11 December 2006
[United Kingdom - Stop-and-Start HIV Treatment Increases Risks]
According to a recently published large international study, taking HIV patients off their medication during periods when the disease appears to be under control is a risky and sometimes fatal treatment strategy. Patients who cycled on and off their drugs were 2.6 times more likely to die or develop AIDS-related symptoms compared with patients on continuous therapy, the study found. They were also 1.8 times more likely to develop serious heart, kidney or liver diseases. The new report, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, appears to be a conclusive word on this strategy. ...[more]
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[United Kingdom - Bioethics Council Rejects Infanticide]
A British Council of Bioethics has rejected the request of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) that newborn babies with severe disabilities be actively euthanized. They stated that it would be grievously immoral and dangerous to healthcare as a whole. However, the RCOG requested that the council to consider other options and to “think more radically about non-resuscitation, withdrawal of treatment decisions, the best-interests test and active euthanasia.” As a result, the council agreed to include euthanasia of “extremely premature and seriously ill babies” in its consultation. The development of this movement will be vital to the euthanasia debate in Britain. ...[more]
[Spain joins euthanasia debate]
Spain will become the next nation to legalize euthanasia if Socialist Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero has his way. People in Spain who assist someone in taking their life could face up to six months in prison, but Zapatero wants to make it legal. The prime minister is relying on the case of a patient with muscular dystrophy to support his proposal. The patient has been confined to a hospital bed for 20 years because of a limited ability to move. She's had enough and wants to die. The Catholic church is leading the fight against the legalization of euthanasia. A Spanish archbishop released a formal statement this week, saying “Provoking the death of another person, as compassionate as the motives might be, is always alien to the notion of the dignity of human beings.” ...[more]
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[USA - Vice President's Lesbian Daughter is Pregnant]
Fresh tensions emerged between the Christian Conservatives and the Bush Administration when it emerged that Vice President Dick Cheney's lesbian daughter is pregnant. Mr. Cheney and his wife issued a statement saying they were “looking forward with eager anticipation to the arrival of their sixth grandchild”. The precise circumstances of the conception have not been disclosed. But the news has outraged conservative pressure groups, some of which are already angry that Republican leaders failed to fulfill promises of amending the US Constitution to define marriage as between one man and one woman. ...[more]
[Canada to Revisit Same-Sex Marriage Law]
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper's government introduced a motion in Parliament to revisit a 2005 law allowing same-sex marriages. If the motion passes, he's pledged to introduce a law to “restore the traditional definition of marriage while respecting existing same-sex marriages.'' “Since marriage is an essential foundation of our society, it's important that a fully democratic decision be taken by the House of Commons,'' government House Leader Rob Nicholson said at the start of debate on the motion. ...[more]
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[First Adult Stem Cell to Differentiate into Lung Cell]
BioE, a biomedical company, announced in a report published in the latest issue of Cytotherapy that its Multi-Lineage Progenitor Cell is the first human adult stem cell to differentiate into a type II alveolar lung cell. These cells are responsible for secreting surfactant, a material that helps stabilize the lung’s air sacs during respiration. The MLPC is a rare adult stem cell derived from human umbilical cord blood that was discovered by BioE and has shown the capacity to turn into multiple cell and tissue types. ...[more]
[USA - Democrats Plan To Revive Embryonic Stem Cell Bill]
The same embryonic stem cell bill that prompted President Bush's only veto is headed to his desk again, this time from Democrats who have it atop their agenda when they take control of Congress in January. The bill, which would expand federal funding of embryonic stem cell research, is staunchly opposed by Bush and others who liken the process to abortion since it requires the destruction of human embryos. ...[more]
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[USA, Missouri - Rep. Pearce Sponsors Bill to End Billboard Porn]
Proposals by Senator Matt Bartle and Representative David Pearce aim to prohibit adult cabarets and sexually-oriented businesses from advertising on billboards within one mile of state highways, if the billboards display images or words that pertain to the adult aspects of the business. A previous version had been struck down in August by the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis , on the grounds that it was overly broad. According to Pearce, “These measures are designed to reduce the negative effects these billboards and businesses have on our society.” ...[more]
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[Netherlands - Amsterdam Turns Off Red Lights]
City officials say they will turn off the red lights and shut a third of the prostitution “windows'' in Amsterdam's famed Red Light District, where scantily-clad ladies of the night have beckoned customers for hundreds of years. The move is part of a crackdown on crime in the area. The Dutch government legalized prostitution in 2000 to make it easier to tax and regulate. City Spokesman, Martien Maten, said he didn't expect the closures to hurt tourism revenues. “Amsterdam has many other things to offer,'' he said. ...[more]
[Iran - Why Atom Bomb? End Prostitution]
Iran may be toying with the idea of acquiring a nuclear weapon, but 2003 Nobel laureate Shirin Ebadi argues that the money needed for making an atom bomb can be used better for a more pressing need - ending prostitution and sexual trafficking of women. "The cost of making an atom bomb should be set against the cost of rescuing and rehabilitating girls and women trapped in prostitution," said Ebadi, the 2003 Nobel Peace Prize winner, the only Iranian to win the coveted honour. ...[more]
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[USA - Congress to Examine Foetal Pain in Abortions]
Armed with the claim that a foetus endures excruciating pain when aborted, pro-life lawmakers this week will push legislation requiring physicians to ask women whether they want anaesthesia for their foetuses before ending their pregnancies. Supporters of the "'Unborn Child Pain Awareness Act of 2006" argue it is urgently needed to inform women about the agony that foetuses suffer when aborted. Opponents say there is no scientific evidence about foetal pain and that foetal anaesthesia involves risk for the mother and an unknown benefit to the foetus. .. .[more]
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[South Africa - Sangoma's AIDS Cure Claim 'Disturbing’]
The SA Council of Churches expressed its alarm at a traditional healer's claim that 500 HIV-positive people had been cured with African herbs. "Herbs may play an important role in treating opportunistic infections, but to make claims of curing AIDS without hard scientific evidence is irresponsible, misleading and mischievous," said SACC general secretary Eddie Makue. ...[more]
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[South Africa - The Spirits Have Taken Her]
Plans to raise a woman from the Letaba River on Saturday after she disappeared 50 years ago, failed. Modjadji Shivambu's family paid R25 000 to various sangomas since January last year to draw her out of the underwater world. One sangoma was Dennis Maceke from Mozambique, who performed the ceremony on Saturday. When it didn't work, he said he would have to consult his ancestors some more and try again this coming weekend. Shivambu's family, who live in Nwa-Maranga village near Giyani, believe she was taken by river spirits to be trained as a sangoma. ...[more]
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