As NRL News went to press, Governor Mike Rounds was considering whether to sign a bill passed by the South Dakota legislature that would challenge Roe v. Wade by prohibiting abortion except to save the life of the mother.

Currently there are at least five votes on the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold Roe v. Wade.  Justices Kennedy, Souter, and Stevens voted in favor of Roe in the case of Planned Parenthood v. Casey and Justices Breyer and Ginsburg are known to favor Roe.  Two Justices, Scalia and Thomas, are known to oppose Roe. Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Alito have not voted on the holding of Roe v. Wade.

Multiple Sclerosis Patient Walks after Stem Cell Treatment

Malcolm Pear, a 51-year-old multiple sclerosis (MS) patient from Worcestershire, England, walked without crutches for the first time in years after traveling to Holland for an adult stem cell treatment, according to The Mirror. Cells from umbilical cords were injected into his spine January 11, and Pear was soon walking.

"Now I am able to take our dog for a walk around the park every day," Pear told The Mirror. "I take a walking stick with me because I have been so used to it for years, but I haven't had to use it at all since getting back from Holland. Now I look forward to getting up every morning to see what else is possible."

MS is a degenerative disease that attacks the nervous system. Pear was diagnosed with MS in 1996, five years after he began to notice symptoms such as blurred vision and difficulty walking, The Mirror reported.

Pear and his wife Lesley raised the 14,000 pounds needed for the treatment in Holland with help from their community, according to the Birmingham Post.

The procedure is not available in England, and the Pears are urging the National Health Service to offer it to patients. "My life has been transformed and I believe people in this country should be given the chance to have the treatment here," Pear told The Mirror. "I've not had any side effects and I'm living proof that it works."

"I still strongly believe that they should at least be trial-ling it in this country," Lesley Pear told the Post. "I have spoken to upwards of 80 people in the last three weeks who said they would be only too happy to put themselves up for trial."

"Amazing Grace" Thrives after In Utero Surgery

The first baby to have a cardiac device implanted in her heart while she was still in her mother's womb, little Grace VanDerwerken returned home with her family 17 days after birth. Although her heart defect requires more surgeries to come, Grace's in utero operation means she will be healthy enough to thrive, according to the Washington Post.

Grace's parents, Angela and Jay VanDerwerken of Ashburn, Virginia, discovered during a routine ultrasound that their fourth child had hypoplastic left-heart syndrome (HLHS), meaning that the main pumping chamber in her heart failed to develop. In addition, the passage between the two chambers was closed, causing blood to back up into her lungs, the Post reported.

HLHS requires surgeries after birth to rebuild the heart, but in previous cases the survival rate was only 20–50%, according to the Associated Press (AP). The VanDerwerkens found that Children's Hospital Boston had experience in treating such cases.

Doctors at Children's Hospital decided to increase Grace's chances of survival by opening a hole in the wall between her heart's chambers and implanting a stent, or a small tube, to make sure the blood continued to pump between the chambers. This would be the first time doctors implanted a stent before birth, the Post reported.

Grace remained inside her mother's womb throughout the 11 1/2 hour operation November 7. The surgical team threaded a wire with a balloon through Angela VanDerwerken abdomen and uterus and into Grace's heart. The balloon was inflated to release pressure that was created by the blocked blood. A hole was then created in the chamber walls, and the stent implanted, according to the Post.

Grace was born January 10, weighing 8 pounds, 2 ounces, with healthy pink skin and no problems breathing. She left Boston January 27 after recovering from her first open-heart surgery to return to Virginia. Grace is expected to have two more operations when she is about 6 months and then 2 years old, the Post reported.

"We picked her name after we found out she was a girl, which was when we first found out she had a heart defect," said Angela VanDerwerken, according to the AP. "We knew she would be a blessing to our family no matter what. And now she is to the world over. She's our amazing Grace."

Dutch Official Calls for Forced Abortions

Alderman Marianne van den Anker, the Netherlands official in charge of health and security in the city of Rotterdam, told a Dutch newspaper that pregnant drug addicts, women with mental disabilities, and teenage immigrants from Antilles and Aruba should have court-ordered abortions.

In an interview with NRC Handelsblad, van den Anker cited the "unacceptable risk" of abuse against children born to mothers in those particular groups. She would allow the courts to order abortions based on the testimony of experts and social workers who "who can see in 95 percent or even 100 percent of cases whether the child has a chance of growing up with love," NRC Handelsblad reported.

Response to van den Anker's suggestion was almost universally negative. Officials with a foundation working to help immigrants in Rotterdam said that her comments were degrading, according to the news agency ANP. In addition, a spokesperson for the Christian Democrat (CDA) political party, part of a coalition with van den Anker's Leefbaar Rotterdam party, denounced her ideas.

"If Leefbaar Rotterdam raises this idea in the talks to form a new coalition, the CDA will not be part of such an executive," the spokesperson told ANP.

Adult Stem Cells May Treat Alzheimer's

Bone marrow stem cells obtained from a patient's own body may one day be able to treat Alzheimer's disease, according to a report in the February 16 issue of Neuron.

Alzheimer's disease occurs when plaque builds up in the brain, according to UPI. Immune cells called microglia that are present in the brain are not able to fight off the plaque, which eventually kills the brain's neurons, or nerve cells.

Researchers at Université Laval and Centre hospitalier universitaire de Québec, with funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), conducted tests using mice to see if microglia taken from bone marrow and introduced into the brain would attack the plaque and protect the neurons. The bone marrow cells successfully destroyed the plaque, according to a CIHR press release.

"If you inject the bone marrow stem cells into the brain, they will digest the plaque," Remi Quirion, scientific director of CIHR's Institute of Neurosciences, Mental Health, and Addiction, told CanWest News Service. "So basically ... you may be able to improve the prognosis by slowing down the progression or even reverse Alzheimer's disease."

The researchers also found that anti-inflammatory drugs routinely given to Alzheimer's patients may actually hamper the efforts of immune cells to fight the disease, according to the CIHR press release. The common wisdom about Alzheimer's has held that the inflammation caused by the efforts of the brain's microglia to fight the plaque was what caused the neurons to die. However, Dr. Serge Rivest said that instead of prescribing drugs, the disease should be treated by introducing bone marrow immune cells.

"Stem cells should be harvested from the patients themselves, thus limiting the risks of both rejection and adverse effects," said Rivest in the CIHR press release. "While this cellular therapy will not prevent Alzheimer's, by curbing plaque development, we believe that it will help patients prolong their autonomy and cognitive capacity. We believe that this is new and powerful weapon in the fight to conquer Alzheimer's."

Baby Charlotte's Life in Jeopardy Again

Just four months after a British judge ordered doctors to treat two-year-old Charlotte Wyatt, Mr. Justice Hedley reversed his ruling February 24 and will allow doctors to let her die.

Charlotte, disabled since her birth in October 2003, has an "aggressive viral condition" and is on a "downward rather than an upward trend," Hedley said, according to the Daily Post. Because she is not doing well, Hedley said doctors do not have to insert a tube in her windpipe to help her breathe.

"Medical evidence speaks with one voice that ventilation simply will not achieve the end for which no doubt the parents would wish and indeed that Charlotte would be unlikely to survive such a procedure," Hedley added.

Hedley said that doctors would continue to allow Charlotte to breathe through a mask. However, he rejected any other treatment. "If, in fact, she does not respond then, ... it will become a case for TLC (tender loving care) supported by a palliative regime," Hedley ruled, according to the Daily Mail. In other words, doctors will keep her comfortable but do nothing further to help her live.

After Hedley ordered that she receive medical care in October 2005, Charlotte was able to go home for a brief Christmas visit. However, she soon went back to the hospital.

Charlotte's parents, Darren and Debbie Wyatt, have endured grueling court battles in their attempts to secure medical treatment for their daughter. The marriage has suffered, and Mr. Wyatt attempted suicide earlier this month, according to the Daily Mail.

Darren Wyatt told the Sunday Times that he hopes to reconcile with his family. "I want to have all my kids and Charlotte at home," he said.

Florida Parental Notification Law Upheld

Citing the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Ayotte v. Planned Parenthood, a federal judge upheld Florida's parental notification law February 10. The Supreme Court refused to overturn New Hampshire's similar statute in a January 18 ruling.

Senior U.S. District Judge William Stafford declared that Florida's law, which include a judicial bypass procedure, does not impose "undue burdens" on minors seeking abortions, the Orlando Sentinel reported.

Stafford had previously refused to stop the law from going into effect in a July 2005 decision. The law followed a 2004 constitutional amendment passed by Florida voters that authorized the legislature to pass a parental notification law.

The law provides that when unmarried girls 17 or younger seek an abortion, the abortionist must notify one parent "in person or by phone 48 hours before the abortion or, if that's not possible, by certified mail 72 hours in advance," according to the Associated Press.

"If parents must be notified when their children have their tonsils removed, they should be notified in these situations as well," Florida Attorney General Charlie Crist said, according to the Sentinel. "Today's ruling means that the will of the people will be carried out."

New Type of Stem Cell Found in Umbilical Cords

University of Minnesota researchers have identified a type of stem cell in umbilical cords that could be used to treat stroke victims. Their report was published in the journal Stem Cells and Development.

The primitive cells developed into "neuron-like" cells in rodents with experimental strokes, which "resulted in significant reductions in the size of brain lesion, and improved these animals' use of their limbs," according to a University of Minnesota Academic Health Center (AHC) press release.

"We are excited by this discovery because it provides additional insight into how stem cells can restore function in the brain after injury," said Walter Low, Ph.D., senior investigator of the study.

In addition to forming into new brain cells, the stem cells, which were harvested without harming the donors, also stimulated nerve fibers already in the brain to reorganize. Low speculated that this reorganization contributed to the regained function seen in the rodents, the press release stated.

Euthanasia Numbers Rising in Belgium

Almost 400 people in Belgium died by euthanasia in 2005, according to the country's Federal Commission of Euthanasia. The number has been rising steadily since 2002, when Belgium became the second European country after the Netherlands to legalize euthanasia.

The reported number of cases was 200 in 2002 and 360 in 2004, the Associated Press (AP) reported. The actual number may be much higher, according to Wim Distelmans, the euthanasia commission's chairman.

"If we compare our situation with the situation in the Netherlands, we can assume that the actual number of people undergoing euthanasia is five times as high," Distelmans said, according to UPI.

Doctors can kill patients over age 18 who have made a "specific, voluntary, and repeated request," according to the AP, and who are "in a hopeless medical situation and constantly be suffering physically or psychologically."

Patients who are not terminally ill can be euthanized after a second opinion from a psychiatrist or a specialist in the patient's medical condition.

The northern region of Flanders accounts for 80% of the euthanasia cases, according to Belgian newspaper Het Volk. That area has an organized network of doctors who will provide the needed second opinion for non-terminally ill patients.

British Judge Denies Parents Right to Know about Minors' Abortions

A British High Court judge refused the petition of a parent seeking the right to be informed if her minor daughters attempt to obtain an abortion. Mr. Justice Silber ruled January 23 that girls under 16 have a right to confidentiality in medical care.

Sue Axon, mother of five, brought the petition to the High Court because she said she had an abortion 20 years ago and didn't want her children to go through an unexpected pregnancy without her help.

"Having endured the trauma of abortion I brought the case to ensure medical professionals would not carry out an abortion on one of my daughters without first informing me," Axon told reporters, according to the Daily Star. "I could then discuss such a life-changing event with her and provide the support she would need. I am obviously disappointed by the judgment."

Guidelines issued by the Department of Health in 2004 require doctors to keep their treatment of minors in sexual matters and abortion confidential, even from their parents, according to The Mirror. Axon challenged these guidelines, claiming they violated her parental rights.

Mr. Justice Silber upheld the regulations, stating that "confidentiality is regarded as the most important factor by young people who are seeking advice from medical professionals on sexual matters," according to the Daily Mail.

He added that "if young girls are deterred because of the lack of confidentiality from seeking advice from a doctor on a possible abortion, she might by so doing make a decision that she later regrets or she might seek the assistance of an unqualified abortionist."

Critics of the decision pointed out that England has the highest rates of teenage pregnancy in Europe, with 3,756 girls 15 or under receiving abortions in 2004, The Express reported.

"Lawyers for the Government argued that confidentiality was crucial to its 'strategy' to cut the UK's teenage pregnancy rate," stated an editorial in the Yorkshire Evening Post. "Yet maternity wards and abortion clinics are awash with unmarried teenagers.

"Meanwhile parents are being arrogantly bypassed. Their responsibility for their daughters been brushed aside. State knows best. And that's inexcusable."

Euthanasia Investigation Continues in New Orleans

Louisiana Attorney General Charles Foti told CNN that his investigation into allegations that doctors at Memorial Medical Center in New Orleans deliberately killed patients during the aftermath Hurricane Katrina is nearing its final stages.

"We have spent a lot of time, energy, and manpower on working on this case, said Foti. "We think it is a good case." Without disclosing any specifics, Fotu told CNN that after a court rules on a related matter he will proceed with the case. "Once this roadblock is passed, we're very hopeful that we will be able to wrap it up," he said.

Medical personnel who were at Memorial after Katrina told authorities that they heard discussions between doctors about giving lethal injections to seriously ill patients, according to CNN.

National Public Radio (NPR) obtained secret court documents detailing the testimony of others trapped for days by flood waters at Memorial. Much of the controversy centers around the treatment of critically ill patients on the hospital's seventh floor, which housed long-term patients and was administered by a separate company, LifeCare Hospitals.

Angela McManus stayed with her 78-year-old mother Wilda Faye during the hurricane. After two days, she was told by nurses that the DNR patients on the floor would not be rescued. "DNR means 'do not resuscitate.' It does not mean do not rescue, do not take care of," McManus said, according to NPR. She was later approached by three police officers with guns drawn, who ordered all non-essential personnel from the hospital. "I had to leave her there," she said. She never saw her mother alive again.

LifeCare's pharmacy director and two other staff members testified that they were told the plan for the seventh floor was "not leave any living patients behind," and that "a lethal dose would be administered," according to the documents obtained by NPR.

The pharmacy director said that Dr. Anna Pou showed him a large pack of morphine vials, which she said would be given in lethal doses to the LifeCare patients, NPR reported. While the pharmacy director said he saw Pou and two nurses entering the patients' rooms, NPR could not find evidence that anyone has admitted to seeing the lethal doses being administered. Pou's lawyer denied she committed any crimes.

Foti has not yet announced further developments in the case. Asked if any arrests were imminent, he told CNN, "That's--how do they say on the TV; that's a very good question."

Missouri Women's Right to Know Law Upheld

Both state and federal courts have now concluded that Missouri's Women's Right to Know Act is constitutional. The Missouri Supreme Court ruled February 28 that the law, which requires women to receive information and then wait before having an abortion, is constitutional under state law.

"There is no reason to construe the language in the Missouri constitution more broadly than the corresponding language of the federal Constitution, and the United States Supreme Court already has determined that such a waiting provision does not violate the federal Constitution," the court wrote, according to the Associated Press (AP).

"It's a victory for the women of Missouri who find themselves in a crisis pregnancy but need the information and time to consider what's best for them," said Patty Skain, executive director of Missouri Right to Life.

According to the law, which was passed in September 2003 over the governor's veto, the abortionist must discuss "the indicators and contra-indicators, and risk factors, including any physical, psychological, or situational factors for the proposed procedure" at least 24 hours before an abortion. The woman must also be informed about any medications that will be used, and evaluated for possible complications from the abortion.

Lawyers for the two Planned Parenthood clinics that challenged the law claimed that it is "vague," saying that there would be an "infinite array" of information that doctors would have to discuss under the law's current language, according to the Post-Dispatch.

Although U.S. District Judge Scott O. Wright declared November 30 that the waiting period itself is constitutional under federal law, and thus should go into effect, he continued to enjoin the language in the law describing what abortionists should discuss. His preliminary injunction will expire 10 days after the Missouri Supreme Court ruling is made final.

Peter Brownlie, president of Planned Parenthood for Kansas and Mid-Missouri. told the AP that the clinics are still deciding whether to continue to fight the law in federal court.

Switzerland Grows as Assisted Suicide Destination

"Suicide tourists" are traveling in increasing numbers to Switzerland, where euthanasia groups have established a growing trade in death.

One group, Dignitas, is shameless in promoting death tourism to other countries. Since 1998, it has "helped" 483 people to die, according to the Boston Globe, more than half of whom traveled to Switzerland from Germany and Britain.

Dignitas opened a satellite branch in Hanover, Germany, in October 2005. Many Germans, still leery of the idea of euthanasia after Hitler used it as a means of genetic cleansing, expressed disgust that the group chose to branch out to their country.

''We in Germany, with our history, should be most wary of promoting euthanasia or encouraging death," Dr. Joerg-Dietrich Hoppe, president of the German Medical Association, told the Boston Globe.

''The killing of a person--and that, in the end, is what's at issue--should not be the duty of a doctor," he said. ''The duty of a doctor is to preserve life and to restore health. When cure is impossible, the duty of the doctor is to alleviate suffering with palliative treatment, not a fatal dose."

Officials in the Hanover area denounced the Dignitas office as well. ''We do not want this travel agency of death," Justice Minister Elisabeth Heister-Neumann told the Die Welt newspaper. ''The fear of pain requires treatment for pain, not death."

British citizens have also used the Dignitas office in Zurich to die. A pro-euthanasia group in Glasgow, Scotland, has published a pamphlet called UK Guide to Dignitas, according to the Sunday Herald. It is a step-by-step guide to death in Switzerland, listing the costs (about $5,000), the forms and documents needed, and the assisted suicide techniques used.

Euthanasia opponents were outraged at the pamphlet, and said that it may violate Britain's 1961 Suicide Act, which makes it a crime to "aid, abet, counsel or procure a suicide, the Sunday Herald reported.

"Groups and material like this clearly do encourage people to consider taking their own life," a spokesman for the Catholic Church told the Sunday Herald. "Voluntary euthanasia, as this would be styled, can very easily become involuntary when the climate in a society changes sufficiently that it becomes expected of people."