12 November 2007
USA - Pharmacists Forced to Dispense Abortifacient Drugs
The state of New Jersey has passed a law denying the right to conscientious objection by pharmacists to refrain from dispensing abortifacient and contraceptive drugs; won in other states through lengthy court battles. The New Jersey law was passed in the context of numerous battles in courts and legislatures between pro-abortion governors and pharmacists fighting for conscience rights – a battle currently raging across the US. ...[more]
USA - Study: Previous Abortions Linked With Pre-Term Birth and Cerebral Palsy
An article appearing in this month’s edition of the Journal of Reproductive Medicine concludes that nearly 32 per cent of “very preterm” U.S. births, that is, before 32 weeks gestation, are due to the mother having had a prior abortion. Very pre-term babies have much higher risks of developing cerebral palsy, mental retardation, autism, epilepsy, blindness, deafness, lung impairment and serious infections. The article further estimated a direct cost to the health care system of abortion-related pre-term babies at $1.2 billion in 2002. This estimate did not include long-term costs for ongoing, often life-long medical expenses and lost income such children will suffer. ...[more]
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United Kingdom – Cloned Embryos Created From Adults Primates
A technical breakthrough has enabled scientists to create, for the first time, dozens of cloned embryos from adult monkeys; raising the prospect of the same procedure being used to make cloned human embryos. Attempts to clone human embryos for research have been dogged by technical problems and controversies over fraudulent research and questionable ethics. The scientists also hope to demonstrate that they have been able to extract stem cells from some of the cloned embryos and that they have managed to encourage these embryonic cells to develop in the laboratory into mature heart cells and brain neurons. This could not only mean an increase in the ability to clone human embryos for use and destruction in research, but might bring the day of the first cloned baby nearer.
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South Africa - 'Dual Epidemic' Threatens Africa
A rising number of dual infections of HIV and tuberculosis has created a co-epidemic spreading throughout sub-Saharan Africa. Local health systems are unable to contain the co-epidemic, the Forum for Collaborative HIV Research says. The situation is made more urgent by increasing rates of drug-resistant TB in areas with a high prevalence of HIV. Half of all new TB cases in sub-Saharan Africa are now HIV co-infected, forum director Veronica Miller said. Without proper treatment, he added, 90% of people with HIV die within months of contracting TB. ...[more]
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South Africa - HSRC Moving Ahead With New Project
Social Accountability and the Prevention of Child Pornography in South Africa through Monitoring and Research are two of several new projects being run by the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC). In South Africa, child pornography is regulated by acts that fall within the responsibility of Home Affairs Department and the Film and Publication Board. The HSRC study on the use of children pornography in South Africa seeks to guide the Board concerning the protection of children from being exploited in child pornography. The main project activities by the HSRC includes an appraisal of the use of South African children in the making of child pornography as an aspect of sexual abuse as well as the extent of the manufacturing and distribution of child pornography in the country. ...[more]
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South Africa - Debate Over Legalising Sex Work Rages On
Non-governmental organizations, such as the Sex Workers Advocacy Taskforce (SWEAT), feel that since the demand for sex is a constant, the government should legitimise the industry that caters to it, and thereby exercise some control over it. Two city councillors are taking issue with what is perceived as police lassitude in dea¬ling with offen¬ders, both sellers and buyers. Councillor Owen Kinahan, chairperson of the Protea Subcouncil into whose jurisdiction the Kenilworth Main Road sex industry falls said, “There is no doubt that where there is prostitution there is crime.” But SWEAT spokesperson, Nicolé Fick, dismissed allegations of links between crime and sex work as “little more than speculation”, but did not deny that there were city officials involved in both strip clubs and organised crime. Cape Town mayor, Helen Zille, made her opinions on the issue of prostitution, and on Selebi’s comments, quite clear. “Councillors who wish to clamp down on prostitution have my support.” ...[more]
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New Zealand - Children Aged 7 Hooked on Cannabis
Addiction agencies are seeing primary school children smoking cannabis, despite a slight drop in adult use of the drug. Rotorua counselling agency, ‘Te Utuhina Manaakitanga Trust,’ said that children as young as 7 were getting help for cannabis addiction. Clinical co-ordinator June Bythell said the agency was still seeing a steady increase in clients seeking help with cannabis and alcohol. Other agencies in Auckland and Hamilton said they were also seeing more children starting to smoke cannabis in primary school. New Zealand has one of the highest rates of cannabis use in the developed world, second only to Canada, according to the last World Drug Report. ...[more]
Netherlands - Dutch Want Dagga for Regular Meds
The Dutch government had said it wants to promote the development of cannabis-based medicine and will extend marijuana's availability in pharmacies by five years to allow more scientific research. In 2003, the Netherlands became the world's first country to make cannabis available as a prescription drug in pharmacies to treat chronic pain, nausea and loss of appetite for cancer, HIV and multiple sclerosis patients. "Medicinal cannabis must become a regular registered medicine," Health Minister Ab Klink said in a statement, adding he wanted to give the development of a cannabis-based medicine by a Dutch company a serious chance. The Netherlands, where prostitution and the sale of cannabis for recreational use in coffee shops are regulated by the government, has a history of pioneering social reforms. It was also the first country to legalise euthanasia. ...[more]
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