by NexDev | May 16, 2017 | News
The trial for Ludivine Chambet, a 34-year-old nursing assistant opened on May 9, 2017, at the Criminal Court in Chambery. She is accused of having “poisoned” 13 elderly patients between November 2012 and November 2013 at the nursing home where she worked. Ten of the patients died.
Arrested on December 12, 2013, Ludivine Chambet admitted to administering unauthorized medicine to 13 elderly patients to “calm” them. She denies having any intention to kill them.
During the court hearing, the police chief investigating the case testified that when he asked the nurse assistant how many patients she had killed, her initial reaction was to look down at her fingers and start counting…
When her computer was confiscated, the memory search revealed titles such as “How to put a man to death”. Ludivine Chambet denies having any memory of this.
The first 3 days of the hearing, she remained petrified with fear, but on May 11, she turned towards the victims’ families and stated: “I am truly regretful and I feel awful. Not a day goes by when I don’t think about this… Forgive me for what happened”.
Ludivine Chambet is described as someone mentally fragile, having taken anti-depressant medication since the age of 18.
The trial which began on May 9th will most likely take 2 weeks with the verdict to be pronounced on May 24th. Ludivine Chambet risks life imprisonment.
by NexDev | May 12, 2017 | Medically Assisted Procreation
Scientists are alarmed by the tremendous rise in the number of births by in vitro fertilization (IVF) in Europe. As reported in the European Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Reproductive Biology the tally has now reached more than 1.4 million IVF-infants born since 1997. The use of assisted reproduction techniques (ART) is constantly increasing, thereby creating a genuine “European paradox” in their opinion: a growing demand for IVF in spite of stable biological fertility rates.
This increase could be due to several different factors, such as having children later in life. However in 2008 the World Health Organization (WHO) modified the criteria for diagnosing infertility after only 1 year, instead of the previous 2-year period. Another considerable factor is the ART “business” in Europe: “As it is customary in business practices, advertising campaigns create a demand, which in turn creates more supply. Thus the marketing campaign for IVF has most likely contributed to this increase”. Some internet sites also promote the dream of having a child under any circumstances, and claim that clients will be “satisfied or reimbursed”.
Already in 2004, the ART specialists from the UK, the Netherlands and Australia had published the same conclusion in the British Medical Journal. In their opinion, IVF had become a “profit-making business”. Their publication warned against overtreatment of couples with a reasonable chance of conceiving naturally, or for cases without any specific reason. The authors reaffirmed their support for establishing guidelines and standard operating procedures.
by NexDev | May 12, 2017 | Bioethics
On May 3, 2017 Molecular Therapy published the results of an American group’s progress to suppress virus replication of the Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and therapy for the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS).
According to the WHO’s statistics, at the end of 2015, there were 36.7 million people infected worldwide with HIV. Although there are therapies which limit the spread of the virus throughout the body, there is not yet a treatment which can totally eradicate the virus or cure AIDS, including symptoms of the immune system cell destruction by the HIV.
The scientists removed the HIV from mice cells with the CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing technique, excising the DNA fragments modified by the virus. In addition to eradicating the genome in the infected mice, the replication of the virus was significantly decreased in all 3 groups of mice used for the experiment (one group infected with human HIV, one group having received injections of human cells affected by HIV, and a group of “transgenic” mice that were also contaminated.
The Director at the Pasteur Institute, Professor Olivier Schwartz, declares the results to be « potentially interesting”. But he also states, “one mustn’t jump to conclusions for human therapy. (…) the amount of viral RNA eliminated is insufficient to be qualified as a cure. It is difficult to imagine a therapeutic strategy with CRISPR-Cas9 that could reach all the pernicious dormant cells.”
Dr Kamel Khalili, one of the co-authors of the article says: “the next step is to carry out research on primates since they are the most reliable animals for studying HIV infection. “
by NexDev | May 12, 2017 | Prenatal diagnosis
Non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) on fetal DNA circulating in the mother’s bloodstream has just been added to the list of screening tests for Down’s syndrome during pregnancy, by a decree published on May 7th in the Official Journal in France. The Paris Public Hospital Network has already announced it will incorporate this screening test throughout its sites for at-risk pregnancies.
Until now, this test was still being evaluated, and was not yet even legalized in France. Screening for Down’s syndrome currently involves several steps: first a sonogram to measure “nuchal translucency”, then by comparing this result with other serial markers to evaluate the risk factors. The final diagnosis is then confirmed by amniocentesis, which consists in withdrawing amniotic liquid, a so-called invasive procedure, inconvenient for the mother, but risky for the fetus as well, since 1% of the amniocentesis techniques performed, provoke a miscarriage. Although the NIPT is promoted as a means of both screening and diagnosing via a simple maternal blood sample, thus decreasing the need for amniocentesis, it cannot however confirm any false negatives.
On May 2, 2017, the Paris Public Hospital Network announced this screening technique would be part of their standard operating practice even though the French National Health Authority has not yet rendered its decision concerning the test’s ethical aspects. The NIPT is not reimbursed by the government’s health care insurance. Nevertheless the Parisian hospitals are proposing these tests free of cost, as they are being “financed by the Health Ministry”. In France the usual fee charged by the Cerba or Biomnis laboratories is 390 €.
Already in 2013, the French National Consultative Ethics Committee emphasized that “even though they might be less numerous, there is still an ethical issue to be addressed concerning the way society accompanies those infants who are born handicapped.”
Caroline Roux, Alliance VITA’s Listening Service Coordinator:
« The pressure from doctors and the government to screen for Down’s syndrome is only exacerbated by this simple maternal blood test. We’ve become increasing aware that any diagnostic technique during pregnancy which is not accompanied by therapeutic or healthcare propositions tends to make future parents anxious. Parents receive a formal notification and are forced to « make a decision » even though the life of their child is at stake. Currently, 96% of fetuses diagnosed with Down’s syndrome are aborted. We are shocked by the Parisian hospital network’s decision to implement NIPT, financed at the last minute by the Health Ministry, just before the new president takes office. Inevitably, targeting children affected with Down’s syndrome only marks the beginning of the chase for aborting other infants with genetic diseases. Prenatal screening to detect and abort babies with disabilities instead of doing research for their therapy or accompanying their families is an unprecedented injustice and constitutes a serious set-back from scientific, social and human viewpoints.
by NexDev | May 5, 2017 | Uncategorized
On May 4, 2017, the Court of Cassation refused to register a “neutral” gender on civil registries, after an individual requested to have his birth certificate modified for this status instead of masculine.
The unsuccessful 60-year-old plaintiff was born “intersex”, meaning that medically it is difficult to determine the biological sex. According to his doctor, he was born with both masculine and feminine genitalia – a “rudimentary vagina”, a “micro-penis” and no testicles. His parents gave him a boy’s name and his birth certificate was registered with “masculine gender”. Lately, in August 2015, at his request, the Court in Tours allowed his birth certificate gender to be changed from “masculine” to “neutral”. But the state prosecutor appealed that decision, since French law does not allow recognition of a “neutral” sex to be listed on birth certificates. In March 2016, this decision was overturned by the Orleans Appeals Court.
The Court of Cassation was then charged with deliberating the following issue: Is a “neutral sex” status allowable on birth registries?
By its refusal, the highest jurisdiction upheld that French law only allows male or female sexes to be listed on civil registries. They argued that such binarity has a legitimate objective, for both social and legal purposes, and upholds a basic principle. “If a judge were to recognize the existence of a third sexual category, there would be severe repercussions in French law, which is founded on the binarity of sexes and would thus imply modifying numerous legislative rules.”
Approximately 200 children per year are born in France with this type of condition. Some cases are rather complicated and may require careful and tactful medical and psychological accompaniment for children and their families to discern their sexual orientation.
Founder and member of the Organization Intersex International, Vincent Guillot, declares: “Intersex associations do not challenge the issues related to a “third sex”, “third gender, or “neutral gender”. Their unique request is to completely abolish listing sex or gender nomination altogether on civil registries and administrative documents for all citizens.”
As a philosopher, Bérénice Levet emphasizes: « The Civil Code represents a major battlefield for militant gender zealots.” As author of “The Gender Theory or the Dream World of Angels” she explains: “Recognizing a neutral gender status would finalize the (post-modern) deconstruction process. It would break off any relationship with one’s physical origin. (…) Those in favor of a “neutral” gender status appear to misunderstand the burden for a child to enter life without having a sexual identity”.
