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Opinion Piece Examines Abortion-Rights Opponents' Response To Connection Between Recession, Abortion
In response to recent news reports from Reuters, the Associated Press and other media outlets tying the recession to an increase in demand for abortion, the antiabortion-rights community is arguing that women are "choosing their own material comfort over the life of their unborn children" -- an interpretation that is "wrong on several accounts" -- Double X contributor Anna Murphy Paul writes in an opinion piece."No one wants her most intimate decisions to be driven by money," but, at the same time, "opting not to have a child you can"t afford to raise can be a realistic and responsible -- if painful -- choice, one often based on taking good care of the kids you already have" Murphy Paul says. She continues, "Nor is the intrusion of economic concerns on childbearing a phenomenon of this recession, or even the loosening of sexual mores over the past half-century; historically, financial hardship has been an ever-present motivation for ending a pregnancy."Murphy Paul cites the results of a 2005 Guttmacher Institute survey that found that nearly three-fourths of respondents said that the reason they decided to have an abortion was that they "could not afford a baby right now," which was the second-most common reason. The report found that the top reason for having an abortion was that children would interfere with women"s education, work or ability to care for dependents, all "concerns that are also largely economic in nature," Murphy Paul writes. She notes that at the time the study was published, "the Dow was still riding high, and the housing bubble seemed it would never pop." Murphy Paul adds that a 1987 Guttmacher survey on the same subject produced results "almost identical" to the 2005 survey.However, "to hear the pro-life activists tell it, women aren"t really struggling with difficult choices -- they just don"t want to give up the luxuries to which they"ve become accustomed," Murphy Paul writes. Abortion-rights opponents promote offers of counseling and no-cost infant supplies provided through "pregnancy re centers" to support women who choose not to have an abortion, but such centers often provide misleading information or offer little assistance beyond the first few months after birth, she says."Pro-life activists are surely right about one thing: It"s tremendously sad when a woman decides that she can"t bring into the world a child whom under better circumstances she would have welcomed," Murphy Paul continues. However, the "harsh rhetoric about selfishness and irresponsibility help far less than an acknowledgement of -- and lasting aid with -- the true costs of raising a child," she writes. According to Murphy Paul, in "the absence of such help, the most responsible act is to face economic reality head-on. For some women, that may mean abortion" (Murphy Paul, Double X, 5/15).
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Identification Of Potential Risks Of Therapies Taken By The Elderly
Researchers unveiled data during Digestive Disease Week® (DDW®) 2009 examining the potential risks associated with two commonly-used treatments, particularly among the elderly: acid suppressors and antithrombotics. DDW is the largest international gathering of physicians and researchers in the field of gastroenterology, hepatology, endoscopy and gastrointestinal surgery.
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Protein From Algae Shows Promise For Stopping SARS
A protein from algae may have what it takes to stop Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) infections, according to new research. A recent study has found that mice treated with the protein, Griffithsin (GRFT), had a 100 percent survival rate after exposure to the SARS coronavirus (SARS-CoV), as compared to a 30 percent survival for untreated mice.

Medigap Plans In Illinois To Benefit From Medicare Advantage Reimbursement Cuts.

HealthLeaders-InterStudy, a leading provider of managed care market intelligence, reports that planned cuts to Medicare Advantage reimbursement will benefit organizations offering Medicare supplement plans in Illinois. According to the recent Illinois Health Plan Analysis, the shift from Medicare Advantage to Medicare supplement plans, also known as Medigap plans, will likely benefit Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois, the state"s top Medigap insurer. Medicare Advantage plans have traditionally not been strong in the Illinois market because of the state"s generous retirement benefit culture. In June 2009, the penetration rate for Medicare Advantage in Illinois was 10 percent, well below the national average of 24 percent. However, in recent years, companies such as HealthSpring entered the state with Medicare Advantage plans that offered many of the same benefits as Medicare supplement policies at a lower price, prompting growth in the state"s Medicare Advantage market. contactos

Presentation At AAPM Meeting On Nanoparticles That Package Cancer-killing Isotopes And Deliver Them Into Cancer Cells.

A group of researchers at Johns Hopkins University has designed nanoparticles that can carry cancer-treating radioisotopes through the body and deliver them selectively to tumors. Today in Anaheim, CA, they will report the latest results of their research, including studies in animal models, at the 51st meeting of the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM). The nanoparticles are made with a commercially available product known as "liposomes" -- small chemical spheres made of fatty molecules that can package drugs and other chemicals. Liposomes are a powerful emerging tool in medicine because they can be designed to carry many different drugs and manipulated to control how long they stay in the bloodstream. One type of liposome, Doxil, is already approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for delivering Doxorubicin, a chemotherapeutic that is toxic to the heart. The Hopkins scientists are using liposomes that have been modified with antibodies, a class of immune system proteins that recognize and bind to many different microscopic targets -- bacteria, viruses, other proteins, and human cells.

Canadian Lung Association Launches New Online Tools To Help People With Lung Disease Find Local Programs.

Want to find an asthma education centre or a chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) clinic near you? Need to get a lung function test and don"t know where to go? The Canadian Lung Association is making it easier for Canadians to find help in their area with new online tools: searchable databases of lung disease programs and services available in Canada. By entering your town or city or postal code, you will find programs or lung testing sites near you. For each program listed, you"ll get an interactive map that shows its location. You"ll find out who qualifies for the program, whether you need a doctor"s referral, contact information and hours of operation. "These new online tools make it really easy for people with lung disease to get connected to local services" says Melanie Wise, Consumer Health Information Manager for The Lung Association.

One Force Behind The MYC Oncogene In Many Cancers Uncovered By Fox Chase Researchers.

DLX5, a gene crucial for embryonic development, promotes cancer by activating the expression of the known oncogene, MYC, according to researchers from Fox Chase Cancer Center. Since the DLX5 gene is inactive in normal adults, it may be an ideal target for future anti-cancer drugs, they reason. Their findings are published in the July 31 edition of the Journal of Biological Chemistry, available online now. Previously the researchers found that a chromosomal inversion - a genetic misalignment, where part of the chromosome containing the DLX5 gene gets flipped around during cell division - cooperates with another known oncogene, AKT2, to drive cancer in mice. In the current paper, the researchers discover that DLX5 binds to and actively promotes the activity of a gene known as MYC, which evidence has demonstrated is a potent factor in numerous cancers, including lymphoma, lung and pancreatic cancer.


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