Monday, August 29, 2011

Life Links 8/29/11

FOX News has an article about how adult stem cells are being used to treat multiple sclerosis at the Cleveland Clinic.
Dr. Jeffrey Cohen of the Cleveland Clinic said the main goal of the study is to demonstrate that the treatment is safe, but also to find out if the treatment will benefit the patient.

White’s bone marrow, which contains mesenchymal stem cells, was collected, then purified and multiplied. After four to six weeks, doctors gave White an infusion of these stem cells, which are thought to decrease the damaging immune activity.

“We’ve had a number of effective treatments for MS that slow down the disease, but nothing that repairs the damage that has already occurred and many of us think that stem cells is one of the most promising approaches to accomplish that,” Cohen said.

Two months after the infusion, White said he has not had any side effects. He said he has better eye movement and muscle movement.

The Washington Times has an update on Virginia's draft regulations for abortion clinics which are opposed by pro-choice groups.
Pro-choice groups say recently released draft regulations governing abortion clinics in Virginia would be the most stringent such measures in the country and are part of a politically motivated plot to undermine the rights of women to access abortions.

In the National Review, Katherina Trinko writes about Ron Paul's prolife beliefs and his position on abortion/federalism.
But Paul still has a problem with pro-lifers. He wants to return abortion-legalization decisions to the states, not work to make abortion illegal on the federal level. “Strangely, given that my moral views are akin to theirs, various national pro-life groups have been hostile to my position on this issue. But I also believe in the Constitution, and therefore, I consider it a state-level responsibility to restrain violence against any human being,” Paul wrote in his book Liberty Defined, published this spring.

In practical terms, what Paul proposes is removing abortion-related legislation from the jurisdiction of the federal courts rather than fighting to overturn Roe v. Wade. He views his proposal as “simpler,” since the jurisdiction could be removed via legislation rather than pushing for a Supreme Court decision, and he believes that if the jurisdiction of the federal courts was removed, abortion laws could be decided on a state-by-state basis. “Ending nationally legalized abortions by federal court order is neither a practical answer to the problem nor a constitutionally sound argument,” he wrote.

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