Publisher – Page 28 – Doctors for Life

LIFEalerts 22 January 2016

January 22, 2016

LIFEalerts 22 January 2016

Abortion	USA – President Obama vetoes legislation defunding Planned Parenthood USA – Kansas Governor defunds Planned Parenthood Medicaid funding
Alternative Medicine	No news today
Euthanasia	Netherlands – Demented patients can now be euthanized
HIV/AIDS	No news today
Homosexuality	No news today
IVF & Surrogacy	USA – The more cycles the better says study Italy – Treat surrogate parents as sex offenders says Italian minister
Medical Ethics	USA – The top tech ethical issues of 2016 USA – Clinics obliged to offer fertility services to transgender people USA – Most research using fetal tissue is on infectious diseases
Pedophilia	Japan – Can Child Dolls Keep Pedophiles from Offending? USA – Actor arrested for images of child sexual exploitation
Pornography	USA – Study: Watching Porn Can Make You Sexually Aggressive USA – Possible link between pornography and dating abuse among teens USA – More than one in ten youth pastors addicted to porn USA – PornhHub statistics
Prostitution &Trafficking	Netherlands – Sex is now acceptable tender for driving lessons USA – FBI has new plan to stop Super Bowl prostitution
Stem Cells & Cloning	No news today
Substance Abuse	USA – Planned Parenthood gunman was a “marijuana newcomer” USA – Over 400 conditions co-occur with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders USA – Spike in Newborn Drug-Withdrawal Australia – Marijuana and Your Health: 20 Years of Research

Abortion USA – President Obama vetoes legislation defunding Planned Parenthood President Barack Obama vetoed legislation that would have ended $400 Million of the over $500 Million in forced taxpayer funding going to Planned Parenthood for 1 year. The measure would have shifted PP’s public subsidies to comprehensive health care clinics that offer more health services and outnumber the abortion giant 20 to 1. Bill H.R. 3762, which included efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act, is the first bill to pass both houses of congress and make it to the president Obama’s desk. Obama shows blatant disregard for what the American people want and shows his close affiliation with PP and his pro abortion stance is clear. http://liveactionnews.org/breaking-president-obama-vetoes-legislation-defunding-planned-parenthood/ USA – Kansas Governor defunds Planned Parenthood Medicaid funding In his state address, Kansas governor Sam Brownback announced Planned Parenthood will no longer receive public funding through the state’s Medicaid program. Addressing a joint session of the Legislature, Brownback encouraged lawmakers to make the mandate state law.“The time has come to finish the job,” the governor urged. Brownback has ordered the state’s Department of Health and Environment to ensure “not a single dollar of taxpayer money goes to Planned Parenthood,” making Kansas the eighth state to defund the abortion giant. http://liveactionnews.org/kansas-defunds-planned-parenthood-blocks-group-from-receiving-medicaid-funds/ Alternative Medicine No news today <Back to Top> Euthanasia Netherlands – Demented patients can now be euthanized The Netherlands health ministry has revised its guidelines to allow severely demented patients to be euthanized. The guidelines acknowledge that patients often do not seem to be suffering unbearably because of their dementia. However, they still suffer from conditions like severe anxiety and pain. “In those cases a doctor may give euthanasia, even if a patient cannot make it clear in words or gesture,” says the ministry. “But there has to be a written request for euthanasia, that the patient drew up earlier.” http://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/demented-patients-can-be-euthanized-in-netherlands/11706 <Back to Top> HIV/AIDS & STI’s No news today <Back to Top> Homosexuality No news today <Back to Top> IVF &Surrogacy USA – The more cycles the better says study Research published in The Journal of The American Medical Association looked at the likelihood of achieving a live birth from up to 9 cycles. The study included 157,000 UK-based women who received almost 260,000 IVF ovarian stimulation cycles between 2003 and 2010 and were followed up until June 2012. The median age at start of treatment was 35 years and the median duration of infertility for all cycles was 4 years. Professor Lawlor from the University of Bristol said: “These findings support extending the number of IVF cycles beyond 3 or 4. Scientists at the universities of Bristol and Glasgow said patients should not view the process as a “single shot”. Chances of success increased with the number of treatments. http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/ivf-two-thirds-of-couples-conceive-by-sixth-cycle-of-treatment-study-says-a6783341.html Italy -Treat surrogate parents as sex offenders says Italian minister Surrogate parents should be treated as sex-offenders and jailed, according to Italy’s interior minister, Angelino Alfano. He described surrogacy as “the most vile, illegal trade that man has invented” in an interview. “We want wombs-for-rent to become a universal crime, punished with a jail term just as it happens for sex crimes.” 56 http://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/treat-surrogate-parents-as-sex-offenders-says-italian-minister/11704#sthash.7CpOg5RN.dpuf <Back to Top> Medical Ethics USA – The top tech ethical issues of 2016 The John J. Reilly Centre for Science, Technology and Values at the University of Notre Dame has released its annual list to get people thinking before controversial science or technology goes mainstream. Here are some of the ethical issues; CRISPR/Cas9 technology for gene editing; Rapid whole genome diagnosis – a way to record and catalogue the genomes of newborns in order to improve disease detection; Head transplants – a procedure that one doctor has promised to develop by 2017. Artificial wombs – the potential to grow a human foetus outside of a woman’s body is creating concerns with women’s rights advocates; Exoskeletons for the elderly – technology that helps people be more mobile and keep working but postpones retirement. http://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/the-top-tech-ethical-issues-of-2016/11696#sthash.QpgjDiKU.dpuf USA – Clinics obliged to offer fertility services to transgender people The Ethics Committee of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine has issued a formal opinion that there are no reasons to view transgender parenting unfavourably. The committee argues that it would actually be wrong to deny patients this right. “Professional autonomy, while a significant value in deciding whom to treat, is limited in this case by a greater ethical obligation, and in some jurisdictions, a legal duty, to regard all persons equally, regardless of their gender identity.” “The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry affirms that ‘there is no evidence to support that parents who are … transgender are per se deficient in parenting skills, child-centered concerns, and parent-child attachments compared with heterosexual parents’.” http://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/us-clinics-obliged-to-offer-fertility-services-to-transgenders/11697 USA – Most research using fetal tissue is on infectious diseases Fetal tissue research has featured prominently in the headlines this year, after Planned Parenthood was filmed talking about sales of fetal parts to researchers. But less is known about what the scientists do with the tissue. Meredith Wadman, a journalist for Nature, found that the National institutes of health had funded 164 of these projects, at a cost of US$76 million – only 0.27{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4} of its grants. Here is what Nature found: 39{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4} was used for HIV research, 18{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4} for developmental biology, 14{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4} for eye development and disease, 13 percent for infectious diseases like hepatitis, 8{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4} for miscellaneous such as type 1 diabetes, 7{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4} for in utero diseases, toxic exposure and congenital conditions, and 1{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4} as a fetal tissue repository. http://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/most-research-using-foetal-tissue-focuses-on-infectious-diseases/11691 <Back to Top> Pedophilia Japan – Can Child Dolls Keep Pedophiles from Offending? Takagi a non-offending pedophile has founded a company that produces life-like child sex doll imitations of girls as young as five to clients around the world. “We should accept that there is no way to change someone’s fetishes,” Takagi said. “I am helping people express their desires, legally and ethically. So far, there is no research to indicate whether or not Takagi’s dolls would be successful, and Peter Fagan from the John Hopkins School of Medicine is skeptical that there ever will be. Citing cognitive-behavioral theory, the paraphilia researcher believes that contact with Trottla’s products would likely have a “reinforcing effect” on pedophilic ideation and “in many instances, cause it to be acted upon with greater urgency.” http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2016/01/can-child-dolls-keep-pedophiles-from-offending/423324/#article-comments USA – Actor arrested for images of child sexual exploitation Mark Salling has been found with more than 1000 images of “child sexual exploitation” on his computer. According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 5, the “extensive use of pornography depicting prepubescent children is a useful diagnostic indicator of a Pedophilic Disorder.” Researchers are still not sure what causes pedophilia. “The best information we have now suggests that it is really on the nature side,” said clinical psychologist James Cantor, an associate professor at the University of Toronto, Faculty of Medicine. Cantor says evidence suggests that a pedophile can’t be turned into a non-pedophile, but there are treatments, such as sex-drive-reducing medication and psychotherapy. https://www.yahoo.com/health/mark-salling-child-porn-215241330.html <Back to Top> Pornography USA – Study: Watching Porn Can Make You Sexually Aggressive Spending too much time watching pornography can make you sexually aggressive, new research has found. The analysis of 22 studies from seven different countries found that pornography consumption is associated with sexual aggression across the countries among both males and females. Although the researchers acknowledge that “many pornography consumers are not sexually aggressive”, they ultimately concluded that “the accumulated data leave little doubt that, on the average, individuals who consume pornography more frequently are more likely to hold attitudes conducive to sexual aggression and engage in actual acts of sexual aggression than individuals who do not consume pornography or who consume pornography less frequently”. http://www.newindianexpress.com/world/Watching-Porn-Can-Make-You-Sexually-Aggressive-Study/2016/01/04/article3211300.ece USA – Possible link between pornography and dating abuse among teens Teenagers who were victims of dating abuse reported viewing pornography twice as often as non-victimized peers, suggesting a possible link between dating abuse and pornography exposure, according to a new study led by a School of Public Health researcher, Emily Rothman, associate professor of community health sciences. The study was published in the journal Behavioral Sciences. The study found that more than half of all participants (51 percent) had been asked to watch pornography together by a dating or sexual partner. Overall, 44 percent of the youths reported that they had been asked to do something sexual that a partner saw in pornography. http://www.bu.edu/sph/2016/01/11/link-between-pornography-use-and-dating-abuse-among-urban-teens/ USA – More than one in ten youth pastors addicted to porn Josh McDowell Ministries commissioned the Barna Group to conduct a national survey of 3,000 people, including teens, pastors, and others. The survey claims to be the “most comprehensive, in-depth and wide-ranging study to date on pornography among the American population.” The massive survey found that teens, both boys and girls view porn weekly, and 41 percent have “sexted” a sexually explicit image. But perhaps the most disconcerting discovery of the McDowell survey is the high number of pastors at 21 percent of youth ministers and 14 percent of pastors who admit they struggle with pornography. Moreover, twelve percent of youth pastors and five percent of pastors admit they are addicted to internet porn. https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/porn-phenomenon-survey-finds-more-than-one-in-ten-youth-pastors-addicted-to USA – PornhHub statistics People watched 4,392,486,580 hours of porn on PornHub in 2015. That means that in one year people around the world spent 501,425 years watching pornography, on one porn site. On PornHub, people watched 87,849,731,608 porn videos. As the porn site hastened to point out, that’s 12 porn videos viewed for every single person on the planet. https://www.lifesitenews.com/blogs/pornhub-just-released-their-2015-statistics.-and-its-sickening <Back to Top> Prostitution & Trafficking Netherlands – Sex is now acceptable tender for driving lessons The Dutch have introduced a new law which says any driving student can use sex as payment as long as they are over the age of 18. Prostitution is legal in the country with sex workers requiring an escort license and to pay taxes on a self-employment basis. The law has a thin line: driving students cannot offer sex for driving lessons. As long as the instructor makes the deal, two consenting adults have the green light to enter into such a contract. http://www.thesouthafrican.com/in-holland-sex-is-now-acceptable-tender-for-driving-lessons/ USA – FBI has new plan to stop Super Bowl prostitution For the first time in its efforts to crack down on sex trafficking during the Super Bowl, the FBI will try to reach out to women and girls selling sex. The FBI and local law enforcement agencies announced the arrests in February of 360 sex buyers and 68 traffickers and the recovery of 30 juvenile victims in a six-month operation in anticipation of the 2015 Super Bowl.” We want to do everything we can to put that victim at ease and put them in a situation where they feel more safe”. http://nypost.com/2016/01/12/fbi-has-new-plan-to-stop-super-bowl-hookers/ <Back to Top> Stem Cells & Cloning No news today <Back to Top> Substance Abuse USA – Planned Parenthood gunman was a “marijuana newcomer” Robert Dear’s arrival in Colorado was part of a frenetic migration some locals derisively call the “green rush.” Just as people rushed haphazardly into the Rockies for gold in 1858, many of Hartsel’s newcomers moved there from across the country after recreational marijuana was legalized in 2012, rancher Keith Wells said. Locals identify Dear, the man accused of killing three people at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs, with the marijuana migration because they often live in squalid, makeshift homes on the high plains. According to a New York Times profile, Dear sought companions with whom he could smoke marijuana in North Carolina, where he lived before moving to Colorado in 2014. http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_29214166/planned-parenthood-gunman-was-marijuana-newcomer-say-rural?source=infinite-up USA – Over 400 conditions co-occur with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders Researchers at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) have identified 428 distinct disease conditions that co-occur in people with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD), in the most comprehensive review of its kind. The results were published in The Lancet. “We’ve systematically identified numerous disease conditions co-occurring with FASD, which underscores the fact that it isn’t safe to drink any amount or type of alcohol at any stage of pregnancy, despite the conflicting messages the public may hear,” says Dr. Lana Popova, Senior Scientist in Social and Epidemiological Research at CAMH, and lead author on the paper. “Alcohol can affect any organ or system in the developing fetus.” http://www.statnews.com/2016/01/04/fda-2016-agency-agenda/ USA – Spike in Newborn Drug-Withdrawal More babies are being born with drug withdrawal syndrome, due to increased use of powerful prescription painkillers by pregnant women, according to the director of the U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse. It’s estimated that 14{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4}-22{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4} of pregnant women in the US are prescribed narcotic “opioid” painkillers. These drugs include brands such as OxyContin and Percocet. In addition, there has reportedly been an increase in the rate of painkiller abuse among pregnant women. Between 2000 and 2009, the incidence of drug withdrawal syndrome among newborns, also called neonatal abstinence syndrome, rose from 1.2 to 3.4 per 1,000 live births, NIDA Director Dr. Nora Volkow reported in an article published in the Jan 2016 edition of the BMJ. http://health.usnews.com/health-news/articles/2016-01-12/spike-in-newborn-drug-withdrawal-tied-to-prenatal-painkiller-use Australia – Marijuana and Your Health: 20 Years of Research In a review, author Wayne Hall, a professor and director of the Centre for Youth Substance Abuse Research, University of Queensland in Australia, examined scientific evidence on marijuana’s health effects between 1993 and 2013. He found that adolescents who use cannabis regularly are about twice as likely as their nonuser peers to drop out of school, as well as experience cognitive impairment and psychoses as adults. Studies have also linked regular cannabis use in adolescence with the use of other illicit drugs, according to the review, published in the journal Addiction. It’s likely that middle-age people who smoke marijuana regularly are at an increased risk of experiencing a heart attack. These are a few of the statistics from the review. http://www.livescience.com/48171-marijuana-research-health-effects-review.html?cmpid=514627_20160114_56869406&adbid=10153190695391761&adbpl=fb&adbpr=30478646760 <Back to Top> Disclaimer: the views and opinions expressed in these articles do not necessarily reflect those of Doctors for Life International]]>

Doctors For Life Newsletter – Issue 12

January 5, 2016

From the CEO’s Desk First of all I would like to thank the Lord who has guided us throughout the past year. We experienced many challenges but also many blessings. I also would like to thank all our sponsors, donors, members, friends and DFL staff who have worked tirelessly and with dedication in pursuit of our calling. Thank you for the prayers and words of encouragement for us at the office. Broader horizons open up to us in many ways for which we are thankful. I wish you all a blessed festive season during which time we can refresh our hearts and minds in preparation for the New Year that lies ahead.

Our Legal Corner

The Euthanasia-case (Dignity SA o.b.o. Stransham-Ford) DFL is involved in the appeal proceedings as amicus curiae in this case. The appealing parties are the SA Medical Association and certain State Departments. Dates have been applied for by the main appellants. We shall only know sometime next year of the date the matter will be heard in the constitutional court. The Dagga-case (Stobbs & Clarke/NDPP & Others) The latest development in our supportive role as amicus curiae is that we have now had a meeting with the State’s legal team (State attorney and State advocate) who are representing 7 different State Departments as Defendants, all having an interest in ensuring the court application does not succeed. A further party has made application to join as a Plaintiff. He is Clifford Thorpe, who in January 2015 was arrested by police for growing dagga on his property. He is a man in his early 50’s suffering from certain ailments, which, he alleges, are best alleviated by the use of dagga-“butter” and his case is primarily to have marijuana legalised for medical purposes. At the meeting of legal teams we realised that the 10 days set aside for a trial beginning on the 10th of March 2016 are insufficient, especially since much expert scientific evidence will have to be presented. A meeting will be sought with the deputy judge president of the Pretoria High Court for a ruling on how many days will be required and whether the matter be referred to the Constitutional Court, seeing that the plaintiffs have raised several constitutional issues. Child and Youth Care Centres The local office of the Department of Social Development (DSD) in the area of one of our orphanages, in which DFL has recently invested considerable resources to upgrade it and bring it up to the required standard, has sent social workers to close the orphanage down. In a letter, we were informed that there is no need for an orphanage, as there are already 3 in that area; this despite the chief and traditional leaders having requested DFL to set up an orphanage there. We are not aware of any orphanages in that area; we have only been made aware by the locals that there is a great need there. A lawyer’s letter has been sent advising the DSD that their closing down of the orphanage will not go unchallenged. Up until now they have not followed due legal processes to have the orphanage closed. We are in the process of establishing how best to interact with the DSD and get their full co-operation and enthusiasm for the Centre so that, instead of legally challenging them, we can work together towards establishing a model centre there. Please pray for this project and that God will open the doors for such co-operation with the social workers.

Pornography

[caption id="attachment_3063" align="alignright" width="300"]

Small boy using a laptop[/caption] In general people believe that the damage done to young minds by pornography is long-lasting. But a recent gathering of experts pointed out that the harms from pornography are far worse than expected, and the damage is not just impacting children, but spilling into all of society. Speaking to a standing-room-only crowd in the U.S. Capitol Visitor Centre, Dr. Gail Dines said that today’s mainstream pornography is unbelievably dehumanizing, degrading, and violent. She cited a peer-reviewed study that found that 88 percent of the scenes in the 50 most popular porn films involved violence against women. Pornography is not about sex, she said, but about, quote: “making hate to women.” Dines shared how one pornography producer explained that the girls now arrive on the sets “porn-ready.” As she said, “We are part of a culture that hyper-sexualizes girls from a very young age and forces them into an inauthentic, formulaic, plasticized sexuality that is from the porn culture and not of their own making.” Cordelia Andersonof of Sensibilities Prevention Services (Speaking at the same convention) called the American culture’s widespread pornography use “the largest unregulated social experiment ever.” Having studied the impact of sexual abuse and pornography for decades, Anderson explained that pornography is a quantifiable public health crisis. Anderson pointed to research indicating that nearly all young boys have been exposed to pornography. It isn’t enough to protect your own children any longer when their peers have had violent pornography normalized in their minds. The impact has become public, and its damage has seeped in everywhere. Anderson believes change requires a broad public strategy of education, law enforcement, business pressure, and a revitalized media culture. As she so aptly put it, “No mass social disorder has ever come under control just by treating the individual.” Dines and Anderson were just two of nearly a dozen speakers discussing the public health hazards of pornography at the Capitol event. Dr. Donald Hilton explained how pornography changes brain chemistry. Dr. Melissa Farley examined the link between pornography, prostitution and sex trafficking. And Ed Smart, whose daughter Elizabeth made national news when she was abducted in 2002, explained how pornography played a role in his daughter’s enslavement and sexual torture. http://www.christianheadlines.com/columnists/breakpoint/pornography-and-the-decline-of-a-culture.html

LifeChild

Just a short update on our LifeChild projects:

The new roof is up at Mthaleni. Please see the photos below
We have an urgent need for a new roof at Malelane. Please pray with us that the Lord will provide

March for Life – October 2015

On the 4th of October 2015 it was the annual National March for Life organised by the National Alliance for Life (NAL). This event is held once a year on the first Sunday of October. It brings together people from all walks of life across South Africa who are pro-life and want to take a stand and stop the senseless killing of unborn babies. As much as the pro-abortionists claim that a woman has a right to choose what happens to her own body, even though a baby might be inside her, it is not part of her body, but a separate person. If it is OK to kill a baby inside

the womb, the next step for society will be (as has already been suggested by some leading bio-ethicists in the West), to claim that the lives of all human beings after being born are not equal. Society is being de-sensitized to the extent that the leading bio-ethicist in the USA (Peter Singer) claims that up to 23 days AFTER the birth, a child should not be considered a human person that deserves protection from the law. The National March for Life is trying to mitigate passivity in society and is open to all people from various organizations, as well as individuals and churches who demand the right of unborn human persons to full protection of the law. NAL provides a forum for all interested parties to come together and combine their efforts in order to raise awareness. The March for Life has been taking place for a number of years now and each year sees more interest from organizations and the media. According to science, life starts at fertilization and the very first cell contains all the information that makes the embryo a new, unique human being. It is a person and has all the genetic information from the colour of the hair and eyes, to the shoe size, to how tall that person will be and whether they will be sportier or more academic or both etc.

It will always be the weakest and most vulnerable of society that are taken advantage of and this is also true concerning the unborn baby. Just because they cannot stand up and speak for themselves does not mean that we or their mothers may decide on their behalf that they have no right to live. The goal of NAL and the March For Life is to inform and educate the public on abortion and get people, especially mothers, to realize there are other options available and that the complications a woman suffers after an abortion doesn’t just last for those few minutes. The emotional scars can last a lifetime unless she gets therapy and counselling. Post Abortion Syndrome is well documented and results in severe depression, guilt, anxiety and regret. As a nation we call upon everybody to stand up and take responsibility for our actions. We need to hold onto the sanctity of life.

Aid to Africa (A2A) Outreaches 2015

Twenty fifteen has seen some major shifts and changes. Earlier this year we heard from one of our donors that our funding for the medical outreach program, both to our Mozambique clinic and eye surgery missions, would be cut in half. But by God’s grace the work could go forward in a major way. We also struggled to do eye surgery in Mozambique again. Although the Mozambique government asked us to do cataract surgery in Xai-Xai, about 200km from Maputo, the tour was eventually cancelled by them at very short notice for various reasons. In some of the Southern African countries, arranging and coordinating these outreaches can be very challenging. We very often are made to wait until the very last moment before we get a final approval. No wonder some donors eventually lose interest to assist. Bureaucracy can really ‘rob’ the needy of what they need. But regardless of these and many other obstacles, by God’s grace the medical outreach program of DFL, Aid to Africa, went forward in a blessed way. We had two other medical outreaches to Malawi in July which went very well as reported in the previous newsletter. Dr Albu van Eeden (CEO) and team also made a special trip to some of the regions where we have been conducting medical outreaches. The possibility of starting our second permanent clinic (the first in Mozambique), was discussed during meetings with members of parliament, local chiefs and the communities. During the July Malawi outreaches specific sites were identified that the Malawian Government would like to donate to us, in order to build a clinic, get involved with agriculture, and take care of orphans. Future follow-up trips are currently being planned to possibly take things further. Mr Volkmar Bohmer is managing the Malawi project for DFL. [caption id="attachment_3068" align="alignright" width="300"]

Dr Jonathan Pons performing cataract surgery in Inhambane, Mozambique[/caption] DFL also attended 3 major medical conferences where we gained about 60 new members who are interested in joining us on outreaches. In addition we received a large donation of medical equipment; a Zeiss refurbished auto refractor/keratometer used to examine eyes prior to surgery, and a Zeiss eye microscope used during eye surgery. When the Xai-Xai outreaches were cancelled not all was lost either. With the team already packed and flights booked, the team continued to work at DFL’s clinic (DFL centro de Saude de Sihane) near Zavora. Prof Pat McEwen came from the USA especially to assist us. The primary goal became to assist people with free prescription eye glasses at the DFL clinic about 400km from Maputo. People came from as far as Inhambane for eye glasses. Optometry is not really a service that you find in these parts of Mozambique. Many government officials also came to have their eyes tested. Although the cataract surgery in Xai-Xai was cancelled, through nothing less than a miracle, doors opened for us to do cataract surgery in Inhambane during November. Dr Pons and his staff from the Good Shepherd Hospital in Siteki, Swaziland, joined DFL to do the eye surgery in the Inhambane provincial hospital. About 74 cataract surgeries were performed during that week, with Mozambiquan television and radio media covering the event extensively. The Mozambique government also sent two ophthalmic registrars to be trained by DFL. We would like to thank Ambri and Irma who provided accommodation at their Barra Lake and Sea lodge. As you can agree, we have much to be thankful for. Looking ahead, we have fixed dates with the Botswana government to do cataract eye surgery in Mahalapye, 200km from Gaborone in February 2016. We need two eye specialists to join us. Please let us know if you would be interested in assisting. The locations of the other outreaches later in 2016 still have to be decided.

Good News

[caption id="attachment_3074" align="alignright" width="300"]

The DFL clinic in Zavora, Mozambique[/caption] DFL are also very grateful for the new staff that joined our Sihane clinic in Zavora, Mozambique. Dr Ronald Neufeld and his wife Dr Elizabeth Neufeld arrived from Germany in October and are busy settling in. Although we have had numerous short term volunteers since the passing away of Dr Paul Zuidema in August 2013, the Neufelds are the first permanent doctors we have had to replace him. We couldn’t have asked for more – a husband and wife medical team! They are accompanied by their son Elias aged 2. Miss Joy Smith also started earlier in the year to help with the logistics and management.

Devotion

Matthew 5:41: And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. These days we are celebrating the time when God walked, not just the extra mile, but the uncountable extra miles. He sent His Son to come to the earth, to live the perfect, sinless life. If we follow Christ’s example, this principle makes the Christian faith something special. It makes relationships within the church soft and warm. It causes us to support and feed each other. It helps the Christian to not only just live correctly; otherwise subtle hardness may creep into our relationships. Then the church becomes a harsh place, where the law of the jungle applies in a “civilized” way, with everyone checking up on one another for mistakes, all the time. Take note: The Lord did not say that if I ask someone to go a mile he must go two miles for me. No, if the brother should ask me, I must walk an extra mile for him. He also did not say only if I had it on my heart I must do even more. No. He says when someone comes to me when it may not suit me. I may not be in the right mood for it. That is just acting correctly but doing more than what is necessary. May this New Year find us doing just that! Dr A van Eeden (CEO) Doctors For Life International ]]>

LIFEalerts 22 December 2015

December 22, 2015

Abortion Dominican Republic – Court Upholds Abortion Ban Alternative Medicine No news today Euthanasia South Africa – Sean Davidson fails to comply with own controls HIV/AIDS No news today Homosexuality No news today IVF & Surrogacy China – Set to be the biggest IVF market in the world Poland – New Government Pulls State Funding for IVF Sweden – Study concludes that Surrogacy is Mostly Positive Mexico – Tabasco bans surrogacy for same sex and foreign people Medical Ethics USA – So Forced feeding is not OK in Guantanamo but is in nursing homes USA – Summit fails to ban genetic engineering of human embryos Pedophilia

No news today

Pornography No news today Prostitution &Trafficking USA – Trafficking in Persons (Act) Report 2015 USA – Services for survivors of domestic sex trafficking Ireland – Increase in number of sex workers seeking help Vietnam – Trafficking of Women and Girls for Sexual Exploitation Stem Cells & Cloning No news today Substance Abuse South Africa – Methamphetamine sold as sweets to school children USA – FDA approves Naloxone nasal spray to reverse opioid overdose USA – DEA Chief Says Medical Marijuana Is a ‘Joke’ USA – Ohio Votes Against Marijuana USA – School Seniors More Likely to Smoke Pot Than Cigarettes Abortion Dominican Republic – Court Upholds Abortion Ban The Dominican Republic is holding fast to its pro-life principles after its highest court blocked a new law that would have legalized abortions. Last year, the country’s congress and President Danilo Medina approved amendments to their criminal code to allow abortion in cases of rape, incest, fetal deformity or danger to the woman’s life. However, several pro-life groups filed a complaint against the law, saying it violated the country’s constitution. The high court agreed that the amendments were unconstitutional. The amendment states: “the right to life is inviolable from conception until death,” and passed 128 to 32. Central and South American countries are very pro-life, though they have witnessed a growing push from abortion advocates to legalize abortion. http://www.lifenews.com/2015/12/04/dominican-republic-court-upholds-abortion-ban-saving-unborn-children-from-abortions/ Alternative Medicine No news today <Back to Top> Euthanasia South Africa – Sean Davidson fails to comply with own controls Sean Davison and Dignity SA failed to answer a question on controls posed to him at the UCT Bioethics symposium and via a letter published in the Cape Times. The euthanasia issue will be back in the news in early 2016 when the Stransham-Ford appeal is heard. Central to the motivation by Dignity SA is that if legalised, there would be ‘strict controls’ on euthanasia. Nevertheless, Sean Davison has admitted to violating his own proposed criteria twice and may have done so a third time, an allegation he has refused to confirm or deny four times. How do Davison and Dignity SA expect such ‘strict controls’ to be enforced if he fails to comply with his own proposed controls himself? http://www.rootshosting.co.za/docforlife/philip-rosenthal-email-euthanasia/ <Back to Top> HIV/AIDS & STI’s No news today <Back to Top> Homosexuality No news today <Back to Top> IVF &Surrogacy China – Set to be the biggest IVF market in the world “Here we can do IVF with gender selection and you don’t need lots of documentation,” a doctor at the Guangdong clinic said, adding there had been a 50{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4} jump in consultations since the one-child policy announcement. Patients and doctors in China said state IVF centres were often over-stretched – little surprise given each clinic serves around 3.8 million people, compared with 700,000 people per clinic in the United States. “Clinics are so busy it’s unbearable. Whichever hospital you go to it’s always rammed with people,” said a junior doctor at an IVF clinic in Shanghai, who asked not to be named. http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/11/30/china-population-ivf-idUSL3N13C13U20151130?rpc=401#hlAZLxLuMtEqUlKB.97 Poland – New Government Pulls State Funding for IVF In-vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment is used by couples who are unable to conceive. It consists of fertilizing an egg outside a woman’s body to produce an embryo that can then be implanted in her womb. In Poland, the previous liberal administration had introduced state funding for IVF, despite staunch opposition from the influential Catholic Church. But, now the new right-wing government has decided to cut this state funding for IVF. http://www.medindia.net/news/polands-new-right-wing-government-pulls-state-funding-for-ivf-155952-1.htm Sweden – Study concludes that Surrogacy is Mainly Positive The Swedish government is considering a change of legislation to make surrogate motherhood legal in Sweden. The move is backed by research from a Nordic study that established that surrogacy as a rule works well for both the child and the surrogate mother. Among the published results…Children born as a result of surrogacy have no more health issues than children born from ordinary IVF. There are no negative signs concerning the child’s development up to the age of 10. Most surrogate mothers are well motivated, with a desire to help childless couples. Only a small number of surrogates have problems in handing over a child born as a result of this method. http://www.sensiblesurrogacy.com/swedish-study-concludes-that-surrogacy-is-generally-positive/ http://humupd.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2015/10/09/humupd.dmv046.short?rss=1 Mexico – Tabasco bans surrogacy for same sex and foreign people The Gulf coast state of Tabasco is currently the only Mexican state that allows surrogacy, supposedly on a non-commercial basis. It has attracted many foreign and same sex couples looking to have children. But the Tabasco state legislature voted 21-9 on Monday to restrict the option to Mexicans. It also says that couples looking for a child must include a mother aged 25 to 40 who can present proof that she is medically unable to bear a child. Mexico has become a low-cost alternative to the United States, where surrogacy can cost $150,000 or more. http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/dec/15/mexico-tabasco-state-surrogacy-gay-men-foreign-couples <Back to Top> Medical Ethics USA – So Forced-feeding is not OK in Guantanamo but is in nursing homes Dr. Haider Javed Warraich of Duke University Medical Centre has compared the practice of force feeding elderly patients to Guantanamo Bay. Tube feeding is often a result of family refusing to accept a disease has progressed beyond remedy. But doctors are often to blame. “… a survey revealed that almost two-thirds of them erroneously believed feeding tubes would improve survival in their patients. In fact, given that tube feeding has now been shown to be harmful in patients with dementia, it should not even be offered to this population.“ The article comes after a widely publicized court case involving an elderly Canadian woman who was fed by her doctors despite a directive asking for this not to happen. http://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/run-that-past-me-again-forced-feeding-is-not-ok-in-guantanamo-but-is-ok-in/11679 USA – Summit fails to ban genetic engineering of human embryos Gene-editing with the four-year-old CRISPR technique is already so promising that a meeting of American, British and Chinese scientists has been held in Washington to discuss how it should be regulated. The most controversial item on the agenda was genetic editing of human embryos and germ cells. Unsurprisingly, the International Summit on Human Gene-Editing declared that it would be “irresponsible to proceed with any clinical use of germline editing” until the risks were better understood. But it failed to endorse even a moratorium on human germline gene-editing, let alone a blanket ban. Harvard’s George Church argued that a ban would be unrealistic because it cannot be enforced so research will continue in countries where it is not banned. http://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/summit-fails-to-stop-genetic-engineering-of-human-embryos/11683 <Back to Top> Pedophilia No news today <Back to Top> Pornography No news today <Back to Top> Prostitution & Trafficking USA – Trafficking in Persons (Act) Report 2015 “This year’s 382 page, report places emphasis on human trafficking globally. It highlights the hidden risks, that workers encounter when seeking employment, and the steps that governments and businesses can take to prevent trafficking.” The bottom line is that this is no time for complacency. Across the globe, victims of human trafficking are daring to imagine the possibility of escape, the chance for a life without fear, and the opportunity to earn a living wage. I echo the words of President Obama and say to them: We hear you, and we will do all we can to make that dream come true. We will not rest until modern slavery is ended.” said John F. Kerry, Secretary of State. http://www.state.gov/j/tip/rls/tiprpt/2015/index.htm http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/245365.pdf USA – Services for survivors of domestic sex trafficking The last decade has seen advances in both scholarship and advocacy regarding the domestic sex trafficking (DST) of women and children, culminating in federal and state legislation addressing this human rights issue, writes Tasha Menaker in The Journal of Crime and Justice, Issue 3 2015. Prostituted women and girls continue to face stigma and blame for victimization. Studies have yet to fully explore perceptions of DST as it intersects with these forms of gendered violence. The current study uses a student sample of survey questionnaires to examine subject perceptions of gendered violence, with a focus on victim and perpetrator blame and appropriate social service responses for victims. Future research directions and policy implications are also discussed. http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/0735648X.2014.996321 Ireland – Increase in number of sex workers seeking help An organisation helping women affected by prostitution says there has been an increase in the number of cases of sex trafficking dealt with last year. Based in Dublin, NGO Ruhama, says there has been an 8.5{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4} increase in street prostitution and that they supported over 300 women from 37 different countries, including 88 victims of sex trafficking .The penalties for trafficking are extremely small compared to the enormous profits that can be gained and Ruhama has called for tougher sanctions to be imposed on those convicted. The Garda National Protective Services Bureau, which is responsible for investigating the crime, needs to be adequately resourced as a matter of urgency. http://www.rte.ie/news/2015/1207/751734-prostitution/ Vietnam – Trafficking of Women and Girls for Sexual Exploitation Although the Vietnamese Government has many policies and laws to protect women’s rights and prevent violence against women, trafficking in women and children for sexual exploitation is increasing rapidly and complexly in Vietnam, says The Journal of US-China Medical Science, December 2015. Girls and young women from many provinces in Vietnam are trafficked daily to China. Many new chains of trafficking have been established and they are difficult to identify. Police and border guards cannot control all of them. It is estimated around 30 million women have been trafficked in Asia over the last several decades. http://www.davidpublisher.org/Public/uploads/Contribute/5631cb2e0bc14.pdf <Back to Top> Stem Cells & Cloning No news today <Back to Top> Substance Abuse South Africa – Methamphetamine sold as sweets to school children School children in Johannesburg, the Western Cape and KZN are being hooked on crystal meth when they buy sweets packaged to look like flavoured sugar straws. They are giving school children in Johannesburg a rush that only lasts a few seconds, but which is followed by a high which lasts for several hours. “Strawberry quick got its name from an urban legend, which became an actual reality in Johannesburg,” said Quintin van Kerken from the Anti-Drug Alliance SA. Prices vary dramatically, some dealer’s give them away for free the first few times, while others sell them from between R5 and R30. It all boils down to the dealer getting children addicted. 119 http://www.health24.com/Lifestyle/Street-drugs/News/drug-warning-crystal-meth-sold-as-sweets-to-schoolkids-20151127 USA – FDA approves Naloxone nasal spray to reverse opioid overdose The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of the National Institutes of Health, is pleased to announce that intranasal naloxone –a nasal spray formulation of the medication designed to rapidly reverse opioid overdose – has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). In 2013, more than 16,000 people died from a prescription opioid overdose, or approximately 44 people per day. In addition, another 8,000 died from heroin-related overdoses, a rate that has nearly quadrupled between 2002 and 2013. This FDA-approved intranasal delivery system could reduce the thousands of opioid-related deaths each year, and give patients a second chance to enter into long term addiction treatment. http://www.drugabuse.gov/news-events/news-releases/2015/11/fda-approves-naloxone-nasal-spray-to-reverse-opioid-overdose USA – DEA Chief Says Medical Marijuana Is a ‘Joke’ DEA chief Chuck Rosenberg said the idea that marijuana can be used as medicine is a “joke.” “What really bothers me is the notion that marijuana is also medicinal — because it’s not,” Rosenberg said. “We can have an intellectually honest debate about whether we should legalize something that is bad and dangerous, but don’t call it medicine, that is a joke.” “..if you talk about smoking the leaf of marijuana, which is what people are talking about when they talk about medicinal marijuana, it has never been shown to be safe or effective as a medicine.” http://time.com/4101340/dea-medical-marijuana-joke/ USA – Ohio Votes Against Marijuana Ohio voters decided against legalizing marijuana and instead voted for the legislation that would disallow using the state constitution to create a monopoly. Sixty four percent of voters voted no, while thirty five percent voted yes. http://www.forbes.com/sites/debraborchardt/2015/11/04/ohio-votes-against-marijuana-and-monopolies/ USA – School Seniors More Likely to Smoke Pot Than Cigarettes For the first time, more U.S. high school seniors are smoking marijuana than tobacco, a new survey shows. Daily marijuana use remained relatively stable at 6 percent, while those seniors who said they smoked cigarettes every day dropped from 6.7 percent in 2014 to 5.5 percent, the researchers found. The same trend has been seen on college campuses, with a recent report showing that more college students (6 {01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4}) now smoke a joint each day than light up a cigarette (5 percent). NIDA funded the survey, which was conducted by researchers at the University of Michigan. http://health.usnews.com/health-news/articles/2015-12-16/high-school-seniors-now-more-likely-to-smoke-pot-than-cigarettes-survey <Back to Top> Disclaimer: the views and opinions expressed in these articles do not necessarily reflect those of Doctors for Life International]]>

Philip Rosenthal-Email-Euthanasia

November 26, 2020December 7, 2015

LIFEalerts 04 December 2015

December 4, 2015

Abortion	USA – Five abortion clinics shut down in the past five weeks USA – Planned Parenthood Clinic becomes Pro-Life Pregnancy Center
Alternative Medicine	The Philippines – Bill seeks to regulate practice of acupuncture China – YangZheng XiaoJi May Stop Cancer Metastasis
Euthanasia	Belgium – Expanding physician-assisted death to psychiatric cases Germany – Germany’s defeat of liberalized assisted suicide laws
HIV/AIDS	No news today
Homosexuality	UK – Sperm donor child ordered to develop relationship with father
IVF & Surrogacy	UK – New drug provides safer IVF treatment India – Research Council Officially Ends Surrogacy in India Cambodia – Clinics Shift Business to “Lawless” Cambodia
Medical Ethics	UK – Delusional but autonomous
Pedophilia	UK – Is Pedophilia a Deviance or Disease Abu Dhabi – Tech industry fights online child sexual exploitation Italy – Androgen deprivation therapy and pedophilia
Pornography	Sweden – ‘Braille porn’ for blind people created by Swedish artist UK – Report claiming porn reduces the size of your brain UK – Police K-9s trained to sniff out child pornography USA – The Impact of pornography on individuals, families and children
Prostitution &Trafficking	USA – Amnesty’s Human Rights Scandal USA – Guess who supports ditching prostitution laws South Africa – High rate of disease among prostitutes in cities USA – Prostitution the most dangerous working environment Sweden – A prostitutes perspective on the Swedish model
Stem Cells & Cloning	USA – Is the great stem cell debate over? USA – End ‘stem cell tourism,’ experts urge
Substance Abuse	Syria – Captagon: The amphetamine fuelling Syria’s civil war USA – Medical doctor convicted of legal drug dealing

Abortion USA – Five abortion clinics have shut down in the past five weeks A total of 21 Abortion facilities have closed so far in 2015. Troy Newman, President of Operation Rescue said “When abortion numbers come out for 2015, we expect that abortions will have decreased in each state where abortion clinics have closed”. Between September 28 and October 29, 2015, operations ceased at abortion facilities in Florida, Illinois, Wisconsin, Connecticut and Virginia. https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/five-abortion-clinics-shut-down-in-five-weeks USA – Planned Parenthood Clinic becomes Pro-Life Pregnancy Center The Planned Parenthood facility where abortion center manager-turned pro-life advocate Abby Johnson worked is now a functioning pro-life pregnancy center. Hope Pregnancy Centers of Brazos Valley purchased the Bryan, Texas Planned Parenthood building last year after the abortion center closed. “What was once a place of death and grief where an estimated 6,400 abortions were performed has been transformed into a place of life,” Tracy Frank, executive director of Hope Pregnancy, said in a statement. Its free services include pregnancy tests, ultrasound, counseling about pregnancy options, baby supplies, STD testing, and more. http://www.lifenews.com/2015/11/09/former-planned-parenthood-abortion-clinic-re-opens-as-a-pro-life-pregnancy-center/ Alternative Medicine The Philippines – Bill seeks to regulate practice of acupuncture Senator Miriam Santiago has filed a bill to regulate the practice of acupuncture in the country. Senate Bill 2966 seeks to standardize the practice of acupuncture to ensure that only licenses acupuncturists can perform the treatment. Under the bill, a Board of Acupuncture shall be created under the Department of Health. The board will be consisted of two licensed acupuncturists and one layperson who has never been an acupuncturist or member of any closely related profession. Santiago said any person is prohibited to practice acupuncture unless licensed. To become licensed acupuncturist the person must have completed a board-approved national certification process and have passed an examination administered by the board. http://www.sunstar.com.ph/manila/local-news/2015/11/02/bill-seeks-regulate-practice-acupuncture-439193 China – YangZheng XiaoJi May Stop Cancer Metastasis A study led by Cardiff University and Peking University, has found that a cocktail of non-toxic chemicals found in fruits and vegetables can be the key to stopping cancers from spreading. The study has found that YangZheng XiaoJi targets the formations of new blood vessels that supports tumor growth, blocks the pathway, and stops the spread of cancer cells, therefore stopping cancer metastasis. Clinical trials of YangZheng XiaoJi and its effects on lung and other cancers have started and it is showing positive results. http://www.healthaim.com/yangzheng-xiaoji-traditional-chinese-herbal-medicine-may-stop-cancer-metastasis/32692 <Back to Top> Euthanasia Belgium – Expanding physician-assisted death to psychiatric cases The latest addition by Hastings Center fellow Bonnie Steinbock, suggests assisted death for psychiatric cases is the logical consequence of current euthanasia legislation. Steinbock suggests that no good argument has been made in defense of the current prohibitions on euthanasia for the mentally ill. She discusses the potential objections that could be made to broadening the scope of the law, and suggests that none of them is convincing. Many argue that the “terminal illness” requirement is appropriate. But Steinbock asserts that terminal illness is rarely the real motivation for patients seeking euthanasia. http://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/the-case-for-expanding-physician-assisted-death-to-psychiatric-cases/11640 Germany – Germany’s defeat of liberalized assisted suicide laws The German parliament has decided not to legalize organizations that promote or offer assisted suicide and to continue barring doctors from offering such assistance as a regular medical service. Lawmakers instead toughened the national stance against commercialized assisted suicide. Such acts will now be punished with up to three years in jail, even if a doctor claims to have acted to relieve a patient’s suffering. The bill was passed with 360 out of 602 votes. http://www.jewishjournal.com/world/article/german_jewry_applauds_defeat_of_liberalized_assisted_suicide_laws <Back to Top> HIV/AIDS & STI’s No news today <Back to Top> Homosexuality UK – Sperm donor child ordered to develop relationship with father A UK High Court has ordered a donor-conceived-girl to develop a relationship with her father and his same sex partner. She had been brought up since birth by her biological mother and her mother’s lesbian partner, but seven years ago her biological father petitioned the courts to have contact with her. High Court Justice Stephen Cobb ruled that the girl should have ‘indirect’ and ‘limited’ contact with her father, saying that “the significant void in their lives is the lack of any meaningful relationship with their fathers.”The decision, the culmination of a long running legal battle between the girl’s biological mother and father, goes against the will of the daughter, and she believes that litigation has “ruined her life”. http://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/teenage-sperm-donor-child-ordered-to-develop-relationship-with-her-father/11623 <Back to Top> IVF &Surrogacy UK – New drug provides safer IVF treatment During conventional IVF treatment doctors inject patients with the hormone human chorionic gonadotropin, which helps ovaries mature eggs that are later harvested. A potential side effect during this step is ovarian hyper-stimulation syndrome (OHSS), a potentially life-threatening condition. Severe OHSS occurs in up to 2{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4} of all patients but women with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) are at much higher risk, with up to a quarter of such patients suffering severe OHSS. Researchers from Imperial College London, working with clinicians from Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, found that using Kisspeptin as an alternative hormone to HCG did not lead to OHSS, even in women at high risk of developing the condition. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-11/sfe-ndp110215.php? India – Research Council Officially Ends Surrogacy in India A letter from the Indian Council of Medical Research has officially ended surrogacy services for non-Indians, effectively immediately. The letter was issued at the behest of the Health Ministry and tells fertility clinics not to entertain any foreigners wanting surrogacy services in India. In a related move the government has banned the import of human embryos for IVF and surrogacy purposes. In a notification the “Import policy of the item ‘Human Embryo’ …has been changed to “Prohibited except for research purposes based on the guidelines of the Department of Health Research.” The government also told the Supreme Court this week that foreigners cannot rent a womb in India. Surrogacy services would only be available for Indian couples. http://www.sensiblesurrogacy.com/icmr-officially-ends-surrogacy-in-indi/ Cambodia – Clinics Shift Business to “Lawless” Cambodia The international market for surrogacy is proving to be very resilient in the face of legal and social disruption. Now that India, Nepal and Thailand have banned international clients from using local surrogates, clinics and brokers are shifting their business to Cambodia. Clients who travel to Cambodia to get a baby are taking a big risk. The business has sprung up overnight, as Cambodia’s first IVF baby was born in 2014 according to the Fertility Clinic of Cambodia. No laws govern surrogacy there and the legal system is “murky and corrupt”. If the authorities do step in, they could treat surrogacy as human trafficking. The future of the clients, the surrogate mothers and the babies could be at risk. http://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/surrogacy-business-shifts-to cambodia/11638#sthash.xFaXJl8o.dpuf <Back to Top> Medical Ethics UK – Delusional but autonomous Can a confused, lonely, bi-polar 73-year-old with religious convictions refuse a life saving operation? Mr B will die of infection unless his leg is amputated below the knee. In the opinion of the judge he does not have the mental capacity to make a rational decision about his illness but points out that “Mr. B’s mental health and well-being will be further compromised following an operation. Further to that, his religious sentiments will undoubtedly continue and he will believe that the amputation was carried out against the Lord’s wishes.” The judge therefore decided that Mr. B’s best interests were to do what he wanted rather than what was good for him. His right to autonomy trumps his right to health. http://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/delusional-but-autonomous/11641 <Back to Top> Pedophilia UK – Is Pedophilia a Deviance or Disease Gunjan Sharma, a medical student at the Cardiff University School of Medicine writes in The MSPress Journal, Vol 2, No 2 (2015) that pedophilia is often described as society’s darkest taboo. This essay looks at Pedophilia from the perpetrator’s perspective, at how we can provide help to people before the offence takes place. Also the primary prevention strategies used across Europe and the difficult position the clinician may be placed under. Ultimately, this essay looks at pedophilia as a medical disorder and the pedophile as the patient, focusing on alleviating suffering for both the patient and for society. http://www.themspress.org/index.php/journal/article/view/112 Abu Dhabi – Tech industry fights online child sexual exploitation The world’s biggest search engine Google, social media and software firms have pledged to fight the abuse of the internet for online child sexual exploitation by developing new technology, tools and expertise by developing innovative technology like the Child Abuse Image Database. Yahoo has piloted the use of a Google tool which identifies indecent videos of children and Microsoft will enable more organizations to find indecent images of children using Photo DNA. A dedicated team of Facebook engineers will be assisting in a technology upgrade for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) in the USA, to help them manage the increase in the number of reports resulting from the growing global collaboration to tackle online child sexual abuse. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/tech-industry-fights-online-child-sexual-exploitation

Italy – Androgen deprivation therapy and pedophilia

A research paper by Silvani, Mindaini and Zucchi in The Journal of Medicine and the Person, discusses andrology as an evolving discipline which embraces social problems like pedophilia. While international legislation aims to defend childhood it does not provide for compulsory treatment. Regarding chemical castration, the andrologist may perform an important role as part of a team of specialists and most literature refers to the use of leuprolide acetate rather than medroxyprogesterone and cyproterone acetate which presents more side effects. Current opinions on chemical castration for pedophilia are discordant. Some surveys confirm that therapy reduces sexual thoughts and fantasies, especially in pedophiles who relapse into the crime. However, others report that chemical castration does not modify the pedophile’s personality.

http://hlsjournal.org/index.php/aiua/article/view/aiua.2015.3.222 <Back to Top> Pornography Sweden – ‘Braille porn’ for blind people created by Swedish artist A Swedish artist, Nina Linde, 33, who created a ‘sensual Braille book’ for blind readers, has presented the saucy publication for the first time to the country’s national library. The tactile features X-rated images and is believed to be the first written material of its kind to offer erotic stimulation to the visually impaired. The book was created in 2010, but an official copy was given to the National Library of Sweden in Nov 2015. Lind insists that despite its graphic content, it should not be labelled ‘porn. And she said that she was inspired to produce it after visiting the Braille Library in Stockholm and discovering there was no dirty stuff for the visually impaired. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/swedish-artist-creates-braille-porn-for-blind-people-a6711496.html UK – Report claiming porn reduces the size of your brain Conservative peer Ian McColl, a former surgeon, speaking in the House of Lords, has claimed that the constant use of pornography can reduce the part of your brain that registers pleasure. The study which examines 64 healthy men as they viewed sexually explicit videos and non-sexually explicit materials – found that constant pornography consumption can reduce the parts of the brain related to reward. He added that researchers involved in the study found participants who used pornography excessively needed increased amounts of stronger material in order to maintain similar levels of pleasure. There is increasing evidence to suggest that brain activity of those individuals who consume large volumes of pornography is similar to the brain activity of those with other addictions. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/house-of-lords-debate-porn-conservative-peer-cites-report-claiming-porn-reduces-the-size-of-your-a6722451.html UK – Police K-9s trained to sniff out child pornography Sheriff’s deputies in Texas are using a new kind of cyber-crime detective to help them track down child pornography offenders. K-9s are being trained to sniff out storage media being used to keep child porn images. What the dogs actually smell is the glue that binds the electronic media – thumb drives and SD cards, which offenders go to great lengths to try and hide. A specially trained K-9 was a part of the raid on former Subway pitchman Jared Fogle’s home this past summer. In 2004, Fogle established the Jared Foundation, a nonprofit organization focused on raising awareness about childhood obesity through educational programs and tools provided to parents, schools, and community organizations. http://6abc.com/news/police-k-9s-trained-to-sniff-out-child-pornography/1080669/ USA – The Impact of pornography on individuals, families and children A 2015 study by the American College of Paediatricians reveals that: Male subjects demonstrated increased callousness toward women. Subjects considered the crime of rape less serious. They were more accepting of non-marital sexual activity and non-coital sexual practices such as oral and anal sex. They became more interested in more extreme and deviant forms of pornography. Subjects were more likely to say they were dissatisfied with their sexual partner and were more accepting of sexual infidelity in a relationship. They valued marriage less and were twice as likely to believe marriage may become obsolete. Men experienced a decreased desire for children, and women experienced a decreased desire to have a daughter. Subjects showed a greater acceptance of female promiscuity. http://www.acpeds.org/the-college-speaks/position-statements/the-impact-of-pornography-on-children?utm_source=email+marketing+Mailigen&utm_campaign=Pres+Message{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4}3A+Pornography+Developments&utm_medium=email <Back to Top> Prostitution & Trafficking USA – Amnesty’s Human Rights Scandal Alejandra Gil the Vice President of the Global Network of Sex Work Projects (NSWP) that officially advised UNAIDS on its prostitution policy was jailed on Thursday 12th March for sex trafficking in Mexico City. Over 200 prostitutes were involved in a prostitution ring she was operating. Amnesty International also reference NSWP and the Advisory Group it co-chaired in its draft policy calling for brothel keeping to be decriminalised. NSWP is no fringe group. In 2009 it was appointed Co-Chair of the UNAIDS ‘Advisory Group on HIV and Sex Work’. So why is Amnesty International about to adopt their policy proposals? http://www.faber.co.uk/blog/a-human-rights-scandal-by-kat-banyard/ USA – Guess who supports ditching prostitution laws The National Center on Sexual Exploitation is hosting White Ribbon week as a protest against pornography and request that people take a more personal role in combating porn by being aware of its harm, educating the public and fighting exploitation on another front in its ongoing fight with Amnesty International. Amnesty is working to decriminalize prostitution, which empowers sex trafficker and pimps around the world – not women. A group lobbying for “sex workers” was once led by a woman convicted of sex trafficking. “These are the kinds of people who provided input to Amnesty’s policies,” says Lisa Thompson of National Center. “So it’s sort of like the fox guarding the hen house if you will.” http://www.onenewsnow.com/culture/2015/10/29/guess-who-supports-ditching-prostitution-laws South Africa – High rate of disease among prostitutes in cities In Pretoria, a total of 1152 prostitutes compete for business at 30 different sites. This is according to a study on the state of homelessness conducted by the University of Pretoria and Unisa. The report, “Path Out of Homelessness”, warns of a multiplicity of social situations in the inner city where diseases proliferate. The report says that on average, 10 prostitutes ply their trade at a single site, but this can in places rise to as many as 200. Of 416 sex workers screened for HIV and TB since October last year, 187 were HIV-positive and of these 177 also had significant TB symptoms. http://www.timeslive.co.za/thetimes/2015/11/10/Disease-hookers-throng-capital-city USA – Prostitution the most dangerous working environment The mortality data for prostitutes is staggering. The American Journal of Epidemiology published a meticulous study by a group of researchers, amongst whom, John J. Potterat, epidemiologist, formerly with the El Paso County Health Department, finding that the “workplace homicide rate for prostitutes” is 51 times that of the next most dangerous occupation for women, working in a liquor store. The average age of death of the prostitutes in the study was 34. “Women engaged in prostitution face the most dangerous occupational environment in the United States,” The Journal concluded. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/13/opinion/13kristof.html?ref=todayspaper&_r=0 http://aje.oxfordjournals.org/content/159/8/778.full Sweden – A prostitute’s perspective on the Swedish model In “Lies about sex work in Sweden” Isabella Lund, a Swedish prostitute and debater espouses her experiences and details of why the Nordic Model implemented by Sweden in 1999 is not as effective as made out to be. Amongst other points; prostitutes must pay taxes for their incomes although nobody knows how, and they risk being evicted if found selling sexual services. They also risk losing custody of their children. She writes compellingly about the options available to prostitutes and that the effect of the legislation has just resulted in prostitution becoming much more hidden from society at large. She refers to numerous flaws in the model being touted by certain feminists as the solution to legislation regarding prostitution. https://sensuellqkonsult.wordpress.com/2007/05/26/lies-about-sexwork-in-sweden/ <Back to Top> Stem Cells & Cloning USA – Is the great stem cell debate over? Ten years ago the most controversial issue in bioethics was the use of human embryonic stem cells. Since these can only be obtained by destroying human embryos nearly every Western legislature had bitter debates. But then Shinya Yamanaka developed induced pluripotent stem cells which have all the potential of embryonic cells without the ethical baggage. Now a paper in Nature Biotechnology has suggested that iPS cells and hES cells are really functionally equivalent – meaning that there is no need to destroy embryos for research or for therapies. The report has not attracted a single comment but according to the findings of Konrad Hochedlinger and colleagues at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston it seems that the debate is over. http://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/is-the-great-stem-cell-debate-over/11629 http://news.sciencemag.org/biology/2015/10/reprogrammed-stem-cells-work-well-those-embryos USA – End ‘stem cell tourism,’ experts urge According to a paper in BMC Medical Ethics by Kirstin Matthews of Rice University and Ana Iltis of Wake Forest University, disillusioned patients tired of waiting for stem cell cures they were promised more than 10 years, are approaching clinics around the world offering experimental stem cell-based interventions instead of waiting for scientists in the US to complete clinical trials. Central problems of stem cell tourism include the lack of patient protection, US liability standards, regulation of clinical sites and clinician licensing. “These interventions have insufficient evidence of safety and efficacy; patients may be wasting money and time, and they may be forgoing other opportunities for an intervention that has not been shown to be safe and effective,” they write. http://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/end-stem-cell-tourism-experts-urge/11656 <Back to Top> Substance Abuse Syria – Captagon: The amphetamine fuelling Syria’s civil war Separate investigations have found that the growing trade in Syrian-made Captagon, an amphetamine widely consumed in the Middle East, generated revenues of millions of dollars last year, some of which was almost certainly used to fund weapons, while combatants on both sides are turning to the stimulant to help them keep fighting. Saudi Arabia alone seizes 55m tablets a year, perhaps 10{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4} of the total thought to be smuggled into the kingdom. According to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, Syria has long been a transit point for drugs coming from Europe, Turkey and Lebanon. But the breakdown of law and order, collapse of the country’s infrastructure and proliferation of armed groups have turned it into a major producer. http://www.theguardian.com/world/shortcuts/2014/jan/13/captagon-amphetamine-syria-war-middle-east USA – Medical doctor convicted of legal drug dealing A woman has become the first American doctor to be convicted of second degree murder for reckless prescriptions of painkillers. Dr. Lisa Tseng was found guilty of the deaths of 3 patients. Tseng prescribed crazy, outrageous amounts of medication to patients who didn’t need the pills. She ignored the deaths of several patients, even though one patient overdosed in her office and had to be revived. When she learned that she would be investigated, she fabricated medical records. Tseng earned about $5 million in three years. “You can’t hide behind a white lab coat and commit crimes,” said Deputy District Attorney John Niedermann. http://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/la-pill-mill-doctor-convicted-of-murder/11639#sthash.jQHaVgV0.dpuf <Back to Top> Disclaimer: the views and opinions expressed in these articles do not necessarily reflect those of Doctors for Life International]]>

What Amnesty Did Wrong: by Anna Djinn

November 26, 2020November 10, 2015

Sexual Exploitation:

What Amnesty Did Wrong: by Anna Djinn

At a meeting in Dublin on 11 August 2015, Amnesty International’s International Council adopted a resolution to authorise their International Board to develop and adopt a policy on “sex work”. Here is a quote from their press release: “Sex workers are one of the most marginalized groups in the world who in most instances face constant risk of discrimination, violence and abuse.” The resolution recommends that Amnesty International develop a policy that supports the full decriminalization of all aspects of consensual sex work.

1. Amnesty ignored international human rights treaties

The 1949 United Nations Convention on the Suppression of the Trafficking in Persons and of the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others states that, “prostitution and the accompanying evil of the traffic in persons for the purpose of prostitution are incompatible with the dignity and worth of the human person and endanger the welfare of the individual, the family and the community”. This therefore defines prostitution as incompatible with the UN Declaration of Human Rights 1948 which guarantees human dignity and integrity to all.

2. Amnesty presented the arguments dishonestly

Amnesty presented the arguments in such a way that unless you were already well informed, you would get the impression that many people are calling for those involved in prostitution to be criminalized. However, in fact, not a single feminist or human rights group or organisation working in the field is calling for this. This way of arguing is sometimes called a straw man argument and is often the sign of a poor argument or an ulterior motive.

3. The resolution is contradictory

Having presented the proposal as all about “sex workers” rights and about protecting and decriminalising “sex workers” it is extraordinary that the final point of the resolution includes the following: “States can impose legitimate restrictions on the sale of sexual services.” That’s right! Amnesty says states can criminalize selling sex but not buying sex or the “operational aspects” of the industry! This is the exact opposite of what the human rights treaties mentioned above require for compliance and the exact opposite of what the survivor movement and many feminists are calling for.

4. The first version of the policy was written by a pimp

a. If you think that Amnesty, a leading human rights organisation, developed the proposal from a position of protecting the most vulnerable parties – the women and children stuck in prostitution – you would be wrong.

The original policy proposal, from which the resolution developed, was written by Douglas Fox, founder and business partner of Christony Companions – one of the UK’s largest escort agencies – i.e. a pimp who has a powerful vested financial interest in the decriminalisation of pimps and punters.

b. Furthermore, Alejandra Gil the Vice President of the Global Network of Sex Work Projects (NSWP) that officially advised UNAIDS on its prostitution policy was jailed on Thursday 12th March for sex trafficking in Mexico City. Over 200 prostitutes were involved in a prostitution ring she was operating. Amnesty International also reference NSWP and the Advisory Group it co-chaired in its draft policy calling for brothel keeping to be decriminalised. NSWP is no fringe group. In 2009 it was appointed Co-Chair of the UNAIDS ‘Advisory Group on HIV and Sex Work’. So why is Amnesty International about to adopt Douglas Fox’s proposals as a pimp as well as those of a foremost “madam” (female pimp)? (See complete article further down which is named Annexure: Full Article for Point 4b)

5. Amnesty’s position was decided in advance

The feminist journalist Julie Bindel obtained notes of an Amnesty International meeting held in the UK in 2013 that show that the International Secretariat (IS) had the clear intention of supporting the full decriminalisation of the sex trade prior to the consultation process. Given that Amnesty International’s Secretariat had decided on their position in advance, it is not a surprise that their consultation was something of a sham.

6. The consultation was a sham

When the draft policy/background paper was leaked in early 2014; many survivor and feminist groups condemned the proposal. Members were then offered three weeks (2-21 April 2014) to provide feedback on the document, although most members did not receive notification of this and that members are spread around the globe in more than 70 countries. It is not uncommon to give more notice for a birthday party. The Coalition Against Trafficking of Women (CATW) published an open letter signed by over 400 advocates and organisations, condemning “Amnesty’s proposal to adopt a policy that calls for the decriminalization of pimps, brothel owners and buyers of sex — the pillars of a $99 billion global sex industry.” Former President Jimmy Carter set up a petition advocating Amnesty to adopt a Nordic Model approach. What is the point of a consultation if you ignore the responses you get?

7. Listening to “sex workers” – but only if they agree

In the run up to the vote in Dublin on 11 August 2015, Amnesty emphasized the importance of listening to “sex workers”. But what does that mean when, as Douglas Fox explained in his interview with Julie Bindel and Cath Elliott, many pimps and brothel owners describe themselves as “sex workers”? And, as Raquel Rosario Sanchez eloquently explains in ‘How to manufacture consent in the sex trade debate’, people who describe themselves as “sex workers” are, almost by definition, in favour of decriminalisation of the sex industry. Amnesty appears to have deliberately ignored the voices of survivors. And also of the women in prostitution who do not agree with full decriminalisation. Most people in prostitution are marginalised and ignorant of the possible approaches, including that of the Nordic Model.

8. Amnesty’s proposal is based on a false premise

The sex industry is a $99 BILLLION money making machine. It requires a continuous stream of new blood – because women get used up and men demand new faces. But women who have real choices – for example, for decent well-paid work in the computer industry, medicine, nursing, banking or academia – do not usually choose prostitution. Prostitution is not on the menu of career options given to girls from comfortable middle class homes.

9. Conflicts of interest

As mentioned earlier, there is evidence that pimps and others who profit from the sex trade have joined Amnesty in order to influence its policy on prostitution. But there are other powerful vested interests at play. Amnesty receives significant funding from George Soros and the Open Society Foundation, both of whom lobby for the decriminalisation of the sex industry. In addition there is evidence that Amnesty has received funding from governments, including the UK and US governments, both of which support the neoliberal project of maximising profits at more or less any cost. But the conflict of interest goes deeper than funding. It goes to the root of the relationship between the sexes in our patriarchal capitalist society.

10. Amnesty’s research was flawed

Amnesty conducted research in 4 countries (Papua New Guinea, Norway, Argentina and Hong Kong) that have a variety of legislative approaches to prostitution, including one country (Norway) that has implemented the Nordic Model. Amnesty did not make the full reports publicly available but the leaked final draft policy includes a summary of the “overarching” research findings. This states that they interviewed “80 sex workers” – i.e. an average of 20 in each of the four countries, which is too small a sample to draw conclusive results. Also, as we saw earlier, the “sex worker” term may include pimps and others with vested interests in the decriminalised approach that Amnesty recommends. The research purports to show “the human rights impact of criminalization of sex work.” However, they did not conduct research in a country (like Holland or Germany) that has implemented a fully decriminalised approach. To show that full decriminalisation is the solution to the problems that they observed, they would need to show that these problems are not present in countries that have implemented that solution.

11. Amnesty is silent on how to address trafficking and child sexual exploitation

Amnesty’s resolution mentions the obligation that states have to prevent and combat sex trafficking and child sexual exploitation. But they are silent about how states should go about this. This is a huge and glaring omission. The reality is that sex trafficking and child sexual exploitation are driven by the enormous profits that can so easily be made. The profits come because large numbers of men are prepared to pay large amounts of money to buy (mainly) women and children for sex. In the UK we regularly hear that traffickers and pimps sell girls and young women for £500-£600 an hour. Anything that legitimizes prostitution inevitably leads to an increase in this demand from men.

12. Amnesty lied about who they’d consulted

In an email response to a protest about Amnesty’s proposed policy, Jackie Hansen, Major Campaigns and Women’s Rights Campaigner, Amnesty International Canada, said the following: “Internationally, Amnesty International has held discussions with hundreds of organizations and many more individuals.” Rachel Moran, survivor of prostitution and co-founder of SPACE International, confirmed in a tweet that in spite of pledging to consult with them in a Committee for Justice Meeting of the Northern Ireland Assembly on 30 January 2014, Amnesty did not in fact consult with SPACE International. Resources Prostitution, a feminist campaigning organisation, confirmed in a tweet that after months of calling Amnesty begging to talk to them about their proposals, Amnesty responded after the crucial vote on 11 August.

13. So what should Amnesty do now?

It is not too late for Amnesty to admit that it has made very many, very serious mistakes in this matter, not least in allowing itself to be influenced by powerful vested interests. And it is not too late for Amnesty to abandon its current proposals. I sincerely urge Amnesty to do this as a matter of urgency.

Reference: for Points 1 – 13 http://prostitutionresearch.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/What-Amnesty-did-wrong.pdf Annexure: Full Article for Point 4b

A Human Rights Scandal: by Kat Banyard

The Vice President of a group that officially advised a top UN body on its prostitution policy was jailed earlier this year for sex trafficking. So why is Amnesty International about to adopt their policy proposals?

On Thursday 12th March 2015, 64 year old Alejandra Gil was convicted in Mexico City of trafficking and sentenced to fifteen years in prison. Gil reportedly controlled a pimping operation that exploited around 200 women. Known as the “Madam of Sullivan”, she was one of the most powerful pimps of Sullivan Street, an area of Mexico City notorious for prostitution. Gil and her son were connected with trafficking networks in Tlaxcala state – site of Mexico’s “epicenter for sex trafficking.” Madai, a twenty-four year old woman who was trafficked to Mexico City, was one of those who gave evidence against Gil. Speaking to a reporter in Mexico she said, “[Gil’s] job was to watch us from the car. Her son or her took us to hotels and charged us fees. She kept records. She had a list where she kept records of everything. She even wrote down how long you took”. Madai met her trafficker when she was 19 years old. “He wooed me, made me fall in love, and I believed everything he told me. That I would go live with him, that he was going to marry me… He was the one who took me to Alejandra Gil and her son”. Héctor Pérez, the lawyer representing the victims in Gil’s case, told me Gil was handed a fifteen year sentence because, “she received trafficked victims and deceived to exploit them through the exercise of [prostitution].” In addition to her daily pimping duties, Alejandra Gil side-lined as President of Aproase, an NGO that supposedly advocated for the rights of people in prostitution, but in practice functioned as a useful cover for her pimping operation. And until Gil’s arrest last year, the “Madam of Sullivan” was Vice President of an organisation called the Global Network of Sex Work Projects (NSWP). NSWP is no fringe group. In 2009 it was appointed Co-Chair of the UNAIDS ‘Advisory Group on HIV and Sex Work’. UNAIDS is the international body responsible for leading global efforts to reverse the spread of HIV, and the advisory group was established to “review and participate in the development of UNAIDS policy, programme or advocacy documents, or statements.” Alejandra Gil is also personally acknowledged in a 2012 World Health Organisation (WHO) report about the sex trade as one of the “experts” who dedicated her “time and expertise” to developing its recommendations. NSWP’s logo is on the front cover, alongside the logos of WHO, UNAIDS and the United Nations Population Fund. Amnesty International also reference NSWP and the Advisory Group it co-chaired in its draft policy calling for brothel keeping to be decriminalised – a proposal that has been condemned by prostitution survivors and equality groups around the world, including SPACE International, Women’s Aid and the Coalition Against Trafficking in Women. Amnesty’s policy, due to be finalised this month, cites “human rights organisations” that endorse their proposal: “Most significantly,” they write, “a large number of sex worker organisations and networks, including the Global Network of Sex Work Projects, support the decriminalisation of sex work”. How could this happen? How could a pimp wind up second in command at a global organisation that officially advised UN agencies on prostitution policy and that is referenced in Amnesty International’s draft policy? And did the “Madam of Sullivan” divorce her interests as a pimp when she was putting demands to governments and global institutions on behalf of NSWP? She didn’t have to. NSWP campaigned for “third parties” in prostitution to be decriminalised. This, they state, includes “managers, brothel keepers… and anyone else who is seen as facilitating sex work”[i]. The organisation also insists that “Sex workers can be employees, employers, or participate in a range of other work related relationships.”[ii] According to NSWP policy, as a pimp Alejandra Gil was a “sex worker” who’s precise role was a “manager” in the trade. The organisation lobbies for pimping and brothel keeping to be legally recognized as legitimate work. To fulfil her role as Vice President of NSWP, Gil didn’t have to mask her vested interests as a pimp; she had a mandate to pursue them. Those interests have been pursued with startling success through some of the world’s top human rights institutions. What happened in 2007 is key to understanding how Gil’s group pulled it off. That year UNAIDS published a ‘Guidance Note‘ on how countries should respond to the HIV crisis in the context of a prostitution trade. They rightly concluded that to tackle the HIV crisis it was important to tackle demand for prostitution: “it is possible and timely to achieve social change, and consequently behavioral change among men, to reduce the demand for sex work.” Unsurprisingly, this didn’t go down well with Gil’s organisation, which expressed its “concern”, via a working group, about the report’s “emphasis on reducing commercial sex”[iii]. Inexplicably, UNAIDS responded by appointing NSWP – which openly promotes pimping and brothel keeping as ordinary ‘work’ – as Co-Chairs of its new Advisory Group on HIV and Sex Work. A revised version of UNAIDS’ Guidance Note was duly published, this time carrying an annex prepared by the Advisory Group. It recommends: “States should move away from criminalizing sex work or activities associated with it. Decriminalisation of sex work should include removing criminal laws and penalties for purchase and sale of sex, management of sex workers and brothels, and other activities related to sex work.” That report is now a go-to reference for groups lobbying governments to make pimping and brothel keeping legal. It is the legal model advocated by NSWP – full decriminalisation of the sex trade – that Amnesty International’s leadership voted in August to endorse, and plans to adopt as official policy this month. Amnesty maintains their policy is the result of two years research and is the best option available to protect the human rights of people that some men pay for sex. Having myself spent the last two years researching the sex trade for a book, I can confidently say that to suggest Amnesty’s researchers ‘missed a bit’ doesn’t even come close to accounting for the travesty that is the organization’s draft policy. Brothel keeping, pimping, paying for sex: these are forms of commercial sexual exploitation. Amnesty International is about to call for a form of violence against women to be decriminalised, allowing states to take on a role akin to a pimp: sanctioning and licensing brothels, and taxing the women in them. As Esohe Aghatise, Anti-Trafficking Manager at Equality Now, says “It is shocking that a convicted trafficker would influence policy, which is, in itself, incompatible with human rights and international law. We need to end the demand which fuels sex trafficking, rather than decriminalize those who benefit from the exploitation of others. UN agencies need to urgently clarify their position on the sex trade – particularly in light of this new damning evidence”. Without question, those who are paid for sex should be completely decriminalised. But those who sexually exploit – pimps, brothel keepers and sex buyers – should not. They are perpetrators – not entrepreneurs or consumers. Mia de Faoite, a survivor of prostitution, told me, “I left prostitution utterly destroyed as a human being and I cannot fathom how that level of violence could ever be sanctioned and classed as ‘work’.” That convicted trafficker Alejandra Gil and her group have been so closely involved in UN agencies’ policy making on prostitution is nothing short of a human rights scandal. Clearly, UNAIDS must urgently conduct a thorough, transparent review of all policies NSWP has advised it on and investigate how this could have happened. As for Amnesty International, it would be abhorrent to see the organisation proceed with its call for full decriminalisation of the sex trade – because it really doesn’t take a conviction for trafficking by a leading proponent to work out who benefits most when states make brothel-keeping and pimping legal. http://www.faber.co.uk/blog/a-human-rights-scandal-by-kat-banyard/]]>

LIFEalerts 05 November 2015

November 5, 2015

Abortion

USA – Over five hundred babies saved from abortion in Arizona

Nepal – The scary advance of gendercide in Nepal

USA – Planned Parenthood to stop receiving payments for fetal tissue

China – government to end one-child policy and allow two children

Alternative Medicine

South Africa – Proposed new bill to better manage medication backlogs

USA – ‘Health’ supplements send 23,000 to emergency rooms

Swaziland – Missing man found mutilated and stuffed in bags

USA – FDA Issues Warnings on Homeopathy for ADHD Patients

Euthanasia

California – Assisted Suicide and Suicide Contagion

Netherlands – Euthanasia on the Rise

Australia – ‘Dr Death’ forced to stop promoting suicide

Belgium – Not enough doctors to staff Belgium’s euthanasia commission

HIV/AIDS

No news today

Homosexuality

South Africa – Dutch Reformed Church to recognize same sex marriage

USA – More LGBT Americans come out on Facebook than last year

IVF & Surrogacy

Canada – IVF success rates improved with stem cells

UK/USA – Novel DNA test could more than double success rates

USA- Baby farming business is exploding

India – New Delhi moves toward banning surrogacy in India

Medical Ethics

France – UN panel calls for moratorium on editing human genome

USA – Gene editing technique makes pig organ transplants possible

USA – 23andMe to resume supplying health data

USA – A fine way to give blood

Pedophilia

Indonesia – Government to use chemical castration for pedophiles

Pornography

USA – Playboy magazine to stop publishing nude images

South Africa – South Africans’ secret porn viewing habits

Germany – Porn may reduce your brain size

South Africa – Violent porn may be to blame for sexual coercion

Prostitution &Trafficking

USA – Legalizing prostitution is prison for the exploited

UK – Family jailed for trafficking Hungarian women for prostitution

USA – What Amnesty Did Wrong Regarding Prostitution

Stem Cells & Cloning

Australia – Researchers grow organ in Petri-dish

Substance Abuse

UK – Use of Legal Highs on the Increase

USA – Promising new target for addiction treatment

Switzerland – Study: THC doesn’t reduce postoperative nausea or vomiting

Scotland – Massive rise in heroin and methadone drug problems

USA – New study on the use of “Novel Psychoactive Substances”

Abortion

USA – Over five hundred babies saved from abortion in Arizona

Abortions in Arizona dropped 3.7 percent in 2014, according to a report from the state Department of Health Services. There were 12,900 abortions reported last year, compared to 13,401 in 2013. In between 2009 and 2014, Governer Jan Brewer signed into law 24 life-saving measures that have directly contributed to the drop in abortions. Existing law prohibits partial-birth abortion, late-term abortion, and sex-selection abortions. Arizona also requires a 24-hour waiting period with an ultrasound, informed consent about abortion risks and fetal development, parental consent for minors’ abortions, and medical standards for abortion mills. The state also places a variety of prohibitions on taxpayer funding for elective abortions.

http://liveactionnews.org/501-babies-saved-from-abortion-in-arizona-as-abortion-rate-falls-3-7-percent/

Nepal – The scary advance of gendercide in Nepal

Sex-selective abortion in Nepal is incredibly high, even though the practice is technically prohibited and hardly ever mentioned in Western media. University of Oxford demographer Melanie Dawn Frost was the lead author of a paper in BMJ Open about widespread sex-selective abortion in Nepal since abortion was legalized in 2002. “Nepal has seen one of the most dramatic fertility declines in history, with the total fertility rate falling from 4.1 to 2.6 in just 10 years,” she observed. In the late 2000s (2007-2010) the sex-ratio for second-order births was drastically skewed, with just 742 girls being born per 1000 boys. Prior to legalization of abortion (1998-2000), that ratio was 1021 to 1000.

http://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/the-scary-advance-of-gendercide-in-nepal/11611#sthash.9veK4aor.dpuf

USA – Planned Parenthood to stop receiving payments for fetal tissue

Planned Parenthood has announced that it will no longer accept any form of reimbursement for supplying fetal tissue, says president Cecile Richards in an open letter to National Institutes of Health director Dr. Francis S. Collins. “Planned Parenthood’s policies on fetal tissue donation already exceed the legal requirements,” Ms. Richards wrote. “Now we’re going even further in order to take away any basis for attacking Planned Parenthood to advance an anti-abortion political agenda.” The organization’s critics are far from convinced. David Deleiden of the Center for Medical Progress depicted Planned Parenthood’s shift as “an admission of guilt”. “If the money Planned Parenthood has been receiving for baby body parts were truly legitimate ‘reimbursement,’ why cancel it?” he asked.

http://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/planned-parenthood-to-stop-receiving-payments-for-foetal-tissue/11607#sthash.Hc4tKAIC.dpuf

China – government to end one-child policy and allow two children

The one child policy introduced nationally in 1979, is estimated to have prevented about 400 million births. Couples who violated the one-child policy faced a variety of punishments, from fines and the loss of employment to forced abortions. The decision to allow families to have two children was designed “to improve the balanced development of population” and to deal with an aging population, according to the statement from the Community Party’s Central Committee. Currently about 30{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4} of China’s population is over the age of 50. The total population of the country is around 1.36 billion. “As long as the quotas and system of surveillance remains, women still do not enjoy reproductive rights,” said Maya Wang of Human Rights Watch.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-34665539

Alternative Medicine

South Africa – Proposed new bill to better manage medication backlogs

Opposition parties have rallied around the proposal of a new bill that will better manage backlogs in medication and ensure its quality. DA MPL Dr Imram Keeka said the Medicines and Related Amendments Bill looks to rectify the shortcomings of Act 101 from 1965. Keeka said the bill seeks to establish new authority, called the South African Health Product Regulatory Authority, which would deal with the medication backlog and regulate alternative and prepared traditional medicines. Keeka said although the natural, alternative and complimentary medication sectors would be affected by following a regulatory process for selling medicines, it was “only fair”. “At the end of the day, it is the public’s safety that is the main concern,” Keeka said.

http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/Proposed-new-bill-to-better-manage-medication-backlogs-20151006

USA – ‘Health’ supplements send 23,000 to emergency rooms

Dietary supplements – those “all natural” products people consume for weight loss, extra energy or to self-treat various conditions send +-23,000 people, many of them children, to the emergency room in the U.S. each year. Just over 9{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4} require hospitalization. Many patients report heart symptoms. Supplements include herbal products, amino acids, vitamins, minerals and other “complementary” nutrition products hawked for a wide range of uses, often with little or no testing to back up claims. The new study “illustrates that something that’s ‘natural’ is not necessarily safe, and these products do not come without risk,” said Curtis Haas, director of pharmacy for the University of Rochester Medical Center and a past-president of the American College of Clinical Pharmacy.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/10/14/us-health-supplements-toxicity-idUSKCN0S82QN20151014

Swaziland – Missing man found mutilated and stuffed in bags

Magidi Mlambo, a man from the Mambane area who was reported missing has been found dead, with his body mutilated. The recovery of the deceased’s body comes only a day after police took in two traditional healers for questioning concerning the disappearance of the man. The witch doctors led the police to the mountains on Monday evening, where the body was found with some parts missing. Mlambo went missing after he went to the forest to collect some herbs with a well known traditional healer from the area. Traditional healers then led police to the indvuna who is said to have assisted in transporting some of the parts which were eventually sold to another traditional healer at Hosea.

http://www.observer.org.sz/news/76608-missing-man-mutilated-stuffed-in-bags.html

USA – FDA Issues Warnings on Homeopathy for ADHD Patients

Recent reports say the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has taken measures on the widespread use of homeopathic treatments, especially in children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Reports have reached the FDA in which children diagnosed with ADHD turn out to be victims of quackery or fraudulent treatments. The FDA has issued warnings about side effects such as stunted growth and psychiatric problems and has tightened their regulations on such treatments.

http://qna.mortgagenewsdaily.com/questions/fda-issues-warnings-on-homeopathy-on-adhd-patients

Euthanasia

California – Assisted Suicide and Suicide Contagion

Ten percent of Americans now have access to assisted suicide after Jerry Brown, governor of California, approved Assembly Bill 15. Physician Assisted Suicide (PAS) is now legal in California, Oregon, Washington, Montana and Vermont, as well as throughout Canada. Will California’s new assisted suicide law actually result in fewer people committing suicide as its supporters have promised? Dramatic new findings about the Oregon experience with PAS have been published in the Southern Medical Journal which suggest that this is not true. In a fine-grained statistical analysis of the experience in the 4 American states where PAS is currently legal, British academics David Albert Jones and David Paton show that the introduction of PAS induces more self-inflicted deaths than it inhibits.

http://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/assisted-suicide-now-legal-in-california/11601#sthash.dV2nBbdi.dpuf

http://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/fears-of-suicide-contagion-after-victory-in-california/11600#sthash.FUsnYDj5.dpuf

http://sma.org/southern-medical-journal/article/how-does-legalization-of-physician-assisted-suicide-affect-rates-of-suicide/

Netherlands – Euthanasia on the Rise

Deaths by euthanasia in the Netherlands have increased by 10{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4} in 2014 according to a new report released by the regional euthanasia review committee of Holland. A total of 5306 cases of assisted dying were reported to the regional committees in 2014, including 5033 cases of euthanasia (a 10{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4} increase on the 4501 cases reported in 2013). The overall number of reported cases has doubled since 2009.

http://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/euthanasia-on-the-rise-in-netherlands/11605#sthash.FDF2wtH9.dpuf

https://www.euthanasiecommissie.nl/overdetoetsingscommissies/jaarverslag/

Australia – ‘Dr Death’ forced to stop promoting suicide

The world’s foremost promoter of assisted suicide and euthanasia, Australia’s Dr Philip Nitschke, has agreed to cease his advocacy in exchange for retaining his medical registration. The Medical Board of Australia (MBA) said that these measures were necessary “to protect the public”. The agreement puts “an end to his involvement in providing any advice or information to any patient or member of the public about how to commit suicide. This includes workshops, the Peaceful Pill Handbook, videos or on-line information”. An immediate consequence of the MBA’s decision is that Dr Nitschke has been forced to resign as director of Exit International, the organization he founded to promote methods of committing suicide.

http://www.mercatornet.com/careful/view/australias-dr-death-forced-to-stop-promoting-suicide/17085

Belgium – Not enough doctors to staff Belgium’s euthanasia commission

Belgium’s Federal Evaluation and Control Commission for Euthanasia have lost its mandate after failing to find replacements for vacancies on its executive committee. The minister for Health, Maggie De Block, gave her word in Parliament that the wheels were turning smoothly and that Belgians had nothing to fear from illegal euthanasia – even though news of the vacancies had already emerged in the press. This does not inspire much confidence that anyone really knows what is going on.

http://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/not-enough-doctors-to-staff-belgiums-euthanasia-commission/11625

HIV/AIDS & STI’s

No news today

Homosexuality

South Africa – Dutch Reformed Church to recognize same sex marriage

A landmark vote means same sex relationships will now be recognized by the Dutch Reformed Church. With a 64 percent majority the church voted in favor of acknowledging same sex unions and allowing same sex ministers to be ordained without the need for them to be celibate. Dutch Reform Church moderator Nelis Janse van Rensburg said, it is historical because with this decision we actually are at a point where there can be no doubt that the Dutch Reformed Church is serious about human dignity. The church will also help ministers to get the necessary legal documentation to ratify civil unions.

https://www.enca.com/south-africa/dutch-reformed-church-recognise-gay-marriage

USA – More LGBT Americans come out on Facebook than last year

A new study out of Facebook’s research and data science division indicates that people in the US who identify as LGBT are now saying so on the social network at a rapidly increasing pace. 6 million of US users identify as LGBT, 800,000 of which came out last year. The number of users coming out per day has tripled since then. Since June’s Supreme Court ruling which legalized same sex marriage, one out of every five people come out on Facebook. LGBT pages have increased by 25 percent this year and the top 300 most popular LGBT people get support from 5.7million Americans.

http://www.theverge.com/2015/10/15/9541431/facebook-social-research-LGBT-study

IVF &Surrogacy

Canada – IVF success rates improved with stem cells

Doctors in Canada have begun a new chapter in medical history, delivering the first in a wave of babies expected to be born through a technique some experts think can dramatically improve the success rate of IVF. This is a possible solution to infertility caused by poor egg quality by using pristine stem cells of healthy, yet-to-be developed eggs that can help make a woman’s older eggs act young again. Unlike other kinds of stem cells, which have the ability to develop into any kind of cell in the body these precursor cells can only form eggs. It’s not available in the U.S., since the Food and Drug Administration considers the process of introducing mitochondria a form of gene therapy.

http://time.com/3849127/baby-stem-cells-augment-ivf/

UK/USA – Novel DNA test could more than double success rates

In the US, the majority of women undergoing IVF have a success rate of 20-35{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4}. Now, researchers have created a test that they say could boost success rates to as much as 80{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4}. The test, called MitoGrade, works by measuring the levels of abnormal mitochondrial DNA present in embryos, allowing doctors to determine which embryos are most viable for a successful pregnancy. It emerged in recent years that the number of chromosomes in an embryo can influence the outcomes of IVF. More recently, researchers from the University of Oxford and genetics laboratory Reprogenetics, both in the UK, found that the levels of mitochondrial DNA in embryos are a key factor in IVF success.

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/301257.php

USA – Baby-farming business is exploding

“American women are being paid to put themselves at significant physical risk every day in this country to produce babies for others,” said Jennifer Lahlof the Centre for Bioethics and Culture Network. These women are injected with powerful hormones and other drugs to maximize chances of pregnancy, virtually without government oversight. Surrogacy is booming following the legalisation of same-sex marriage, as same sex couples look to have families. Celebrities and wealthy American women are increasingly using surrogates to carry their own children, to avoid the body changes that come with pregnancy. Idaho has become a hotspot for surrogacy because of its permissive legislation and lower costs. Parents from all over the world are coming to Idaho to have children.

http://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/idaho-surrogate-mother-dies-from-pregnancy-complications/11614#sthash.XJNAFIMi.dpuf

India – New Delhi moves toward banning surrogacy in India

New legislation proposed by the Indian Health Ministry aims to regulate and supervise clinics performing IVF and surrogacy in India, as well as to ensure the safe and ethical practice of fertility services. The bill also includes provisions that would ban surrogacy for all foreign couples. According to a 2012 study, the estimated value of the commercial surrogacy business in the country was pegged at more than $400 million a year, with more than 3,000 practicing clinics. In 2012 the country added restrictions to the practice, allowing surrogacy only for married, heterosexual couples from countries where surrogacy was allowed by law. Other than India, only a select number of countries allow surrogacy; USA, UK, Australia, Mexico, Canada, Russia, and Ukraine.

http://www.sensiblesurrogacy.com/law-would-ban-surrogacy-in-india/

Medical Ethics

France – UN panel calls for moratorium on editing human genome

A United Nations panel has called for a moratorium on “editing” the human genome, pending wider public debate lest changes in DNA be transmitted to future generations or foster eugenics. While acknowledging the therapeutic value of genetic interventions, the panel stressed that the process raises serious concerns, especially if editing the human genome be applied to the germline, thereby introducing hereditary modifications. The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) said in a report by its International Bioethics Committee, that “Interventions on the human genome should be admitted only for preventive, diagnostic or therapeutic reasons and without enacting modifications for descendants.” The alternative would “jeopardize the inherent and therefore equal dignity of all human beings and renew eugenics.”

http://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/un-panel-calls-for-moratorium-on-editing-human-genome/11597

USA – Gene editing technique makes pig organ transplants possible

A team led by George Church, of Harvard, has used the CRISPR gene editing technique to remove all 62 copies of a pig retrovirus which is dangerous for humans. This is a significant step on the road to generating pig organs for possible xenotransplantation. Worldwide, human organs for transplant are in short supply. While pig organs have long been considered a viable option, porcine endogenous retroviruses in all pigs’ DNA can be transmitted to humans and cause disease. This has resulted in a worldwide moratorium on these transplants. In an article in Science, the researchers reported that they had managed to modify more than 60 genes in pig embryos – ten times more than have been edited in any other animal.

http://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/gene-editing-technique-makes-pig-organ-transplants-possible/11612

USA – 23andMe to resume supplying health data

After some operations of genetic company 23andMe were suspended in 2013 CEO Anne Wojcicki reports the FDA has authorized tests for inherited diseases and profiling customer ancestry and personal traits. Customers will receive reports on 36 inherited conditions like cystic fibrosis and sickle cell anemia, a breakdown of genetic predispositions including non-medical inherited traits like lactose intolerance, and cosmetic characteristics like dimples or curly hair. The test will not screen for conditions that last raised concerns like heart attack, asthma and hip fractures. “The new product focuses on carrier mutations, or specific gene changes, known to cause health issues when children receive them from both parents,” Brian Zikmund-Fisher at the University of Michigan School of Public Health, told New Scientist.

http://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/23andme-to-resume-supplying-health-data/11624

USA – A fine way to give blood

Judge Marvin Wiggins told a courtroom crowded with people to be fined for offences ranging from hunting after dark to drug possession that they would get a US$100 credit toward their fines if they donated blood. Apart from concern about the legality and even constitutionality of the unusual option, there is an obvious bioethical angle. The offenders were effectively being forced to participate in donating an organ, something which must always be voluntary, even if donating blood is the least onerous of all organs. “What happened is wrong in about 3,000 ways,” said bioethicist Art Caplan, of NYU Langone Medical Center. “You’re basically sentencing someone to an invasive procedure that doesn’t benefit them and isn’t protecting the public health.”

http://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/a-fine-way-to-give-blood/11621

Pedophilia

Indonesia – Government to use chemical castration for pedophiles

President Joko Widodo has voiced approval for a law that provides for chemical castration for convicted pedophiles. Social Affairs Minister Khofifah Indar Parawansa said the president supported castration in addition to jail terms for child sex offenders. The chemical castration could involve injecting a female hormone to reduce the sex drive of the offender. Indonesia will join a small group of nations that allows such punishment, including Poland, Russia, and Estonia, as well as some U.S. states. In 2011, South Korea became the first Asian country to use chemical castration as a punishment.

http://www.news24.com/World/News/Child-sex-offenders-to-be-chemically-castrated-20151021

Pornography

USA – Playboy magazine to stop publishing nude images

Playboy will no longer publish nude photographs of women, the New York Times reported in an article quoting Scott Flanders, the company’s chief executive. Founder and Editor-in-chief Hugh Hefner, 89, who in his trademark silk pajamas has embodied the Playboy lifestyle, agreed last month with a suggestion by top editor Cory Jones to stop publishing images of naked women, the Times said. At a time when every teenage boy has an internet connected phone and the web is rife with pornography, the magazine has opted to continue featuring women in provocative poses, just not completely nude.

https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?tab=wm#inbox/150662698a08e9ed

South Africa – South Africans’ secret porn viewing habits

South Africa is not one of the top 20 countries in the world who spend their time watching porn online, but they do watch. On average, South Africans spend 10 minutes and 14 seconds per visit. This is 21 seconds less compared to 2013 but still higher than the world average of 9 minutes and 16 seconds of which 71{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4} is watched on mobile devices, according to research done by Pornhub on their website. But there are consequences. There is the risk of losing a partner, an increase in marital or relationship problems, feelings of spiritual emptiness, feelings of hopelessness and despair, failed efforts to control your sexual behavior, acting against your own values and beliefs, and a decrease in work productivity.

http://www.health24.com/Sex/News/Kim-Kardashian-what-SA-looks-for-when-watching-porn-20150121

Germany – Porn may reduce your brain size

Men who report watching a lot of pornography tend to have less volume and activity in regions of the brain linked to rewards and motivation, according a new German study published in JAMA Psychiatry. The results provide the first evidence for a link between pornography consumption and reductions in brain size and activity. The researchers found that the volume of the striatum, a brain region that has been associated with reward processing and motivated behaviour was smaller the more pornography consumption the participants reported. Another brain region that is also part of the striatum and is active when people see sexual stimuli shows less activation the more pornography participants consume.

http://www.health24.com/Medical/Vaginal-discharge/News/Porn-may-reduce-your-brain-size-20140602

South Africa – Violent porn may be to blame for sexual coercion

Nearly one in 10 teenagers and young adults has coerced or forced a peer to engage in some form of sexual activity, and violent pornography is partly to blame, according to a new study.

The study of more than 1 000 young people aged 14 to 21 found that 9{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4} reported forcing or pressuring a peer to engage in sexual activity. Perpetrators were five times more likely to have been exposed to X-rated media that showed a person being physically hurt during sex, the study found, according to study co-author Michele Ybarra, president and research director of the Centre for Innovative Public Health Research in San Clemente, California. The young people also recounted a disturbing lack of consequences for their actions.

http://www.health24.com/Sex/News/Violent-porn-to-blame-for-sexual-coercion-20131008

Prostitution & Trafficking

USA – Legalizing prostitution is prison for the exploited

Lisa Thompson of the National Center on Sexual Exploitation says,” oppose Amnesty International’s proposal to decriminalize prostitution worldwide for people over 18. It is a bad idea. No Amnesty for Pimps”. Prostitution is where people are supplied as public sexual commodities and it is rife with violence and crime. When suggesting that sex is work you’re also suggesting sexual exploitation is part of the job. In countries that have decriminalized prostitution violence is not reduced and sexually transmitted infections still prevail. Decriminalization increases demand giving full license when criminal penalties are removed. If there is more demand there will be a need for more supply. That supply, will come from poor countries, exploited women and children.

http://www.onenewsnow.com/culture/2015/10/14/legalizing-prostitution-is-prison-not-freedom-for-exploited

UK – Family jailed for trafficking Hungarian women for prostitution

A family who trafficked and enslaved two Hungarian women and forced them into prostitution have been jailed. Police rescued the women aged 30 and 21 from a home in Manchester. Four family members pleaded guilty to sex trafficking offences and were jailed for between three and six years each. Judge Peter Davies, passing sentence, described the victims’ ordeal, which lasted for more than six months, as a life “characterized by fear”. http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-manchester-34358630

USA – What Amnesty Did Wrong Regarding Prostitution

In an extended document by Anna Djinn from a feminist blog, thirteen points are addressed and expanded on regarding Amnesty Internationals mistakes regarding their decision to support the legalization of prostitution. What we found particularly interesting was the fact that the first version of the policy was written by Douglas Fox, a very successful pimp. In “The Equality Illusion: The Truth About Women and Men Today”, Kat Banyard identifies Douglas Fox as “founder and business partner of Christony Companions – one of the UK’s largest escort agencies.”

http://prostitutionresearch.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/What-Amnesty-did-wrong.pdf

Stem Cells & Cloning

Australia – Researchers grow organ in Petri-dish

A team of researchers from Murdoch Children’s Research Institute at the University of Queensland have grown a mini-kidney in a laboratory, opening the possibility for powerful non-human clinical drug and therapy trials. The kidney was grown from human induced pluripotent stem cells. The researchers reported in Nature they had generated kidney organoids which “represent powerful models of the human organ for future applications, including nephrotoxicity screening, disease modeling and a source of cells for therapy”. Stem cell biologist Melissa Little said the approach could be used for drug screening in two years, potentially saving drug developers hundreds of millions of dollars. The kidney is one of the organs typically poisoned by drugs, along with the liver and heart.

http://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/researchers-grow-organ-in-petri-dish/11610

Substance Abuse

UK – Use of Legal Highs on the Increase

Incidents involving legal highs have more than doubled in 2 years from 1,431 in 2013 to 3,807 incidents in 2014, according to data compiled by the Centre for Social Justice. Ms Harrison, an advanced paramedic said health workers are also seeing a surge in the number of people overdosing after taking legal highs. Biochemists from Liverpool’s John Moore University analysed 5 separate brands of legal high, marketed as Ching, Cherry Bomb, Pandora’s Box Unleashed, Gogaine and Exodus Damnation. In three of the products they discovered a mismatch between the ingredients listed on the packet and what the substance actually contained. The chemicals are made in countries like China and India and then packaged and distributed throughout Europe.

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-34603665

USA – Promising new target for addiction treatment

The latest issue of Biological Psychiatry presents the results of three studies implicating metabotropic glutamate receptor 2 (mGluR2) as a new molecular target for the treatment of addiction. These three studies were conducted using different addictive substances. All the studies suggest that the use of compounds that selectively target mGluR2 have the potential to successfully treat addiction. Dr. John Krystal, Editor of Biological Psychiatry, summarized, “It is unusual to have three papers supporting a new treatment mechanism emerge at the same time. Enhancing mGluR2 function may hold promise for the treatment of addiction.”

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/09/150914110551.htm

http://www.biologicalpsychiatryjournal.com/article/S0006-3223(15)00126-2/abstract

http://www.biologicalpsychiatryjournal.com/article/S0006-3223(15)00083-9/abstract

http://www.biologicalpsychiatryjournal.com/article/S0006-3223(15)00129-8/abstract

Switzerland – Study: THC doesn’t reduce postoperative nausea or vomiting

Intravenous THC had a “negligible” effect on postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV), as well as having “unpredictable psychotropic and sedative side effects,” according to a clinical trial by Dr. Lorenz G. Theiler and colleagues of University of Bern, Switzerland. At a time of growing interest in the uses of medical marijuana, the results suggest that marijuana compounds (cannabinoids) aren’t a good option to prevent PONV.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/10/151006124001.htm

http://journals.lww.com/anesthesia-analgesia/pages/articleviewer.aspx?year=9000&issue=00000&article=98206&type=abstract

Scotland – Massive rise in heroin and methadone drug problems

Massive rises in heroin and methadone-related drug problems amongst over-40s have driven drug-related hospital stays to a record high, official figures show. The number of hospital stays linked to opioids, have risen fivefold from 791 in 1996/97 to 4,511 in 2014/15. The rate of opioid-related admissions per head of population has risen even faster, from around 10 per 100,000 population to almost 90, figures from NHS Scotland’s Information Services Division (ISD Scotland) show. There were almost as many hospital stays linked to opioid use as there were for alcohol dependence (4,747) in 2014/15. Scotland’s controversial methadone substitution therapy for heroin addicts is fuelling the drug problem and is of major concern to many politicians and academics.

http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/news/13843922.Figures_show_massive_rises_in_heroin_and_methadone_drug_problems_among_over_40s/

USA – New study on the use of “Novel Psychoactive Substances”

In recent years, there has been an increase in emergence and use of a variety of new drugs, so-called “novel psychoactive substances” (NPS) in the US and worldwide. A new study, published in Drug and Alcohol Dependence by researchers affiliated with New York University’s Centre for Drug Use and HIV Research, examined self-reported use of 57 different new. The researchers found that almost all (95{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4}) subjects who reported use of a new drug also reported lifetime use of alcohol, marijuana, or cigarettes, and lifetime use of ecstasy (79.4{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4}), opioids (79.1{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4}), cocaine (74.3{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4}), and LSD (73.7{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4}).

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/09/150915105940.htm

http://www.drugandalcoholdependence.com/article/S0376-8716(15)01622-1/abstract

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

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LIFEalerts 19 October 2015

October 19, 2015

LIFEalerts 19 October 2015

Abortion	USA – 11^th New Video: Harvesting intact brains from aborted babies USA – Website to Find Alternatives to Planned Parenthood
Alternative Medicine	Korea – Research on positive effects of turmeric on diseased livers USA – Yohimbine Supplements Contain Drug Like Doses
Euthanasia	UK – Assisted dying sinks in UK Parliament by 3-1 margin Belgium – Unbearable suffering” questioned in Belgian euthanasia Canada – Ontario doctors squeezed on objection to assisted suicide Netherlands – Dutch doctor sued for not approving the euthanasia
HIV/AIDS	No news today
Homosexuality	No news today
IVF & Surrogacy	UK – Widespread incompetence at IVF Clinics Switzerland – Court: Homosexual Surrogacy is “reproductive tourism” says USA – For Sale: “High Quality” designer babies Denmark – Fertility treatment can succeed with fewer hormones
Medical Ethics	Canada – Coerced sterilization of Canadian indigenous women Italy – European court strikes down challenge to embryo law USA – New research ethics guidelines planned for US UK – Researcher applies for embryo gene-editing license
Pedophilia	USA – Association between hypersexuality and pedophilic interest
Pornography	USA – FBI has new tactic to fight child pornography
Prostitution &Trafficking	USA – John’s more likely to rape and commit sexually aggressive acts Germany – Legalized Prostitution Does Increase Human Trafficking
Stem Cells & Cloning	No news today
Substance Abuse	Canada – City grants new medical marijuana business licenses USA – Case Report: Levamisole-contaminated cocaine South Africa – Study by the MRC reveals the extent of drug abuse USA – Landmark study: Substance Abuse & Cognitive Development

Abortion USA – 11^th New Video: Harvesting intact brains from aborted babies During an interview with Live Action President Lila Rose on TV, David Daleiden of The Centre for Medical Progress released never-before-seen footage showing a Texas Planned Parenthood abortionist Dr. Amna Dermish, who does abortions up to 24 weeks, describing how she manipulates the child into “breech” position, which resembles illegal partial-birth abortion, in order to obtain more intact body parts. Rose, who co-hosted the program, noted that the children being killed in Planned Parenthood abortion facilities are viable and able to survive outside the womb. Five states have defunded Planned Parenthood, and multiple federal and state investigations into the abortion giant have been launched. http://liveactionnews.org/new-video-planned-parenthood-abortionist-jokes-about-harvesting-intact-brain-from-aborted-babies/ USA – Website to Find Alternatives to Planned Parenthood GetYourCare.org features an interactive map that allows people to search for health care providers in their local area. The website’s goal is to give women everywhere in America access to information about the thousands of quality health care options women have. The Charlotte Lozier Institute and Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) contend there are many health care centers that should receive federal funding instead of Planned Parenthood. Some states have already defunded Planned Parenthood and are sending funds to health clinics. Casey Mattox, senior counsel with ADF, explained, “What these graphics put into pictures is what the data has been telling us for a long time. Planned Parenthood is really a small part of the national health care picture in America.” http://www.lifenews.com/2015/09/18/pro-life-groups-launch-website-to-help-patients-find-alternatives-to-planned-parenthood/ Alternative Medicine Korea – Research on positive effects of turmeric on diseased livers Turmeric is one of the most popular therapeutic spices nowadays. It is a major ingredient of herbal companies who manufacture dietary supplements. The spice is popularized by its therapeutic ingredient called curcumin which is believed to have antibacterial antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. A new clinical trial in the journal BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine has shed some light on the impressive liver-protective and regenerative properties of turmeric. The Clinical Trial Center for Functional Foods Chonbuk National University Hospital’s South Korean researchers conducted research to test their hypothesis about turmeric having the ability to improve liver function. It reduces enzymes associated with liver damage (asparate transaminase and gamma-glutamyltransferase). http://www.menafn.com/1094351770/Research-Highlights-The-Positive-Effects-Of-Turmeric-On-Diseased-Livers USA – Yohimbine Supplements Contain Drug Like Doses A supplement touted for revving up sex lives contains doses of a natural compound so high that the product acts like a drug, with dangerous side effects. Researchers analyzed the contents of about 50 dietary supplements sold in the United States that contained the ingredient Yohimbine, a compound found in small amounts in the bark of an African tree called Pausinystalia Johimbe. Supplements made from Johimbe bark extract are expected to have low levels of Yohimbine; the new study found high doses of up to 12 milligrams in the supplements, prescribed doses are 5 to 10 milligrams. “What was surprising was how much Yohimbine,” was in supplements, said study co-author Dr. Pieter Cohen, an assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. http://www.livescience.com/52255-yohimbine-supplements-drug.html <Back to Top> Euthanasia UK – Assisted dying sinks in UK Parliament by 3-1 margin A private member’s bill to legalise assisted suicide has been defeated in the British House of Commons by a crushing 3 to 1 margin. Despite high-profile support from the former director of public prosecutions, Sir Keir Starmer, now a Labour MP, and former Archbishop of Canterbury, Lord Carey, MPs defied opinion polls and voted against the measure by 330 votes to 118. However, the issue is far from dead. Sarah Wootton, chief executive of the group Dignity in Dying, which lobbied hard for the bill, says that the battleground will shift to Britain’s courts, which have sympathised with the view that assisted suicide is a human right. http://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/assisted-dying-sinks-in-uk-parliament-by-3-1-margin/11561#sthash.0bpcsMdG.dpuf Belgium – Unbearable suffering” questioned in Belgian euthanasia Journalist Brett Mason interviews two patients about their request for euthanasia and asks a number of doctors and public figures whether the increasing number of cases for unbearable suffering can be justified. Peter Ketelslegers is a 33-year-old father of two who suffers from cluster headaches which according to Belgian doctors – is untreatable. Simona de Moor is 85, physically fit and mentally sharp. But five minutes after her beloved daughter died, she decided on euthanasia. Dr Van Hoey is an old hand at euthanasia. How many has he killed, Mason asks? “To be frank, I don’t know, maybe hundreds, or over a hundred,” he replies. http://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/unbearable-suffering-questioned-in-documentary-on-belgian-euthanasia/11574 Canada – Ontario doctors squeezed on objection to assisted suicide The legalization of physician-assisted suicide in Canada after February’s decision by the Supreme Court is starting to affect doctors. The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario has quietly issued a directive that conscientious objectors must help them find someone willing to do so. This policy requires physicians who are unwilling to provide procedures for reasons of conscience or religion to make “an effective referral to another health-care provider”. This is defined as “a referral made in good faith, to a non -objecting, available, and accessible physician, other health-care professional, or agency.” http://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/ontario-doctors-squeezed-on-conscientious-objection-to-assisted-suicide/11572 Netherlands – Dutch doctor sued for not approving the euthanasia The death of nineteen year old Milou de Moor could become an important legal precedent. She suffered from lupus. It had severe psychological effects, depression, mood swings, anger, blackouts and nerve pain. Three years ago she requested euthanasia and it appeared that all the necessary people had agreed in accordance with the Dutch law. Her parents supported her decision and a date was set for her death. The doctor reneged and said that she did not believe that euthanasia was appropriate and so the hospital declined to go ahead. When Milou heard the news, she went off in a panic and hanged herself. The family feels stabbed in the back and has filed a complaint with the Medical Regulatory Board to sue the doctor for refusing permission. http://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/dutch-doctor-in-hot-water-for-refusing-to-approve-euthanasia/11584 <Back to Top> HIV/AIDS & STI’s No news today <Back to Top> Homosexuality No news today <Back to Top> IVF &Surrogacy UK – Widespread incompetence at IVF Clinics IVF clinics have been accused of incompetence by a High Court judge as 5 heterosexual couples and 2 same-sex couples were victims of sloppy paperwork. After the baby was born they learned that they might not be the legal parents. This is not the first time that the IVF sector has been embarrassed by lack of attention to detail. In 2013, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) found that 51 clinics 46{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4} had anomalies in their records. The HFEA revealed that there have been a further 75 of these anomalies.1 parent interviewed said clinics had made simple clerical mistakes and appeared to be blasé about their legal responsibility to ensure our children were just that in name and in law. http://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/widespread-incompetence-in-uk-ivf-clinics/11573#sthash.JrJedtxe.dpuf Switzerland – Court: Homosexual Surrogacy is “reproductive tourism” In 2011 two Swiss men who lived in the US registered their partnership. Two months later, they had a child through surrogacy. Once back in Switzerland in 2014, the federal court ruled against the status they acquired in the US. The Swiss court stated that the principles informing the decision weren’t informed by considerations on same-sex parenting, but rather by an ethical stand on surrogacy itself. The court explained; a child must be protected from being downgraded to a commodity which can be ordered from a third party. The two men knowingly bypassed the Swiss law, recognizing their status would encourage “reproductive tourism.” The Swiss law on assisted reproduction only allows IVF that doesn’t require egg or sperm donation. http://www.sensiblesurrogacy.com/gay-surrogacy-is-reproductive-tourism-says-swiss-courts/ USA – For Sale: “High Quality” designer babies A documentary profiles a former Facebook executive, 46-year-old Natalie Lovett, who decided on single motherhood and a designer baby. She had to select both a sperm donor and an egg donor. She designed the embryos carefully, specifying that the donors had to have tertiary qualifications and no addictions. She discovered that the clinic had created 25 embryos for her. Reluctant to give them to science or to destroy them, she decided to advertise her “high quality embryos” to prospective mothers. They had to sign an agreement stipulating that the children and their families have to get together once a year. The agreement is called “Lexi’s Village”. Doctors for Life does not support embryo enhancement, except in as a valid medical reason. http://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/creating-lexies-village/11595 Denmark – Fertility treatment can succeed with fewer hormones Women undergoing IVF treatment have had to use a hormonal gel on a daily basis for at least 14 days after embryo transfer. This increases the chances of pregnancy but it may also cause some side effects in the form of irritation and discharge. Two test groups and a control group were examined in this randomized trial. The women had standard care including the hormonal gel, whereas the test groups only administered a small daily injection of the pregnancy stimulating hormone HCG over a 2-week period. “The chances of becoming pregnant are equally good although the study group who was treated with daily injections perceived this as considerably more patient friendly,” says Professor Peter Humaidan. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/08/150825103115.htm <Back to Top> Medical Ethics Canada – Coerced sterilization of Canadian indigenous women Coerced sterilization of indigenous Canadian women did not end until at least 1974 and according to Karen Stote, professor of women’s studies at Wilfrid Laurier University; the problem was far wider than was previously known. “Consent forms (for sterilizations) were not translated into indigenous languages, people weren’t necessarily understanding what was happening in the doctor’s office … In some areas, they (doctors working for the government) were promoting birth control to reduce the size of indigenous communities.” Dr Stote claims that “the government also wanted to reduce their population to lessen the state’s responsibilities under treaties it had signed with indigenous groups.” http://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/more-revelations-about-past-sterilization-of-canadian-indigenous-women/11562#sthash.YeNBINdJ.dpuf Italy – European court strikes down challenge to embryo law The European Court of Human Rights has ruled that Adelina Parillo, who with her partner created five embryos in 2002, does not have a right to donate her embryos to scientific research. Parillo claimed that existing Italian law regulating embryo research violated the right to privacy and private property. The court found 16-1 that Italy had not contravened Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights on the right to respect for private and family life and was to be given considerable room for maneuver due to the lack of a European consensus, and international texts on the issue. There was also no evidence the woman’s deceased partner would have wished to donate the embryos for medical research. http://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/european-court-strikes-down-challenge-to-embryo-law/11558#sthash.IyjfpKy7.dpuf USA – New research ethics guidelines planned for US The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has proposed an overhaul of existing human research ethics guidelines in an attempt to deal with advances in science. The suggestions include proposals to modify informed consent for bio specimen research, improve the understandability of consent forms, and mandate single institutional review board (IRB) oversight of research. Many researchers and policy-analysts say that the existing framework is inadequate for studies involving new genomic technologies, and hinders multi-site research. The proposed changes will have significant implications for a wide range of stakeholders across the life sciences and health care industries, including drug and device manufacturers, hospitals, academic medical centers, universities and medical schools, IRBs, contract research organizations, laboratories, and tissue banks. http://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/new-research-ethics-guidelines-planned-for-us/11578 UK – Researcher applies for embryo gene-editing license Just months after the release of a controversial Chinese study into embryo gene-editing, British scientists have requested permission to genetically modify human embryos using the ground-breaking CRISPR-CAS9 technique. Dr Kathy Niakan, a leading developmental biologist affiliated with the Francis Crick Institute in London, believes the research would provide us with “fundamental insights into early human development”. Niakan’s application to the Human Fertilization and Embryo Authority (HFEA) comes in the wake of an important statement released by a group of leading British gene-editing research funders. In that document, the funding bodies expressed cautious support for embryo gene-editing research, and encouraged the broader community to explore the ethical and regulatory considerations in a ‘timely manner’. http://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/uk-researcher-applies-for-embryo-gene-editing-license/11583 <Back to Top> Pedophilia USA – Association between hypersexuality and pedophilic interest Much is currently known about hypersexuality among sexual offenders; the degree to which hypersexual behavior is linked to paraphilic and especially pedophilic interests in non-forensic populations has not been established. A recent online study by Alexander Schmidt from University of Luxembourg, suggests that there is no association between aggregated sex drive, and sexual abusive behavior in the multivariate analyses. 8,718 German men participated in the study. http://orbilu.uni.lu/handle/10993/21100 <Back to Top> Pornography USA – FBI has new tactic to fight child pornography The FBI is taking bold steps to stop the making and distribution of child pornography by taking over websites and keeping them up and running so they can catch predators in the act. This is a relatively new investigative technique the FBI is using. A child pornography website was seized but not immediately shut down and the FBI continued to run it for two months. During that time, investigators were monitoring the log-ons of users on that website. The technique allows the FBI to catch those running the website and those using the website to share pictures of child pornography. Federal prosecutors have said catching users of child pornography websites is just as important as shutting down the websites. http://www.click2houston.com/news/fbi-has-new-tactic-to-fight-child-pornography/35674978 <Back to Top> Prostitution & Trafficking USA – John’s more likely to rape and commit sexually aggressive acts Neil Malamuth, professor of communication and psychology at UCLA said “Findings indicate that men who buy sex share certain key characteristics with men at risk for committing sexual aggression”. “Both groups tend to have a preference for impersonal sex, a fear of rejection by woman, a history of having committed sexually aggressive acts and a hostile masculine self-identification. Those who buy sex, on average, have less empathy for woman in prostitution and view them as intrinsically different from other woman.” Traits of sexual aggression include antisocial behavior, a preference for impersonal sex and “hostile masculinity”, a narcissistic personality trait. One man who was interviewed for the study said prostitutes were like coffee cups: “When you’re done, you throw it out.” http://www.medicaldaily.com/prostitution-and-sexual abuse-men-who-pay-sex-may-be-more-likely-commit-rape-350700 Germany – Legalized Prostitution Does Increase Human Trafficking Countries with legalized prostitution are associated with higher human trafficking inflows than countries where prostitution is prohibited. These are among conclusions from a study concluded at the University of Heidelberg in Germany conducted by Prof. Dr. Axel Dreher, President of the European Public Choice Society. Countries with legalized prostitution report a greater incidence of human trafficking inflows. The effect of legal prostitution on human trafficking inflows is stronger in high-income countries than middle-income countries. Because trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation requires that clients in potential destination countries have sufficient purchasing power, domestic supply is a constraint. Criminalization of prostitution in Sweden resulted in the shrinking of the prostitution market and the decline of human trafficking inflows. http://journalistsresource.org/studies/international/human-rights/legalized-prostitution-human-trafficking-inflows <Back to Top> Stem Cells & Cloning No news today <Back to Top> Substance Abuse Canada – City grants new medical marijuana business licenses In two separate votes, Kimberley City Council granted business licenses to two more medical marijuana businesses. Each business will be allowed to dispense medical cannabis products, but each with a limitation – there will be no production allowed. The businesses must source their product from growers elsewhere. The Council was unanimous in granting the business license. All councillors agreed it was just another business for Kimberley, although they also all agreed to limit the license to dispensing, not growing. Mayor Don McCormick said that the federal government appeared to have the goal of having a few large manufacturers rather than small growers. http://www.dailybulletin.ca/breaking_news/327704191.html USA – Case Report: Levamisole-contaminated cocaine “Doctors, in particular, dermatologists and rheumatologists are seeing more and more people who are affected by levamisole-contaminated cocaine,” said Dr. Anthony Rossi, a dermatologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Centre in New York City. Skin lesions like those of the woman in a case report are a classic symptom, they occur when blood vessels near the surface of the skin are severely damaged; without enough blood, the skin dies. It’s unknown why levamisole is added to cocaine, but one possible explanation is that both drugs are similar in appearance; they’re both white powders, so the addition may be intended to increase the weight of cocaine in a way that users won’t notice. There’s also speculation that levamisole may cause euphoria. http://www.livescience.com/52169-contaminated-cocaine-docs-puzzled.html South Africa – Study by the MRC reveals the extent of drug abuse Ecstasy, LSD and methamphetamine are commonly used by younger persons as is the inhaling of solvents. Dagga, Mandrax and glue are used predominantly by people in disadvantaged communities. Cocaine and Ecstasy are more commonly used by middle and upper class strata. Dagga, Mandrax, alcohol and crack cocaine are both frequently used by sex workers. Excluding alcohol, the most common ingestion of drugs in South Africa is via smoking. Local research has found rates of foetal alcohol syndrome in excess of 30 per 1000 in high risk communities, at least 3x higher than the highest rates reported in high risk communities in the USA. The Medical research Council estimates that crime committed to support drug users’ habits is in excess of R10 billion per year. http://www.health24.com/Mental-Health/Drugs/Drug-abuse-trends-in-SA-20120721 USA – Landmark study: Substance Abuse & Cognitive Development The National Institutes of Health awarded 13 grants to research institutions around the USA as part of a landmark study about the effects of adolescent substance use on the developing brain. The Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study will follow 10,000 children, ages 9 to10, before they initiate drug use, through the period of highest risk for substance use and other mental health disorders. Scientists will track exposure to substances (including nicotine, alcohol, and marijuana), academic achievement, cognitive skills, mental health, and brain structure and function using advanced research methods. “With advances in neuroimaging and other investigative tools, we will be able to look in greater detail at the impact of substance use on young people,” said Nora D. Volkow, M.D., director of NIDA. http://www.drugabuse.gov/news-events/news-releases/2015/09/nih-launches-landmark-study-substance-use-adolescent-brain-development <Back to Top> Disclaimer: the views and opinions expressed in these articles do not necessarily reflect those of Doctors for Life International]]>

Amnesty International or Impunity International?

November 26, 2020October 8, 2015

1) it is a gift to pimps and sex buyers allowing them to carry out their activities as mere “sex business operators” and “customers,” 2) it normalizes sexual violence and exploitation as a “job.” If approved, Amnesty’s support of decriminalized prostitution will undermine the human rights of persons in the sex trade (the majority of whom are females), and give impunity to perpetrators of sexploitation. Amnesty International has betrayed the cause of human rights through its looming policy in favor of decriminalizing prostitution. Decriminalizing prostitution is a gift to pimps, sex traffickers, and sex buyers that confers a right to buy and sell other human beings. Such policies would not protect the persons in prostitution, but rather guarantee that their exploitation will continue. The National Center on Sexual Exploitation is now launching a new campaign entitled No Amnesty For Pimps to oppose Amnesty’s policy and to educate the public about how prostitution is an inherently exploitive system that requires Abolition, not social sanction.]]>

Press Release – March For Life 2015

November 26, 2020October 5, 2015

MARCH FOR LIFE 4 OCTOBER 2015 This past Sunday was the annual National Alliance For Life (NAL), National March For life 2015. This event is held once a year on the first Sunday in October. It brings together people from all walks of life across South Africa who are pro-life and want to take a stand and stop the senseless killing of unborn babies. As much as the pro-abortionists claim that a woman has a right to choose what happens to her own body that baby although it might be inside her, is not part of her body, it is a separate person. If it is OK to kill a baby inside the womb, the next step of society will be (as is already being claimed by some leading bio-ethicists in the West), to claim that the lives of all human beings after being born are not equal. Society is being de-sensitized to the extent that the leading bio-ethicist in the USA (Peter Singer), can claim that up to 23 days AFTER the birth, a child should not be considered a human person that deserves protection from the law. The National march for Life is trying to get rid of such passivity in society and is open to all people from various organizations, as well as individuals and churches who demand the right of unborn human persons to full protection of the law. NAL provides a forum for all interested parties to come together and combine their efforts in order to raise awareness. The March For Life has been taking place for a number of years now and each year sees more interest from organizations and the media. Science has proven that life starts at the earliest beginnings of a human embryo and that very first cell contains all the information that makes the embryo a new, unique human being. It is a person, which contains all the genetic information from the hair and eye color; the shoe size; how tall that person will be; whether they will be sportier or more academic or both etc. It will always be the weakest and most vulnerable of society that are taken advantage of and that is also true for an unborn baby. Just because they cannot stand up and speak for themselves does not mean we or their mothers have the right to decide if they may live or die. The goal of NAL and the March For Life is to inform and educate the public on abortion and get people, especially mothers, to realize there are other options available and that the complications a woman suffers after abortion doesn’t just last for those few minutes. The emotional scars can last a life time unless she gets therapy and counselling. Post Abortion Syndrome is well documented and results in severe depression, guilt, anxiety and regret. As a nation we call upon everybody to stand up and take responsibility for our actions. Since 1997 when abortion was legalized we have killed an estimated 1.2 million babies. On a world wide scale 19000 babies are aborted each day and since 1972 when abortion was legalized in the USA over 60 million babies have been aborted. It is time to stop this senseless taking of human life because it might be an inconvenience to us. We need to hold onto the sanctity of life.]]>