Lifealerts – Doctors for Life

LIFEalerts 26 August 2015

Abortion	USA – Planned Parenthood Selling Aborted Babies without Patient Consent USA – Planned Parenthood on How to Break Law to Sell Aborted Babies
Alternative Medicine	Australia – Alternative menopause therapies not best choice Uganda – Child sacrifice for wealth and power in Uganda
Euthanasia	South Africa – Doctors fight assisted suicide ruling Belgium – Patients with depression most likely to use euthanasia Netherlands – Sharp rise in euthanasia for psychiatric patients
HIV/AIDS	No news today
Homosexuality	No news today
IVF & Surrogacy	Australia – Cancer survivor gives birth after ovarian tissue transplant Nepal – Illegal Surrogacy Trade Revealed
Medical Ethics	USA – Taking a swing at bioethics USA – ‘I can see what you’re saying’ USA – Incoming World Medical Association head under a cloud
Pedophilia	Australia – Pedophiles need specialist preventative counseling
Pornography	Australia – Victoria: New internet child pornography laws close loopholes India – India blocks 857 websites citing pornography’s threat to decency USA – Survey of US men shows over 60s and 70s viewing pornography USA – Symposium looks at evidence of the destructiveness of pornography
Prostitution &Trafficking	UK – Amnesty International approves decriminalization of sex trade India – Prostitution should not be legalized USA – Law takes new tack in fight against prostitution South Africa – US State department 2014 Trafficking in Persons Report
Stem Cells & Cloning	No news today
Substance Abuse	South Africa – Do not legalise Nyaope says Depression and Anxiety Group USA – Oregon airports adjust to new ’Carry-on cannabis’ law

Abortion USA – Planned Parenthood Selling Aborted Babies without Patient Consent A new video includes Holly O’Donnell, a licensed phlebotomist, describing tissue procurement workers’ coordination with abortion providers, the pressure placed on patients, and disregard for patient consent. According to O’Donnell, Planned Parenthood gave StemExpress workers access to patient records and schedules so that the harvesting company could plan for the days when patient “supply” would be greatest. David Daleiden, the head of The Center for Medical Progress, comments that Planned Parenthood is not a safe place where vulnerable women can be cared for, but a harvesting ground for saleable human ‘product.’ http://www.lifenews.com/2015/08/12/6th-shocking-video-catches-planned-parenthood-selling-aborted-babies-without-patient-consent/ USA – Planned Parenthood on How to Break Law to Sell Aborted Babies New undercover footage shows Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains’ (PPRM) Vice President and Medical Director, Dr. Savita Ginde, negotiating a fetal body parts deal, agreeing multiple times to illicit pricing per body part harvested, and suggesting ways to avoid legal consequences. Ginde also suggests ways for Planned Parenthood to cover-up its criminal and public relations liability for the sale of aborted body parts. “Putting it under ‘research’ gives us a little bit of an overhang over the whole thing,” Ginde remarks. “If you have someone in a really anti state that’s going to be doing this for you, they’re probably going to get caught.” Ginde implies that PPRM’s lawyer, Kevin Paul, is helping the affiliate skirt the fetal tissue law. http://www.lifenews.com/2015/07/30/4th-video-catches-planned-parenthood-vp-discussing-how-to-break-the-law-to Alternative Medicine Australia – Alternative menopause therapies not best choice Too many Australian women are using treatments for menopause symptoms that don’t work. If you’re using complementary and alternative medicines like phytoestrogens, evening primrose oil, black cohosh or ginseng to help, you’re wasting your money. Nearly 500,000 women a month are using these medicines to control vasomotor symptoms like night sweats and hot flushes says Dr Roisin Worsley, from Monash University’s School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine.” But none of these [remedies] have been proven in scientific studies to actually be of any benefit,” Worsley says. Most alternative menopause therapies cause short term side effects including nausea, headache and upset stomach. Side effects of ginseng include hypertension, diarrhea and sleeplessness. http://www.abc.net.au/health/features/stories/2015/08/06/4288056.htm Uganda – Child sacrifice for wealth and power in Uganda Kanani and Sylvia a brother and sister aged 9 and 8, were grazing cattle in rural Uganda. Sperito Bisekwa accused them of allowing cows to eat his fodder; he dragged them into a forest and attacked Kanani. The boy awoke with a machete wound on his neck. Sylvia’s body had been gruesomely mutilated for use in witchdoctor rituals. Child sacrifice is a phenomenon in Uganda and the government has established a special taskforce. Activists say child sacrifice is not about tradition but greed. People seek quick routes to wealth or power and with elections due in 2016 killings will increase. Bisekwa admits sending body parts to his brother, a witch doctor, in exchange for $16,500. http://www.sowetanlive.co.za/news/2015/06/15/child-sacrifice-for-wealth-and-power-in-uganda <Back to Top> Euthanasia South Africa – Doctors fight assisted suicide ruling Three months ago, the Pretoria High Court gave cancer patient Robin Stransham-Ford the go-ahead to get a doctor to help him die. But council president Professor Samuel Mokgokong said the council had joined the ministers of justice and health in appealing against the decision as assisted suicide was “unethical”. Dr Mzukisi Grootboom, the chairman of the SA Medical Association, agreed with Mokgokong, saying that “doctors should never use their medical skill to assist patients to commit suicide”. http://www.iol.co.za/news/crime-courts/doctors-fight-assisted-suicide-ruling-1.1893237#.Vb8t17VGSeg Belgium – Patients with depression most likely to use euthanasia Study co-author Dr. Lieve Thienpont, of University Hospital Brussels in Belgium, and colleagues published their findings in the journal British medical Journal Open. More than one psychiatric illness was identified among 90{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4} of patients, according to the team, with depression being the most frequent diagnosis, affecting 58 patients. Personality disorders were the second most common mental illness and affected 50 patients. http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/297348.php Netherlands – Sharp rise in euthanasia for psychiatric patients In the first six months of this year, 18 people with severe psychiatric problems have been helped to die at a special euthanasia clinic. This is more than double the total figure of 17 in 2014. In addition, almost 100 psychiatric patients are on the waiting list for help. The clinic was set up in 2012 to help people whose doctors are unwilling to grant euthanasia requests and operates a nationwide network of teams made up of doctors and nurses. Last year, some 14,000 people in the Netherlands were helped to die, most of who were suffering from cancer. http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2015/07/sharp-rise-in-euthanasia-for-psychiatric-patients/ <Back to Top> HIV/AIDS & STI’s No news today <Back to Top> Homosexuality No news today <Back to Top> IVF &Surrogacy Australia – Cancer survivor gives birth after ovarian tissue transplant In 2006, the then 37-year-old had a small piece of ovarian tissue removed and frozen before starting chemotherapy and radiotherapy for breast cancer. “Her only option was to freeze a little bit of her tissue, and when I saw her there were only one or two pregnancies in the world from this technology,” Dr Burmeister said. In April 2012, the tissue was re-implanted and the now 44-year-old began ovulating again, even though she had gone through menopause. The woman then began IVF treatment and four months later she conceived. The successful pregnancy offers hope for thousands of women, with doctors effectively reversing the effects of menopause and turning back the biological clock. http://monashivf.com/another-first-for-monash-ivf-breast-cancer-survivor-has-given-birth-to-a-little-miracle-after-her-fertility-was-restored-following-an-australian-first-ovary-transplant/ Nepal – Illegal Surrogacy Trade Revealed After the 2013 Indian government ban on the use of local surrogates by non-married, homosexual or single parents, surrogacy agents have turned to Nepal where the procedure is less regulated. While Nepalese locals tend not to act as surrogates, there is no official government ban and scores of migrant women rent their wombs in cities like Kathmandu. Surrogacy agencies in Nepal lure clients on the Internet with rates that are about a fourth of the prices in the United States. The packages cost between $35,000 and $65,000. The mothers earn between $5,000 and $6,000 of that, the price of a house in that part of Asia. The rest goes into the pockets of doctors and agencies. http://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/nepalese-surrogacy-unearthed/11492 <Back to Top> Medical Ethics USA – Taking a swing at bioethics One of America’s leading intellectuals’, psychologist Steven Pinker says: “the primary moral goal for today’s bioethics can be summarized in a single sentence. Get out of the way.” “A truly ethical bioethics should not bog down research in red tape, moratoria, or threats of prosecution based on nebulous but sweeping principles such as ‘dignity,’ ‘sacredness,’ or ‘social justice.’* First, slowing down research has a massive human cost. Even a one-year delay in implementing an effective treatment could spell death, suffering, or disability for millions of people. Second, technological prediction beyond a horizon of a few years is so futile that any policy based on it is almost certain to do more harm than good.” http://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/a-wild-swing-at-bioethics/11507 USA – ‘I can see what you’re saying’ In a study published in the journal Frontiers of Neuroscience scientists were able to observe how the brain planned speech acts and then activated the muscles before the speech itself became audible. Duke University Professor Nita Farahany has previously addressed questions about ‘mental privacy’ and, literally, ‘freedom of thought’ saying: “Some of the forward-looking questions we should be deliberating about now are whether individuals have a legal interest to mental privacy that could safeguard against being compelled to submit to EEG, fMRI, or other brain-based interrogations? What role could or should neuroscience play in helping to validate eyewitness memory? Should we as a society protect freedom of thought? Does neuroscience challenge any of our existing norms upon which legal and constitutional doctrines are built? http://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/i-can-see-what-youre-saying/11500 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4235375/pdf/fnins-08-00373.pdf USA – Incoming World Medical Association head under a cloud The World Medical Association is in turmoil over its incoming president, Dr Ketan Desai, of India, who is fighting allegations he corruptly conspired to lobby to allow a medical school to add more students. Charges which were brought in 2009 and 2010 are unlikely to be resolved by 2016, when he is scheduled to take office. “The whole force of the WMA is its moral authority,” Arthur Caplan told Reuters. “You can’t have a compromised leader, you just can’t…. people will just point toward your president and say: “Why should we care? You have a leader who is morally suspect. You’re not in a position to lecture us about anything.” http://www.bioedge.org/bioethics/incoming-world-medical-association-head-under-a-corruption-cloud/11513 <Back to Top> Pedophilia Australia – Pedophiles need specialist preventative counselingDr Kelly Richards a criminologist from Queensland University of Technology and other researchers are urging Australia to adopt a German initiative, called The Prevention Project Dunkelfeld (PPD). PPD is persuading pedophiles – including those who have abused children – to undergo confidential therapy. Dr Kelly Richards said between 3 and 5 per cent of the adult population has an inappropriate attraction to children. In Australia, psychologists are required to notify authorities if they believe a child is at risk. Dr Richards said this prevents many men from seeking help, even if they want to stop. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-07-15/specialist-counselling-needed-to-prevent-paedophiles-offending/6622980 <Back to Top> Pornography Australia – Victoria: New internet child pornography laws close loopholes New laws will be introduced into the Victorian Parliament, making it easier to catch and prosecute those who engage in the “absolutely evil trade” of internet child pornography, according to Victoria’s Attorney-General. Three new offences will be created to tighten a number of loopholes and the maximum penalty for child porn offences will be doubled to 10 years’ imprisonment. The new offences include administering a child porn website, encouraging the use of a website dealing with child porn, and a new offence about providing assistance to any other person. Every one of these child pornography images has come at the expense of an innocent child. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-08-04/new-internet-child-pornography-laws-to-close-loopholes-on-27ev/6670060 India – India blocks 857 websites citing pornography’s threat to decency India ordered Internet service providers to block access to 857 pornographic and humor websites posing a threat to public morality in the world’s second-most populous country. Among those listed by the Department of Telecommunications are humor site 9GAG, CollegeHumor and Playboy. ISPs were told to immediately confirm compliance with the order, which also mentioned websites Barstool Sports and Adult Friendfinder. The ban comes after a lawyer petitioned the Supreme Court to block sites featuring pornography on grounds that they fueled crimes against women and children and were a threat to public order. India has the world’s second-largest number of Internet users with about 350 million people accessing the Web on personal computers and mobile devices. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-08-04/india-blocks-857-websites-citing-pornography-s-threat-to-decency USA – Survey of US men shows over 60s and 70s viewing pornography A study of 2000 men over 50 in the US has found porn is being watched by a large number of older men, many in their 60s and 70s. The survey, undertaken for Stop Procrastinating, a productivity research website, found that 47{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4} of men over 60 had admitted to viewing porn in the last two months. Almost all respondents said their use of porn had increased since they had access to the Internet. Tim Rollins, research director at Stop Procrastinating, said: “Our survey shows that Internet pornography is now affecting every generation. Older men are either turning to pornography out of loneliness or because they have access to it through the Internet.” http://www.gilmermirror.com/view/full_story/26775283/article-Survey-of-US-men-shows-over-60s-and-70s-viewing-pornography?instance=lead_story_left_column USA – Symposium looks at evidence of the destructiveness of pornography The National Centre on Sexual Exploitation held a symposium exposing pornography as a public health crisis and how porn fuels sex trafficking, child exploitation and sexual violence. “Pornography is one of the root causes of sexual exploitation,” said Dawn Hawkins, vice president and executive director of the Centre. Neurosurgeon, Don Hilton from the University of Texas, presented evidence of the impact pornography can have on the human brain. The more pronounced pornography usage, the more shrinkage occurs in the reward area of the brain that occurs, he said. Former president and CEO of the National Centre for Missing & Exploited Children, Ernie Allen, called upon Congress to pass legislation to curb the availability of graphic online pornography. http://www.thebostonpilot.com/article.asp?ID=174268 <Back to Top> Prostitution & Trafficking UK – Amnesty International approves decriminalization of sex trade Amnesty International approved a controversial policy to endorse the de-criminalization of the sex trade, rejecting complaints from women’s rights groups who say it is tantamount to advocating the legalization of pimping and brothel owning. Amnesty’s decision is important because it will use its heft to lobby governments around the world to accept its point of view. Women’s’ groups believe a serious mistake has been made. The organization Against Trafficking in Women, has argued that while it agrees with Amnesty that those who are prostituted should not be criminalized, full de-criminalization would make pimps “businesspeople” who could sell the vulnerable with impunity. It really is a slap in the face to survivors and women’s rights groups around the world. http://www.foxnews.com/world/2015/08/12/amnesty-international-approves-policy-to-decriminalize-sex-trade-rejecting/?intcmp=hphz11 India – Prostitution should not be legalized Every hour four girls enter prostitution, three of them against their will. There are 2.8 million prostitutes and poverty and illiteracy are the main causes which drive them into prostitution. A survey conducted by the Indian Health Organization states that 20 percent of prostitutes are children who are usually abducted and sold, and that 6 percent were raped and sold. Minor girls between ages 9-20 are brought every year from Nepal and 15 percent of women in prostitution have been sold by their husbands. Most men refuse to wear condoms and 200 million prostitutes suffer from STD’S like gonorrhea, genital herpes and HIV AIDS. Prostitutes do not gain respect and recognition but will be exploited and discriminated against. http://www.topcount.co/5-reasons-why-prostitution-should-not-be-legalized/ / USA – Law takes new tack in fight against prostitution Authorities have made arrests under a new state law that shifts prosecution to the people who profit from the sale of sex. The new tack in the fight against prostitution focuses on the rehabilitation of women, and more severe consequences to the men who profit from the sex-for-sale business. The law criminalizes the effort to lure women into sex trafficking and increases the prospect of prison time. It also dramatically increases prison time in cases where a juvenile is involved and criminalizes the mere recruitment of females into the sex trade. http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/va-law-takes-new-tack-in-fight-against-prostitution/2015/07/10/0f7c5916-26e3-11e5-b621-b55e495e9b78_story.html South Africa – US State department 2014 Trafficking in Persons Report South Africa is a source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children subjected to forced labor and sex trafficking but the government has failed to reduce the overall demand for commercial sex. Although the Cape Town Vice Squad arrested nine males for soliciting sex from trafficking victims, the South African National Defense provided anti-trafficking training to South African troops prior to deployment abroad, and prosecuted troops who perpetrated sex crimes while serving on missions abroad, the report says the government did not undertake efforts to reduce the demand for forced labor or commercial sex acts during the reporting period. http://www.state.gov/j/tip/rls/tiprpt/countries/2014/226816.htm#st_refDomain=&st_refQuery Report: 2014 Trafficking in Persons Report <Back to Top> Stem Cells & Cloning No news today <Back to Top> Substance Abuse South Africa – Do not legalise Nyaope says Depression and Anxiety Group Professor Jannie Hugo says legalising nyaope, which contains heroin, dagga, ARVs and rat poison, would make the drug addiction manageable. “Legalise the drug, I’m not apologetic about it. I know there might be other effects but we work with nyaope-addicted children and I am telling you, it would be better if this thing was legal,” said Hugo. “Legalise nyaope so that you can control it. We need to focus on controlling it but now the focus is on the crime part of it.” But the SA Depression and Anxiety Group (SADAG) is having none of it. “Legalising the drug will open up more problems. It will be accessible and lead to more people being addicted,” said director Cassey Chambers. http://www.timeslive.co.za/local/2015/08/06/Legalise-nyaope-says-UP-professor South Africa – WHO says 15{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4} of population have a drug problem Drug abuse in South Africa is nothing new but the problem is on the rise. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 15{01b0879e117dd7326006b2e84bcaac7e8fa1509c5c67baf2c9eb498fe06caff4} of South Africa’s population have a drug problem. This high level of drug abuse costs South Africa over R20-billion a year. These statistics have earned the country the dubious reputation of being one of the drug capitals of the world. Dr. David Bayever from the Central Drug Authority (CDA) said “The drug problem in South Africa remains very serious with drug usage being twice the world norm in many cases…and we are only dealing with what we know about.” http://www.health24.com/Medical/Addiction/About-addiction/15-of-South-Africans-have-a-drug-problem-20150625 USA -. Oregon airports adjust to new ’Carry-on cannabis’ law It’s now fine to fly out of Oregon’s Portland International Airport with cannabis if you’re flying to one of the 4 other Beaver State airports. Signs in the PDX terminal remind passengers that state and federal laws prohibit taking marijuana across state lines. “But it is permitted to travel [with pot] within the state, provided you’re 21 or over and in possession of the legal amount,” said Kama Simonds, spokeswoman for Portland International Airport. The new rule applies to travelers flying in-state from Portland to Redmond, Pendleton, Eugene or North Bend airports and was adopted on July 1, when Oregon joined Alaska, Colorado, Washington and the District of Columbia in legalizing recreational marijuana. http://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/flights/2015/07/21/oregon-airports-marijuana-law/30457135/ <Back to Top> Disclaimer: the views and opinions expressed in these articles do not necessarily reflect those of Doctors for Life International]]>