3 September 2007
USA - Planned Parenthood Express Clinics
In 2003, Planned Parenthood began opening express clinics in communities across the United States. In describing these clinics, PP said that the express health center was for clients who were short on time and did not require a table examination. The express sites would mean quick access to birth control medication or contraceptive advice. However, evidence is piling up that Planned Parenthood is using these express clinics to increase its abortion business. While national rates of surgical abortion continue to decline, Minnesota reported over 700 more abortions than the previous year. The opening of a new abortion facility by Planned Parenthood in Aurora, Illinois has been ascribed by Planned Parenthood to the success of the three suburban express sites which showed the need for increased services. ...[more]
USA - Abortion Clinics Face Fine Line Over Abuse Reporting Requirements
When abortion clinics are approached by girls either because of pregnancy or seeking other treatment, they face a difficult balancing test. Abortion providers face a mandate under state law to notify authorities of any evidence of child sexual abuse. They must also honor the individual’s right to privacy and the right to seek an abortion as well as ensuring an atmosphere of trust, which providers call essential if girls facing abuse or unwanted pregnancy are to feel comfortable seeking health care at all. The problem, according to state officials who are reviewing the status quo in preparation for the 2008 General Assembly session, is that no balance will provide safeguards for all possibilities. The state's abuse disclosure rules fell under a spotlight in early June when a 15-year-old Bloomfield girl, Danielle Cramer, who had been missing for a year, was found locked in a small storage room in a West Hartford man's home. According to the arrest warrant, the girl had an abortion on May 1 at Planned Parenthood in West Hartford. ...[more]
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Australia - Parliament Prepares for a Marathon Debate on Therapeutic Cloning
State Parliament made provision for extended meetings to accommodate debate on the Government's controversial therapeutic cloning legislation. The bill has already caused a stir, with Perth's Catholic Archbishop, Barry Hickey, warning MP’s earlier this year they would have to reconsider their relationship with the church if they supported the bill. The Speaker, Fred Riebeling, accused Archbishop Hickey of threatening MP’s and later warned him that such behaviour could be in contempt of the parliament. The Government's Bill, which mirrors Federal laws, would allow therapeutic cloning of human embryos in Western Australia. The South African Department of Health also drafted similar regulations that will allow embryonic stem cell research and therapeutic cloning. ...[more]
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USA - Death by Helium
Arizona police may charge two members of the suicide group, Final Exit, with manslaughter after they helped a Phoenix woman die in April. The body of Jana Van Voorhis, a 58-year-old woman with a long history of mental illness, was found by her sister and brother-in-law in her home. When they searched through her effects after the funeral, they discovered literature from the Final Exit Network, a receipt for the purchase of two helium tanks, and some mysterious messages on her answering machine. Police eventually traced the calls to a retired college professor who was an "exit guide". Under questioning he admitted that he and another guide had helped Jana die by breathing helium. The two exit guides may be charged with assisted suicide, which is still a crime in Arizona. ...[more]
return to top Zimbabwe - HIV/AIDS Has Reduced Life Expectancy
HIV/AIDS has reduced the life expectancy in Zimbabwe, but the country's overall population growth remains unchanged as births continue to outpace deaths, according to a study recently published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. For the study, Simon Gregson of Imperial College London and colleagues examined an area in eastern Zimbabwe between 1998 and 2005. They found that the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the country has reduced the life expectancy in rural areas by 19 years among men and 22 years among women. HIV/AIDS has reduced population growth by two-thirds in the most affected areas of Zimbabwe, but the overall growth rate remains unchanged at about 1% annually, Gregson said. He added, "Our research shows that, in spite of countless people having lost their lives to the virus, more people are still being born than are dying."
...[more]
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China – Surrogacy Goes On
Official restrictions against surrogacy reportedly have reportedly been unable to stop the practice because of the financial benefit it offers. Citing recent cases, the China Daily reported of a 32-year-old widow had become a surrogate mother twice. "I inseminated myself with the sperm of the husband of another woman and later gave birth to the child, whom I would never meet again," the woman said. She received about $9,250 for her first surrogate birth and even more the second time, the report said. The woman was quoted as saying her conscience was clear as she felt “happy to help those in need” and also because she had no choice as “I have my own children to support.” The surrogacy industry goes on unhampered with the help of brokers, agencies and other middlemen, who are able to take advantage of loopholes in the legal system and because of the demand from infertile couples. ...[more]
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South Africans drink too much.
Statistics were released by Central Drug Authority (CDA) in Pretoria where Social Welfare Minister Zola Skweyiya, addressed the media on the scourge of substance abuse. “The promotion of the perception, for example, that the use of dagga is not harmful or that excessive or binge drinking is acceptable behaviour over weekends undermines all efforts of combating this scourge,” said Skweyiya.
• Between 7,5% and 31.5% of South Africans have an alcohol problem or are at risk of having one. Over 10 million of South Africans who consume alcohol drank the equivalent of about 20.1 litres of pure alcohol per person per year.
• Alcohol abuse cost the country about R10 billion each year and responsible for almost 50% of the SA’s road accidents, killing about 7 000 per year.
• South Africa produces 3 000 tons of the world’s total output of 40 000 tons of dagga.
• 8% of the country’s population (about 2.2 million) smoke cannabis, compared to the modest figure of 4% for the world’s population. About R3 926 million is spent on dagga per year.
• There are more than 250 000 South Africans who consume cocaine worth about R1 430 million. A gram cost about R300.
• Almost 110 000 use ecstasy and paid R610 million for just over a ton consumed in one year.
• Tik (methamphetamine) is the main drug of choice for 42% of Cape Town drug users
• Nyaope ( a mixture of dagga and heroin) has become more popular in Tshwane.
• Between 2% and 6% of those admitted to drug rehabilitation centres are hooked on prescription medications. ...[more]
USA - Gambling Cities Linked to Drug Abuse
An effort by researchers to find out which cities have the biggest drug problems has led to a startling connection — drug abuse correlates with gambling. A study conducted by Oregon State University and the University of Washington took the novel approach of testing wastewater for traces of methamphetamines. Researchers took samples from 10 unnamed cities and found those with casinos showed five times more drug use. Chad Hills, gambling analyst for Focus on the Family Action, said that confirms a 2004 Department of Justice report, “Approximately 60 percent of Las Vegas arrestees associated with gambling, ended up testing positive for at least one drug in their system," Evelio Silvera, executive director of Casino Watch, said "(this) provides yet another common-sense, practical, tangible measure of what needs to be taken into consideration before you fall in love with all the supposed advantages of inviting a casino into your neighborhood.” ...[more]
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South Africa - Traditional Healing Directorate Set Up
Delegates, including traditional health practitioners, scientists, academics and researchers from around the continent attended a provincial conference to explore the role of African traditional medicines, and discussed the challenges that face our country and provide a way forward in the research and development of traditional medicine in Durban. The WHO has a strategy to facilitate the integration of traditional medicine into the national health care system by assisting member-states to develop their own policies on traditional medicine. The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Health has set up a special directorate to deal with traditional medicine and healing. It also has plans to train traditional healers on all health issues, provide them with supplies and revive the training of traditional birth attendants. Chairperson of the Health Portfolio Committee, Zanele Ludidi, said that there was a need to launch a programme that would help traditional healers know what the key elements are in curing ailments. ...[more]
.....another article
South Africa - Sister Lazarus Stays Down
A family that paid a traditional healer R15 000 to bring their daughter back from the dead now say that the Pretoria woman is a fraudster. Dorah Ngwenya promised in July last year to resurrect Florah Theledi, 23, a week after she died. The dead woman’s sister, Lizzie Theledi, said Ngwenya had demanded R30 000 for the job, but they paid her R15 000 upfront “so she could do it quickly”. “She said the body we were burying was not that of Florah and that we should not worry as the real Florah would come back to us. “We have now been waiting. It has now been 13 months. That is why we have confronted Ngwenya.” She said when the family started asking questions, the healer told them she would keep their sister on her plot in Brits with other people she had resurrected until they paid the balance owing. Theledi said in July this year they demanded to see their sister, but Ngwenya became aggressive. “She told us she was still organising an ID document and counselling Florah before we could see her.” ...[more]
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