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Doctors For Life International
Bi-Weekly Updates on Current Ethics Issues
| 24 July 2006 Articles in this issue are:
HIV / AIDS [USA - Gates commits $287 m to AIDS vaccine research] - The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation announced a 287-million-U.S.-dollar donation to help 165 researchers in 19 countries collaborate on an AIDS vaccine. The commitment is the Gates Foundation's single largest investment in the area of AIDS research. The funds will be evenly split between groups seeking to find antibodies that will neutralize HIV, and those researchers trying to find a way to revive cellular immunity. Each of the 165 scientists who are getting money from the program had to agree to share their findings and compare results with others. Some 42 million people around the world are believed to be infected with HIV and 3 million die each year, with sub-Saharan Africa the worst affected region. ...[more] [ 'Booze, drug abuse costs SA R11, 9 bn' ] - South Africa is facing a national crisis over the ever increasing number of people - mainly youngsters - dependent on drugs and alcohol. ICPA SA president Boyce Mkhize said the prevailing use and abuse of alcohol in South Africa was a contributor to the road carnage. "The scourge of alcohol and substance abuse has reportedly cost the country's economy R11,9-billion. Our initiative will help rebuild society. We seek to prevent undue exposure to drugs and alcohol, particularly among the youth.” ...[more] [ Is second-hand smoke child abuse?] - Should parents who smoke while children are in their car be charged with child abuse? Opening a window on the car or house won't help, and children, with their developing bodies, are vulnerable to childhood illnesses such as asthma as well as heart disease, lung cancer and a host of other illnesses. According to the American Lung Association, 43 percent of children are exposed to second-hand smoke in their own homes, and 85 percent of the children have detectable levels of cotinine, which is produced when nicotine breaks down. It also can cause pneumonia, bronchitis and fluid buildup in the middle ear, the most common cause of childhood hearing loss. And, a California Environmental Protection Agency study estimated 1,900 to 2,700 cases of SIDS -- sudden infant death syndrome -- each year are associated with exposure to second-hand smoke. ...[more] [ USA - Three “angels of death” arrested] - A doctor and two nurses who worked through the chaos that followed Hurricane Katrina were arrested on July 17 overnight on suspicion of murder, accused of giving four patients, stranded at their flooded hospital, lethal doses of morphine and a sedative. More than 200 sick and elderly patients died in the days after the hurricane, when food and water was scarce, electricity spotty and hospitals overwhelmed. "We're not calling this euthanasia. We're not calling this mercy killings. This is second-degree murder," said Kris Wartelle, a spokeswoman for the attorney general’s office. The staff is accused of killing some of the patients so that the nurses and doctors could evacuate more quickly -- meaning the alleged slayings were not mercy killings at all. ...[more] [ India - Euthanasia craze] - In a recent spate of euthanasia pleas to India’s president, 35 farmers have added their numbers to official requests to throw in the towel. This tactic has become a favourite alternative to the more painful and less publicized hunger-strike. These impoverished farmers faxed their request to end it all as local authorities have failed to look into their problem. "We would like to end our lives instead of suffering crop losses every year," they said in the letter. In a country as poor and heavily populated as India, this attitude could become a suicidal pandemic of despair. ...[more] [ USA - For Gay Rights Movement, a Key Setback ] - The New York Court of Appeal’s ruling on July 6 against gay marriage was more than a legal rebuke and it came as a shocking insult to gay rights groups. Leaders said they were stunned by both the rejection and the decision's language, which they saw as expressing more concern for the children of heterosexual couples than for the children of gay couples. They also took exception to the ruling's description of homosexuality as a preference rather than an orientation. The New York ruling came the same day that the Georgia Supreme Court reinstated a ban on gay marriage. ...[more] [ USA - Constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage fails in House] - The House of Representatives yesterday rejected a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage, ending for another year a congressional debate that supporters of the ban hope will still reverberate in this fall's election. The 236-187 vote for the proposal to define marriage as a union between a man and a woman was 47 short of the two-thirds majority needed to advance a constitutional amendment. It followed six weeks after the Senate also decisively defeated the amendment, which rendered yesterday's vote entirely symbolic. ...[more] [ USA - Text of H.R. 810: Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2005] -
The US House of Representatives passed H.R. 810, Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2005, on May 24, 2005, by a vote of 238 to 194. The vote was primarily along partisan lines, with 93% of Democrats supporting the bill and 79% of Republicans opposing it. Fifty Republicans did vote for the bill, though. H.R. 810 was passed from the House to the Senate for consideration on May 26, 2005. The bill has languished in the Republican-led Senate, as Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) feared that the bill would pass, despite veto threats by President Bush. ...[more] [ USA - Bush vetoes stem cell research Bill] - US President George W. Bush has used his first veto to block legislation expanding embryonic stem cell research, putting him at odds with top scientists, most Americans and some in his own Republican Party. "This bill would support the taking of innocent human life in the hope of finding medical benefits for others. It crosses a moral boundary that our decent society needs to respect. So I vetoed it," Bush said at a White House event. Mr Bush acted after the US Senate yesterday approved the legislation, which has also been passed by the House of Representatives. The legislation will go back to the House and Senate, but neither chamber is expected to muster the two-thirds majorities needed to override Bush's decision. ...[more] [ Portugal - Adult Stem Cells can treat paralysis] - By Wesley J Smith – Named as one of the top ten expert thinkers in bioengineering in the US by the National Journal. “Carlos Lima has published his research demonstrating that a patient's own adult stem cells and olfactory mucosa can treat paralysis caused by spinal cord injury. This study, published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Spinal Cord Medicine, reports on 7 patients treated with the procedure. "Every patient had improvement" in "motor scores." "Most recovered sensation below the initial level of injury that was repaired." This though, is not a “cure.” It is apparently effective treatment that may one day substantially improve the quality of lives of spinal cord injury patients, and may return some to the potential of mobility." ...[more] [ Australia – Population Group Calls for One Child Policy] - Tuesday, July 11 was World Population Day, and the group Sustainable Population Australia (SPA) said it is time the problem of global overpopulation is dealt with. The world's population is currently about 6.5 billion, and is expected to pass 9 billion by the middle of the century. SPA said a humane policy of one-child families worldwide is urgently needed, along with sustainable resource consumption. SPA president Dr Ian Macindoe said it is time to take the overpopulation problem seriously. "People should perhaps think of the various countries as being a bit like a sheep station or a farm, you know, where you simply cannot have more animals grazing on a pasture that can't sustain them," he said. "I mean that's the situation that we're in, with human beings on the planet." ...[more] [ Papua New Guinea – Doctor Faces Murder Charge for Abortion] - A medical doctor in Wewak, Moses Manuao, has been charged with murder for allegedly killing an unborn child through abortion. The abortion was performed on a teenage girl, who was allegedly made pregnant by her uncle, Richard Sasowara. Sasowara was charged with sexual penetration of a minor and murder for collaborating with Dr Manuao for the abortion to take place. His wife had also been charged with murder for allowing the abortion to take place. Abortion is illegal in PNG, a leading lawyer said last night. ...[more] [ South Africa - Girl Preyed on by Sex Ring] - An eight-year-old girl, whose rural Kwa-Zulu Natal parents died of AIDS in 2005, thought she was going to her paternal grandmother in Pretoria for a holiday. But she was instead allegedly sold to a sex ring for R450, and died several months later. It is believed that she was repeatedly raped and abused, only to be returned to her maternal grandmother, with whom she had been staying since her parents’ death, when she fell sick. She is just one of thousands of people bought and sold for sexual exploitation each year. Yet the country has no legislation outlawing the crime. ...[more] [ UAE - Life Term for Human Trafficking Under New Federal Law] - The Ministerial Legislative Committee (MLC) in Abu Dhabi approved, on the 9th of July, an anti-human trafficking federal draft law, which incriminates all organized groups involved in such practices. “Tougher penalties up to life sentences await anyone convicted, particularly if a woman, child, or a handicapped person is subjected to such malpractices,” said Mohammed bin Nakhira Al Dhahiri, UAE Minister of Justice and Head of the MLC. All criminals or partners that are proved to be the sponsors of their victims — whether relatives or employees of public firms — who influence witnesses to conceal information or give false statements before courts or law, will suffer punishment. The draft law is also aimed at penalising all companies and establishments implicated or proved to have been involved in any of the said crimes. ...[more] [ South Africa - New Classification Guidelines for the rating of movies] - The South African Film & Publication Board of recently published its new classification guidelines according to which films, video games and some publications must be rated. DFL presented research to the Board pointing out the effects of pornography and other sexual content in films and publications on children. These Guidelines have the force of law and holds anyone who allows a child to view material rated above the child age, criminally liable for imprisonment and/or a fine. The Guidelines will be available soon on the website of the link given below. ...[more] [ USA - Criminality of viewing child porn questioned] - It is up to a judge in Kansas , USA , to decide whether it is illegal to view child pornography on the internet without actually downloading it. An attorney for the defendant, Cory McQuillan, 28, argued in district court Tuesday that McQuillan's viewing of the pictures while searching the Internet didn't constitute possession because there's no evidence he tried to deliberately save them on his computer hard drive. McQuillan is accused of 66 counts of sexual exploitation of a child based on photos found when investigators examined the computer. This included 5,000 pornographic images, some of which depicted girls estimated to be as young as 7 years old. ...[more] [ South Africa – Traditional Healers’ Hotline Launched] - The SA Depression and Anxiety Group (SADAG) has opened a toll free hotline for traditional healers dealing with depression resulting from poverty, HIV/Aids and unemployment, it said on Sunday. "Not only are traditional healers often the first place people go to in these (rural) areas, but they also act as superb counsellors - listening carefully and without judgement to patients' worries and problems. Their role is very comparable to psychologists in western health care." ...[more] [ Zimbabwe - No need for witch doctors - I'm staying] -
President Robert Mugabe has ridiculed followers for consulting witch doctors to choose his successor, dismissing the suggestion that he is going to step down. Mr Mugabe, who drew cheers and laughter from the crowd, told them: "The things we hear about succession, succession, succession. We hear lots of unbelievable stories about succession. We hear some people are consulting witch doctors, but the biggest witch doctor is the people of Zimbabwe. There is no need to consult witch doctors." ...[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.