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Obama, Pope Focus On Abortion, 'Life' Issues In First Meeting
In their first meeting, President Obama and Pope Benedict XVI on Friday discussed their views on abortion, embryonic stem cell research and the rights of health care workers to object to procedures and services that go against their beliefs, the Los Angeles Times reports. During a 30-minute discussion, the pope expressed to Obama his beliefs about "the defense and promotion of life and the right to abide by one"s conscience," according to the Vatican. The Times reports that the statement was a "clear reference" to debates over abortion rights, embryonic stem cell research and "conscience" protections for health care providers who refuse care on moral or religious grounds (Chu, Los Angeles Times, 7/11).According to Time, Benedict showed "no intention of papering over differences on what the Vatican calls "life" issues," including abortion rights. Vatican spokesperson the Rev. Federico Lombardi said that the pope told him how Obama "explicitly expressed his commitment to reducing the number of abortions and to listen to the Church"s concerns on moral issues" (Israely, Time, 7/10). According to White House deputy national security aide Denis McDonough, Obama was "eager to find common ground on these issues and to work aggressively to do that" (Simpson/Feller, AP/Boston Globe, 7/11). However, "[I]t may just be that there"s issues that you can"t come to agreement on," McDonough added, noting that Obama believes that "you can disagree without being disagreeable" (Los Angeles Times, 7/11).Montsignor Georg Ganswein, the pope"s personal secretary, said that Obama was given a copy of "Dignitas Personae," or "The Dignity of a Person," a Vatican document released in December detailing the Roman Catholic Church"s most recent stance on bioethics issues (Time, 7/10). The document "hardened" the Church"s opposition to embryonic stem cell research, cloning and in vitro fertilization (AP/Boston Globe, 7/11). Obama assured the pope he would read the document that day on his flight from Italy to Ghana. Ganswein said that the document "can help the president better understand the position of the Catholic Church." Lombardi noted that it "would be ambiguous to hide or minimize what we believe," adding, "It"s not meant to be divisive or polemical" (Time, 7/10).
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Foundation Trusts Welcome Inquiry Into Mid Staffordshire
The Department of Health announced there would be an independent investigation into Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust and has proposed changes to legislation governing Foundation Trusts.
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"Body-count" Processing Must End At VA, Says The American Legion
An immediate overhaul of the Department of Veterans Affairs disability claims processing system is the only way out of a fast-growing nationwide backlog of unresolved cases, American Legion National Commander David K. Rehbein said after a congressional hearing last Thursday evening.
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Yale And University Of Malaya Join Forces To Battle HIV In Prisons

In the hope of stemming one of the biggest public health crises in Southeast Asia, Yale University is partnering with the University of Malaya to fight the spread of HIV among drug users in Malaysia who are completing prison terms and transitioning back into the community. The two universities recently signed a letter of intent expressing their continued commitment to this partnership, which is funded by a $4.1 million grant from the National Institutes of Health. Malaysia suffers from one of the worst HIV epidemics among drug users in Southeast Asia. Seventy percent of HIV transmission is linked to injection drug use, primarily of opioids. Malaysia"s strict policy of incarceration for drug users has resulted in over 6 percent of its prisoners being HIV-infected, three times the rate in U.S. prisons. Yale and the University of Malaya will share academic and research res to find new ways to reduce HIV transmission in the prison community. Among other things, the study will examine the use of methadone, a treatment for heroin addiction, compared to an evidence-based behavioral intervention. "The time just after release into the community is a vulnerable time period for prisoners. This study will examine pre-release interventions as a way to curb the HIV epidemic," said Frederick L. Altice, M.D., a professor at the Yale School of Medicine and director of Clinical and Community Research at the Yale AIDS Program, who is the project"s principal investigator. Altice, a pioneer in research and clinical care at the interface of infectious diseases and substance abuse, began several innovative health delivery programs in the U.S., including the HIV in Prison Program and the Community Health Care Van, in the early 1990s. Altice is the principal investigator on clinical and research activities that include more than nine active federal grants, including integrating buprenorphine into HIV treatment, community-based treatments for HIV, hepatitis C and tuberculosis infections, and HIV prevention. The current grant in Malaysia is the centerpiece of several prison re-entry research projects in the U.S. and Malaysia. The Yale School of Medicine has been collaborating with the University of Malaya since 2005. The NIH grant will fund research activities, education and technical assistance, mentoring of students and junior faculty members, and community service. "Both universities recognize that our scholars can create better synergy in research through greater collaboration, education and the exchange of information concerning HIV prevention and treatment and substance abuse," Altice said. Professor Adeeba Kamarulzaman, M.D., director of the Centre of Excellence for Research in AIDS (CERiA), serves as a co-investigator and site principal investigator on this project for the University of Malaya. "The outcomes of this study will provide policy-makers with firm data about how to stem the HIV epidemic in other settings where HIV transmission is fueled by injection drug use," Kamarulzaman said. Kamarulzaman is an internationally recognized leader in HIV prevention and treatment and has been involved in the implementation of syringe exchange and other harm reduction activities in Malaysia. She also serves as the president of the Malaysia AIDS Council, the largest HIV/AIDS non-governmental organization in the country. The research team is complemented by the contributions of Michael Copenhaver, Ph.D., a clinical psychologist at the University of Connecticut and Hussain Habil, M.D., head of psychiatry at the University of Malaya. Yale University


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