Bioethics & Health News
February 1

February 1, 2006

One’s Own Stem Cells May Treat Lupus

For all of her 20s, when Edjuana Ross should have been relishing the thrill of early adulthood, she was instead in and out of hospitals, battling a disease that attacked her skin, brain and heart.
(AP)

Medical Corruption ‘Global Issue’

Corruption in healthcare systems remains a global problem in both poor and rich countries, and more must be done to stamp it out, a report says.
(BBC)

Partial Birth Abortion Act Ruled Unconstitutional by U.S. Courts

Two federal appeals courts yesterday upheld rulings that the Partial Birth Abortion Act, passed by Congress in 2003 but barred by the courts, is unconstitutional because it does not include an exception when the health of a pregnant woman is at risk.
(New York Times)

Shock Therapy, Version 2.0

Shock treatment for depression is making a comeback, and it no longer resembles a scene from One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.
(Wired)

UK: Embryo law update urged

The government’s genetics watchdog has called for a change in the law so the long-term safety of embryo screening can be investigated. Confidentiality clauses in fertility legislation forbid scientists from following the progress of babies born from screened embryos, so little is known about the medical problems they may face in the future.
(The Guardian)

U.N.: Polio Eradicated in Egypt, Niger

Polio has been stamped out in Egypt and Niger, leaving just four nations in the world where the deadly disease is endemic, the U.N. health agency said Wednesday.
(AP)