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Abortion
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Israel – Jewish Pro-Life Group Saves 35,000 Babies From Abortion
USA – Johns Hopkins reverses ban on detailed pro-life display
USA – Colorado Passes Unborn Victims Bill After Baby Cut Out of Womb
USA – Ohio Bill To Be Ban Down Syndrome Abortions
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Alternative Medicine
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USA – FDA calls for tighter regulation of Homeopathic Medicine
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Euthanasia
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Colombia – Country moves closer to legal euthanasia
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| HIV/AIDS |
No news today
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| Homosexuality |
South Korea – Schools banned from teaching about homosexuality
USA – Supreme Court divided on homosexual marriage
USA – Prominent M.D. says ‘Gender confusion’ a fleeting mental disorder
USA – Supreme Court upholds ban on conversion therapy
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| IVF & Surrogacy |
China – Scientists edit the genome of human embryos
UK – Mother becomes surrogate for son’s baby
New Zealand – Professionalize surrogacy say academics
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| Medical Ethics |
USA – WHO says unreported clinical trial data “unethical”
USA – The complexities of brain death
USA – Germline tinkering sparks more controversy
USA – Drug giant appoints bioethicist to head compassionate use panel
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Pedophilia
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No news today
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Pornography
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Canada – Underground child porn trade moving toward youngest victims
South Africa – Porn channel fined R25,000 for pleasing its 284 subscribers
USA – Ontario child porn investigation triggers international operation
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Prostitution &Trafficking
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Ireland – Men asked to support campaign: “Prostitution – We Don’t Buy It”
Nepal – Quake survivors face threat from sex traffickers
USA – Truckers against trafficking combat prostitution at rest stops
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Stem Cells & Cloning
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No news today
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Substance Abuse
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USA – New drug called Flakka is Insanity for $5
USA – Most Americans say medical marijuana shouldn’t be used by kids
USA – Too many high employees prompts company to leave Colorado
USA – Newborns Enduring Drug Withdrawal
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Abortion
Israel – Jewish Pro-Life Group Saves 35,000 Babies From Abortion
An organization called EFRAT has helped save 35,000 children from abortion in Israel. When women in Israel register for abortions for financial reasons, they are given EFRAT’s number. After a volunteer talks with them and assesses their needs, they may receive services from the organization. Pregnant moms have diapers, formula, canned and dry food delivered to their door for a year. EFRAT has over 3,000 volunteers in Israel.
http://www.lifenews.com/2015/04/22/jewish-pro-life-group-efrat-saves-35000-babies-from-abortion/
USA – Johns Hopkins reverses ban on detailed pro-life display
Officials at Johns Hopkins University reversed a decision banning a pro-life display that had appeared for decades at the school’s Spring Fair. The display was sponsored by the student group JHU Voice for Life. It shows models of unborn fetuses in various stages of development, but was initially rejected this year on the grounds that it “contains triggering and disturbing images.” “Abortion is disturbing, that’s the reason we have such a table,” Andrew Guernsey the president of the group said. Experts on free speech say attempts to restrict pro-life arguments are very common on campuses throughout the country. So at Hopkins, for now, the pro-life group and the fetal development display have survived.
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/04/15/johns-hopkins-reverses-ban-on-disturbing-pro-life-display/
USA – Colorado Passes Unborn Victims Bill After Mom’s Baby Cut Out of Womb
A Colorado state Senate committee approved a vote bill that would provide justice for unborn children who are killed or injured in violent crimes against their mother. The state lacks an unborn victims law to hold criminals accountable. The importance of this legislation came to light in March when Dynel Catece Lane was arrested in Longmont, Colorado after she attacked Michelle Wilkins and cut her seven month old unborn baby out of her womb. Senate president Bill Cadman is the sponsor of the unborn victims bill, Senate Bill 268, that mirrors federal law and the laws of dozens of states.
http://www.lifenews.com/2015/04/23/colorado-senate-panel-passes-unborn-victims-bill-after-moms-baby-cut-out-of-her-womb/
USA – Ohio Bill To Be Ban Down Syndrome Abortions
Seventy ninety percent of unborn babies with Down syndrome are victimized by abortions. North Dakota eventually became the first state in the United States to ban abortions on babies diagnosed with Down Syndrome. With the governor’s signature on the ban in 2013, Republican Gov. Jack Dalrymple took that state in a decidedly pro-life direction. Ohio is now considering a similar ban on abortions of babies with Down syndrome. Right to Life’s Down Syndrome Non-Discrimination Act (H.B. 135) has received its first legislative hearing. “Prohibiting discriminatory abortions is a critical step in Ohio’s efforts to sow a more empathetic and diverse culture across our state,” said Stephanie Ranade Krider, executive director of Ohio Right to Life.
http://www.lifenews.com/2015/05/05/bill-would-make-ohio-second-state-to-ban-abortions-based-on-down-syndrome-2/
Alternative Medicine
USA – FDA calls for tighter regulation of Homeopathic Medicine
Homeopathic treatments could receive greater scrutiny from the Food and Drug Administration in the near future, as their popularity has led some critics to call for tighter regulation. The makers of homeopathic medicines would have to demonstrate the safety and effectiveness of their products before they could be sold in drug stores and natural food shops. The agency last reviewed its regulation of homeopathic products in 1988 and the market has grown since that time. Then it was a multi-million dollar industry, and now it’s a multi-billion dollar industry. The FDA has seen some emerging safety concerns with these products and because of the passage of time, the growth of the industry, and these concerns, they thought it was time to take another look.
http://health.usnews.com/health-news/articles/2015/04/21/fda-weighs-tighter-regulation-of-homeopathic-medicines
USA – Untested Stimulant Found to Persist in Some Supplements
A number of supplements marketed for weight loss and improved athletic performance contain a synthetic compound that is similar to the drug amphetamine which has not been tested in people. The Food and Drug Administration has known about the presence of this drug in supplements for two years, but still has not warned consumers about the issue or acted to take the supplements off the market. The FDA “did a lot of hard work to figure out this brand-new designer stimulant was in supplements … and then failed to inform the public,” said Dr. Pieter Cohen, an assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and co-author a study. “It’s inexplicable and inexcusable,” Cohen said.
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/some-supplements-still-contain-untested-stimulant/
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Euthanasia
Colombia – Country moves closer to legal euthanasia
Colombia’s Health Ministry has finally drawn up guidelines for voluntary euthanasia, 18 years after the country’s Supreme Court ruled that it was a constitutional right. Health Minister Alejandro Gaviría told media that only competent adults would be able to request the procedure, that only patients with a terminal illness would be eligible, and that if the patient is unconscious, relatives must present audio, video, or written proof that they wanted to be euthanized. Minors and patients with degenerative diseases will not be able to receive a lethal injection.
http://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/colombia-close-to-legal-euthanasia/11411
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HIV/AIDS & STI’s
No news today
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Homosexuality
South Korea – Schools banned from teaching about homosexuality
Training materials issued to education offices in every province of South Korea state that ‘teaching about homosexuality is not permitted.’ ‘Sex education is not intended to be an opportunity for teachers to share their views on sexuality,’ it added. The document forbids using terms for non-heterosexual orientations and orders schools to remove LGBTI information from current curriculum’s. ‘It is urgent that we create sex-ed standards that move away from abstinence education, but staunch opposition from conservative groups to the initial draft made it difficult to reach a compromise,’ a Ministry of Health official said. ‘Our plan is to publish the standards that are possible right now and to work to create a social consensus moving forward,’ the official said.
http://www.gaystarnews.com/article/south-korea-schools-banned-teaching-about-homosexuality020415
USA – Supreme Court divided on homosexual marriage
The U.S. Supreme Court seems sharply divided on whether the Constitution guarantees a right to same-sex marriage. The court’s four liberal justices seem willing to vote in favour while the conservatives appear inclined to back the right of states to restrict the definition of marriage. Arguments focused on whether the Constitution’s guarantees of due process and equal protection mean states must allow homosexual couples to marry, and whether states must recognize same sex marriages performed in other states. The justices are due to deliver probably their most anticipated ruling of the year by the end of June. The arguments centered on homosexual marriage bans in Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee, four of the 13 states that currently prohibit it.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/04/28/us-usa-court-gaymarriage-idUSKBN0NI20G20150428
USA – Prominent M.D. says ‘Gender confusion’ a fleeting mental disorder
According to former Johns Hopkins Hospital psychiatrist-in-chief Paul R. McHugh, M.D., a person changing the sex he or she was born with is “biologically impossible.” He went on to declare that LGBT advocates who encourage “gender confused” individuals to have “sexual reassignment surgery” are guiding them down the path to suffer from mental illness, and quite possibly, suicide. McHugh points to a Swedish study tracking “transgenders” , some for nearly three decades, stressing how the decision often celebrated in the media to go through sex changes often proves fatal because of the mental toll it takes on individuals.
http://calconservatives.com/prominent-m-d-gender-confusion-a-fleeting-mental-disorder/
USA – Supreme Court upholds ban on conversion therapy
The U.S.Supreme Court upheld a ban on homosexual conversion therapy in New Jersey for patients under 18. In the case King v. Governor of New Jersey, the court declined to hear a challenge on the ban, following a similar decision in 2014 that also upheld a similar ban in California. Republican New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie signed a bill banning the practice in 2013. Supporters of the therapy attempted to present the issue as a restriction of free speech of doctors and counselors. Justices did not comment after issuing the order dismantling the challenge.
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2015/05/04/Supreme-Court-upholds-ban-on-gay-conversion-therapy-in-New-Jersey/6981430758566/
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IVF &Surrogacy
China – Scientists edit the genome of human embryos
The aim of the scientists was to modify the gene for β-thalassaemia a potentially lethal blood disorder with a gene-editing technique known as CRISPR/Cas9. They used non-viable human embryos from IVF clinics. The idea was to eliminate the gene in one-cell embryos so they would develop into children who would not suffer the disease. They injected 86 embryos and examined them after 48 hours when they had grown to 8 cells. 71 survived and 54 were analyzed. 28 successfully spliced the target gene, but only a fraction of these contained the correct replacement gene. They also found that there were a number of “off-target” mutations somehow caused by CRISPR/Cas9.
http://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/china-ignites-debate-over-genetic-engineering/11414
UK – Mother becomes surrogate for son’s baby
Kyle Casson 24, a supermarket worker was desperate for a child. A relative volunteered to be a surrogate, but pulled out for medical reasons and Kyle’s mother then stepped forward. So Kyle found a donor with the right hair and eye color and organised fertilization and implantation at an IVF clinic. This is the first time that a single man has had a baby through surrogacy in the UK. The relationships of the 3 people are complex. Anne-Marie is the mother of Kyle, and both the mother and the grandmother of Miles. Miles is both the half-brother and the son of Kyle. Kyle is both the son and the “husband” of Anne-Marie. How this will affect Miles only time will tell.
http://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/british_mum_becomes_surrogate_for_sons_baby/11356
New Zealand – Professionalize Surrogacy say Academics
Academics have proposed that surrogacy become a profession like nursing or teaching and is fully integrated into the health system. Their discussion centers on decisions about whether to abort a surrogate mother’s fetus if there is a substantial abnormality. It would be unethical for commissioning parents to request abortion for a minor abnormality like a cleft palate, but in cases of severe abnormality, abortion would be the morally responsible thing to do. Payment should not be tied to the delivery of a healthy infant. Where the surrogate agrees to an abortion she should still receive full payment so that she is not penalized for doing the right thing. The intended parents are not buying a baby but a service.
http://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/professionalise_surrogacy_say_new_zealand_academics/11338
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Medical Ethics
USA – WHO says unreported clinical trial data “unethical”
The World Health Organization has called for the disclosure of results from clinical trials for medical products, whatever the result. There is increasing empirical evidence that results of many clinical trials are suppressed from the public. The move aims to ensure that decisions related to the safety and efficacy of vaccines, drugs and medical devices are supported by the best available evidence. WHO has recommended that the findings of every clinical study should be submitted to a peer-reviewed journal within 12 months after data collection ends and be published in an open-access journal. “It’s unethical to conduct clinical research without reporting the results,” says immunologist Dr. Vasee Moorthy, author of a paper discussing the rationale behind the WHO’s new statement.
http://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/unreported-clinical-trial-data-unethical/11403
USA – The complexities of brain death
An article in the journal Neurology by a team of neurologists and medical researchers from clinics and universities around the US, found that institutional protocols were absent or poorly understood in a significant number of low-income countries.” Doctors around the world leave different periods of time following initial neurological deterioration before they declare brain death, with reported results from less than 5 hours to more than 25 hours.“ “There were several discrepancies regarding the conduct of apnea testing”, and views about the import of ancillary testing (EEGs, Dopler ultrasounds etc.) differed significantly between countries, the authors report. In their discussion of the results of the study, the authors flagged a need for greater collaboration between medical institutions from different countries.
http://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/the-complexities-of-brain-death/11407
Study: http://www.neurology.org/content/early/2015/04/08/WNL.0000000000001540.short
USA – Germline tinkering sparks more controversy
Responding to Chinese attempts to modify the human genome using new gene editing technology, director of the US National Institutes of Health, Francis S. Collins, declared the NIH would not fund such research. “The strong arguments against engaging in this activity remain. These include the serious and unquantifiable safety issues, ethical issues presented by altering the germline in a way that affects the next generation without their consent, and a current lack of compelling medical applications justifying the use of CRISPR in embryos. Critics of the controversial experiments to correct a defect in a single-cell embryo’s DNA believe the technology will be used for genetic engineering and ultimately, human enhancement and Nature and Science refused to publish the research, despite its show-stopping potential.
http://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/germline-tinkering-sparks-more-controversy/11417
USA – Drug giant appoints bioethicist to head compassionate use panel
Johnson & Johnson has appointed Art Caplan, of New York University to head a company panel examining cases of desperately-ill patients who believe a drug not approved yet will help them. Compassionate use is an attempt to strike a balance between patient autonomy and informed consent. On the one hand, patients are making their own choices after being informed of the risks. On the other hand, they may be too sick or may not have the background to understand the risks As the New England Journal of Medicine says, “it may well not be in the interest of patients, however sick they may be, to have easier access to products that are ineffective and may actually worsen their clinical status.”
http://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/drug-giant-appoints-bioethicist-to-head-compassionate-use-panel/11432
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Pedophilia
No news today
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Pornography
Canada – Underground child porn trade moving toward youngest victims
Data from the Canadian Centre for Child Protection shows that sexualized images of children under the age of 9, depicting explicit sexual acts, represent the largest and fastest-growing category in Canada’s underground child pornography trade, according to exclusive data obtained from the Canadian Centre for Child Protection. Their abusers are overwhelmingly family and friends. The data shows 73 per cent of the images of young victims depicted sex acts that included “bondage” and “torture.” That figure was up 12 per cent over the previous year.
It is the first time that the age category from newborn to 8 accounted for more than half of the material. Images of children in older age categories dropped or held steady.
http://www.thestar.com/news/world/2015/04/26/underground-child-porn-trade-moving-toward-youngest-victims.html
South Africa – Porn channel fined R25,000 for pleasing its 284 subscribers
Digital satellite TV broadcaster StarSat got more than just a telling off by the broadcasting watchdog for continuing to show pornographic content after a court order forbade it to. The company was fined R25,000 by the Broadcasting Complaints Commission of South Africa (BCCSA) for “knowingly” continuing the unauthorised service while its application to appeal the court’s decision had not yet been lodged. The company asked to be let off without a fine but this only served to reduce its fine from the BCCSA maximum penalty of R60,000. The council of the Justice Alliance of South Africa‚ which lodged the complaint with the BCCSA‚ argued that regardless of the content and protections‚ providing an unauthorised service knowingly justified more than a reprimand.
http://www.timeslive.co.za/entertainment/2015/05/07/porn-channel-fined-r25000-for-pleasing-its-284-subscribers
USA – Ontario child porn investigation triggers international operation
Dozens of suspects, including some as young as 12, have been arrested in connection with a child pornography investigation known as Project Hydra. The project began with one child victim in the York region and through investigation has grown into a significant international project with thousands of potential victims according to Inspector Tim Kelly. Police said 41 suspects have been arrested and 110 charges have been laid in North America. The charges include possession, distribution and accessing of child pornography. Seventeen of the suspects were arrested in Canada. A young person had allegedly uploaded the images. Police contacted owners of the website used by the young person and identified suspects around the world.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/new-brunswick-man-charged-after-2000-boys-allegedly-lured-online/article24283269/
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Prostitution & Trafficking
Ireland – Men asked to support campaign: “Prostitution – We Don’t Buy It”
The campaign is supported by Justice Minister Fitzgerald and her Northern counterpart David , coincides with a new Red C Poll, which shows the vast majority of Irish men do not use prostitutes .The survey finds that 88 per cent of men have never bought sex – just 8 per cent of men say they have – and 4 percent did not respond. The vast majority of people surveyed also believe that women who sell sex have been pimped or trafficked into the sex industry. The idea that prostitution is a time honored profession is a myth .There’s are lot of myths about why men buy sex and many are tied up with the idea that men are lonely
-http://www.newstalk.com/Men-on-both-sides-of-the-border-are-being-asked-to-support-a-new-campaign-called-Prostitution–We-Dont-Buy-It
Nepal – Quake survivors face threat from sex traffickers
Criminal networks are using the cover of rescue efforts to target poor rural communities in country where an estimated 15,000 girls are trafficked a year, warn NGOs. Tens of thousands of young women from regions devastated by the earthquake in Nepal are being targeted by human traffickers supplying a network of brothels across south Asia. Some are taken overseas, to South Korea and as far as South Africa. But the majority end up in Indian brothels where tens of thousands are working in appalling conditions. “This is the time when the brokers go in the name of relief to kidnap or lure women. People here are desperate now and will take any chance.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/may/05/nepal-quake-survivors-face-threat-from-human-traffickers-supplying-sex-trade
USA – Truckers against trafficking combat prostitution at rest stops
When truck drivers break at a rest stop they’re often confronted by young girls working in the sex trade. The FBI set up a series of countrywide stings at truck stops where they found a number of pimps dispensing their prostitutes. To educate drivers on how to protect these girls, and potentially liberate them from being trafficked, Truckers Against Trafficking has launched a campaign .The program trains drivers how to identify a prostitute and encourages them to contact the National Human Trafficking Hotline if they come into contact with trafficked workers. Truckers are the eyes and ears of nation’s highways and can make a substantial difference in this fight.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/05/truckers-against-sex-trafficking_/9.h
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Stem Cells & Cloning
No news today
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Substance Abuse
USA – New drug called Flakka is Insanity for $5
James Hall, an epidemiologist at the Center for Applied Research on Substance Use and Health Disparities at Nova Southeastern University in Florida said, “Even though addicted, users tell us they are literally afraid of this drug,” Flakka is a synthetic stimulant with a reputation for its nasty side effects, including a tendency to give people enormous rage and strength, along with intense hallucinations. The street name for the chemical alpha-PVP is Gravel. The body overheats and users become delusional and violent. Flakka was banned by the DEA in 2014. Police are generally called, but it takes up to six officers to restrain an individual. 10 people have died from overdoses in the last few months.
http://www.livescience.com/50502-what-is-flakka.html
USA – Most Americans say medical marijuana shouldn’t be used by kids
Marijuana and children don’t mix, even if its claimed to be used for medical purposes, most Americans say. While nearly two-thirds of people agree that their state should allow so-called ‘medical marijuana’ for adults, only half as many — about a third — say it should be allowed for children, according to the University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital National Poll.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/04/150420084545.htm?utm_source=feedburner
USA – Too many high employees prompts company to leave Colorado
Marc Brawner, the owner of the company Little Spider Creations, says since Colorado legalized marijuana, too many employees were coming in high. He was firing too many people, and made the decision to move to South Carolina. Brawner says you could definitely see the difference in employees work quality when they were high, and he says they were just not as productive and had an “it’s good enough” attitude. The Colorado-based employment service has calls from employers asking for advice on what to do if an employee comes into work high, adding to the social and economical cost due to marijuana legalization.
http://www.9news.com/story/news/local/2015/04/23/little-spider-creations-marijuana-employees/26241529/
USA – Newborns Enduring Drug Withdrawal
infants admitted to neonatal intensive care units (NICU) to treat symptoms of drug withdrawal have nearly quadrupled since 2004. Neonatal abstinence syndrome, a drug-withdrawal syndrome that occurs after exposure to prescription narcotic painkillers during pregnancy affected only 7 babies for every 1,000 admitted to a NICU in 2004. By 2013, that number had jumped to 27 infants out of 1,000 babies in the NICU. The Baylor University Medical Center found the percentage of days spent in a NICU attributed to drug withdrawal went from 0.6{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4} to 4{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4} over that decade. Eight neonatal centers reported that more than 20{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4} of NICU days were spent caring for these infants in 2013. The findings were published online in the New England Journal of Medicine.
http://health.usnews.com/health-news/articles/2015/04/26/more-us-newborns-enduring-drug-withdrawal-study
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Disclaimer: the views and opinions expressed in these articles do not necessarily reflect those of Doctors for Life International
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