Popular Articles

Keep NHS General Practice Public For The Benefit Of Patients, Says British Medical Association
On Wednesday the BMA called on the Scottish Parliament Health Committee to support Government plans to remove the ability for commercial companies to provide NHS general practice services to patients.
pharmacy online
Picks For NIH Head, Surgeon General Side With Obama On Reproductive Issues, Despite Faith
Francis Collins, President Obama"s pick to head NIH, and Regina Benjamin, Obama"s surgeon general nominee, have spoken publicly about their religious beliefs but also have expressed views on issues such as embryonic stem cell research that conflict with church teachings, USA Today reports. Collins, who headed the Human Genome Project, is an evangelical Christian who supports the use of human embryonic stem cells in some medical research. Focus on the Family in a newsletter lauded Obama"s choice of an evangelical to lead NIH but said that abortion-rights opponents cannot support Collins" views, "particularly since he supports destructive human embryonic stem cell research."Benjamin is a Roman Catholic and sits on the board of the Catholic Health Association. She also is active in her local church and received a papal medal in 2006. According to USA Today, Catholic leaders from her native state of Alabama say they have not heard Benjamin voice support for abortion rights. The Bayou La Batre, La., medical clinic that she oversees does not perform abortions. Bill Donohue, president of the Catholic League, initially expressed support for Benjamin"s nomination, saying, "Her tireless and selfless efforts are a model for all physicians." He later said that he opposes any possible support she might give "mandated abortion coverage" in health reform.The White House has said that Benjamin agrees with Obama "on reproductive issues." Retired archbishop Oscar Lipscomb, who nominated Benjamin for the papal medal, said, "She is a practicing Catholic and faithful and, to the best of my knowledge, in all those questions that have arisen so far, there has never been a conflict in her practice and in her conversation with regard to what the church expects of medical practitioners." Former Surgeon General David Satcher, who taught Benjamin at Morehouse School of Medicine, said, "While the religion of the surgeon general may very well influence his or her ... approach, the message has to be the public health science," adding, "It"s not a religious message. It"s a public health science message."Emilie Townes, associate dean of academic affairs for Yale Divinity School, said that Obama"s choices represent his aim to "break the mold" of traditional politics, adding that Collins and Benjamin are examples of "big tent" evangelicalism and Catholicism (Banks, USA Today, 8/3).
News of the day
Dad's Early Connection With Child 'Writes Script' For Later School Involvement
When a dad changes diapers and makes pediatrician"s appointments, he"s more likely to stay interested and involved when his child makes the transition to school, said a new University of Illinois study that explores the role of parent involvement on student achievement.
Sexual Health

U.N. System Lacks 'Serious Focus On Gender' Issues, Opinion Piece Says

"The most lamentable and heart-breaking dimension of multilateralism" is the "absence of any serious focus on gender throughout" the United Nations system, Stephen Lewis, founder of AIDS-Free World, writes in a London Independent opinion piece. He adds, "I can cite chapter and verse, but let me start by telling you that whether it is poverty alleviation, or HIV and AIDS, or sexual violence and conflict, the whole panoply of discrimination visited on women around the world, particularly in developing countries, the U.N."s agencies and the Secretariat have been profoundly delinquent in their response."According to Lewis, the "struggle for gender equality has become the most important struggle on the planet; the continuing marginalization of 52% of the world"s population is simply unacceptable." He adds, "So we"re now engaged in an effort to create a new international agency for women, a fascinating undertaking that I hope will engage" governments. "Nothing approximates the possibility of finally having a vehicle that would give voice and res and support to the struggles of women around the world," Lewis writes, adding, "Everyone knows what"s happening in these areas about women"s vulnerability but there is never a consistent voice to bring it to the attention of the world community, to continue to hammer it home, to demand action from government." He concludes, "So the emergence and creation of a women"s agency I think would be a godsend internationally and would overcome the record of the United Nations on gender" (Lewis, Independent, 5/22). Reprinted with kind permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. © 2009 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.


Add your comment:
Name:
Site address: http://
Your message:
Enter today\\\\'s date, 2 digits
(spam protection):