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'Pro-choice Community' Should Find New 'Way Of Talking About Reproductive Freedom,' Opinion Piece Says
"Most of the push-back" from antiabortion-rights advocates to a recent e-mail message from author Judy Blume on behalf of Planned Parenthood -- which asked mailing list subscribers for donations -- was generated by an article in the antiabortion-rights publication LifeNews, columnist Meghan Daum writes in a Los Angeles Times opinion piece. The article put a "heavy, misrepresentative spin" on Blume"s message, which urged donors to "do all [they] can to support" the increasing number of women turning to Planned Parenthood centers for health care during the economic downturn.The LifeNews article said, "Blume notes how more women are seeking abortions from Planned Parenthood because of the difficult economy, and she urges readers of the e-mail to use that as a reason to support the abortion business." According to Daum, "this is just the kind of thing that makes abortion-rights advocates apoplectic," noting that abortion-rights advocates "fired-back" in the "blogosphere ... imparting the statistic about abortion making up only 3% of Planned Parenthood"s services and pointing out that many of the women being yelled at by picketers in clinic parking lots aren"t even pregnant but, rather, trying to avoid getting pregnant." Daum continues that the organization, much like Blume, "occupies a clear position on the post-Roe cultural map," adding, "Generally speaking, if you"re on board with abortion rights, you"re on board with Planned Parenthood." In addition, if you are against abortion rights, the "organization is the headquarters of Godlessness," she adds. Daum writes that it is not difficult to see why Planned Parenthood enlisted Blume -- an "icon of 1970s-era feminism and its efforts on behalf of sex education and women"s health" -- because she conjures "nostalgia for the early days of the fight that makes pro-choicers want to keep fighting today."Daum writes that as she watched this "saga unfold in [her] inbox," she was "struck by a troubling question. Even though Blume may not be associated with abortion in and of itself … is there something about her persona that signals a lack of dispassion about its ramifications? Is she reminding people of a time when, in the relief of Roe being decided, there was a cultural perception that abortion was a simple procedure that needn"t come with attendant emotional baggage?"Daum adds that there is "no denying that the language and overall tone around abortion has changed. Despite what many pro-life groups seem to think, most abortion-rights advocates prefer "safe, legal and rare" to "no big deal."" According to Daum, President Obama, "pro-choice though he is, is hardly strident -- and even a little evasive -- on the issue." She adds that Obama favors language about reducing the need for abortions and "finding common ground with the other side." Daum notes that the pop cultural arena "has become downright allergic to the issue" of abortion, with a recent movie coining the term "shmashmortion" because the characters "can"t even get the word out." Daum adds that although Blume "was undoubtedly effective" at bringing in funding for Planned Parenthood, perhaps what might have been "even more radical is if the pro-choice community could find a way of talking about reproductive freedom that neither reverts to the perceived casualness of the 1970s nor panders to the "shmashmortion" dialect of today. "Safe, legal and rare" comes close. But "safe, legal, rare and a big deal" might be even better" (Daum, Los Angeles Times, 5/14).

Minister Brady Announces Publication Of 2008 Annual Report Of The Alcohol Marketing Communications Monitoring Body, Ireland
Ms Aine Brady T.D. Minister for Older People and Health Promotion, announced the publication of the 2008 Annual Report from the Alcohol Marketing Communications Monitoring Body (AMCMB). The AMCMB was established to monitor the level of adherence by advertisers and media owners to the Codes of Practice on Alcohol Marketing, Communications and Sponsorship. The AMCMB has concluded that there continues to be overall compliance with the Codes.
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California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger Signs Budget That Cuts $52M From HIV/AIDS Programs
California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) on Tuesday signed a state budget in which he made $489 million in line-item veto cuts that "will affect child welfare and children"s health care, the elderly, state parks and AIDS treatment and prevention, going beyond the dramatic cuts that were part of the deal Schwarzenegger negotiated with legislative leaders," the Los Angeles Times reports (Rothfeld/Goldmacher, 7/28). "Services for people with AIDS, which had previously been spared by the Legislature, were reduced by $52 million by Schwarzenegger on Tuesday. That cut will mean no state spending on HIV/AIDS prevention, testing, education or housing services for people with the disease. The state will continue paying for AIDS medications and for tracking the epidemic," the San Francisco Chronicle reports (Buchanan, 7/29). Schwarzenegger said, "The legislators have given me a budget with a $156 million negative reserve, so now I had to go in over this weekend and work with my team and make additional cuts." He added, "That"s ugly, when already we have cut so much, and then we had to make additional cuts" (Steinhauer, New York Times, 7/28). Mark Cloutier, executive director of the San Francisco AIDS Foundation, said of the cuts to HIV/AIDS programs, "This means there are going to be more people who are HIV-positive who are unwittingly infecting others" (Buchanan, 7/29).
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Phase III Study Showed Lucentis Improved Vision In Patients With Branch Retinal Vein Occlusion

Genentech, Inc. announced today that the Phase III study BRAVO showed Lucentis® (ranibizumab injection) improved vision, as measured by the primary endpoint of mean change from baseline in best-corrected visual acuity at six months, in patients with macular edema due to branch retinal vein occlusion. The safety profile of Lucentis was consistent with previous experience and no new adverse events related to Lucentis were observed in the study. Retinal vein occlusion (RVO) is a common cause of vision loss that occurs when blood flow through a retinal vein becomes blocked, such as by a blood clot. BRAVO evaluated the safety and efficacy of six monthly injections of Lucentis compared to monthly sham injections. The two doses of Lucentis studied showed a statistically significant improvement in best-corrected visual acuity (the best vision a person can achieve with an eyeglass or contact lens prescription) at six months compared to sham. Full results will be presented at the Retina Congress, September 30 to October 4, 2009, in New York. "RVO is a devastating disease and there are no FDA-approved medicines shown to improve vision for six months," said Hal Barron, M.D., executive vice president, Global Development and chief medical officer, Genentech. "We are excited that another pivotal study has demonstrated the important role Lucentis can play in improving vision in people with difficult-to-treat eye disease, and look forward to the results of CRUISE, a Phase III trial in central-RVO in the third quarter of this year." About RVO RVO occurs when blood flow through a retinal vein becomes blocked, causing swelling (macular edema) and hemorrhages in the retina, which may result in vision loss. Sudden blurring or vision loss in all or part of one eye is common with RVO. RVO can affect people across a wide range of ages, from young, working-aged adults to the elderly. There are two main types of RVO: branch-RVO, which affects an estimated 684,000 people, and central-RVO, which affects an estimated 211,000 people in the United States.1 Branch-RVO occurs when one of the branches of the main vein of the eye becomes blocked. Central-RVO occurs when the main vein of the eye, located at the optic nerve, becomes blocked. About BRAVO (FVF4165g) BRAVO is a multicenter, randomized, double-masked, sham injection-controlled Phase III study, designed to assess the safety and efficacy of Lucentis in treating macular edema secondary to branch-RVO. Patients (n=397) were enrolled at 93 clinical trial sites across the United States. The 12-month study consists of a six-month, sham-controlled treatment period, followed by a six-month observation period (during which all participants were eligible to receive Lucentis as needed). During the first six-month period, participants received monthly injections of one of two different doses (0.3 mg or 0.5 mg) of Lucentis (n=265) or monthly sham injections (n=132). The study was not designed to compare the two doses of Lucentis. Rescue laser treatment was available starting at month three to all patients meeting pre-specified criteria. The primary endpoint was the mean change from baseline in best-corrected visual acuity score at six months compared to sham. About Lucentis Lucentis is a vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) inhibitor approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of neovascular (wet) age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Lucentis is the only FDA-approved treatment for wet AMD proven to improve or maintain vision. In wet AMD clinical trials, Lucentis administered monthly demonstrated an improvement in vision of three lines or more on the study eye chart in up to 41 percent of patients at two years. Nearly all patients (90 percent) in those trials treated monthly with Lucentis maintained vision. Lucentis is designed to bind to and inhibit VEGF-A, a protein that is believed to play a critical role in the formation of new blood vessels (angiogenesis) and the hyperpermeability (leakiness) of the vessels. In RVO, angiogenesis and hyperpermeability can lead to macular edema, the swelling and thickening of the macula, which is the portion of the eye responsible for fine, detailed central vision. Lucentis is a prescription medication given by injection into the eye. Lucentis has been associated with detached retina and serious eye infection and should not be used in patients who have an infection in or around the eye. Increases in eye pressure have been seen within one hour of an injection. Although uncommon, conditions associated with eye- and non-eye-related blood clots (arterial thromboembolic events) may occur. Serious side effects included inflammation inside the eye and, rarely, effects related to the injection procedure such as cataract. The most common non-eye-related side effects were nose and throat infection, headache, and respiratory and urinary tract infections. The most common eye-related side effects were the feeling that something is in a patient"s eye, and increased tears. If a patient"s eye becomes red, sensitive to light, painful, or has a change in vision, they should seek immediate care from their eye doctor. About Genentech Founded more than 30 years ago, Genentech is a leading biotechnology company that discovers, develops, manufactures and commercializes medicines to treat patients with serious or life-threatening medical conditions. The company, a wholly-owned member of the Roche Group, has headquarters in South San Francisco, California. Genetech


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