The apparently stillborn baby was born in December 2002 in the maternity wing of the central hospital in Orange, southern France, and was reanimated after 25 minutes of intense efforts. Those efforts were judged to constitute an abuse of intensive treatment and medication, according to French press reports. French law specifically condemns what it calls “Acharnement thérapeutique,” which is defined as using an exaggerated use of therapy which is disproportionate to any me... Read Full Story

An online poll carried in today’s issue of French daily Le Figaro, which tends to draw an informed, educated readership, asks “H1N1: Should we get (our) children vaccinated?” Currently running 70 percent “non” (no) the non-scientific poll has drawn not only comments negative toward the vaccine, but often virulent attacks against the vaccination policy. Below is a representative selection of comments for and against. The author has translated the comments into E... Read Full Story

Under the Oct. 23 agreement between Taipei and Washington, D.C., Taiwan has again opened its markets to “in-bone” beef and beef products from the United States. Taiwan had banned U.S. beef imports in 2003 following the discovery of a U.S. case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), popularly known as mad cow disease which manifests as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans.  In 2005 Taiwan lifted the ban on U.S. de-boned beef but reinstituted the ban two months later when ... Read Full Story

Following the latest E.coli O157:H7 outbreak -- the 18th in the past three years, U.S. Rep. George Miller, chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, has requested an investigation into how foods are approved as safe for the U.S. school meal programs, and consumer advocates are pressing for improved standards for testing meat for pathogens. Ground beef produced by Fairbank Farm in Ashville, New York, was blamed for the outbreak in New York that caused at least two deaths and sick... Read Full Story

Well it certainly can’t be said that Europeans aren’t interested in U.S. affairs, and reaction to the healthcare vote has been widespread. It cannot be said however that there’s been a wide spread of opinion to go with that reaction. Many people in France see the outcome of the vote as a positive development, but those same people generally doubt that the bill will get past the Senate. Let’s take a look at the biggest French national dailies. Sorry, I mean let’... Read Full Story

The $1.1 billion health care bill passed by the House of Representatives by a close 220-215 on Saturday may be a win for the public option but it sacrifices a key component in reproductive health for women, especially for poor and middle-class women. The amendment includes a ludicrous provision allowing the purchase of supplemental insurance if paid out of pocket for abortion services.  With many already uninsured, it is ludicrous to believe low and middle income women will buy supple... Read Full Story

Several shopkeepers in the XVIII district of Paris have been given suspended prison sentences and hefty fines for selling various skin whitening creams which are illegal in France because of their alleged toxicity. More cases dealing with the illegal sales are expected to be decided in coming days. The products are said to be imported mainly from African countries. City hall in Paris has also launched an internet information site on the creams in an effort to inform the public of the health... Read Full Story

by Fred Schulte, for the Huffington Post Investigative Fund  and American University's Investigative Reporting Workshop The government’s $45 billion plan to jump-start a national shift to electronic medical records has touched off a gold rush among scores of technology firms – even as many experts question whether the benefits of the products are being oversold. Federal officials won’t decide until early next year which types of systems to certify. But some of the wor... Read Full Story

Two members of the 30-member Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) have resigned following the Oct. 30 firing of the Council’s chairman and chief expert, Professor David Nutt.  Nutt was fired by Home Secretary Alan Johnson after he criticized politicians for allegedly distorting the facts and devaluating the panel’s findings, most notably concerning the classification of cannabis. In a published paper, Nutt reiterated his oft-stated view that illicit drugs should b... Read Full Story

Recent developments in H1N1-related issues here in France, such as lawsuits claiming that widespread vaccination represents an organized attempt at poisoning, a rise in declared infection and death rates of 55 percent in the last week, and the fact that over 80 percent of French people have declared  that they “will not” or “probably will not” get vaccinated, have led to sharpened debate and redoubled efforts by the government and health authorities to try and p... Read Full Story