LIFEalerts: 06 April 2018
LIFEAlerts
LIFEalerts 14 March 2018
Abortion
Alternative Medicine
Euthanasia
IVF and Surrogacy
Medical Ethics
Pedophilia
Pornography
Same Sex Attraction
Sexual Exploitation
Substance Abuse
Abortion
Ireland – Abortion is not Ireland’s standard
Abortion group Amnesty International is seeking to repeal Irelands’ abortion ban with money donated by billionaire George Soros. Amnesty was ordered by the Irish Standards in Public Office Commission (SIPO) to take back the $160,964 donation. The money was intended to fund the “My Body, My Rights” campaign but Ireland’s finance laws prohibits foreign donors from giving to groups that seek to sway elections or public policy. https://www.onenewsnow.com/pro-life/2017/12/24/ireland-to-soros-take-back-your-abortion-money [back to top]USA – Five states join 22 others to oppose abortion
In the USA, five more states have raised the standards to oppose the killing of the unborn. Pro-lifers have managed to raise awareness and win the hearts of 27 states in an incredible display of effort and persistence to protect the babies in the womb. South Carolina, Florida, West Virginia, Mississippi and Iowa – all voted on restricting or banning abortions. The most impressive of the recent five states is Iowa that voted to ban all types of abortions and doctors who perform abortions after a foetal heartbeat is detected could be facing felony charges and five years in prison. https://www.liveaction.org/news/south-carolina-state-senate-will-vote-on-personhood-bill/ https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/breaking-mississippi-senate-votes-to-ban-abortions-after-15-weeks https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/west-virginia/articles/2018-03-05/west-virginia-house-opposes-constitutional-abortion-rights https://rewire.news/article/2018/03/02/iowa-state-senate-passes-unconstitutional-total-abortion-ban/ https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/florida-passes-bill-banning-dismemberment-abortions [back to top]Alternative Medicine
New Zealand – Pharmacy Councils’ position on alternative medicines disappointing
The New Zealand Medical Association (NZMA) is disappointed that the Pharmacy Council has weakened its stand on selling non-evidence based products. “The latest version of the Pharmacy Code of Ethics, permits pharmacists to supply complementary and alternative medicines (CAM) that have no current evidence of proven efficacy,” says NZMA Chair Dr Kate Baddock. “This is particularly serious given the lack of regulation in this area, now that the Natural Products Bill has been dropped from the Parliamentary agenda.”The proposed Bill was a ‘backstop’, which meant that pharmacists could rely on the regulator to consider evidence and quality. “Evidence-based medicine is a key tenet of the medical profession’s Code of Ethics, maintained by the NZMA. It is most disappointing that our colleagues in the pharmacy profession do not share this.” http://www.voxy.co.nz/health/5/305263 [back to top]USA – FDA warns of fraudulent and unapproved flu products
“This year the flu has been widespread, impacting millions of patients across the country, and leading to a new record number of flu-related hospitalizations,” said FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, M.D. “We understand the toll this year’s flu season has taken on peoples’ lives. As the flu continues to make people sick and even cause deaths, unscrupulous actors may also be taking advantage of unsuspecting consumers by promoting their fraudulent products that have not been reviewed by the FDA to be safe and effective. The FDA is warning consumers to be alert and to try and steer clear of fraudulent flu products, which may be found online or in retail stores. We’re advising consumers on some of the telltale signs to look for when trying to spot flu products that may be fraudulent. https://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm599223.htm [back to top]USA – Herbalist who replaced insulin with oils charged with teen’s death
An herbalist who claimed he used alternative medicine to cure his own cancer has been charged with the death of a 13-year-old boy after he allegedly replaced his insulin with herbal oils. Timothy Morrow, 83, was charged with child abuse, causing death and practicing medicine without a license, Los Angeles city attorney Mike Feuer said in a statement. When the boy became semi-comatose in August 2014 due to complications from his diabetes, Morrow told his parents to treat their son with the herbal oils he sold rather than insulin which was prescribed by qualified medical doctors. Type 1 Diabetes is caused by an autoimmune response which stops the body from making insulin. According to the Centers for Disease Control people with Type 1 diabetes need to take insulin every day in order to survive. http://www.newsweek.com/herbalist-who-cured-cancer-herbs-charged-death-after-treating-boys-diabetes-836132 [back to top]Euthanasia
Sweden – Mechanisms propelling euthanasia/assisted suicide movement
An article by Swedish researcher Fabian Stahle, in the Journal of Medical Ethics in Mental Health explains the mechanism of the euthanasia lobby to change the concept of killing through the mechanism known as Moral Disengagement. By examining Albert Bandura’s theory of Moral Disengagement based on social cognitive theory to justify acts that are otherwise considered inhumane to become acceptable, the pro-euthanasia movement uses highly potent psychological mechanisms to propel its agenda and coerce well-socialized persons into participating and accepting the killing of fellow human-beings. Operating at the behavior locus are three separate disengagement mechanisms that convert the construal of injurious conduct into righteous conduct. Moral justification is used to vindicate injurious means. Second, by the use of sanitizing euphemistic language, injurious conduct is rendered benign. Exonerative comparison with even more flagrant inhumanities is a third mechanism for cloaking injurious behavior in an aura of benevolence. http://www.jemh.ca/issues/v9/documents/JEMH{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4}20article{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4}20Stahle{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4}20final{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4}20proof{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4}20-{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4}20copy-edited.pdf [back to top]Japan – Is the WMA going to change on euthanasia?
Even though the legalisation of euthanasia has been gathering momentum around the world, the World Medical Association (WMA) has refused to support it. Dr John Lee, the president of Fédération Internationale des Associations de Médecins Catholiques (FIAMC) has issued a stark warning about impending changes in WMA policy. The WMA has plans to introduce two policy measures to facilitate worldwide abortion and euthanasia by curtailing doctors’ conscientious objection. By saying that the WMA does not condemn physicians who perform euthanasia where it is legal, the WMA is saying that euthanasia can be ethical if it is legal. https://www.mercatornet.com/careful/view/is-the-world-medical-association-going-to-change-on-euthanasia/21078 [back to top]USA – Rejection of proposed New Hampshire assisted suicide Bill
Bill SB 490 was defeated by 12 votes to 10 which would have opened a “gateway” for legalizing physician assisted suicide. Assisted suicide has become a cost cutting measure that puts a dollar sign between the patient and caregiver. Palliative, rehabilitative and psychological care will always be more expensive than a lethal dose of a drug. Neutrality on assisted suicide is never acceptable policy. Honest discussion of end-of-life issues in New Hampshire has to begin with calling assisted suicide by its right name. The New Hampshire Senate, by a narrow margin, refused to be neutral. https://www.nhcornerstone.org/latest-news/senate-rejects-assisted-suicide/ [back to top]USA – Discussion of possible Hawaiian assisted suicide
A joint committee hearing scheduled for February 2018 will discuss the legislation of physician assisted suicide in the state of Hawaii. House Bill 2739 which is modeled after California’s law entitled ‘Our Care, Our Choice’ would institute a process where adult residents in Hawaii with a medically confirmed terminal illness, and less than six months to live, could request a prescription for medication that would end their life. https://patientsrightsaction.org/hearing-set-for-a-bill-that-would-legalize-assisted-suicide-in-hawaii/ [back to top]IVF and Surrogacy
[No news today]Medical Ethics
USA – Former NFL players turn to stem-cell therapies for help
Several former members of the Dallas Cowboys had received experimental stem-cell therapy in Mexico to deal with pain and injuries. Bob Lilly, once a top defensive lineman, said he had received two separate treatments offered by Texas stem cell company Celltex. “I have no pain,” Lilly said. “And that’s pretty unusual when you’ve played 24 years of football”. Several of Celltex’s treatments are yet to be approved by the FDA, and in many cases the company flies clients to Mexico to receive stem cell injections. Bur neurologist Michael De Georgia of Cleveland Medical Centre cautions: “we need to be very cautious about claims and promises to patients who may be under the assumption or the belief that this therapy has been shown to be effective, and it hasn’t”. https://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/former-nfl-players-turn-to-stem-cell-therapies-for-help/12606 [back to top]Netherlands – Parliament passes opt-out organ donation law
The Dutch parliament has narrowly passed a bill that requires every person over 18 to notify government officials if they do not want to be an organ donor. The law is intended to reduce pressure on next-of-kin, who are often required to make decisions about organ donation on behalf of the deceased. Critics have complained that it puts too much authority in the hands of the government over what happens to a citizen after their death. Bioethicist Wesley J Smith suggested that in some cases euthanasia “without request or consent” could be combined with presumed consent for organ donation: “a patient could very conceivably be both killed and harvested without having requested it”. https://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/netherlands-passes-opt-out-organ-donation-law/12605 [back to top]USA – Biohacking: the future of the biosciences?
Biohacking, or do-it-yourself biology, attempts to take what have traditionally been university or institute-based scientific disciplines – molecular biology, genetics, bioengineering, and so forth – and make them more available to the general public. Several grass-roots biohacking organisations have surfaced in recent years, including biophysicist Josiah Zayner’s company The Odin. Zayner aims to make experimental biotechnologies available to the public – particularly equipment for genetic engineering. “One of my big problems with academic and medical science is [that] lots of stuff…won’t be available to the general public for 10, 20, 30, 40 years…How do you expect this technology go forward if they aren’t testing, playing around it? What is too early and what is too late? I don’t know if there’s an answer. The US Food and Drug Administration recently issued a harshly worded statement cautioning consumers against DIY gene-therapy kits and calling their sale illegal. https://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/biohacking-the-future-of-the-biosciences/12612 [back to top]USA – Potential organ donors fear inadequate treatment
According to an article published in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons medical researchers from Emory University found the main deterrent for organ donation is a misperception that one will receive inadequate medical care if registered as an organ donor. The results of the survey also indicated other factors deterring people from donating such an increased cost for the donor family when donating organs. “Educating the public regarding these and other misperceptions is desperately needed,” says Dr Marty T. Sellers of Emory University School of Medicine, the lead author of the paper. “With education, we believe this would convert more eligible donors into actual donors, which would shorten waiting times and allow transplantation earlier in a disease process. https://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/potential-organ-donors-fear-inadequate-treatment/12610 [back to top]Pedophilia
[No news today]Pornography
South Africa- Award-winning film is classified as hard-core pornography
South Africa’s award-winning film Inxeba (The Wound), has been classified as X18 by the Film and Publication Board Appeal Tribunal after protest from interests groups CONTRALESA Gauteng and The Men and Boy Foundation because of elements of sex, language, nudity, violence and Prejudice”. The film can only be distributed from designated adult premises. The reclassification of Inxeba also follows multiple protests against the film’s screening. This included a protest at a Nu Metro cinema in Port Elizabeth at the start of February. Protesters called for a boycotting of the film and the mall which hosted the cinema. https://mybroadband.co.za/news/broadcasting/248737-south-africas-latest-award-winning-film-has-been-classified-as-hard-core-pornography-by-the-fpb.html [back to top]USA – Porn makes men prefer sex with robots over real women
Internet pornography has caused men to prefer robotic sex dolls rather than women, according to a man profiting by this booming new sex doll industry. The overuse of pornography has perpetuated unrealistic expectations about women that cause men to turn to robotic dolls. The creator of the “Samantha” robot, Arran Wright, claimed that his robot responds when you tell her you love her. He also boasted that his robot can go into “family” mode and interact with his children. Critics of sex doll robots say that the child-like ones that have been created will increase, rather than reduce, sex abuse by paedophiles. There are also robots that can be programmed to respond as if they are being raped. https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/sex-robot-manufacturer-porn-makes-men-prefer-sex-with-robots-over-real-wome [back to top]Same Sex Attraction
UK – LGBT group linked to paedophilia ring
An LGBT group in the UK has been urged to investigate allegations of connections to a paedophile ring after Matthew Sephton, 42, the former chairman of the group, was jailed and convicted at Manchester Crown Court for sharing the most horrendous child abuse images. Apparently the group was warned three years ago of suspicious activity within the gay rights group linking them to a wider paedophile scandal. It is alarming to see so many reports surfacing on the LGBT groups and the link to paedophile activity. http://www.breitbart.com/london/2018/01/28/mail-sunday-tory-party-lgbt-group-linked-paedophile-ring/ [back to top]USA – Challenging the transgender narrative
In a short video clip Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson challenges Zac Petkanas, a Democratic National Committee Senior Advisor on the issue of ‘gender-neutral’ bathrooms. Petkanas was adamant that you don’t need any other way to define you’re gender other than what you say it is. Carlson asked whether a scientific foundation exists for concluding that a man becomes a woman by saying he is now a woman and does he then get to play women’s sports because he says he is a woman. The thought that you can be ‘gender-neutral’ or one of 50 other gender options has never been attempted in human history and has confused and concerned many American people. https://youtu.be/jWJ8WCNjpME [back to top]Sexual Exploitation
South Africa – What the price of prostitutes teaches about SA economy
High unemployment rates, a symptom of an ailing economy, have meant that many young people find their only source of income in selling their bodies. What’s more, it’s a case of small change in the sex trade in small towns across the country. Marius Oosthuizen, a leadership, strategy and ethics expert at the Gordon Institute of Business Science says he pays close attention to the price of prostitutes in his field work because it helps provide a nuanced sense of the micro-economy. In the rural areas it costs just R50. What he sees is tragic and underscores a major block in kick starting economic growth. South Africa has a largely consolidated economic sector that is unlikely to create jobs on a massive scale without significant policy change. https://www.biznews.com/thought-leaders/2018/02/23/prostitutes-sa-micro-economy/ [back to top]Ireland – ‘It’s not normal’ ex prostitute calls for crackdown on escort agency websites
Rachel Moran was forced to work in prostitution at just 15-years-old after she became homeless. Now 42, she is urging the government to shut down escort agency websites and put pimps out of business to try and end Ireland’s prostitution problem. The business of having your body used is relentlessly traumatic for any woman who has any type of sense of herself. “It’s not normal to use a human being like a sex doll”. Research has found that one in 12 Irish men pay for sex and that there are around 1,000 people working as prostitutes. “There is no such thing as sex work, because prostitution is neither sex, nor work, its sexual abuse and monetized molestations. The Government needs to shut down the online escort agencies. “It’s a really ridiculous situation when you have a law that criminalizes a behavior, but you have a website that facilitates the same behavior. https://www.thesun.ie/news/2223457/ex-prostitute-rachel-moran-calls-for-crackdown-on-escort-agency-websites-as-she-relives-relentlessly-traumatic-life-as-an-escort/ [back to top]Substance Abuse
USA – Vaping debate: do e-cigarettes cause cancer?
Latest research on health impacts of the growing trend in E-cigarette devices are promoted as a safer alternative to tobacco .New US research shows that vaping is “far from harmless” and could pose a serious health risk. A US National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine review examined the effects of e-cigarette smoke on mice and lab-grown human cells by exposing them to a 10mg/ml e-cigarette solution for three hours a day, five days a week, for four months. This dose would be equivalent to light vaping for ten years, say the researchers, from the New York University School of Medicine. The mice exposed to e-cigarette smoke had “higher levels of DNA damage” in the heart, lungs, and bladder, compared with a control group exposed to filtered air, according to the team. Scientists also recorded damage to the human cells that in turn inhibits the process whereby the body repairs them and increases the possibility of cancer. http://www.theweek.co.uk/checked-out/91552/vaping-debate-do-e-cigarettes-cause-cancer [back to top]USA – Study: “Medical marijuana” outlets don’t only sell to the sick
A study of four medical marijuana outlets in California showed that dispensaries attracted many customers outside of their immediate area and appeared to target specific ethnic, gender and/or age groups. “If you need a prescription, you’re not going to go across town to fill it — you’re going to go to the pharmacy closest to where you live. That’s what we should be seeing with medical marijuana dispensaries.” said Bridget Freisthler, co-author of the study and professor of social work at Ohio State University. Instead, these dispensaries are acting more like bars, which develop niche markets she said. “While there has been speculation that medical dispensaries target recreational users, now we are starting to collect evidence that suggests this is true,” she said. The results appear online in the journal Substance Use & Misuse. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/02/180212085851.htm [back to top]South Africa – Durban calls for halt on supply of free syringes to addicts
Mayor Zandile Gumede tasked City officials to urgently address the issue and said while the matter was being investigated that the distribution of syringes to drug addicts must stop. The city’s Legal Compliance Unit has also been approached to provide an opinion on the legality of supplying the syringes with needles to communities without ensuring a proper, restricted disposal process by the project owner. Officials were finding a number of discarded, used syringes on the beachfront which had to be cordoned off for safety reasons. “An investigation was launched and it was discovered that a company operating in Durban has been supplying syringes to the public who requested it, as a way to stop the sharing of syringes. However, there are no control measures in place regarding disposal,” deputy mayor Fawzia peer added. “They are using the syringes and leaving it on the ground. However, this company has a memorandum of agreement with the national and provincial departments of health to supply syringes. She added that it was a serious concern and a societal problem with youngsters being given leeway to do drugs. https://bereamail.co.za/128615/city-calls-halt-supply-free-syringes-addicts/ [back to top]USA – Judge tosses lawsuit challenging federal marijuana laws
A judge dismissed a lawsuit challenging federal laws criminalizing marijuana as unconstitutional, saying the five plaintiffs had failed to pursue changes in the drug’s legal status by first going through the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein did not address the plaintiffs claim that marijuana has medical benefits, but said the DEA has the authority to make that decision and not the courts. Michael Hiller, lead attorney for the plaintiffs said they would appeal the decision. The suit originally was filed as a growing number of states broke with the federal government and declared marijuana to be legal. Thirty have now legalized it in some fashion, including six for recreational use. The lawsuit challenged the listing of marijuana as a Schedule I drug, a category that includes heroin and LSD. The federal government says drugs under that classification have no accepted medical use and cannot legally be prescribed. www.pressherald.com/2018/02/27/judge-tosses-lawsuit-challenging-federal-marijuana-laws/ [back to top] Disclaimer: the views and opinions expressed in these articles do not necessarily reflect those of Doctors for Life International ]]>Special Life Alert: USA – Yale data: Cancer patients relying on unproven alternative treatments likely to die two and a half times sooner
a July article by several Yale physicians is the most-discussed paper ever published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute (JNCI). The title of this blockbuster: “Use of Alternative Medicine for Cancer and Its Impact on Survival.” “It struck a chord,” said senior author James Yu, MD, MHS, Associate Professor of Therapeutic Radiology. The Yale researchers used the U.S. National Cancer Database to collect information on patients with breast, lung, colon, and prostate cancer from 2004 to 2013. They looked for people who reported using only unproven alternative treatments instead of conventional medical therapies such as surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy. The researchers found 280 such people and then compared their outcomes after 5½ years to 560 people with the same cancer, diagnosis, age, and race who had received conventional treatment. The results were clear. Patients who initially relied on unproven alternatives were, on average, 250{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4} times more likely to die within the 5½ year window. Within particular cancers, the risk associated with alternative medicine was often much worse—almost 600{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4} higher for patients with breast cancer, 400{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4} for colon cancer and 200{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4} for lung cancer. The researchers have some theories about this seeming conundrum. Dr. Johnson mentions the Dunning-Kruger effect, in which people overestimate their knowledge, in part by relying on the Internet. Could this be true? Skyler Johnson, MD, Resident in Therapeutic Radiology and the paper’s lead author thinks the discrepancy in survival rates would be even more alarming if the patients had been followed for longer than five years to take into account slow-growing cancers such as prostate cancer. He also calls the 280 people identified as using only alternative medicine “a huge underestimate” because the researchers excluded a large group of patients who had been coded as having refused treatment, with no reason given. Dr. Johnson suspects that many of them chose an alternative therapy first but did not report it to their physicians. Another interesting finding from the paper was that people who preferred alternative treatments tended to have had more formal education, and higher incomes. Dr. Yu speculates that people with higher incomes can afford more types of healthcare and know how to seek them out, such as clinical trials. “But in this case it’s wishful thinking,” he said. “These alternatives don’t necessarily cause harm, but they’re placebos, and placebos don’t cure cancer, but they can delay real cancer care.” Co-author Cary P. Gross, MD, Professor of Medicine and of Epidemiology, wasn’t that surprised by the demographic finding, citing increased scepticism about science and conventional medicine that has driven things such as the anti-vaccination movement. “And just as the Internet and social media have fuelled discord in the political process,” he added, “they also have enabled conspiracy theories about medicine and health to spread rapidly and wildly.” The researchers also believe, based on their own patients that the number of people choosing alternative treatments over conventional ones is increasing. “I understand the human impulse to think there’s got to be something else,” said Dr. Yu. “And when the answer is ‘no, there isn’t’, then there’s the opportunity for someone to say, ‘Just rub these crystals or sit in a salt bath or eat special food.’” All of the researchers noted that the problem should not be pinned only on patients and providers of alternative medicine. “Physicians need to shoulder some of the blame as well,” said Dr. Johnson. “We need to take the time to really listen to patients’ concerns and explain things more clearly. That builds a relation of trust, and makes them more willing to believe the data.” Dr. Yu agrees. “We need to bring these conversations about alternative therapies to the forefront,” he said, “and because of this study we now have the data to help us.” The researchers also noted that their work focused on alternative medicine, when patients choose not to receive conventional medical therapies, rather than “complementary medicine,” in which patients undergo conventional cancer treatment as well as additional therapies from disciplines that are not part of traditional Western medicine. The researchers know that facts and data won’t be enough to persuade everyone, a common symptom of our time, but their paper is a start. They hope it convinces a few people to reconsider relying on alternative treatments, or prompts someone to insist that a loved one see an oncologist. “That’s why we do research,” said Dr. Johnson. “We try to help people one at a time, and hopefully our research can help patients and families to make more informed decisions.” http://www.newswise.com/articles/view/688151 Disclaimer: the views and opinions expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of Doctors for Life International]]>
LIFEalerts: 23 February 2018
Abortion
Alternative Medicine
Euthanasia
IVF and Surrogacy
Medical Ethics
Pedophilia
Pornography
Same Sex Attraction
Sexual Exploitation
Substance Abuse
Abortion
USA – New Study observes emotional suffering after abortion
A new study was published in the Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons last year December, the main Author is Dr. Priscilla K. Coleman, a Professor of Human Development and Family Studies at Bowling Green State University USA. The online survey of 987 women with a history of abortion, revealed how they suffered a variety of psychological effects such as shame, anger, regret, depression and suicide attempts all which they attribute to their abortion. Some woman suffered damaged relationships with their husbands and children because of the anger and regret. Many other women said their abortion stimulated changes in their life that inclined them to become part of the pro-life movement. http://www.jpands.org/vol22no4/coleman.pdf [back to top]Tasmania – more states join to oppose abortion
n 2013 Tasmania passed a Reproductive Health Bill that permits the killing of unborn babies. Health Minister Michael Ferguson has been vocal in opposing abortion since then and has joined church leaders to protest and oppose the bill. Their ongoing effort has lead to the closing of the last abortion clinic in the state after 17 years. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-01-13/tasmanias-only-abortion-clinic-closes/9325194 [back to top]Alternative Medicine
[No news today]Euthanasia
South Africa – African Medical Doctors Reject Euthanasia
In early 2002 Wesley Smith was invited to offer an opening keynote speech against euthanasia at a South African bioethics conference. All of these years later, I am pleased to report that, The World Medical Association (WMA) African region has called for strengthening of palliative care for patients with terminally ill ailments across Africa. The president said the African region rejected physicians assisted suicide and euthanasia, describing them as contrary to the physician’s oath. It is good to know that African doctors have not forgotten the profession’s venerable stand against the active killing of patients. Contemporary doctors in the West could learn from their African colleagues. http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/456110/african-mds-reject-euthanasia [back to top]Belgium – Death on Demand
Dr Ludo Vanopdenbosch, a neurologist, resigned as a member in of the Federal Commission for Euthanasia Control and Evaluation due to gross negligence in Belgium’s euthanasia regulatory body. Legislation regarding physician assisted suicide in Belgium provides euthanasia “rights” for patients regardless of mental capabilities. Recently, a patient who suffered dementia was euthanized at the request of her family in spite of the fact that the patient did not reveal any request for euthanasia. Divisions within the medical establishment regarding euthanasia for psychiatric reasons and issues of transparency in health care systems even one as liberal as Belgium, has been brought to the surface despite efforts to make more information available. https://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/belgiums-euthanasia-commission-is-under-fire/12604 [back to top]IVF and Surrogacy
USA – Scientists grow human eggs to maturity in vitro
A group of scientists based in Edinburgh and New York have grown several human oocytes to maturity in vitro, raising hopes of a solution for women at risk of premature fertility loss. Writing in the journal Molecular Human Reproduction, the researcher team – led by Edinburgh University biologist Evelyn Telfer – describe a method for growing and maturing human oocytes (eggs) within primordial follicles (obtained from biopsies of ovaries) all the way through to oocytes that might be capable of being fertilized. “The novel aspect of this current work is to have joined [several steps of development] into one continuous process”, said Professor Robin Lovell-Badge, Group Leader at The Francis Crick Institute. Essentially, the suggestion is that scientists may be able to grow eggs from ovarian tissue, all the way from early stages to later development stages, ready for fertilization by sperm; and that this process could be achieved outside of the human body. Experts say the research opens the door to a new approach to fertility preservation for women at risk of premature fertility loss – such as those undergoing chemotherapy or radiotherapy. The paper comes in the wake of research into gestation bags for premature neonates and a renewed interest in the development of embryos in vitro. https://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/scientists-grow-human-eggs-to-maturity-in-vitro/12594 [back to top]Medical Ethics
USA – Enthusiasm for gene therapy cools after animal tests
A new gene therapy technique that uses high doses of viruses to carry healthy genes to cells recently brought relief to 15 babies suffering from a lethal neuromuscular condition. As the first human trial with high-doses of the AAV9 virus, its success gave a huge boost to the gene-therapy field. “People are going to look back and see this as a milestone in a new type of medicine that’s going to have broad implications for lots and lots of diseases,” one researcher told Science last year. However, those hopes were chilled this week when a leading gene-therapy researcher who was involved in the successful trial also published a study in which high-dose AAV9 infusions severely affected animals. Three young rhesus macaque monkeys developed liver failure and three piglets had motor neurone damage. Some of them had to be euthanized. The cause was not immediately apparent. R. Jude Samulski, of the University of North Carolina, told MIT Technology Review that the combination of scientific ambition, technological advances, desperate patients, and potential financial windfalls could lead again to disaster. “It would be very naïve for our community to assume we won’t have toxic effects,” he says. https://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/enthusiasm-for-gene-therapy-cools-after-animal-tests/12591 [back to top]UK – Politician calls for quicker access to experimental cancer treatments
Baroness Jowell, who is suffering from a malignant brain tumour known as glioblastoma, addressed the House of Lords arguing that the approval process for cancer treatments needs to be quicker, and advocates the use of what are called “adaptive clinical trials” to test cancer drugs. They do this by taking a more flexible approach, allowing multiple drugs to be tested within the same trial. As a result, drugs that hold promise can be rapidly identified and tested, while other less effective drugs can be discarded. Writing in The Conversation, neuropathologist Silvia Marino and oncologist Peter Hall of Queen Mary University described the use of adaptive trials as a “more flexible approach for a new era”: “For patients with rapidly progressing, life-threatening conditions, such as glioblastoma, [adaptive trials] can make the difference between having access to a new drug or not”. But many are skeptical of the proposal. But Indiana University clinician Scott Saxman warned of significant ethical concerns including “loss of equipoise, lack of processes for adequate informed consent, and inequalities inherent in the research design which could lead to perceptions of injustice that may have negative implications for patients and the research enterprise”. https://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/uk-politician-calls-for-quicker-access-to-experimental-cancer-treatments/12582 [back to top]Pedophilia
UK – Killer of Jamie Bulger Admits possession of pedophilia material AGAIN
Jon Venables, one of James Bulger’s killers, pleaded guilty to having more than 1,000 child abuse images and a “pedophile manual “.Venables was sentenced to 40 months in jail. Mr. Justice Edis said, “This case is unique because when you were 10 years old you took part in the murder and torture of James Bulger.” He served eight years for the murder before being released on license in 2001 with a new identity and granted lifelong anonymity. It’s the second time that Venables has been caught with child abuse images. In 2010, he was jailed for two years after pleading guilty to distributing child pornography. A report found that Venables has a “high risk of real harm to children in the future” and a “long-term and profound interest in children,”139 http://mb.ntd.tv/2018/02/07/james-bulger-killer-admits-to-having-indecent-images-of-children/ [back to top]Pornography
[No news today]Same Sex Attraction
USA – Normalising the LGBT agenda is child abuse
A Family Association group called ‘One Million Moms’ is protesting and driving a wide-spread awareness campaign, calling on families to resist the publication of pro-homosexual and pro-transgender books for children. The American College of Paediatricians warns “Conditioning children into believing that a lifetime of chemical and surgical impersonation of the opposite sex is normal and healthy is child abuse”. Numerous studies, research and therapists confirm that the lifestyle is harmful on many levels and even more research exists that change is possible. https://www.theblaze.com/news/2018/01/15/one-million-moms-calls-for-scholastic-protest-over-pro-homosexual-pro-transgender-books [back to top]Zimbabwe – New President joins Ghana’s stance on homosexuality
The new President of Zimbabwe, Emmerson Mnangagwa, said he would focus on repaying debts, embracing the international economy and modernizing infrastructure. However, the President shares Ghana’s views on homosexuality and said in an interview with CNN that it is not his duty to campaign for LGBT rights and that “In our constitution it is banned and it is my duty to obey my constitution.” http://www.towleroad.com/2018/01/emmerson-mnangagwa/ [back to top]Sexual Exploitation
Australia – Former prostitute calls for its end
A former prostitute says the more money that you charge the more you are expected to do. Gwyneth Montenegro a former prostitute had slept with over 10,000 men. She has revealed that she had the problem of physical violence. The glamorization of the industry leads women to believe becoming a prostitute will afford them a life of luxury, when that reality is far from the truth. The biggest problem with the portrayal of prostitution and escorting in the media is polarizing. She also said: “I will never forget that sickening feeling, deep in the pit of my stomach, as I waited the results from a series of STD tests. What had I done with my life? Why had I been so foolish?” http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/sex-worker-prostitution-escorting-escort-services-gwyneth-montenegro-glamour-media-tv-films-secret-a8184791.html [back to top]Netherlands – Aspiring prostitutes Can Now Get a Certified Diploma
A new Dutch organization by and for sex workers in collaboration with the city of Amsterdam has officially opened The School for Amsterdam Prostitutes. The new institution will provide a 4-month course for aspiring prostitutes from all over the world. The course offers “sexual knowledge” for its participants. The cost for enrolment will be 400 Euros. This is in large part due to subsidies by the city of Amsterdam and volunteer teachers. http://www.amsterdamredlightdistricttour.com/news/school-for-amsterdam-prostitutes-opens-its-doors/ [back to top]Netherlands – Prostitutes School Means Trouble for Cannabis Store
Not everybody is happy with the arrival of a new school. Due to current Dutch laws there is a big chance that the world famous cannabis/coffee shop, ‘The Bull Dog’, will eventually have to close its doors. The so called “distance rules” ordains that coffee shops within a 250 meter range of a school should be closed. The School Of Amsterdam Prostitutes will be located 249 meters from cannabis store. http://www.amsterdamredlightdistricttour.com/news/school-for-amsterdam-prostitutes-opens-its-doors/ [back to top]Substance Abuse
UK – Government not about to legalize medicinal Marijuana for pain medication
Rhian Cowen a Multiple Sclerosis patient said she had experienced “frightening” symptoms from the disease before using products which contain cannabis to ease pain. Cannabis should be made available on prescription to stop people who use it to ease pain being criminalised. Assembly Members argued in a Senate debate that they want the UK to change the law. They were concerned that some living with conditions such as multiple sclerosis (MS) that are using cannabis are putting them at risk of prosecution by purchasing illegal marijuana. But the UK government said it had no plans to legalise the Class B drug and that the Home Office said there is clear scientific and medical evidence that it is harmful. Cannabis is currently banned for sale in the UK and that for the foreseeable future it will remain that way. http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-politics-42709244 [back to top] Disclaimer: the views and opinions expressed in these articles do not necessarily reflect those of Doctors for Life International Disclaimer: the views and opinions expressed in these articles do not necessarily reflect those of Doctors for Life International]]>LIFEalerts 09 February 2018
Abortion
Alternative Medicine
Euthanasia
IVF and Surrogacy
Medical Ethics
Pedophilia
Pornography
Same Sex Attraction
Sexual Exploitation
Substance Abuse
Abortion
USA – Trump protects doctors’ conscience rights on abortion
Pro-Life groups are applauding President Trump’s Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for creating a division of the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) that will enforce, “laws and regulations that protect conscience and prohibit coercion on issues such as abortion and assisted suicide.” According to the OCR website healthcare workers can now file complaints when they experience coercion or discrimination of any sort. President Marjorie Dannenfelser said in a statement, “This Administration realizes that abortion is a highly controversial, brutal act against unborn children and their mothers and affirms the right of all Americans not to be forced to participate in abortion.” https://www.hhs.gov/conscience/conscience-protections/index.html [back to top]USA – Abortion giant seeks revenue in gender-confused minors
Pro-life group activities have managed to shrink abortion rates in the U.S. and tighten regulations. For this reason Planned Parenthood (PP) is looking towards a new source of revenue – hormone ‘sex-change’ drugs for minors – despite the warnings and regrets shared by former transgender persons and many mental health professionals. PP insists on their website that feeling confused about your gender is not a sign of mental illness or stress and no letter from a therapist is needed before starting treatment. Evidently PP is not concerned about the regrets young people would face after mutilating healthy body parts. https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/planned-parenthood-taps-into-sex-change-therapy-for-minors-as-new-revenue-s [back to top]USA – More abortion workers change their minds
For many pro-lifers it is encouraging to hear how Myra Neyer quit working at an abortion clinic in Baltimore. It took one moment to make her realize how horrible abortion is. Myra and a co-worker cried as they cleaned up the body parts of four baby boys that a girl came to abort. The girl didn’t want to abort but her boyfriend forced her because he didn’t want children. Myra said she couldn’t handle seeing how lost and blank the girl looked after the abortion and then decided she was done with being part of the work. Myra now inspires women to choose life and shares how she is raising five children since she became a widow. http://dailysignal.com/2018/01/18/crying-one-woman-shares-left-planned-parenthood/ [back to top]USA – New Bill protects babies born alive after botched abortions
The Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act (H.R. 4712) was passed this year by the U.S. House. This bill protects babies born alive after a failed abortion attempt and states that such babies ought to be transported to the hospital for care. Penalties are also in place should health professionals not adhere and allows for the mother to sue if her baby is killed by intent or neglect. Former abortion clinic workers have been witnesses to the horrible killing of babies born alive such as the case in 2013 of Dr Kermit Gosnell, who slit the spinal cords of at least ten babies. https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/breaking-u.s.-congress-votes-to-protect-babies-who-survive-botched-abortion [back to top]Alternative Medicine
[No news today]Euthanasia
India – Elderly couple seek euthanasia
A healthy elderly couple has asked the Indian President, Ram Nath Kovind, to grant them joint euthanasia because their lives are of no use. Narayan Lavate 88 and his wife Iravati 78, have no children or siblings. The couple view themselves as having “no use for society.” They argue that keeping them alive against their wishes is nothing less than imprisonment and a waste of the country’s scarce resources as well as theirs. The influence of humanist philosophy prevails in the couple’s utilitarian appeal to society. If their desire is granted the couple would consent to donating their bodies after death and whatever wealth they have to the state treasury. http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/455346/elderly-indian-couple-ask-joint-active-euthanasia [back to top]Switzerland – Lobsters are above humans
The Swiss Supreme Court has declared a constitutional right to assisted suicide for the mentally ill. However, Switzerland’s enshrining of “plant dignity” into law, its outlawing the boiling of lobsters and the flushing of goldfish, but abandoning the despaired, disabled and mentally ill to go into extinction in suicide clinics, are symptomatic of our fast-eroding ability in the West to think critically, and to distinguish serious from lesser ethical concerns. https://evolutionnews.org/2018/01/swiss-follies/ [back to top]Netherlands – Dutch euthanasia regulator quits her post
Berna van Baarsen, a medical ethicist has said she could not support “a major shift” in the interpretation of her country’s euthanasia law to endorse lethal injections for increasing numbers of dementia patients. Miss van Baarsen is the second regulator to quit in just three years following Professor Theo Boer who stepped down in 2014. The latest case of euthanasia involving a healthy 29- year old Dutch woman (Aurelia) who was granted euthanasia on the grounds of suffering from psychiatric reasons revealed the “slippery slope” pitfall that exist in euthanasia safeguard models. Miss van Baarsen said it was very difficult to assess if patients with dementia were suffering unbearably – one of the criteria that has to be met before an act of euthanasia is legally permissible. Professor Theo Boer also stated in an article that euthanasia in the context of psychiatry raises complex ethical and legal problems. http://catholicherald.co.uk/news/2018/01/23/dutch-euthanasia-regulator-quits-over-dementia-killings/ [back to top]Netherlands – Where will it end?
Aurelia Brouwers died at home after her request for assisted suicide for “unbearable and hopeless psychological suffering”. She wrote on her blog: “I am Aurelia, 29 years and I have Borderline Personality Disorder, chronic and complex PTSD, addiction, anxiety disorders and many more mental issues. I also spend my time fighting for euthanasia for mentally ill patients and euthanasia around the world. This state sanctioned killing of a physically healthy young woman will likely raise more concerns about the expansion of euthanasia in the Netherlands – where a woman with dementia is held down and lethally injected, alcoholics meet the criteria for assisted suicide, and there are plans to introduce it for those who have “completed life.” https://www.spuc.org.uk/news/news-stories/2018/january/29-year-old-mentally-ill-woman-euthanised [back to top]IVF and Surrogacy
[No news today]Medical Ethics
Italy – Parliament passes controversial end-of-life bill
After 30 years and 3000 attempts to propose amendments, an end-of-life bill was passed by the Italian Parliament this week which allows patients to end their lives by refusing to eat and drink. It also allows patients to express binding end-of-life care wishes through a text or a video. The new legislation does not permit assisted suicide or euthanasia. However, it is clearly a momentous step in that direction. In November Pope Francis clarified the position of the Catholic Church by stressing that only “ordinary” care need be provided to the dying, not “extraordinary” care that extends life at all costs. Therefore the Catholic position maintains that eating and drinking are ordinary care, as much as hygiene. However, under the new law artificial nutrition and hydration are to be regarded as medical interventions because they are administered through health devices and, consequently, can be rejected or suspended. https://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/italy-passes-controversial-end-of-life-bill/ [back to top]USA – Trump administration moves to defend conscience rights
The Conscience and Religious Freedom Division of the Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights will handle complaints related to participation in controversial medical practices such as abortion, euthanasia and assisted suicide, and gender reassignment. Federal officials said the division will allow HHS to “more vigorously and effectively” enforce laws related to conscience and religious freedom. “Laws protecting religious freedom and conscience rights are just empty words on paper if they aren’t enforced”, said Roger Severino, director of the Office for Civil Rights. “No one should be forced to choose between helping sick people and living by one’s deepest moral or religious convictions, and the new division will help guarantee that victims of unlawful discrimination find justice. In addition, the HHS’ Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is issuing new guidance to state Medicaid directors restoring state flexibility to decide program standards. A letter rescinded 2016 guidance that specifically restricted states’ ability to take certain actions against family-planning providers that offer abortion services. The announcement was met with mixed reactions. Family Research Council President Tony Perkins praised the new measures, calling it “another moment in which President Trump’s promises are becoming realities.” https://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/trump-administration-moves-to-defend-conscience-rights/ [back to top]UK – Parliament to debate conscientious objection
Northern Ireland peer Baroness Nuala O’Loan has introduced her Conscientious Objection (Medical Activities) Bill into the House of Lords. “Reasonable accommodation of conscientious objection is a matter both of liberty and equality: of individual freedom and social inclusion. No one should be coerced by the risk to their careers into violating their conscience, and it is plainly inconsistent with the principles of equality legislation to exclude whole sections of society from areas of medical employment simply because of their moral beliefs. I hope this excites support from across the country that allows us to fix this deficit of legal rights and protections”. A parliamentary inquiry in 2016 found that some doctors and nurses face difficulties due to their conscientious objection to practices that they believe end a human life. https://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/uk-parliament-to-debate-conscientious-objection/12576 [back to top]Japan – First compensation claim for compulsory sterilisation
A Japanese woman in her 60s is planning to sue the government over her forced sterilization under a 1948 law. This will be the first time that state compensation has been sought for sterilisation. The mentally disabled woman in Miyagi Prefecture was a teenager when she was forced to undergo the procedure. Like some Western countries, Japan has a dark eugenic past. A 1948 Eugenic Protection Law (EPL) was intended to prevent the births of “inferior descendants” and to foster the health of mothers and pregnant women. It provided for both voluntary and involuntary sterilisation. Doctors could apply for permission for sterilisation to a regional board if a patient suffered from a range of conditions which were believed to be hereditary. According to government statistics, between 1949 and 1994 – 16,520 involuntary sterilizations were performed. Compulsory sterilisation lapsed in 1996 with the passage of the Mother’s Body Protection Law. However, the Japanese government has refused to apologize to the victims or offer them compensation. https://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/first-compensation-claim-for-compulsory-sterilisation-in-japan/12578 [back to top]Pedophilia
UK – Paedophiles on twitter trying to normalise attraction to children
An investigation by the Sun found a disturbing number of accounts on Twitter that openly discuss their sexual attraction to children. They are trying to raise awareness for what they refer to as minor-attracted persons (MAPs) who do not abuse children physically but admit an attraction. They also compare paedophilia to being gay or bisexual because it is a sexual orientation that they claim they did not choose but were born with. The accounts are said to have been shown to the National Crime Agency who requested they do not block any of them so they can continue to monitor the posts. http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/paedophiles-twitter-are-trying-reduce-stigma-being-sexually-attracted-children-1651107 [back to top]Russia – Government clamps down on paedophile offenses
Russia has joined Australia in a bid to protect children from paedophiles. With one accord Russia supported a bill authored by the Deputy Speaker of Russia’s Lower House that proposes life imprisonment for any sexual assault against children under 14 years of age. Covering up such crime is also punishable. https://www.outlookindia.com/newsscroll/russia-backs-bill-to-protect-kids-from-paedophiles/1217241 [back to top]USA – LGBT lingerie shop uses 9 year-old boy as a model
House of Mann is an online shop that sells clothing and lingerie for drag queens and gay men. Brandon Hilton, who runs the shop sparked an outrage when he decided to use a 9 year-old boy to be the ‘cover-girl’ to advertise his range. The public is suspicious of Hilton having paedophilic tendencies for thinking it’s okay to model a child in clothing that invokes sexual desires. Many pro-LGBT websites have praised Brandon and see nothing wrong with this attempt to sexualize children. https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/lgbt-fetish-underwear-designer-defends-making-9-year-old-drag-queen-its-cov [back to top]Pornography
USA – Legislation to lock internet for porn unless users pay fee
Some legislators in Virginia claim that online porn leads to human trafficking and the state’s assembly is considering legislation that would lock all pornographic websites on internet devices, unless the user pays a $20 fee. The bill is known as the “Human Trafficking Prevention Act.” Those who request having their devices unlocked must acknowledge “the potential danger of disabling the capability,” the bill states. The $20 fee would then go into a state fund titled the “Human Trafficking Victim Fund.” https://www.abc15.com/news/national/virginia-considering-legislation-to-lock-internet-devices-from-viewing-porn-unless-users-pay-a-fee [back to top]UK – Is it legal to swap someone’s face into porn without consent?
For several weeks, a sub-reddit thread called “Deepfakes” has been saturated with doctored images that depict famous figures, mostly women, engaging in sexual acts, where their faces are believably mapped onto pornographic pictures, or videos. As Deepfakes become more refined and easier to create, they also highlight the inadequacy of the law to protect would-be victims of this new technology. The best way to get a pornographic face-swapped photo or video taken down is for the victim to claim either defamation or copyright. It’s almost impossible to erase a video once it’s been published to the internet. https://www.theverge.com/2018/1/30/16945494/deepfakes-porn-face-swap-legal [back to top]UK – Citizens may soon use their passports to access pornography
Porn viewers have been warned that in a few months time they will be required to prove their age to watch x-rated videos, for example by showing their passports or driver’s licenses. The age verification process means that no one under the age of 18 will be able to view porn online. The strict law is coming into place after stats compiled by the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC), found that more than half of children and teenagers that had watched online adult videos had “stumbled upon it” accidentally. This is just one of many of the UK’s incoming pornography laws. https://www.buzz.ie/news/uk-citizens-soon-use-passport-access-porn-270762 [back to top]Same Sex Attraction
USA – Teen threatened to commit suicide for being called a boy name
In November 2015 the state of Alberta passed Bill 24 which prohibits teachers from informing parents when their children have joined Gay-Straight Alliances (GSA) at school and allows children to impersonate the opposite sex. Instead, this bill shuts parents out of their children’s life and has caused 14 year-old Jane to nearly commit suicide. Jane is happy to be what she was born to be – a girl. But peers insisted on calling her a boy’s name even after she said she was fine with being a girl. This confusion and stress lead to Jane’s parents to take her out of school for the sake of her progress and they are pleading with the state to quit driving a wedge between parents and their children. http://calgaryherald.com/news/local-news/corbella-couple-warns-their-daughter-may-have-died-under-new-gsa-law [back to top]Italy – Doctor who was accused for defamation found not guilty
Dr. Silvana De Mari is a specialist in psychotherapy, medicine and surgery and has taken care of homosexual persons for 40 years. Dr. De Mari declared that homosexuality is a health hazard and that sexually transmitted infections are skyrocketing among homosexuals. LGBT activists said Dr. De Mari defamed homosexuals by making these statements and demanded action against her but she was cleared of all accusations on the grounds that it is impossible to determine who would have suffered injury because of her broad statement. Dr. Silvana added “If the American Psychiatric Association can establish that homosexuality isn’t a disorder of nature, they can very well establish that neither is pedophilia.” http://www.breitbart.com/london/2017/12/03/italian-doctor-accused-of-defamation-for-saying-homosexuality-is-a-disease-found-not-guilty/ [back to top]Bermuda – Island seeks to ban same-sex marriage
Bermuda wants to be the first country to re-ban same-sex ‘marriages’ after its House Assembly passed a bill to overrule an earlier court ruling that permitted the practice. A new proposed bill wants to give same-sex couples the same legal benefits heterosexual couples have but there is opposition and the bill has yet to be decided on by the Senate. https://www.salon.com/2017/12/11/bermuda-plans-to-ban-same-sex-marriage-mere-months-after-supreme-court-approval/ [back to top]USA – Ban on change therapy faces legal challenge
Ordinance 2017-47 is a new law aiming to ban change therapy for anyone seeking help with unwanted homosexual attractions. Liberty Counsel is a non-profit that will be challenging this ban together with Robert Vazzo and David Pickup, both licensed and marriage family therapists (LMFT) and their clients, on the basis that the ban violates the First Amendment and is unconstitutional since no person should not have to be forced to struggle with unwanted homosexual desires, if they want to change. Liberty Counsel filed suit in federal court against the city of Tampa, Florida in December last year. https://www.lc.org/newsroom/details/120417-tampa-change-counseling-ban-faces-legal-challenge [back to top]Sexual Exploitation
Canada – Who are we talking about when we talk about prostitution?
Prostitution is now illegal in Canada and a criminal offence occurs every time sexual services are exchanged for compensation. Canada’s new prostitution laws which came into force in 2014 are consistent with laws now in place in Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Northern Ireland, France and the Republic of Ireland. In Canada, four new criminal offences target prostitution and the development of economic interests in prostitution. Those who exchange their own sexual services for compensation cannot be prosecuted for their participation in the commission of the new offences.Is prostitution itself harmful and exploitative? Or is sex work a legitimate form of labor that people should be permitted to safely engage in as a matter of personal choice? This is the polarized debate playing out worldwide as countries struggle over how to legislate the commercial exchange of sex. The arguments are largely ideological, but they lead to social discourse and influence what is researched, what problems are identified and what solutions are proposed. Those who support the Nordic model see that activity as harmful and seek to end its practice. In the debate over prostitution and enacting the new prostitution laws Parliament identified prostitution itself as a problem and expressed concerns about the exploitation inherent in it and the risks of violence posed to those who engage in it. Those supporting the legislation expressed the belief that prostitution could not be made safe. Parliament also expressed the view that prostitution causes social harms, including the objectification of the human body and commodification of sexual activity. To protect the human dignity and equality of all Canadians, they enacted laws focused on discouraging the activity of prostitution. They describe the activity of prostitution itself as a form of violence against women and as a cause and consequence of gender inequality. Researcher Meagan Tyler identifies three distinct types of harm to women who engage in prostitution: The increased likelihood of experiencing physical and sexual violence; the psychological harm including post-traumatic stress and dissociation; and the harm associated with the sex of prostitution itself which, she argues, dehumanizes and objectifies women. https://theconversation.com/who-are-we-talking-about-when-we-talk-about-prostitution-and-sex-work-88123 [back to top]India – Measures for the government to outwit prostitution in India
Prostitution is an illegal act where a woman consents to sexual favors in return for commercial gains. They use themselves for monetary gain without realizing the damage they are doing to themselves. Prostitutes in India usually come from the downtrodden sections of society and when they are offered large sums of money for this commercial trade many of them just give in. Whatever the cause, the whole act is totally demoralizing and strict measures have to be taken by the government to curb this ugly menace from its roots and end it once and for all. Here are some possible measures that the government can do to bring in steps to revolutionize society and remove such practices: Government should work towards bringing in strict enforcements of law to see that no one should dare enter into such activities. Creating awareness about the bad effects of prostitution through effective social media campaigns can lead to a change in thinking and perspective. Creating mass employment opportunities for youth and the unemployed will help people drift away from such immoral acts. Along with employment opportunities, these people can be provided parallel education in the evenings. Banks that are owned by the government can allocate special funds on a temporary basis to help women in this field to fund their children’s education. A woman who is entirely into prostitution finds it difficult to come back to terms with normal living. The government should also provide a few hours of counseling sessions by experts in the field about the ill effects of being in prostitution, what effects it would have on themselves, health vulnerabilities, adverse effects on the family and reputation in society. Government can offer many such remedies by working on their needs and helping them by allocating funds and monetary support systems. They should be made to think about coming out of their ugly worlds, inspired to live life in the mainstream by educating themselves, and leading a life full of dignity. http://www.thehansindia.com/posts/index/Life-Style/2018-01-23/7-Suggestive-Measures-To-The-Government-To-Outwit-Prostitution-In-India-/353851 [back to top]Substance Abuse
USA – Cannabis: Brain alterations may explain feelings of alienation
New research has revealed altered brain activity in young adults with cannabis addiction. The study was carried out by Dr. Peter Manza, Dr. Dardo Tomasi, and Dr. Nora Volkow of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism in Bethesda. The findings have been published in the journal of Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging. Dr.Manza and his colleagues explain in their paper that heavy cannabis use has been linked with a higher risk of psychosis, depression and schizophrenia, disorder, hyper connectivity and feelings of alienation. The researchers focused on feelings of alienation, that is, the feeling that friends betray you and others reject you or wish to harm you. Their previous research had shown that people who abused cannabis reported very high levels of this feeling. The researchers used functional MRI’s to examine the “resting-state brain function” of the sub cortical brain regions of 441 adults, aged 22 and 35 as laid out in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders IV. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/320657.php [back to top]USA – Volunteer to Cuddle Drug Addicted Babies
Cuddling really helps babies fighting for their lives in hospitals across the country. These special babies are addicted to drugs and snuggles from some very loving volunteers just might be the ticket to their healing. As drug addiction rates skyrocket across the country, more and more infants are suffering from neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS).These infants, exposed to opioids and drugs in the womb, require a special amount of care to survive the excruciating withdrawal process. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention the incidence of NAS has increased 383 percent in the United States since 2000. A Pennsylvania nurse, Jane Cavanaugh, started a volunteer program at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital to help, “They need human touch” she said. Maribeth McLaughlin, chief nursing officer and vice president of Patient Care Services at Magee-Women’s Hospital of UPMC in Pittsburgh, strongly agrees. It seems to be working. According to McLaughlin, babies in withdrawal who are held regularly need less medication and go home sooner, on average, than those who are not. https://www.simplemost.com/volunteer-opportunities-cuddle-addicted-newborn-babies/?utm_campaign=getcrafty&utm_medium=partner&utm_source=facebook&partner=getcraf [back to top] Disclaimer: the views and opinions expressed in these articles do not necessarily reflect those of Doctors for Life International Disclaimer: the views and opinions expressed in these articles do not necessarily reflect those of Doctors for Life International]]>LIFEalerts 18 January 2018
Peru – Rape victim’s who love their babies
UK – 466 reported abortion complications raise concerns
No news today
Canada – Some doctors are refusing to treat attempted suicides
Canada – Doctor to face disciplinary hearing for euthanasia
UK – United Kingdom court to rule on food and fluids
USA – Illusions of safeguards in Oregon
No news today
USA – ‘Uber for birth control’ creates new ethical challenges
USA – Should doctors comply with all patient requests?
USA – Paediatrician exposes the dangers of transgender ideology
South Africa – 70{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4} of SA sex workers don’t protect themselves
North Africa – Is Facebook Enabling The African Exodus To Europe?
USA – ‘Juuling’ a very dangerous smoking game for children
USA – Trump administration toughens stance on recreational marijuana
USA/South Africa – Kratom, an addict’s alternative, is found addictive itself
Abortion
USA – Another woman shares her abortion regret
Ally Bowlin struggled for six years trying to suppress emotions of grief after having an abortion. This led her to experience anxiety, anger and depression (symptoms associated with post-abortion stress syndrome in women). She became quick-tempered and couldn’t handle being alone because it would remind her of the abortion and heartache. She points out that a life for a life never empowered her as the abortion industries so often promote, and she eventually sought counselling to deal with the regrets she had been suppressing for years. Ally is now a national programs coordinator for Students for Life America.
Peru – Rape victim’s who love their babies
Rebecca Kiessling, founder and president of ‘Save the 1’ addressed a pro-life conference in Peru with her personal story. Rebecca’s mother was a victim of rape and sought an abortion twice; at the time (48 years ago) the law protected the unborn child and the mother from the horror of abortion. Today, Rebecca and her mother are both thankful for the law that was in place at that time. Rebecca says women who were raped suffer more because people don’t believe they were raped if they don’t go through with an abortion. Women actually love their unborn despite what happened to them and should not be forced into thinking that abortion is the only solution.
UK – 466 reported abortion complications raise concerns
Legalizing abortion was supposedly meant to make abortion “safe” for the mother at least, while the baby undergoes horrific procedures that poisons or rips the child a part. But ambulances were called to abortion clinics in London a total of 466 times over the last year. ‘Life’s’ Director of Education Anne Scanlan said, “Abortion clinics nationally have been guilty of health and safety breaches over the last few years and there is a need for immediate intervention to protect women from them instead of loosening the laws, as is being demanded by the abortion lobby. Women need greater support to continue with their pregnancy, not the exploitation of their crisis pregnancy by the abortion industry.”
No news today
Canada – Some doctors are refusing to treat attempted suicides
Quebec’s College of Physicians has issued an ethics bulletin which says that last year, “in some Quebec hospitals, some people who had attempted to end their lives through poisoning were not resuscitated when, in the opinion of certain experts, a treatment spread out over a few days could have saved them with no, or almost no, after-effects.” Bernard Mathieu, president of Association of Quebec Emergency Physicians said, “It’s possible it has confused doctors a little bit,” he said. Wesley J. Smith commented, “How many of those people would have been glad their lives were saved, as sometimes happens when suicides fail? We’ll never know because they are dead.”
Canada – Doctor to face disciplinary hearing for euthanasia
Dr Ellen Wiebe has been reported to the College of Physicians and Surgeons in British Columbia, Canada, by CEO David Kesselman, director of the Louis Brier Nursing Home, Vancouver, for euthanizing a patient residing in the home at the time, without consulting his nursing staff. Dr Wiebe snuck into the old age home after hours to perform the procedure. Dr Wiebe will face a disciplinary hearing with the College of Physicians and Surgeons which regulates the practice of medicine in British Columbia. David Kesselman states that Dr Wiebe’s action was totally unethical as she was made aware of the nursing home’s policy regarding Medical Assistance in Dying.
UK – United Kingdom court to rule on food and fluids
The UK Supreme court will be ruling on the 29 January 2018 on whether doctors can remove food and fluids from brain-damaged patients without going to court.
USA – Illusions of safeguards in Oregon
Articles by Wesley J. Smith expose weaknesses in safeguarding measures in the USA Oregon Death with Dignity Act Model. The Oregon Health Authority revealed that its own interpretation of the law is permissive. The law does not compel patients to have exhausted all treatment options first, or to continue with their current treatment.
http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/455264/oregons-permissive-assisted-suicide-regime
IVF&Surrogacy
No news today
Medical Ethics
USA – ‘Uber for birth control’ creates new ethical challenges
A new smartphone app, Nurx prescribes and delivers all kinds of contraception plus the morning-after pill. Since there are no consultation or delivery fees, for women with health insurance their contraception will effectively be free. For those who don’t, the service costs US$15 a month. A woman selects a prescription, answers a few health and demographic questions, and a doctor will write a prescription. The medication arrives within 3 to 5 days. Nurx automatically refills the prescription, as well. More disturbingly it accepts applications from girls as young as 12 and anyone who might be ordering the Pill for the first time – without seeing a doctor face-to-face – although Nurx does offer the option of a video chat over the phone. Since Nurx has to comply with state laws, it is available in only 15 states plus Washington DC but is pushing to roll out its coverage across the US.
https://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/uber-for-birth-control-creates-new-ethical-challenges/12526
USA – Should doctors comply with all patient requests?
According to a report in Forbes, 2{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4} of primary care physicians’ pay is now based on “patient satisfaction metrics”. Does this mean that doctors should agree with every request from a patient? The authors of an article in JAMA Internal Medicine respond with a qualified No. They found that 68{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4} of requests included an explicit request by the patient but that doctors complied with only 85{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4} of these. When doctors did refuse, their satisfaction ratings could be 10 to 20 percentiles lower. “The sizes of the associations suggest that clinicians who are less likely than their colleagues to fulfil patient requests for these services could face a penalty in satisfaction ratings, potentially affecting clinician career satisfaction, compensation, and handling of subsequent requests for these services.” What doctors need, they suggest is, “Training … to provide clinicians with communication approaches that foster a positive patient experience without simply acquiescing to requests for low-value care, thereby avoiding the harms of unnecessary evaluation and treatment, maintaining good stewardship of resources and potentially enhancing clinician career satisfaction.”
https://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/should-doctors-comply-with-all-patient-requests/12537
Pedophilia
South Africa – UK man wanted for paedophilia
Lee Tucker, a commercial pilot had been living in Cape Town for 15 years before he was arrested in March 2016. He is wanted in the UK for 42 paedophilia-related charges and believes he is being targeted because he is homosexual. The charges he faces in the UK include assaulting underage boys, living from the earnings of male prostitution and being part of a paedophile ring in Bristol in 1998. Tucker remains in Pollsmoor prison until his next hearing.
USA – New film normalises pedastry
“Call me by your name” is a new movie about an older man’s affair with a 17-year-old boy whose relationship sparks homoeroticism and flirtation, which then turns romantic and carnal. Summed up, the movie is about pedastry. This movie seeks to mainstream sexual activity between a man and a boy in a warm and fuzzy way. This message will find its way into homes on the television, laptop computers and Smartphone’s of adolescent children. It is not pornography, but overtly an attempt to normalize pedastry.
http://ew.com/movies/2017/11/21/call-me-by-your-name-review/
Australia – New laws to crackdown on child sexual abuse
Last year, 800 registered paedophiles travelled overseas, often to developing countries in Asia, and about 40{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4} did so without notifying police. “This will now stop,” said Foreign Minister Julie Bishop. The new law stops paedophiles convicted in Australia from travelling elsewhere to offend. Paedophiles can have their passports cancelled at the request of authorities and it is now an offence to travel without approval from law enforcement agencies. The Government is proposing new offences and tougher penalties targeting live-streamed child abuse and online grooming. They also plan tougher fines on internet service providers if they do not report abusive material to police since there is a growing concern for the role that technology plays.
http://www.themalaysianinsight.com/s/27388/
Pornography
No news today
Same Sex Attraction
USA – Health issues associated with MSM
The Gay and Lesbian Medical Association updated their publication this year in August called: “Ten things gay men should discuss with their health care provider”, that men who have sex with men (MSM) not only have an increased risk of HIV infection but also abuse substances at a higher rate, have higher rates of depression and anxiety, increased risk of hepatitis, STDs occur at a higher rate and includes STD infections for which no cure is available. MSM are more at risk for prostate, testicular and colon cancer. The Human Papilloma virus puts MSM at high risk for anal cancers and the rates of spreading this infection between partners are also very high.
USA – Social discrimination and the facts
A new report by the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) called ‘HIV among Gay and Bisexual Men’, reveals that men who have sex with men (MSM) make up only 4{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4} of the entire U.S. population, but account for more than two-thirds of all new HIV infections which is more than 44 times that of other men. Many MSM are unaware of their status and unknowingly transmit the virus while other MSM give false information about their HIV status to their partner. The CDC also claims that social discrimination is a factor that contributes to the risky sexual behaviour of MSM. However, the Netherlands legalized homosexuality since 2001 and despite their liberal recognition for homosexuality, a 2015 report from the Netherlands shows that the health implications of MSM did not decrease but that some infections increased.
https://www.cdc.gov/nchhstp/newsroom/docs/factsheets/cdc-msm-508.pdf
USA – Paediatrician exposes the dangers of transgender ideology
Dr. Michelle Cretella M.D. has been a paediatrician for over 20 years and in this video posted by the Daily Signal, she likens the transgender ideology to child abuse and explains that our sex is determined at conception by our DNA, stamped into every cell in our bodies. There are over 6,500 genetic differences between men and women, hormones and surgery cannot, and do not change this. Thoughts and feelings are not biologically hardwired; our thinking may be factually right or factually wrong. According to most mainstream medical organisations, if you want to cut off a healthy leg or an arm, you’re mentally ill, and therefore the same would be true if you want to cut off healthy breasts or a penis. Dr. Cretella had one boy patient who was between 3-5 years old when she referred his parents to a therapist because the boy would play with stereotypical girls’ toys and would call himself a girl. The therapist learned that when the boy was three, his sister with special needs was born and she required more care and attention from his parents. The child misperceived this as his parents love girls and if he wants them to love him, he must be a girl. With family therapy, the boy got better. Sometimes mental illness of the parent or abuse of the child are also factors that cause a child to feel confused, but Dr. Cretella feels very strongly that telling children the lie that they could be trapped in the wrong body is psychological abuse that leads to chemical castration and surgical mutilation of a healthy body, and this ultimately tells the child not to trust in the reality of their physical body.
Sexual Exploitation
USA – The ‘chatbot’ taking on Seattle’s sex trade
You can find “her” number within fake messages placed alongside real ads on websites popular with those looking to buy sex. Naive and innocent, the chatbot will tell you she is nervous and check that her age is “cool with you”. If you say yes, that’s when it’s revealed: you’ve been talking to a chatbot, and buying sex is a crime that harms women the world over. The tool is part of groundbreaking efforts in Seattle to fight sex trafficking, an industry that like many others has moved online, and in doing so has become acutely difficult to prevent. Using chatbots, and machine learning, specialists here believe they can simultaneously achieve two huge goals –deterring men and helping women.
http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-42120800
South Africa – 70{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4} of SA sex workers don’t protect themselves
Despite being offered a daily pill to protect them from HIV almost three-quarters of women sex workers stopped taking the pills after a year. This is according to a study published in the PLoS journal (Public Library of Science) conducted by the TAPS Demonstration Study (Treatment and Prevention for Female Sex workers in South Africa). The study tested almost 700 women, and says that the average woman was “married or had a steady partner, worked in brothels, and were born in Zimbabwe”. Almost half of the women tested were HIV positive (341). Of these, 139 decided to go on ARVs. Around 60{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4} of them were still on the medication after a year. The sex workers who tested HIV negative (351) were offered one pill, Truvada, to take every day to protect them from the virus and 219 women accepted the offer. But a year later only 49 women were still taking Truvada – although none of those still on the pills had contracted HIV. “The final retention rate was lower than we would like. However, there were no seroconversions among those women who stayed on the PrEP arm,” said Robyn Eakle, a senior researcher from the Wits Reproductive Health and HIV Institute (WRHI), which was part of the study. Last year the SA Law Commission recommended that sex work remain illegal. “The issue of sex workers is not just for the Minister of Health but involves other Ministers,” said Motsoaledi. “India has not decriminalised sex workers, but health workers in Bangalore are working very openly with sex workers and police are not arresting them.”
Substance Abuse
USA – ‘Juuling’ a very dangerous smoking game for children
JUULing is not a new dance but instead a dangerous form of vaping that is tearing through schools across the country. John Ross, an M.D. at Brigham Hospital who contributes to the Harvard Health Blog said long-term safety data on e-cigarettes do not yet exist, and research from a group called Truth Initiative shows that 25{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4} see no danger. “Electronic cigarettes are devices that heat a liquid into vapor, which is then inhaled; the liquid is anything from a flavored water or oil-type mixture to liquid nicotine to marijuana THC.” The True Initiative web panel survey of 5,018 15- to 24-year-olds in the U.S. revealed that 37{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4} of teens don’t know they inhale nicotine, although on the JUUL website each pod is equal to 200 cigarette puffs, That’s like smoking a pack a day in one sitting. Like other forms of vaping, the JUULpods are offered in enticing flavors such as créme bruleé and mango and perky peach which is appealing to kids. And rather than smelling like an ashtray, JUUL smells pleasant. The JUUL device is sleek, and resembles a car key holder or flash drive or a pen that’s easily hidden.
USA – Trump administration toughens stance on recreational marijuana
The US Justice Department announced a “return to the rule of law”. Attorney General Jeff Sessions rescinded five key memos issued by the administration of President Barack Obama that discouraged enforcement of federal laws which still classify marijuana as a dangerous narcotic like heroin. This will clash with the six US states that have already moved ahead to legalize pot sales. Colorado, Washington, Oregon, Nevada, Alaska and California have legalized sales.”It is the mission of the Department of Justice to enforce the laws of the United States, and the previous issuance of guidance undermines the rule of law and the ability of our local, state, tribal and federal law enforcement partners to carry out this mission. “He directed federal attorneys “to use previously established prosecutorial principles that provide them all the necessary tools to disrupt criminal organizations and tackle the growing drug crisis.” Nevertheless, the move was seen as a signal that the government is likely to resist more legalization and decriminalization of cannabis.
USA/South Africa – Kratom, an addict’s alternative, is found addictive itself
It’s a fascinating drug, but we need to learn a lot more about it, said Dr. Edward W. Boyer, a professor of emergency medicine at the University of Massachusetts Medical School and a co-author of several scientific articles on Kratom. “Recreationally or to self-medicate opioid dependence, beware – potentially you’re at just as much risk” as with an opiate. Kratom is derived from Mitragyna speciosa, a tropical deciduous and evergreen tree in the coffee tree family native to Southeast Asia in Indochina. Its leaves are used for traditional medicinal properties. It is psychoactive and the leaves are used to uplift mood and treat health problems. A recent article in the New York Times argues that it is just as addictive as heroin, for which it was used as a recovery tool from heroin addiction. Kratom’s narcotic effects have been known for centuries in its native Thailand which banned the substance decades ago. The FDA did ban the import of Kratom into the United States in 2014; however, Kratom now exists in a kind of legal purgatory. Because it is categorized as a botanical dietary supplement the Food and Drug Administration cannot restrict its sale unless it is proved unsafe or producers claim that it treats a medical condition. (Some packages are coyly labeled “not for human consumption” to avoid tripping FDA alarms.) This plant is currently 100{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4} legally available to purchase in South Africa, at shops or online.
http://www.camcheck.co.za/kratom-addicts-alternative-found-addictive/
Disclaimer: the views and opinions expressed in these articles do not necessarily reflect those of Doctors for Life International
]]>LIFEalerts 29 November 2017
Abortion
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
Euthanasia
Netherlands – Nitschke designs euthanasia machine with detachable coffin
Switzerland – Assisted suicide rates increased by 30{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4}
IVF and Surrogacy
Medical Ethics
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
Pornography
Same Sex Attraction
UK – Association of poor mental health and sexual identity
Sexual Exploitation
Substance Abuse
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
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
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
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
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/
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/
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/
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
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/
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/
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/
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
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/
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
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
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
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
LIFEalerts 15 November 2017
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.pdfAlternative Medicine
No news todayEuthanasia
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/12500IVF&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/12481Medical 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/12496Pedophilia
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-738745Pornography
No news todaySame 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-homosexualsSexual 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-11284118Substance 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]]>LIFEalerts 25 October 2017
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South Africa – Political party seeks to repeal abortion act USA – Two states ban abortion on pain-capable babiesUSA – What really happens inside an abortion clinic? UK – Woman changed her mind about abortion |
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No news today |
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Canada – Nine out of ten Quebec caregivers support MAiD for the demented |
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USA – Sperm bank adds criminal check and psych assessment |
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Canada – Embryo gene-editing: Ethicists urge caution Australia – Children can write their own advance care directives in Victoria |
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UK – Police go online to track down paedophiles |
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UK – Increase in child-on-child sex abuse USA – Sexting Bill to give young people a second chance |
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| 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 |
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| 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 | |
| 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-parentUSA – 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.
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.
Alternative Medicine
No news today
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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-157558UK – 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.
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/Substance Abuse
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]]>LIFEalerts 13 October 2017
USA – Abortion clinic closed permanently due to health standards
USA – Studies on victims of rape and abortion
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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
USA – The harmful medical outcome of surrogacy
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
Brazil – Therapy should be available for unwanted sexual desires
USA – Children removed from school that teaches transgenderism
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 natureNo 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.
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.
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’.”
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.
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.
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.
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
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/82052b43cc9139a72fa1d9105fb8e23fPornography
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/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.
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.
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/?printSubstance 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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