News
Legalisation of Cannabis: Use Among College Students Hits a Record High (USA)
In 2020 cannabis use among college students reached its highest level during the 21st Century. The National Institute on Drug Abuse’s 2020, Monitoring the Future study, tracking substance use in adults between the ages of 19 and 22, revealed that in 2020 44% of college students used cannabis in the last year, compared with 38% in 2015. Of … Read more
Pornography is harmful and we need a new public health approach to it – as with alcohol and tobacco (UK)
Sophia Worringer, a parliamentary researcher, claims that pornography is harmful and must be treated with a public health approach. She asks the question that if pornography was not harmful as some people claim, why then did the Parish incident (Member of Parliament watching porn) spark such a public outpouring. Many women feel threatened when hearing … Read more
LGBTQ+ Friendly Policy Set for Western Cape Schools in Near Future (South Africa)
The Western Cape’s Education Department’s (WCED) contentious gender identity and sexual orientation policy will be signed and adopted before the end of this year. Ground-breaking guidelines would make schools more inclusive and supportive for LGBTQ+ pupils. It allows pupils to dress in a uniform that matches their gender identity, makes provision for a unisex bathroom, … Read more
Assisted suicide laws increase suicide rates, especially among women (UK)
Posner argued: People who have no immediate wish to die by suicide get reassurance from knowing that they can exercise the option of suicide at some point in the future. The study used data from ten US states that implemented an assisted suicide law up to the end of 2019. Assisted suicide laws increase total … Read more
Assisted suicide bill rejected in Connecticut (USA)
Assisted suicide has been rejected in Connecticut for the tenth time, after a close vote by senators on the State General Assembly’s judiciary committee. The disability rights group Second Thoughts Connecticut and The Euthanasia Prevention Coalition USA strongly opposed the plans. They warned “offering suicide prevention to most people while offering suicide assistance to an … Read more
Application in the South Gauteng High Court to legalise euthanasia (South Africa)
Palliative care doctor Suzanne Walter and her patient Diethelm Harck started a court case to legalise euthanasia in South Africa. Walter was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 2017, while Harck was diagnosed with motor neuron disease in 2013. Both wish to end their lives when they feel they cannot handle their illnesses any more. Due … Read more
Paediatricians respond to HHS assistant secretary Levine Gender transition surgeries are harmful to kids (America)
The American College of Paediatricians was founded to protect the health and well-being of children. None of our member paediatricians or health care professionals support social, medical, and surgical interventions which attempt to change the persona of the child to appear as the opposite sex. Each one of these modalities are proven to do far … Read more
European Court of Human Rights declares no right to assisted suicide (France)
The ECHR points out in a judgment opposing a Danish euthanasia activist, Mr. Lings, to the justice of his country that the European Convention on Human Rights man “does not enshrine the right to assisted suicide”. Svend Lings, an activist doctor, was sentenced in September 2018 for having prescribed lethal products to two people who … Read more
Residency Requirement for Physician-Assisted Suicide Quietly Ended (USA)
On March 28, 2022, Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum entered into a settlement agreement that guaranteed the non-enforcement of the residency requirement in Oregon’s “Death with Dignity Act.” This statute limited physician-assisted suicide access to residents of Oregon. Oregon Right to Life Executive Director, Lois Anderson, warns against the short physician-patient relationships and the push … Read more