07 May 2007
[African countries lag behind in fight against HIV/AIDS]
The statement was made at the 4th Africa conference on social aspects of HIV/AIDS. Conference Chief Executive officer Dr. Olive Shisana said despite awareness of the impact of the disease, there has been no behavioral change among Africans. She said those living with the virus are also ignorant of the prevention, treatment and care programmes provided. Dr. Shisana also blamed African governments for failing to implement policies and accused them of lacking commitment to fight HIV/AIDS by providing adequate resources and mechanisms. Conference regional director Dan Kaseje said social aspects have been ignored in the treatment and prevention of HIV/AIDS, where medical ventures have succeeded. “HIV/AIDS is not just a medical problem. There are a lot of social and economic problems and political issues that are root causes of the transmission.” ...[more]
[ Gambia - Scientist Disputes 'Aids Cure' evidence]
A Senegalese scientist has disputed test results used by Gambian President Yayha Jammeh to support claims that he had found a cure for AIDS. Souleyman Mboup, a professor at the Cheikh Anta Diop University in Dakar , Senegal , said that the findings were made under "false pretences" and that, in any case, Jammeh's interpretation of the results was incorrect. Karen Bennett, IAS communications manager said, "It is premature and unethical to label the President's product a cure if it has not been thoroughly tested and proven." She said Jammeh's treatment cannot be considered as a cure until it is scientifically proven that it is such. "There are international rules regulating the testing of medications, and these must be stringently adhered to in this case," Bennett told SciDev.Net. ...[more]
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[ USA - Dagga good for lung cancer?]
While smoking marijuana is never good for the lungs, the active ingredient in pot may help fight lung cancer, delta-research suggests. Harvard University researchers have found that, in both laboratory and mouse studies, delta-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) cuts tumour growth in half in common lung cancer while impeding the cancer's ability to spread. The compound "seems to have a suppressive effect on certain lines of cancer cells," explained Dr Len Horovitz, a pulmonary specialist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City . The findings are preliminary, however, and other outside experts urged caution. "It's an interesting laboratory study (but) you have to have enough additional animal studies to make sure the effect is reproducible and to make sure that there are no overt toxic effects," said Dr Norman Edelman, chief medical officers of the American Lung Association. ...[more]
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[ BELGIUM - Hospital Compliance to Euthanasia to be enforced]
The Belgian ruling party wants to force every hospital to install euthanasia protocols, and that they will be monitored to ensure “death service” is available to all patients. If a doctor is unwilling to perform euthanasia, it will become the hospital's duty to find one that will. The party says this shift from traditional medicine will be an “ethical achievement”, protecting the doctrine of total personal autonomy, a key theory in allowing assisted suicide. The head of the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition says the law not only creates pressure for a “duty to die” for the patient, but a “duty to kill” for the physician. Doctors unwilling to comply with this ideology will become ostracized and labeled as religious fanatics. ...[more]
[ USA - "Futile Care" Controversy]
Texas is in the middle of political battle to amend the future to prevent patients from being denied wanted life-sustaining treatment. Current law permits hospital ethics committees to refuse wanted life-sustaining treatment. With no open record, right to cross-examine or other due process or legal procedures, they can cut off care 10 days later if the family is unable to transfer the patient to another institution. This is often difficult because patients are expensive to care for, and hospitals don't wish to stand against each other's "futile care" determinations. While a proposed amendment would do away with the “10-day rule”, the debate rages on. Some speculate that well-funded HMO corporations will bring it down. ...[more]
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Israel - Rabbinical Seminary Says No to Homosexual Students
Homosexual students will not be admitted to Jerusalem's Schechter Rabbinical Seminary, the rabbinical school of the Conservative (Masorti) Movement in Israel, following a decision by the seminary's dean, Rabbi Dr. Einat Ramon. In December, the world Conservative movement decided to permit the ordination of homosexuals. Ramon's announcement came a day after the movement's flagship educational institution, New York's Jewish Theological Seminary, moved to admit homosexual rabbinical school applicants. In explaining her decision, Ramon cited the "historic centrality of heterosexual unions to Judaism." She said that Jewish law did and does unconditionally oppose sexual relations between people of the same gender, and that Schechter accepts only those students who are committed to an observant lifestyle. ...[more]
Israel - Arab Lesbians Hold Conference in Haifa
Arab lesbians gathered in Haifa defying protests from Islamists and a taboo in their own society. Among Israel's Arab citizens, who make up 20 percent of the country's population, homosexuality is taboo to most. Homosexuality is strictly forbidden by Islam, and a statement issued by a large Muslim group in Israel described it as a "cancer" in the Arab community. Outside the conference hall, women protesters in headscarves and long robes held up signs reading, "God, we ask you to guide these lesbians to the true path." Even rapper Nahwa Abdul Aal, who performed for the gathering, didn't support the homosexuals. ...[more]
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[FDA Clearance Received for Heart Attack Stem Cell Clinical Trial]
While embryonic stem-cell based treatments are still only theoretical, two prominent biotech companies have received FDA approval to commence phase II clinical trials for adult-stem cell based treatments of Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD) and heart attack victims. PAD is a chronic disease that progressively restricts blood flow in the limbs, leading to serious medical complications. Approximately 10 million people in the U.S. suffer from it. Aastrom Biosciences, will test its Tissue Repair Cell (TRC)-based product on a treatment group of 120 patients. The heart attack treatment trials, conducted by the biotech firm Angioblast Systems, will be based at the Texas Heart Institute and will be the first to test an allogeneic stem cell product injected by catheter into heart muscle damaged by a recent heart attack. Preclinical studies showed that implantation of the company's proprietary allogeneic stem cells by catheter into damaged heart muscle of sheep, resulted in significant improvement in heart function and reduction in congestive heart failure. Over one million new patients with heart attacks are treated annually in the US alone. ...[more]
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[ Norway - On Course to Criminalise Buying Sex]
Norway 's ruling Labour Party voted to ban the purchase of sex on Sunday in an attempt to stop prostitution by targeting those who buy it rather than those who sell it. Prostitution is allowed in Norway , although procuring it, commonly known as "pimping", is illegal. Street prostitution in the capital, Oslo , has become increasingly visible and aggressive in the past few years, provoking calls for a ban. "A majority of parties in parliament wants a ban on buying sexual services," Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg, told a news conference. "We are going to implement it." Although opponents say it will only drive prostitution underground and make prostitutes even more vulnerable. Proponents say banning the purchase of sex will curb prostitution without penalising the prostitutes, many of whom are poor, young foreign women often forced into the trade. ...[more]
[RSA - No Option but to Go To Court, Says Sex Worker Group]
Sex-worker advocacy group Sweat said that the legal action it has launched to stop police harassing prostitutes is a last recourse. They said that the current legal position is that various acts relating to sex work are criminalized, and sex workers were liable to be arrested and prosecuted for these acts. “Since all our attempts to resolve this issue in a more constructive way have failed, we have been left with no option but to bring legal action," it said. The SAPS and the city have filed notice of their intention to defend the application. ...[more]
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[ USA - High court decision upholds ban on type of late-term abortion]
The 5-to-4 decision upholds the federal Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003, which bans a specific abortion procedure typically performed in the second trimester of pregnancy. Republican presidential contender Rudy Giuliani issued a statement saying the Supreme Court reached "the correct conclusion in upholding the congressional ban on partial birth abortion." ...[more]
[ USA - Abortion Breast Cancer Study Ignored Latency Issues, Results Disputed]
The new study, published in the April 23 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, a JAMA journal, showed that induced abortions does not result in a rise in the chance of developing breast cancer. The Harvard Nurses Study involved researchers following women over a period of 10 years. Critics said the research was flawed because the researchers did not allow enough time following the abortion for the potential cancer to develop. That analysis is confirmed by the BMC Cancer report which concluded "that the median latency time may be as long as 22 years." ...[more]
Abortion-Breast Cancer Study Found Having Baby Reduces Cancer Risk. ...[more]
[African Health Ministers Vote to Approve Protocol to Legalize Abortion throughout Continent]
African Health Ministers adopted a new proposal Friday that will increase legal abortion throughout the continent, according to a report published yesterday by the Ethiopian Herald online. A week-long conference hosted by South Africa was attended by Health ministers from more than 40 African countries. They discussed health strategies for the continent under the "Maputo Protocol on the rights of women", which was 'approved' by the ministers last October.
Although ratified by just 15 of the 53-member states of the African Union, the protocol calls for all member states to implement abortion legislation. The official strategy approved by the health ministers on Friday included the increased promotion of abortion services. "I am sure that with our partners, both local communities as well as our development partners, we shall do all we can to ensure the full implementation of the Strategy," South African Acting Health Minister and Conference Chairman Jeff Radebe said in a statement. ...[more]
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[RSA- Group welcomes tighter pornography laws]
The Christian Action Network has welcomed proposed amendments to the publications law, which it said would give children greater protection against pornography. The network wants heavier penalties for those exposing children to sexually explicit material. The network suggests pornographic films should be banned altogether from television, and pre-planned sexually-orientated material should be submitted to pre-publication classification. "We call for all forms of sexually explicit material to be criminalized. No-one should be allowed to profit from the abuse and degradation of women and children," said Hodgson. ...[more]
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