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Doctors For Life International
Bi-Weekly Updates on Current Ethics Issues
| 7 August 2006 Articles in this issue are:
HIV / AIDS [ USA - Condoms for Kids] - Condoms for 13-year-olds could soon be on sale in Britain - sparking outrage. The new-style contraceptives hit the shelves in Germany and the manufacturer, Durex, want to launch them in the UK next year. Campaigners were furious over the move, claiming it will fuel an under-age sex boom. The condom is 49mm wide - compared to the 52mm standard version - and is easier to put on. Durex says it is designed for the younger, less experienced users. A spokesman said: “It is aimed at youths between 13 and 16, where a not insignificant number engage in unprotected sex.” ...[more] [ USA - Marijuana Gumballs Used by High School Students] - Two bright yellow chewing-gum balls with smiley faces, were seized from two high school students by police at the Howard County High School in Maryland . A police officer assigned to the high school witnessed the gumballs being purchased by the students while passing between classes. The gumballs were sent to the Maryland State Police-Forensic Sciences Division Laboratory in Pikesville , Maryland who determined there was approximately one gram of high-grade marijuana packed inside each gumball. The gumballs came wrapped in colourful tin foil labeled as “Greenades” with a marijuana leaf on the wrapper and detailed instructions for use. ...[more] [ USA - Schiavo Death Benefits - Where's the Money?] - It appears Michael Schiavo's (husband of Terri Schiavo, the brain damaged Florida woman who died on March 31 by court order) used all of Terri's benefits money -- from the SSI checks (Supplemental Security Income check of approximately $600 per month) to the living needs benefit to the malpractice award that had been earmarked for her therapy and rehabilitation. Terri wasn't terminal when she was admitted to a hospice, where she remained for five years, paid for by Medicaid (tax-funded), while Michael used her benefits money to pay lawyers to insure that her feeding tube was removed and of which she consequently died. ...[more] [ Canada - MP's want Parliament to Debate the Legalization of Euthanasia] - Canada could be headed for a nasty and emotional debate on the issue of assisted suicide if a group of members of the Canadian parliament have their way. The MPs are supporting a private member's bill, proposing legislation similar to Oregon , and Belgium ...[more] [ USA - Drug Use Common in Homosexuals] - Two-thirds of young men who have sex with men say that they have used illegal drugs in the past six months, according to a recent survey conducted in seven urban areas. One-third of the 3,492 men interviewed said that they used drugs weekly or more often, with marijuana the most common drug of choice. 4 Percent of the men said that they had injected a drug in the past six months, according to the study in the American Journal of Public Health. “The high prevalence of more serious forms of drug use among the young homosexuals in our study is disturbing… since illicit drug use has been repeatedly associated with high-risk sexual behaviors and increased HIV incidence” say Hanne Thiede, D.V.M., M.P.H., of Public Health-Seattle and King County and colleagues. ...[more] [ USA - Cut price fertility treatment ] - Women are to be offered cut-price fertility treatment in exchange for donating some of their eggs for controversial stem cell research. The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) granted permission for researches in Durham and Newcastle to offer IVF treatment at half price in exchange for half of their eggs. The scheme, which will take a year to set up, will see donated eggs used to create cloned embryos from which stem cells can be extracted, to research treatments for various diseases. ...[more] [ USA - Grand Forks man is saved by stem cells] - Mike Swendseid, who has Angioplasty, was battling with heart disease. But, due to new science, doctors were able to help him. In January, the 70-year-old Swendseid became a recipient of experimental stem cell treatment at the Minneapolis Heart Institute, which is part of Abbott Northwestern Hospital . The treatment used Swendseid's own adult stem cells, so it's different from the embryonic stem cell research. The procedure had bone marrow cells drawn, treated and then injected into 15 ailing portions of the heart. The theory, according to lead researcher Dr. Tim Henry, is that bone marrow cells stimulate the growth of blood vessels. ...[more] [ Netherlands - Dutch Political Party Wants to Normalise Paedophilia] - Members of a fringe political party, PNVD, in the Netherlands , who recently won a court case allowing them to field candidates for seats in the Dutch Parliament, believe it should be permissible for adults to have sex with children. Norbert de Jonge, secretary of the party said that there is nothing wrong with paedophilia or bestiality, (the latter which is legal in the Netherlands ), as long as the child or animal involved demonstrates consent. The party is currently lobbying to change Dutch law that would lower the age for children to grant sexual consent from 16 to 12. The party platform states that children should be able to “make their own decisions,” regarding sex and the laws preventing such activity. ...[more] [ USA - Police act as young teens to catch paedophiles] - A church youth minister and a teacher are among 20 people facing sex charges in a Harris County Internet sting operation. Authorities set it up with the help the group "Perverted Justice", with members posing as 13 to 15-year-old teenagers online. They arranged meetings, purportedly for sex, at a rented house. When the men arrived at the house in Hamilton they would go inside and talk with a decoy. But when they came back outside a team of investigators were there to make the arrest. Harris County Sheriff Mike Jolly says he want this to be an eye opener for parents. ...[more] [ Argentina - Argentinean Hospital Refuses to Perform Abortion] - The hospital where a young disabled woman, who had become pregnant after allegedly being raped, was to receive an abortion, has now decided against performing the procedure. The high court of Buenos Aires decided that the woman fell under the provisions of the law that allows doctors to abort the children of "demented" women who have become pregnant due to rape. Although the Argentine Constitution recognizes the humanity of the unborn child "from the moment of conception," this exception remains and the court ruled that the case does not violate the country's constitutional protection of the unborn. But, according to the Argentinean newspaper Clarin, the ethics committee of St. Martin de la Plata General Hospital believed that the time for performing the abortion had passed, and that the pregnancy was too advanced to perform the procedure. ...[more] [ USA - World's first human embryo bank launched] - The world's first human embryo bank has been launched offering 'bespoke babies' for infertile couples. For around £5,000 couples can buy ready-made embryos matched to their specific requirements - even down to choosing what eye and hair colour they would like their child to have. In each case the embryos are made from eggs and sperm from two donors who have never even met. The moment of conception occurs in the laboratory and is determined by the genetic combination the clinic thinks will best meet the needs of the paying couples on its books. ...[more] [ South Africa - Human Trafficking in the Country] - With human trafficking on the increase across the world and here at home, South Africa is under pressure to enact legislation combating it. Over the next two days the Special Women's Parliament will discuss the issue. It is estimated that four million people are victims of trafficking worldwide, mostly women and children from the third world, who are sold as prostitutes and slaves. The UN says it is becoming more lucrative than the drug trade. Legislation being drafted, will criminalise human trafficking in South Africa . "The object of the bill is to combat trafficking and prosecute those who traffic," said Zubeda Seedat of the South African Law Reform Commission. Those found guilty will face imprisonment of up to 20 years. ...[more] [ USA - Credit Cards Cancel Porn] - The Financial Coalition Against Child Pornography is teaming up with the U.S. credit card market in an attempt to take the profitability out of online child porn, an international multibillion-dollar business. Participating credit card companies (such as Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Bank of America, Citibank, etc) will report child porn sites they find that are accepting their cards as a means of payment for the porn. They will also block these transactions or possibly help track sellers and buyers if an investigation by law enforcement results. ...[more] [ South Africa - Taxpayers Pay Cops Producing Child Porn] - Two policemen were released on bail of R2000 each after they were charged with filming themselves in sexual acts with a 16 year old girl in Pretoria . One of officers apparently showed the video to a Radio 702 reporter and stated that “in South Africa you can get away with anything”. Even though the policemen were suspended, they continue to receive their R5000 salaries until the Metro Police concluded their internal probe. ...[more] [ USA - Coffee Jitters Keeping You Awake At Night] - The University of Arizona will host a study, testing alternative treatments - based on the principles of homeopathy - to deal with coffee-induced insomnia. Volunteers will take a single dose of one of two well-known homeopathic remedies - nux vomica or coffea cruda - during the month-long study. After analyzing the dreams, sleep patterns and brain waves of those in the study, UA researchers will determine if either of these remedies can induce natural sleep in people who have had trouble getting to sleep or staying asleep due to recent coffee consumption. Funded by a $750,000 grant from the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, within the National Institutes of Health, the study is headed by UA psychiatry professor Dr. Iris Bell, working with researchers in the UA Department of Family and Community Medicine. ...[more] |
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'Doctors for Life International' represents more than 1400 medical doctors and specialists, three-quarters of who practice in South Africa. Since 1991 DFL has been actively promoting health care that is safe and efficient for all South Africans. DFL was founded as a South African organization in 1991 and has spread across the globe. DFL is involved in several community projects including orphan care, the care of terminal AIDS patients, malaria prevention and the care of abused women.