by NexDev | January 27, 2017 | Uncategorized
Scientists have now created mixed human/animal embryo chimeras reports the American journal Cell. Their stated objective is to be able to grow human organs inside animals for organ transplants.
The technique uses totipotent human stem cells (from human embryos or reprogrammed somatic cells): master cells which can produce any kind of tissue or organ. These are combined with host animal embryos, such as pigs in this case to create hybrids.
These human cells were implanted in animal embryos, thus producing 2000 “chimerical” or hybrid embryos which contain both human and animal cells. More than 150 embryos were allowed to continue their development and were then implanted in the surrogate pig mother’s uterus.
These pig-human embryos were allowed to develop for 28 days, (corresponding to the first trimester for a pig’s pregnancy) before scientists stopped the experiment and removed the embryos. If they had allowed the pregnancy to continue until its term, it would have resulted in the birth of “partially-human” piglets. The study demonstrated signs that human cells had started to be transformed into muscle cells.
The group led by Izpisua Belmonte discovered that human stem cells need to be injected at exactly the right stage in their own development for them to survive and become part of the growing animal. Another challenge is that the pig pregnancy lasts about 112 days, compared to nine months in humans, meaning that the embryonic cells are developing at completely different rates.
Similar studies had previously been carried out with mice, but « This is the first time we have observed human cells growing inside a larger host animal” declared Professor, Juan Carlos Izpisua Belmonte at the Salk Institute. Several different goals were stated for their research study. For instance: to incubate human organs, genetically-matched to a transplant patient, to test new therapeutic drugs, and also to study certain diseases, better understand embryonic growth or the differences in the development of certain organs.
Professor Juan Carlos Izpisua Belmonte, at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, California and senior author of the paper said: “This is a real breakthrough. The ultimate goal is to grow functional and transplantable tissue or organs (pancreas, liver, heart…) in animal hosts, but we are far away from that. This is an important first step.”
To overcome immunological compatibility issues, DNA modification may also be at stake. To create piglets with a human pancreas, the scientists used the gene-editing technique, CRISPR-Cas9, to turn off the gene that makes the pancreas. Thus, the human pancreas created by the human-pig chimera could be used to treat severe diabetes cases. And if human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS) come from the patient himself, such transplants would no longer entail life-long immunosuppressive therapy.
These experiments raise numerous ethical concerns. The US National Health Institute (NIH) imposed a moratorium on funding for the controversial experiments research last year while these risks were considered.
Dr. Daniel Garry, a cardiologist who leads a different chimera project at the University of Minnesota states that the chimera research “had prompted a range of troubling questions, including whether the progeny would look more human or more pig, which would happen if a chimera had human thought, and whether it was possible for the human cells to cannibalize the pig embryo, resulting in a mostly-human, slightly-pig offspring”.
Professor John De Vos, from the Department of Cell and Tissue Engineering at Saint-Éloi hospital (Montpellier, France) states: “Limits for the acceptable percentage of human brains in animals need to be established, and strictly regulated, limiting the percentage of human neurons to 1% for example”.
He adds that certain boundaries should not be crossed. “The first is the transfer of human cells into animal brains, since it raises the specter of intelligent animals with humanized brains”. Different means have been conceived to avoid this risk, for instance, a gene responsible for central nervous system development could be deactivated in the iPS cells prior to injection into animal embryos. Another solution might involve programming iPS cells to only produce digestive system or cardiovascular cells, and in no case whatsoever, produce neurons. The scientist adds: “There is another red line not to be crossed: never produce human gametes via the reproductive organs from human-animal chimeras”. Finally, any animals with a human resemblance such as a porcine embryo with hands or feet resembling that of humans should be sacrificed before birth.
Will humankind’s identity be blurred by such research which clouds the differentiation between humans and animals? Who knows where embryo manipulation will stop?
![[Press Release] Numerical Obstruction to Abortion: VITA denounces an alarming bill against the freedom of speech and women’s’ rights to be informed.](https://www.alliancevita.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/C4xwAEJWIAAo7NB.jpg)
by NexDev | January 26, 2017 | Abortion, Press Releases
After the French Joint Parliamentary Committee failed to reach an agreement on the bill, a new version has just been voted which combines the amendments made during the first reading, by the MP’s as well as by the Senators.
At this stage, the result is an alarming bill which infringes the right to freedom of speech and the right, for the women concerned, to be correctly informed. The impartiality of information is at stake, as well as any preventive measures on pressure to abort, which are currently both denied and ignored. By combining both versions, the scope of the offence has been considerably extended. Any individual “searching information on abortion” even off the premises where abortions are practiced, and even if the person is not considering an abortion herself, can declare she is a victim of pressure. Henceforth, any real debate on abortion would be forbidden.
Caroline Roux, Alliance VITA’s Coordinator for Listening Services Crisis Center declares:
The debate as well as the final text adopted by the MP’s are completely preposterous. Every day our services listen to women who wonder whether or not to continue with their pregnancy, and we perfectly understand how unfair this is for women who are already facing biased and incomplete public information. The government shows no qualms about misleading women on its own “official” website, denying the reality of abortion and its consequences. If a woman voices her pain following an abortion will she be convicted of the crime of “dissuading”? This offence severely infringes the right to freedom of speech. It cracks down on those helping women to avoid abortion, if they wish so – a social mission which the public authorities refuse to fulfill. Here is the really unbelievable scandal that should be denounced. Showing the truth about abortion, without trying to hide its consequences, is a question of social justice and humanity.”
Tugdual Derville, Alliance VITA’s General Delegate states:
« Because our initial request has gone unanswered, Alliance VITA will now file suit against the government to have their video purporting that abortion has no long-term psychological side-effects, deleted from their web site, because this information is biased. It is not only an outrageous contempt of the truth, but a particularly painful rejection of what some women live through. In addition, we request for the presidential election candidates, to formally oppose the dozen of legislative and regulatory measures which have been implemented to trivialize abortion, especially since abortion is now free of charge whereas the acts for continuing with a pregnancy are not. Such discrimination is highly symbolic of the government’s pressure to abort.”
On November 30, 2016, Alliance VITA sent a registered letter to French Health Minister, Marisol Touraine, via its Barrister Hugues Hourdin, officially requesting that inexact or biased information be deleted from the government’s abortion web site: www.ivg.social-sante.gouv.fr. This information is misleading for individuals who consult their site.
On November 29, 2016 our association launched an unprecedented information campaign to reduce abortion, focused on men’s opinion to clarify misunderstandings on sexuality, contraception and pregnancy. These misconceptions account for many abortions that women reluctantly undergo, and which could be avoided.
by NexDev | January 25, 2017 | Uncategorized
On January 24, the French Joint Parliamentary Committee’s failure to reach an agreement, demonstrates just how controversial the new legislation on numerical obstruction to abortion is. The text will thus be debated again at the National Assembly on January 26.
This bill intends to criminalize internet sites providing listening services and information on abortion that differ with the government’s official approach. This ideological posture is contested both by the Left and the Right, because it seriously violates citizens’ freedom of speech and attacks women’s rights to be informed. In fact, the issue of objective information is truly at stake, but also that of preventing pressure on women to abort.
The government’s fast-track schedule
The government, which originated the bill, is trying to ram it through in order to cast votes before the Parliamentary session ends in February, due to Presidential elections.
The first reading at the National Assembly was held on December 1 then in the Senate on December 7: an unusually short time lapse. The two assemblies voted on different texts (refer to our Decoder for a detailed analysis of the contents and its implications), and the Joint Committee who met yesterday was unable to agree on a common text.
The next steps
In the new reading scheduled for tomorrow, the majority of the MP’s will most likely try to go back to their initial version, which is also the one initially promoted by the government.
If the Senators maintain their position, a new reading is planned for February, with the government aiming to have the last vote by the National Assembly before the end of February, thus before the Parliament ends its term.
In this event, the Constitutional Council will undoubtedly be called upon, since the fundamental principle for freedom of speech is attacked, as well as the confusion in the new bill, which appears to be unconstitutional.
by NexDev | January 24, 2017 | Medically Assisted Procreation
The European Court of human Rights (ECHR) has reversed its decision given in the first instance which condemned Italy in the Paradiso Campanelli case in which the couple had recourse to surrogacy, an unlawful practice in Italy. Unlike France who adopted the successive ECHR decisions for 5 surrogacy cases in 2 years, Italy decided to appeal, questioning the Court’s decision.
Alliance VITA is an active member of No Maternity Traffic and supports their statement.
« No Maternity Traffic welcomes the decision of the Grand Chamber of the European court of Human Rights (ECHR) that has reversed the decision of the Section that condemned Italy in first instance.
The international coalition No Maternity Traffic was involved throughout the whole procedure to oppose the decision in first instance of the ECHR, decision which approved the sale of children.
The Italian government had indeed decided to remove a few months after his birth the surrogate-born child from the purchasers who had no biological connection with him, all the more as this practice is prohibited in Italy.
Through this ruling that judged Italy’s decision proportionate, the Italian government’s action against the sale of children by surrogacy is confirmed.
The ECHR thus recognises that Member States have the right to defend themselves against the fait accompli of their citizens who resort to the practice of surrogacy abroad.
This decision proves once again that France should have lodged an appeal against the Mennesson and Labassée decisions. The current judgment may encourage the future French government but also other Member Sates to better defend the interests of women and children against surrogacy.
Nevertheless, No Maternity Traffic regrets that the ECHR has not more expressly condemned surrogacy, a practice that violates human rights and women and children dignity in an unprecedented way.
No Maternity Traffic will relentlessly keep to its commitment to obtain the international prohibition of surrogacy by the competent international institutions. »
by NexDev | January 23, 2017 | News
A bill of law which extends even more the definition of the crime of obstruction to abortion will soon be voted. In this context Alliance VITA’s coordinator for the listening service crisis center, Caroline Roux, speaks out against a deliberate rejection of the truth and an serious attack on the freedom of expression.
« Mrs. Rossignol, French Minister for Families, Children and Women’s Rights has declared war on Internet sites, which in her opinion, give ‘biased information on the consequences of abortion. Her intention is to extend the definition of obstruction to abortion to include all information given by associations who refuse to regard abortion as a trivial operation and who are willing to consider the dilemma of a woman facing an abortion.
For the past several years, the quality of information for abortion has consistently deteriorated. Many women who wish to avoid an abortion, are inevitably driven to abortion as a foregone conclusion, only because they have not been appropriately attended to or they have not received complete and unbiased information. According to the survey conducted by INED (the French National Institute for Demographic Studies), 72% of women who abort were using contraception when their pregnancy was discovered. Many women are alone and anxious when facing an unplanned pregnancy. Regardless of their age, many women feel rejected or judged when confronted with an unplanned pregnancy. Some women tell us that they reluctantly consider abortion, under pressure from their partner, their families, or their employer, in fear of losing their jobs.
Even if some people are strongly opposed to abortion as a matter of principle, does society still have the right to let women believe that abortion is only an innocuous and trivial procedure?
The government’s web site for abortion shows completely one-sided information. No information whatsoever is given on the rights or financial assistance that could help women who wish to continue with their pregnancy. In a video, a gynecologist asserts that there are “no long-term psychological side-effects for abortions”. Yet the French National Authority for Health rightly pointed out that there was a lack of objective evaluation on post-abortion psychological consequences. If some women profess not feeling any side-effects, other women suffer and sometimes for many years following an abortion, and they are officially denied any communication of the feelings they experience.
Underestimating women’s feelings is equivalent to mistreating them, as demonstrated by a recent study carried out by scientists at INSERM (French Medical Research Institute). This survey underlines the lack of information on the consequences of a medically-induced abortion. After such procedure 27% of women report having “very severe pain” described as 8 on a scale of 10. The authors recommend protocols to improve pain management.
Medically-induced abortions, the most predominately used method in France, are practiced in hospitals prior to 7 weeks of pregnancy, and at home prior to 5 weeks of pregnancy. This forces women to make a rapid decision, without time for reflection, particularly when they are under pressure from their families or suffering domestic violence. Many women experience inner turmoil, completely aware that the life of a human being and their own future is at stake. Yet, the psychological trauma that leads women to abort is largely ignored.
Does Mrs. Rossignol intend to prevent women from expressing the suffering and pressure they experience? The studies published regarding violence perpetrated on women in a domestic setting should be a wake-up call. For 40% of the 201,000 women concerned every year, their partner’s violence began with their first pregnancy. A study on the relationship between abortion and violence reveals that very few doctors routinely ask women requesting an abortion about any violence they may have suffered. Women who confide in our listening service report: “No one asked me anything”. They feel their suffering is completely neglected, whether it is domestic violence, emotional, social or economic pressure.
This situation can only be exacerbated by the recent legal decision to delete the criterion for distress and the week’s waiting period for reflection. Society is thus approving the legal injunction to decide without any prior reflection. The IFOP survey “The French and Abortion” published September 2016, proved a completely opposite view from that of the government: 72% think that society should do more to help women avoid abortion.
To insist on trivializing abortion, considering it as a procedure without any personal, social, nor ethical impact is a deliberate rejection of the truth. Is it acceptable for 220,000 French women to abort every year, twice the number
of abortions in Germany? The government should urgently reconsider its own abortion information prevention policy. By creating this new crime, it does not only infringe on the freedom of speech for associations and on women’s rights to be correctly informed, but the government is taking the risk to see this measure ultimately backfire.”
Editorial by Caroline Roux, Alliance VITA’s Assistant chief delegate and Director for Crisis Center Listening Service – article published November 30, 2016 in “Atlantico”.
