Bioethics & Health News
December 20

December 20, 2005

Federal Survey Shows Unwanted Births Up

More American women are having babies they didn’t want, a survey indicates, but federal researchers say they don’t know if that means attitudes about abortion are changing.
(AP)

South Korean University Begins Stem Cell Probe

A South Korean university has seized the computer of an embattled stem cell scientist and will release the initial findings this week of a probe into whether his team actually made tailored stem cells, it said on Monday.
(Reuters)

Gene Therapy Appears to Relieve Parkinson’s Symptoms

Brad Arens believes an experimental gene therapy has offered him a miracle this holiday season: some relief from the steady march of Parkinson’s.
(USA Today)

Doctors and Retailers Skirmish Over Scarce Flu Vaccines

Every day, Dr. Arleen Sharpe of Dobbs Ferry, N.Y., sees patients who need a flu vaccine but cannot have one because her office received fewer than half of the 800 doses it ordered for a large family practice of 10,000 patients.
(New York Times)

In the Chaos of Homelessness, Calendars Mean Nothing

I knew from a note left by her case manager that the homeless woman I was waiting to see had a history of trauma, terrible mood swings, past suicide attempts.
(New York Times)

Survey: Teens Smoke Less, Take More Pills

America’s teens are smoking less and popping pain pills more. The lure of the family medicine cabinet helped nearly one in 10 high school seniors try out prescription painkillers last year, even as their generation continued turning away, at least slightly, from smoking and many other drugs.
(AP)