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Abortion
USA – Learn the side effects, negative consequences of abortion After 42 years of legalized abortion and the loss of 55 million unborn babies most people don’t know the negative consequences of abortion. Most women felt rushed at the time of their abortion, 64 percent felt pressured by others. Women who felt they didn’t receive adequate counseling before their abortion was 84 percent and 79 percent weren’t informed about available alternatives. Suffering physical health complications after their abortion was 31 percent with 10 percent suffering immediate potentially life-threatening complications. The suicide rates among women who had abortions is six times higher than those giving birth. Abortion increases a woman’s risk of future miscarriages by 60 percent. http://www.tricities.com/news/opinion_columns/article_d617b512-9b96-11e4-aa65-47a9d8dace82.htmlAlternative Medicine
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Euthanasia
USA – “Final Exit” leader stripped of medical license A physician charged with assisting the suicide of a Minnesota woman has been barred from practicing medicine. The Maryland Board of Physicians revoked the medical license of Dr. Lawrence Egbert after he facilitated the suicides of six people in Maryland. “We commend this decision of the Maryland Board of Physicians,” stated Scott Fischbach, Executive Director of Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life. “Egbert’s actions promoting killing are simply incompatible with the role of a physician, which is to heal and care for patients, not to kill them.” http://www.nationalrighttolifenews.org/news/2015/01/final-exit-leader-stripped-of-medical-license/#.VLPEv0Cft_4 Scotland – Top pathologist against plans to legalise assisted deaths Professor Anthony Busuttil, who identified victims of both the Lockerbie disaster and Dunblane tragedy, said the move would break “the eternal trust” between patients and doctors. The health committee of the Scottish Parliament will consider details of the proposed bill, which was launched by independent MSP Margo MacDonald, this week. The pathologist, from Edinburgh University, also said changing the law could hamper the considerable efforts that have been made to prevent suicides in Scotland. “Scots kill themselves more frequently than anyone else in the British Isles and the Scottish government policy is to decrease it, so which direction are we going in?” he asked. http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/health/top-pathologist-against-plans-to-legalise-assisted-deaths.115929521 Belgium – Euthanasia of convicted Belgian murderer cancelled A 52-year-old convict is serving a life sentence for one murder and several rapes committed in the 1980s. He says that he cannot control his sexual impulses and that life in prison is such a torment that he would prefer to be dead. About 15 other Belgian prisoners have also applied for euthanasia. Mr Van den Bleeken was scheduled to die on Sunday, January 11. However, this week the justice minister, Koen Geens, capitulated to pressure from human rights groups and declared that he would allow the prisoner to be moved to the Netherlands. http://www.bioedge.org/index.php/bioethics/bioethics_article/11280HIV/AIDS & STI’s
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Homosexuality
USA – Will Jack be happier if we all pretend he’s Jill? A new controversy is occurring in elementary schools and communities as a result of parents asserting a right to identify the sex of their child without regard to the biological and genetic realities. The parents and child often insist that the child’s name be changed to one of the opposite sex and demand the use of opposite sex bathrooms. Important medical and psychological issues need to be considered before the educational, medical, political and judicial systems rush headlong into a process of affirming in youth and in their parents a fixed false belief that a person can be a sex that is not consistent with their biological and genetic identity and that such individuals have the right to transgender surgery. https://www.lifesitenews.com/opinion/gender-identity-disorder-in-children-will-jack-be-happier-if-we-all-pretend Dominican Government – Won’t recognize homosexual marriage The Dominican Republic says it will not recognize a same-sex marriage performed for the first time in the conservative Caribbean country. In a statement, Foreign Ministry spokesman Miguel Medina said “our legislation does not recognize this type of marriage.” http://townhall.com/news/politics-elections/2015/01/01/dominican-govt-wont-recognize-gay-marriage-at-uk-embassy-n1937801IVF &Surrogacy
Medical Ethics
USA – New revolutionary viewpoint on autonomy. The state of Connecticut is forcing a 17-year-old to undergo chemotherapy to treat her Hodgkins lymphoma. Officials say that this is the only way to save her life; she and her mother contend that the treatment is vile and intrusive. In October after much argument, police and the Department of Children and Families, removed her from her mother’s care and placed her with a foster family. She returned home in November after promising to undergo chemotherapy, but after two days of treatment, she ran away and disappeared for a week. In December she was strapped to a bed, sedated and given chemotherapy. Bioethicist Arthur Caplan supported the officials. “Respecting choice is important. Not burying a young teenage girl who would have lived is far more important,” http://www.bioedge.org/index.php/bioethics/bioethics_article/11281Pedophilia
South Africa – Baby predators horrify police In a joint operation with the FBI and Belgian and South African police, a 37-year-old man was arrested for an alleged connection to a child pornography ring. During the arrest which is part of a massive investigation, information and computer files were found depicting horrific acts of child abuse, including possible murder. A Belgian police officer stated that the abuse is the worst that they’ve ever come across, including the abuse of babies and toddlers. http://www.timeslive.co.za/thetimes/2015/01/15/baby-predators-horrify-policePornography
Prostitution & Trafficking
Cambodia – Cambodian Girl Sold for Her Virginity After racking up an exorbitant debt with a loan shark, Kieu’s mother sold her 12-year-old for sex. The desperate mom secured a “certificate of virginity” from a doctor for her daughter and sold the girl to man who raped her in a hotel for two days. After the ordeal, Kieu was sold to brothels on three occasions and finally escaped to a safe house after learning that her mom planned to send her away for a six-month prostitution stint. Cambodia is on the State Department’s Tier 2 trafficking list, which means the country has a “very significant” number of trafficking victims and the government hasn’t provided proof that it’s beefing up its efforts to combat the crime. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/01/08/human-trafficking-victims_n_6425520.html?cps=gravity_2659_-4055280508422574469 Quebec – Most prostitutes would rather do something else 79{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4} of sex workers would participate in a reintegration project, combining training and employment. Except to change their lives, they need support and assistance to meet their basic needs and solve their psychosocial problems This is at least what the report shows and socio-professional profile portrait of sex workers employability needs (TDS) in Quebec City, a field survey conducted jointly by Emploi-Québec and the MOON project (for free, united, nuanced and together, a group of social advocacy by and for sex workers, active or not, who act as caregivers-pairs). The document compiles and analyses the responses of 76 sex workers in different questions about their needs and aspirations. http://www.lifeinquebec.com/most-prostitutes-would-rather-do-something-else-10299/ South Africa – 153 000 prostitutes call South Africa home Commissioned by the South African National Aids Council (Sanac), the research is said to be the most accurate of its kind to date. It found that the country is home to about 153 000 sex workers, of whom 8 000 are men. Led by the Sex Workers’ Education and Advocacy Task Force (Sweat), the study found that sex was for sale in a wide range of places, including brothels, at least one adult store and via local internet sex sites. The research is aimed at helping Sanac roll out the country’s first national HIV plan for sex workers. http://www.iol.co.za/news/south-africa/153-000-sex-workers-call-sa-home-1.1804261#.VLh2iWPNl0gStem Cells & Cloning
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Substance Abuse
USA – Cannabis Breathalyzer On Horizon As Police Struggle To Stop Stoned Drivers Cannabis (marijuana) impairs drivers and presents a safety risk that’s contributing to a quickly rising rate of fatal car accidents and injuries, especially in states like Colorado and Washington that legalized marijuana. Police are working to reduce that risk, but it can be a difficult task when the existing methods for testing if people have smoked marijuana recently are fallible or fairly easy to undermine in court. Malhi co-founded Cannabix Technologies, a Vancouver company therefore created and patented a breathalyzer that tests for THC, the ingredient in marijuana that gets users “high.” Police officials currently rely on blood, saliva and urine tests. Malhi said his hope is that such a breathalyzer will eliminate the guesswork. http://www.ibtimes.com/driving-while-high-marijuana-breathalyzer-horizon-police-struggle-stop-stoned-drivers-1734400 USA – Indian tribes may legalize marijuana, feds say U.S. Justice Department published a memo directing federal prosecutors nationwide to allow tribes to cultivate and grow marijuana on their sovereign lands without fear of federal harassment. But experts say the proposal opens the door for Native Americans across the country to capitalize on the lucrative new industry much in the way the tribes began selling cigarettes and opening casinos. “This has nothing to do with medicine, this has to do with the commercialization of marijuana,” said Kevin A. Sabet, director of the Drug Policy Institute at the University of Florida, who is opposed to marijuana legalization. “If you live 10 minutes away from a reservation, you could be living 10 minutes away from a pot shop.” http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/stateroundup/indian-tribes-may-legalize-marijuana-feds-say/2210091 USA – Feds Can No Longer Raid State ‘Medical Marijuana’ Dispensaries Federal agents will no longer be able to raid ‘medical marijuana’ dispensaries in states where medical marijuana is legal under a provision included in the $1.1 trillion spending law President Obama signed. Enactment of the law changes a two-decade-long battle between the states and the federal government. Although 32 states and the District of Columbia have legalized medical marijuana, the Drug Enforcement Administration still classifies it as a Schedule I drug, the same class as heroin, LSD, and ecstasy, which signifies it has no accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse. Still, some medical organizations, including the American Medical Association and the American Cancer Society, are not ready to endorse the medical benefits of marijuana without further research. http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/837011Disclaimer: the views and opinions expressed in these articles do not necessarily reflect those of Doctors for Life International
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