| Abortion | USA – Louisiana Bill Will Ban Sex-Selection Abortions |
| Alternative Medicine | South Africa – Traditional healers in a fix over new law |
| Euthanasia | USA – Connecticut Defeats Legislation to Legalize Assisted Suicide |
| HIV/AIDS | No news today |
| Homosexuality | USA – Agencies allowed to refuse homosexual adoptions UK – Force schools to endorse homosexual relationships USA – Former North Carolina magistrates sue over same-sex marriages USA – White House opens first gender-neutral restroom |
| IVF & Surrogacy | India – Law Student Beaten up after refusing to be Surrogate Mother China – Government bans surrogacy UK – First country to approve law to allow babies from three people |
| Medical Ethics | Australia – Informed consent dilemma: Jehovah witness and child die USA – Bioethics commission report on neuroscience and law |
| Pedophilia | No news today |
| Pornography | UK – Children Fear Addiction to Internet Pornography UK – ChildLine campaign confronts issue of young people and porn UK – Charity steps up removal of child sex abuse image |
| Prostitution &Trafficking | Netherlands – Prostitutes protest closure of brothel ‘windows’ USA – Colorado Springs police try public shaming to fight prostitution USA – Police use high tech tactics to stop prostitution Germany – Girls as Goods: Forced Prostitution in Berlin |
| Stem Cells & Cloning | No news today |
| Substance Abuse | USA – The Terrible Truth about Cannabis France – Parliament approves experiment of safe injection rooms USA – Cannabis remains a Schedule 1 drug federal judge rules |
Abortion
USA – Louisiana Bill Will Ban Sex-Selection Abortions Research has shown that sex-selection abortion has made its way from Asia to the United States and pro-lifers are moving forward with legislation to ban it. Rep. Lenar Whitney has filed H.B. 701, the Louisiana Pre-Natal Non-Discrimination Act (PRENDA) and it will be considered soon before the House Health and Welfare Committee. Rep. Whitney said: “Louisiana, as a leader in protecting human life, has a responsibility through this legislation to ensure that this form of discrimination does not take place within our borders. I look forward to passing this legislation and placing it on Gov. Jindal’s desk for his signature.” http://www.lifenews.com/2015/04/15/louisiana-bill-would-ban-sex-selection-abortions-targeting-girl-babies/Alternative Medicine
South Africa – Traditional healers in a fix over new law Traditional healers will have to be registered with a healers’ council by May 1 or face a fine or imprisonment, according to the Traditional Health Practitioners’ Act. But they are going to have a hard time complying – the council appears not to exist. The Times could not find its address, website, phone number or names of those involved in it. The Department of Health has failed to respond to questions about the council’s existence sent to it last week. Phepsile Maseko, head of the Traditional Healers’ Organisation, which claims 69000 members said the council was “not functional”. A council would enforce accountability among healers because patients could lodge complaints about them that could be investigated, said Maseko. http://www.timeslive.co.za/thetimes/2015/04/09/traditional-healers-in-a-fix-over-new-lawEuthanasia
USA – Connecticut Defeats Legislation to Legalize Assisted Suicide Connecticut will not follow Oregon, Washington and Vermont as the fourth state to legalize assisted suicide. Backers of the bill said they would try again next year in an attempt to get the state legislature to sign off on such a bill. Again a coalition of pro-life groups, disability rights advocates and religious and medical organizations, as has happened in other states, was crucial to stopping the measure. http://www.lifenews.com/2015/04/10/connecticut-defeats-legislation-to-make-it-4th-state-to-legalize-assisted-suicide/HIV/AIDS & STI’s
No news today
Homosexuality
USA – Agencies allowed to refuse homosexual adoptions The Florida House voted for a “conscience protection” bill allowing private adoption agencies to refuse placement of children with same-sex couples. The 75-38 vote sending the proposal to the state Senate came after more than 90 minutes of often impassioned debate. The bill does not specifically mention homosexuals. It permits agencies with written codes of ethics to refuse adoptions sought by parents whose lifestyles are at odds with the agency. http://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/2015/04/09/house-allows-agencies-block-gay-adoptions/25533447/ UK – Force schools to endorse homosexual relationships Schools should be required to give children a positive portrayal of same-sex relationships, according to a major teachers’ union. The National Union of Teachers (NUT) backed the promotion of LGBT History Month and an ‘LGBT inclusive’ curriculum at its annual conference in Harrogate this weekend. However, The Christian Institute said it would force Christian teachers “to have to choose between their faith and their job”. Chris McGovern, of the Campaign for Real Education, said: “The rights of groups who oppose gay marriage on sincere religious grounds should be respected as much as those who support homosexual marriage. http://www.christian.org.uk/news/force-schools-to-endorse-gay-relationships-says-nut/ USA – Former North Carolina magistrates sue over same-sex marriages Two former North Carolina magistrates who stepped down from their posts after a ruling that allowed same-sex marriages in the state have filed a lawsuit that says they should not have to perform same-sex ceremonies. Former Swain County magistrate Gilbert Breedlove and former Graham County magistrate Thomas Holland are listed as plaintiffs in the lawsuit that was filed in Superior Court. “Defendants forced Plaintiffs to choose between taking an act that violates their sincerely held religious beliefs or being criminally prosecuted,” says the lawsuit. It says the men resigned under duress and should be reinstated. They’re seeking injunctive relief, damages, and attorneys’ fees. http://abc11.com/news/former-north-carolina-magistrates-sue-over-same-sex-marriages/644674 USA – White House opens first gender-neutral restroom The White House has opened its first gender-neutral restroom in what is seen as a symbolic step by President Barack Obama to protect the rights of the LGBT community in the workplace. In Florida, the “Bathroom Surveillance Bill” would ban transgender people from using bathrooms, locker rooms and other sex-segregated facilities except those designated for their gender at birth. Transgender advocates have attacked the laws as discriminatory and accused legislators in some states of “attacking the dignity and humanity of transgender and gender non-conforming people”. “It is heartening that … at least the White House is still moving in the direction of dignity and common sense,” said Mara Keisling, executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality. http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/04/09/us-gay-rights-whitehouse-idUSKBN0N02CA20150409IVF &Surrogacy
India – Law Student Beaten up after refusing to be Surrogate Mother A 22-year-old was allegedly sexually harassed and beaten by a guest house owner and his accomplices for refusing to be a surrogate and five persons, including workers at a private hospital, were arrested. The victim was sent for medical examination and her statement will be recorded before a magistrate. A case has been registered with charges of rape, abducting in order to murder, and assault or criminal force to a woman with intent to outrage her modesty. Surrogacy if allowed needs to be governed by strict policy to avoid women being taken advantage of and such incidents avoided. http://zeenews.india.com/news/uttar-pradesh/meerut-shocker-law-student-raped-beaten-for-rejecting-surrogacy_1543902.html China – Government bans surrogacy “Surrogacy upsets the natural order of childbirth and poses health risks,” a government statement said. The practice contradicts the government’s population policy and a health commission spokesman later said that regulators will ban any businesses related to the practice. This is the strongest signal about surrogate motherhood that the government has ever sent. China’s surrogates usually come from rural areas and are desperate for cash. They earn anywhere between 10 000 to 100 000 yuan for carrying a baby. The demand for surrogate mothers has risen along with infertility as a 2012 study showed that about 12{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4} of women in the country were infertile. The problem with underground surrogacy is the women involved are desperate for money, so they conceal health problems. http://www.marketwatch.com/story/china-cracks-down-on-surrogate-births-even-as-infertility-rises-2015-04-14 UK – First country to approve law to allow babies from three people This procedure will prevent babies inheriting deadly genetic diseases. Scientist explained that mitochondria are the tiny compartments inside nearly every cell of the body that convert food into useable energy and a genetic defect in it means that the body has insufficient energy to keep the heart beating or the brain functioning. This new technique will use a modified version of IVF to combine the healthy mitochondria of a donor woman with DNA of the 2 parents and will result in babies with 0.1 percent of their DNA from the second woman, is a permanent change that would echo down through the generations. The first baby with the new technique could be born as early as 2016. http://www.medindia.net/news/uk-approves-three-person-babies-with-help-of-modified-ivf-version-146924-1.htmMedical Ethics
Australia – Informed consent dilemma: Jehovah witness and child die
In a case in the Internal Medicine Journal, doctors at Prince of Wales Hospital in Sydney report that a 28-year-old woman with acute promyelocytic leukemia refused all blood products even though she knew that her decision might lead to her death. Her foetus died in utero and she died several days later. However, the doctors note that: “maternal autonomy was respected – which reflects broad legal and ethical consensus that competent adults may refuse any form of medical intervention – even where that intervention is lifesaving… Circumstances where foetal and maternal autonomy conflict, or where foetal beneficence conflicts with maternal autonomy, create challenges… as more foetal-specific treatments become available, conflict between the best interests of mother and foetus will increase.”
http://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/informed-consent-dilemma-jehovah-witness-and-child-die/11394
USA – Bioethics commission report on neuroscience and law The US Presidential Commission into the Study of Bioethical Issues has released its report Grey Matters: Topics at the intersection of neuroscience, ethics, and society, which examines three key areas in which neuroscience intersects with ethics. Perhaps the most topical is the role of neuroscience in the courtroom. The report catalogues the various contributions that neuroscience could potentially make to our understanding of human action and also examines ethical concerns such as the potential for misinterpretation and overstatement of the implications of neuroscientific research. The authors of the report call for educational tools to help judges and lawyers grasp the rudiments of neuroscience and cautions against the perennial temptation to overstate the implications of scientific research. http://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/us-bioethics-commission-releases-report-on-neuroscience-and-law/11395Pedophilia
No news todayPornography
UK – Children Fear Addiction to Internet Pornography The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children interviewed 700 children for a study, and found 12{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4} of respondents admitted to making an explicit video. One in 10 children aged 12 or 13 say they have made a sexually-explicit video or been part of one. Almost one in 10 (9{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4}) are worried that they had become addicted to pornography. One in five children (18{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4}) said they had seen pornographic images that had shocked. The founder of ChildLine, Dame Esther Rantzen, indicated that the research pointed to a need for better education in schools regarding the difference between real life relationships and the fantasy world of porn because young people are turning to the internet to learn about sex and relationships. http://news.sky.com/story/1455776/children-fear-addiction-to-internet-pornography UK – ChildLine campaign confronts issue of young people and porn Sue Minto, Head of ChildLine service explains why the issue of porn is being addressed with latest campaign. As a charity that fights for every child they have launched the ChildLine FAPZ campaign (the Fight Against Porn Zombies). They received 18,000 visits every month about exposure to porn on their discussion forums from children that are worried they are addicted to porn. Animations are used as a hook to direct young people to a range of information and advice on the ChildLine website. Since they launched their campaign on 13 March, their videos have attracted more than 140,000 viewers. At least 10 per cent of the viewers went on to look for further helpful information about pornography on the ChildLine website. http://www.nspcc.org.uk/fighting-for-childhood/news-opinion/sue-minto-we-cannot-shy-away-talking-about-porn/ UK – Charity steps up removal of child sex abuse image The UK-based Internet Watch Foundation said it assisted in the removal of 31,266 sexually explicit web pages depicting youngsters in 2014, compared with 13,182 in 2013. The charity is taking a proactive approach, seeking out child abuse imagery rather than just acting on reports. The UK’s four biggest internet service providers committed an extra £1m to fund its efforts. Fewer than 0.3{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4} of the web pages detected were hosted in the UK, 56{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4} were hosted in North America, 41{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4} were hosted in Europe, including Russia. “There is a lot of research being done on automatically detecting the images themselves and what keywords to look for in related text, according to Prof Alan Woodward, who advises Europol on the issue. http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-32288650Prostitution & Trafficking
Netherlands – Prostitutes protest closure of brothel ‘windows’ Hundreds of sex workers and supporters protested in Amsterdam against plans to reinvigorate the city’s famed red light district by closing some of the windows where sex workers sit to draw clients. The famously open-minded city has proposed shutting down some of the brothels in the district to help in the fight against human trafficking and other crimes. About 115 of the 500 red and pink-lit windows have already been closed in recent years. About 7 000 sex workers ply their trade in Amsterdam and some 75{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4} of them come from poorer countries, particularly in eastern Europe. http://www.news24.com/World/News/Sex-workers-protest-closure-of-brothel-windows-20150410 USA – Colorado Springs police try public shaming to fight prostitution Colorado Springs police have a new way to combat prostitution: public shaming. The police department have started announcing the names of johns, or people convicted of soliciting for prostitution. Many johns were featured, along with their mug shots in a news release to media outlets, which also was posted on the police department’s Facebook page. Some agencies publicized johns on billboards or public access television, and in Corpus Christi, Texas, convicted johns had to put bumper stickers on their cars saying “Stop Prostitution”. Some departments announced arrests while other conducted social media campaigns after johns were convicted http://gazette.com/search USA – Police use high tech tactics to stop prostitution Police in Lubbock are using the internet to catch people participating in prostitution. It’s just like patrolling neighborhoods except they patrol internet. Police put advertisements offering sex for money and once they have a buyer, they set up a meeting. Are they 110{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4} sure when they read whatever it is on the internet that they are soliciting prostitution? Absolutely. But how do they know they have the right person when they make the arrest? There’s no doubt when they show up that’s who came to meet them because of conversations, time, place, date or what they’re driving. Police are hoping this sting will lead to catching bigger criminals, child predators or drug traffickers. http://www.kcbd.com/story/4825084/police-use-high-tech-tactics-to-stop-prostitution Germany – Girls as Goods: Forced Prostitution in Berlin A Television documentary is showing how young women see their way to Germany as the only way to secure a better life for themselves and their families. Girls growing up in poverty can be easy game for traffickers. Young girls from Romania and Bulgaria, some of them underage, are forced to have sex with up to 15 men a day, often without protection. Forced prostitution is a business that earns pimps and unscrupulous businessmen millions every year at the expense of enslaved girls and women who’re often desperately looking for a way out. Many of them don’t have passports and don’t speak German. In particular, young girls from Eastern Europe are increasingly falling prey to unscrupulous traffickers. http://www.dw.de/girls-as-goods-forced-prostitution-in-berlin/a-18324810Stem Cells & Cloning
No news today
Substance Abuse
USA – The Terrible Truth about Cannabis According to a 20 year study by Professor Wayne Hall, drugs advisor to the World Health Organisation: “If cannabis is not addictive then neither is heroin or alcohol; it’s harder to get people who are dependent on cannabis through withdrawal than heroin; we just don’t know how to do it. Those trying to stop cannabis suffer anxiety, insomnia, appetite disturbance and depression. Even after treatment, less than half can stay off the drug for six months.” 1 in 6 teenagers who smoke the drug become dependent and it doubles the risk of developing psychotic disorders including schizophrenia. Smoking doubles risk of having a car crash and those smoking cannabis are more likely to use harder drugs. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2783111/The-terrible-truth-cannabis-Expert-s-devastating-20-year-study-finally-demolishes-claims-smoking-pot-harmless.html France – Parliament approves experiment of safe injection rooms The French Parliament has adopted the experimentation of safe injection rooms. After more than four hours of lively debate between the parties, Article 9 of the bill on the modernization of the healthcare system was adopted by 50 votes against 24. These facilities, which have already been recognized in other countries, aim to reach out to drug addicts who usually adopt risky behaviors such as injecting in unhealthy conditions, often in the street. This begs the question, should we be condoning addictive behavior and saying it’s ok to abuse drugs as long as it is done in a controlled environment, or rather promote a healthy drug free society where addiction is treated rather than nurtured. http://idpc.net/alerts/2015/04/french-parliament-approves-experimentation-of-safe-injection-rooms USA – Cannabis remains a Schedule 1 drug federal judge rules A federal judge in California declined to remove marijuana from the list of most dangerous drugs. U.S. District Judge Kimberly Mueller said “This is not the court and this is not the time” to overturn federal law, and pointed out that courts are not designed to act as a maker of public policy. This decision lies with the FDA and scientists. The call to reclassify marijuana came out of a 2011 criminal complaint over pot plants illegally grown in California. Attorneys for the defendants had sought to dismiss the charges on the grounds that pot should not be listed among Schedule 1 drug that has no accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse. http://www.dailynews.com/general-news/20150415/marijuana-remains-a-schedule-1-drug-just-like-heroin-and-lsd-judge-rulesDisclaimer: the views and opinions expressed in these articles do not necessarily reflect those of Doctors for Life International
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