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News, 22 December 2004
The parents of a young Californian woman
who died last year of septic shock after taking the RU 486 abortion drug have
filed wrongful death and product liability lawsuits against Danco Laboratories,
which supply the substance under the Mifeprex brand. Ms Cynthia Summers,
Danco's marketing director, has repeatedly denied any causal link between Mifeprex
and Holly Patterson's death. Dr Lester Crawford of the Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) said that death was due to the drug. The FDA has received nearly
700 complaints about the effects of RU 486/Mifeprex on women so far, resulting
in warnings of increased intensity being attached to the drug. [LifeNews.com,
21 December]
The Western Mail, a Welsh newspaper, has attacked
Baroness Warnock's recent pro-euthanasia statements. Ms Denise Robertson
criticises Lady Warnock for suggesting that the elderly should "creep off and
get out of the way" and that nursing homes are "a waste of money". Ms Robertson
writes "I don't believe in the unnecessary prolonging of life. I wouldn't want
to live as a vegetable. I was glad when people I loved desperately escaped the
final throes of terminal illness. But that is a long way from suggesting that
someone suffering from nothing more than aging or premature birth has no right
to fight for life." [Western Mail, 21 December]
The South Carolina Supreme Court has
rejected the 'wrongful life' lawsuit of Jeannie Willis, who argued that doctors
did not adequately inform her of her son Thomas' disabilities, which would have
allowed her the opportunity to terminate the pregnancy. Ms Willis said she
would have had an abortion if she had known that part of her son's brain was
missing. The court said, in a unanimous decision: "We embrace the
reasoning espoused by a majority of courts rejecting a wrongful life cause of
action". The court "conclude[s] that being born with a naturally
occurring defect or impairment does not constitute a legally cognizable injury
in such an action.". 27 other US states
have so far rejected 'wrongful life' lawsuits, although California, New Jersey and Washington allow
them. [LifeNews.com, 21 December]
Doctors at the Karolinska Research
Institute, Sweden, have used fetal stem cells to treat a child with brittle bone
disease while she was still in the womb. Patients with osteogenesis imperfecta are
abnormally prone to fractures, but the little girl, now two and a half, has
suffered just three. Genetically unmatched stem cells were transplanted from
another fetus. Celia Gotherstrom, leader of the team, said "The big
advance is that we have given stem cells that are completely unmatched and they
have not been rejected... It means we could give stem cells from any person to
another person." [Medical News Today, 21 December] It is not clear from
the source whether the treatment involved any harm to the donor child. The
removal of tissue from embryos is customarily fatal to them.
A company in Hull, East Yorkshire, due to open next
year will offer expectant parents the chance to see 4D ultrasound films of
their unborn children. The technology, frequently used in the US but
still rare in the UK, shows foetuses yawning, smiling and moving in the womb. The films
can be copied on to DVD. Ms Jayne Gamble, director of RSG 4D Baby Imaging, said
"Our service will be available to all mothers after 20 weeks of pregnancy
as, by that time, all the standard scans and checks for development of the
foetus are completed. This is a fantastic opportunity to view the foetus as the
baby's features and mannerisms develop." Her fellow director Nicola Scott
described the images as "like looking at the baby with your own eyes; it's wonderful.".
[NetDoctor, 21st Dec 2004]
An investigation by the Washington Post has found that at least 1,367 pregnant
women and new mothers have been murdered since 1999. According to the study, many
perpetrators are the fathers of unborn children who are killed with their
mothers who have refused to have an abortion. One example cited is that of Quinnisha
Thomas, shot dead when eight months pregnant by her ex-boyfriend who,
prosecutors argued, was afraid fatherhood would harm his musical career.
[LifeSite.com, 21 December]
Research at Pittsburgh and Louisiana led by Dr Jay Kolls may lead to ethical stem cell therapy for cystic fibrosis. Dr Kolls' team succeeded in coaxing stem cells from bone marrow to differentiate into the type of cells that line the lungs and airways, which malfunction in cystic fibrosis patients. Therapies developed with this technique would not have the risk of patient rejection since epithelial cells derived from the patient's own stem cells would be used. [post-gazette.com, 21 December]
To subscribe to SPUC's email information services, please visit www.spuc.org.uk/em-signup. The reliability of the news herein is dependent on that of the cited sources, which are paraphrased rather than quoted. Opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the society. © Society for the Protection of Unborn Children, 2012
