Articles 

These are articles and clippings that may not have been featured in the News section, but are of interest to our members. Soon, you will be able to search on a topic and find only the articles that pertain to that topic. For now, just click on the title to review the full article.


April 9, 2007
Homosexual Sues Doctors Who Refused to Artificially Inseminate Her
An official with the Thomas More Law Center says doctors should be able to refuse to perform medical procedures that violate their sincerely held religious beliefs. The Law Center filed a brief in a case pending before the California Supreme Court, North Coast Women's Care v. Benitez, which involves a homosexual woman who sued two doctors after they refused to artificially inseminate her.

March 26, 2007
Thinking Outside the Egg, Scientists Propose Interspecies Cloning
At least three respected teams of British scientists have reignited the moral debate about inserting human genes into animal eggs by proposing experiments with the goal to eliminate the need for women to donate eggs for the cloning of human embryos. This is a research goal they say will enable them to better understand the genetic causes of many diseases and design personalized medicines.

February 27, 2007
TPRC Executive Committee Statement on HPV Vaccine
TPRC, after reviewing the literature and discussing the HPV vaccine and the mandate with numerous medical leaders, does not believe that the Executive Order issued by Governor Perry is the best way to proceed at this time. We concur with most major medical organizations that the vaccine Gardasil is too new, and the long term safety and duration of its effectiveness is unknown. A booster shot may be necessary. There are eight more vaccines against various HPV strains currently in development. We do not know if Gardasil will turn out to be the most efficacious or the safest. We do not know if it will be equally efficacious in boys and young men who also transmit the virus, but often have no symptoms. Gardasil does not cure existing HPV infections, does not treat HPV-related problems, does not reduce the need for screening exams or Pap smears, and does not reduce the risk of other sexually-transmitted infections (STI's). It is potentially a great step in the fight against cervical cancer. It should be the responsibility of parents and young adult women to decide if they desire to take advantage of this immunization at this stage of scientific knowledge. Hence, the public needs to be educated about the advantages of taking this vaccine. Parents and policy makers also need to promote abstinence as the safest, most effective means of preventing the spread of all STI's. More experience with this vaccine and more patient education is needed before making this vaccine a requirement for school attendance.

Submitted by: Linda W. Flower, M.D. Chairman.