London – Nurses should notify police, said a British Catholic Bishops’ committee on bio-ethical issues, when they find handicapped newborn babies being sedated or starved to death. The Bishops referred specifically to babies born with spina bifida who were being refused surgery. If the hospital authorities refuse to rectify such a state of affairs, then a nurse has no alternative but to report to the police, the committee said.
Brazil – A mother’s second thoughts about selling her baby son led in Curitika, Brazil, to an illegal baby-smuggling ring which sold babies to the U.S., Europe, and Israel.
The ring charged prospective adoptees at least $5,000. for a child. They paid as little as $150 to the parent(s).
France – A French drug, discovered in 1982, could revolutionize family planning. The substance known as RU-486, swallowed by women, will induce menstruation, prevent egg implantation or accomplish an abortion within the first eight weeks of pregnancy.
RU-486, otherwise named the after-the-fact pill, is a synthetic anti-progesterone compound that neutralizes the female hormone progesterone. Progesterone is crucial to maintaining a pregnancy.
Fortunately, RU-486 is not marketed yet. However, Wirinder Moudgil, a molecular endocrinologist at Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan who is presently experimenting with the drug to see if it works stated: “If is was made available on the drug stands without prescription it may have a profound impact on how we interact in relationships.”
