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Rights |
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Young vs. United Parcel Service, Inc.,
Docket # 12-1226
This legal case is now before the United States Supreme Court and
involves the legal rights of a young delivery driver for UPS under the Pregnancy
Discrimination Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act. The primary issue is
whether the Pregnancy Discrimination Act require an employer to provide the same
work accommodations to an employee with pregnancy-related work limitations as to
employees with similar, but non-pregnancy related, work limitations. Oral
argument is scheduled before the Supreme Court on December 3, 2014.
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The
Pregnant Woman's Bill of Rights
Alliance
for the Improvement of Maternity Services
The
information and materials produced by AIMS are
intended to bring about a reduction of birth injury
and trauma in newborns
and their mothers. One of these services is the creation of a bill of
rights. The Pregnant Patient has the right to
participate in
decisions involving her well-being and that of her
unborn child, unless there is a clearcut medical
emergency that prevents her
participation. In addition to the rights set forth
in the American Hospital Association's "Patient's
Bill of Rights," the Pregnant
Patient, because she represents TWO patients rather
than one, should be recognized as having the
additional rights..."
The Bill of Rights deals with drugs, therapy,
treatments, personnel, medical records, facility
procedures and other related issues.
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Health
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The Nine Months That Made You,
PBS series
aired June 29 - July 13, 2016
This extraordinary program explores the first
nine months of every human being, making it clear that each human being begins
their life at conception, and that the nine months prior to birth make a
significant difference for the rest of the unborn child's life. |
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Associations between lifetime tobacco exposure with infertility and age at
natural menopause: the Women's Health Initiative Observational Study
Andrew Hyland, Kenneth Piazza, Kathleen M. Hovey, et al
Tob Control.
2015 Dec 14.
Women exposed to high levels of passive smoking have
an increased risk of experiencing infertility. |
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U.S. Infant Mortality Rate Stays High, Report Finds
Maggie Fox
NBC News, 8/6/15
This article summarizes the latest report (2013) of the
Centers for Disease Control (CDC),
which found that America has one of the worst rates of infant mortality in
the developed world,
triple that of Japan and Norway. Inducing preterm births, income
disparities and IVF practices are
frequently blamed for America’s high rate. |
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The International Baby Business;
Surrogacy is giving gay parenting a bad name
Julie Bindel
The Weekly Standard,
Jul 27, 2015, Vol.20, No. 43
This article examines the exploitation of
women from poor countries who are paid to become surrogates. |
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The Dark Side of Third-Party Reproduction
Kathleen Sloan
The Public Discourse, 8/3/2015
This article reviews the risks to women from egg harvesting as well as
surrogacy. The article contains cites to
documentation of the influence of the biological birth mother on the life of the
child who is conceived through artificial means. |
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U S
Congress Moves to Block Embryo Editing
Sara Reardon,
Nature, June 25, 2015
This article reports on an effort by the
United States Congress to prevent federal funding of research on embryo
modification.
This was in response to recent reports that China had successfully
modified human embryos. Currently, US law prevents the
federal government from funding research that leads to destruction of
human embryos or embryos created solely for research.
However, privately funded research involving editing the human germline
is legal.
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Jacob Szafranski v. Karla Dunston 2015 IL
App (1st) 122975,
June 12, 2015
In
this ruling by an Illinois Appeals Court, the mother of frozen embryos
was awarded embryos in response to a challenge
by the father, who did not want them to be used. The case is expected to
be appealed to the Illinois Supreme Court.
The case raises the question of whether a biological father has a
right to choose not to be a father in line with the mother’s right
not to continue a pregnancy. According to the CDC, the use of in-vitro
fertilization has doubled in the last decade. Many of the
legal questions surrounding IVF have never been answered.
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Gender
Matters in the Atomic Age
A presentation by Mary Olson of
Nuclear
Information & Resource Service
at the United
Nations,
May 5, 2015
The Nuclear Regulatory
Commission is considering “updating” its radiation standards,
10 CFR 20. Comments can
be submitted by June 22, 2015 at
rulemaking.comments@nrc.gov.
Research shows that radioactivity from nuclear
reactors causes extensive harm, particularly to unborn children, who are
most vulnerable. Tritium, a fission product
from reactors will cross the placental barrier to the developing fetus,
damaging stem cells that will result in increased
rates of Leukemia in children living near those sites.
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Between-Hospital Variation in Treatment and Outcomes in Extremely
Preterm Infants
Matthew A. Rysavy, Lei Li, , Edward F. Bell, et al for the
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and
Human Development Neonatal Research Network,
New England Journal of Medicine, 372:1801-1811, May 7, 2015
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The American Experience of Abortion; An Interdisciplinary
Approach
Denise Mackura,
published online by University Faculty for Life May 16, 2015
This is a very brief overview of the
history of abortion in the United States, from colonial times to the
present. Family
structure, the role of children in a family’s economic life, the science
of embryology, social mores, views toward women,
political power and many other issues that have impacted the
availability and legal treatment of unborn children and their
mothers are discussed. In addition, the article reviews the legal
changes that were brought about in response to these
developments as well as their impact on our core understanding of
American democracy.
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The
Secret Sadness of Pregnancy With Depression
Andrew Solomon,
The New York Times; May 28, 2015
This
article examines the conundrum faced by pregnant women beset by
antenatal depression: will taking the
appropriate medication harm the unborn child? The answer to that
question seems unclear from the research.
Given
that uncertainty, and given the potential benefits of medication to both
mother and child before and after birth,
what should mothers do? |
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Taj Babies: Exploitation and
Empowerment in Reproductive Tourism
Elo Luik
BioNews 797, 4/13/2015
This article tells the story of commercial gestational surrogacy in
India, including reports that surrogates are kept
under full surveillance and control for the duration of their
pregnancy.
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China’s
One-Child Policy: Massive Crimes against Women, Supported by the
Obama Administration
Congressman Chris Smith
The Witherspoon Institute Public Discourse,
Oct 20, 2014
This article
describes China’s policy limiting couples to one child. In China, if a woman
seeks to have more than one child,
or is single, the woman is forced to have an abortion. The article also
describes the efforts of the United States Congress
to end this practice, or at least prevent U.S. complicity. Also discussed is
the
role that China’s one-child policy plays in
fueling human trafficking and the impact of the policy on future demographics.
The author expresses concern about the
indirect support of the United States for this policy through its contributions
to the United Nations Population Fund.
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Link Between Birth Control Pills and Breast Cancer
Olga Khazan,
The Atlantic, August 1, 2014
This article summarizes a recent study from the journal
Cancer Research which found that taking birth control pills
can increase the risk of breast cancer by 50% or more, particularly when the
pills contain a high level of estrogen.
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Neurodevelopmental Disorders and Prenatal Residential Proximity to Agricultural
Pesticides: The CHARGE Study
Janie F. Shelton, Estella M. Geraghty, Daniel J. Tancredi, et al
Enriton Health Perspect; DOI:10.1289/ehp.1307044
"
This
research is the largest yet to explore the link between the environmental
exposure of pregnant women to pesticides and autism.
An unborn child living within a mile of fields where certain pesticides are
applied have as much as a 60% higher chance of development
autism. The risks increases as the child gets older.
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The Global Gender Gap Report 2013
Global statistics from 2013 indicate
that abortion has not caused a maternal health disaster for women in
countries that ban it.
“Ireland’s maternal health outcomes have long looked much better
than those of its neighbors, and even a recent report that
produced a higher estimate for maternal mortality still placed the
country well within the European norm. (The
New York Times,
“The Texas Abortion Experiment,
” 7/21/13, by Ross Douthat.)
Ireland also ranks first for gender parity in health care in a
recent
European index. It came in 5th
out of 135 countries in the World Economic Forum’s “Global Gender
Gap Report.”
(The United States was 22nd
.)”
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Saving Preemies
Jeffrey Kluger
Time Magazine, June 2, 2014
This article reviews the many problems
premature infants (who are less than 37 weeks gestation)
face and recent successes in
efforts to increase their survivability. Each year over
500,000 babies are born prematurely in the United States.
The United States
has the 10th highest number of premature births
in the world.
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From Concept to
Measurement: Operationalizing WHO’s Definition of Unsafe Abortion
Bela Ganatra, Özge Tunçalp, Heidi Bart Johnston, et al
Bulletin of the World Health Organization in 2014
This editorial from the World Health Organization
makes a stunning finding that “…illegal abortion is not
synonymous with unsafe abortion…” Prior to the
publication of this editorial, the organization had assumed and
promoted the idea that legal abortions were always safe. They now
acknowledge that other
factors must be taken into account, such as the underreporting of
abortions, their misclassification in surveys, hospital records and
health statistics.
HFRC Commentary:
Legalizing abortion has never made it safe. It only makes it more
common. Evidence from around the world clearly demonstrates that
legalizing abortion is not necessary to reduce maternal mortality
and protect the lives and health of women. |
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Between Desire and Rape – Narratives About Being Intimate Partners and Becoming
Pregnant in a Violent Relationship
Kerstin Edin Bo Nilsson,
Glob Health Action.
2013;
6:
10.3402
December 3, 2013
This study reviews the stories
of nine Swedish women regarding their experiences with IPV and subsequent
pregnancies.
One of the key findings is that women in violent relationships experience
unplanned pregnancies more frequently . |
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Abortions and Breast Cancer Risk in Premenopausal and
Postmenopausal Women in Jiangsu Province
of China
Huang Y, Zhang X, Li W, et al,
Cancer Causes Control, 11/24/13
This is a meta-analysis of 36 Chinese studies analyzing the relationship between
induced abortion and the risk of breast cancer.
The study found an increased risk of breast cancer for women who had these
abortions, with the risk increasing with every
additional abortion |
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Gunshot Wound to the Pregnant Uterus:
Case Report
Humberto Osnaya-Moreno; Tahitiana Abelina Zaragoza Salas; Jorge Armando Escoto
Gomez; et al,
Rev. Bras. Ginecol. Obstet., Rio de Janeiro , v. 35, n. 9, Sept. 2013
.
This article discusses treatment for
pregnant women who have been shot in the abdomen, using a specific case as an
example. |
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Study on Psychological Consequences of Abortion
Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences' Looks at
Research
The outstanding scientific journal “Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences” has
just published (July 2013) an important study on the
psychiatric and psychological consequences of abortion on women, entitled
“Abortion and subsequent mental health: review of the
literature”. This study analyzed all scientific trials published since 1995,
that evaluated the psychological and psychiatric health of
women who had had an abortion, compared with those who had either given birth to
a baby or those who had had a miscarriage.
The authors retrieved 30 studies that took into account depression, anxiety
disorders (e.g. post-traumatic stress disorder) and
substance abuse disorders in the studied women. A detailed and thorough table
that describes every study, with particular attention
to women’s age, scale used for assessment, results, and type of the study. |
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Does Abortion Reduce
the Mental Health Risks of Unwanted or Unintended Pregnancy?
A Re-appraisal of the Evidence
David M Fergusson, L John Horwood, Joseph M Boden,
Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry April
3, 2013
From Abstract: “There is no available evidence to suggest that abortion has
therapeutic
effects in reducing the mental health risks
of unwanted or unintended pregnancy.
There is
suggestive evidence that abortion may be associated with small to moderate
increases in
risks of some mental
health problems.” |
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Effect of Induced
Abortions on Early Preterm Births and Adverse Perinatal Outcomes
Ghislain Hardy, , Alice Benjamin,, Haim A. Abenhaim
J Obstet Gynaecol Can
2013;35(2):138–143 |
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Ethical aspects of paternal preconception lifestyle
modification
Boukje van der Zee, MA.Guido de
Wert, PhD, Eric A. Steegers, MD, PhD,Inez D. de Beaufort,
PhD
American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology
January
10. 2013This is a
clinical opinion which points to the possible existence of
paternal preconception risk factors and
the need for more research into the behavior patterns of
fathers-to-be. |
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Abortion
and depression: A population-based longitudinal study of young women
Willy Pederson,
Scand J Public Health. 2008 Jun;36(4):424-8.
Study of young adult women who had an induced abortion in Norway showing an
increased risk for subsequent
depression. |
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The Impact of Prior
Abortion on Anxiety and Depression Symptoms during a Subsequent Pregnancy:
Data from a
population-based cohort Study in China
Huang, Z., Hao, J., Su, P. et al
Bulletin of Clinical Psychopharmacology, 21, 2012
Huang and
colleagues, affiliated with the Anhui Medical College in China, published a
sophisticated large scale study
in the Bulletin of Clinical Psychopharmacology entitled “The Impact of Prior
Abortion on Anxiety and Depression Symptoms
during a Subsequent Pregnancy: Data From a Population-Based Cohort Study.” Data
were derived from the Anhui Birth
Defects and Child Development Cohort Study and the sample consisted of 6,887
women, 3,264 (47.6%) of whom had
experienced at least one abortion.
Results indicated that women with a history of induced abortion a year or more
prior, were 49% more likely to experience
depression and 114% more likely to experience anxiety in the 1st trimester of a
subsequent pregnancy, when compared
to women who had not experienced an induced abortion. These results were
obtained after controlling for maternal education,
income, place of residence, and BMI scores.
When a prior abortion had occurred within the past year, women experienced a 97%
increased risk for experiencing anxiety
during the 1st trimester after the above controls were instituted. Further, when
assessed during the 2nd trimester, a prior
induced abortion occurring less than a year earlier was related to a 64% greater
risk of depression after instituting controls.
Finally, the results revealed that women with a history of spontaneous abortion
were not at a greater risk for anxiety or
depression in the 1st or 2nd trimester of a subsequent pregnancy, when compared
to women without a history of spontaneous
abortion. These results were obtained when the prior loss occurred within one
year and when it occurred over a year before the
current pregnancy
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Women’s Education Level, Maternal Health Facilities,
Abortion Legislation and Maternal Deaths:
A Natural experiment in Chile from 1957 to 2007
Koch E, Thorp
J, Bravo M, Gatica S, Romero CX, et al.
PLoS ONE
7(5):
e36613
“Women’s
Education Level, Maternal Health Facilities, Abortion
Legislation and Maternal Deaths: a Natural Experiment in Chile
from 1957 to 2007” is a scientific analysis of 50 years of
maternal mortality data from Chile which found that thmost important
factor in reducing maternal mortality is the
educational level of women. One of the most significant
findings is that, contrary to
widely-held assumptions, making abortion
illegal in Chile did not result in an increase in maternal
mortality.
In fact, after abortion
was made illegal in 1989, the MMR
continued to decrease from 41.3 to 12.7 pr 100,000 live
births (69.2%
reduction).
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Why Abortion Is Less Risky than Childbirth
RochmanJan B.
Time Magazine Jan 25, 2012 |
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Reproductive history patterns and long-term mortality rates: a Danish,
population-based record linkage study
Priscilla K. Coleman, David C. Reardon, Byron C. Calhoun
September 5, 2012
The general purpose of this
more extensive study was to explore the effe re
solution (induced
abortion, miscThe Links Betweenarriage, and birth) on mortality
rates over an extended time frame (25 years). Specifically examined were: 1)
detrimental and/or
protective effects of distinct forms of pregnancy resolution
over time; 2) detrimental and/or protective effects of distinct forms of
pregnancy
resolution occurring repeatedly over time; and 3) elevated or
attenuated mortality risks when distinct pregnancy outcomes were combined with
other forms of pregnancy resolution.
As we note in the article “The primary strengths of the study are the use of
large scale population level data that includes reliable records on all
possible
reproductive outcomes and prospectively gathered data from different birth
cohorts of women. The results of comprehensive studies of
this nature offer more
accurate information regarding mortality risks associated with reproductive
outcomes than the data acquired by governmental
agencies relying on information
primarily garnered from death certificates.”
The results indicated the following:
1) With controls for the number of pregnancies, year of birth, and age at last
pregnancy, having experienced only induced abortion(s) and natural
loss(es) was
associated with over 3 times the risk of death from all causes compared to only
having experienced birth(s).
2) Risk of death was over 6 times greater among women who had never been
pregnant compared to those in the birth(s) only group.
3) Compared to a reproductive history that only included births, after
instituting controls, increased risk of death were as follows: only induced
abortion(s): 66%; only natural loss(es): 181%; all reproductive outcomes 94%.
4) Compared to no experience of abortion, increased mortality risks after
applying controls were evidenced for the following: one abortion: 45%
increased risk; two abortions: 114% increased risk; and three abortions: 191% increased
risk of death.
5)ificantly decreased mortality risks were evidenced with multiple births:
2 births were associated with an 83% lower risk of death compared
to no births
and 3 or more births corresponded to a 44% decreased risk over no births.
6) Increased risks of death were equal to 44%, 86%, and 150% for 1, 2, and 3
natural losses respectively compared to no natural losses |
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Mental
Health Risks of Abortion During Adolescence b>The Human Family Research Center
December 01, 2010
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Men’s
Experience of Elective Abortion: A Mixed Methods Study of Loss
Coyle CT, Rue VM
Journal of Pastoral Counseling 2-19 2010
This is a qualitative
study on meaning of abortion for ten men whose partners underwent induced
abortion. In-depth interviews
were utilized to explore the men’s experience. In addition, clinical assessments
of anger, anxiety, and grief were administered.
The men’s ages were 21 to 43 years. The time lapse between the abortion and the
first interview ranged from 6 months to 22
years. Half of the men were opposed to their partners’ abortions. One man was
supportive of the abortion initially and one was
not told of the abortion until after it occurred. The rest of the men deferred
the decision to their partners.
The predominant theme
identified in the interviews was that of profound loss and this was further
evident in several subthemes
including relationship problems, helplessness, grief, and guilt. Each of the
men’s relationships with their partners ended and the
men unanimously identified the abortion experience as the cause of relationship
failure. All of the men reported feelings of
helplessness and grief and a majority of men experienced guilt as well. Clinical
assessments revealed clinically significant levels
of anxiety and intense grief.
These
findings are consistent with those of other studies involving male partners of
women who experience induced abortion.
However, the body of research concerning elective abortion and men’s mental
health is still in its infancy and further studies are
needed. Nonetheless, common sense dictates that men, being involved in
conception, will be affected by pregnancy and by any
decisions concerning pregnancy outcome including the choice to abort. |
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Abortion
and Substance Abuse
The Human Family Research Center
December 01, 2010
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Toward
an Understanding of Why Induced Abortion Can Be More Traumatizing than Spontaneous Abortion
The Human
Family Research Center
December 01,
2010 |
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Abortion Among Young Women And Subsequent Life Outcomes
David M. Fergusson, Joseph M. Boden and L. John Horwood,
Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health, Vol. 39 Number 1, 2007
The Alan Guttmacher Institute, which takes a
positive view of abortion and is often referred to as an “arm”
of Planned Parenthood, found that “There is relatively little evidence as to
whether abortion leads to
improved life course outcomes for young women who choose this option.”
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Work and Family
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Neural Plasticity in Fathers of Human Infants
Pilyoung Kimab, Paola Rigo, Linda C.. et al
Social
Neuroscience,
DOI: 10.1080/17470919.2014.933713
This is a longitudinal study
investigating structural changes in fathers’ brains during
the first 4 months after the birth of a child,
beginning with two weeks. The study found an increase in
gray matter in some regions of the brain and a decrease in
others.
Other studies have demonstrated the unique contribution of
sensitive father–infant interactions to the development of
children’s
social competencies in
childhood and adolescence. |
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Despite progress women still bear heavier load than men in balancing work and
family
Kim Parker, PEW Research Center,
March 10, 2015
Using opinion research and government data, this
article concludes that, while young women start their careers on parity with men
in wages,
they struggle to keep parity with men as they begin to juggle work and family. |
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We Are
What Our Mothers Eat
Professor Tom Fleming
BioNews, April 28, 2014
While most of the research relied upon is
based on studies of animals, the researcher
concludes that "eggs and very early embryos
in the first few days a
fter conception can be particularly
sensitive to their environment with lifetime
consequences including risk of diseases into
adulthood..." "Our studies in r
odents show that what a mother eats during
this short time window from conception up to
before implantation can be 'sensed' by the
early embryo which
uses this information to adjust how it
develops." The research provides many other
insights into how the food intake of the
Mother impacts the child both
before and long after birth. |
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Daddy Track The Case for
Paternity Leave
Liz Mundy
The Atlantic,
January-February 2014
Reviews current status
of the efforts of fathers to balance work
and home obligations. |
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For Anchorwomen, Family Is Part of the Job
Pamela Paul
The New York Tines December 9, 2011
Article tells story of TV anchorwomen who have combined
careers and family |
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Does
Abortion Increase Risk of Parenting Problems?
The Human Family Research Center
December 01, 2010
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Abortion
and Intimate Relationships: A Poor Prognosis
The Human Family Research Center
December 01, 2010
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Miscellaneous Challenges
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Recent Increases in the U.S. Maternal Mortality Rate:
Disentangling Trends From Measurement Issues
MacDorman,Marian F. PhD; Declercq, Eugene PhD;
Cabral, Howard PhD; Morton, Christine PhD,
Obstetrics & Gynecology, September 2016, Volume 128, Issue
3, p447-455
This article examines the increase in the maternal
mortality rate in the United States, which rose 26.6% from 2000 to
2014
and is much higher than many countries. |
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Recent Increases in the U.S. Maternal Mortality Rate:
Disentangling Trends From Measurement Issues
MacDorman,Marian F. PhD; Declercq, Eugene PhD;
Cabral, Howard PhD; Morton, Christine PhD,
Obstetrics & Gynecology, September 2016, Volume 128, Issue
3, p447-455
This article examines the increase in the maternal
mortality rate in the United States, which rose 26.6% from 2000 to
2014
and is much higher than many countries. |
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Renting Wombs is a Human Wrong, not a Human Right
Adina Portaru
Public Discourse
4/27/2016
This essay argues in favor of the
March 15th
decision of the European Parliament to reject a recommendation that
surrogacy be legalized. The author considers this to be “a positive
step to protect women and children” from exploitation and abuse, and
using women as reproductive machines and children as assets in a
business transaction. |
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All Surrogacy is Exploitation - The World Should
Follow Sweden's Ban
Kaisa Ekis Ekman
The Guardian, 2/26/16
This article presents the question of whether or not surrogacy (employing a
woman to become pregnant with the sperm and egg of the parents) is unethical
and should be prohibited. |
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Racial Disparity in Pre-term Birth,
by Emily A. DeFranco, Eric S.
Hall, Louis J. Muglia, Oct. 21-24, 2015,
an oral presentation
at the 82nd annual meeting of the Central Association of Obstetricians
and Gynecologists, Charleston, SC.
This study of over a million
previable preterm births (16 - 22 weeks) found a significant racial
disparity in these births, with black mothers incurring a
3- to 6-fold
increased relative risk compared with white mothers, most of which are
spontaneous in nature. This may explain much of the racial disparity
in
infant mortality because all live-born previable preterm births result
in death. |
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Abortion and Preterm Birth: Educational Campaign
Recognizes the Well- Documented Link
Genevieve Plaster,
Published June 19, 2015 by the Charlotte Lozier Institute
This article was published as part of a campaign to educate the public
on three known causes of premature birth: tobacco use, lack of
prenatal care and abortion.
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Two US Surrogates Carrying Triplets Refuse
Abortion Demands
Mary Yarwood,
Bionews 833, 12/21/15
This is a story about two surrogates, paid to carry unborn children to term
through IVF. In both cases,
the surrogates conceived triplets and were pressured to abort one of the
children. All six embryos were
developing normally. |
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Maternal Deaths Fell 44% Since 1990
A report from WHO, UNICEP, UNFPA, World Bank Group and the United
Nations Population Division,
November 12, 2015 |
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Uterus Transplantation Trials: Is Deceased Donation
Morally Preferable?
Dr. Nicola Willians,
Bionews, 9/21/15
This article discusses the realities of
uterus transplants, which are already taking place. The key issue
the article discusses is whether it is moral to do a transplant from a
living donor. |
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Families of Children With Down Syndrome
Cliff C. Cunningham,
The Down Syndrome Educational TrustDown Syndrome Research and Practice,
Vol. 4 No. 3, 1996
This
article follows 100 families with children who have Down Syndrome to
study the impact on both
the family and the child. The study reported more positive effects of
having a child with Down Syndrome
than negative.
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Sperm donors may want anonymity, but there are real kids out there
Lisa Horler,
The Guardian, 8/17/15
This article surveys the problems faced by children of anonymous sperm
donors in Australia,
where approximately 60,000 donor-conceived people live.
**This article was included
not because the Human Family Research Center agrees with sperm donation
or assisted reproductive technologies, but to increase awareness of the
human cost inherent in these efforts.
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The
Dark Side of Third Party Reproduction
Kathleen Sloan
within Bioethics, SciencePublic
Discourse,
The Witherspoon Institute
Aug 03, 2015,
This article
explores the exploitative consequences of egg harvesting and surrogacy
for women and families.
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Between-Hospital Variation in Treatment and Outcomes in Extremely Preterm
Infants.
Matthew A. Rysavy, . Lei Li, , Edward F. Bell,,et al; for the Eunice
Kennedy Shriver National
Institute of Child Health and Human Development Neonatal Research Network,
New Engl J Med 2015; 372:1801-1811, May 7, 2015
This study challenges the accepted 24-week standard for viability of unborn
children, finding that
among those babies born at 22 weeks, nearly 1 in 4 chance of survival if
actively treated. |
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"'Designer babies' Debate Should
Start, Scientists Say"
James Gallagher Health editor,
BBC News website, 1/19/15
Designer babies are generally defined as
those who are genetically modified for beauty, intelligence or to
be
free of disease. There have been significant new developments in the
technology of inserting new pieces
of genetic code at the moment of
conception during cloning. This article reports on the warning of
scientists
that these new developments must lead to a serious public
debate on genetically modifying people.
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"What Happens to a Woman's Brain When
She Becomes a Mother"
The Atlantic, Adrienne LaFrance,
January 8, 2015
This article provides an overview of recent research into
how having a baby changes a woman's brain,
beginning with how the child impacts her mother even before birth.
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Children’s Rights, or Rights to Children?
Alana S. Newman
The Witherspoon Institute Public Discourse
November
10th, 2014
This
article reviews the ethics of reproductive technologies |
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AnnAnnie E. Casey
Foundation’s 2014 KIDS COUNT Data Book
This annual
analysis evaluates 16 indicators covering economic well-being, health, education
and family and community
for children on a national and state by state basis. This latest report
found that …”children experienced gains in the
Education and Health domains, but setbacks in the Economic Well-Being and Family
and Community domains. |
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We Are What Our Mothers Eat
Professor Tom Fleming f
BioNews, April 28, 2014
While most of the
research relied upon is based on studies of
animals, the researcher concludes that "eggs and
very early embryos in the first few days
after conception can be particularly sensitive to
their environment with lifetime consequences
including risk of diseases into adulthood..."
"Our studies in
rodents show that what a mother eats during this
short time window from conception up to before
implantation can be 'sensed' by the early embryo
which
uses this information to adjust how it
develops." The research provides many other
insights into how the food intake of the Mother
impacts the child both
before and long after birth.
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Books
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Book Review
by Perri Klass,
M.D.,
The Washington
Post,
10/29/10
Origins How the Nine Months Before Birth Shape the Rest of Our Lives
In
his book review, Mr. Klass reports that the author chronicles
the importance of the prenatal
period and its long-standing effects on health, development, personality and
intelligence of the
child
after
birth |
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Book Review
by
Patrick Carroll
Complications: Abortion’s Impact on Women
Angela Lanfranchi, Ian Gentles and Elizabeth
Ring-Cassidy
published by the DeVeber Institute for Bioethics and
Social Research, April, 2013
This book provides an overview of the medical,
psychological, and legal aspects of abortion from the
perspective
of women facing difficult pregnancies and those coping
with ill-effects of the procedure.
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"Mommy Brain",
by Katherine Ellison, seeks to prove how the myth that
motherhood dims intelligence is a profound misunderstanding
of the biological change that takes place in a woman’s
brain. On the contrary, Ellison shows that there is a
massive restructuring that
takes place which enables the
changed mother to be more alert, focused and tuned into her
baby.
Ellison also explains how this
restructuring takes place, though to a much smaller degree,
in fathers and caregivers when they are around or taking
care of children.
Read More |
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Podcasts |
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A World With Artificial Wombs
“In the Meantime, the Future,”
a podcast by Rose Eveleth,
5/12/15
This podcast briefly
reviews the current status of ectogenesis, the use
of artificial womb technology to grow human embryos,
and explores
how a variety of feminist schools of thought feel
about the technology. (The Human Family Research
Center presents this information
because of the potential of this technology to
impact the dignity of unborn children, not as an
endorsement.)
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