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Norway at ICPD+10: international assistance for reproductive health does not reflect domestic policies.

Norway has a long history of good reproductive health care, with some of the world's best reproductive health indicators. Early reduction of maternal mortality, good services for abortion, contraception and sexually transmitted diseases, a low rate of adolescent pregnancies and a low number people with HIV are examples, achieved through an integrated, publicly provided and funded health care package. Official Norwegian development assistance started in 1952. Emphasis on family planning assistance dates back to 1966, making Norway one of the most consistent donors to family planning and reproductive health programmes. Norway also had a high profile at the International Conference on Population and Development and strongly supported the Programme of Action. Since then, while multilateral support in these areas has stayed high, bilateral support has been downscaled. Overall, international assistance does not reflect the domestic approach to reproductive health services. Norway has given little development support to improvement of maternity services, avoided the issues of abortion and post-coital contraception, and passed up opportunities to support adolescent services. Prevention and treatment of infertility has hardly been an issue. Revitalisation of the reproductive rights discourse in Norway could provide a basis for the protection of reproductive health care domestically, and for policy discussions and decisions in relation to Norway's development assistance.

Congresses as Topic↗

"Goodbye Dolly?" The ethics of human cloning.

The ethical implications of human clones have been much alluded to, but have seldom been examined with any rigour. This paper examines the possible uses and abuses of human cloning and draws out the principal ethical dimensions, both of what might be done and its meaning. The paper examines some of the major public and official responses to cloning by authorities such as President Clinton, the World Health Organisation, the European parliament, UNESCO, and others and reveals their inadequacies as foundations for a coherent public policy on human cloning. The paper ends by defending a conception of reproductive rights of "procreative autonomy" which shows human cloning to be not inconsistent with human rights and dignity.

Animals↗

Bioethics, vulnerability, and protection.

What makes individuals, groups, or even entire countries vulnerable? And why is vulnerability a concern in bioethics? A simple answer to both questions is that vulnerable individuals and groups are subject to exploitation, and exploitation is morally wrong. This analysis is limited to two areas. First is the context of multinational research, in which vulnerable people can be exploited even if they are not harmed, and harmed even if they are not exploited. The type of multinational research likely to raise the most ethical concerns is that in which the investigators or sponsors are from a powerful industrialised country or a giant pharmaceutical company and the research is conducted in a developing country. Second is the situation of women, who are made vulnerable in cultural settings or in entire countries in which they are oppressed and powerless. In the face of cultural values and practices, or governmental policies, these women suffer serious consequences for their health and even lives. Examples are provided, and it is suggested that in some cases vulnerable individuals can be harmed but not exploited. On the positive side, recent developments reveal a new awareness of exploitation and efforts to enhance the ability of developing countries to protect themselves and their citizens from exploitation at the hands of powerful sponsors of research. In addition, human rights principles are increasingly being used to monitor the actions (or inaction) of governments regarding women's reproductive rights and vulnerability with respect to HIV/AIDS, and to take remedial actions.

Circumcision, Female↗

Third World women call for a balanced perspective on women's health.

In 1990 a conference entitled "In Search of Balanced Perspectives and Global Solidarity for Women's Health and Reproductive Rights" took place in Manila, the Philippines. The message from the Third World women who attended was that their struggles for personal and reproductive freedom are integrally linked with their dependent economic status. In addition, the conference addressed the violence many Third World women suffer as a result of oppressive state and religious policies. More than 50% of the women who attended one panel testified that they had personally experienced "state violence." The women called for an immediate end to women's oppression via nationalism and militarism in addition to racism, sexism, and classism. They represented a challenge to all of us--to work toward a balanced perspective on women's health in the context of the socioeconomic and political development of all peoples.

Developing Countries↗

Integration of sexual and reproductive health in the medical curriculum in Pakistan.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the knowledge of medical practitioners regarding management of selected reproductive tract infections, diagnosis of sexual dysfunction and identification of sexual abuse and to assess the attitudes and practices of health care providers regarding sexual and reproductive rights in order to recommend areas that need to be incorporated in a sexual and reproductive health curriculum. DESIGN: A cross-sectional survey. PLACE AND DURATION OF STUDY: From March to August 2003 in the District Turbat of Balochistan, Pakistan. SUBJECT AND METHODS: Selected indicators of knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding sexual and reproductive health of primary care physicians were assessed using a pre-tested questionnaire and formal/informal interviews. Variables were identified from the literature and previous in-depth interviews, and then formulated into respective questions. A Lichert scale marked from 1 to 5 was used for categorizing responses into agreed, neutral and disagreed. Descriptive statistics were computed using SPSS version 10 for windows. Qualitative interviews were translated and transcribed and analyzed according to pre-judged and emerging themes. RESULTS: Out of 45 physicians interviewed, nearly half scored less than 50% in the knowledge section. Attitudes and practices assessed suggested a tendency to be judgmental, gender/rights discriminatory and with little provision for enabling clients to make their own decisions, so essential for quality sexual health service provision. CONCLUSION: Keeping in view the importance of the sexual health issues and a lack of ability of health care providers to handle it effectively, deficient areas of sexual health must be integrated into the medical curriculum. Medical educators have the responsibility to train physicians and other health professionals in the core competencies to improve the sexual and reproductive health of their communities.

Adult↗

Protecting embryos and burdening women: assisted reproduction in Italy.

BACKGROUND: A new law in Italy imposes strict conditions on assisted reproduction at a time when many other countries have become more accepting of these techniques. The law has been criticized both in and outside of the country because of its excessive concern with the status of embryos and disregard for the interests of women and infertile couples. METHODS: Bioethical, legal and policy analysis based on published materials. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: This article shows that ethical concerns about respect for human life and protection of the family and offspring need not burden women and infertile couples to the extent that the new Italian law does. Defining embryos as existing only at syngamy, allowing unpaid sperm and oocyte donation, and permitting the screening of embryos for genetic disease would greatly improve the situation of infertile women in Italy without greatly compromising the values and goals of the Italian law.

Embryo, Mammalian↗

Reproductive health and obstetricians and gynecologists.

The art of medicine provides a rare opportunity to understand human values and to contribute toward the well-being of one's fellow humans--women in the case of ob-gyn--a contribution that fits in with the mission of the International Federation of Gynaecology Obstetrics (FIGO). Obstetricians and gynecologists should indeed take it upon themselves to improve conditions for women, since the bond and respect between the two is a significant one. It is obstetricians-gynecologists who can provide the much needed technical information to throw light on justifying services that deal with devastating, debilitating, degenerating, and devaluating situations, such as neglected pregnancy, disregard toward cancer detection, and humiliating genital mutilation. Indeed, this can be termed as "terrorism in ob-gyn," neglected by those who should deal with it. Those in ob-gyn and other medical professions clearly witness gender inequality and its ugly aftermath, a degradation of women's reproductive rights. Ob-gyn must look a little beyond just the lucrative practice of the plain science of obstetrics and gynecology and undertake the responsibility to help and protect the health and life of women around the world. A conscientious doctor cannot practice medicine on women's bodies alone, but must also "practice" against several social evils, the prevention of which is crucial to women's health. Obstetricians and gynecologists can utilize their access to policymakers and health "builders" to carry this brief for women's health, and can urge governments to take a second look at women's rights to ensure that they are on par with the accepted norms of human rights, to be protected and propagated.

Adult↗

Ethics, informed consent, and assisted reproduction.

Informed consent to treatment is an ethical requirement often misunderstood or not fully appreciated by physicians. The purpose of obtaining informed consent is to ensure that patients know what doctors propose to do and freely grant their permission. Although the purpose of informed consent and the standards by which it is to be employed are the same in all areas of medical practice, special problems arise in assisted reproduction. Voluntary, informed consent is an instance of a reproductive right that should be recognized by the international medical community, and not limited to Western and European countries.

Bioethics↗

Abortion, social inequity, and women's health: obstetrician-gynecologists as agents of change.

Unsafe abortion persists as a serious health problem for women. It is rooted in poverty, social inequity, and denial of women's basic human rights. As experience from Latin America and other regions demonstrates, obstetrician-gynecologists can be leaders in supporting reproductive rights and access to safe abortion, through their professional societies and also by way of their roles as providers, academicians, and advocates. Ob-gyns are often most effective when working in partnership with women's organizations, lawyers, and other stakeholders.

Abortion, Legal↗

The right to love: the desire for parenthood among men living with HIV.

Drug regimens and procedures now exist that will prevent parents from transmitting HIV to infants, and the ethical and legal obligation to promote and protect the reproductive rights of those living with HIV should form part of training for HIV/AIDS care and prevention. This paper reports a study that investigated issues of sexuality and reproduction with 250 Brazilian men living with HIV in São Paulo. We asked whether they wished to have children and whether health professionals in HIV/AIDS treatment clinics that they attended were supportive of their wishes. Health professionals were not considered by most participants to be supportive enough or even impartial about HIV-positive people having children, and paid little attention to men's fathering role. 80% of the men had sexual relationships, and 43% of them wanted children, especially those who had no children, in spite of expectations of disapproval. Few of the men received information about treatment options that would protect infants, however. In previous studies with HIV-positive women attending the same clinics, by comparison, greater knowledge about prevention of perinatal HIV transmission was reported, but women had fewer sexual relationships, fewer desired to have children, and they expected even more disapproval of having children from health professionals. We conclude that the rights of those with HIV to found a family depend as much on curing the ills of prejudice and discrimination, including among health professionals, as on medical interventions.

Adolescent↗

Current reproductive technologies: increased access and choice?

This article discusses key issues related to current reproductive technologies including contextual and personal barriers to use, complexity of decision making, limited access to technologies for poor women and women of color, and the politics and social controversy surrounding this area. New reproductive technologies have to be put to the same test as any other product--can and will women use them correctly? We need to not only know about the technology itself; we also need to know about the individuals who intend to use the technology and about contextual factors that influence use. Accordingly, the articles in this issue focus on the multiple determinants that influence acceptability of reproductive technologies and the policy, political, and legal implications associated with their use.

Abortion, Induced↗

Analysis of semen quality from each testis/duct system of a turkey with a duplicated cloaca and vent.

A case is described wherein a turkey male (tom) possessed two vent areas with duplicated cloacae served by one large intestine. Both cloacae were functional in that feces were excreted and semen could be collected from each. The left vas deferens and ureter emptied into the left cloaca, and the right vas deferens and ureter emptied into the right cloaca. This allowed semen from each testis/duct to be collected separately from the corresponding cloaca. Thus, a unique opportunity was presented to collect semen separately from the left and right testis/duct system for semen analysis and fertility determination. Sperm concentration and percentage of dead sperm were not significantly different when semen from left vs. right reproductive tract were compared. The concentrations of spermiophages in semen from both reproductive tracts fell into the range reported for normal semen (0-8 x 10(5)/ml); however, semen from the right side had consistently higher spermiophage concentrations than that from the left side. On the basis of observations from one male made possible by an anatomic anomaly, it appears that the fecundities of the left and right testis/duct systems of the turkey male do not significantly differ and that recruitment of spermiophages into one tract (because of immunologic challenge, etc.) does not necessarily mean that the opposite testis/ducts will respond similarly.

Animals↗

Campaigning for women's health rights worldwide.

In this paper, the author takes a look at the women's health movement worldwide and lists some of its many achievements. The information provided is set in the context of reproductive rights, the most common issue that affects women in both the developed and the developing world. The author discusses access to birth control and the role of the consumer movement in achieving rights for women in childbirth.

Family Planning Services↗

Women, AIDS and reproduction.

Relatively little has been written about how Aids affects women. When women are mentioned it is primarily as carers of people with Aids or as possible transmitters of the HIV virus, with the focus largely on prostitutes and pregnant women. The concern overwhelmingly is about how to protect the health of men and children, writes Diane Richardson. Here she examines the implications of Aids and HIV infection for women's health and reproductive rights.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗

The hand that rocks the cradle.

This essay responds to Donald Hope's proposal that a woman's right to reproductive choice under the U.S. Constitution should end after she has been pregnant for eight weeks, because before that point science shows the developing embryo lacks human form, while after that point the fetus possesses physical characteristics that make it uniquely human. Hope's line purporting to determine when the fate of developing life becomes a matter of public concern rather than a strictly private decision is drawn both too early and too late. Eight weeks is too early because it imposes coerced motherhood on those least able to bear it while impugning the moral integrity of all women, and it is too late because this rule measures the value of human life by the utility of our physical features. Instead, no line need be drawn at all; the state can give effect to its concern for developing human life by valuing and supporting mothers who make it possible.

Abortion, Induced↗

Commentary on Canadian proposals.

An expert on United Kingdom fertilisation and embryology law comments here on recent Canadian proposals, a summary of which appears on pp 8-11.

Advisory Committees↗