William Keener, a resident of North Carolina and member of the
state chapter of the Secular Coalition for America, writes on
a “modest” new bill that would enact stricter
immunization requirements in the state:
We can only hope that this proposed legislation leads to a
more rational, evidence-based public discussion about the
true risks and benefits of vaccinations and better informed
consent conversations between doctors and patients. Enacting
stricter immunization requirements is necessary but not
sufficient to save us from misinformed dissent against our
best medical advice on immunizations.
Sens. Jeff Tarte (R-Mecklenburg), Tamara Barringer (R-Wake)
and Terry Van Duyn (D-Buncombe) should be applauded for
introducing this bill and starting an important conversation
about immunizations and public health in North Carolina.
The HPV vaccine and the “home school loophole” still need to
be addressed, but we should do so and pass a bill as quickly
as possible based on the best medical knowledge and evidence
– not on our fears.
When it comes to vaccinations, we’re all in the same herd
and share in the responsibility for public health.
Reutersreports that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration will hold a public
hearing seeking information and comments on the use
of homeopathic products, as well as the agency’s
framework for such products:
The hearing, scheduled for April 20-21, will discuss
prescription drugs, biological products, and
over-the-counter drugs labeled homeopathic, a market that
has expanded to become a multimillion dollar industry in the
United States.
The agency is set to evaluate its regulatory framework for
homeopathic products after a quarter century.
Melissa Davey reports in The Guardian on the results
of an extensive review of existing studies on homeopathy:
Homeopaths believe that illness-causing substances can, in
minute doses, treat people who are unwell.
By diluting these substances in water or alcohol, homeopaths
claim the resulting mixture retains a “memory” of the
original substance that triggers a healing response in the
body.
These claims have been widely disproven by multiple studies,
but the NationalHealth
and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) has for the first time
thoroughly reviewed 225 research papers on homeopathy to
come up with its position statement, released on Wednesday.
“Based on the assessment of the evidence of effectiveness of
homeopathy, NHMRC concludes that there are no health
conditions for which there is reliable evidence that
homeopathy is effective,” the report concluded.
“People who choose homeopathy may put their health at risk
if they reject or delay treatments for which there is good
evidence for safety and effectiveness.”
An independent company also reviewed the studies and
appraised the evidence to prevent bias.
Nearly 8 of 10 Americans believe parents should be required to
vaccinate their healthy children against preventable diseases
such as measles, mumps, rubella and polio, according to a new
CNN/ORC poll shows. Furthermore, if the children are not
vaccinated, most agree the child should not be allowed to
attend public school or day care.
In The Guardian, Michael Marshall discusses a new
report from Mirror Online that focuses on a breast
cancer patient who has refused the surgery and chemotherapy
her doctors advised, electing instead to try and treat her
condition with an intense regime of raw food and supplements:
… there’s no shortage of voices within the the
so-called alternative movement advising seriously ill cancer
patients to abandon proven medicine for the latest rumoured
natural cancer cure.
Although most of the treatments promoted by well-meaning but
ultimately ill-informed alternative cancer activists merely
offer no benefit, some can be actively dangerous in their
own right.
On ThinkProgress, Sam P.K. Collins writes that,
troublingly, “an increasing number of people are turning
to alternative forms of medicine to reduce stress, relieve
chronic pain, and treat other ailments, according to two
studies from the National Institutes of Health.”
Researchers at NIH surveyed more than 89,000 adults and more
than 17,000 children between the ages of 4 and 17 about
their health habits. Their findings,
released
in the National Health Statistics Report earlier this month,
showed that nearly one out of three people in the United
States seek alternative forms of medicine, including fish
oil, probiotics, melatonin, chiropractic medicine and yoga.
For five percent of respondents in that group, the
nontraditional methods — primarily fish oil and melatonin —
served as their sole form of medication.
“While the National Center for Health Statistics study does
not assess why shifts in use occur, some of the trends are
in line with published research on the efficacy of natural
products,” Josephine P. Briggs, M.D., director of NIH’s
National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health,
said in a press statement. ”For example, the use of melatonin, shown in studies to
have some benefits for sleep issues, has risen dramatically.
Conversely, the use of Echinacea has fallen, which may
reflect conflicting results from studies on whether it’s
helpful for colds. This reaffirms why it is important for
NIH to study these products and to provide that information
to the public.”
The
increasing popularity
of alternative medicine — defined as methods of treatment
that are not a part of conventional medical training — has
taken place amid
growing skepticism
about the medical industry. Recent surveys have shown that
Americans are increasingly distrustful of doctors, which falls in line with the public’s general distrust of
institutions.
Michael S. Rosenwald writes in The Washington Post on
an emerging leader in the debate over end-of-life care:
Diane Rehm and her husband John had a pact: When the time
came, they would help each other die.
John’s time came last year. He could not use his hands. He
could not feed himself or bathe himself or even use the
toilet. Parkinson’s had ravaged his body and exhausted his
desire to live.
“I am ready to die,” he told his Maryland doctor. “Will you
help me?”
The doctor said no, that assisting suicide is
illegal in Maryland. Diane remembers him specifically warning her, because she
is so well known as an NPR talk show host, not to help. No
medication. No pillow over his head. John had only one
option, the doctor said: Stop eating, stop drinking.
So that’s what he did. Ten days later, he died.
For Rehm, the inability of the dying to get legal medical
help to end their lives has been a recurring topic on her
show. But her husband’s slow death was a devastating episode
that helped compel her to enter the contentious right-to-die
debate.
“I feel the way that John had to die was just totally
inexcusable,” Rehm said in a long interview in her office.
“It was not right.”
Ian Millhiser of ThinkProgress reports on a series of
promising developments regarding the birth control rule:
On Wednesday, a panel of the United States Court of Appeals
for the Third Circuit
upheld federal rules intended to ensure access to birth
control, over a claim that employers who object to following those
rules on religious groups should be exempt from them. With
that, the Third Circuit became the fourth federal appeals
court to reach a similar conclusion in a challenge brought
by an employer who objects to some or all forms of birth
control, despite concerns that the Supreme Court’s decision
in
Burwell v. Hobby Lobby
would impede access to contraceptive care.
Canada’s highest court struck down a ban on
doctor-assisted suicide for mentally competent patients with
terminal illnesses Friday, declaring that outlawing that
option deprives dying people of their dignity and autonomy.
The Supreme Court’s unanimous decision reverses its
own decision two decades ago and gives Parliament and
provincial legislators a year to draft new legislation that
recognizes the right of consenting adults who are enduring
intolerable suffering to seek medical help ending their
lives. The current ban on doctor-assisted suicide stands
until then.
The judgment said the ban infringes on the life, liberty and
security of individuals under Canada’s constitution.
It had been illegal in Canada to counsel, aid or abet a
suicide, an offense carrying a maximum prison sentence of 14
years.
Dave Weigel of Bloomberg Politics reports that U.S.
Senators Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein, both of
California, today released a letter that they sent to the
state’s secretary for health and human services, calling
for a change in personal exemptions to vaccines:
“California’s current law allows two options for
parents to opt out of vaccine requirements for school and
daycare. … They must either make this decision with
the aid of a health professional, or they can simply check a
box claiming that they have religious objections to medical
care. We think both options are flawed, and oppose even the
notion of a medical professional assisting to waive a
vaccine requirement unless there is a medical reason, such
as an immune deficiency.”
