by NexDev | May 24, 2017 | News
On May 24th, the Criminal Court in the region of Savoie (French Alps) rendered its verdict for Ludivine Chambet, whose trial was held from 9th to 23rd May in Chambery.
Ludivine Chambet, who is accused of having poisoned 13 elderly patients, has been sentenced to 25 years of prison. The sentence also specifies 10 years of socio-judicial follow-up, and upon release from prison she will be banned from practicing her former profession.
The nursing assistant remained completely unemotional and stoic when the verdict was announced, probably due to the high doses of medicine that she has been taking for several years. After the trial, the ex-nursing assistant kept repeating that she only intended to “calm” the individuals at the nursing home, by having them drink poisonous medical “cocktails”, that the patients had not even requested.
On May 23rd, in his final closing argument, the General Counsel requested 30 years of prison, describing Ludivine Chambet “as a killer who acted with premeditation”. The court and the 6 jurors ruled that Ludivine Chambet “had impaired judgment” at the time the acts were committed, especially due to her “complete breakdown” following her mother’s death in June 2013. The psychiatrists described the mother-daughter relationship as pathological.
One of her lawyers declared: « A 25-year sentence is a sentence which leaves room for compassion and understanding for the unique circumstances in which these acts were committed”.
by NexDev | May 24, 2017 | Uncategorized
On May 16, the scientific journal Nature published the results of a research conducted by two American institutes: the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and the McCormick School of Engineering. They created a “bioprosthetic” ovary with 3D-printed gelatin scaffolding.
The first step involved a 3D-printer with a nozzle that fired gelatin to form porous scaffolding, creating a crosslinked matrix format where ovarian follicles could develop. See video.
The second step was to implant these synthetic ovaries with mouse follicles at different stages of their development. The team then surgically removed the real ovaries from seven mice and sutured the prosthetic ovaries in their place. The blood vessels from each mouse infiltrated the scaffolds, thus the ovaries were rapidly functional since vasculature and stimulation of hormone production was restored, as well as ovulation. The researchers allowed the mice to mate and three of the females gave birth to healthy litters. They were even able to nurse their pups since the lab-created ovaries triggered lactation. In turn, the mice from these litters were also able to conceive and give birth.
The end goal is to create bioprosthetic ovaries that can be used by women rendered infertile from diseases like cancer or their medical treatments.
by NexDev | May 24, 2017 | Prenatal diagnosis
On May 17, 2017, the French National Health Authority published an updated list of recommendations to screen for Down syndrome (Trisomy 21) during pregnancy. They specify the role and the conditions for performing new tests on fetal DNA circulating in the mother’s bloodstream.
A blood sample from the mother is tested for the presence of the baby’s genetic fragments. This is a “screening” technique, and not a “diagnosis” for Down syndrome since many potential errors remain. Only amniocentesis or trophoblast biopsies are reliable diagnosis methods which can verify or contradict the screening test result.
In 2015, following the Health Minister’s referral, the National Health Authority had already evaluated the performance of the tests. Today the recommendations for performing the screening test are specified. The purpose is to give pregnant women or couples the most reliable information possible for the risk of Down syndrome, and decrease having so-called invasive procedures performed which are needed to confirm the diagnosis.
During the first term, three criteria risks are used to evaluate the risk: a blood test for serial markers, a sonogram to measure the fetus’ nuchal translucency and the mother’s age.
The new screening test will be proposed as a complementary procedure for women whose risk is evaluated at 1 in 1000 versus the current proposition of performing amniocentesis when the risk is 1 in 250. Thus twice the number of women would be tested using this intensified screening technique. The National Health Authority estimates this will detect 15% more infants with Down syndrome, whereas the number of fetal karyotype exams by amniocentesis would decrease by 25%.
However, amniocentesis would only be proposed to women with a risk of 1 in 50, compared to previously when the risk was 1 in 250.
As a reminder, in 2014, approximately 18,500 pregnant women with a risk above or equal to 1 in 250 had “fetal karyotype” exams. The diagnosis of Down syndrome was only confirmed in approximately 750 of these cases.
By the decree dated May 5, 2017 in the French Official Journal, non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) was added to the list of screening tests for Down syndrome during pregnancy. The Paris Public Hospital Network has already announced it will incorporate this screening test throughout its sites for at-risk pregnancies.
by NexDev | May 18, 2017 | Medically Assisted Procreation
Twenty-three Dutch individuals, conceived through in vitro fertilization (IVF) during the 1980’s, have filed suit against Jan Karbaat, the late head of a sperm bank near Rotterdam, suspecting him of donating his own sperm and being their biological father.
Jan Karbaat, who died last April, is accused of having falsified sperm donor records. One of the claimants, 36-year old Moniek, declared that Mr Karbaat himself admitted to having fathered 60 children born by IVF. She testified: “he saw it as something noble. He had no notion of ethics and downplayed the impact on the IVF kids.”
On Friday, May 12, the 23 claimants requested for the Rotterdam Civil Court to perform DNA testing on the late sperm bank director. Although the latter stipulated in his will, that such tests should not be performed following his death, other arguments were presented by the legal system and the families’ lawyer justified: “This is an identity issue which helps someone develop his personality. It’s a child’s basic right to know his origins, who his parents are.”
The clinic was closed in 2009, due to administrative irregularities.
The verdict is due to be pronounced on June 2nd.
Last October, Dutch Health Minister, Edith Schipps, was shocked by the lack of sperm donor regulations in the country’s infertility clinics. Theoretically in the Netherlands, each donor is limited to a maximum number of six donations.
These past few years, several IVF scandals involving sperm donations, have been reported. Last September, an American doctor, was accused of having inseminated 50 patients with his own sperm from 1970 to 1980. In June 2016, in the UK, Canada and the USA, 36 women pressed charges when the donor chosen to be the biological father of their child was revealed to be a schizophrenic criminal and not a “neuro-scientific genius” as originally claimed.
Even without intentional abuse, there is a genuine risk that a brother and sister could live in the same neighborhood, as was the case when two best friends in England accidentally discovered that they had the same father.
In France in June 2012, the Canadian film Starbuck, was released relating how a man accidentally discovers he is the genitor of 533 children! Even if the storyline is fictitious, several true incidents worldwide demonstrate the complete lack of regulatory control for sperm donations. When the film was presented, the producer cited the famous quote from the New York Times: “We have more rules that go into place when you buy a used car than when you buy sperm.”
![[Press Release] New French Government: Alliance VITA more watchful than ever before](https://www.alliancevita.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Matignon.jpg)
by NexDev | May 17, 2017 | Press Releases
Alliance VITA’s first response after the new French Government appointments. General Delegate, Tugdual Derville gives us his reaction following the disclosure of Edouard Philippe’s government:
« Of course it is too early to evaluate the practical effect of these appointments. Nevertheless, here are a few comments:
- A conspicuous absence: the Ministry for the Family
A regrettable fact, if it means the collapse of a genuine family policy, which Emmanuel Macron implicitly announced during his presidential campaign when he promised individualized fiscal status for couples, thus degrading the value of the marital partnership. In our opinion, social policies to help families in difficulty should not replace an encouragement for families to stay together. Indeed, the family is a bulwark against the economic crisis and individualism, which ultimately affects the most vulnerable. However, it might be preferable not to have a Ministry dedicated to the family considering the deconstruction that prevailed during the previous presidential term, and the addition of an ‘S’ to the Ministry for the Family which became the “Ministry for Families”.
- Regarding the appointment of Nicolas Hulot, our wish is that his well-known concern for the environment should not overshadow the issue of human ecology, that is an ecology which considers the heavy threats on humanity itself, for example by misusing biotechnology. True ecology cannot actually exist without protecting humanity against transhumanist fantasy and all experiments are performed using the most vulnerable human beings, especially embryos.
- We welcome the appointment of two State Secretaries who are known as “mothers”: Marlène Schiappa, who audaciously communicated on her blog “Mom works” about the battles of young mothers. We hope that her investment in equality will also consider maternity as a value to humanity. Sophie Cluzel, appointed as State Secretary for Disabled Persons is committed to serve society, as mother of a child with Down’s syndrome. Knowing the derogatory attitude often adopted towards individuals with mental handicap, we are happy to have in this new government such an ambassador for these citizens who are too often forgotten or excluded.
These comments cannot predict the new government’s policies. We remain especially cautious on two issues:
- Euthanasia must not be insidiously introduced, making a broad interpretation of “the right for profound and continuous sedation until death”, which is written in the new law on the end-of-life, the Claeys-Leonetti law. VITA will request an appointment with Agnès Buzyn, the new Health and Social Solidarity Minister in order to clarify this matter.
- We ask the government not to cross the red boundary line of legalizing artificial reproduction for single women and homosexual females, which would purposefully deprive a child from his father and from any paternal reference. After the 36 destructive measures implemented during Holland’s 5-year term, such a law would bring a new civilization crisis, since it would allow reproduction without male-female parity, which is the basic origin of all gender parity.”
