by NexDev | September 11, 2015 | Uncategorized
On Wednesday, September 9, 2015, the European Parliament adopted the Rodrigues Report; by a vote of 408 in favor vs. 236 against and 40 abstentions. Entitled: Emancipation of young girls by education in the European Union,” the resolution elaborated by the Portuguese European Deputy, Liliana Rodrigues, had been first adopted on June 16th by the Commission for Women’s Rights and for Equal Genders at the European Parliament.
This report “aims at assuring equality and autonomy of girls, via education, at complying with the Istanbul convention as a tool to prevent discrimination between sexes, at creating cultural thinking at school based on equality of sexes, at supervising in a critical manner the programs and pedagogical material, at assuring equality of the sexes concerning personal and professional decisions and at improving the percentage of women in positions of responsibility and higher executive positions.” declared Liliana Rodrigues.
The resolution promotes measures of equality of the sexes, which should apply to all levels of the educational system, including teacher-training programs in order to put an end to these sort of stereotypes.
The Parliament’s press release defines the objective of the Rodrigues report: “The deputies consider that education related to questions of sexual equality, should be included in the scholastic program, and that the didactic material should not contain discriminatory, stereotypical, or sexist material. To promote an education without stereotypes, teachers should receive training on equality and the educational material for their programs should be reviewed in a critical manner. In addition, the member States could envisage a plan for making sexual education compulsory according to each age in every primary and secondary school education program (…). And to fight against the discriminations founded on sexual orientation and gender identity, the deputies have asked the Commission to support including objective information concerning questions of gender in their Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex (LGBTI) scholastic programs.”
Hoping to have a large impact on the educational content and on “educating parents”, this report, which contains numerous references to gender ideology, had aroused enormous controversy. To denounce the risks, a petition addressed to the President of the European Parliament has already been signed by more than 160 000 people.
by NexDev | September 11, 2015 | End of life, News, Palliative care
On September 10, 2015 while the Medical College in Quebec was due to publish an administrative protocol for doctors, regarding medical assistance in dying, the 29 centers for Palliative Care declared that they would not practice any acts of euthanasia. The Palliative Care Unit at the Montreal University Hospital Center also supported this position.
Nearing the approach of the December 2015 date for enacting Law 52, dealing with care at life’s end including palliative care, terminal sedation and euthanasia under the term “Medical Assistance to Die”, which has been adopted on June 5, 2014, the Palliative Care centers in Quebec declared that they would not perform euthanasia in their centers. The doctors point out the fact that it is a practice incompatible with the philosophy and values of these centers, in that it is neither health care nor palliative care.
The minister for Health in Quebec, Gaétan Barrette, intends to “make them step in line”. Lawyer Jean-Pierre Ménard, a jurist who participated in drawing up Law 52, even threatens financial sanctions. Yet, the law says clearly in article 13 that palliative care centers are not required to carry out euthanasia: “Palliative Care Homes determine the Life’s End care that they offer in their establishments.”
The 29 palliative care homes in Quebec are independent on the legal front; however, the health minister has insisted that all public sector health establishments will be required to establish procedures for proposing “medical assistance to die”.
The association “Living in Dignity” and the “Group of doctors” against euthanasia have added their voices “to those speaking for palliative care homes, to reaffirm that there is no need for euthanasia and that it would be even more damaging to the care of all to allow its access in places of palliative care.” These associations denounce the threats of reprisals and the false interpretations of the law which are spread around.
This standpoint arrives at a time when the action of the public powers is strongly criticised on their management of residential centers and long-term care centers and on the poor quality of care given to older patients in these centers.
Further Reading:
Law 52 concerning health care
by NexDev | September 11, 2015 | Maternity, News
The Spanish Senate finally adopted on Sept 10, 2015 a law to reform the access to abortion for minors by introducing the necessity for parental permission.
The reform’s objective was to give fathers and mothers “the capacity to advise their daughter and to be present at a difficult moment in her life”, explained Senator Maria Dolores Pan, from the Popular Majority Party in Spain.
In France, parental permission was removed by the law of 2001. Alliance Vita is often called upon by young under-age girls via their ‘hot-line’ listening and accompaniment service, concerning the social consequences that an abortion hidden from the parents can have. To deliberately create such a secret can have a large impact on the relationship between daughter and parents, the latters only being able to witness, without understanding it, the often-traumatic impact of an abortion, for a girl who is confronted with it, all alone and at an early stage of her life. This medical secret puts family doctors and other professionals who treat the young girl in a difficult situation; such as school nurses, teachers, or even the father of the child, and the girls’ parents. All carry the secret of an act which can have serious repercussions in the life of a young girl, without having her parents informed, those who are her legal and natural long-term protectors. We all know how family secrets that persist in the long term can be a source of misunderstanding and moral sufferings which impact future generations.
Although minors today have the right to have abortions anonymously and without paying, they cannot continue their pregnancy without parental knowledge. This imbalance is accentuated by another imbalance in the way minors are informed and accompanied on these issues. Thus, public information structures for youth, especially those sponsored by Family Planning groups, do not propose any accompaniment, counsel, listening service, or orientation for minors to help them in the follow-up of their pregnancy, and yet this is needed for them in order to make a free choice. Since it is indispensable to prevent traumatisms linked to abortions having been submitted to under pressure, or constraints, the Family Planning centers have developed protocols for abortion, but not in the direction of accompanying a pregnancy. This can already give a certain orientation to the decision-making process of the youth who consult them. This imbalance leads certain minors to abort under psychological constraints.
A single office would also be necessary to limit the number of interlocutors, in view of the feelings and the sensitivity of the youth. In such situations, a respectful and caring accompaniment is indispensable. Yet, once over the shock of the announced pregnancy, and for some people the anger or panic, parents of pregnant minors are generally in the best place to express concern and understanding for their daughter. Nonetheless, these latter need specific protection to avoid being forced to have an abortion. Alliance Vita has specifically asked at several intervals these past years, to add to Family Planning Centers, the mission of accompaniment, listening, orientation and follow-up of minors who wish to continue their pregnancy. Abortions by minors, which concerns more than 10 000 youth every year, remains a serious question for our society.
See the file: Avoiding abortion for minors: Analysis and perspectives
by NexDev | September 6, 2015 | Bioethics, Human embryo research
In England, the Academy of Medical Science (AST), and several counsels and associations signed on September 2, 2011 a common declaration supporting research and financing for genetic modification, notably those related to the technique known as “CRISPR/ cas9”.
These techniques are promising and are rapidly progressing. The authors call for continuing these researches and promoting them. But they also solicit a widespread debate among scientific and ethical researchers, patients and their families, legislators and the general public on the manner that these emerging techniques of the future could be used clinically, to treat or prevent serious genetic diseases.
The possibility of genetic modification also concerns the human embryo at the development stage and the germinal cells (ovules, spermatozoids). In particular, these techniques raise ethical questions, about the risks of their impact on following generations, which must be anticipated and rapidly explored.
Authors: The Association of Medical Research Charities (AMRC), The Academy of Medical Sciences (AMS) Medical Research Council (MRC) The Wellcome Trust, the Biotechology and Biological sciences Research Council (BBSRC)
Further information: Common declaration
by NexDev | September 6, 2015 | News
“From the Heart to the Peripheries: Society is waiting for us.”
This was the theme of Alliance VITA’s 18th Summer University Seminar, which was held in Lyon from August 28-30, and which gathered approximately 300 participants. The Alliance VITA members present reflected in small groups on what “the heart” of the association was for them, before exploring together the conditions and variables of a dialogue towards the “peripheries ”, whether it be geographical, sociological, cultural or ideological.
Among the speakers were communication experts, social workers and doctors who presented their analyses and testimonies. The talk given by Georgina Dufoix, former Minister of Social Affairs and National Solidarity, was a highlight moment for this Summer University, said Tugdual Derville, general delegate for Alliance VITA: “I particularly appreciated the courageous witness of Georgina Dufoix who encouraged us to pursue our actions, with great kindness towards people, decision-makers, and keeping in mind the requirement for justice and truth regarding their actions.”
Organised each year at the end of summer, the Summer University is a place of revitalising for the members of Alliance VITA, in particular for those who exercise local responsibilities. This year the theme “From the Heart to the Peripheries” allowed to reaffirm the specific mission of the association in French society. For Tugdual Derville : “Far from turning us in on ourselves, we are assuming our humanitarian responsibility, both social and political, at the heart of society.” And François-Xavier Pérès, president of the association, concluded: “We come out of these three days of “Summer University” in wonder before the fruitfulness of the work accomplished by our teams throughout the year, and above all boosted for continuing our commitment in the service of the most fragile over and above all bounds ! »
