| Abortion |
Ireland – Parliament Defeats Bill to Legalize Abortions on Disabled Babies
Russia – Government Signs Agreement with Church to Prevent Abortions |
| Alternative Medicine |
No news today |
| Euthanasia |
UK – Media bias on assisted suicide |
| IVF& Surrogacy |
No news today |
| Medical Ethics |
UK – Parliament to study freedom of conscience for doctors
UK – What does Brexit mean for bioethics?
South Africa – Dikgang Moseneke joins Steve Biko Centre for Bioethics |
| Pedophilia |
No news today |
| Pornography |
UK – British Government seeks to verify age of porn site visitors
USA – 12 Year olds admit to being addicted to porn
UK – Startup trying to solve bitcoin’s child pornography problemSouth Africa – Experts say child porn is increasing |
| Same SexAttraction |
USA – Homosexuality Poses High Risks to Human Health
USA – Your genes did not make you do it |
| SexualExploitation |
USA – Study from US State department for 2016
South Africa – Decriminalization of prostitution not likely to happen |
| Substance Abuse |
USA – Study: Marijuana use dampens brain’s response to reward over time |
Abortion
Ireland – Parliament Defeats Bill to Legalize Abortions on Disabled Babies
Life Institute spokeswoman, Niamh Uí Bhriain, said that this bill attempted to deny the humanity of unborn babies with disabilities and was a cruel and cynical exercise to push a much wider abortion agenda. Mattie Mc Grath said that “We all need to recognize that there is no monopoly on compassion when it comes to this issue. We all want the best medical and clinical outcomes for mothers and children.” “In light of that we need to be guided by the actual medical reality which clearly states that there is no legitimacy to the terms ‘fatal foetal abnormality’ or ‘incompatible with life,” concluded Deputy McGrath.
http://www.lifenews.com/2016/07/07/irish-parliament-defeats-bill-to-legalize-abortions-on-disabled-babies-2/
Russia – Government Signs Agreement with Church to Prevent Abortions
The Health Ministry has signed an agreement with the Russian Orthodox Church to prevent abortions and rather provide palliative care. The agreement was signed by the Health Minister and head of the Russian Orthodox Church. It includes the creation of crisis pregnancy centers at hospitals with psychologists and representatives of organizations from the Russian Orthodox Church, as well as “joint efforts to provide assistance and support to pregnant women whose prenatal diagnosis indicates a malformation of the fetus, as well as mothers who give birth to a child with developmental disabilities”.
http://www.pravmir.com/russia-church-and-state-sign-agreement-to-prevent-abortion/
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Alternative Medicine
No news today
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Euthanasia
UK – Media bias on assisted suicide
As one might expect, media coverage of assisted suicide is skewed towards ringing-the-changes rather than steady-as-she-goes. However, when a proposal to adopt a neutral stance by British doctors failed by a huge margin, 63{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4} to 37{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4}, in June, it was only reported by a few blogs. So whatever the main stream media reports, the Royal College of Physicians, the Royal College of General Practitioners and British Geriatrics Society are all officially opposed to a change in the law, along with 82{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4} of members of the Association for Palliative Medicine.
http://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/british-doctors-reject-neutrality-on-assisted-dying/11939
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IVF&Surrogacy
No news today
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Medical Ethics
UK – Parliament to study freedom of conscience for doctors
A new UK Parliamentary Inquiry into conscientious objection was launched this month, focusing specifically on the participation of healthcare professionals in abortion. The Parliamentary Inquiry into Freedom of Conscience in Abortion Provision will consider the scope of section 4 of the UK Abortion Act (1967). The so-called “conscience clause” of the act requires that “no person shall be under any duty, whether by contract or by any statutory or other legal requirement, to participate in any treatment authorized by this Act to which he has a conscientious objection”. Christian Medical Fellowship Chief Executive Peter Saunders welcomed the announcement of the Inquiry and encouraged healthcare professionals to submit evidence.
http://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/UK-Parliament-to-study-freedom-of-conscience-for-doctors-over-abortions/11936
UK – What does Brexit mean for bioethics?
According to the Christian Medical Fellowship, that the UK will remain in the Council of Europe (CoE) after Brexit is significant, as this is the umbrella organisation for what is known as the Committee on Bioethics, an influential policy body that seeks to apply principles outlined in the Convention on Human Rights and Medicine to new issues in medical technology and research. The European Court on Human Rights (ECHR) also falls within the purview of the CoE. Importantly, the ECHR has handed down significant decisions within the area of conscientious objection in healthcare. There are however, significant concerns about the effects of Brexit on UK public health policies that are underpinned by legislation from the European Parliament.
http://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/what-does-brexit-mean-for-bioethics/11934
South Africa – Dikgang Moseneke joins Steve Biko Centre for Bioethics
Former deputy chief justice Dikgang Moseneke who retired from the Constitutional Court in May has been appointed honorary professor of bioethics at the Steve Biko Centre for Bioethics, Faculty of Health Science at Wits University. Professor Ames Dhai said Moseneke’s ethical integrity would be invaluable to the centre in its efforts to further the discipline of bioethics. “His combination of qualities as a jurist and a scholar of the highest acclaim would support further growth and development of the centre and its many activities. We look forward to working closely with him and benefiting from the valuable guidance and advice he will impart to us when grappling with the many ethical dilemmas which form part of our day-to-day work”, said Professor Dhai.
http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/dikgang-moseneke-joins-steve-biko-centre-for-bioethics-as-honorary-professor-20160624
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Pedophilia
No news today
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Pornography
UK – British Government seeks to verify age of porn site visitors
The UK government is proposing new legislation that will require all sites containing pornographic content to request age verification of visitors to their sites. Rather than porn sites putting an “18+ to enter” button that can be clicked just as easily by an 8-year old as a 28-year old, internet providers will access public information that will help to identify the age of the visitor. This is a huge step forward in protecting minors from the harmful effects of pornography. The motivation behind this effort is to keep children safe on the internet, preventing them from viewing material which is proven to be damaging to children.
http://fightthenewdrug.org/british-government-verifying-age-of-all-porn-site-visitors/
USA – 12 Year olds admit to being addicted to porn
A recent study conducted by the NSPCC ChildLine found that a
tenth of 12 to 13-year-olds fear they may be addicted to pornography. Why is this happening, and why at such an early age? It’s all about accessibility and desensitization. Dame Esther Rantzen, founder of ChildLine, reports that young people are turning to the internet to learn about sex and relationships. Children are frequently stumbling across porn, often unintentionally, that it is having a damaging and upsetting effect on them. One girl reported being assaulted at age 12 by her boyfriend, who was addicted to pornography. Will Gardiner, CEO of Childnet and Director of the UK Safer Internet Centre, warned parents that they must face reality.
http://fightthenewdrug.org/the-percentage-of-12-year-olds-who-admit-being-addicted-to-porn-will-shock-you/
UK – Startup trying to solve bitcoin’s child pornography problemWritten byAnanya Bhattacharya
Obsession
Future of Finance
July 07, 2016
Bitcoin, a currency with the promise of anonymity and no government regulation, is a potential hotbed for nefarious activities. The London-based bitcoin startup Elliptic announced that it was teaming up with the International Watch Foundation, a non-profit in the UK that monitors online child abuse, to curb the
cryptocurrency’s role in the spread of child pornography. Over the past years bitcoin saw an increasing amount of bitcoin activity connected to purchasing child sexual abuse material online. Elliptic’s role is to identify and flag all forms of illicit activity on the bitcoin blockchain.
http://qz.com/725828/a-startup-is-trying-solve-bitcoins-child-pornography-problem/
South Africa – Experts say child porn is increasing
Child pornography is on the increase and technology is driving it by immortalising images of abuse, over and over again. That’s the view of Dr. Monique Emser from the University of the Free State. Emser unpacked some alarming and highly disturbing trends such as an increase in the demand for baby porn, for live video streaming of sexual acts with children and for so-called bespoke material. Cybersex dens are also on the increase. With credit cards linking transactions to people, Emser says transactions are being paid for not with money, but with other pornographic images. According to Emser there was a 70{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4} increase in child sexual material focused on girls under the age of 10 with abuse material involving toddlers and babies not being uncommon.
http://www.sabc.co.za/news/a/25fa9f804c3bd54282cddfc0c0d1c749/Childundefinedpornundefinedonundefinedtheundefinedrise:undefinedExperts-20163103
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Same Sex Attraction
USA – Homosexuality Poses High Risks to Human Health
According to a recent and extensive survey, homosexual people have “excess health problems. They suffer from “impaired physical and mental health, heavy alcohol consumption, and heavy cigarette use. The National Health Interview Survey included 69,000 participants and was published in Journal of the American Medical Association .The leader is Gilbert Gonzales of the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. The survey found that a sexually non-normative lifestyle takes a particular toll on women and bisexuals. Lesbians are 91 percent more likely to report inferior health outcomes and bisexual women are 100 percent more likely to report chronic health conditions including heavy drinking and smoking. The simple truth is that homosexual behaviour is harmful physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually.
http://www.afa.net/the-stand/homosexuality/2016/06/homosexuality-is-a-danger-to-human-health/#.V3UDwH5ginm.facebook
http://archinte.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=2530417
USA – Your genes did not make you do it
Geneticists, psychologists, neuroscientists and medical researchers agree that genetically dominated same sex attraction caused by a cluster of genes, could not suddenly appear and disappear in families, as it does. It would persist through every generation for many generations. If homosexuality is genetically dictated, homosexual practices will be identical or very similar in all cultures. Sexual dimorphism of the brain mainly occurs at puberty and experts still have difficulty identifying structural differences between adult male and female brains, let alone heterosexual and homosexual. Studies examining effects of very high doses of female hormones to mothers show no effect on males and a dubious effect on women. Therapy changing levels of adult male and female sex hormones affects sex drive but not orientation.
http://mygenes.co.nz/summary.htm
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Sexual Exploitation
USA – Study from US State department for 2016
“When we talk about ‘human trafficking,’ we’re talking about slavery – modern-day slavery that still today claims more than 20 million victims at any given time, all people, just like everybody everyone else. They have names and families in many cases. However, they are enforced to endure a hell – a living hell in modern times that no human being should ever have to experience.” said a Senior State Department official from Washington DC.
http://www.state.gov/j/tip/index.htm
South Africa – Decriminalization of prostitution not likely to happen
The Deputy Minister of Justice addressed the World Aids Conference and he said that decriminalization of prostitution is not likely to happen in SA any time soon or ever. He listed among other reasons; increase in sex trafficking victims, increase in the number of women drawn into prostitution and increase in foreign women coming to SA for sex work. He also said that South Africa is a conservative nation and if put to a public vote it would likely not be supported. This is great news and a step in the right direction to the total abolishing of prostitution in SA.
http://www.rootshosting.co.za/docforlife/breaking-news-aids-conference-2016/
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Substance Abuse
USA – Study: Marijuana use dampens brain’s response to reward over time
Most people would get a little ‘rush’ out of the idea that they’re about to win something. If you could look into their brain at that very moment, you’d see activity in the part of the brain that responds to rewards. For marijuana users, that rush isn’t as big and gets smaller over time. It opens them up to more risk of addiction. The new results come from the first long-term study of young marijuana users that tracked brain responses to rewards over time. It was performed at the University Of Michigan Medical School, published in
JAMA Psychiatry, and shows measurable changes in the brain’s reward system with marijuana use.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/07/160706114407.htm
http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2016.1161
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Disclaimer: the views and opinions expressed in these articles do not necessarily reflect those of Doctors for Life International]]>
