Prostitution and Trafficking
Prostitution is a hazardous occupation, harmful to the prostitute and her client as well as their families and society. Its negative social effects also include the cost of disease and injuries to which prostitution gives rise. In rape, the security of a woman’s person is assaulted and stolen: in prostitution, it is assaulted, stolen and sold. Women in prostitution not only began poor, they are systematically kept poor by pimps who take the lion’s share of what they earn. Survivors of prostitution often report that each act of prostitution felt like a rape. In order to endure the multiple invasions of their bodies, women use drugs and alcohol to numb the assaults to their dignity and bodily integrity. Soon there remains no integrity and certainly no dignity. Eventually, the women’s physical and emotional health is destroyed
There are numerous reasons why people become involved in prostitution. Many have been affected by a weakening economy, experienced change or loss of households, are coerced by parents/”pimps” or simply because they have low self esteem. It has been estimated that between 28,000 and 30,000 of South Africa’s prostitutes are under the age of 18. Also, about half the child prostitutes are between 10 and 14 years of age and the other half between 15 and 18.3. Their lives are ruled by “pimps” and gangs who often take their money in exchange for protection, food or drugs. Prostitutes are notorious for not practicing safe sex. In addition, they are often victims of rape and assaults and are at a constant risk of acquiring and spreading HIV/AIDS and other infectious sexually transmitted diseases. Legalisation of prostitution will not end abuse; it will make abuse legal. Legalisation only allows criminals and members of organized crime rings to become legitimate businessmen and work hand-in-hand with the state in marketing women’s bodies. Prostitution is ultimately sexual slavery. Like all forms of slavery, the goal should be to eliminate it, not to make it legal so that it is more controlled.
Doctors for Life (DFL) oppose the legalisation of prostitution, but we support the care and restoration of prostitutes to a life that allows them to be safe and restores their dignity. DFL is committed to helping those who are entrapped by prostitution. DFL has counselling and rehabilitation available for those bound by this lifestyle and profession. There is freedom from prostitution and a new life awaits you.
Stem Cells and Cloning
Cloning is a method of reproduction used to copy a cell or an individual from their nuclear DNA. Except when there are errors or mutations during copying, a clone is, to a large extent, genetically identical to the original: it has the same DNA.
In April 2003, South Africa’s first cloned animal, a calf, was born. Scientists from South Africa collaborated with scientists from Den mark to make the event possible. At present, the survival rate of cloned animals is lower than their normal counterparts, but the technology is improving. The prevailing ethical questions concerning cloning are: Does man have the right to use scientific technology to create life? What right does a human have to clone another human?
At Doctors for Life (DFL), we believe that human life is sacred. Each individual is made by God in His image preferably by the union of genetic material from a husband and wife. We believe that the family is the basic social unit designed by God to receive and nurture new human life.
Morally, we oppose human cloning. First and foremost, the development of this technology will require the deliberate sacrifice of human embryos, a deliberate act of murder of a human life that began at conception. Any cell in that embryo contains all of the information needed for a complete human life. Additionally, we believe that God’s endows an eternal soul in each life that He creates. Furthermore, cloning may deviate from the wisdom of God’s design for human genetic diversity.
Scientifically, we oppose human cloning based on the potential for additive mutations, transmission of mitochondrial diseases, and negative effects from aging genetic material. From society’s viewpoint, we oppose human cloning based upon the issues of parentage, lineage, family structure and the uniqueness of the individual.
We affirm the need for continued medical, scientific and moral scrutiny as research on animal cloning proceeds and proposals for the application of this technology to humans are advanced. We at DFL believe that only God can and should create life. It is our opinion that the practice of cloning is man’s attempt to play God. Creating artificial life interferes with God’s divine plan for creation. DFL opposes all forms of cloning and will continue to work through legal and governmental channels to bring it to an end.
Substance Abuse
Drug addiction is responsible for one quarter of all deaths worldwide. Ninety-five percent of untreated addicts die from their addiction, while ninety-seven percent of addicts never seek any treatment. Images of substance abuse are prevalent throughout society. It has been reported that the average twenty year old has seen over 200,000 television commercials encouraging the use of alcohol and tobacco. All addicts will experience a time when they will crave the drug on which they depend, but none will be available and they will suffer withdrawal symptoms. The immediate response is to get the drug to relieve the pain of withdrawal. The reason for withdrawal is that drugs affect the cells of the body and the body counteracts with its own chemicals and adaptation. When the drug on which an addict is dependent is absent from his system, the body continues counteracting the drug even though it is no longer present. This causes irritation, mood swings, insomnia, stress, as well as emotional and physical pain. Acute withdrawal is a definite sign of dependency and addiction. In order to break an addiction, one needs total abstinence from the drug. Help is available through rehabilitation and professional counseling. Although the addiction may seem impossible to overcome, the trial of withdrawal will be small compared to the grip of addiction. Overcoming addiction is much easier with external help: physical, mental and spiritual. Substance abuse is a common illness and freedom can and should be found. Doctors for Life is here to help, please call.
Press Releases
Harm Reduction: More than just Side Effects Dr. A. van Eeden
The recent stance of the managing editor of the South African Medical Journal [1] in favour of the extremely controversial practice of decriminalizing drugs of abuse is both surprising and disconcerting.
When last has he sat in front of a drug addict who has lost their family through being addicted to drugs, or lost a job through accidents in the workplace related to cannabis abuse [2]? Or treated drug addicts from Switzerland, where they have failed to regulate substance abuse by providing clean needles, syringes and drugs.
Medical Science is exploding with new research that proves the harmful effects of marijuana use including:
• Causing psychosis in healthy people. [3]
• Harming teenage brains. [4]
• Increased risk of testicular cancer. [5]
• Poor foetal development. [6]
• Suppression of the immune system. [7]
The argument that we cannot root out drug abuse by keeping it a crime is irrelevant. Historically, not a single crime has been rooted out but we are not considering decriminalizing murder, rape, theft and fraud. To use the example of Jackie Selebi to legalize drugs is inappropriate.
The editor quotes that more harm is caused by legal drugs such as tobacco and alcohol than illegal drugs, ignoring that legalizing them appears to increase the harm. The implications of legalizing drugs to benefit the economy are vast:
• Politoxicomania. The very costly methadone distribution program in Zurich showed that almost all recipients consumed additional drugs and practically none of them stopped. [8]
• The financial implications of increased accidents in the workplace. Studies have shown that over 50% are drug related. [9]
• Increased work absenteeism. USA Postal Service employees who tested positive for drugs were absent 43% more often. [10]
• Medical claims and theft at work are tripled by drug abuse. [11]
The editor of the SAMJ quotes the UN Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961, but fails to mention the UNODC’s 52nd session of the Annual Commission on Narcotic Drugs March 2009, to which South Africa is a co-signatory. When some parties tried to include Harm Reduction policies (such as the managing editor is supporting), Sweden, Russia, Japan, the USA, Colombia, Sri Lanka and Cuba refused to sign the document unless the reference to harm reduction was removed.
The Alaska Supreme Court ruled in 1975 that the state could not interfere with an adult’s possession of marijuana for personal consumption in the home. A 1988 University of Alaska study showed that 12 to 17-year-olds used marijuana at more than twice the national average for their age group. Alaska’s residents voted in 1990 to re-criminalize the possession of marijuana.
In Holland the government started closing down “coffee shops” because many of them became outlets for the illegal drug trade, providing illegal amounts of cannabis and supplying underage children with the drug. After 15 years they have been unable to separate the illegal crime related activities from the legal. It looks like Holland has slipped into the quagmire of the slippery slope.
The U.K. reclassified marijuana as a less harmful Class C drug but moved it back to a more dangerous Class B drug in January 2009.
Doctors for Life International are all in favour of doing more as far as the rehabilitation of drug addicts is concerned. However, we feel that a prison sentence as an alternative to rehabilitation is a powerful incentive for substance abusers to seek help. To this end we would argue for more government funding for established rehabilitation units and NGO’s, who to a large extent have taken over the responsibility of the government in this regard.
References:
1. Van Niekerk J. Time to decriminalize drugs? BMJ 2011; 101: 79-80.
2. Block R, Ghoneim M. Effects of chronic marijuana use on human cognition. Psychopharmacology 110:219-228, 1993.
2. Pope H, Gruber A, Yurgelun-Todd D. The residual neuropsychological effects of cannabis: The current status of research. Drug and Alcohol Dependence 38:25-34, 1995.
3. Moore T, Zammit S, Lingford-Hughes A, Barnes T, Jones P, Burke M, Lewis G.
Cannabis use and risk of psychotic or affective mental health outcomes: a systematic review. The Lancet, Volume 370, Issue 9584, Pages 319 – 328, 28 July 2007.
4. http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2010/11/marijuana-study/(Accessed 29 April 2011)
5. http://www.fhcrc.org/about/ne/news/2009/02/09/marijuana.html (Accessed 29 April 2011)
6. El Marroun H, Tiemeier H, Steegers E, Jaddoe V, Hofman A, Verhulst F, van den Brink W, Huizink A. Intrauterine Cannabis Exposure Affects Foetal Growth Trajectories: The Generation R Study. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, Vol. 48, Issue 12, Pages 1173-1181, December 2009.
7. Hegde V, Nagarkatti M, Nagarkatti P. Cannabinoid receptor activation leads to massive mobilization of myeloid-derived suppressor cells with potent immuno- suppressive properties. European Journal of Immunology, 2010; 40 (12): 3358-3371
8. Association for the Advancement of Psychological Understanding of Human Nature VPM, Argumentum against Drug Legalization, A discussion Aid, A contribution in Support of the Swiss Peoples Referendum for a Youth Without Drugs, (P 20).
9. Bensinger. 1st International Symposium against Drugs in Switzerland. Ways to a Drug-Free Society and Physiopathology of Illicit Drugs, (P 479).
10. Bensinger. 1st International Symposium against Drugs in Switzerland, Ways to a Drug-Free Society and Physiopathology of Illicit Drugs, (P 484).
11. Bensinger. 1st International Symposium against Drugs in Switzerland, Ways to a Drug-Free Society and Physiopathology of Illicit Drugs, (P 480).
Alternative Medicine
Doctors for Life would like to re-affirm our commitment to promoting holistic health to all the people of South Africa in a scientifically sound and morally accountable way. Representing over one thousand health practitioners, we stand for the practice of medicine that is based on evidence and the highest ethics. We are of the opinion that any form of medicine that is not based on empirical evidence is potentially (and ultimately) harmful to patients in need. As was stated during our presentation before the parliamentary committee on Traditional Health Practitioners (in February 1998), we are of the opinion, based on research and many testimonies of fellow South Africans, that:
1. Traditional medical practices have, over time, not improved the survival of children or mothers in birth or patients.
2. Most of the medicines used by traditional practitioners have not been validated scientifically.
3. Many people suffer because of the serious complications (side-effects) that arise due to the use of traditional medicines.
4. As stated by the World Health Organization (WHO), most traditional health practitioners make use of “intangible forces” (“spirits”) in their practice of healing.
5. Traditional healers (at least African traditional healers) are priests of the religious system of African Traditional Religion (ATR), and function as such. To grant them the status of health professionals without doing the same to office bearers of other religions would be discriminatory against other religions.
6. Occult powers are used in most (the WHO says in all) of the therapeutic acts of traditional healers.
7. Traditional healers make their diagnosis (and therapeutic combinations) with the aid of “spirits” and under the control of the “spirits”.
8. Most traditional healers are “called” by the “spirits” to become healers.
9. The licensing of traditional healers will have a negative impact on the economy of South Africa, with regards to giving people time off work for long periods, as often required by the “ancestral spirits”.
10. African traditional healing often is Progressive by nature: According to reports, traditional healers often resort to human sacrifice after trying all other herbal prescriptions on patients in vain. “Like any other business, the aim of this trade is to make profits. Because the traditional healer needs more money and does not want to admit failure, he will prescribe something more difficult for the patient; such as looking for a child to sacrifice in order to cure their illness.”
We feel strongly that The Traditional Health Practitioners Bill is a mechanism that:
1. cannot regulate the spirit world,
2. cannot control the communication between “ancestral spirits” and the healers,
3. cannot ensure safety for the public against the detrimental affects of traditional
medicines.
It is irrational to allow the regulation of the use of medicines that have not been scientifically validated. This does not appear responsible, sensible or reasonable. While the Bill proposes that the Council will make rules pertaining to traditional medicines that will “protect the public”, we fail to understand how the public will be protected if the healers are still allowed to use medicines that have not been validated scientifically.
While we recognise the positive intention of the Bill, we fail to see how it will “ensure quality of health care” if traditional health practitioners are still allowed to use medicines that are prescribed by the “spirits” (as happens predominantly with African traditional
healers).
We consider it our medical and scientific responsibility to ask this sober question: “How can we regulate what is not yet proven to be right and reliable therapeutic options?!” Should we not first research what is claimed to be remedies before we regulate it?
In the present format of the Bill we also cannot see (despite the definition) how “unprofessional conduct” will be determined. Will it be unprofessional to use vaginal secretions for making a traditional remedy (as is the practice with some healers)? Will it be unprofessional to use scrapings from the armpits? Or is it only unprofessional to use
medicines that have not been researched and validated yet?
We are convinced that passing this Bill will open “a can of worms” of legal controversies and implications. One example would be the question as to whether traditional healers will be authorized to issue death certificates.
As Doctors for Life International, we are committed to be part of the solution and not part of the problem and would therefore like to request of the government to further investigate the ramifications of passing such a Bill before voting on it.
Harsh Realities of Prostitution Not Reported On
Doctors for Life International has noted the continual reports in some of the media that the decriminalization of prostitution may, should or is going to happen. Do they realize that they may be leading innocent young people into a life of slavery and drug addiction by publishing these suggestions?
It is irresponsible for these media to keep on suggesting that the decriminalization of prostitution is an option. It will most probably cause young girls from the rural areas to flock to the cities thinking that they are going to make easy money. Inevitably most of these young girls will end up under the often brutal control of a pimp and become drug addicted victims of human trafficking that will be subjected to all kinds of abuse.
Prostitution: When will we ever learn?
The current saga surrounding the theft of money from the Egyptian soccer team whilst allegedly entertaining prostitutes reinforces South Africa as not only a crime capital and hub for international drug trafficking, but also as a country where prostitution is tolerated. This is being aggravated by the continuous proposals of high-ranking government officials that prostitution should be legalised for the 2010 Soccer World Cup. These reckless and irresponsible statements imply that the government is in favour of relaxing the existing laws on illegal prostitution, which will be an open invitation to sex traffickers to utilise the World Cup to induce thousands of girls into sex slavery. (more…)
Pornography
Doctors for Life was instrumental in getting the Constitutional Court of South Africa to rule that the production and/or possession of child pornography is illegal. DFL presented some of the latest research to the court on the effects of pornography on the brains of those who view it. It has been proven that pornographic images are often stored in the brain as real experiences. This has a dramatic impact on behavior and may for a long time since the images are not easily forgotten.
It was decide by the court that, “Child pornography is universally condemned for good reason. It strikes at the dignity of children, It is harmful to children who are used in its production, and it is potentially harmful because of the attitude to child sex that it fosters and the use to which it can be put in grooming children to engage in sexual conduct”.
Doctors for Life offers help and counseling to those who are addicted to any form of pornography. Like any addiction, the craving only grows. In this case, the addict needs to find more lewd and graphic forms of pornography. There is help though. Many have escaped the addiction of pornography and so can you.
Pedophilia
Pedophilia, defined as an adult participating in sexual activity with a child, is endemic in South Africa and around the world. Sex with minors has become a proliferating business. In South Africa alone, there are an estimated 38,000 child prostitutes. Children are being sold to brothels, clubs and other illegal venues where they are exploited as modern day slaves.1
South Africa has an estimated 58 rapes per day of children under the age of 18. Over 52,000 cases of rape were reported in 2002 and approximately 40 percent of the victims were under 18. Studies have shown that 1 out of 3 girls and 1 out of 5 boys in South Africa are sexually molested.2 Legal authorities, as well as academic experts, have put partial blame on some traditional healers for the surge in the number of child rapes. The said healers have advised patients who are HIV positive to have sex with a virgin as a “cure” for the disease. Doctors for Life (DFL) strongly advocates that this criminal practice will not cure HIV/AIDS, but will spread the disease to uninfected children.
Though numerous children are forced into the sex trade on the streets, many are reportedly raped by immediate family members. In response to the growing number of sexual abuse cases against children, the South African government has called for a review of “the legislation governing sexual crimes”.3 Pedophilia is a heinous crime which must be stopped, not only for the safety and protection of minor children but for the preservation of the moral fiber of South Africa. Doctors for Life offers help and counseling to pedophiles who wish to find release from this addictive sexual behavior. We also offer support for the many who have been victims of sexual abuse or assault. Please contact DFL for more information.
Medical Ethics
Doctors for Life’s Executive Board of Directors has written their seven principles of medical practice that they endeavour to follow based on the Hippocratic Oath and the Declaration of Geneva:
1. I will practice my profession with conscience and dignity. The health of my patient will be my first consideration, and I will seek the counsel of particularly skilled physicians where indicated for the benefit of my patient.
2. I will give to my teachers the respect and gratitude which is their due, and will continue with diligence to deep abreast with the advances in medicine.
3. I will respect the sanctity of life from the time of conception until natural death, I will not participate in the counsel or any act that will cause an abortion, that deliberately takes a unique human life. I will neither prescribe nor administer a lethal dose of medicine to any patient even if asked nor counsel any such thing.
4. I will respect the secrets that are confided in me.
5. Into whatever patient setting I enter, I will go for the benefit of the sick and will abstain from every voluntary act of mischief or corruption and further from the seduction of any patient.
6. I will not permit considerations of religion, nationality, race, party politics or social standing to intervene between my duty and my patient.
7. I will maintain by all means in my power the honour and noble traditions of the medical profession.
Though ethics concerning the medical profession are ever evolving and changing as technology advances, Doctors For Life (DFL) believes that it is the responsibility of medical professionals to assure the preservation of life. DFL opposes all forms of cloning and continues to work through legal channels to end this practice.
DFL is also on the legal front in the battle against pornography, pedophilia, rape and other forms of sexual crime and abuse. It is our belief that stronger governmental legislation will deter crimes against the body, mind and spirit. We are also waging a war against false information about the spread and contraction of the AIDS virus. We stand adamantly against the advice of healers and witch doctors who espouse that a person with HIV/AIDS can be cured by engaging in sexual intercourse with a virgin.
In addition, DFL offers information on the effects of drug and alcohol abuse and the long-term ramifications of usage. We provide counseling and comfort to those who wish to escape the snare of crime or addiction, and also to those who have been victimized by it. We believe the practice of medicine includes not only the healing of the body, but the restoration of the whole person, body, mind, and soul.
IVF and Surrogacy
The traditional family unit based on a heterosexual marriage forms the building block upon which the overall structure of a successful society is derived. Consequently, sexual reproduction is not just a physical act but one with consequences with immense power to exert an effect on every aspect of society.
Technologies that are used to assist the process of reproduction need to have a solid moral foundation and framework with clearly defined limitations on the techniques employed. The goal of the moral framework employed should be based on the preservation of the family unit.
Based on these points, the fusion of the egg with the sperm for the purposes of reproduction should be limited to married couples. This will ensure that the resulting embryo maintains its biological and social integrity as part of its family unit.
A lack of an ethical framework for the use of reproductive technologies such as egg and sperm donations causes arbitrary use leading inevitably, to abuse. For example, fertility clinics in Cape Town are currently running advertisements for couples in the US and the UK to come to South Africa for inexpensive fertility services. The adverts promise multiracial egg donations as part of a “vacation “package” which includes sight seeing at the popular holiday destination. Young local students are offered money in exchange for donations of their eggs. In addition to undergoing extensive medical procedures, the donors help produce children with whom they will have no emotional or familial ties.
At the end of the day, the victims are the defenseless, the children. Furthermore, this type of abuse and other irresponsible uses lacking the necessary ethical framework only serve to cause an irreversible damage to the child produced, the traditional family unit and hence all of society eventually.
The only way to ensure that this useful technology is used for the greater good of society is to protect the boundaries within which it is applied and ensure the preservation of the traditional family unit by limiting the fusion of the egg and the sperm to that of married couples only.
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