Fracking Wastewater

Missing from this article is the additional tidbit that fracking waste also often contains radioactive particles. Who is most harmed by that, and the other known carcinogens in these liquids? The head of the EPA apparently has I can’t understand … Continue reading

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Looking at and Learning from SUPPORT’s Ethical Failures

I suppose that we should always be wary when the facts about an ethical dispute seem clear cut.  I say this because it strikes me that the vast majority of clinical medical ethical conflicts I have observed or read descriptions of tend to come down to misunderstanding or a lack of shared information.  For this reason, my first inclination when coming across an emergent issue in bioethics is to try to determine a) which facts are in dispute and b) where miscommunication may have occurred.  In situations as diverse as end-of-life care for Great Aunt Tillie to concerns about a NICU’s policies on perinates thinking about these two aspects have gone far in my experience in resolving disputes.

Thus it was with increasing confusion that I looked at the ethical concerns surrounding the Surfactant Positive Airway Pressure and Pulse Oximetry Trial (SUPPORT).  Here it did not seem that there were either facts in dispute or miscommunication between those seeing the study in very different lights.  (This of course is not to say that there was no miscommunication in the study itself; indeed this miscommunication strikes at the heart of the critique of the study.)  We all see what the study was and how the consent forms were written.  What we do not seem to agree on is how important the failings of those consent forms are.  This is not a miscommunication, but a difference in weighting of ethical standards.

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Medical evidence gone to pot?

In an article in the Globe and Mail, Anna Reid (President of the Canadian Medical Association) and Rocco Gerace (President of the Federation of Medical Regulatory Authorities of Canada) have argued against the recently released “Marijuana for Medical Purposes Regulations.”  The Regulations are designed to treat marijuana “as much as possible like other narcotics used for medical purposes.” Reid and Gerace emphasize that marijuana is not like other narcotics, or any other prescription drugs available in Canada, because it has never been subjected to clinical research that “provides physicians with critical information for the use of a medication including when to prescribe the drug and in what dosages, and what its benefits, risks and possible side effects are.”  This research is generally required by Health Canada before a drug can be made available; marijuana is an exception in this regard.

The reader comments on this article are (unsurprisingly) varied in their insightfulness, but many people have pointed out that marijuana has been “tested” by many more people than pretty much any prescription drug.  Of course, this does not establish that marijuana is effective for the treatment of pain or other medical conditions, but the commentary does echo some serious questions about the adequacy of pharmaceutical testing.

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The Ireland Abortion Debate

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Texas Senate Vote Puts Bill Restricting Abortion Over Final Hurdle

Read more here.Christopher Snape is viagra tablets online the Lighting Designer for your next production. Contact your health care provider at once if your erection continues for longer than four hours, or if you have a painful erection or it … Continue reading

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Rape in the Fields

There are approximately 600,000 women working in US agribusiness, many of whom are undocumented workers. While much has been written about the effect of global food on human health and much attention given to the obesity epidemic in the US, … Continue reading

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“They all wanted it done”: Eugenics — Now Showing In A State Prison Near You!

In 1924, Adolph Hitler wrote the following words: I have studied with great interest the laws of several American states concerning prevention of reproduction by people whose progeny would in all probability be of no value or injurious to the racial stock. … Continue reading

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Austerity Kills

The title of this review speaks for itself, and the issues are monumental for us and Its treatment on ED levitra online sales thought about this lasts for four to six hours. So you can purchase levitra online succumb to … Continue reading

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Stress

Source: Best Psychology Degrees … Continue reading

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The American Way of Birth: Higher Costs and Poorer Outcomes

While dozens of states in the US continue to make efforts to undermine reproductive rights, less attention has been given to the high cost and relatively poor outcomes for childbirth in the US. This New York Times article details the … Continue reading

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Women, politics and feminism: we need to watch our backs

The times are tough, both for women in politics, and regarding political decisions affecting women. Three recent events are particularly noteworthy. The first was the overthrow last week of the first female Australian Prime Minister, Julia Gillard. While I was scouring news sites for comment and analysis on that sorry affair, I noticed the extraordinary effort of Texan senator Wendy Davis to filibister a Senate Bill that aimed to introduce regulations with the potential to close 37 of the 42 clinics that provide abortions in Texas and to ban abortion after 20 weeks gestation. Her courage and tenacity have proved to be a lightening rod, attracting swelling support in the aftermath of her marathon speech. The contrast could not be greater between this event and the actions of Ohio’s governor in signing into law major restrictions on women’s reproductive rights in that state a few days later. As Steve Benen reports, Governor Kasich was surrounded by middle-aged white men as at the stroke of a pen, he introduced wide-ranging and draconian measures that will make seeking abortion, for women including those pregnant following rape, a far more onerous, expensive and difficult event than it needs to be.

How are these events linked?

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Dimitri Smirnov

Canada has rejected the application for permanent residency of a Russian man who has been living and working in Canada since 2006.  Dmitri Smirnov was born deaf and speaks American Sign Language, but was unable to demonstrate proficiency in either … Continue reading

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