Paris conference investigates CRISPR potential

CRISPR and other gene-editing technologies hold great promise for treating disease but provoke ethical concerns, especially about germline modification and altering the genetic heritage of future generations. Two conferences in Paris were attended by leading figures in stem cell research to discuss regulation, governance, and ethical issues surrounding human gene-editing research. Irish lawyer Caroline Simons summarized the proceedings on the blog of Paul Knoepfler’s stem cell lab.1.  Germline gene editing technologies are not ready for clinical application in humans.2.  No country has regulated specifically for these technologies, but some consider that their regulations would encompass, or at least not prohibit, somatic gene editing.3.  Most countries prohibit germline gene editing. Click to read the other points.

http://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/paris-conference-investigates-crispr-potential/11871

http://www.ipscell.com/2016/05/meeting-report-from-april-29th-paris-human-gene-edit-meeting/

USA – Scientists discuss synthetic human genome behind closed doors

Scientists, lawyers and entrepreneurs have gathered behind closed doors at Harvard to discuss creating a synthetic human genome. This could lead to the creation of humans without parents, genetically-engineered humans or copies of existing people. The NY Times said the goal of the meeting was to synthesize a complete human genome in a cell line within 10 years. Drew Endy of Stanford, and Laurie Zoloth at Northwestern University, were highly critical of the secrecy surrounding the meeting. The creation of new human life is one of the last human-associated processes that has not yet been industrialised or fully commodified. It remains an act of faith, joy, and hope. Discussions to synthesise a human genome should not occur in closed rooms.

http://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/scientists-discuss-synthetic-human-genome-behind-closed-doors/11884

USA – Experimentation continues on chimera embryos

US Scientists continue to conduct research on human-animal hybrid embryos, despite a moratorium on funding from the National Institutes of Health. Pablo Ross, a reproductive biologist from the University of California, Davis, has been working to grow human organs in developing porcine foetuses. “We’re not trying to make a chimera just because we want to see some kind of monstrous creature; we’re doing this for a biomedical purpose.” Some bioethicists are concerned about creating chimera embryos. Stuart Newman, professor of cell biology and anatomy at New York Medical College, said “If you have pigs with partly human brains you would have animals that might actually have consciousness like a human.” “It might have human-type needs. We don’t really know.”

http://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/experimentation-continues-on-chimera-embryos/11882

Pedophilia

No news today

Pornography

http://endsexualexploitation.org/articles/15014-2/

Same Sex Attraction

https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/for-the-first-time-a-majority-of-americans-believe-homosexuals-are-born-tha

Sexual Exploitation

USA – Stomping Johns: The Demand Side of Prostitution

Samantha Bergh says since 2003, she has primarily worked against men’s demands for prostitution and pornography. The phrase “red light district” refers those neighborhoods in every sizable city where men can go to sexually prey on girls with society’s permission. They are the rape neighborhoods, where rape is a little more okay than it is elsewhere and everyone knows it. When sex is “work,” rape is theft; a man raping a woman is more akin to a man shoplifting than a man inflicting life-wrecking torture. A man’s agreement to pay $150 for sex makes the rape he commits a crime worth $150 in the public changing minds. There’s a role for everyone who wants to do something about sex-based slavery.

http://worldnewstrust.com/stomping-johns-the-demand-side-of-prostitution-mickey-z

USA – Inconvenient truths: sex buyers and prostitution harm denial

The truth about prostitution is often concealed behind the lies, manipulations and distortions of sex trade pimps, managers and others who profit from the business, says research by Melissa Farley on the psychosocial and psychobiological realities. Just like other coercive systems, are dehumanization, objectification, sexism, racism, misogyny, lack of empathy/pathological entitlement (pimps and clients), domination, exploitation, and chronic exposure to violence and degradation that destroys the personality and the spirit? Prostitution cannot be made safe by legalizing or decriminalizing it. Prostitution needs to be completely abolished as they are being chronically sexually harassed, endangered, and raped. Most women in prostitution suffer from severe PTSD and want to get out.

http://logosjournal.com/2016/farley-2/

USA – Amnesty ignores downside of decriminalizing prostitution

Laws applying to all involved in the sex trade overlook the abuse and expolitatation at its heart. Should prostitution be legalized? Cynthia Dills answer implicitly endorses the full decriminalization policy proposed by Amnesty International and other watchdog organizations. This policy would decriminalize everyone from the marginalized (mostly) woman and girls who are the merchandise, to the buyers and middlemen who exploit them. Instead, Amnesty International’s acceptance of prostitution with the recommendations made by attendees at the Carter Center’s World Summit to End Sexual Exploitation, held in May 2015 in Atlanta. They state: “Commercial sexual exploitation is gender-based violence and a public health crisis made possible by unethical and ungrounded male entitlement, which disproportionately affects the most venerable among us.

http://www.pressherald.com/2016/05/22/another-view-dill-amnesty-international-ignore-downside-of-decriminia

Substance Abuse

UK – More than half of UK toddler poisoning deaths caused by methadone

The number of teens being poisoned over the past 20 years has risen sharply with more than half (57{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4}) of toddler deaths from drug poisoning caused by methadone, the medicine used to help heroin addicts kick their habit.  Dr. Mark Anderson, of the Great North Children’s Hospital, Royal Victoria Infirmary, Newcastle upon Tyne, said: “It is the second most common cause of drug related death in England and Wales after heroin or morphine.” The researchers analyzed national data on childhood poisonings and hospital treatment and admissions to intensive care for unintentional poisoning between 2001 and 2013. The research came as a study by the University of Nottingham, published in the journal Injury Prevention.

http://www.wakefieldexpress.co.uk/news/local-news/more-than-half-of-uk-toddler-poisoning-deaths-caused-by-methadone-1-7916491

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

Abortion USA – Kansas permanently defunds Planned Parenthood USA – 175 babies saved from abortion pill USA – New meta-study confirms link between abortion and preterm birth Alternative Medicine USA – Herbal remedies an overlooked health hazard USA – Alternative Medicine Users More Likely To Delay Chemotherapy USA – Acupuncture Licensing Signed into Law USA – Home Remedy For Skin Cancer May Cause Damage Euthanasia Netherlands – Dutch pediatricians seek child euthanasia Netherlands – Dutch euthanasia cases up by 4{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4} Australia – Searching for meaning at the end of life USA – Suicide on the rise IVF& Surrogacy UK – Court decision broadens scope of surrogacy Medical Ethics UK/USA – Calls to extend 14-day embryo rule France – Paris conference investigates CRISPR potential USA – Scientists discuss synthetic human genome behind closed doors USA – Experimentation continues on chimera embryos Pedophilia No news today Pornography USA – Revenge Porn: Is It Legal? UK – Queen’s Speech forces porn sites to verify users Same SexAttraction USA – Are homosexuals born that way? SexualExploitation USA – Stomping Johns: The Demand Side of Prostitution USA – Inconvenient truths: sex buyers and prostitution harm denial USA – Amnesty ignores downside of decriminalizing prostitution USA – Five reasons Amnesty’s policy should worry you Substance Abuse South Africa – Pro marijuana advocates get high on dagga policy shift South Africa – “Sizzurp” cough syrup craze hits Cape teens USA – Pennsylvania Legalizes Medical Marijuana UK – More than half of UK toddler poisoning deaths caused by methadone   Abortion  USA – Kansas permanently defunds Planned Parenthood Kansas defunded Planned Parenthood and in doing so expanded access to healthcare for poor women. Kansas Senate Bill 436  reallocates $61,000 from the abortion provider to full-service healthcare clinics. Gov. Sam Brownback made the following statement: ”The time has come to finish the job. We must keep working to protect our most innocent Kansans, the unborn. Every year since I became governor we have enacted pro-life legislation. We have come a long way, but there is still work to be done.” http://liveactionnews.org/kansas-permanently-defunds-planned-parenthood-sends-money-to-health-clinics/  USA – 175 babies saved from abortion pill In 2006, Dr. Matthew Harrison from North Carolina was called to help a young woman that has taken the RU-486 abortion pill. There was no known antidote or treatment to stop the abortion. Focusing on how RU-486 works, he gave her a shot of progesterone. She received progesterone shots twice a week until about halfway through the pregnancy when her body began producing enough progesterone to support the pregnancy. She delivered a healthy baby at 40 weeks gestation. To date, 175 babies have been born alive and healthy, and 100 more are on the way, thanks to Dr. Harrison’s discovery. The success rate of saving babies after the first pill has been taken is about 53 percent. https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/doctors-save-175-babies-from-abortion-through-abortion-pill-reversal  USA – New meta-study confirms link between abortion and preterm birth A new study appearing in the latest issue of the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology finds that abortion comes with a “significantly higher risk” of premature births in future pregnancies. The study, a meta-analysis of 36 international studies and over a million women, finds a 52{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4} increase in the risk, as well as heightened possibility of lower gestational and birth weights. http://liveactionnews.org/new-meta-study-confirms-link-between-abortion-and-preterm-births/ <Back to Top>  Alternative Medicine  USA – Herbal remedies an overlooked health hazard Millions of people around the world use herbal health remedies and many of our allopathic medicines are derived from herbs. But researchers Dr. Donald M. Marcus, professor emeritus of medicine and immunology at Baylor, and Dr. Arthur P. Grollman, distinguished professor of pharmacological sciences at Stony Brook University, discussed the scientific evidence showing that the plant Aristolochia commonly known as birthwort, Pipevine or Dutchman’s pipe can cause aristolochic acid nephropathy (AAN). People with this condition experience interstitial nephritis, renal failure and cancers of the urinary track. According to the national prescription database, between 1997 and 2003, 8 million people were exposed to herbs containing Aristolochia. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/05/160503130532.htm  USA – Alternative Medicine Users More Likely To Delay Chemotherapy Women with early stage breast cancer who resort to alternative medicine are more likely to delay recommended chemotherapy, a new study suggests. This is one of the first studies evaluating the impact of complementary and alternative medicine use on decisions about chemotherapy. Led by Heather Greenlee, ND, PhD, associate professor of Epidemiology at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, the researchers studied a group of 685 women with early-stage breast cancer who were recruited from Columbia University Medical Centre, Kaiser Permanente Northern California, and Henry Ford Health System and enrolled 2006-2010. The women were younger than 70 with non-metastatic invasive breast cancer. http://reliawire.com/cam-users-delay-chemotherapy/  USA – Acupuncture Licensing Signed into Law Governor Sam Brownback signed House Bill 2615 into law on Friday, May 13, 2016.  HB2615 includes provisions for the licensure of Acupuncturists in the State of Kansas. Previously, untrained and inexperienced practitioners had equal footing to perform acupuncture as fully trained acupuncturists. The Bill requires Kansas Acupuncturists to complete a nationally accredited certification program, pass national exams, and carry professional liability insurance. HB2615 goes into effect in July, 2016, even though it was removed from the list of therapies in the UK due to a lack of evidence that it works. http://news.sys-con.com/node/3827311  USA – Home Remedy for Skin Cancer May Cause Damage Despite the promise of an “easy and natural” treatment for skin cancer, home remedies such as black salve, also known as Cansema, can actually make things worse, new research shows. “There is a misperception that black salve ‘draws the cancer out,’ when, in fact, it just indiscriminately damages anything it touches,” study co-author Dr. Mark Eliason, a dermatologist at the University of Utah, said in a news release from the American Academy of Dermatology. “One of the reasons black salve treatment is so dangerous is that many users have no idea how harmful it can be.” http://news.health.com/2016/05/23/home-remedy-for-skin-cancer-may-cause-damage-mask-new-growth/ <Back to Top>  Euthanasia  Netherlands – Dutch pediatricians seek child euthanasia After neighboring Belgium passed legislation in 2014 enabling child euthanasia, doctors and activists in the Netherlands are keen to catch up. The Dutch Health Minister, Edith Schippers, has earmarked almost 400,000 Euros for a study of whether to expand eligibility for euthanasia to children between 1 and 12. At the moment, children under 1 may be killed with the consent of their parents following criteria set out in the Groningen Protocols, where children older than 12 are already eligible. The Dutch Paediatric Association (NVK) kicked off the debate on the topic last year. They already strongly support a change. http://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/dutch-paediatricians-seek-child-euthanasia/11857 Netherlands – Dutch euthanasia cases up by 4{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4} According to the latest statistics released by the government, in 2015 there were 5,516 euthanasia or assisted suicide cases. This is rise of 4{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4} over the figures for 2014. The most intriguing feature of the statistics was the steep rise in euthanasia for end-stage psychiatric disorders (56, up from 41 in 2014, 73{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4}) and dementia (109, up from 81, 74{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4}). According to the Dutch protocols for euthanasia, each doctor is supposed to lodge a report with one of the five regional review committees. In 4 out of the 5,516 cases, the committees detected some irregularities, which will be investigated further. http://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/dutch-euthanasia-cases-up-by-41/11860  Australia – Searching for meaning at the end of life Researchers from Australia and the UK have called for greater attention to be paid to ‘spiritual care’ in the treatment of elderly patients.  Psychiatrists John Wattis and Stephen Curran of the University of Huddersfield discussed the need for clinicians to provide holistic treatment for elderly patients: “The technical and the interpersonal aspects of clinical care should go together. Being prepared to assess spiritual need and deal with it – or signpost the patient to those who can help – should be part of good medical practice.” http://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/searching-for-meaning-at-the-end-of-life/11881 USA – Suicide on the rise Columbia University psychiatrist Jeffrey A. Lieberman has criticized the lack of funding for research into suicide prevention. A report from the National Center for Health Statistics gives a sobering set of statistics that the suicide rate has increased during the period 1999-2014. The average percent increase in the age-adjusted suicide rate was about 1{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4} per year from 1999 to 2006, which increased to 2{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4} from 2006 to 2014. The suicide rate for females aged 10-14 years had the largest percent increase, a 200{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4} increase. http://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/doctors-call-for-government-action-as-suicide-increases/11883 <Back to Top>  IVF&Surrogacy  UK – Court decision broadens scope of surrogacy In a landmark decision, the High Court in the UK has ruled that it is discriminatory to prevent single men or women from becoming the parents of babies born to surrogate mothers. The government will probably have to update its legislation to make it compatible with the ruling. Until now, only couples in a stable relationship could become parents of a child born to a surrogate mother. Single people could adopt children, but they were not automatically entitled to be regarded as a parent if their child was born to a surrogate. http://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/landmark-uk-decision-broadens-scope-of-surrogacy/11896#sthash.y9ObuDs0.dpuf <Back to Top>  Medical Ethics  UK/USA – Calls to extend 14-day embryo rule Policy analysts are calling for a change to the 14-day embryo experimentation rule requiring scientists to terminate embryos in vitro before two week of development after new embryology research in Nature, where scientists kept embryos alive until the 14-day mark. University of Manchester bioethicist John Harris argued a 21-day deadline would allow scientists to better understand miscarriages and stem cells to treat diseases. The Nuffield Council on Bioethics said they are considering whether to advocate for legal change. US ethicists writing in Nature this week called for clarification and re-evaluation of existing regulations. Reverend Tadeusz Pacholczyk of the National Catholic Bioethics Centre suggested the 14-day-rule was flawed and only paid “lip service to the moral status of the human embryo”. http://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/calls-to-augment-14-day-embryo-rule/11867  France – Paris conference investigates CRISPR potential CRISPR and other gene-editing technologies hold great promise for treating disease but provoke ethical concerns, especially about germline modification and altering the genetic heritage of future generations. Two conferences in Paris were attended by leading figures in stem cell research to discuss regulation, governance, and ethical issues surrounding human gene-editing research. Irish lawyer Caroline Simons summarized the proceedings on the blog of Paul Knoepfler’s stem cell lab.1.  Germline gene editing technologies are not ready for clinical application in humans.2.  No country has regulated specifically for these technologies, but some consider that their regulations would encompass, or at least not prohibit, somatic gene editing.3.  Most countries prohibit germline gene editing. Click to read the other points. http://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/paris-conference-investigates-crispr-potential/11871 http://www.ipscell.com/2016/05/meeting-report-from-april-29th-paris-human-gene-edit-meeting/  USA – Scientists discuss synthetic human genome behind closed doors Scientists, lawyers and entrepreneurs have gathered behind closed doors at Harvard to discuss creating a synthetic human genome. This could lead to the creation of humans without parents, genetically-engineered humans or copies of existing people. The NY Times said the goal of the meeting was to synthesize a complete human genome in a cell line within 10 years. Drew Endy of Stanford, and Laurie Zoloth at Northwestern University, were highly critical of the secrecy surrounding the meeting. The creation of new human life is one of the last human-associated processes that has not yet been industrialised or fully commodified. It remains an act of faith, joy, and hope. Discussions to synthesise a human genome should not occur in closed rooms. http://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/scientists-discuss-synthetic-human-genome-behind-closed-doors/11884  USA – Experimentation continues on chimera embryos US Scientists continue to conduct research on human-animal hybrid embryos, despite a moratorium on funding from the National Institutes of Health. Pablo Ross, a reproductive biologist from the University of California, Davis, has been working to grow human organs in developing porcine foetuses. “We’re not trying to make a chimera just because we want to see some kind of monstrous creature; we’re doing this for a biomedical purpose.” Some bioethicists are concerned about creating chimera embryos. Stuart Newman, professor of cell biology and anatomy at New York Medical College, said “If you have pigs with partly human brains you would have animals that might actually have consciousness like a human.” “It might have human-type needs. We don’t really know.” http://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/experimentation-continues-on-chimera-embryos/11882 <Back to Top>  Pedophilia  No news today <Back to Top>  Pornography  USA – Revenge Porn: Is It Legal? A recent national survey shows that 36{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4} of Americans plan to send intimate content to their partners. Additionally, one in ten ex-partners threatened to expose racy images online and carry out the threat 60{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4} of the time. Revenge porn is unwilling individuals being exploited for the entertainment of others. There are no federal laws criminalizing revenge porn. However, due to recent advocacy efforts twenty-eight states now have revenge porn laws in place. Revenge porn is a real problem that federal lawmakers are only recently starting to realize. http://endsexualexploitation.org/articles/15014-2/  UK – Queen’s Speech forces porn sites to verify users Porn sites will be forced to verify users’ ages as part of a crackdown, confirmed today in the Queen’s Speech. Strict rules in the Digital Economy Bill will force porn-lovers to go beyond just saying “yes, I’m 18” – and could ask for their credit card details. The law will apply to all sites showcasing material in the UK according to officials. http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/queens-speech-forces-porn-sites-7996602  <Back to Top>  Same Sex Attraction  USA – Are homosexuals born that way? In spite of the latest Gallup poll, 51 percent of Americans say that people are born gay or lesbian, while only 30 percent say outside factors such as upbringing and environment determine sexual orientation. However no fewer than eight major studies from around the world have found homosexuality is not a genetic condition. Physychiatrists William Byne and Bruce Parsons summarize the evidence favouring a biologic theory to be lacking.  Peter Sprigg of the Family Research Council says that these numerous, rigorous studies of identical twins have now made it impossible to argue that there is a “gay gene. Some homosexuals openly admit that their lifestyle is a choice. https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/for-the-first-time-a-majority-of-americans-believe-homosexuals-are-born-tha <Back to Top>  Sexual Exploitation  USA – Stomping Johns: The Demand Side of Prostitution Samantha Bergh says since 2003, she has primarily worked against men’s demands for prostitution and pornography. The phrase “red light district” refers those neighborhoods in every sizable city where men can go to sexually prey on girls with society’s permission. They are the rape neighborhoods, where rape is a little more okay than it is elsewhere and everyone knows it. When sex is “work,” rape is theft; a man raping a woman is more akin to a man shoplifting than a man inflicting life-wrecking torture. A man’s agreement to pay $150 for sex makes the rape he commits a crime worth $150 in the public changing minds. There’s a role for everyone who wants to do something about sex-based slavery. http://worldnewstrust.com/stomping-johns-the-demand-side-of-prostitution-mickey-z USA – Inconvenient truths: sex buyers and prostitution harm denial The truth about prostitution is often concealed behind the lies, manipulations and distortions of sex trade pimps, managers and others who profit from the business, says research by Melissa Farley on the psychosocial and psychobiological realities. Just like other coercive systems, are dehumanization, objectification, sexism, racism, misogyny, lack of empathy/pathological entitlement (pimps and clients), domination, exploitation, and chronic exposure to violence and degradation that destroys the personality and the spirit?  Prostitution cannot be made safe by legalizing or decriminalizing it. Prostitution needs to be completely abolished as they are being chronically sexually harassed, endangered, and raped.  Most women in prostitution suffer from severe PTSD and want to get out. http://logosjournal.com/2016/farley-2/  USA – Amnesty ignores downside of decriminalizing prostitution Laws applying to all involved in the sex trade overlook the abuse and expolitatation at its heart.  Should prostitution be legalized?  Cynthia Dills answer implicitly endorses the full decriminalization policy proposed by Amnesty International and other watchdog organizations. This policy would decriminalize everyone from the marginalized (mostly) woman and girls who are the merchandise, to the buyers and middlemen who exploit them.  Instead, Amnesty International’s acceptance of prostitution with the recommendations made by attendees at the Carter Center’s World Summit to End Sexual Exploitation, held in May 2015 in Atlanta.  They state:  “Commercial sexual exploitation is gender-based violence and a public health crisis made possible by unethical and ungrounded male entitlement, which disproportionately affects the most venerable among us. http://www.pressherald.com/2016/05/22/another-view-dill-amnesty-international-ignore-downside-of-decriminia USA – Five reasons Amnesty’s policy should worry you Darren Geist from Rolling Stones magazine reports: 1. Decriminalization will Increase sex trafficking. 2. It will reduce the quality of life for prostitutes and hinder efforts to provide protection and improve health care. 3. It ignores complicated issues of consent in prostitution, where most prostitutes are victims of exploitation. 4. It will fuel rape culture. 5. it’s promoting a form of economic libertarianism, typically anathema to the human rights left. Amnesty’s proposal perverts human-rights and women’s-rights principles. It sacrifices concerns and welfare of the vast majority of prostitutes. Amnesty has staked out a position that will be a boon to pimps and sex traffickers, and do great damage to the human rights of the men, women and children caught up in the sex industry. http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/6-reasons-to-be-wary-of-amnestys-prostitution-policy-20160601 <Back to Top>  Substance Abuse  South Africa – Pro marijuana advocates get high on dagga policy shift Pro-dagga activists welcomed the Central Drug Authority’s policy shift as “a move in the right direction”. In a position statement in the South African Medical Journal, the authority contradicted its own National Drug Master Plan, now recommending the adoption of an “immediate focus” on decriminalising dagga. In a recommendation on the medical use of dagga, the authority said, “ingredients of the cannabis plant should undergo standard evaluation by the Medicines Control Council to assess benefits and risks for the treatment of particular medical conditions”. http://www.timeslive.co.za/thetimes/2016/06/02/Dopeheads-get-high-on-dagga-policy-shift South Africa – “Sizzurp” cough syrup craze hits Cape teens Parents and caregivers have been warned to hide cough syrup from their teenagers, as the American drug craze called “sizzurp” takes off on the Cape Flats. The mixture which can contain cough syrup, pain killers, sweets, fizzy drinks and alcohol is also referred to as “purple drank”, and is apparently being consumed by the litre by school children. The Western Cape Education Department said it causes feelings of euphoria, followed by a “sleepy and calm state”. The drink was made famous by various rappers and Hollywood celebrities. http://www.iol.co.za/news/south-africa/western-cape/rappers-cough-syrup-craze-hits-cape-teens-2028837  USA – Pennsylvania Legalizes Medical Marijuana Pennsylvania joined 23 other states in legalizing medical marijuana. Lawmakers hope pot can help curtail the state’s painkiller abuse problems. https://www.sciencedaily.com/videos/93ffef91889b3739e6beda3f3f24e87a.htm  UK – More than half of UK toddler poisoning deaths caused by methadone The number of teens being poisoned over the past 20 years has risen sharply with more than half (57{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4}) of toddler deaths from drug poisoning caused by methadone, the medicine used to help heroin addicts kick their habit.  Dr. Mark Anderson, of the Great North Children’s Hospital, Royal Victoria Infirmary, Newcastle upon Tyne, said: “It is the second most common cause of drug related death in England and Wales after heroin or morphine.” The researchers analyzed national data on childhood poisonings and hospital treatment and admissions to intensive care for unintentional poisoning between 2001 and 2013. The research came as a study by the University of Nottingham, published in the journal Injury Prevention. http://www.wakefieldexpress.co.uk/news/local-news/more-than-half-of-uk-toddler-poisoning-deaths-caused-by-methadone-1-7916491 <Back to Top>  Disclaimer: the views and opinions expressed in these articles do not necessarily reflect those of Doctors for Life International]]>