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Reps. Ryan, DeLauro To Introduce Bill To Reduce Need For Abortion
Reps. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio) and Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) on Thursday will be joined by leaders of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America and NARAL Pro-Choice America in announcing the latest version of a bill that aims to reduce the need for abortion by preventing unintended pregnancies, among other measures, Time reports (Sullivan, Time, 7/23). Ryan and DeLauro first introduced a version of the bill in 2006 (Crary, AP/San Francisco Chronicle, 7/22). However, this version "represents a dramatic break from nearly four decades" of political debate since Roe v. Wade, as both conservative antiabortion-rights groups and abortion-rights advocates have expressed support, according to Time (Time, 7/23).The bill would increase support for comprehensive sex education programs, improve access to contraception, expand Medicaid family planning coverage, increase programs for pregnant or parenting college students, and expand adoption assistance. The Congressional Budget Office has not yet conducted a cost-analysis of the bill, the AP/San Francisco Chronicle reports (AP/San Francisco Chronicle, 7/22). In developing the bill, Ryan sought the help of Rachel Laser, director of culture programs at the policy and strategy think-tank Third Way. According to Time, Laser worked with advocates on both sides and modified the bill to help gather their support, while preventing the measure from becoming "uselessly watered down or split into two."DeLauro noted, "We had to reach a level of trust" with people on both sides and allow them time to become more receptive to the bill"s goals, adding, "Because so often this issue has been one about which there was nothing other than trying to score political points." DeLauro said she hopes the Obama administration will look to the bill for guidance as it crafts its strategy for reducing the need for abortion and preventing unintended pregnancies. President Obama is expected to make an announcement about the plan next month, according to Time (Time, 7/23).DeLauro and Ryan also noted that Rahm Emanuel, Obama"s chief of staff, endorsed an earlier version of the bill when he served in the House, which they hope could mean that Obama would support their measure. DeLauro said, "This is a bill that seems to mesh with the president"s interests," adding, "I see no reason why the White House could not endorse it."Joshua DuBois, director of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, said the administration is still reviewing the information it has gathered in recent meetings with representatives on both sides of the abortion debate.Laurie Rubiner, director of Planned Parenthood"s Washington, D.C., office, said "This isn"t a radical bill," adding, "It only seems radical because it"s been so long that we could have a constructive conversation ... with both pro-choice and anti-choice groups around the table."The Rev. Joel Hunter -- an antiabortion-rights evangelical pastor in Orlando, Fla., who serves on the White House Faith-Based Advisory Council -- called the bill "a landmark bill for the culture wars -- a prototype for how we can approach things in the future." He said the bill"s strengths were in its appeals to both liberal and conservative beliefs, adding, "When you realize you need someone who"s been an adversary to help you advance your own projects, that"s a big deal" (AP/San Francisco Chronicle, 7/22).
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Somerset's Midwives Can Now Offer Women A New Early Pregnancy Support Service, UK
Women in Somerset now have a new of expert information and advice available to them as soon as they know they are pregnant.
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6,552 Confirmed Swine Flu Cases And 9 Deaths In The USA
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced at the end of the day of 22nd May, 2009, that so far 6,552 humans have been infected with the A(H1N1) influenza virus, also known as swine flu. This new A (H1N2) flu virus originates from pigs and was first identified in April this year. The virus is human transmissible, says the CDC, meaning it spreads from person-to-person, and has sparked a growing outbreak of illness throughout the USA. The CDC stresses that cases of confirmed human infection are occurring all over the world.
Mental Health

Inhaled Growth Hormone Safe For Children Deficient In This Key Protein

A multi-center clinical trial led by a Riley Hospital for Children endocrinologist has found that inhaled growth hormone (GH) is well tolerated by children with GH deficiency and that this easy-to-use method can, over a one-week period, safely deliver GH to the blood stream. In addition to having implications for those who need GH, this first pediatric study of administering it through the lungs may also help researchers interested in using this convenient method for effectively delivering other types of medications to children. Results of the study appear in the June 2009 issue of the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism. "We need to find less painful ways of administering drugs to children and we were pleased to see that inhaling GH raised the levels of two important indicators in the blood in these children for whom GH was prescribed for growth hormone deficiency or multiple pituitary hormone deficiencies," said Emily Walvoord, M.D., associate professor of clinical pediatrics at the Indiana University School of Medicine, who is the Riley Hospital physician coordinating investigator of the five-center study of 22 patients. Children taking growth hormone typically must endure years of daily injections. All of the participants in this study preferred the inhaled version of the drug to injections. They ranged in age from 6 to 16 and had no trouble using the inhaler. GH is a small peptide hormone which is easily broken down by stomach acid and therefore cannot be taken as a pill. Synthetic GH has been available by injection since 1985. Previous studies have found that nearly one fourth of children miss more than three GH injections each month and 13 percent miss more than half their injections. Thus the development of new delivery options holds promise for improved compliance and treatment effectiveness, as well as patient satisfaction. "For this study we based our dose levels on previous adult studies of inhaled GH, but we found that children have different physiologies and drug absorption rates when the drug is delivered via the lungs. We saw that children in the study needed higher doses of GH to attain the same blood level as the adults. This finding is an important one because it highlights that children are not miniature adults and need specially tailored therapies, particularly when considering the development of new drugs to be given by inhalation into the lungs," said Dr. Walvoord. This first study of the use of inhaled GH in children was funded by Eli Lilly and Co., which manufactured the drug. In addition to Riley Hospital, the other study sites were Cincinnati Children"s Hospital, Rainbow Babies and Children"s Hospital (Cleveland), Children"s Mercy Hospital (Kansas City) and Sophia Children"s Hospital (Rotterdam, the Netherlands) In addition to Dr. Walvoord, authors of "Inhaled Growth Hormone (GH) Compared with Subcutaneous GH in Children with GH Deficiency: Pharmacokinetics, Pharmacodynamics, and Safety" are Amparo de la Peç±a, M.D., Soomin Park, Ph.D., Gordon Cutler, M.D. and John J. Chipman, M.D. of Eli Lilly; Bernard Silverman of Alkermes Inc.; Leona Cuttler, M.D, of Case Western Reserve University; Susan R. Rose, M.D. of the University of Cincinnati; and Stenvert Drop, M.D., Ph.D., of Erasmus Medical Centre in the Netherlands. IUPUI


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