LIFEAlerts

Abortion

USA – CNN crossfire debate on abortion (part 1)
USA – CNN crossfire debate on abortion (part 2)
Italy – Unknown group covers city of Rome with posters
Canada – The error in the ‘My body, my choice’ argument

Alternative Medicine

[No news today]

Euthanasia

Netherlands – Demand for euthanasia surges in the Netherlands
Netherlands – Nitschke designs euthanasia machine with detachable coffin
Switzerland – Assisted suicide rates increased by 30{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4}

IVF and Surrogacy

[No news today]

Medical Ethics

USA – Is human gene editing around the corner?
UK – Court says woman in minimally conscious state be allowed to die
USA – Ethicists debate repairing human germlines
Italy – Scientists grow skin to save Syrian boy’s life

Pedophilia

USA – Homosexual pair shared adopted son with sex ring for six years

Pornography

USA – The world has become pornified

Same Sex Attraction

Turkey – Homosexual events banned in country
UK – Association of poor mental health and sexual identity

Sexual Exploitation

[No news today]

Substance Abuse

USA – The first baby to die in the USA ‘associated with cannabis’
South Africa – Flakka on sale in SA '10 times more dangerous than cocaine'

Abortion

USA – CNN crossfire debate on abortion (part 1)

Lila Rose, the president of Live Action (a pro-life group) shares some interesting facts and suggestions on CNN crossfire debate on abortion. “We should dare to have a better view for America and our women by saying we shouldn’t have to think or believe that women need abortions and that we have to kill our children to achieve the dreams and careers and families that we want. I think we can do better as a society and women deserve better. We should reach out to women on community-level programs that are positive that help them if they’re single mothers, improve the foster care system and improve the adoption system so that we can welcome children to this country, instead of seeing them as a threat and killing them. Science is not about personal views but rather about facts that prove there is a person in the womb, not just a clump of tissue. The right of the woman wanting an abortion should end when another life in the womb begins because it is no longer about the pregnant woman but the individual growing inside of her.
https://youtu.be/WdPIgsGmDcU

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USA – CNN crossfire debate on abortion (part 2)

In a debate about abortion on CNN crossfire Lila Rose, the president of Live Action a pro-life group, explains how abortion would be unnecessary if we addressed the reasons that make women believe they need an abortion. Lila asks “is it because a boss did not promote them? Or a boyfriend was going to leave them? Or a university professor said we are not going to be flexible with our class schedule? Let’s look at those reasons and address that instead of turning to killing, dismembering and poisoning our littlest Americans.” When Lila was asked whether a women should be forced to carry her rapist’s baby she responded by saying “an abortion does not unrape a woman, the rapist should be held accountable and she needs healing but abortion only adds to the violence”. She refers to the story of a women conceived in rape, Rebecca Keasling, she asked should she have received the death penalty for what her father did? “Should we be punished for what our fathers do wrong?”
https://youtu.be/WdPIgsGmDcU

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Italy – Unknown group covers city of Rome with posters

Nearly forty years after abortion was legalized in Italy, an unknown pro-life group has sought to reawaken Italians to the horrifying reality of abortion. The city was covered with thousands of posters saying: “One child killed every five minutes. Since 1978 more than six million killed by abortion. Let us remember these dead” the posters stated. The picture on the poster was of a baby in the womb pursued by an instrument used to dismember the child during an abortion. Toni Brandi president of ProVita Onlus (another pro-life group) said the message was strong and encouraged the unknown authors to continue the good fight.
https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/pro-lifers-blanket-rome-with-posters-protesting-abortion

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Canada – The error in the ‘My body, my choice’ argument

A video was released by Canadian pro-life group Choice 42 points out the flawed slogan that pro-abortion activists use ‘My body, my choice’. Laura Klassen the founder and director of Choice 42 explained in the video “My body does not have two heads, four arms, or 20 toes. If I were to get an abortion right now, I wouldn’t be aborting my own body. I’d be aborting the body inside my body.” When a mother chooses abortion, “she’s choosing for two,” Klassen said in a blog post. “She’s deciding the path her own life will take, but she’s also deciding whether or not her unborn child will even get his/her chance at life.”
https://youtu.be/IufyKdrAQIY

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Alternative Medicine

[No news today]

Euthanasia

Netherlands – Demand for euthanasia surges in the Netherlands

Euthanasia is becoming so popular in the Netherlands that the country’s only dedicated death clinic cannot keep up with the demand. Steven Pleiter, director of the Levenseindekliniek in Amsterdam said ‘If there was any taboo, it has gone’. Professor Theo Boer, who served on the Dutch euthanasia review committee between 2005 and 2014, has become a prominent critic of euthanasia, “There is no dispute about the good intentions of the people at the end of life clinic. [But] they may have become too used to doing euthanasia. Yes, they have expertise but they are too experienced. You should never get used to helping someone die.”
https://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/demand-for-euthanasia-surges-in-the-netherlands/

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Netherlands – Nitschke designs euthanasia machine with detachable coffin

Australia’s best-known euthanasia activist, Dr Philip Nitschke, is back in the news with another machine for committing suicide. The machine will allow anyone who has the access key to end their life by simply pressing a button. Developed in the Netherlands by Nitschke and an engineer, the machine can be 3D printed and assembled in any location. Access to the Sarco capsule will be by an online mental questionnaire which will provide a four-digit access code. Design criteria for the Sarco will be free, made open-source and placed on the internet.
https://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/nitschke-designs-new-euthanasia-machine-with-detachable-coffin/

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Switzerland – Assisted suicide rates increased by 30{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4}

The rates of assisted suicide in Switzerland increased by 30{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4} in 2015, bringing it close to eclipsing suicide as a cause of death. 965 Swiss residents (426 male and 539 female) died by assisted suicide in Switzerland in 2015, up from 742 deaths (320 male and 422 female) in 2014. Of the 965 deaths by assisted suicide, 822 were of individuals 65 years or older. Importantly the statistics do not include those who have travelled from another country to end their life in Switzerland.
https://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/swiss-assisted-suicide-rates-increased-by-30-in-2015/

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IVF and Surrogacy

[No news today]

Medical Ethics

USA – Is human gene editing around the corner?

Stanford medical researcher Henry Miller has declared in the Wall Street Journal that the time had come for modifying the human germline using CRISPR. It is wrong to deprive desperate parents who are carriers of genetic diseases of their chance to have healthy children. “The technology is arguably at the stage where clinical trials could be undertaken to see whether gene-edited human embryos can develop into healthy babies.” However, stem cell expert Paul Knoepfler argues that the science is very far from perfect. It’s unwise to rush into human clinical research of any kind and that’s especially true if it includes heritable genetic modification. You first need reproducible, rigorous data to back you up from sufficiently powerful studies and a good sense of anticipated risks. “What happens to the unhealthy or deceased CRISPR’d humans you made in your experiment that didn’t turn out the way you had hoped? We just say “oops”? Or what if the babies seem OK at first, but then later they become ill or die? These are not fun questions to ask or ponder, but they are deeply important if we are going into this with our eyes open.”
https://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/is-human-gene-editing-around-the-corner/12504

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UK – Court says woman in minimally conscious state be allowed to die

British High Court Justice Anthony Hayden has ruled that a 72-year-old woman in minimally conscious state following an acute hemorrhage from a brain aneurysm after a fall should have artificial feeding withdrawn. She had been on life-support for months and the Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust recently applied to the Court of Protection for a ruling that continuing the feeding was in her best interests. But Justice Hayden ruled in favour of the woman’s daughter (who opposed feeding), saying that there was “clear and compelling” evidence (such as an email sent to her daughter before the fall) that the woman would not have wanted life support to continue. The case follows a landmark ruling in September that clinically assisted feeding and hydration may be withdrawn from patients in a persistent vegetative or minimally conscious state without going to court, where doctors and families agree.
https://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/woman-in-minimally-conscious-state-should-be-allowed-to-die-uk-court/

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USA – Ethicists debate repairing human germlines

With the rapid advance in gene-editing technology Bryan Cwik, a philosopher at Portland State University argues in the New England Journal of Medicine that “intergenerational monitoring” will be needed, not just of the first generation of modified children, but of their children and grandchildren. “Monitoring for effects of gene editing will require consent and participation from multiple generations of descendants of the original participants. Studies will therefore require researchers to have access to key medical data for entire families over several decades.” But Harvard stem cell scientist George Church writes “some critics fret about the slippery slope of human enhancement and the impossibility of obtaining consent from future generations. Doing nothing merely for fear of unknown risks is itself risky — greatly restricting the advance of medicine.
https://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/nejm-debates-repairing-human-germlines/

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Italy – Scientists grow skin to save Syrian boy’s life

A group of scientists in Italy have managed to treat a Syrian refugee boy suffering from Junctional Epidermolysis Bullosa, a genetic disease that causes the skin to become fragile and blister. By the time he received specialist medical attention, the boy had lost almost all his skin (specifically, the epidermal layer of the skin), save a small patch on his leg and head. The research team, led by Michele De Luca at the University of Modena, grew genetically modified skin in a laboratory that could replace the lost epidermal tissue. The replacement skin was based on a sample from the patient’s remaining healthy skin, which scientists genetically modified it using a virus to deliver a healthy version of the problematic gene. The team grew enough skin to cover almost the entire body of the boy and the new epidermis was attached like a patchwork quilt, covering almost his entire body. Two years on the boy is doing well. His skin is healthy and he doesn’t need to take medication or use ointments. He is back at school, plays football and when he gets a cut it heals normally.
https://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/scientists-grow-skin-to-save-syrian-boys-life/

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Pedophilia

USA – Homosexual pair shared adopted son with sex ring for six years

In 2005 two homosexual men adopted a son from a woman in Russia for the sole purpose of sexual abuse and sex trafficking, police told the court. Police also told the court that videos and images of the boys abuse was uploaded to a national paedophile ring called ‘Boy Lovers Network’ which had 70,000 members worldwide before it was subject to international raids that arrested 670 men. The two homosexual men were found guilty for offering the boy for sex to at least eight men in the US, France and Germany. They have been sentenced to 30 and 40 years in prison in the USA.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5087453/Cairns-gay-couple-Mark-Newton-Peter-Truong.html

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Pornography

USA – The world has become pornified

The internet has made an entire universe of pornographic content available to all of us. Many of the statistics have become outdated but updated numbers based on credible studies carried out in 2016 or 2017 are now available. In 2016 people watched 4.6 billion hours of pornography on just one website (the biggest porn site in the world). That’s 524,000 years of porn or about 17 000 complete lifetimes. In the same year people watched 92 billion videos (or an average of 12.5 for every person on earth). Understanding how much is consumed at just one site can at least help us see that this problem is nothing less than epidemic.
https://www.challies.com/articles/10-ugly-and-updated-numbers-about-pornography-use/ https://www.barna.com/the-porn-phenomenon/

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Same Sex Attraction

Turkey – Homosexual events banned in country

Turkey’s capital city of Ankara joined Egypt, Indonesia and Russia in banning all homosexual events such as screenings, filming, exhibitions and parades. The governor of Ankara said LGBT events will provoke and cause animosity between different groups and endanger public health and morality and the rights and freedoms of others. Homosexuality is not a crime in Turkey and many LGBT associations are legally registered with the state.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/lgbt-events-banned-turkey-ankara-protect-public-security-governors-office-health-and-morality-a8063526.html

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UK – Association of poor mental health and sexual identity

A new study called ‘Sexual orientation and symptoms of common mental disorder or low wellbeing: combined meta-analysis of 12 UK population health surveys’, pooled data from a British Cohort Study 2012, Health Survey for England 2011, 2012 and 2013, Scottish Health Survey 2008 to 2013, Longitudinal Study of Young People in England 2009/10 and Understanding Society 2011/2012. In conclusion this study showed that despite the participants being mostly heterosexual 97.2 {01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4}, while 1.1 {01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4} are lesbian/gay and 0.9 {01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4} are bisexual and 0.8 {01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4} as ‘other, the homosexual groups experience a greater prevalence of poor mental health (anxiety or depression), substance abuse, suicidality and self-harm compared to heterosexuals, particularly younger and older homosexual adults. Population-based evidence of poorer mental health in homosexual people has been found in samples from the United States, Netherlands and England. The study also shows how sexual identity is necessary to be recorded when seeking psychological therapies to better help the minority group.
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-016-0767-z

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Sexual Exploitation

[No news today]

Substance Abuse

USA – The first baby to die in the USA ‘associated with cannabis’

There might be a link between marijuana and heart failure in children. A baby boy’s death has prompted a debate among doctors after it was claimed that he died of a marijuana overdose. After suffering from a seizure, the 11-month-old died from heart failure and doctors subsequently produced a report linking his death to marijuana. “We just wanted to make sure that we’re not going to call this a marijuana-related fatality if there was something else that we could point it at,” said Dr. Christopher Hoyte of the Colorado’s Rocky Mountain Poison & Drug Center. “And we have looked and couldn’t find it.” Dr Hoyte was on duty as a poison control officer when he treated the child and found that his urine and blood tested positive for marijuana, thereafter “One thing just led to another and the child ended up with a heart stopped. And the child stopped breathing and died.” The report concluded: this is the first reported pediatric death associated with cannabis.”
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/marijuana-overdose-baby-colorado-dr-christopher-hoyte-dr-thomas-nappe-a8062256.html

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South Africa – Flakka on sale in SA '10 times more dangerous than cocaine'

Flakka is in Durban and the authorities are warning about its dangerous effects, which include mental disturbance and psychotic episodes. “About 10 times more powerful than cocaine,” says director Walter Petersen of SANCA Durban, describing “flakka”. Mr. Petersen told newspapers that flakka – is also known as “bath baths”. Petersen explained it was a powerful upper like amphetamines and that its use could lead to paranoia, overheating, hallucinations, delirium, and even death! “It is cheaper than cocaine and you can buy it online.” Petersen also stated that if users came to SANCA their offices would treat them, however, “Users will probably be subject to a dual diagnosis –that of the addiction and for mental disturbance. They reported that the drug is being sold in Wentworth, Chatsworth and Pinetown.
https://www.iol.co.za/news/south-africa/kwazulu-natal/flakka-10-times-more-powerful-than-cocaine-11920343

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Abortion UK – Legal abortion clinic pays staff bonuses to ensure abortions USA – More abortion clinics fail Health requirements USA – Paediatricians laud new ethical non embryonic stem cell vaccine USA – Former Abortion changes her view on abortion Alternative Medicine No news today Euthanasia Australia – Victoria euthanasia bill in the balance as WMA intervenes Belgium – Euthanasia doctors split over psychiatric illness Netherlands – Study casts doubt on effectiveness of euthanasia regulation Belgium – Is euthanasia for psychological suffering changing medicine? Germany – Is there a difference between euthanasia and palliated starvation? IVF& Surrogacy Australia – Calls for commercial surrogacy as children get stranded Medical Ethics Iran – Legal market in kidneys creates a black market too USA – Groundbreaking surgery prevents worst effects of spina bifida USA – New Hippocratic Oath for doctors approved by WMA Pedophilia UK – Sarah’s Law reveals sex-offenders and paedophiles Pornography No news today Same Sex Attraction UK – Former transgender person is concerned for the youth UK – Doctors can help more effectively if they know your sexuality USA – is there a link between homosexuality and paedophilia Sexual Exploitation Bulgaria – Horrific injuries inflicted on a sex slave Substance Abuse Portugal – National survey: Psychoactive drug consumption increases Canada – Smoking cannabis does make people more violent: USA – FDA warns marijuana companies marketing unproven cancer products USA – Teen alcohol/marijuana users get poorer grades, are more aggressive

Abortion

UK – Legal abortion clinic pays staff bonuses to ensure abortions The Health Service Watchdog, the Care Quality Commission (CQC), had staff members at Marie Stopes abortion clinics report on how bonus incentives are given to staff who persuade as many women as they can to abort their babies. There are 70 clinics in the UK and CQC inspectors found evidence of a policy that strongly discourages the presence of parents, partners or friends of the pregnant women because they might persuade them to reconsider an abortion. Inspectors also raised concerns that girls under the age of 16 were aborting without being made fully aware of the risks involved. In December last year CQC highlighted more than 2,600 serious incidents at Marie Stopes’s clinics nationwide. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/abortions-marie-stopes-clinic-bonuses-persuade-women-investigation-a8012171.html USA – More abortion clinics fail health requirements Reports from the Texas Health Department show from 2011 to 2017 how abortion conglomerate Planned Parenthood has violated health codes by using rusty equipments, curettes with expired sterilization to scrape the mother’s womb to remove baby parts and failing to sterilize and disinfect instruments used from woman to woman. The abortionists also failed to give numbers of nearby hospitals in case the woman experienced complications due to her abortion. Suction machines that rip the baby out of the mother’s womb had rusted parts on it. Abby Johnson, a former Planned Parenthood director now turned pro-life is spreading awareness about what goes on in the clinics while also helping abortion workers leave their job. http://www.abbyjohnson.org/abbyjohnson/2017/9/6/whole-womens-health-exposed USA – Paediatricians laud new ethical non embryonic stem cell vaccine Glaxo SmithKline (GSK) has developed a new anti-shingles vaccine called Shingrix which is not made of aborted baby cell material. Shingrix is approved by the FDA and studies show it to be 97.2 {01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4} effective in people over 50 years old with 95 percent immunity maintained after four years. This shows that Shingrix is superior to Merck’s vaccine made of aborted baby cells. The American College of Paediatricians are urging all manufacturers to seek ethical alternatives to current vaccines produced using aborted baby cells. https://www.acpeds.org/pediatricians-applaud-gsk-for-new-ethical-shingles-vaccine USA – Former abortion doctor changes her view on abortion Dr. Kathi Aultman a board certified gynaecologist and former abortionist has changed her views. Dr. Aultman testified in favour of banning abortions on babies with a heartbeat, which begins 21 days after conception, to a U.S. Judiciary Committee. She says her patients led her to think differently as she observed women who chose life do amazingly well compared to women who suffered terribly after aborting their babies. Dr. Aultman said a woman cannot remain unscathed after killing her child. If passed, this legislation will make it illegal for doctors to abort babies with beating hearts and no exceptions will be made for rape and incest incidents. http://docs.house.gov/meetings/JU/JU10/20171101/106562/HHRG-115-JU10-Wstate-AultmanK-20171101.pdf

Alternative Medicine

No news today

Euthanasia

Australia – Victoria euthanasia bill in the balance as WMA intervenes The expectation among political pundits was that the bill would pass the Upper House with little resistance. Meanwhile, the World Medical Association has strongly urged Victorian Parliamentarians to vote against it, saying that euthanasia violates the basic principles of medical ethics. In a statement the WMA said: “[Legalised euthanasia] will create a situation of direct conflict with physicians’ ethical obligations to patients and will harm the “ethical tone” of the profession…it is in conflict with basic ethical principles of medical practice, and [the WMA] strongly encourages all national medical associations and physicians to refrain from participating in euthanasia, even if national law allows it or decriminalises it under certain conditions.” https://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/vic-euthanasia-bill-hangs-in-the-balance-as-wma-intervenes/12494? Belgium – Euthanasia doctors split over psychiatric illness Dr Wim Distelmans, an oncologist and chair of the country’s euthanasia commission Is alarmed at the policies followed by psychiatrist Lieve Thienpont. In 2015, Thienpont was tracking 100 of her patients who had requested euthanasia between 2007 and 2011. Of those, 48 were granted permission. Distelmans and his colleagues appear to be concerned that Thienpont was filling her psychiatric patients with unrealistic expectations about their requests for euthanasia. “I’m convinced that in Belgium, people have died where there were still treatment options and where there was still a chance for years and even decades of (quality) life,” said Dr Joris Vandenberghe, a psychiatrist at the University of Leuven. https://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/belgium-euthanasia-doctors-split-over-psychiatric-illness/12490? Netherlands – Study casts doubt on effectiveness of euthanasia regulation “Strict”, “scrupulous” and “rigid” – these are some of the words that have been used in a new study by researchers from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The study, authored by David Miller and Dr Scott Kim from the NIH’s bioethics department analyses 33 cases from 2012 to 2016 in which the Dutch euthanasia review committees (RTE) deemed that doctors had failed to meet due care criteria. The study found that out of 33 cases reviewed, 22 failed to meet the procedural due care criteria (i.e., due medical care and consulting an independent physician). “These criteria are more clearly operationalised than other criteria”, the authors observe. In six of the cases, the RTE found that the passive assisted suicide doctors had not been thorough enough in applying the “unbearable suffering” criterion. https://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/new-study-casts-doubt-on-effectiveness-of-euthanasia-regulation-in-the-neth/12501 Belgium – Is euthanasia for psychological suffering changing medicine? Forty two psychiatrists, psychologists and academics have published an open letter calling for a national debate on euthanasia and mental illness. The current law is far too vague and flexible: “The law does not indicate the exact criteria for unbearable and psychological suffering. Any complaint about any carelessness in this area will only end in a legal ‘no man’s land’.”More and more, no matter how many criteria there are, it depends simply on how an individual psychiatrist interprets or tests them, aided by the doctor’s own assumptions and the patient’s account of his symptoms.” “Some people are dying unnecessarily. To stand silently on the sidelines is a crime of neglect.” “Since the euthanasia law there has been some kind of madness in our work. After the threat of suicide, for which you must be constantly on guard as a psychiatrist, there is now the threat of euthanasia.” https://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/is-euthanasia-for-psychological-suffering-changing-belgian-medicine/12495 Germany – Is there a difference between euthanasia and palliated starvation? While euthanasia and assisted suicide are currently illegal in most countries, the practice of voluntarily stopping eating and drinking (VSED) is seen by some as an ethically and legally permissible alternative. Yet a new paper published in BMC Medicine argues that VSED is ethically indistinguishable from assisted suicide, and should be subject to the same legal regulations as more salient cases of assistance in dying. Lead author Ralf J. Jox of the Institute for Ethics, History and Theory of Medicine at the University of Munich argues that, “supporting patients who embark on VSED amounts to assistance in suicide, at least in some instances, depending on the kind of support and its relation to the patient’s intention”. The authors of the paper conclude that the same legal prescriptions or regulations that apply to physician assisted suicide should also apply to VSED. https://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/is-there-any-difference-between-euthanasia-and-palliated-starvation/12500

IVF&Surrogacy

Australia – Calls for commercial surrogacy as children get stranded An Australian couple living in the US has discovered they will not be recognized as the parents of their surrogate born children if they return home. David and Naomi Seddon were married in the US and had two baby girls via a commercial surrogate in California. The girls are US citizens, but will not be recognized as children of the Seddon’s under Australian law. “If we were to not get our visas renewed we can’t stay in US, but the girls can’t [stay in] Australia, because legally we’re not their parents.” Assisted reproductive technology pioneer Gab Kovacs has called for immediate law reform, citing the increasing demand for surrogacy in Australia. https://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/calls-for-commercial-surrogacy-in-australia-as-children-get-stranded/12481

Medical Ethics

Iran – Legal market in kidneys creates a black market too Iran is the only country in the world where people can sell their kidneys legally. Recipients pay US$4,600 to the government which the donor receives after the operation. “Yes, people donate because they need money, but this is a reality all over the world,” said Nasser Simforoosh, a Tehran transplant surgeon. Despite government crackdowns on illegal transplant operations, patients who do not want to wait are willing to pay higher rates. Posters advertise the kidneys of the desperate and indebted. “If I could sell my kidney, I could get out of debt,” Ali Rezaei, a bankrupt 42-year-old said. “I would sell my liver too.” “The price is going to go higher and higher,” said Behrooz Broumand, of the Iranian Society of Organ Transplantation. “Transplant commercialism is a race. As long as there is poverty, they cannot stop it.” https://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/irans-legal-market-in-kidneys-creates-a-black-market-too/12478 USA – Groundbreaking surgery prevents worst effects of spina bifida Many parents choose to terminate their pregnancy when they discover their child has spina bifida but surgeons from Baylor College of Medicine, led gynecologist Dr Michael A. Belfort, are trying to stop some of the worst effects of spina bifida through an early intervention during pregnancy. The new technique involves a temporary removal of the womb that allows doctors better access to the spinal cord of the fetus. Using a “fetoscope” and special surgical tools, doctors drain amniotic fluid from the back of the fetus and seal the skin over the spinal cord to prevent further exposure. The womb is then inserted back into the mother. Results from 28 cases in which the operation has been performed were reported in the journal Obstetrics and Gynecology. The intervention does not appear to have negative effects on the outcome of the pregnancy, and it vastly decreases the likelihood of mobility problems for the child. Foetuses who receive the surgery are much less likely to need a shunt, though children still often need a catheter to pass urine. https://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/groundbreaking-surgery-may-prevent-worst-effects-of-spina-bifida/12491 USA – New Hippocratic Oath for doctors approved by WMA A modern successor to the Hippocratic Oath for physicians has been approved by the World Medical Association. The “Declaration of Geneva” is to be called, not an “oath”, but a “pledge”. The most striking change is a clause has been inserted into the 2017 version which says, “I will respect the autonomy and dignity of my patient”. WMA President Dr Yoshitake Yokokura said: “The life of physicians today is completely different to what it was in 1948 when the original Declaration of Geneva was adopted. Since then, the Declaration has become a core document of medical ethics and a modern version of the 2,500-year old Hippocratic Oath. We hope that the Declaration approved today will be used by all physicians around the world to strengthen the profession’s determination to maintain the highest standard of health care for patients.” It is interesting to compare the 2017 version with the 1948 version. In many respects they are strikingly different. 1948: I will maintain the utmost respect for human life from the time of conception. 2017: I will maintain the utmost respect for human life. 1948: Even under threat, I will not use my medical knowledge contrary to the laws of humanity. 2017: I will not use my medical knowledge to violate human rights and civil liberties, even under threat. 1948: I will maintain by all the means in my power, the honor and the noble traditions of the medical profession; my colleagues will be my brothers 2017: I will foster the honor and noble traditions of the medical profession https://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/new-hippocratic-oath-for-doctors-approved/12496

Pedophilia

UK – Sarah’s Law reveals sex-offenders and paedophiles Across the UK, paedophiles are required to sign the Sex Offenders’ Register. The child sex offender disclosure scheme, known as Sarah’s Law, allows anyone to ask the police if someone with access to a child has a record for child sexual offences. If the police make a disclosure, parents and carers must keep the information confidential and only use it to keep the child safe. Legal action may be taken if confidentiality is breached. This law was developed in consultation with Sarah Payne, whose 8 year-old daughter, Sarah, was murdered by a convicted paedophile in 2000. http://www.cornwalllive.com/news/uk-world-news/sarahs-law-can-reveal-nearby-738745

Pornography

No news today

Same Sex Attraction

UK – Former transgender person is concerned for the youth A young medical student named Kate has explained how she was encouraged to undergo treatment after visiting online forums. She later abandoned the treatment after deciding she was no longer transgender and warns that groups advocating for transgenderism can cause great harm if they persuade parents that their children struggling with their sex is simply born with the wrong body. Professor Richard Weaver from the University of Chicago explained that society is being taken by propaganda where they are told that the best way to deal with gender dysphoric teens is to be supportive of their decisions without examining other angles of the issue. http://www.intellectualtakeout.org/article/sex-change-operations-will-be-one-great-medical-blunders-21st-century-predicts-former UK – Doctors can help more effectively if they know your sexuality Under new government plans as of 2019, doctors and hospitals will now be able to ask their patients whether they are homosexual or bisexual. This information is important since homosexuals are at higher risk for mental issues but patients will not forced to disclose this information. Prof Helen Stokes-Lampard, chair of the Royal College of GPs said a patient’s sexuality has the potential to impact their well-being and health care and that doctors are highly trained to have non-judgemental conversations about a patient’s lifestyle in order to help them. LGBT Campaigners and psychologists welcomed this announcement. https://inews.co.uk/nhs/doctor-explains-good-patients-will-asked-sexuality/ USA – Is there a link between homosexuality and paedophilia Actor Kevin Spacey recently came out as homosexual after allegations of sexual harassment were made against him by singer and actor Anthony Rapp. Rapp said it happened in 1986 when he was 14 and Spacey 26 years old at the time. Spacey himself grew up with a physically and sexually abusive father. The LGBT community is split as some say that paedophilic behaviour is a regular occurrence in the community that simply isn’t talked about while others lashed out at Spacey. Therapist David H. Pickup says “Statistically, about 75{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4} of homosexual males have been sexually abused by older teens or men”. He mentioned the well-known example of LGBT legislator Harvey Milk who preyed on minor teens with emotional problems and drug addictions. Brian Camenker of MassResistance pointed out how British political commentator “Milo Yiannopoulos’ praise of men having sex with boys got him in trouble earlier this year. And Kevin Jennings, Obama’s “safe-schools czar” was also in trouble for giving advice to an underage student to ‘use a condom’ to have sex with an adult male. https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/kevin-spacey-admits-hes-gay-exposes-man-boy-sex-among-homosexuals

Sexual Exploitation

Bulgaria – Horrific injuries inflicted on a sex slave A woman was mutilated by criminals and forced into prostitution after being duped by a man who ‘promised her all his love’. Aid worker Norbert Ceipek has shared images of the woman and her injuries after opening a centre to help victims of human trafficking in Bulgaria. “She got to know a young man who took her to the Netherlands”. When she arrived, she realized that she has to walk the streets with another Bulgarian and two Nigerians. She does not want to but by beating and other compulsive measures she complies and prostitutes herself eight months. As a result she had scars and stitches across her stomach and an injury to her head. According to reports, they beat her so much she could have died.” http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/horrific-injuries-inflicted-sex-slave-11284118

Substance Abuse

Portugal – National survey: Increase in psychoactive drug consumption Portugal, the iconic example of drug liberalization that is quoted over and over, had a rough landing with the release of country’s latest drug statistics revealing much of this closely-watched human experiment. According to the 4th National Survey on the Use of Psychoactive Substances in the General Population, Portugal 2016/17, there has been a rise in the prevalence of alcohol and tobacco consumption and of every illicit psychoactive substance (essentially affected by the weight of cannabis use in the population aged 15-74) between 2012 and 2016/17.  The number of people using cannabis has gone up by more than 40 per cent in the years since Portugal made using drugs a ‘health problem rather than a crime’ in 2001. Some 15 years after Portuguese drug law ‘reforms’, almost 15 percent of the country’s young people have used cannabis, according to the figures collected by the Intervention Service for Addictive Behaviors and Dependencies (SICAD) agency, a level that is up from 12.4 percent. The study also saw an increase from 8.3{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4} in 2012, to 10.2{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4} in 2016/17, in the prevalence of illegal psychoactive substance use. “These are the trends found for cannabis,” the most popular illegal substance, according to the provisional results of the study. http://www.theportugalnews.com/news/alcohol-tobacco-and-drug-consumption-all-report-increases/43238 Canada – Smoking cannabis does make people more violent Cannabis users are more likely to commit violent crime pioneering research by five researchers from institutes based in Montreal, Canada has shown. The project is the first to demonstrate that cannabis is not only linked with violent crime but is the cause. They found no evidence that the link is the other way round – i.e. that violent people are more likely to use cannabis. Violent incidents monitored by the study based on the lives of more than 1,100 American psychiatric patients included assaults, attacks with weapons and rapes. There was no support, they added, for theories put forward by campaigners anxious to free the drug from the taint of links with crime. The study comes after a series of American states have decriminalised cannabis – despite it being stronger and more potent than the hash smoked by hippies in the sixties – or made it available for medical use. The team, led by Dr Jules R Dugre, said existing evidence on the links between cannabis and violence was ‘limited’ but their project had ‘clinical and violence risk management implications’. Kathy Gyngell, a fellow of the Centre for Policy Studies think-tank, welcomed the ‘definitive study’ and called for official action. ‘Government has been seriously negligent,’ she said. More than 20 US states have in recent year’s legalised cannabis for medical purposes. Four states, Colorado, Alaska, Oregon and Washington have allowed its recreational use. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-4950206/Smoking-cannabis-DOES-make-people-violent.html USA – FDA warns marijuana companies marketing unproven cancer products The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) issued warning letters to four companies illegally selling products online that claim to prevent, diagnose, treat, or cure cancer without evidence to support these outcomes. In their statement it said this a violation of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, and put patients at risk in using products not proven to be safe or effective.“The deceptive marketing of unproven treatments may keep some patients from accessing appropriate, recognized therapies to treat serious and even fatal diseases.” The FDA has grown increasingly concerned at the proliferation of products claiming to treat or cure serious diseases like cancer. Cannabidiol (CBD), a component of the marijuana plant that is not FDA approved is marketed in a variety of product types, such as oil drops, capsules, syrups, teas, and topical lotions and creams. “We don’t let company’s market products that deliberately prey on sick people with baseless claims” said FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, M.D. “There are a growing number of effective therapies for many cancers. Commissioner Gottlieb added. “We recognize that there’s interest in developing therapies from marijuana and its components, but the safest way for this to occur is through the drug approval process, not through unsubstantiated claims made on a website.” https://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm583295.htm USA – Teen alcohol/marijuana users get poorer grades, are more aggressive Scientists followed marijuana and alcohol use among 6500 teenage students in the USA over a seven year longitudinal study for the RAND Corporation. Youths aged 11 to 17 were required to complete surveys between middle and high school. Researchers found these learners had worse grades and delinquent aggressive behavior. Lead author of the study and behavioral scientist Dr Elizabeth D’Amico said that the study showed alcohol and marijuana use were issues that needed to be tackled early on in life, especially in Asian, black and Hispanic students. To highlight the dangers of cannabis and alcohol use in young adults; users ended up in lower social classes, worked in less skilled jobs and were more aggressive. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-3640514/Why-parents-really-right-Teenagers-use-alcohol-smoke-weed-poorer-grades.html#ixzz4y0KTEGQ4   Disclaimer: the views and opinions expressed in these articles do not necessarily reflect those of Doctors for Life International]]>

 

Abortion	South Africa – Political party seeks to repeal abortion act USA – Two states ban abortion on pain-capable babies USA – What really happens inside an abortion clinic? UK – Woman changed her mind about abortion
Alternative Medicine	No news today
Euthanasia	Canada – Nine out of ten Quebec caregivers support MAiD for the demented
IVF& Surrogacy	USA – Sperm bank adds criminal check and psych assessment
Medical Ethics	Canada – Embryo gene-editing: Ethicists urge caution Australia – Children can write their own advance care directives in Victoria
Pedophilia	UK – Police go online to track down paedophiles
Pornography	UK – Increase in child-on-child sex abuse USA – Sexting Bill to give young people a second chance
Same Sex Attraction	USA – CDC latest report shows a rise in STDs Serbia – Urologist informs an increase in sex-change regret Malaysia – Health Department discusses new HIV trend UK – More young people regret sex-change surgery
Sexual Exploitation	India – Experts fear legalization of child labour New Zealand – Ex-prostitute opposes the decriminalization of prostitution USA – Knowingly exposing others to HIV no longer a felony in California Netherlands – Country fails to regulate human trafficking
Substance Abuse	No news today

 

Abortion

South Africa – Political party seeks to repeal abortion act

The African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP) of South Africa is proposing amendments to the Choice on Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1996 and to repeal the Choice on Termination of Pregnancy Amendment Act, 2004. Some of these amendments include making every risk of the abortion procedure known to the woman; substitute the meaning of gestation period to being the first day of the menstrual period in relation to pregnancy and to confirm it with an ultrasound. Also to ensure access to ultrasounds, and counselling with referrals to a social worker that would help the pregnant woman get access to a social grant, safe housing or adoption services.

http://acdp.intohost.co.za/index.php?item_id=1138

USA – Two states ban abortion on pain-capable babies Washington DC and Iowa both ruled to ban abortion on babies that feel pain 20 weeks after gestation (half way through the pregnancy). Furthermore, Iowa also ruled in favour of a pro-life law in which the mother should wait 72 hours before deciding to end her baby’s life, and through an ultrasound have the opportunity to see and hear her baby’s heartbeat. https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/iowa-law-requiring-72-hour-waiting-period-upheld-in-loss-for-planned-parent

https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/breaking-u.s.-house-votes-on-banning-late-term-abortion-on-babies-who-feel

USA – What really happens inside an abortion clinic?

The Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene confirmed that an abortion clinic opened by late-term abortionist LeRoy Carhart is unlicensed and poses a great danger to the health and safety of women who seek abortions. Pro-life group Operation Rescue uncovered the location of the clinic and is warning the communities. Apparently Carhart has no admitting privileges at any hospital, and hasn’t since 1982. He has been aborting babies for nearly seven years in another town and at least 10 women were rushed to the hospital emergency room by ambulance because of the risky abortion procedures. One woman, Jennifer Morbelli, died from complications to a 33-week abortion.

https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/new-abortion-facility-will-offer-to-kill-unborn-babies-at-any-stage-in-preg

UK – Woman changed her mind about abortion

The BBC interviewed a woman who changed her mind about abortion after a pro-life group called Abort67 offered help through handing out leaflets to the women at the clinic. The goal of this interview was to determine whether or not protests should be banned outside abortion clinics. Alina said she felt like abortion was her only option after Mary Stopes refused her any help or counseling like they advertise on their website. She explained that she finally felt like there was another option when a pro-life woman handed her a leaflet offering her help. Alina underlined that she did not feel pressurized by the approach in any way.

https://youtu.be/_kgvV8Lra9w

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Alternative Medicine

No news today

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Euthanasia

Canada – Nine out of ten Quebec caregivers support MAiD for demented

A new study claims that nine out of ten Quebec caregivers want to extend the province’s Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) law to patients with dementia. The study, presented by Université de Sherbrooke epidemiologist Gina Bravo, involved 302 caregivers from across Quebec. According to Bravo, 91{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4} of respondents supported extending the law to patients with dementia, while 72{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4} of respondents said they were favorable to it even in the absence of a written directive. Bravo said that the purpose of the study was not “to vote for or against [the issue]”, and she acknowledged that “the difficulties of applying such a law [i.e. one that permits MAiD for demented patients] cannot be ignored.”

https://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/nine-out-of-ten-quebec-caregivers-support-maid-for-the-demented-new-study/12470 http://www.newswire.ca/fr/news-releases/extend-medical-assistance-in-dying-to-incapacitated-persons-91-of-caregivers-asked-say-yes-646445683.html

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IVF&Surrogacy

USA – Sperm bank adds criminal checks and psych assessment

California Cryobank has become the first to add clinical psychological assessment and criminal background checks to the donor screening process. “We believe in robust screening as well as quality informed consent”, says Cryobank Medical Director Jaime Shamonki. “Our screening process selects for the most committed, altruistic, and informed donors.” Cryobank’s move may be that Xytec Corp, an Atlanta sperm bank is being sued for misrepresenting the character of a donor whose sperm led to the birth of 36 children. He was described on Xytec’s website as a man with an IQ of 160, an internationally acclaimed drummer and PhD student in neuroscience engineering. In reality he was a convicted criminal with several mental illness diagnoses including schizophrenia, narcissistic personality disorder and grandiose delusions.

https://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/sperm-bank-to-add-criminal-check-and-thorough-psych-assessment-to-screening/12463

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Medical Ethics

Canada – Embryo gene-editing: Ethicists urge caution

Writing in Impact Ethics, Francois Baylis of Dalhousie University and Alana Cattapan of the University of Saskatchewan describe current Canadian law — which prohibits altering “the genome of a cell of a human being or in vitro embryo such that the alteration is capable of being transmitted to descendants” — as in line with current “international standards”. “the prohibition on editing the human genome is consistent with international standards…Article 13 of the Oviedo Convention stipulates that: “An intervention seeking to modify the human genome may only be undertaken for preventive, diagnostic or therapeutic purposes and only if its aim is not to introduce any modification in the genome of any descendants””.

https://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/embryo-gene-editing-canada-v.-china/12459

Australia – Children can write their own advance care directives in Victoria

In a world first, the Australian state of Victoria is allowing children of any age to write their own advance care directive that doctors are obliged to follow. If a child has made a valid advance directive in which they have included instructions to refuse a particular medical treatment, such as dialysis or chemotherapy, a health practitioner must not provide that treatment. Writing in The Conversation, health law expert Carolyn Johnston said: “Parents want to protect their children and health-care practitioners want to do the best for their patients. Advance directives should be drafted as a collaboration between the child, health professionals and, ideally, parents. This will enable understanding of the possible treatment options, their benefits and harms, and the impact of refusing certain treatment, resulting in a meaningful and effective advance decision.” There has been significant debate amongst bioethicists about the “competency” of children when deciding about treatment options.

https://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/children-can-write-their-own-advance-care-directives-in-victoria/12461

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Pedophilia

UK – Police go online to track down paedophiles

The Paedophile Online Investigation Team (POLIT) is a special group of police who work 24/7 across the world to track down paedophiles who target youngsters online. They are a group of specialists that worked on rape cases and also technician specialists that can track down even the paedophiles that are savvy or intelligent. Whenever they suspect a child of being a target of a paedophile, they immediately visit the child and notify the parents. The sole purpose of POLIT is to focus on intervening predators who want to abuse children and stop it before it happens.

http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/behind-scenes-northumbria-polices-specialist-13773142

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Pornography

UK – Increase in child-on-child sex abuse

In the last four years the United Kingdom has reported 30,000 instances of child-on-child sexual abuse, with annual numbers increasing by 71 percent. This information was collected from 38 police departments across England and Wales and it shows that sexual offenses by children under the age of 10 and below have doubled from 204 in 2013-2014 to 456 in 2016-2017. Of the 30,000 total reports, 74{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4} were never pursued by police. Hundreds of students have also been suspended temporarily or even permanently for watching pornographic images.

http://dailycaller.com/2017/10/09/uk-reports-of-child-on-child-sex-abuse-are-skyrocketing/

USA – Sexting Bill to give young people a second chance

Ohio state representatives Brian Hill and Jeff Rezabek have co- sponsored a bill that would reduce penalties for young people under the age of 21 who create or posses or distribute sexually explicit material involving minors. House Bill 355 allows for the taking of sexually explicit photos through any telecommunications device not be criminally charged if it’s a first offense. The offender has to complete a sexting educational diversion program which is state funded. Although prosecutors feel that this bill is shielding sexual predators from prosecution, Hill said he was considering an amendment that would state a maximum age difference and the age limit. Predators shouldn’t escape punishment but kids who may not know better deserve a second chance.

http://www.newarkadvocate.com/story/news/local/2017/10/09/proposed-sexting-bill-designed-give-young-people-second-chance/106462514/

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Same Sex Attraction

USA – CDC latest report shows a rise in STDs The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released a new report this year called Sexually Transmitted Disease Surveillance 2016. The report shows a spike in STDs in the US with the highest increase among people who practice homosexuality. In the case of Chlamydia, the men having sex with men (MSM) population begins to show a higher prevalence of the infection, starting at age 25. Regarding syphilis, the report said MSM also contributed to the consistent increase in the infection almost every year since 2001: “During 2000–2016, the rise in the P&S syphilis rate was primarily attributable to increased cases among men and, specifically, among MSM.” The report reveals that men account for 90 percent of all primary and secondary syphilis cases, and of these men, active homosexuals account for 80.6 percent of cases where the gender of the sexual partner was known. https://www.cdc.gov/std/stats16/CDC_2016_STDS_Report-for508WebSep21_2017_1644.pdf Serbia – Urologist informs an increase in sex-change regret Miroslav Djordievic an urologist in Belgrade that specializes in gender reassignment surgery warns of a rise in transgender patients that seek reversal surgeries. He performed seven reversal surgeries in the past five years and explains how patients who want to reverse the surgery show high levels of depression and suicidal thoughts. Other researchers report hearing the same such regrets. Charles Kane is one such example in a BBC documentary called One Life: Make me a Man Again, where he describes how female hormones made him want the surgery and all this after having a nervous breakdown. Djordievic is concerned over the psychiatric evaluation at other clinics because his patients tell him that they receive minimal information on the procedure. http://www.newsweek.com/transgender-women-transgender-men-sex-change-sex-reassignment-surgery-676777 Malaysia – Health Department discusses new HIV trend Dr. Rohaya Ramli a senior principal director (HIV/STI) of the Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya Health Department says HIV infections have declined in the country but, there is a new trend emerging. 65 percent of HIV infections are now contributed by homosexual and bisexual groups whereas heterosexual groups only account for 31 percent. Dr. Rohaya said the Health Ministry launched a campaign that aims to prevent and control the infection by focussing on the youth and high-risk groups which include prostitutes, homosexuals and drug users by urging them to take screening tests. http://english.astroawani.com/malaysia-news/homosexuals-bisexuals-biggest-hiv-contributors-expert-157558

UK – More young people regret sex-change surgery

Psychotherapist James Caspian who works with transgender and transsexual people’ proposal to research the growing amount of transgender people who regret having the surgery was rejected by Bath Spa University in fear of controversy. Caspian told BBC Radio 4, the very purpose of a university is to encourage discussion, research and challenge ideas that are out of date or not useful. He said this research was needed because he found many young people are now regretting the surgery and some were even traumatised by it. Older studies on the subject were “out of date” and new research is important.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/psychotherapist-gender-assignment-surgery-reverse-research-stop-trans-bath-spa-university-james-a7965281.html

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Sexual Exploitation

India – Experts fear legalization of child labour With the ever increasing number of unemployment in India experts fear that child labour is increasing quickly. Ruchira Gupta who represents Apne Aap Women Worldwide, an organization that works against sex trafficking in India says that there are two laws that have a very dangerous impact on the poorest girls. Firstly the law that legalized child labour in sectors such as family based enterprises and audio-visual entertainment, and the second law which is trying to delink trafficking from sexual exploitation. Combined these laws will make 80{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4} of human trafficking victims for sexual and labour exploitation invisible. Data will show a decrease in human trafficking in India but it will increase the number of child laboures and prostituted children. Gupta was one of the representatives from the NGO sector who were allowed to speak at the high-level meeting of the UN General Assembly on human trafficking. http://www.indiatimes.com/news/india/recent-law-amendments-are-moving-towards-legalising-child-labour-in-india-fear-experts-330759.html New Zealand – Ex-prostitute opposes the decriminalization of prostitution BBC has recorded the testimony of Sabrinna Valisce from New Zealand who was a prostitute for over 25 years and why she regrets having lobbied for the decriminalization of prostitution. After experiencing abuse from her stepfather she looked for a better life on the streets selling sex to a man who offered her $100 for the act. In 1989 she was part of New Zealand Prostitutes Collective and was a supporter of the campaign for full decriminalization of all aspects of prostitution, including pimps. The Prostitution Reform Act proved to be a total disaster because it benefitted the brothel owners to offer buyers an “all-inclusive” deal that would mean women wouldn’t be able to set the price or determine which sexual services they offered and refused. During a shift at a brothel in Wellington she witnessed another prostitute experience a nervous breakdown after being shouted at by the owners for providing incomplete services to a buyer and this convinced her that Prostitutes Collective should be working on services to help get out, this was ignored. She left prostitution in early 2011, moved to Australia seeking a new direction in life and met women who were abolitionists, a model currently being considered by the UK’s Home Affairs Select Committee, which criminalizes the buyers and pimps while decriminalizing the prostituted person. Valisce has since set up a group called Australian Radical Feminists that assists women who have gone through the sex trade and has set up campaigns that expose the harms that prostitution brings. They are also determined to ensure that the women who were silenced by their abusers have a voice. http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-41349301 USA – Knowingly exposing others to HIV no longer a felony in California California lawmakers have passed legislation to reduce the penalty for those who knowingly or intentionally expose others to HIV without their knowledge, rolling back a law that mostly affected prostitutes. The bill, SB 239, which was approved by the Democrat-controlled state legislature in September and signed into law by Gov. Jerry Brown, will lower the charges for these acts from a felony to a misdemeanour when the law goes into effect in 2018. The act of knowingly donating HIV-infected blood, also a felony now, will be decriminalized. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2017/10/09/knowingly-infecting-others-with-hiv-is-no-longer-a-felon Netherlands – Country fails to regulate human trafficking Over 6,000 people in the Netherlands are victims of human trafficking every year, two-thirds of whom are coerced into the sex trade, according to a new report from the national reporter on trafficking in human beings and sexual violence Dutch girls form the biggest group of victims, some 1,320 every year, but because they are more likely to be hidden victims, they don’t get the protection they need, the report states. It is the first time the Dutch organisation has published an estimate for the number of trafficking victims. The research was carried out together with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. Some 46{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4} of cases involve coercion within the sex trade in the Netherlands itself and a further 21{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4} stem from cross-border trafficking for the sex industry – mainly prostitution. Other areas of exploitation include forced labour and forced criminal activity. One in six victims is male, of whom over 50{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4} have been brought to the Netherlands and forced to work or join criminal gangs, the report shows. The estimated total is over six times that of the actual number of reports, whose total fell 17{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4} last year to 952. Human trafficking is not in decline. We now know that the number of victims is around 6,250 a year and this means an increasing number of cases are under the radar. This should lead the police to make extra capacity free to combat human trafficking, The number of people in the Netherlands found guilty of human trafficking went down 25{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4} in 2016 to just 103, the NRC (Nieuwe Rotterdamsche Courant) said earlier this year. The maximum penalty for human trafficking was increased to 12 years in 2012 but the average sentence was 585 days. Just five suspects last year were jailed for more than 1,500 days and almost a quarter of suspects are eventually found not guilty, the paper said. http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2017/10/some-6000-people-a-year-in-the-netherlands-are-victims-of-trafficking/

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Substance Abuse

No news today

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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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Abortion

USA – Abortion clinic closed permanently due to health standards

USA – Studies on victims of rape and abortion

Alternative Medicine

No news today

Euthanasia

UK – Is fear of being a burden a good reason for assisted suicide?

USA – Assisted suicide push fails in New York

Netherlands – Will assisted suicide always provide a quick gentle death?

UK – Man with motor neuron disease patient loses assisted suicide bid

IVF& Surrogacy

USA – The harmful medical outcome of surrogacy

Medical Ethics

USA – Survey: most Americans support editing the human genome

USA – First anti-ageing drugs ready for trial

USA – Wesley Smith on “justice for Jahi”

USA – Nurses Association endorses voluntary stopping of food and drink

Pedophilia

Australia – Expert discusses paedophile behaviour

Pornography

USA – Seeks to declare Porn a public health crisis

Same Sex Attraction

Brazil – Therapy should be available for unwanted sexual desires

USA – Children removed from school that teaches transgenderism

Sexual Exploitation

USA – HBO TV Series Normalizes Sexual Violence

Germany – Country Introduces Unpopular Prostitution Law

USA – Researchers Say Bitcoin Data Could Help Spot Sex Traffickers

USA – NCOSE is building a movement to end online sex trafficking

USA – Reporting on prostitution reveals its true nature

Substance Abuse

No news today

 

Abortion

USA – Abortion clinic closed permanently due to health standards

An abortion clinic in Pennsylvania has closed permanently because it failed 44 pages of Health and Safety standards. Pennsylvania’s Health Department issued a deficiency report on the Women’s Center for using expired medical supplies, failing to keep record of patients receiving anaesthesia and failing to conduct legally required background checks on employees working with minors. In 2016 they had to send a 30-year-old woman to hospital in an ambulance because the abortion went wrong. The Center had no registered doctor or nurse to supervise women recovering from anaesthesia or the abortion procedure. Cheryl Sullenger, senior vice president at Operation Rescue said this was the same for abortion centres across America.

https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/horrific-practices-persist-abortion-facility-forced-to-close-after-44-pages?utm_source=LifeSiteNews.com&utm_campaign=a7cc7a8da8-Daily{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4}2520Headlines{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4}2520-{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4}2520U.S.&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_12387f0e3e-a7cc7a8da8-401370277

USA – Studies on victims of rape and abortion

Strong evidence from a scientific study titled “Associations between Intimate Partner Violence and Termination of Pregnancy” concluded that abortion is accompanied by “High rates of physical, sexual, and emotional interpersonal violence were found across six continents among women seeking termination of pregnancy”. Dr. Sandra Mahkom’s study found that 75 to 85 percent of impregnated rape victims did not have abortions. The Elliot Institute’s research found that the women who had abortions said they felt pressured by families and healthcare workers not because the women wanted the abortion but rather that they responded to the demands of others.

https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/man-charged-with-raping-teen-stepdaughter-took-her-to-planned-parenthood?utm_source=LifeSiteNews.com&utm_campaign=9923214167-Daily{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4}2520Headlines{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4}2520-{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4}2520U.S.&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_12387f0e3e-9923214167-401370261

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Alternative Medicine

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Euthanasia

UK – Is fear of being a burden a good reason for assisted suicide?

In Oregon, 48.9{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4} of patients who ended their lives under the state’s assisted suicide act said that fear of being a burden was one of their reasons. We should be very worried by this, argues Charles Foster, a British medical ethicist, in the blog Practical Ethics. Foster goes on to argue that “The law should be framed in such a way as to encourage the attitudes in families and carers that make impossible the feeling, ‘I’m a burden’.”

https://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/is-fear-of-being-a-burden-a-good-reason-for-assisted-suicide/12425?utm_source=BioEdge&utm_campaign=0cd639c62f-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2017_09_09&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_76ab23e62c-0cd639c62f-124733715

USA – Assisted suicide push fails in New York

A New York Court has rejected a petition by three terminally ill patients to be allowed access to assisted suicide drugs. “The New York assisted suicide statutes apply to anyone who assists an attempted or completed suicide,” the court wrote in its unanimous decision. “There are no exceptions.” Assisted suicide and euthanasia are currently illegal in New York.

https://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/assisted-suicide-push-fails-in-new-york/12421?utm_source=BioEdge&utm_campaign=0cd639c62f-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2017_09_09&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_76ab23e62c-0cd639c62f-124733715

Netherlands – Will assisted suicide always provide a quick gentle death?

The gold standard for human experimentation is a randomly-assigned, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Organizing such a study to assess the effectiveness of the lethal medications used for executions in the United States and for physician-assisted suicide (PAS), has significant ethical issues and so we need to rely on historical data. In the latest issue of the Journal of Law and the Biosciences, Sean Riley, an end-of-life researcher currently studying in the Netherlands reviews the patchy record of the drugs used in executions and PAS. He summarizes his findings as follows: The pervasive belief that these, or any noxious drugs are guaranteed to provide for a peaceful and painless death, must be dispelled.

https://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/will-assisted-suicide-always-provide-a-quick-and-gentle-death/12467

UK – Man with motor neuron disease patient loses assisted suicide bid

A British court has once again supported a ban on assisted suicide. Noel Conway, a 67-year-old with motor neuron disease, had appealed to the court to allow him to die through assisted suicide when his health deteriorated. His legal argument was that the Suicide Act 1961, which sets out the law on assisted dying, is incompatible with Article Eight of the European Convention on Human Rights. His lawyers argued that the law should be changed to permit others to assist him to commit suicide without risking prosecution. However, after reviewing most of the recent developments in the assisted dying debate over the past four decades, three justices of the High Court rejected his claim.

https://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/british-man-with-motor-neurone-disease-loses-fight-for-assisted-suicide-in-/12466

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IVF&Surrogacy

USA – The harmful medical outcome of surrogacy

Jennifer Lahl, R.N., M.A., president of The Center for Bioethics and Culture Network (CBC) has 25 years of experience as a paediatric critical care nurse, hospital administrator, and senior-level nursing manager. Quoting multiple studies, she explains how surrogacy is harmful to the surrogate because many embryos are transferred into the surrogate mother and as The British Journal of Medicine warns, “Multiple pregnancies are associated with maternal and perinatal complications such as gestational diabetes, fetal growth restriction and pre-eclampsia as well as premature birth.” Surrogacy often involves the use of donor eggs, and there have been no long-term studies of the effects of egg harvesting on the health of the young women who provide their eggs. This makes it impossible for women to give true, meaningfully informed consent relative to the health and psychological risks involved. In addition, the medical process required for egg retrieval is lengthy and there are known medical risks associated with each step. Risks include Ovarian Hyper Stimulation syndrome (OHSS) due to superovulation, loss of fertility, ovarian torsion, stroke, kidney disease, premature menopause, ovarian cysts, and in some rare cases, death.

http://cbc-network.org/pdfs/CBC-Lahl_Telling_the_Truth_about_Surrogacy_in_the_United_States.pdf

Medical Ethics

USA – Survey: most Americans support editing the human genome

A survey in the journal Science found that about two-thirds of American respondents support therapeutic editing in both cells that would be inherited and those that would not, with 65 percent of respondents supporting therapy in germline cells and 64 percent supporting therapy in somatic cells. When considering enhancement editing, however, support depended more upon whether the changes would affect future generations. Only 26 percent of people surveyed supported enhancement editing in heritable germline cells and 39 percent supported enhancement of somatic cells that would not be passed on to children. “A majority of people are saying that germline enhancement is where the technology crosses that invisible line and becomes unacceptable,” said author Dietram A. Scheufele.

https://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/survey-most-americans-support-editing-the-human-genome/12422

USA – First anti-ageing drugs ready for trial

Writing in the Journal of American Geriatrics this week, doctors from the Mayo Clinic and Scripps Research Institute outline a set of new clinical trial to test the efficacy and safety of “Senolytics”, a new class of drugs that target mechanisms in the ageing process. Senolytics target a process known as “cell senescence”, in which moribund cells begin to accumulate in different parts of the body and (in some cases) disrupt the functioning of healthy cells. Senescence is associated with failing heart health, osteoporosis, general run-of-the-mill frailty, and even cancer. Senolytic drugs trigger a specific gene that leads cells to die a normal death and prevents them from interfering with other cell functions. “This is one of the most exciting fields in all of medicine or science at the moment,” said Dr. James Kirkland, director of the Kogod Center on Aging at the Mayo Clinic and lead author of the new paper. The researchers argue that the new drugs “could transform geriatric medicine by enabling prevention or treatment of multiple diseases and functional deficits in parallel, instead of one at a time”.

https://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/first-anti-ageing-drugs-ready-for-trial/12419

USA – Wesley Smith on “justice for Jahi”

The legal dispute over Jahi McMath, a 13-year-old girl alleged to be brain dead has received renewed attention after a judge ruled she may in fact be alive. Bioethicist Wesley J Smith visited McMath in hospital and feels there is evidence to suggest she no longer meets the criteria for brain death. McMath appears to respond to requests from her mother to move her fingers, and video evidence suggests she is capable of other autonomous motory operations. “I am stunned that the medical and bioethics communities generally show such a pronounced lack of curiosity about Jahi’s situation…Perhaps it is just a case of “experts” not wanting to know, because if Jahi isn’t dead, it would have epochal legal, social, medical, and scientific ramifications.

https://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/wesley-smith-on-justice-for-jahi/12429

USA – Nurses Association endorses voluntary stopping of food and drink

Many patients require artificial nutrition and hydration (ANH) at the end of life. But what should medical staff do when a patient seeks to hasten death by having ANH withdrawn? Despite the ethical complexities, medical guidelines are vague and, in some cases, non-existent. But the American Nurses Association has issued a new position statement that categorically endorses “voluntary stopping of eating and drinking” (VSED). In the statement, the ANA asserts; “VSED at the end of life is used to hasten death, and is a reflection of autonomy and the patient’s desire for control.” According to the Association, VSED should be respected by nurses, as “patients who are at the end of life likely have reasons for stopping nutrition and hydration”.

https://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/american-nurses-association-endorses-vsed/12430

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Pedophilia

Australia – Expert discusses paedophile behaviour Cyber Safety expert Susan McLean discusses the behaviour of paedophiles after Ben McCormack (a former Australian reporter) was caught by police sharing conversations with another man about how they sexually desire young boys on social media. McLean explains that paedophiles normalise what they do, don’t see it as wrong, only regret it when they are caught and even advise each other on how to get closer to young children. She says that some paedophiles operate in isolation, targeting children for grooming and try to solicit photos while a newer online breed, collects photos and videos of children but do not make contact. There are those who do make contact and finally you have those who like to connect with like-minded individuals. If paedophiles like the look of the child, they not only like naked pictures but also uniforms, swim suits, sports clothes etc. Parents need to understand this. It was discovered that Instagram, Facebook, Viber; online games like Minecraft and streaming apps are popular among paedophiles. http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/parenting/kids/gnoc-get-naked-on-cam-the-secret-world-of-australias-paedophiles/news-story/82052b43cc9139a72fa1d9105fb8e23f

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Pornography

USA – Seeks to declare Porn a public health crisis Arkansas, Tennessee, South Dakota, and Utah have formally recognized the public health harms of pornography and Florida is soon to follow. According to bill H.R. 157 that Republican Ross Spano filed, pornography is “contributing to the hyper sexualisation” of adolescents and claims that kids who view adult content are at a higher risk of developing low self-esteem, eating disorders and a desire to engage in dangerous sexual behaviour. The bill therefore orders the state to also create “recovery programs” for porn-addicts and said there is a need for education, prevention, research and policy change to protect the citizens of the state. The National Center on Sexual Exploitation, the country’s leading anti-pornography organization applauds Rep. Ross Spano for this proposal. http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/sep/21/anti-porn-bill-touted-florida-senator/

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Same Sex Attraction

Brazil – Therapy should be available for unwanted sexual desires

Judge Waldemar Claudio de Carvalho issued a ruling that sided with a psychologist who lost her license in 2016 after working with at least one patient to overcome same-sex attraction. Austin Ruse, president of the Center for Family and Human Rights said to deny these rights to people seeking help is a strike at their freedom and that the Judge did the right thing. Pro-LGBT libertarians have argued in favour of allowing people to seek therapy for unwanted sexual attractions. Banning certain therapies is “actually censoring and forbidding types of discussion,” Scott Shackford wrote in Reason magazine in 2016.

https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/brazilian-judge-its-okay-for-therapists-to-help-patients-with-unwanted-gay?utm_source=LifeSiteNews.com&utm_campaign=9923214167-Daily{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4}2520Headlines{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4}2520-{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4}2520U.S.&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_12387f0e3e-9923214167-401370261

USA – Children removed from school that teaches transgenderism

In California, 41 families have removed 73 children from school over a boy that was reintroduced to the children as a girl wearing a dress. The parents were not informed of this and their 5 year-olds were traumatized asking if they too will turn into the opposite sex. There is uncertainty of what exactly happened in the classroom and the school board along with the teacher refuse to disclose any information. California law requires parent notification and offers the parent to disallow their children to be part of sex education but the school refused to inform parents and rejected the parents request to be notified in the future.

https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/70-kids-and-counting-leave-school-over-transgender-lesson-for-5-year-olds?utm_source=LifeSiteNews.com&utm_campaign=d11539f9aa-Daily{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4}2520Headlines{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4}2520-{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4}2520U.S.&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_12387f0e3e-d11539f9aa-401370277

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Sexual Exploitation

USA – HBO TV Series Normalizes Sexual Violence

The HBO television series ‘The Deuce’ glorifies and normalizes sexual behaviours and violence. The main themes are pornography and prostitution where performers team up for very disturbing pornographic scenes that have graphic sexual content. The National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE) condemns HBO for building its business model on sexual violence and exploitation and is calling on it to remove the shows programming. Commenting about the show, Executive Director and Vice President of NCOSE, Dawn Hawkins, said producers of The Deuce would need to use mental art to convince themselves that this show is anything but beyond any reasonable degree of exploitative feelings of hatred directed at women. She added that the show will inevitably continue the cycle of degrading women, children and men who are real life victims of sexual violence and exploitation. It is not a documentary but is entertainment that normalizes the sexual exploitation of those who actually undergo the abuses of pornography and prostitution.

http://endsexualexploitation.org/hbo/ 

Germany – Country Introduces Unpopular Prostitution Law

Germany has passed a new prostitution law to fight human trafficking and exploitation. It calls for more control, more regulations and more penalties, which is not popular with the prostitution industry. According to the law, prostitutes must register with local authorities and seek a medical consultation from a public health service. Brothels or businesses that offer sex services will be required to apply for a permit that will only be granted if health, hygiene and room requirements are met. The law prohibits parties in which a prostitute must service several men concurrently and sex without a condom is prohibited. Furthermore, clients who knowingly make use of the services provided by people who have been forced into prostitution will be penalized. Even now that the law has been adopted, Germany still has no consensus on how to fight human trafficking in the industry, through counselling services and aid organizations.

http://www.dw.com/en/germany-introduces-unpopular-prostitution-law/a-39511761

USA – Researchers Say Bitcoin Data Could Help Spot Sex Traffickers

Bitcoin is often described as an anonymous way to pay online but a group of researchers says that data revealed through cryptocurrency’s might help track down sex traffickers. In a paper presented at the Association for Computing Machinery’ annual conference, researchers analyzed sex-related ads placed on the controversial classified listings site Backpage. They sought to locate groups of ads placed on the site by the same person, which they say could help investigators spot behavior that points to human trafficking and sex slavery.“Such a tool would allow officers to confidently use timing and location information to distinguish between ads posted by women voluntarily in this industry versus those by women and children forcibly tracked.”

https://www.fastcompany.com/40463805/researchers-say-bitcoin-data-could-help-spot-sex-traffickers

USA – NCOSE is building a movement to end online sex trafficking

The National Centre on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE) is the leading national organization combating all forms of sexual exploitation, and one of their foremost goals is amending Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (CDA), which currently allows broad immunity to websites facilitating sex trafficking. NCOSE is making progress and building a swelling movement for change. Nearly 100 non-governmental organizations, 35 United States Senators, over 150 members of the U.S. Congress, and finally, influential corporations like Walt Disney and Oracle have joined their side of the debate.

http://endsexualexploitation.org/articles/thank-tech-company-standing-online-sex-trafficking/

USA – Reporting on prostitution reveals its true nature The United States of America has joined Germany in reporting and exposing the true harms of prostitution. In a special report in The Vindicator, reporters Jordyn Grzelewski and Joe Gorman placed a spotlight on what some wrongly call the ‘victimless crime’ of prostitution. The detailed report increases the focus on prostitution and human trafficking incidents in Ohio and also exposed the common myth that combating prostitution is a waste of public time and resources. Prostitution has proven links to sexual harassment, rape, verbal abuse, child-sex abuse to mention but a few and one can hardly call the crime victimless. A study in the Journal of Epidemiology shows that women in prostitution have the highest rates of rape and homicides of any group of women studied. In addition death among prostitutes is exceptionally high with leading causes ranging from drug ingestion, accidents and alcohol-related causes. Ohio ranks fifth in USA cases of human trafficking, 375 having been reported in 2016 which is a 400 percent increase since 2013. http://www.vindy.com/news/2017/sep/29/crackdown-on-prostitution-shows-true-nat/?print

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Substance Abuse

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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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1. American College of Physicians Reaffirms Opposition to Legalization of Physician-Assisted Suicide ACP also calls for improved hospice and palliative care In “Ethics and the Legalization of Physician-Assisted Suicide,” an updated paper published today in Annals of Internal Medicine, the American College of Physicians (ACP) reaffirmed its opposition to the legalization of physician-assisted suicide and affirmed a professional responsibility to improve the care of dying patients. ACP cites ethical arguments and clinical, policy, legal, and other concerns for its positions. “The American College of Physicians acknowledges the range of views on, the depth of feelings about, and the complexity of the issue of physician-assisted suicide,” said Jack Ende, MD, MACP, president, ACP. “But the focus at the end of life should be on efforts to prevent or ease suffering and on the often unaddressed needs of patients and families. As a society, we need to work to improve hospice and palliative care, including awareness and access.” A recent study found 90 percent of US adults do not know what palliative care is, but when told its definition, more than 90 percent said they would want it for themselves or family members if severely ill.2 Despite recent changes in the legal and political landscape and arguments by proponents, ACP finds ethical and other arguments against physician-assisted suicide to be the most compelling, including that physician-assisted suicide alters the physician’s role as healer and comforter and the medical profession’s role in society, and it affects trust in the patient-physician relationship and the profession. ACP published a position paper in 2001 opposing legalization of physician-assisted suicide. The issue has been reviewed and considered in multiple editions of the ACP Ethics Manual, now in its 6th edition. ”Ethics and the Legalization of Physician-Assisted Suicide” was developed in light of  increasing calls for legalization, public interest in the topic, and continuing problems with access to palliative and hospice care, and considers clinical practice, ethics, law, and policy issues. The updated paper discusses the role of palliative and hospice care, explores the nature of the patient-physician relationship and the critical distinction between refusal of life-sustaining treatment and physician-assisted suicide, and provides recommendations to physicians for responding to patient requests for physician-assisted suicide, recognizing that some individual cases will be medically and ethically challenging. As noted in the paper, medical ethics and the law strongly support a patient’s right to refuse treatment, including life-sustaining treatment. The intent is to avoid or withdraw treatment judged by the patient as unduly burdensome and inconsistent with her health goals and preferences. Death follows naturally after the refusal due to underlying disease. Vigorous management of pain and symptoms such as nausea at the end of life is ethical and, indeed appropriate, even when the risk of shortening life is foreseeable, if the intent is to relieve those symptoms. ACP recognizes that improvements need to be made to fully realize the principles and practice of hospice and palliative care, including improving access to, financing of, and training in palliative care; improving hospital, nursing home, and at-home capabilities in delivering care; and encouraging advance care planning and openness to discussions about dying. ACP advises physicians to thoroughly discuss patient concerns and reasons for requests for physician-assisted suicide. The paper has a list of 12 steps that physicians should follow with all patients nearing the end of life. Requests for physician-assisted suicide are unlikely to persist when compassionate supportive care is provided, ACP says in the paper. “Through effective communication, high quality care, compassionate support, and the right resources for hospice and palliative care, physicians can help patients control many aspects of how they live out life’s last chapter,” Dr. Ende said. ACP has been long active in end-of-life care issues, with a prior series of consensus panel papers and “Communication about Serious Illness Care Goals: A Review and Synthesis of Best Practices;” content in the ACP Ethics Manual; advocacy on advance care planning, pain management, and other issues; and patient education materials. About the American College of Physicians The American College of Physicians is the largest medical specialty organization in the United States with members in more than 145 countries worldwide. ACP membership includes 152,000 internal medicine physicians (internists), related subspecialists, and medical students. Internal medicine physicians are specialists who apply scientific knowledge and clinical expertise to the diagnosis, treatment, and compassionate care of adults across the spectrum from health to complex illness. https://www.acponline.org/acp-newsroom/american-college-of-physicians-reaffirms-oposition-to-legalization-of-physician-assisted-suicide

2. American Psychiatric Association position on euthanasia

In the current edition of the Psychiatric Times, Dr Mark Konrad outlines the position of the American Psychiatric Association (APA) concerning euthanasia and assisted suicide. Dr Konrad explains: Early in December 2016, the American Psychiatric Association (APA) Board of Trustees passed an historic Position Statement that originated in the Assembly and was unanimously supported by the APA Ethics Committee: The APA, in concert with the American Medical Association’s position on Medical Euthanasia, holds that a psychiatrist should not prescribe or administer any intervention to a non-terminally ill person for the purpose of causing death. Some might be concerned that the position only prohibits euthanasia and assisted suicide for people who are not terminally ill. In fact, the APA statement has caused a stir in countries where euthanasia and/or assisted suicide have become legal. Dr Konrad states: People with non-terminal illnesses have been legally euthanized at their own request in several countries for nearly 15 years. This has included certain eligible patients who have only psychiatric disorders. In 2002, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg removed any distinctions between “terminal” and “non-terminal” conditions, and between physical suffering and mental suffering, for legally permitted PAS/E. That was when patients with psychiatric disorders became eligible for this “right” in these countries. Independent consultants have to declare their condition “untreatable,” and the patient needs to declare it to be “insufferable.” Dr Konrad then explains how people with non-terminal psychiatric conditions are approved for euthanasia in the Netherlands. In the Netherlands, for example, for psychiatric-only cases, at least 1 consultant is required, but 3 are suggested. At least one should be a psychiatrist but does not have to be. However, the patient can weigh in regarding the “untreatable” criterion as well. It is not based solely on what physicians have to offer, but on what the patient wishes to accept. For example, though potentially effective treatments may be offered, such as ECT, MAOIs, residential treatment, transcranial magnetic stimulation, and vagus nerve stimulation, “competent” patients may refuse these offers. That choice could make their case “untreatable.” So patients can rule on both the “untreatable” and “insufferable” axes; physicians can only opine on the former. In the Netherlands, lethal injections are the most commonly used method to fulfill an approved patient’s death wish. This is often administered by the patient’s treating psychiatrist at home, in the office, or in specialized Levenseinde Klinieks (End of Life Clinics). Between 2008 and 2014, more than 200 psychiatric patients were euthanized by their own request in the Netherlands (1{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4} of all euthanasia in that country): 52{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4} had a diagnosis of personality disorder, 56{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4} refused one or more offered treatments, and 20{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4} had never even had an inpatient stay (one indication of previous treatment intensity). When asked the primary reason for seeking PAS/E, 66{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4} cited “social isolation and loneliness.” Despite the legal requirement for agreement between outside consultants, for 24{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4} of psychiatric patients euthanized, at least one outside consultant disagreed. Some remarkable stories have been profiled in the Dutch media. For example, a woman was granted euthanasia for chronic PTSD due to childhood sexual abuse. The arguments based on personal autonomy to justify such access to PAS/E are being pushed even further in the Netherlands. Ministers of Health and Justice have proposed to their Parliament that criteria not be limited to medical conditions, but be extended to average citizens who feel they have lived “completed lives.” Dr Konrad then comments on euthanasia for psychiatric conditions in Belgium: From 2014 to 2015, 124 patients in Belgium were euthanized at their own request for psychiatric disorders. These patients had a wide range of psychiatric disorders: 4{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4} had schizophrenia; 6{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4}, bipolar; 4{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4}, autism; 23{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4}, dementia; 31{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4}, depression; and 32{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4}, personality disorders (half of which were borderline disorder). In one Belgian series that covered 2007 to 2011, diagnoses also included substance abuse, autistic spectrum disorder, OCD, ADHD, dissociative disorder, and “complicated grief.” Prominent cases profiled in the Belgian media include a pair of deaf twins euthanized on request because they were going blind, a man with gender identity disorder who was unhappy with surgical results, and another man who sought euthanasia for ego-dystonic homosexuality. Dr Konrad then comments on the new Canadian law that permits euthanasia for psychiatric conditions. In the spring of 2016, at the instructions of their Supreme Court, the Canadian Parliament followed the course of these European countries. Physician-assisted suicide was legalized nationally, and terminal/non-terminal and physical/mental suffering distinctions were effaced. As in Europe, Canadian patients can refuse treatments that might forestall death —and still be eligible. However, thanks to the influence of the Prime Minister, Parliament stopped short of enacting its original intention to allow this for people with only psychiatric disorders. Not surprisingly, several cases of psychiatric patients are working their way through the Canadian courts, demanding that there be no such discrimination for psychiatric patients. One case that received particular attention was a woman with chronic conversion disorder, who successfully fought in the courts to overrule the proscription on PAS/E for psychiatric disorders in her case. Several psychiatrists supported her pursuit of this action. So that legal precedent is now in place in Canada. Dr Konrad then explains how the new California assisted suicide regulations open the door to assisted suicide for psychiatric conditions. Even with current laws, there are emerging regulations that directly affect psychiatric patients in those states that allow assisted suicide. The California Department of Mental Health has adopted a regulation that requires state psychiatric hospitals to provide assisted suicide services to committed patients, if terminally ill. Under this regulation, a court hearing must be held to determine whether the patient is qualified for release to obtain physician-assisted death, even over clinically based objections of the treating psychiatrist. If a patient is deemed eligible, and no outside physicians can be located, the facility must provide fatal care itself, within the hospital. Unlike refusing treatment for mental disorders, committed inpatients’ competent refusal of treatment for medical disorders (eg, diabetes) cannot be overridden, even if refusal may result in death —thus rendering their condition “terminal.” Dr Konrad then explains how the APA position may lead effect euthanasia and assisted suicide statutes world-wide. The APA position implies that, even where legal for the non-terminally ill, it is neither the duty of a psychiatrist to fulfill that right, nor is it ethically appropriate to do so. Some (in the Belgian press) have argued that an American association does not have a place in the discussion of medical and psychiatric practices, which make most sense when seen in the context of different cultures. However, there is an understanding in the domain of medical ethics that there are some principles that transcend cultures. The Ethics Committee of the World Psychiatric Association (WPA) has crafted a position similar to that of the APA, which will be submitted for a membership vote at the 2017 World Congress in Berlin. If endorsed, the WPA would be acknowledging that, on this particular issue, the ethical proscription against helping psychiatric patients to commit suicide may be so antithetical to the fundamental ethos of psychiatry that it should indeed be applied worldwide. There was a significant reaction in the Belgian and Netherlands media after the publication of the APA position. Further to that, in Canada there is significant debate as to whether euthanasia should be permitted for psychiatric reasons alone. Finally, the APA position protects psychiatrists who do not agree with killing their depressed or mentally ill patients. Thank you to the APA for creating a path that may lead to the end of killing people with psychiatric conditions. http://alexschadenberg.blogspot.co.za/2017/02/american-psychiatric-association.html?utm_source=News+{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4}26+Information+Website&utm_campaign=3cdf6a0876-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2017_09_22&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_b9d6bb980e-3cdf6a0876-198483333 Disclaimer: the views and opinions expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of Doctors for Life International]]>

 

Abortion	Iceland – Nearly 100{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4} of Down syndrome babies terminated
Alternative Medicine	USA – Patients choosing alternative cancer therapy double risk of death Asia – Use of alternative medicine does more harm than good
Euthanasia	Canada – Financial suicide -euthanasia’s true color Netherlands – Dutch right-to-die group confirms elder abuse risk
IVF& Surrogacy	Cyprus – Tandem IVF: anything to guarantee a baby
Medical Ethics	China – Scientists one step closer to interspecies organ transplants Australia – Anti-vaxxer resistance movement hits headlines
Pedophilia	No news today
Pornography	Uganda – Country establishes secretariat to enforce pornography laws
Same Sex Attraction	No news today
Sexual Exploitation	USA – Exposing the connections between forms of sexual exploitation
Substance Abuse	Scotland – Heroin and methadone overdoses in Scotland hit record high

 

Abortion

Iceland – Nearly 100{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4} of Down syndrome babies terminated

In Iceland Down syndrome abortions are probably the highest in the world at nearly 100{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4}. The rate in the US is 67 percent (1995-2011); in France 77{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4} (2015); and in Denmark 98{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4} (2015). “It reflects a relatively heavy-handed genetic counseling,” says Kari Stefansson, the founder of deCODE Genetics, a world-renowned genetics database. “And I don’t think that heavy-handed genetic counseling is desirable. … You’re having impact on decisions that are not medical, in a way.” He went on to say, “I don’t think there’s anything wrong with aspiring to have healthy children, but how far we should go in seeking those goals is a fairly complicated decision.”

https://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/iceland-nearly-100-of-down-syndrome-babies-terminated/12391

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Alternative Medicine

USA – Patients choosing alternative cancer therapy double risk of death

A recent study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute said patients who chose alternative therapies double their risk of death. The researchers on the study gathered information from 840 patients diagnosed between 2004 and 2013 in the National Cancer Database. The team found that patients who received alternative medicine had a two and a half times greater risk of dying during the five and a half year follow-up period than those who chose conventional methods.  Dr. David Gorski, a surgical oncologist at the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute says the new study has “limitations,” including the possibility that the use of conventional medicine is likely to have been under-counted since some patients who choose alternative medicine ultimately, “come back to conventional medicine.

http://www.local8now.com/content/news/Patients-choosing-alternative-cancer-therapy-double-risk-of-death-441310063.html

Asia – Use of alternative medicine does more harm than good

When a mysterious illness strikes people may become more open to using complementary and alternative medicine to get well. Two recent studies done in Singapore led by Dr Manjari Lahiri, author and a senior consultant at National University Hospital’s division of rheumatology show the widespread use of CAM among people and conclude that CAM may sometimes do more harm than good and it delays early treatment of diseases. In the study of 180 patients with early inflammatory arthritis, 74 patients (41 per cent) used CAM before seeing a specialist. The median time from symptom onset to starting the first dose of anti-rheumatic medication was 15.6 weeks for non-CAM users and 21.5 weeks for CAM users.

http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/more-harm-than-good

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Euthanasia

Canada – Financial suicide -euthanasia’s true colors

Dr Tanja Daws from British Columbia claimed that it was “not sustainable” to continue killing people under the law. “It’s not for lack of wanting but it’s financial suicide”, she said. And Dr Jesse Pewarchuk, will no longer be accepting referrals as it is “economically untenable”. Dr Pewarchuk, who has reportedly helped 20 people commit suicide, said: “I unfortunately can no longer justify including it in my practice”. Alex Schadenberg, Executive Director of the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition, has slammed the euthanasia lobby for complaining “that it doesn’t pay enough”. Although they claimed that legalisation of assisted suicide and euthanasia could save more than $100 million per year for the Canadian health care system.

http://www.christian.org.uk/news/pay-us-money-killing-people-say-canadian-doctors/

Netherlands – Dutch right-to-die group confirms elder abuse risk

The Netherlands legalised both euthanasia and assisted suicide in 2002 and the data shows an overwhelming preference for euthanasia. Again, like Nitschke (who once said: “There will be some casualties…”), The Co-operative Last Will organisation is frank about the possible collateral damage and realizes that it involves risks. An extreme consequence could be that children give the means to their old and wealthy parents because they want to claim their inheritance. Robbing oneself of life is suicide and elder abuse to death is murder. Who would ever know, but collateral damage it will be. Far from stopping Dutch “right-to-die” types in their tracks, such an acknowledgement seems more about deflecting criticism than it is about protecting Dutch citizens from abuse.

https://www.mercatornet.com/careful/view/dutch-right-to-die-group-confirms-elder-abuse-risk-but-doesnt-seem-to-care/20359?utm_source=MercatorNet&utm_campaign=79b633a8d8-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2017_09_06&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_e581d204e2-79b633a8d8-124676635

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IVF&Surrogacy

Cyprus – Tandem IVF: anything to guarantee a baby

“Tandem IVF” seems to be the latest suite of techniques to attract older women with low fertility to clinics. One or more embryos created with the older woman’s eggs are combined with embryos created with a donor’s eggs. In this way, even if the mother’s embryos do not survive, the donor’s will and the rate of success will be much higher. Two optional services are offered by some clinics in conjunction with tandem IVF. In cytoplasmic tandem IVF”: the nucleus of the mother’s egg is injected into an enucleated donor egg to rejuvenate it, which is banned in the United States. Second, foetal reduction – if all of the implanted embryos implant and develop the mother might only want the baby from her own embryo, then some clinics offer to abort the baby, or babies, created with donor eggs. Ethically, this is an extremely controversial way of dealing with the issue of multiple births.

https://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/anything-to-guarantee-a-baby/12404

Medical Ethics

China – Scientists one step closer to interspecies organ transplants

A landmark study has reopened the door for xenotransplantation research (interspecies transplants). A team of Chinese and US scientists reported in Science that they had successfully used CRISPR technology to “splice out” 25 porcine endogenous retroviruses from the genetic code of 37 piglets. Scientists now believe that pig organs can be edited to prevent rejection when transplanted into the human body. Co-author Dr Luhan Yang said “We know we have an audacious vision of a world with no shortage of organs, that is very challenging, but that is also our motivation to remove mountains.” The next stage of the research will be to essentially “humanize” the pigs, modifying them enough that their organs can function in the human body.

https://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/scientists-one-step-closer-to-interspecies-organ-transplants/12384

Australia – Anti-vaxxer resistance movement hits headlines

The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) is investigating claims of an “underground network of anti-vaccination doctors” that have “helped hundreds of families avoid compulsory immunizations”. In 2016 the Government introduced controversial legislation making access to childcare services and welfare payments conditional on the vaccination of children. Dr Margie Danchin, Senior Research Fellow at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, said that the current system is placing severe pressure on doctors and families: “What we need is fairer polices that are less punitive that remind and encourage all parents to vaccinate, whilst retaining non-medical exemptions but making them very hard to get! That is, an exemption signed every year by the families’ GP stating their reasons not to vaccinate.”

https://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/anti-vaxxer-resistance-movement-hits-headlines-in-australia/12406

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Pedophilia

No news today

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Pornography

Uganda – Country establishes secretariat to enforce pornography laws

Uganda has one of the strictest anti-pornography laws in Africa and has set up a nine-member pornography control committee to wage war on the spread of pornographic material in the country, which has been blamed for the spread of HIV and a high dropout rate for girls in school. The committee will not only raise awareness about the dangers of pornography but it will also set about destroying adult material and apprehending anybody in possession of pornography, which could be met with a jail sentence of up to 10 years. The legislation covers a range of issues like child pornography, pornographic publications and even suggestive music videos and revealing clothing.

https://meetsmedia.com/world-today/father-lokodo-uganda-has-set-up-a-secretariat-to-enforce-laws-on-pornography.html

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/ugandas-porn-patrol-jail-users-10-years-adult-content-blamed-homosexuality-1637292

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Same Sex Attraction

No news today

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Sexual Exploitation

USA – Exposing the connections between forms of sexual exploitation

Dawn Hawkins from the National Centre for Sexual Exploitation met a young girl who shared with her that after sending her boyfriend sexts that he threatened to share the sexts with her parents, teachers, and friends if she didn’t do as he instructed. He went on to sell her for sex again and again to his friends and strangers. The use of sexting and so-called revenge pornography as a form of sexual extortion is sometimes a tactic used by traffickers. In the Journal of Adolescence it indicated that, “Offline sexual coercion was significantly associated with sending and being asked for a naked image, as well as receiving a naked image without giving permission”. This demonstrates that sexting is sometimes “an online extension of offline forms of sexual coercion”.

http://pornharmsresearch.com/2017/07/cant-wait-exposing-connections-forms-sexual-exploitation/

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Substance Abuse

Scotland – Heroin and methadone overdoses in Scotland hit record high

Scottish Government figures show 2,507 people required hospital treatment for overdosing on opioid drugs in 2016, equating to nearly 50 a week and 133 more than 2015. This makes it the highest number since records began in 1999. Figures also show 867 drug deaths in Scotland last year, a 23{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4} increase on the previous year and the worst figure on record. Opioids were implicated in, 765 (88{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4}) of these deaths. Scottish Conservative health spokesman Miles Briggs said: “We need a new strategy urgently to help these vulnerable people beat this lethal habit for good.” Scotland’s harm reduction approach of providing free long-term use of methadone to heroin addicts has been widely criticized as merely “parking” heroin addicts on methadone. This so-called substitution therapy is costing Scotland tax payers millions of pounds a year.

http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/news/15509829.Heroin_and_methadone_overdoses_in_Scotland_hit_record_high/

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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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Abortion	USA – Texas permanently bans taxpayer funding of abortion USA – Google and Facebook Protesting Women’s Health Care Clinic
Alternative Medicine	USA – FDA Links Naturopathic Turmeric Death to Contaminated Product
Euthanasia	Netherlands – Latest end-of-life statistics from the Netherlands New Zealand – 80 percent of respondents against legalizing assisted suicide
IVF& Surrogacy	India – Commercial surrogacy still thriving in India
Medical Ethics	USA – New York doctor told to stop marketing 3-person IVF technique UK – Avoiding the next Charlie Gard dispute USA – Has the venerable Belmont Report passed its use-by date?
Pedophilia	No news today
Pornography	Israel – Government takes a hard stance on internet censorship UK – New UK law to block all adult content from the web USA – Children must learn about the consequences of sexting
Same Sex Attraction	USA – Psychological analyses of Gender Dysphoria Australia – Eight major twin studies prove homosexuality is not genetic
Sexual Exploitation	USA – New bill to curb human trafficking epidemic USA – Bringing sex trafficking of males out of the shadows
Substance Abuse	USA – FDA Approves Syndros, First Liquid Form of Cannabinoid Dronabinol USA – Taking dagga for pain is just wishful thinking

 

Abortion

USA – Texas permanently bans taxpayer funding of abortion

Gov. Greg Abbott has signed a bill to restrict state funding for abortion insurance. “As a firm believer in Texas values I am proud to sign legislation that ensures no Texan is ever required to pay for a procedure that ends the life of an unborn child,” Gov. Abbott said. “This bill prohibits insurance providers from forcing Texas policy holders to subsidize elective abortions. I am grateful to the Texas legislature for getting this bill to my desk and working to protect innocent life this special session. HB-214, which the Senate approved, applies to “elective” abortions and specifically includes an exemption for cases of medical emergency to save the mother’s life.

https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/breaking-texas-permanently-bans-taxpayer-funding-of-abortion?utm_source=LifeSiteNews.com&utm_campaign=aaea221f15-Daily{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4}2520Headlines{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4}2520-{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4}2520U.S.&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_12387f0e3e-aaea221f15-401415957

USA – Google and Facebook Protesting Women’s Health Care Clinic

Facebook and Google are co-sponsoring Netroots Nation, an annual gathering of progressive activists and political leaders who are targeting pro-life organization, Human Coalition, and the health care clinics they operate under the name Cura, which provide free medical services and counseling for women with unplanned pregnancies. Google and Facebook are listed as “premier sponsors” of Netroots, alongside far-left organizations like Planned Parenthood. The protest is titled, “Get Fake Clinics Out Of Atlanta!” The organizers appear particularly disturbed by Human Coalition’s use of prayer: their description of the protest includes two direct references to the advocacy group’s promotion of prayers for women considering abortions.

http://dailycaller.com/2017/08/11/google-and-facebook-co-sponsoring-protest-of-pro-life-womens-heath-care-clinic/

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Alternative Medicine

USA – FDA Links Naturopathic Turmeric Death to Contaminated Product

Jade Erick, 30, died after California naturopathic doctor, Kim Kelly, gave her an intravenous preparation of curcumin. An FDA report  found that Imprimis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IMMY), a compounding pharmacy based in San Diego, California, mixed the curcumin emulsion product used in Ms. Erick’s treatment with ungraded castor oil that had a warning label stating, “CAUTION: For manufacturing or laboratory use only.” The FDA found Diethylene Glycol in the lot of castor oil used in the curcumin emulsion made by Imprimis. Curcumin is a trendy yet ineffective substance for treating any medical condition. But this does not seem to deter Imprimis from listing its curcumin product under the oncology section of its website.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/brittmariehermes/2017/08/05/fda-links-naturopathic-turmeric-death-to-contaminated-product/#718d10c92db4

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Euthanasia

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

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

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

New Zealand – 80 percent of New Zealanders are against legalizing assisted suicide

Eighty percent of New Zealanders who responded to a petition on the issue of ending one’s life were opposed to legalizing assisted suicide and euthanasia. The results were part of a report composed in response to a petition presented to the government in June 2015 by past Minister of Parliament, Maryan Street. Opposition was largely based on concerns about vulnerable people, especially the elderly, disabled and those with mental illnesses. The Committee also noted that some “argued that life has an innate value and that introducing assisted dying and euthanasia would explicitly undermine that idea.”

https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/80-percent-of-new-zealanders-are-against-legalizing-assisted-suicide

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IVF&Surrogacy

India – Commercial surrogacy still thriving in India

Surrogacy scandals about “baby factories” are still making headlines in India. Police raided a fertility clinic in an up-market suburb in Hyderabad and found 47 pregnant women living a two-storey dwelling. The clinic did not allow them to leave the building until they had delivered their babies. “The women were all huddled in one large room and had access to just one bathroom,” a police officer said. Pinki Virani, an activist who recently wrote a book on assisted reproduction, has urged the government to speed up regulation: … we don’t even know if some of the intending babies from those victims of human trafficking were actually meant to be sold for the internet-infant-porn market.

https://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/commercial-surrogacy-still-thriving-in-india/12377

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Medical Ethics

USA – Has the venerable Belmont Report passed its use-by date?

The 1979 Belmont Report by the National Commission for the Protection of Human Subjects of Biomedical and Behavioral Research laid the foundations for bioethics standards in the United States the world. It identified three core principles: respect for persons, beneficence, and justice and three areas where ethical analysis was particularly needed: informed consent, assessment of risks and benefits, and selection of subjects. But this was nearly 40 years ago. Is it time for an overhaul? Yes, according to a leading American bioethicist, Art Caplan and three colleagues writing in the American Journal of Bioethics: The authors identify five areas which are poorly served by the Belmont Report’s standards: the line between research and practice is insufficient; unique harms to communities remain unacknowledged; failure to address transparency; the report’s focus on protectionism is incompatible with today’s emphasis on participation; and how the ethical principles are applied. The authors conclude: “Considering the important role the Belmont Report has played and continues to play in research ethics today it is time for a tune-up, if not a complete overhaul.”

https://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/has-the-illustrious-belmont-report-passed-its-use-by-date/12388

UK – Avoiding the next Charlie Gard dispute

After the passing of British infant Charlie Gard who was at the centre of a treatment dispute that made international headlines, Dominic Wilkinson of the Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics argues In the British Medical Journal that “the court of public opinion is surely the worst possible place for ethically complex decisions”. The editors of The Lancet agree with Wilkinson, “Charlie’s legacy could include further work on best practice guidelines for mediation between clinical teams and parents, agreement on a framework for use of experimental treatment, appropriate and timely focus on palliative and hospice care, and encouragement to clinicians offering alternative treatment to ensure they have full knowledge of the facts of the case.”

https://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/avoiding-the-next-charlie-gard-dispute/12374

USA – New York doctor told to stop marketing 3-person IVF technique

A New York IVF clinic has been told by the US Food and Drug Administration to stop marketing Mitochondrial Replacement Therapy (MRT) – an experimental procedure that aims to prevent defective mitochondrial-DNA from being passed on to children. While MRT is prohibited in the US, Dr. Zhang, who last year delivered the first “three parent baby”, and colleagues have set up the New Hope Fertility Clinic in Guadalajara, Mexico. The FDA ordered Zhang to stop advertising the procedure. FDA officials listed several claims made on the New Hope website that needed to be removed immediately. The procedure is not approved in the U.S., and Congress has barred the FDA from even reviewing proposals to conduct MRT trials.

https://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/new-york-doctor-told-to-stop-marketing-3-person-ivf-technique/12381

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Pedophilia

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Pornography

Israel – Government takes a hard stance on internet censorship

The Israeli government has approved a law that allows the court-ordered blocking or removal of internet sites promoting criminal or terrorist activity online. The law targets illegal gambling websites, prostitution and child pornography advertisements, online dealing of hard drugs and the websites of terror groups. The new law will give the police the necessary tools to fight criminals, felons, and inciters who have moved their activities online. Any operators found to be failing to comply with the court order will be imprisoned for two years, according to the new piece of legislation.

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

UK – New UK law to block all adult content from the web

The UK government has announced an update to the Digital Economy Act which will mean those wanting to view pornographic material online must prove they are 18 or over. Verifying one is over 18 using the electoral roll or mobile phone contract provider have been suggested as possible methods. The UK will then have the most robust internet child protection measures of any country in the world. Online pornography has been seen by 65{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4} of 15-16 year olds and 48{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4} of 11-16 year olds, 28{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4} have stumbled across pornography while 19{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4} had searched for it deliberately according to a National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children report in 2016.

http://www.express.co.uk/life-style/science-technology/829998/Porn-online-pornography-UK-law-ban

USA – Children must learn about the consequences of sexting

According to Michael Rourke, Weld Country district attorney, the “birds and the bees” talks by parents to their children must make room for teaching children about the consequences of sexting. Beyond the emotional impacts juvenile sexting creates it also raises legal implications. As from January 2018 penalties for these kind of crimes begin at a $50 fine or a required education program regarding the risks and consequences of sexting and escalates to 18 months in a community youth corrections facility and up to a $5,000 fine. Legally, those under the age of 18 who send pornographic images of themselves or other juveniles are disseminating child pornography. Sexting is the sending and receiving of nude images or videos through electronic means.

http://www.greeleytribune.com/news/opinion/rourke-time-to-learn-about-juvenile-sexting-law-is-now/

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Same Sex Attraction

USA – Psychological analyses of Gender Dysphoria In June 2017, Dr. Michelle Cretella from The American College of Paediatricians (ACP) released a report called Gender Dysphoria in Children. They say that it is wrong to encourage children to believe that they were born in the wrong body. Dr. Cretella explained that infants are not born with the brains of the opposite sex; the male infant brain is masculinized prenatally by testosterone whereas the female brain is not. The youth is struggling with their sexual identity because of outside factors. Dr. Cretella explains that boys have a tendency to be more feminized due to a lack of a proper relationship with their father. There have been cases where girls are afraid of their father who demonstrate volatile anger and abuse towards the mother, as a result of this a girl may perceive being female as unsafe and psychologically defend against this by feeling like she is really a boy, subconsciously believing that if she were a boy… she would be safe from and loved by her Father. https://youtu.be/2GIFck6RXLg

Australia – Eight major twin studies prove homosexuality is not genetic

In 1991, Australia conducted the first major and reliable identical twins study. In 1997, the U.S. conducted another large study. In 2000, the U.S. and Australia did more twin studies and several studies after that by Scandinavia. All these studies come to the same conclusion that Same Sex Attraction (SSA) is not a genetic condition. SSA stems from factors after birth. For example, one twin might have exposure to pornography or sexual abuse, but not the other. One twin may interpret and respond to their family or classroom environment differently than the other. “These individual and idiosyncratic (unique to the individual) responses to random events and to common environmental factors predominate,” says Dr. Neil Whitehead, PhD. Dr. Whitehead has worked for the New Zealand government for 24 years as a scientific researcher. He explains that identical twins have the same DNA, if homosexuality is a genetic condition, then both twins should be homosexual and not only one. Neutral academic surveys show that half of the homosexual/bisexual population (without reparative therapy or counselling) moves towards heterosexuality over a lifetime. In other words, ex-homosexuals outnumber actual homosexuals.

http://www.jewsnews.co.il/2015/03/08/eight-major-identical-twin-studies-prove-homosexuality-is-not-genetic.html

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Sexual Exploitation

USA – New bill to curb human trafficking epidemic The House of Representatives recently approved an anti-trafficking bill (H.R. 2200) which allocates over $500 million over four years for domestic and international programs to support victims and persons vulnerable to human trafficking. The bill will focus on assistance such as trauma-informed care, long-term housing options and the prevention of child sex trafficking. The bill highlights the importance of workforce training in industries that come into contact with trafficking victims, calling for standard training of airline pilots and flight attendants, as well as incentivizing hotels to train staff to spot signs of trafficking. The fact that H.R. 2200 passed with no recorded opposition is a testament to the fact that human trafficking is being increasingly recognized as a problem. http://allafrica.com/stories/201708030567.html USA – Bringing sex trafficking of males out of the shadows Popular culture rarely acknowledges that boys and men are also victims of sexual abuse and exploitation. Anna Smith, executive director of Restore One, an organization dedicated to helping in the recovery of boys who have been trafficked. Smith was unaware of the sexual victimization of males until she started working with survivors and hearing their stories. She was shocked to hear of males being sold online on Rentboy.com and how little attention the media paid to the issue. She reports that males who experience sexual abuse and report it are often met with disbelief from authorities, medical professionals, and even family members. Smith draws attention to the disturbing lack of programs focused on helping males and the change that needs to be made. http://endsexualexploitation.org/articles/bringing-sexual-abuse-exploitation-boys-men-shadows/ <Back to Top>

Substance Abuse

USA – FDA Approves Syndros, First Liquid Form of Cannabinoid Dronabinol Available by prescription only, Syndros is manufactured by Insys Therapeutics, and is approved to treat patients with AIDS who are experiencing anorexia and weight loss, as well as for people with cancer who are undergoing chemotherapy and suffer from nausea and vomiting that has not responded to conventional antiemetic treatments. The hope is that Syndros, or other similar drugs, will prove to be valuable alternatives to opioids for the management of chronic pain, Dr. Raskin said. “Taking a product like Syndros would also likely be safer for pain patients than using medical marijuana, since it is manufactured in a safe and highly regulated environment, while the quality of products purchase through a medical marijuana dispensary can have poor quality control”. https://www.practicalpainmanagement.com/resources/news-and-research/fda-approves-syndros-first-liquid-form-cannabinoid-dronabinol USA – Taking dagga for pain is just wishful thinking People using dagga for chronic pain rely more on anecdotal accounts than scientific evidence. US researchers reviewed 27 chronic pain trials in the Annals of Internal Medicine to see whether treating adults with cannabis benefitted or harmed them and found “low strength evidence” they alleviate nerve pain. Up to half of South Africans live in pain every day‚ said Professor Romy Parker‚ director of the Chronic Pain Management Unit at UCT’s Department of Anaesthesia and Perioperative Medicine. “Pain is a big problem in South Africa. Up to 74{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4} of women with HIV are living with pain. The researchers found cannabis use in the general population could increase risk for harms‚ including motor vehicle accidents‚ psychotic symptoms‚ and short-term cognitive impairment. https://www.timeslive.co.za/sunday-times/lifestyle/health-and-sex/2017-08-15-taking-dagga-for-pain-is-just-wishful-thinking-say-us-researchers/

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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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Abortion

UK – Government to spend £1 Billion Promoting Abortion Worldwide

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

Alternative Medicine

Ghana – Expedite passage of the alternative medicine bill

Euthanasia

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

IVF& Surrogacy

No news today

Medical Ethics

USA – First American success with editing human embryos

UK – Charlie Gard dies in London hospice

USA – Doctors include contraceptive counseling in adolescent consultations

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

Pedophilia

UK – Call to ban Sex Robots

Pornography

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

Same Sex Attraction

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

Sexual Exploitation

South Africa – Four women rescued from sex trafficking

Substance Abuse

USA – Homeless problem may be triggered by marijuana laws

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

Abortion

UK – Government to spend £1 Billion Promoting Abortion Worldwide

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

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

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

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

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Alternative Medicine

Ghana – Expedite passage of the alternative medicine bill

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

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

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Euthanasia

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

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

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

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IVF&Surrogacy

No news today

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Medical Ethics

USA – First American success with editing human embryos

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

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

UK – Charlie Gard dies in London hospice

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

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

USA – Doctors include contraceptive counseling in adolescent consultations

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

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

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

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

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

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Pedophilia

UK – Call to ban Sex Robots

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

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

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Pornography

Australia – The future of pornography in Australia

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

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

UK – Compulsory ID checks to watch porn online from 2018

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

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

Russia – Watchdog forces porn website users to lodge passport details

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

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

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

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

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

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Same Sex Attraction

Ghana – Country won’t decriminalise homosexuality

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

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

Switzerland – New strain of Gonorrhoea is resistant to antibiotics

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

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

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Sexual Exploitation

South Africa – Four women rescued from sex trafficking

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

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

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Substance Abuse

USA – Homeless problem may be triggered by marijuana laws

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

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

USA – Conflict in Government on Marijuana policy

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

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

Mexico – President legalizes medical marijuana

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

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

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

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Abortion

Ireland – Women Travelling to UK for Abortions Drops for 15 Years

USA – How millennials are impacting the pro-life movement

UK – Consider What Unborn Babies Can Do in the Womb

New Zealand – Abortions Drop to Lowest Total in 25 Years

Alternative Medicine

USA – Meds Rooted in Ancient China May Help Heart

Canada – Medical journal takes aim at natural remedies

Asia – Plant compound more powerful than AZT against HIV

Euthanasia

USA – California’s assisted suicide at 500 prescriptions already

Canada – 970 People already killed after 1 year in Canada

Netherlands – Safeguards for the mentally ill and demented slipping away

IVF& Surrogacy

USA – Egg freezing on the rise in Silicon Valley

Canada – Dust-up over a child’s right to know genetic origins

Medical Ethics

USA – Organ donation debate continues

USA – Rethinking the 14 day rule

USA – Going commercial with three-parent babies

USA – Texas green-lights experimental stem-cell therapies

Pedophilia

No news today

Pornography

Ghana – Government orders TV stations to stop showing porn

USA – Computer program seeks child-pornography images

Same Sex Attraction

No news today

Sexual Exploitation

USA – Flight Attendants Learn To Recognize Sex Trafficking Victims

Germany – How Legalizing Prostitution Has Failed

Malta – Legalizing prostitution would legalise violence and abuse

Philippines – Country gets higher ranking in US trafficking report

Substance Abuse

No news today

 

Abortion

Ireland – Women Travelling to UK for Abortions Drops for 15 Years

The Pro Life Campaign has welcomed a report issued from the British Department of Health, showing that 3,265 women travelled from Ireland to England to have an abortion in 2016.  This figure represents a decrease on the 2015 figure of 3,451 which itself was a further decrease from the figure of 3,735 in 2014. This represents a continual decline in the numbers since 2001 when the number of Irish abortions was at 6,673. Given that this is the fifteenth consecutive year that the number of Irish women seeking abortions in England has declined, it is a very welcome development.

http://www.lifenews.com/2017/06/13/number-of-women-traveling-from-ireland-to-uk-for-abortions-drops-for-15th-consecutive-year/

USA – How millennials are impacting the pro-life movement

In the 2016 March for Life, youth made up 80 percent of approximately the half-million marchers. As the most tech savvy of generations, they are perhaps least likely to be fooled by pro-abortion rhetoric. Their first baby pictures were most likely sonograms or even 3D ultrasound pictures. They have access to YouTube, Snapchat, Tumblr, Twitter, Instagram, etc. and know how to use them. There is no topic they don’t know how to Google search within seconds for answers. This generation is not just standing up for babies in danger of being aborted. They are also standing up for themselves. Millennials experience “survivor syndrome” and there is a growing awareness of siblings holding signs that say, I mourn my aborted sibling.

https://www.lifesitenews.com/opinion/how-millennials-are-impacting-the-pro-life-movement

UK – Consider What Unborn Babies Can Do in the Womb

Scientific studies have confirmed that foetuses can hear voices and distinguish between unique speech patterns, allowing them to recognize (and prefer) their mother’s voice over any other’s. New research from Lancaster University in the United Kingdom demonstrates that foetuses will react to face-like shapes in the same way infants do. Researchers shone different collections of red dots to foetuses while observing their responses via ultrasound and the foetuses displayed particular interest in face-like clusters. Foetuses are thought to begin to see as early as 20-24 weeks gestation, so they’ll have quite a while to watch shadowy shapes pass by before they are even born.

http://www.lifenews.com/2017/06/20/if-you-think-birth-is-when-human-life-begins-consider-that-unborn-babies-can-do-this-in-the-womb/

New Zealand – Abortions Drop to Lowest Total in 25 Years

In 2016 there were 12,823 abortions reported in New Zealand. This represents a three per cent decrease on the 13,155 abortions reported in 2015 – the lowest abortion total in 25 years. Right to Life welcomes the continued decrease and applauds the heroic and sacrificial women who choose life for their precious infants. They all deserve the generous support of the whole community.

http://www.lifenews.com/2017/06/20/new-zealand-abortions-drop-to-lowest-total-in-25-years-as-more-babies-saved-from-abortion/

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Alternative Medicine

USA – Meds Rooted in Ancient China May Help Heart

Heart disease and stroke remain major killer’s worldwide, accounting for 17.3 million deaths a year, according to the World Heart Federation. Traditional Chinese herbal medications might have a role to play in treating or preventing heart disease in the West, a research review suggests. The new report was published online June 12 in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology and while some U.S. experts greeted the findings with skepticism, Dr. Sidney Smith, Jr., a professor of medicine with the heart and vascular center at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill said, “This is an interesting, scholarly, well-written article”. Smith is a past-president of the American Heart Association and the World Heart Federation.

https://consumer.healthday.com/alternative-medicine-information-3/mis-alternative-medicine-news-19/meds-rooted-in-ancient-china-may-help-heart-review-723571.html

Canada – Medical journal takes aim at natural remedies

Health Canada can recall a bag of chips but doesn’t have the power to recall a natural health product’. An editorial in the Canadian Medical Association Journal is calling on the federal government to crack down on natural health products, which the author argues are poorly tested and can do patients more harm than good, compared to conventional medicines. The editorial urges Health Canada to stop makers of natural health products from claiming that the products are remedies, because they are not as rigorously tested as conventional, over-the-counter drugs. Shawn O’Reilly, executive director of the Canadian Association of Naturopathic Doctors, said the editorial doesn’t accurately reflect the standards that natural health products must meet before they can be sold to the public, which she called “robust.”

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/medical-journal-takes-aim-at-natural-remedies-1.4174165

Asia – Plant compound more powerful than AZT against HIV

A medicinal plant collected in Vietnam has been identified as a potent anti-HIV-1 active lead from the evaluation of over 4500 plant extracts. Bioassay-guided separation of the extracts of the stems and roots of this plant led to the isolation of an anti-HIV aryl-naphthalene-lignan (ANL) glycoside patentiflorin A. Lijun Rong, professor of microbiology and immunology in the UIC College of Medicine and his colleagues zeroed in on patentiflorin A because of its ability to inhibit an enzyme needed for HIV to incorporate its genetic code into a cell’s DNA. “Patentiflorin A represents a novel anti-HIV agent that can be added to the current anti-HIV drug cocktail regimens to increase suppression of the virus and prevention of AIDS,” Rong said.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/06/170614210917.htm

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Euthanasia

USA – California’s assisted suicide at 500 prescriptions already

A pro-euthanasia lobby group is celebrating the positive reception of the laws among healthcare providers and the general public, writing in press release that “the implementation of the law has been a huge success”. However, Dr. Aaron Kheriaty, director of UC Irvine’s medical ethics program, objects that the law doesn’t mandate an evaluation by a psychiatrist. He says without it that patients are left without sufficient supports when they’re most vulnerable. Kheriaty also questions whether the lack of access to mental health and specialist care might play into a patient’s choice as access to services varies based on geography and income.

https://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/the-first-year-of-californias-assisted-suicide-over-500-prescriptions/12335 https://www.compassionandchoices.org/celebrating-one-year-of-the-end-of-life-option-act/

Canada – 970 People already killed after 1 year in Canada

Even though we are well into 2017 data from 2016 indicates that there were 970 reported assisted deaths in Canada which repress 0.6{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4} of all deaths in Canada. Other than Québec, where there were 463 deaths in the full year, these deaths occurred in the 6.5 months between June 17 and December 31. The percentage of assisted deaths is highest in British Columbia, where there were 188 assisted deaths compared to 189 assisted deaths in Ontario. There may be more assisted deaths as not every province has a legal requirement to report assisted deaths. Also, Nunavut and the Yukon territories did not submit information based on privacy concerns and the small number of assisted deaths. A CBC news report stated that there have been more than 1324 assisted deaths since legalization.

http://www.lifenews.com/2017/06/20/one-year-after-canada-legalized-assisted-suicide-970-people-have-already-killed-themselves/

Netherlands – Safeguards for the mentally ill and demented slipping away

After 25 years, Dr Chabot, a pioneer of Dutch euthanasia looks back and is horrified. He says that legal safeguards for euthanasia are slowly eroding and that the law no longer protects people with psychiatric conditions and dementia. The Dutch are complacent about their famous law, he says but there is no room for complacency. As euthanasia has sunk its roots deeper and deeper into Dutch medicine, the conditions for euthanasia have shriveled up. Patients now define what is unbearable and they define what a reasonable alternative is. Unhappiness can be unbearable and a nursing home may not be a reasonable alternative. Autonomy has trumped medicine. As a result, the number of euthanasia cases roughly tripled between 2007 and 2016, from 2000 to 6000. After surveying the wreckage of the euthanasia law, Dr Chabot concludes bitterly, I don’t see how we can get the genie back in the bottle. It would already mean a lot if we’d acknowledge he’s out.

https://www.mercatornet.com/careful/view/a-dutch-euthanasia-pioneer-surveys-the-wreckage-and-despairs/19992

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IVF&Surrogacy

USA – Egg freezing on the rise in Silicon Valley

In what some say is a bid by companies to keep young women at work, companies from Apple, Facebook and Time are paying for female employees to have their unfertilized eggs stored for the future. Although a cycle costs around 12,000$ “storage”, around 5{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4} of large employers in the US cover egg freezing in employee health plans. Brigitte Adams, who runs an online egg-freezing information forum said “I am pro the idea, but there is not a lot of realism. Egg freezing is highly marketed – and not all doctors are being transparent with the data.” A recent study in the Journal of the American Medical Association suggests egg freezing may actually reduce a woman’s odds of success with IVF.

https://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/egg-freezing-on-the-rise-in-silicon-valley/12345

Canada – Dust-up over a child’s right to know genetic origins

University of Ghent bioethicist Guido Pennings recently published an article in BioNews titled “Donor children do not benefit from being told about their conception”. However, Vardit Ravitsky and three other Canadian bioethicists argue that concealing genetic origins is indefensible. This does not necessarily mean that “all or most donor-conceived people will necessarily find their genetic origins of great importance, but rather that they are entitled to make that determination for themselves.” The right to know one’s genetic origins is a human right based on “people’s fundamental interest in having access to information that may be crucial to their identity, relationships and health – an interest well recognized in adoption law … “Respect for persons is central in ethics and requires clinics and governments to make it possible for people to know the truth about their origins.”

https://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/dust-up-over-a-childs-right-to-know-genetic-origins/12341

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Medical Ethics

USA – Organ donation debate continues

A controversial organ donation case in the US has sparked debate about the ethical criteria for organ procurement. Authorities are investigating the death of 8-year-old Cole Hartman in a Los Angeles Hospital after doctors withdrew life support and administered the drug fentanyl – an opioid that can be fatal. The 2014 case was brought to public attention when the coroner brought a lawsuit against her superiors who she said were attempting to cover up the findings. The coroner alleges that the dose of fentanyl was a “significant cause” of Hartman’s death. Many hospitals, including the one in which the boy died, prohibit doctors from administering opioids with the intention of hastening the death of the patient. And there is significant community concern about the medical hastening of death to harvest organs. Organ donation has for decades been understood to be ethical only after brain death has occurred, yet, an article in The Atlantic recently highlighted support for changing the criteria to or “organ donation after circulatory death” (cardiac death).

https://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/organ-donation-debate-continues/12344

USA – Rethinking the 14 day rule

Policy analysts in the United States and UK are calling for a “reconsideration” of the decades-old 14-day embryo experimentation rule requiring scientists to terminate any embryo in vitro before it reaches two weeks of development. Scientists can now grow embryos in a culture dish well past 14 days, permitting research into early human development and various diseases. An article in this month’s Hastings Center Report calls for “a new public discussion” of the longstanding regulation, suggesting in particular that we take into account new scientific and social perspectives on embryo research.“ However, Baroness Mary Warnock, a moral philosopher and one of the original proponents of the rule, has cautioned against change. According to her, the rule provides a way of allowing for embryo research, while still addressing slippery slope concerns: “you cannot successfully block a slippery slope except by a fixed and invariable obstacle, which is what the 14-day rule provided.”

https://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/rethinking-the-14-day-rule/12336

USA – Going commercial with three-parent babies

The same doctor who delivered the first “three parent baby” is now attempting to commercialize mitochondrial replacement therapy (MRT). At the heart of Zhang’s entrepreneurial project is the idea that the cause of infertility in older women is defective mitochondrial DNA. Zhang’s experimental procedure involves inserting the nucleus of an older woman’s oocyte into a young egg with healthy mitochondrial DNA. In doing so, he believes he will allow older women to produce viable embryos. “This is a biologically extreme and risky procedure,” says Marcy Darnovsky, executive director of the Center for Genetics and Society. “If you’re talking about using these techniques for age-related infertility, that’s really moving the human experimentation to a very large scale.”

https://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/going-commercial-with-three-parent-babies/12358

USA – Texas green-lights experimental stem-cell therapies

Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed new legislation allowing clinics to by-pass FDA approval for investigational stem cell treatments for patients with certain severe chronic diseases or terminal illnesses. The legislation gives desperate patients access to therapies that provide hope after traditional medical treatments have failed. University of Minnesota bioethicist Leigh Turner said he was skeptical about whether clinics would be adequately monitored, while NYU Langone Medical Center bioethicist Beth Roxland said it was insufficient to have the therapies tested in clinical trials while by-passing FDA approval. “You could gain access to something [as long as it’s] being studied in a human … somewhere on the planet,” Roxland told Science, “which in the stem cell area makes it really very scary.”

https://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/texas-gives-green-light-for-experimental-stem-cell-therapies/12360

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Pedophilia

No news today

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Pornography

Ghana – Government orders TV stations to stop showing porn

The Chairman of the National Media Commission (NMC), Kwasi Gyan Apenteng, has ordered three local television stations (Ice TV, Thunder TV and TV XYZ) alleged to be broadcasting pornographic materials to immediately cease such broadcasts. The statement further noted that, “the Commission examined the broadcast of the three stations and concluded that the content complained about did not meet the standards of decency required by the Broadcasting Standards of the Commission.” According to the NMC’s statement, the three stations have apologized for their actions and have committed themselves to ceasing broadcast of pornographic movies.

https://citifmonline.com/2017/06/23/stop-showing-porn-nmc-orders-tv-xyz-others/

USA – Computer program seeks child-pornography images

There’s a new program created by a child-protection group, crawling around the internet in search of child pornography. Project Arachnid is an automated system that crawls links on sites previously reported to Cybertip.ca that contained child sexual abuse material and detects where these images/videos are publicly available on the Internet. If illegal content is detected, a notice is sent to the provider hosting the content to request its removal. Child pornography victims say that beyond the sexual abuse, knowing that images of them could be in tens of thousands of computers and phones worldwide means the pain never subsides. Signy Arnason, associate executive director of The Canadian Centre for Child Protection, stated that it operates Project Arachnid through its Cybertip.ca tip line, where electronic providers and the public can report online sexual exploitation of children.

http://www.dispatch.com/news/20170618/computer-program-seeks-destroys-child-pornography-images

https://www.cybertip.ca/app/en/projects-arachnid

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Same Sex Attraction

No news today

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Sexual Exploitation

USA – Flight Attendants Learn To Recognize Sex Trafficking Victims

Sex trafficking is a $100 billion industry that some are calling a new form of slavery and flight attendants  are looking for victims hidden in plain sight. According to investigators, sex traffickers often move their victims through airports and on airplanes. That’s why flight attendant Sherry Martin Peters says employees in the air travel business have to learn to spot the signs and report it. She recently ran a training course at Logan Airport to teach airline employees what to look for. “They are branding the girls,” she said pointing to the back of her neck where traffickers often place identifying marks on their victims. This is part of a program Sherry launched with the help of the Department of Homeland Security.

http://boston.cbslocal.com/2017/06/15/sex-trafficking-flight-attendants-training/

Germany – How Legalizing Prostitution Has Failed When Germany legalized prostitution just over a decade ago, politicians hoped that it would create better conditions and more autonomy for prostitutes. However it hasn’t been so, exploitation and human trafficking remain significant problems as customers pay their fee at the entrance and many take drugs to improve sexual performance. Prosecutors have learned that prostitutes have had to offer vaginal, oral and anal sex, and serve several men at the same time. Men don’t always want to use condoms and during menstruation prostitutes insert sponges into the vagina so that customers don’t notice. During raids pimps have been found to be prepared as they are forewarned by corrupt police. When the law was passed in 2001 it was intended to improve working conditions where prostitutes could sue for their wages and contribute to health, unemployment and pension insurance programs. This is the ‘respectable whore’ image politicians seemed in thrall of; free to do as they like, doing work they enjoy and holding an account at the bank. Today many police officers, women’s organizations and politicians familiar with prostitution are convinced that the well-meaning law is in fact little more than a subsidy program for pimps and makes the market more attractive to human traffickers. http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/human-trafficking-persists-despite-legality-of-prostitution-in-germany-a-902533.html

Malta – Legalizing prostitution would legalise violence and abuse

The legalization of prostitution would legalise violence and abuse, according to the chair of the National Centre for Freedom from Addictions. On the other hand, finding alternative jobs for sex workers and education could lead to less demand for prostitution and to fewer women on the streets, according to Dr Anna Vella. Dr Vella spoke during a summit about best practices to end modern slavery organised by the Amersi Foundation, the Pontifical Academy of Sciences and the President’s Foundation for the Wellbeing of Society. Dr Vella, who has been working with prostitutes for 22 years, is against the legalization of prostitution and believes in the Nordic model. Children and young men have to be educated about prostitution and taught that it is a form of abuse.

https://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20170615/local/legalising-prostitution-would-legalise-violence-and-abuse.650768

Philippines – Country gets higher ranking in US trafficking report

The Philippines ranked high in terms of enforcement against human trafficking. But the same report also made considerable reference to the Philippines in terms of the various crimes under human trafficking, particularly sex trafficking. “Some judges, prosecutors, and law enforcement officials throughout the world accept bribes for reducing sentences of perpetrators, leaking information to suspects under investigation, or ignoring potential cases,” US Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson said. “The introduction of this year’s Report focuses on the responsibility of governments to criminalize human trafficking and hold offenders accountable. The report acknowledged the Philippines’ sustained law enforcement efforts, as it cited, among others, the country’s Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003 and Expanded Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2012.

http://www.bworldonline.com/content.php?section=Nation&title=philippines-gets-positive-ranking-in-us-human-trafficking-report&id=147475

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Substance Abuse

No news today

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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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Abortion

Croatia – Anti-abortion march draws twenty thousand

Alternative Medicine

No news today

Euthanasia

Canada – Ontario passes assisted dying law

USA – Existential distress’, not pain, drives euthanasia

IVF& Surrogacy

USA – Cheap, effective alternative to IVF is possible

UK – IVF vs natural conception: babies have same cognitive ability

Medical Ethics

USA – Unexpected mutations after CRISPR gene-editing

Pedophilia

No news today

Pornography

UK – Theresa May to create new internet controlled by government USA – Florida Authorities Demolish Child Porn Devices USA – State lawmakers want to crack down on child porn requests USA – Views differ on making child pornography an act of violence

Same Sex Attraction

USA – Is the media encouraging hate

USA – Children are too young to consent to transgenderism

USA – Homosexual Teens with HIV make up 92{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4}

Sexual Exploitation

USA – Disturbing Link between Sex Trafficking and Abortion

USA – New legislation to prevent sex trafficking USA – Activist to combat sex trafficking with billboard campaign

Substance Abuse

UK – Cannabis is reaffirmed as gateway drug

Abortion

Croatia – Anti-abortion march draws twenty thousand

According to organizers this march was to “draw attention to respect of every human life – from conception to natural death”. Under a law dating back to 1978, when Croatia was still part of the communist Yugoslavia, abortion is legal until the 10th week of pregnancy. The constitutional court also ordered parliament to adopt a new law on abortion regulations within the next two years, ruling that the current legislation was outdated. Nearly 90{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4} of Croatia’s population of 4.2 million is Roman Catholics.

http://www.news24.com/World/News/croatia-anti-abortion-march-draws-20-000-20170521

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Alternative Medicine

No news today

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Euthanasia

Canada – Ontario passes assisted dying law

Lawmakers have voted in favour of what is known as “Bill 84” – a bill that amends several Ontario laws that potentially impede the implementation of federal law on euthanasia. A group of Ontario-based healthcare professionals held a press conference at the Ontario Legislative Building early this week, telling reporters that this law could force practitioners to leave the profession because of their conscientious objection to euthanasia.

https://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/ontario-passes-assisted-dying-law/12312#disqus_thread

USA – Existential distress’, not pain, drives euthanasia

According to Madeline Li principal author of a study, and other researchers, in the New England Journal of Medicine, the primary reason why patients requested assisted dying was to relieve “existential distress”. But in an article in the Medical Journal of Australia, American bioethicist Ezekiel Emanuel argued that the presence of existential distress in assisted dying cases counts as a reason not to legalise euthanasia: “What is then the great impetus to legalise interventions to end lives for a small minority of patients who are depressed, worried about losing autonomy and being tired of life? We should end the focus on the media frenzy about euthanasia and Physician Assisted suicide as if it were the panacea to improving end-of-life care.”

https://www.mercatornet.com/careful/view/existential-distress-not-pain-drives-euthanasia/19881 http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMms1700606

https://www.mja.com.au/journal/2017/206/8/euthanasia-and-physician-assisted-suicide-focus-data

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IVF&Surrogacy

USA – Cheap, effective alternative to IVF is possible

A 100-year-old medical technique of flushing a woman’s fallopian tubes with iodized poppy seed oil has proven to have significant benefits for fertility, according to research in the New England Journal of Medicine. Hysterosalpingography (HSG) is a dye test of the fallopian tubes conducted under X-ray first carried out in 1917. “In our study, 40{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4} of women undergoing HSG with an oil-based contrast achieved a successful pregnancy within six months said Professor Mol.” “Our results have been even more exciting than we could have predicted, helping to confirm that an age-old medical technique still has an important place in modern medicine,” he said. The oil-based product used in the study was Lipiodol® Ultra-Fluid, an iodized solution of fatty acids from poppy seeds. This product is currently available in 47 countries around the world.

https://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/cheap-effective-alternative-to-ivf-may-be-possible/12305

UK – IVF vs natural conception: babies have same cognitive ability

A new study by researchers from Oxford University suggests that IVF babies have the same cognitive ability as naturally-conceived children. Sociology Professor Melinda Mills studied data from the UK Millennium Cohort Study, a nationally representative group of 18,552 families. Over 12,000 children were part of the study (150-180 through IVF), with cognitive ability tests performed at 3, 5, 7 and 11 years. The researchers found that, in early years, the IVF-conceived children actually scored higher on the tests, with the disparity narrowing in later years of development. “The findings suggest that the positive effect of the family background of children conceived through artificial reproduction techniques “overrides” the risks of related poor health impairing their cognitive ability,” said professor Mills.

https://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/ivf-v-natural-conception-babies-have-same-cognitive-ability-says-new-study/12331

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Medical Ethics

USA – Unexpected mutations after CRISPR gene-editing

A study by investigators at Columbia University Medical Center suggests that CRISPR gene-editing technology can introduce hundreds of unintended mutations into the human genome. According to Kellie Schaefer, a Stanford co-author of the study, the genomes of two independent gene therapy recipients had sustained more than 1,500 single-nucleotide mutations and 100 larger deletions and insertions. Dr. Stephen Tsang, geneticist and co-author of the study said “Researchers who aren’t using whole genome sequencing to find off-target effects may be missing potentially important mutations”. “Even a single nucleotide change can have a huge impact.” The researchers remained positive about CRISPR technology but suggest that whole-genome sequencing should be used to determine the safety and accuracy of their CRISPR gene-editing methods.

https://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/unexpected-mutations-after-crispr-gene-editing-experiments/12330

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Pedophilia

No news today

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Pornography

UK – Theresa May to create new internet controlled by government

Prime Minister Theresa May, is planning to introduce regulations allowing the government to decide what is said and watched online. The plans will allow Britain to become the global leader in the regulation of the use of personal data and the internet. It comes just soon after the Investigatory Powers Act came into law. That legislation allowed the government to force internet companies to keep records on their customers’ browsing histories, as well as giving ministers the power to break apps like WhatsApp so that messages can be read. This is to ensure that there is no “safe space for terrorists to be able to communicate online”. The new rules will make it harder than ever to access pornographic websites.

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/theresa-may-internet-conservatives-government-a7744176.html

USA – Florida Authorities Demolish Child Porn Devices

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement demolished dozens of confiscated electronics that once produced or shared child porn. “Operation Crush Cyber Crime” smashed all evidence that has been used in the successful prosecution of child predators in the region. According to a Florida statute, all evidence that once held child pornography must be destroyed after prosecution. Some seized evidence without explicit images can be donated. Officials say the agency investigated 53 cases in central Florida and about 117 cases are pending.

https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/florida/articles/2017-05-18/florida-authorities-demolish-child-porn-devices

USA – State lawmakers want to crack down on child porn requests

It’s not against Wisconsin law to ask for nude photos from children, but two Republican state lawmakers say it should be. Rep. Andre Jacque and Sen. Van Wanggaard are circulating a bill that would make it a crime for adults to solicit nude or sexually explicit photos. Jacque says current law allows sexual predators to groom children over an extended period of time, often without getting in trouble until they actually gain possession of child pornography. Under the bill, an adult who solicits an “intimate or private representation” from someone under age 18 could face a maximum fine of $10,000 and up to nine months in jail. Individuals who attempts to obtain child pornography can also be charged under federal laws.

http://www.hngnews.com/sun_prairie_star/news/article_04c78ee4-3b06-11e7-b101-73d46d38acd6.html

USA – Views differ on making child pornography an act of violence

The highest court in West Virginia ruled to make the distribution and exhibition of child pornography an act of violence because the person exploited in child pornography is hurt every time that image is shown, according to Maryland Del. Brett Wilson who has prosecuted many of the county’s sexual abuse cases. Child pornography can cause real damage to the subject. The ruling means that a child pornography defendant who is deemed incompetent to stand trial can remain under the trial court’s jurisdiction for more than 50 years for appropriate treatment and supervision. District Attorney Matt Fogal said that victims of child pornography also suffer from knowing that their images can be traded and viewed worldwide is irretrievable and can continue to circulate forever.

http://www.heraldmailmedia.com/news/local/views-differ-on-making-child-pornography-an-act-of-violence/article_2ba90316-3d91-11e7-ba8d-ab1831a59b47.html

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Same Sex Attraction

USA – Is the media encouraging hate

Ben Shapiro is a political commentator, nationally syndicated columnist, author, radio talk show host, and attorney who argues why we shouldn’t see it as being courageous when someone comes out about being homosexual and that the media should stop making it a big deal. This interview with Ben was based on Michael Sam an American Football player for the NFL whose story the media used to create a milestone. Ben said the media is portraying homosexuality and “coming out” as an act of heroism and using it to create the impression that there are all these people that hate homosexuals when in reality this is not true. Even the football player himself said it’s no big deal. The media makes it seem that the vast majority of the population is against homosexuals and therefore creating fear. The FBI statistics show that they’re about the same number of attacks on Jews in the country as there are on homosexuals and this is not a country that discriminates against Jews or homosexuals. The more casually people treat homosexuals as opposed to a nation-wide celebration, they won’t have to feel like there’s this mythical challenge they have to face from conservative establishments or this phantom discrimination they have to overcome.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=812VJQvBBPY

USA – Children are too young to consent to transgenderism

Does it make any sense to believe that children fourteen and younger can consent to puberty blockers, toxic sex hormones, and mutilating sex reassignment surgery when they can’t even cross the street safely? A report from the National Center for Statistics and Analysis finds more than 200 children under the age of fourteen, died in the US in 2014 after being struck by a car. Another 8,000 suffered injuries. Michelle Cretella, president of the American College of Paediatricians pointed out that cognitive immaturity during adolescence has always been obvious, that’s why society has age restrictions for consenting to medical procedures, driving, voting and joining the military. It becomes clear that Pro-LGBT medical institutions like the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) ignore these scientific facts and are not concerned for the well being of these children.

https://world.wng.org/2017/05/too_young_to_cross_a_street_but_old_enough_for_a_sex_change

USA – Homosexual Teens with HIV make up 92{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4}

A new report called “HIV Among Gay and Bisexual Men” by the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows more than 9 in 10 new HIV cases among men and boys ages 13 to 24 in the U.S. occur among homosexuals and bisexuals. This report offers clear evidence of how extreme the health risks are for homosexual sex. Dr. Michelle Cretella, president of the American College of Paediatricians (ACPeds) said these facts need to reach the youth taking sex-ed classes across the country. But too often politically correct teachers and sex-ed curricula downplay the risks linked to homosexuality. “These statistics are proof that ‘comprehensive sex education’ aimed at promoting condoms among youth has not worked,” she said. “Even when used perfectly correctly, condoms and lubricants cannot make anal sex, an inherently traumatic act, safe. Our children deserve to know the truth. Their health and very lives depend upon it.” Texas pro-family education activist Donna Garner agreed and said “Students need to be told of the huge risks that follow their choice to participate in LGBT sexual activities; and if schools offer sex education courses, they need to state clearly the medical, psychological, and emotional dangers of choosing the LGBT lifestyle.

https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/gay-teens-make-up-92-percent-of-hiv-cases-in-their-age-group

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Sexual Exploitation

USA – Disturbing Link between Sex Trafficking and Abortion

The prevalence of forced abortions is an especially disturbing trend in sex trafficking said Laura J. Lederer, the Senior Adviser on Trafficking for the US State Department. What has often been ignored by the media is the link between forced prostitution and forced abortion. In their groundbreaking study ‘The Health Consequences of Sex Trafficking and Their Implications for Identifying Victims in Healthcare Facilities’, Laura J. Lederer and Christopher A. Wetzel examined the stories of sixty-six victims of sex trafficking. They found that fifty-five percent of these women had undergone at least one abortion while being trafficked and more than thirty percent underwent multiple abortions.

https://www.care-net.org/abundant-life-blog/researchers-uncover-disturbing-link-between-sex-trafficking-and- abortion?utm_campaign=Weekend{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4}20Update&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=52682885&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-

USA – New legislation to prevent sex trafficking

Anti-trafficking leaders and organizations from around the world namely; the Coalition Against Trafficking in Women, Exodus Cry, the National Centre for Sexual Exploitation and Shared Hope International are calling on legislators to include an important sex trafficking demand reduction provision. Bill HR466 amends the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 and states that if a government has the authority to prohibit the purchase of commercial sex acts, but fails to do so, it shall be deemed a failure to make serious and sustained efforts to reduce the demand for commercial sex acts, irrespective of other efforts the government may have made. This important change will make a country’s efforts to combat demand for prostitution a meaningful part of the State Department’s Trafficking in Persons Annual Report in which countries around the world are assessed and ranked. Linda Smith, Shared Hope International President and Founder stated that demand is at the heart of sex trafficking – without a buyer there would be no seller, no victim and the Act affirms this link and would expose those nations taking a backseat in combating this force that drives sex trafficking markets.

http://endsexualexploitation.org/articles/new-legislation-seeks-prevent-sex-trafficking/

USA – Activist to combat sex trafficking with billboard campaign

A new billboard has appeared in Wisconsin directly opposite a “sex store” and it proclaims: “Sex Trafficking: Porn Creates Demand.” The billboard is part of NCOSE’s City Blitz campaign, which raises awareness in cities across the country about the harms of pornography, including links to other forms of sexual exploitation and the disintegration of the family. This billboard is sponsored by 5-Stones, a non-profit organization that combats sex trafficking through their “five stones” of awareness, education, prevention, networking and collaboration. It has caused a stir from the store and its patrons who took offense to the message and complained about the “church people” who were doing them. Despite the negative feedback, the campaign hopes to get people to do some self analyzing regarding behaviours at home and private lives as well.

 http://endsexualexploitation.org/cityblitz/

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Substance Abuse

UK – Cannabis is reaffirmed as gateway drug

Teenagers who regularly smoke cannabis are 26 times more likely to turn to other drugs by the age of 21. The study of the lives of more than 5,000 teenagers produced resounding evidence that cannabis is a gateway to cocaine, amphetamines, hallucinogens and heroin. It also discovered that teenage cannabis smokers are 37 times more likely to be hooked on nicotine and three times more likely to be problem drinkers than non-users of the drug. The findings from Bristol University, led by Dr Michelle Taylor, provide authoritative support for those warning against the liberalization of drugs laws. Medical researchers have argued for years that cannabis is far from harmless and instead carries serious mental health risks. The Bristol evidence was gathered from a long-term survey and large UK cohort followed from birth, the’ Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children’. The survey was published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4582548/Proof-cannabis-DOES-lead-teenagers-harder-drugs.html

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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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