Senate Bill 2865, a controversial Reproductive Health bill, will progess to the amendment stage in the Philippines Congress. House Bill 4244 or the Responsible Parenthood, Reproductive Health And Population And Development Act Of 2011, is the House counterpart of the Senate bill.[Philippine Star] The latter includes provisions problematic with respect to freedom of conscience.
Category: Procedures & Services
Accuracy of morning after pill labels disputed
A New York Times article outlines the controversy concerning the morning after pill over whether or not the drug may have an embryocidal effect by interfering with implantation. In brief, though the FDA approved labels state that the drug can have that effect, and such statements can be found on the National Institutes of Health and Mayo Clinic websites, there is increasing evidence that Plan B (the most commonly used version of the drug in the USA) does not have that effect. Enquiries by the New York Times led to the deletion of reference to an implantation effect on the website of A.D.A.M., which writes the entries for the NIH website. Richard Doerflinger, associate director of the Secretariat of Pro-Life Activities for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, said that he would be “relieved” if the drug did not affect implantation, but did not believe that the issue had been resolved.
Canadian Society of Palliative Care Physicians rejects euthanasia
The Canadian Society of Palliative Care Physicians has rejected a recommendation from a Quebec legislative committee that euthanasia and physician assisted suicide be legalized. The Society stated that the procedures contradict “a fundamental tenet” of the Society and most palliative care physicians. The president of the Society said “We are concerned that, despite the fact that our members are unwilling to provide these services, this may be mandated if it becomes law in Quebec.” [CSPCP statement]
German Medical Association apologizes for physician complicty in Nazi atrocities
The German Medical Association has acknowledged and apologized for the participation of German physicians in Nazi programs of forced sterilization, euthanasia, and human experimentation. The statement also acknowledged that “leading members of the medical community” were involved. [Washington Post]
Artificial reproduction extended in United Kingdom
Britain’s National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence has directed the National Health Service (NHS) to provide artificial reproduction at public expense to homosexual couples and to women up to the age of 42. The change was preceded by the abolition of a legal requirement that a child’s need for a father be taken into account when assessing requests for treatment [The Telegraph].