The press review index from 15 to 19 October 2007

Abortion figures throughout the world

According to a study published in medical journal The Lancet, 20% of pregnancies throughout the world end in spontaneous or induced abortions. The abortion rate fell by 17% between 1995 and 2003, from 46 to 42 million. In Eastern Europe, nearly half of all pregnancies end in abortion.

Gilda Sedgh and Iqbal Shas, the study authors, explain that abortions carried out by people without the necessary skills and/or under insufficiently hygienic conditions are "a major cause" of maternal mortality. Most (97%) of such deaths occur in developing countries.

The decrease in abortion rates was higher in developed countries compared to developing countries. For the study authors, "the decrease in the abortion rate coincides with a significant increase in contraceptive use". *

The authors also report that non-medical abortions are still carried out in countries where abortion is legal, due to a lack of information or limited access to medical services.

* Editor's note: A study published by INPES (French national health safety and education institute) revealed that despite one of the highest rates of contraceptive use in Europe, France had a very high rate of 200,000 induced abortions per year. Half of the women who aborted used effective contraception. The study spoke of the "French contraceptive paradox".

Cyberpresse.ca 12/10/07 -

The supposed "promise" of embryonic stem cells

BBC News commented on the proposal by American company StemLifeLine to store unused IVF embryos to create personalised treatments using stem cells harvested from these frozen embryos.

Certain scientists one day hope to develop treatments for diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, for example, using human embryonic stem cells. BBC News stressed, however, that stem cells derived from human embryos have never successfully been used to treat any disease whatsoever.

For StemLifeLine, the fact that they may one day be able to do so is sufficient in itself. Lord Winston, a British expert on the matter, spoke out against what he views "a clear example of exploitation of the worries of couples about the fate of their children". Professor Stephen Minger (King's College, London), a stem cell expert, added that it was too early for such a procedure : "It is like trying to run before you can walk, and the fact it is being done for commercial purposes makes it worse".

BBC News 15/10/07

Warning against freezing eggs

Two American organisations representing fertility professionals, including the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ARSM), have warned women against freezing their eggs. "Egg-freezing is still an experimental procedure. It should not be marketed for the purposes of defying the consequences of reproductive ageing in healthy women", said Dr Marc Fritz, chairman of the ARSM.

The warning has been supported by a Canadian fertility expert. He pointed out that these women are in good health and freeze their eggs as a kind of "fertility insurance polity" to be able to delay having a baby until later in life. In the UK, around 200 women have frozen their eggs since this service became available 8 years ago.

The experts wish women to be made aware that this is a new technique whose success rate is still to be determined and that the long-term health of babies born from frozen embryos remains unknown.

This warning is not levelled at women who freeze their eggs or part of their ovaries because they have to undergo medical treatment, such as chemotherapy, which would make them sterile.

Doctors Jack Huang and Seang Lin Tan from McGill University (Montreal) analysed 167 pregnancies from eggs that had been frozen, thawed, fertilised then implanted. 202 babies were born from these pregnancies. There were 1.4% of congenital abnormalities for single babies and 5% for twins, which is in line with standard pregnancy figures.

La Presse Canadienne 16/10/2007 - www.telegraph.co.uk (Nic Fleming) 17/10/07

United States : embryo files lawsuit

A frozen embryo, Mary Scott Doe, represented by Martin Palmer, a well-known American lawyer, has filed a lawsuit against the chairman of the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine, a stem cell research organisation. The case was heard before the Federal Court in Pasadena (California). The purpose of the lawsuit is to demonstrate that research on human embryonic stem cells violates the 13th and 14th U.S. Constitutional amendments, which guarantee equal protection for all and outlaw slavery, respectively.

Martin Palmer began his argument by paraphrasing the Bible : "In the beginning there was a message and that message is life". He went on to compare Mary Scott Doe's situation to that of slaves before the civil war. The choice of the name "Scott" is a deliberate reference to Dred Scott, the slave who in 1857 filed a lawsuit to win his freedom.

Wired 12/10/07 - BioEdge 18/10/07