May / June 2006
Articles in this issue are:

DFL LITIGATION DEPARTMENT

At the time of going to print we await two important judgments.
The Constitutional Court heard DFL's application to strike down the 2004 Abortion Amendment Act on February 21st. Adv Kemp SC, acting for DFL pro deo, was given an excellent hearing by the Court and the morning ended with Counsel for Parliament conceding that only two of the nine Provinces had given the public any opportunity to make representations about the Bill as the Constitution requires they should. The afternoon was spent discussing whether the Court should merely make a declaration that the NCOP and provinces failed in their constitutional duty, or go further and strike down the Act. Judgment is expected no later than August

Doctors for Life Legal Team in the
Constitutional Court of South Africa

The media interest in February was the highest DFL has ever had, and we expect the result to generate even more. A week later on February 28, the Labour Court heard preliminary points of law in the theatre sister (conscientious objection to abortion) case. Our arguments were presented by John Smyth, QC and again we received an excellent hearing. DFL is optimistic about the outcome. We expect a full hearing to follow within 2 to 3 months of this judgment. We continue with our preparations in the case of the schoolgirl who was a victim of a 28 week abortion in Durban . The staff of the clinic are all facing criminal prosecution in respect of this crime and 1400 other criminal incidents which came to light as a result of the investigation. This is the first time that a criminal case has been brought for breaches of the 1996 Abortion Act. Our civil case on the same matter is expected to be heard in Durban at the end of this year.

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NEW FDA ADVISORY STRIKES DOWN 'MEDICAL' DAGGA

The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently issued an advisory on the use of smoked marijuana (dagga) as a medicine. The FDA said that it and other Health agencies have "concluded that no sound scientific studies supported the medical use of marijuana for treatment, and no animal or human data supported the safety or efficacy of marijuana for general medical use." This supports the evidence that DFL presented to the Constitutional Court of South Africa in the case of Garreth Prince v President of the Law Society of the Cape of Good Hope in 2002. A number of states in the USA have passed legislation allowing dagga use for medical purposes, but the FDA said, "These measures are inconsistent with efforts to ensure that medications undergo the rigorous scientific scrutiny of the FDA approval process and are proven safe and effective”. The FDA affirmed that there is no empirical proof that the medical use of dagga can compete with any existing medicines on the market with regards to the treatment of diseases and conditions it is advocated for. According to US health agencies, there is no currently accepted medical use for marijuana in treatment, and there is a lack of accepted safety for use under medical supervision.

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MEETING THE GLOBAL CHALLENGE OF MALARIA

DFL's pharmaceutical division has spent the last year actively collaborating with others at the global level to address the increasing crisis posed by Malaria to poor countries. Falciparum malaria, the deadliest form of the disease, causes between 300 - 500 million infections and at least a million deaths each year, some 90 percent of which are in sub-Saharan Africa .

Major drugs like chloroquine, used in the battle against the disease for decades are no longer effective due to parasite resistance. Attention has now turned to Artemisia annua, the Chinese herbal plant used in the treatment of fevers for over 2000 years. DFL's Malarlife, an Artemisia based product has been under development for several years and with more available funding will be tested further in clinical trials.

75 Participants from 21 countries at the
African Anti-Malaria Meeting - Nairobi, Kenya

Pharmaceutical companies have developed numerous forms of artemisinin (an extract of the plant) based medicines for malaria. Last year, Dr Bola Omoniyi was invited to represent DFL at a meeting convened by the World Health Organisation in Arusha , Tanzania . The aim of this meeting was to establish a reliable supply of Artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs) for the treatment of malaria. While ACTs are an important tool in the fight against malaria, the problem still remains that a significant number of malaria sufferers will have no access to it.

As a result, there is a lot of interest in developing other Artemisia based products such as teas and herbal

Dr Bola Omoniyi speaking at the
WHO Conference on ACT's

products that can be made more easily available to rural areas. This approach got a huge boost recently with the Africa Herbal Antimalarial meeting (AHAM) held in Nairobi Kenya . AHAM, held in March was partly sponsored by the World Agroforestry Center and the Center for Development and Excellence (CDE) an arm of the European Union. Dr Bola Omoniyi was invited to this meeting and asked to co-chair the committee that drew up regulations and policies for the development of herbal medicines including antimalarials. Dr Omoniyi also helped develop recommendations for testing traditional herb and plant based medicines already in use, bringing safe and efficacious ones up to standard, and incorporating them into national health policies. DFL will continue in its efforts with Malarlife to provide access to herbal artemisia in poor and rural areas of Africa . Any proceeds from Malarlife are channeled back into DFL's community projects therefore keeping it non-profit.

Dr Bola Omoniyi - Pharmaceutical Division

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CONFERENCE

What are my rights if I have a conscientious objection to a medical procedure such as abortion, euthanasia or medical research techniques?

Sean Murphy (Protection of Conscience Project - Canada ), union and legal experts discuss the ethical and legal consequences surrounding freedom of con-science in the medical profession.

NOTE: For more information, see enclosed registration form, call Rachael or Lucille on 032 481 5550 or visit our website.

FEEDBACK

WHO IS REPRESENTING YOU?

My daughter was born last November with the help of a wonderful physician (Dr John Littell, Kissimmee FL ) who informed me after my first question, that he was part of Doctors for Life. That first question was the most important one I could think of to ask before I chose him to care for me and my daughter throughout my pregnancy: "How do you feel about abortion?"

His answer put to rest all of my worries about trusting him with my daughter's health and safety. He informed me about the organization and told me that he held natural family planning lectures locally and was involved with counseling young pregnant women in the hopes of helping them make informed ethical choices.

I couldn't have trusted someone who could destroy life in its most innocent beautiful form to be truly concerned about my baby’s' life, nor would I have been able to live with myself if I had made such a careless decision about who was caring for her. It is a mother's responsibility and joy to take care of her child from the first moments of life (not just birth) and I believe that choosing a doctor who could deliver one baby then murder another by performing abortion is a severe example of neglect at the earliest stage.

Thank you for your organization, your wonderful causes and a multitude of responsible, ethical doctors who truly are great Doctors for Life.

Amy Hurst

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THOUGHTS TO PONDER

FAITH VERSUS REALITY

Most of us are familiar with the story of Jairus in Luke 8:40-65, where he asks the Lord to come and heal his dying daughter. On the way the Lord is delayed by the woman who was suffering from chronic hemorrhaging, and in the interim Jairus' daughter dies.

Here are some thoughts that blessed me:

Firstly, Jairus keeps contact with reality while keeping the faith. Very often we are tempted to neglect one or the other. One extreme is to switch off to reality as it unfolds, and just try to trust the Lord. In Jairus' case, the unfolding reality became increasingly bleaker, up to the point where, upon hearing that his daughter had died, he must have lost all hope. The other extreme is to become overwhelmed by reality and its hopelessness, become depressed and give up. What a blessing to see how Jairus kept the faith while still keeping touch with reality.

Secondly, while Jairus was experiencing this turmoil, he kept 'moving' with the Lord Jesus. We are not supposed to 'sit down' and stagnate spiritually in times of trials; we must keep moving with Jesus.

Lastly, let's look at the Lord's timing. Throughout Jairus' turmoil, Jesus kept an eye on him. When the news was broken that his daughter had passed away - a time when the burden might have become too great for Jairus to bear - Jesus turned to him and said, 'Don't worry, just believe'. At that moment, Jairus knew that Jesus had been with him all the time and knew exactly what he was going through.

Even though the miracle still seemed some time away, Jairus' battle may have been over.

Dr Albu van Eeden
Chief Executive Officer

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FREE MEMBERSHIP?

Although it is not yet compulsory, your voluntary contribution is very much needed and appreciated!

The enclosed "Their Life, Your Membership" card has been designed and sponsored by a young American artist. His intention is to help you to remember to pay your annual membership fee, and lists the easy payment methods available.Your contribution (equivalent to 100 US Dollars) will help the office staff to make a difference in someone's life.

DFL is a registered NPO with a sound financial auditing history. We depend on donations from members, individuals, churches and other bodies. To date, DFL has never received any government subsidies and has no other regular, guaranteed sources of income.

Please cut out the attached 2 bookmarks and use them as a constant reminder for yourself to pray for and support Doctors For Life.

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WHEN DO HUMAN BEINGS (normally) BEGIN?

Scientific myths and scientific facts
Continued from previous newsletter...

Thus, for fertilization to be accomplished, a mature sperm and a mature human oocyte are needed. Before fertilization, each has only 23 chromosomes. They each possess "human life," since they are parts of a living human being; but they are not each whole living human beings themselves. They each have only 23 chromosomes, not 46 chromosomes--the number of chromosomes necessary and characteristic for a single individual member of the human species. Furthermore, a sperm can produce only "sperm" proteins and enzymes; an oocyte can produce only "oocyte" proteins and enzymes; neither alone is or can produce a human being with 46 chromosomes. Also, note O'Rahilly's statement that the use of terms such as "ovum" and "egg"--which would include the term "fertilized egg"--is scientifically incorrect, has no objective correlate in reality, and is therefore very misleading--especially in these present discussions. Thus these terms themselves would qualify as "scientific" myths. The commonly used term, "fertilized egg," is especially very misleading, since there is really no longer an egg (or oocyte) once fertilization has begun. What is being called a "fertilized egg" is not an egg of any sort; it is a human being.

2) Fertilization

Now that we have looked at the formation of the mature haploid sex gametes, the next important process to consider is fertilization. O'Rahilly defines fertilization as:

"… the procession of events that begins when a spermatozoon makes contact with a secondary oocyte or its investments, and ends with the intermingling of maternal and paternal chromosomes at metaphase of the first mitotic division of the zygote. The zygote is characteristic of the last phase of fertilization and is identified by the first cleavage spindle. It is a unicellular embryo." The fusion of the sperm (with 23 chromosomes) and the oocyte (with 23 chromosomes) at fertilization results in a live human being, a single-cell human zygote, with 46 chromosomes--the number of chromosomes characteristic of an individual member of the human species.

Quoting Moore :
"Zygote: This cell results from the union of an oocyte and a sperm. A zygote is the beginning of a new human being (i.e., an embryo). The expression fertilized ovum refers to a secondary oocyte that is impregnated by a sperm; when fertilization is complete, the oocyte becomes a zygote."

Finally, this new human being--the single-cell human zygote-- is biologically an individual, a living organism-- an individual member of the human species.

Quoting Larsen:
"… [W]e begin our description of the developing human with the formation and differentiation of the male and female sex cells or gametes, which will unite at fertilization to initiate the embryonic development of a new individual."

In sum, a mature human sperm and a mature human oocyte are products of gametogenesis--each has only 23 chromosomes. They each have only half of the required number of chromosomes for a human being. They cannot singly develop further into human beings. They produce only "gamete" proteins and enzymes. They do not direct their own growth and development. And they are not individuals, i.e., members of the human species. They are only parts--each one a part of a human being. On the other hand, a human being is the immediate product of fertilization. As such he/she is a single-cell embryonic zygote, an organism with 46 chromosomes, the number required of a member of the human species. This human being immediately produces specifically human proteins and enzymes, directs his/her own further growth and development as human, and is a new, genetically unique, newly existing, live human individual.

After fertilization the single-cell human embryo doesn't become another kind of thing. It simply divides and grows bigger and bigger, developing through several stages as an embryo over an 8-week period. Several of these developmental stages of the growing embryo are given special names, e.g., a morula (about 4 days), a blastocyst (5-7 days), a bilaminar (two layer) embryo (during the second week), and a trilaminar (3-layer) embryo (during the third week).

B. "Scientific" myths and scientific facts

Given these basic facts of human embryology, it is easier to recognize the many scientifically inaccurate claims that have been advanced in the discussions about abortion, human embryo research, cloning, stem cell research, the formation of chimeras, and the use of abortifacients--and why these discussions obfuscate the objective scientific facts. The following is just a sampling of these current "scientific" myths.

MYTH 1: "Prolifers claim that the abortion of a human embryo or a human fetus is wrong because it destroys human life. But human sperms and human ova are human life, too. So prolifers would also have to agree that the destruction of human sperms and human ova are no different from abortions--and that is ridiculous!"

FACT 1: As pointed out above in the background section, there is a radical difference, scientifically, between parts of a human being that only possess "human life" and a human embryo or human fetus that is an actual "human being."

Abortion is the destruction of a human being. Destroying a human sperm or a human oocyte would not constitute abortion, since neither are human beings. The issue is not when does human life begin, but rather when does the life of every human being begin. A human kidney or liver, a human skin cell, a sperm or an oocyte all possess human life, but they are not human beings--they are only parts of a human being. If a single sperm or a single oocyte were implanted into a woman's uterus, they would not grow; they would simply disintegrate.

MYTH 2: "The product of fertilization is simply a "blob," a "bunch of cells", a "piece of the mother's tissues"."

FACT 2: As demonstrated above, the human embryonic organism formed at fertilization is a whole human being, and therefore it is not just a "blob" or a "bunch of cells." This new human individual also has a mixture of both the mother's and the father's chromosomes, and therefore it is not just a "piece of the mother's tissues". Quoting Carlson:

"… [T]hrough the mingling of maternal and paternal chromosomes, the zygote is a genetically unique product of chromosomal reassortment, which is important for the viability of any species."

MYTH 3: "The immediate product of fertilization is just a "potential" or a "possible" human being--not a real existing human being."

FACT 3: As demonstrated above, scientifically there is absolutely no question whatsoever that the immediate product of fertilization is a newly existing human being. A human zygote is a human being. It is not a "potential" or a "possible" human being. It's an actual human being--with the potential to grow bigger and develop its capacities.

MYTH 4: "A single-cell human zygote, or embryo, or fetus are not human beings, because they do not look like human beings."

FACT 4: As all human embryologists know, a single-cell human zygote, or a more developed human embryo, or human fetus is a human being--and that that's the way they are supposed to look at those particular periods of development.

MYTH 5: "The immediate product of fertilization is just an "it"--it is neither a girl nor a boy."

FACT 5: The immediate product of fertilization is genetically already a girl or a boy--determined by the kind of sperm that fertilizes the oocyte. Quoting Carlson again: "…[T]he sex of the future embryo is determined by the chromosomal complement of the spermatozoon. (If the sperm contains 22 autosomes and 2 X chromosomes, the embryo will be a genetic female, and if it contains 22 autosomes and an X and a Y chromosome, the embryo will be a genetic male.)”

MYTH 6: "The embryo and the embryonic period begin at implantation." (Alternative myths claim 14 days, or 3 weeks.)

FACT 6: These are a few of the most common myths perpetuated sometimes even within quasi-scientific articles--especially within the bioethics literature. As demonstrated above, the human embryo, who is a human being, begins at fertilization--not at implantation (about 5-7 days), 14-days, or 3 weeks. Thus the embryonic period also begins at fertilization, and ends by the end of the eighth week, when the fetal period begins. Quoting O'Rahilly:

"Prenatal life is conveniently divided into two phases: the embryonic and the fetal. The embryonic period proper during which the vast majority of the named structures of the body appear, occupies the first 8 postovulatory weeks...[T]he fetal per-iod extends from 8 weeks to birth …"

MYTH 8: "Pregnancy begins with the implantation of the blastocyst (i.e., about 5-7 days)."

FACT 8: This definition of "pregnancy" was initiated to accommodate the introduction of the process of in vitro fertilization, where fertilization takes place artificially outside the mother in a petri dish, and then the embryo is artificially introduced into the woman's uterus so that implantation of the embryo can take place. Obviously, if the embryo is not within the woman's body, she is not "pregnant" in the literal, traditional sense of the term. However, this artificial situation cannot validly be substituted back to redefine "normal pregnancy," in which fertilization does take place within the woman's body in her fallopian tube, and subsequently the embryo itself moves along the tube to implant itself into her uterus. In normal situations, pregnancy begins at fertilization, not at implantation.

Quoting Carlson:
"Human pregnancy begins with the fusion of an egg and a sperm, but a great deal of preparation precedes this event. First both male and female sex cells must pass through a long series of changes (gametogenesis) that converts them genetically and phenotypically into mature gametes, which are capable of participating in the process of fertilization. Next, the gametes must be released from the gonads and make their way to the upper part of the uterine tube, where fertilization normally takes place. Finally, the fertilized egg, now properly called an embryo, must make its way into the uterus, where it sinks into the uterine lining (implantation) to be nourished by the mother."

Dianne N. Irving, M.A., Ph.D.
(Copyright February 1999)

Reproduced with Permission
Website copyright © 2000. (Lifeissues.net) Kochi , Japan Extract Part - Article copyrights held solely by author

To be continued in next newsletter...

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A LITTLE MIRACLE

A young pregnant woman who was brain dead and who was being kept alive to save the life of her child gave birth early in August to a baby girl.

Susan Anne Catherine Torres, weighing 1 pound, 13 ounces and measuring 13.5 inches was born without complications and is reportedly healthy.

Even in the face of impending death Mrs Torres sacrificed all to ensure that her child would be welcomed in life.

Source: Family Research Council

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