LifeZine No. 604: 25th Jun 08
HSE Under the Spotlight as Teenage Girl Decides Not to Have Abortion
In Ireland, a 14-year-old pregnant girl in the care of the Health Service Executive (HSE) decided against an abortion just before the health authority was due to ask the district court to allow her travel abroad for the operation. The HSE is probably the largest single funder of Irish abortions. The girls mother was believed to be absolutely opposed to her ending her pregnancy. The HSE decided to ask the district court to let the girl travel for the abortion following a psychiatric assessment of the teenager, who, according to an "Irish Examiner" report, has a history of mild self-harm. It is not known why the girl changed her mind. A HSE spokesman said it did not comment on individual children in the care of the authority. Details:CLICK TO READ MORE.....
Need for Referendum on Child Protection Issues Will be Debated
The Irish Government has signalled that it may introduce new laws to strengthen child protection as an alternative to holding a divisive referendum on the issue. Instead, a range of legislative options, which may not need a change to the Constitution, are being explored. These include laws which could allow for the sharing of "soft information" relating to suspected sex offenders; to protect young people from sexual assault, while allowing for a defence of honest mistake relating to the age of the young person; to protect young rape victims from adversarial cross-examination. The chairman of the Joint Oireachtas (parliamentary) Committee on the Constitutional Amendment for Children Mary O'Rourke said there was a "growing feeling in the committee" that as much as possible could be achieved by legislation. "That's not to say that there won't be a referendum, but the main task facing us is to ensure the safety of young girls and women in general", she said. Details: CLICK TO READ MORE.....
Every Embryonic Human Person is a Wonder of Creation
The Catholic Bishop of Lancaster, England, has lamented the cheapening of human life. According to Rt Rev Patrick O'Donoghue, "Every embryonic human person is a wonder of creation, who possesses the inherent right to realise his or her potential for creativity, love, self-sacrifice, and joy." There was no evidence, he said, that animal-human embryos could be of any therapeutic use. Cures for diseases should not be sought, he pointed out "at the cost of de-personalising the unborn and treating them as things to be manipulated and dissected". Details: CLICK TO READ MORE.....
UK Man Jailed for Unborn Baby Death
A man from Liverpool, England, has been jailed for killing an unborn child. Mr David King, aged 31, kicked Ms Hayley Cain who was pregnant with their son, who was later born dead. Mr King has expressed regret. Details: CLICK TO READ MORE.....
'Dead' Man Wakes as Transplant Surgeons Prepare to Remove his Organs
A patient, presumed dead, revived as transplant surgeons in Paris began the process of removing his organs. The city's university hospital's ethics committee has reportedly been told that doctors massaged his heart for 90 minutes before surgeons arrived. He began breathing and now can talk and walk. France recently changed its law to allow the harvesting of organs without a declaration of brain death. Details: CLICK TO READ MORE.....
Adult Stem Cell Findings Offer New Hope for Parkinson's Cure
Recent Australian research provides evidence that a cure for Parkinson's disease could lie just inside the nose of patients themselves. The Griffith University study published in the journal “Stem Cells” found that adult stem cells harvested from the noses of Parkinson's patients gave rise to dopamine-producing brain cells when transplanted into the brain of a rat. The debilitating symptoms of Parkinson's such as loss of muscle control are caused by degeneration of cells that produce the essential chemical dopamine in the brain. Current drug therapies replace dopamine in the brain, but these often become less effective after prolonged use. The discovery is the work of the National Centre for Adult Stem Cell Research, part of Griffith's Eskitis Institute for Cell and Molecular Therapies. Medicine and Health Research. Details: CLICK TO READ MORE.....