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		<title>Euthanasia and the Right to Die</title>
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		<description><![CDATA[4692 Euthanasia, whether in a medical setting (hospital, clinic, hospice) or not (at home) is often erroneously described as &#8220;mercy killing&#8221;. Most forms of euthanasia are, indeed, motivated by (some say: misplaced) mercy. Not so others. In Greek, &#8220;eu&#8221; means both &#8220;well&#8221; and &#8220;easy&#8221; and &#8220;Thanatos&#8221; is death. I. Definitions of Types of Euthanasia Euthanasia, [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>4692</p>
<p>
Euthanasia, whether in a medical setting (hospital, clinic, hospice) or not (at home) is often erroneously described as &#8220;mercy killing&#8221;. Most forms of euthanasia are, indeed, motivated by (some say: misplaced) mercy. Not so others. In Greek, &#8220;eu&#8221; means both &#8220;well&#8221; and &#8220;easy&#8221; and &#8220;Thanatos&#8221; is death.<br />
I. Definitions of Types of Euthanasia</p>
<p>Euthanasia, whether in a medical setting (hospital, clinic, hospice) or not (at home) is often erroneously described as &#8220;mercy killing&#8221;. Most forms of euthanasia are, indeed, motivated by (some say: misplaced) mercy. Not so others. In Greek, &#8220;eu&#8221; means both &#8220;well&#8221; and &#8220;easy&#8221; and &#8220;Thanatos&#8221; is death.</p>
<p>Euthanasia is the intentional premature termination of another person&#8217;s life either by direct intervention (active euthanasia) or by withholding life-prolonging measures and resources (passive euthanasia), either at the express or implied request of that person (voluntary euthanasia), or in the absence of such approval (non-voluntary euthanasia). Involuntary euthanasia &#8211; where the individual wishes to go on living &#8211; is an euphemism for murder.</p>
<p>To my mind, passive euthanasia is immoral. The abrupt withdrawal of medical treatment, feeding, and hydration results in a slow and (potentially) torturous death. It took Terri Schiavo 13 days to die, when her tubes were withdrawn in the last two weeks of March 2005. Since it is impossible to conclusively prove that patients in PVS (Persistent Vegetative State) do not suffer pain, it is morally wrong to subject them to such potential gratuitous suffering. Even animals should be treated better. Moreover, passive euthanasia allows us to evade personal responsibility for the patient&#8217;s death. In active euthanasia, the relationship between the act (of administering a lethal medication, for instance) and its consequences is direct and unambiguous.</p>
<p>As the philosopher John Finnis notes, to qualify as euthanasia, the termination of life has to be the main and intended aim of the act or omission that lead to it. If the loss of life is incidental (a side effect), the agent is still morally responsible but to describe his actions and omissions as euthanasia would be misleading. Volntariness (accepting the foreseen but unintended consequences of one&#8217;s actions and omissions) should be distinguished from intention.</p>
<p>Still, this sophistry obscures the main issue:</p>
<p>If the sanctity of life is a supreme and overriding value (&#8220;basic good&#8221;), it ought to surely preclude and proscribe all acts and omissions which may shorten it, even when the shortening of life is a mere deleterious side effect. </p>
<p>But this is not the case. The sanctity and value of life compete with a host of other equally potent moral demands. Even the most devout pro-life ethicist accepts that certain medical decisions &#8211; for instance, to administer strong analgesics &#8211; inevitably truncate the patient&#8217;s life. Yet, this is considered moral because the resulting euthanasia is not the main intention of the pain-relieving doctor.</p>
<p>Moreover, the apparent dilemma between the two values (reduce suffering or preserve life) is non-existent. </p>
<p>There are four possible situations. Imagine a patient writhing with insufferable pain.</p>
<p>1. The patient&#8217;s life is not at risk if she is not medicated with painkillers (she risks dying if she is medicated)</p>
<p>2. The patient&#8217;s life is not at risk either way, medicated or not</p>
<p>3.  The patient&#8217;s life is at risk either way, medicated or not</p>
<p>4.  The patient&#8217;s life is at risk if she is not medicated with painkillers </p>
<p>In all four cases, the decisions our doctor has to make are ethically clear cut. He should administer pain-alleviating drugs, except when the patient risks dying (in 1 above). The (possible) shortening of  the patient&#8217;s life (which is guesswork, at best) is immaterial.</p>
<p>Conclusions:</p>
<p>It is easy to distinguish euthanasia from all other forms of termination of life. Voluntary active euthanasia is morally defensible, at least in principle (see below). Not so other types of euthanasia.</p>
<p>II. Who is or Should Be Subject to Euthanasia? The Problem of Dualism vs. Reductionism</p>
<p>With the exception of radical animal rights activists, most philosophers and laymen consider people &#8211; human beings &#8211; to be entitled to &#8220;special treatment&#8221;, to be in possession of unique rights (and commensurate obligations), and to be capable of feats unparalleled in other species.</p>
<p>Thus, opponents of euthanasia universally oppose the killing of &#8220;persons&#8221;. As the (pro-euthanasia) philosopher John Harris puts it:</p>
<p>&#8221; &#8230; concern for their welfare, respect for their wishes, respect for the intrinsic value of their lives and respect for their interests.&#8221;</p>
<p>Ronald Dworkin emphasizes the investments &#8211; made by nature, the person involved, and others &#8211; which euthanasia wastes. But he also draws attention to the person&#8217;s &#8220;critical interests&#8221; &#8211; the interests whose satisfaction makes life better to live. The manner of one&#8217;s own death may be such a critical interest. Hence, one should have the right to choose how one dies because the &#8220;right kind&#8221; of death (e.g., painless, quick, dignified) reflects on one&#8217;s entire life, affirms and improves it.</p>
<p>But who is a person? What makes us human? Many things, most of which are irrelevant to our discussion. </p>
<p>Broadly speaking, though, there are two schools of thought:</p>
<p>(i) That we are rendered human by the very event of our conception (egg meets sperm), or, at the latest, our birth; or</p>
<p>(ii) That we are considered human only when we act and think as conscious humans do.</p>
<p>The proponents of the first case (i) claim that merely possessing a human body (or the potential to come to possess such a body) is enough to qualify us as &#8220;persons&#8221;. There is no distinction between mind and abode &#8211; thought, feelings, and actions are merely manifestations of one underlying unity. The fact that some of these manifestations have yet to materialize (in the case of an embryo) or are mere potentials (in the case of a comatose patient) does not detract from our essential, incontrovertible, and indivisible humanity. We may be immature or damaged persons &#8211; but we are persons all the same (and always will be persons).</p>
<p>Though considered &#8220;religious&#8221; and &#8220;spiritual&#8221;, this notion is actually a form of reductionism. The mind, &#8220;soul&#8221;, and &#8220;spirit&#8221; are mere expressions of one unity, grounded in our &#8220;hardware&#8221; &#8211; in our bodies.</p>
<p>Those who argue the second case (ii) postulate that it is possible to have a human body which does not host a person. People in Persistent Vegetative States, for instance &#8211; or fetuses, for that matter &#8211; are human but also non-persons. This is because they do not yet &#8211; or are unable to &#8211; exercise their faculties. Personhood is complexity. When the latter ceases, so does the former. Personhood is acquired and is an extensive parameter, a total, defining state of being. One is either awake or asleep, either dead or alive, either in a state of personhood or not</p>
<p>The latter approach involves fine distinctions between potential, capacity, and skill. A human body (or fertilized egg) have the potential to think, write poetry, feel pain, and value life. At the right phase of somatic development, this potential becomes capacity and, once it is competently exercised &#8211; it is a skill.</p>
<p>Embryos and comatose people may have the potential to do and think &#8211; but, in the absence of capacities and skills, they are not full-fledged persons. Indeed, in all important respects, they are already dead.</p>
<p>Taken to its logical conclusion, this definition of a person also excludes newborn infants, the severely retarded, the hopelessly quadriplegic, and the catatonic. &#8220;Who is a person&#8221; becomes a matter of culturally-bound and medically-informed judgment which may be influenced by both ignorance and fashion and, thus, be arbitrary and immoral.</p>
<p>Imagine a computer infected by a computer virus which cannot be quarantined, deleted, or fixed. The virus disables the host and renders it &#8220;dead&#8221;. Is it still a computer? If someone broke into my house and stole it, can I file an insurance claim? If a colleague destroys it, can I sue her for the damages? The answer is yes. A computer is a computer for as long as it exists physically and a cure is bound to be found even against the most trenchant virus.</p>
<p>Conclusions:</p>
<p>The definition of personhood must rely on objective, determinate and determinable criteria. The anti-euthanasia camp relies on bodily existence as one such criterion. The pro-euthanasia faction has yet to reciprocate.</p>
<p>III. Euthanasia and Suicide</p>
<p>Self-sacrifice, avoidable martyrdom, engaging in life risking activities, refusal to prolong one&#8217;s life through medical treatment, euthanasia, overdosing, and self-destruction that is the result of coercion &#8211; are all closely related to suicide. They all involve a deliberately self-inflicted death.</p>
<p>But while suicide is chiefly intended to terminate a life ?the other acts are aimed at perpetuating, strengthening, and defending values or other people. Many &#8211; not only religious people &#8211; are appalled by the choice implied in suicide &#8211; of death over life. They feel that it demeans life and abnegates its meaning.</p>
<p>Life&#8217;s meaning &#8211; the outcome of active selection by the individual &#8211; is either external (such as &#8220;God&#8217;s plan&#8221;) or internal, the outcome of an arbitrary frame of reference, such as having a career goal. Our life is rendered meaningful only by integrating into an eternal thing, process, design, or being. Suicide makes life trivial because the act is not natural &#8211; not part of the eternal framework, the undying process, the timeless cycle of birth and death. Suicide is a break with eternity.</p>
<p>Henry Sidgwick said that only conscious (i.e., intelligent) beings can appreciate values and meanings. So, life is significant to conscious, intelligent, though finite, beings &#8211; because it is a part of some eternal goal, plan, process, thing, design, or being. Suicide flies in the face of Sidgwick&#8217;s dictum. It is a statement by an intelligent and conscious being about the meaninglessness of life.</p>
<p>If suicide is a statement, than society, in this case, is against the freedom of expression. In the case of suicide, free speech dissonantly clashes with the sanctity of a meaningful life. To rid itself of the anxiety brought on by this conflict, society cast suicide as a depraved or even criminal act and its perpetrators are much castigated.</p>
<p>The suicide violates not only the social contract but, many will add, covenants with God or nature. St. Thomas Aquinas wrote in the &#8220;Summa Theologiae&#8221; that &#8211; since organisms strive to survive &#8211; suicide is an unnatural act. Moreover, it adversely affects the community and violates the property rights of God, the imputed owner of one&#8217;s spirit. Christianity regards the immortal soul as a gift and, in Jewish writings, it is a deposit. Suicide amounts to the abuse or misuse of God&#8217;s possessions, temporarily lodged in a corporeal mansion.</p>
<p>This paternalism was propagated, centuries later, by Sir William Blackstone, the codifier of British Law. Suicide &#8211; being self-murder &#8211; is a grave felony, which the state has a right to prevent and to punish for. In certain countries this still is the case. In Israel, for instance, a soldier is considered to be &#8220;military property&#8221; and an attempted suicide is severely punished as &#8220;the corruption of an army chattel&#8221;.</p>
<p>Paternalism, a malignant mutation of benevolence, is about objectifying people and treating them as possessions. Even fully-informed and consenting adults are not granted full, unmitigated autonomy, freedom, and privacy. This tends to breed &#8220;victimless crimes&#8221;. The &#8220;culprits&#8221; &#8211; gamblers, homosexuals, communists, suicides, drug addicts, alcoholics, prostitutes ?are &#8220;protected from themselves&#8221; by an intrusive nanny state.</p>
<p>The possession of a right by a person imposes on others a corresponding obligation not to act to frustrate its exercise. Suicide is often the choice of a mentally and legally competent adult. Life is such a basic and deep set phenomenon that even the incompetents &#8211; the mentally retarded or mentally insane or minors &#8211; can fully gauge its significance and make &#8220;informed&#8221; decisions, in my view.</p>
<p>The paternalists claim counterfactually that no competent adult &#8220;in his right mind&#8221; will ever decide to commit suicide. They cite the cases of suicides who survived and felt very happy that they have &#8211; as a compelling reason to intervene. But we all make irreversible decisions for which, sometimes, we are sorry. It gives no one the right to interfere.</p>
<p>Paternalism is a slippery slope. Should the state be allowed to prevent the birth of a genetically defective child or forbid his parents to marry in the first place? Should unhealthy adults be forced to abstain from smoking, or steer clear from alcohol? Should they be coerced to exercise?</p>
<p>Suicide is subject to a double moral standard. People are permitted &#8211; nay, encouraged &#8211; to sacrifice their life only in certain, socially sanctioned, ways. To die on the battlefield or in defense of one&#8217;s religion is commendable. This hypocrisy reveals how power structures &#8211; the state, institutional religion, political parties, national movements &#8211; aim to monopolize the lives of citizens and adherents to do with as they see fit. Suicide threatens this monopoly. Hence the taboo.</p>
<p>Does one have a right to take one&#8217;s life?</p>
<p>The answer is: it depends. Certain cultures and societies encourage suicide. Both Japanese kamikaze and Jewish martyrs were extolled for their suicidal actions. Certain professions are knowingly life-threatening &#8211; soldiers, firemen, policemen. Certain industries &#8211; like the manufacture of armaments, cigarettes, and alcohol &#8211; boost overall mortality rates.</p>
<p>In general, suicide is commended when it serves social ends, enhances the cohesion of the group, upholds its values, multiplies its wealth, or defends it from external and internal threats. Social structures and human collectives &#8211; empires, countries, firms, bands, institutions &#8211; often commit suicide. This is considered to be a healthy process.</p>
<p>More about suicide, the meaning of life, and related considerations &#8211; HERE.</p>
<p>Back to our central dilemma:</p>
<p>Is it morally justified to commit suicide in order to avoid certain, forthcoming, unavoidable, and unrelenting torture, pain, or coma? </p>
<p>Is it morally justified to ask others to help you to commit suicide (for instance, if you are incapacitated)?</p>
<p>Imagine a society that venerates life-with-dignity by making euthanasia mandatory (Trollope&#8217;s Britannula in &#8220;The Fixed Period&#8221;) &#8211; would it then and there be morally justified to refuse to commit suicide or to help in it?</p>
<p>Conclusions:</p>
<p>Though legal in many countries, suicide is still frowned upon, except when it amounts to socially-sanctioned self-sacrifice.</p>
<p>Assisted suicide is both condemned and illegal in most parts of the world. This is logically inconsistent but reflects society&#8217;s fear of a &#8220;slippery slope&#8221; which may lead from assisted suicide to murder.</p>
<p>IV. Euthanasia and Murder</p>
<p>Imagine killing someone before we have ascertained her preferences as to the manner of her death and whether she wants to die at all. This constitutes murder even if, after the fact, we can prove conclusively that the victim wanted to die. </p>
<p>Is murder, therefore, merely the act of taking life, regardless of circumstances &#8211; or is it the nature of the interpersonal interaction that counts? If the latter, the victim&#8217;s will counts &#8211; if the former, it is irrelevant. </p>
<p>V. Euthanasia, the Value of Life, and the Right to Life</p>
<p>Few philosophers, legislators, and laymen support non-voluntary or involuntary euthanasia. These types of &#8220;mercy&#8221; killing are associated with the most heinous crimes against humanity committed by the Nazi regime on both its own people and other nations. They are and were also an integral part of every program of active eugenics.</p>
<p>The arguments against killing someone who hasn&#8217;t expressed a wish to die (let alone someone who has expressed a desire to go on living) revolve around the right to life. People are assumed to value their life, cherish it, and protect it. Euthanasia &#8211; especially the non-voluntary forms &#8211; amounts to depriving someone (as well as their nearest and dearest) of something they value.</p>
<p>The right to life &#8211; at least as far as human beings are concerned &#8211; is a rarely questioned fundamental moral principle. In Western cultures, it is assumed to be inalienable and indivisible (i.e., monolithic). Yet, it is neither. Even if we accept the axiomatic &#8211; and therefore arbitrary &#8211; source of this right, we are still faced with intractable dilemmas. All said, the right to life may be nothing more than a cultural construct, dependent on social mores, historical contexts, and exegetic systems.</p>
<p>Rights &#8211; whether moral or legal &#8211; impose obligations or duties on third parties towards the right-holder. One has a right AGAINST other people and thus can prescribe to them certain obligatory behaviors and proscribe certain acts or omissions. Rights and duties are two sides of the same Janus-like ethical coin.</p>
<p>This duality confuses people. They often erroneously identify rights with their attendant duties or obligations, with the morally decent, or even with the morally permissible. One&#8217;s rights inform other people how they MUST behave towards one &#8211; not how they SHOULD or OUGHT to act morally. Moral behavior is not dependent on the existence of a right. Obligations are.</p>
<p>To complicate matters further, many apparently simple and straightforward rights are amalgams of more basic moral or legal principles. To treat such rights as unities is to mistreat them.</p>
<p>Take the right to life. It is a compendium of no less than eight distinct rights: the right to be brought to life, the right to be born, the right to have one&#8217;s life maintained, the right not to be killed, the right to have one&#8217;s life saved,  the right to save one&#8217;s life (wrongly reduced to the right to self-defence), the right to terminate one&#8217;s life, and the right to have one&#8217;s life terminated.</p>
<p>None of these rights is self-evident, or unambiguous, or universal, or immutable, or automatically applicable. It is safe to say, therefore, that these rights are not primary as hitherto believed &#8211; but derivative.</p>
<p>Go HERE to learn more about the Right to Life.</p>
<p>Of the eight strands comprising the right to life, we are concerned with a mere two.</p>
<p>The Right to Have One&#8217;s Life Maintained</p>
<p>This leads to a more general quandary. To what extent can one use other people&#8217;s bodies, their property, their time, their resources and to deprive them of pleasure, comfort, material possessions, income, or any other thing &#8211; in order to maintain one&#8217;s life?</p>
<p>Even if it were possible in reality, it is indefensible to maintain that I have a right to sustain, improve, or prolong my life at another&#8217;s expense. I cannot demand &#8211; though I can morally expect &#8211; even a trivial and minimal sacrifice from another in order to prolong my life. I have no right to do so.</p>
<p>Of course, the existence of an implicit, let alone explicit, contract between myself and another party would change the picture. The right to demand sacrifices commensurate with the provisions of the contract would then crystallize and create corresponding duties and obligations.</p>
<p>No embryo has a right to sustain its life, maintain, or prolong it at its mother&#8217;s expense. This is true regardless of how insignificant the sacrifice required of her is.</p>
<p>Yet, by knowingly and intentionally conceiving the embryo, the mother can be said to have signed a contract with it. The contract causes the right of the embryo to demand such sacrifices from his mother to crystallize. It also creates corresponding duties and obligations of the mother towards her embryo.</p>
<p>We often find ourselves in a situation where we do not have a given right against other individuals &#8211; but we do possess this very same right against society. Society owes us what no constituent-individual does.</p>
<p>Thus, we all have a right to sustain our lives, maintain, prolong, or even improve them at society&#8217;s expense &#8211; no matter how major and significant the resources required. Public hospitals, state pension schemes, and police forces may be needed in order to fulfill society&#8217;s obligations to prolong, maintain, and improve our lives &#8211; but fulfill them it must.</p>
<p>Still, each one of us can sign a contract with society &#8211; implicitly or explicitly &#8211; and abrogate this right. One can volunteer to join the army. Such an act constitutes a contract in which the individual assumes the duty or obligation to give up his or her life.</p>
<p>The Right not to be Killed</p>
<p>It is commonly agreed that every person has the right not to be killed unjustly. Admittedly, what is just and what is unjust is determined by an ethical calculus or a social contract &#8211; both constantly in flux.</p>
<p>Still, even if we assume an Archimedean immutable point of moral reference &#8211; does A&#8217;s right not to be killed mean that third parties are to refrain from enforcing the rights of other people against A? What if the only way to right wrongs committed by A against others &#8211; was to kill A? The moral obligation to right wrongs is about restoring the rights of the wronged.</p>
<p>If the continued existence of A is predicated on the repeated and continuous violation of the rights of others &#8211; and these other people object to it &#8211; then A must be killed if that is the only way to right the wrong and re-assert the rights of A&#8217;s victims.</p>
<p>The Right to have One&#8217;s Life Saved</p>
<p>There is no such right because there is no moral obligation or duty to save a life. That people believe otherwise demonstrates the muddle between the morally commendable, desirable, and decent (&#8220;ought&#8221;, &#8220;should&#8221;) and the morally obligatory, the result of other people&#8217;s rights (&#8220;must&#8221;). In some countries, the obligation to save a life is codified in the law of the land. But legal rights and obligations do not always correspond to moral rights and obligations, or give rise to them.</p>
<p>VI. Euthanasia and Personal Autonomy</p>
<p>The right to have one&#8217;s life terminated at will (euthanasia), is subject to social, ethical, and legal strictures. In some countries &#8211; such as the Netherlands &#8211; it is legal (and socially acceptable) to have one&#8217;s life terminated with the help of third parties given a sufficient deterioration in the quality of life and given the imminence of death.  One has to be of sound mind and will one&#8217;s death  knowingly, intentionally, repeatedly, and forcefully.</p>
<p>Should we have a right to die (given hopeless medical circumstances)? When our wish to end it all conflicts with society&#8217;s (admittedly, paternalistic) judgment of what is right and what is good for us and for others &#8211; what should prevail?</p>
<p>One the one hand, as Patrick Henry put it, &#8220;give me liberty or give me death&#8221;. A life without personal autonomy and without the freedom to make unpopular and non-conformist decisions is, arguably, not worth living at all!</p>
<p>As Dworkin states:</p>
<p>&#8220;Making someone die in a way that others approve, but he believes a horrifying contradiction of his life, is a devastating, odious form of tyranny&#8221;.</p>
<p>Still, even the victim&#8217;s express wishes may prove to be transient and circumstantial (due to depression, misinformation, or clouded judgment). Can we regard them as immutable and invariable? Moreover, what if the circumstances prove everyone &#8211; the victim included &#8211; wrong? What if a cure to the victim&#8217;s disease is found ten minutes after the euthanasia? </p>
<p>Conclusions:</p>
<p>Personal autonomy is an important value in conflict with other, equally important values. Hence the debate about euthanasia. The problem is intractable and insoluble. No moral calculus (itself based implicitly or explicitly on a hierarchy of values) can tell us which value overrides another and what are the true basic goods. </p>
<p>VII. Euthanasia and Society</p>
<p>It is commonly accepted that where two equally potent values clash, society steps in as an arbiter. The right to material welfare (food, shelter, basic possessions) often conflicts with the right to own private property and to benefit from it. Society strikes a fine balance by, on the one hand, taking from the rich and giving to the poor (through redistributive taxation) and, on the other hand, prohibiting and punishing theft and looting. </p>
<p>Euthanasia involves a few such finely-balanced values: the sanctity of life vs. personal autonomy, the welfare of the many vs. the welfare of the individual, the relief of pain vs. the prolongation and preservation of life.</p>
<p>Why can&#8217;t society step in as arbiter in these cases as well?</p>
<p>Moreover, what if a person is rendered incapable of expressing his preferences with regards to the manner and timing of his death &#8211; should society step in (through the agency of his family or through the courts or legislature) and make the decision for him? </p>
<p>In a variety of legal situations, parents, court-appointed guardians, custodians, and conservators act for, on behalf of, and in lieu of underage children, the physically and mentally challenged and the disabled. Why not here?</p>
<p>We must distinguish between four situations:</p>
<p>1. The patient foresaw the circumstances and provided an advance directive (living will), asking explicitly for his life to be terminated when certain conditions are met.</p>
<p>2. The patient did not provide an advanced directive but expressed his preference clearly before he was incapacitated. The risk here is that self-interested family members may lie.</p>
<p>3. The patient did not provide an advance directive and did not express his preference aloud &#8211; but the decision to terminate his life is commensurate with both his character and with other decisions he made. </p>
<p>4. There is no indication, however indirect, that the patient wishes or would have wished to die had he been capable of expression but the patient is no longer a &#8220;person&#8221; and, therefore, has no interests to respect, observe, and protect. Moreover, the patient is a burden to himself, to his nearest and dearest, and to society at large. Euthanasia is the right, just, and most efficient thing to do.</p>
<p>Conclusions:</p>
<p>Society can (and often does) legalize euthanasia in the first case and, subject to rigorous fact checking, in the second and third cases. To prevent economically-motivated murder disguised as euthanasia, non-voluntary and involuntary euthanasia (as set in the forth case above) should be banned outright.</p>
<p>VIII. Slippery Slope Arguments</p>
<p>Issues in the Calculus of Rights &#8211; The Hierarchy of Rights</p>
<p>The right to life supersedes &#8211; in Western moral and legal systems &#8211; all other rights. It overrules the right to one&#8217;s body, to comfort, to the avoidance of pain, or to ownership of property. Given such lack of equivocation, the amount of dilemmas and controversies surrounding the right to life is, therefore, surprising.</p>
<p>When there is a clash between equally potent rights &#8211; for instance, the conflicting rights to life of two people &#8211; we can decide among them randomly (by flipping a coin, or casting dice). Alternatively, we can add and subtract rights in a somewhat macabre arithmetic.</p>
<p>Thus, if the continued life of an embryo or a fetus threatens the mother&#8217;s life &#8211; that is, assuming, controversially, that both of them have an equal right to life &#8211; we can decide to kill the fetus. By adding to the mother&#8217;s right to life her right to her own body we outweigh the fetus&#8217; right to life.</p>
<p>The Difference between Killing and Letting Die</p>
<p>Counterintuitively, there is a moral gulf between killing (taking a life) and letting die (not saving a life). The right not to be killed is undisputed. There is no right to have one&#8217;s own life saved. Where there is a right &#8211; and only where there is one &#8211; there is an obligation. Thus, while there is an obligation not to kill &#8211; there is no obligation to save a life.</p>
<p>Anti-euthanasia ethicists fear that allowing one kind of euthanasia &#8211; even under the strictest and explicit conditions &#8211; will open the floodgates. The value of life will be depreciated and made subordinate to considerations of economic efficacy and personal convenience. Murders, disguised as acts of euthanasia, will proliferate and none of us will be safe once we reach old age or become disabled. </p>
<p>Years of legally-sanctioned euthanasia in the Netherlands, parts of Australia, and a state or two in the United States (living wills have been accepted and complied with throughout the Western world for a well over a decade now) tend to fly in the face of such fears. Doctors did not regard these shifts in public opinion and legislative climate as a blanket license to kill their charges. Family members proved to be far less bloodthirsty and avaricious than feared.</p>
<p>Conclusions:</p>
<p>As long as non-voluntary and involuntary types of euthanasia are treated as felonies, it seems safe to allow patients to exercise their personal autonomy and grant them the right to die. Legalizing the institution of &#8220;advance directive&#8221; will go a long way towards regulating the field &#8211; as would a new code of medical ethics that will recognize and embrace reality: doctors, patients, and family members collude in their millions to commit numerous acts and omissions of euthanasia every day. It is their way of restoring dignity to the shattered lives and bodies of loved ones.</p>

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		<title>Effective Ways You Can Use In Battling Candida Infection</title>
		<link>http://www.swineflumedicines.info/2010/09/effective-ways-you-can-use-in-battling-candida-infection/</link>
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		<pubDate>Wed, 08 Sep 2010 23:21:40 +0000</pubDate>
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				<category><![CDATA[Medical News]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[556 Candidiasis is an infection caused by the over-growing of the fungus called Candida albicans. These fungus normally grows in the stomach but harmful if found in other parts of the body. This infection is also known as thrush or yeast infection. Normally it is found in the human stomach as it aids in digestion. [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>556</p>
<p>
Candidiasis is an infection caused by the over-growing of the fungus called Candida albicans. These fungus normally grows in the stomach but harmful if found in other parts of the body. This infection is also known as thrush or yeast infection.</p>
<p>Normally it is found in the human stomach as it aids in digestion. If it is found in some parts of the body, it could be a serious sign or symptom of the disease. These are the body parts where Candida albicans could be found:</p>
<p>1&#8230;.<br />
candida, candia diet, candida albicans, candida treatment, candida home remedy<br />
Candidiasis is an infection caused by the over-growing of the fungus called Candida albicans. These fungus normally grows in the stomach but harmful if found in other parts of the body. This infection is also known as thrush or yeast infection.</p>
<p>Normally it is found in the human stomach as it aids in digestion. If it is found in some parts of the body, it could be a serious sign or symptom of the disease. These are the body parts where Candida albicans could be found:</p>
<p>1. In the male genitals specifically in the prepuce of the uncircumcised man.<br />
2. In the vagina, this is called vaginitis or vaginal irritation.<br />
3. Fold of the skin where diaper is placed, this is called diaper rash.<br />
4. In the oral cavities, this is called oral thrush.</p>
<p>Yeast are normally found in the human body, but it becomes abnormal if it overgrows on a certain parts where it should not even be there. Most women experience yeast infection in their life as Candida albicans can be found on the vagina due to over productionof yeast. In pregnant mothers, the use of antibiotics and diabetes can be a cause of candida infection.</p>
<p>You will know if you have candida infection if you will note the following signs and symptoms. In the vagina, you will notice a whitish gray discharge. That sometimes look like cheese or smells like beer or baking soda.</p>
<p>To determine the presense of candia, you can use potassium hydroxide (KOH). A piece or a skin scrap of the affected area is then placed on the slide to be viewed over the microscope. A small amount of KOH is dropped over the slide, the KOH is dissolved by the skin leaving the microorganisms unharmed. You will be seeing the pores of the Candida albicans over the microscope. If it is present in huge numbers, it will suggest yeast infection.</p>
<p>You may then have to rub your skin with a sterile swab. It must also be rubbed over the cultured medium, which will be incubated in a few days. Colonies of yeast may develop which gives a concrete idea of the presence of the disease in the body of the tested specimen.</p>
<p>Home remedies can treat this infection effectively. You can use the following guidelines to be able to get rid of candida infection:</p>
<p>?The most effective treatment for yeast infection is acidophilus. Acidophilus comes into many forms, such as tablets, caplets, liquid, ointment form and powdered. You can take the treatment orally or topical. Acidophilus ointments are also effective in treating the infection. The duration may take two weeks for your infection to vanish completely.</p>
<p>?You can also use boiled guava leaves as an antiseptic wash for your infected vagina. It has antiseptic properties that effectively removes the bacteria that grow in the skin of your vagina.</p>
<p>?You can also use garlic together with tea tree oil, as it is also a powerful treatment for yeast infection.</p>
<p>This information will be a great help for you to eliminate the infection of yeast in your body. Knowledge about the disease is the most effective tool in treating the infection. </p>
<p>Note: This article may be freely reproduced as long as the AUTHOR&#8217;S resource box at the bottom of this article is included and and all links must be Active/Linkable with no syntax changes.</p>

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		<title>Swine Flu and You: How Will The Flu Affect You?</title>
		<link>http://www.swineflumedicines.info/2010/09/swine-flu-and-you-how-will-the-flu-affect-you/</link>
		<comments>http://www.swineflumedicines.info/2010/09/swine-flu-and-you-how-will-the-flu-affect-you/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 08 Sep 2010 00:28:52 +0000</pubDate>
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				<category><![CDATA[Medical News]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[670 Flu is a common disease nowadays, with most people having developed the antibodies to fight against the disease. So the mention of &#8216;flu&#8217; doesn&#8217;t really create any alarm. However, say &#8216;Swine Flu&#8217; and there&#8217;s likely to be a pandemonium. Swine Flu, avian flu, h5n1, health Flu is a common disease nowadays, with most people [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>670</p>
<p>
Flu is a common disease nowadays, with most people having developed the antibodies to fight against the disease. So the mention of &#8216;flu&#8217; doesn&#8217;t really create any alarm. However, say &#8216;Swine Flu&#8217; and there&#8217;s likely to be a pandemonium.<br />
Swine Flu, avian flu, h5n1, health<br />
Flu is a common disease nowadays, with most people having developed the antibodies to fight against the disease. So the mention of &#8220;flu&#8221; doesn&#8217;t really create any alarm. However, say &#8220;Swine Flu&#8221; and there&#8217;s likely to be a pandemonium. </p>
<p>Swine Flu, or avian influenza, is a highly pathogenic virus of 15 types.  The virus spreads to poultry through direct or close contact with nasal secretions, saliva and feces of infected birds. What is alarming about this virus is that it has the ability to rapidly mutate into different forms that can affect human beings. Believed to be worse than the SARS outbreak, the Swine Flu outbreak brought millions of dead birds worldwide and at least 70 people dead in Asia.</p>
<p>From a not-so-harmful H5N2 virus strain, it can mutate into a killer virus with a low spread rate once the virus is transmitted to a bird. The virus has an incubation period of six to nine months before it becomes a full-blown, deadly pathogen. A bird that has been infected with the virus but has survived the disease continues to carry the virus in its body for more than week. When this happens, the bird passes on the disease to other birds that come in close contact with its secretions, saliva and feces.</p>
<p>Swine Flu and ordinary human flu have the almost the same symptoms. These symptoms are fever, muscle pains and cough. This is the reason that a person who is actually infected with Swine Flu may be mistakenly diagnosed as simply having ordinary flu. However, Swine Flu symptoms can escalate into several life-threatening conditions. Some of these life-threatening conditions are lung inflammation, eye infections and pneumonia.  </p>
<p>Because of the severity of symptoms of Swine Flu infection, the World Health Organization (WHO) is in the midst of a widespread effort to prevent the virus from infecting humans, particularly those whose who depend on poultry and livestock as their livelihood. </p>
<p>Swine Flu virus and its subtypes can easily mutate into other forms. For example, the virus that was transferred from one animal to another is the H5N2 strain. However, the virus mutated into the H5N1 strain, which has been responsible for the death of at least 50 people. It is a very surprising discovery how these viruses can mutate itself from pathogens that can harm humans as it had started with birds.</p>
<p>In Asia, the countries plagued by the avian flu are Vietnam, Japan, Cambodia, South Korea, China, Indonesia, Laos, Thailand, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mongolia, Russia, Thailand. In Europe, Turkey, Romania and Croatia are the hardest hit by the disease.</p>
<p>WHO has issued a warning to travelers to these countries to avoid going to live poultry markets, getting close contact to any farms and having direct exposure to feathers, feces or droppings, eggs and poultry meat products. Travelers need to know that most contamination occurs during the slaughtering of poultry and being in direct contact with fecal matter.<br />
No travel advisory has been issued restricting anyone from going to countries with the H5N2 strain. Travelers coming from afflicted countries are also not being screened. However, precautionary measures are in place, particularly in the media. Information is being disseminated in order to make people aware of the Swine Flu, its effects and what to do to avoid getting infected. </p>
<p>To date, no vaccines have been developed or available to fight the illness. However, anti-viral medicines are being used as alternatives in helping alleviate the severity of symptoms on those infected. While M2 inhibitors would be helpful, the body tends to develop resistance to those, diminishing the efficiency and effectivity of inhibitors.</p>
<p>The Swine Flu problem is both a government and global issue. Governments are in charge of making reliable declarations, initiating studies and putting objective measures in place. There is no reason to panic if the virus has not reached your area yet. The best thing you can do is to take practical steps in taking of your body and helping it build resistance to any kind of illnesses.</p>

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		<title>Food Allergy Law Enacted In New York</title>
		<link>http://www.swineflumedicines.info/2010/09/food-allergy-law-enacted-in-new-york/</link>
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		<pubDate>Tue, 07 Sep 2010 01:30:29 +0000</pubDate>
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				<category><![CDATA[Medical News]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[340 Governor Eliot Spitzer has signed into law the Allergy &#038; Anaphylaxis Management Act of 2007, landmark legislation that will help protect New York school children who suffer from life-threatening food allergies. allergy management, homecare, Food allergy Governor Eliot Spitzer has signed into law the Allergy &#038; Anaphylaxis Management Act of 2007, landmark legislation that [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>340</p>
<p>
Governor Eliot Spitzer has signed into law the <a </p>
<p>href=&#8221;http://www.careonehealthservices.com/newsreel/health-news.php&#8221;>Allergy &#038; Anaphylaxis Management Act of 2007</a>, landmark legislation that will help protect New York school children who suffer from </p>
<p>life-threatening food allergies.<br />
allergy management, homecare, Food allergy<br />
Governor Eliot Spitzer has signed into law the <a </p>
<p>href=&#8221;http://www.careonehealthservices.com/newsreel/health-news.php&#8221;>Allergy &#038; Anaphylaxis Management Act of 2007</a>, landmark legislation that will help protect New York school children who suffer from </p>
<p>life-threatening food allergies. </p>
<p>The new law requires the New York State Commissioner of Health to develop model state guidelines to manage </p>
<p>the risk of food allergy and anaphylaxis (a potentially fatal allergic reaction) in schools. All New York schools must receive the guidelines by June 30, 2008. Though the AAMA calls for schools to develop policies based on the guidelines, it provides flexibility for each school to create a policy consistent with its unique environment and culture.</p>
<p>&#8220;This vital legislation will save lives,&#8221; said Robert Pacenza, Executive Director, FAI. &#8220;If a food-allergic </p>
<p>child accidentally ingests even a miniscule trace of the wrong food, it can trigger a reaction that can kill </p>
<p>within minutes. The AAMA will provide New York parents and schools with sensible guidelines to help keep </p>
<p>these kids safe. FAI is proud to have been the organizing force behind this effort.&#8221;</p>
<p>During the past year, FAI led a coalition of food allergy support groups and parents across New York State to </p>
<p>achieve the passage of the AAMA. In the months ahead, the organization plans to consult with the Commissioner </p>
<p>of Health and other interested parties to create the new food allergy guidelines. FAI expresses its appreciation to Governor Spitzer and to Senator Serphin Maltese (R-Long Island) and Assemblyman Jose Rivera (D-Bronx), who championed the bill in the New York State Assembly.</p>
<p>About Food Allergies</p>
<p>Food allergy is a major public health concern, affecting more than 11 million Americans &#8212; at least 6% of </p>
<p>children under age 3, and 3-4% of the adult population. In particular, the number of children with peanut </p>
<p>allergy doubled from 1997-2002. Every year, at least 150 people die from food allergy, and severe allergic </p>
<p>reactions (anaphylaxis) account for more than 30,000 emergency room visits. There is no cure, and no therapy </p>
<p>to prevent anaphylaxis &#8212; only emergency treatment with epinephrine to control a reaction that is already in </p>
<p>progress.</p>

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		<title>Swine Flu Explained</title>
		<link>http://www.swineflumedicines.info/2010/09/swine-flu-explained/</link>
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		<pubDate>Mon, 06 Sep 2010 02:00:14 +0000</pubDate>
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				<category><![CDATA[Medical News]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[625 Swine Flu or more correctly, avian flu, is much in the news and causing a lot of anxiety. Many people are worried that they may get it, and the papers are full of horror scenarios. There are over 100 strains of avian flu, but most of them do not infect humans. The current strain [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>625</p>
<p>
Swine Flu or more correctly, avian flu, is much in the news and causing a lot of anxiety. Many people are worried that they may get it, and the papers are full of horror scenarios. </p>
<p>There are over 100 strains of avian flu, but most of them do not infect humans. The current strain H5N1 can infect humans, but not easily. The number of cases of avian flu in humans in the current outbreak is very small, and almost all have come about by direct contact with infected or dead bird&#8230;<br />
Swine Flu,avian flu,immune system,virus,viruses,mutations,flu,influenza,pandemic,health,medicine<br />
Swine Flu or more correctly, avian flu, is much in the news and causing a lot of anxiety. Many people are worried that they may get it, and the papers are full of horror scenarios. </p>
<p>There are over 100 strains of avian flu, but most of them do not infect humans. The current strain H5N1 can infect humans, but not easily. The number of cases of avian flu in humans in the current outbreak is very small, and almost all have come about by direct contact with infected or dead birds ?something that most of us are unlikely to experience. So far, the spread of H5N1 virus from person-to-person has been rare and has not continued beyond one person. In fact according to The Times (London, 23rd March 2006) only 184 confirmed cases have been reported worldwide so far from this strain, with 103 deaths. These have been in Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, and most recently, several cases in Turkey. </p>
<p>What the authorities are much more concerned about is the strain mutating into a variation that can be transmitted between human beings, rather than just from bird to human. This has been designated as influenza A/H5N1. Humans do not have any resistance to this strain, because these viruses do not commonly infect humans. If a strain developed that could infect the human population, a pandemic would be likely with many people being infected and dying. The 1918 &#8216;Spanish flu?is estimated to have killed 50 million people worldwide. At least four of the eight genes of H5N1 avian flu now contain mutations seen in that deadly strain.</p>
<p>Jeffery K. Taubenberger, a molecular pathologist at the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology in Rockville, USA has said:</p>
<p>&#8220;These H5N1 viruses might be acquiring the ability to adapt to humans, increasing their pandemic risk &#8230; there is a suggestion there may be some parallel evolution going on.&#8221; </p>
<p>Scientists still do not understand completely how a bird virus becomes a human virus, but H5N1 is already showing some of the mutations necessary for it to become a human flu, but at the moment, in spite off all the panic, there is no pandemic flu strain.</p>
<p>Research in the Netherlands and the USA has shown that while human influenza viruses are able to bind with receptors in the windpipe, H5N1 binds only much deeper inside the lungs. This makes it more difficult for the virus to infect humans, because the virus is less likely to reach the inner lungs than the windpipe. The H5N1 virus is also less likely to spread from human to human. Coughing and sneezing easily transmits viruses that have multiplied in the windpipe, but not those located deep in the lungs. If H5N1 manages to mutate so that it can replicate in the upper respiratory tract, a pandemic becomes more likely. Scientists are constantly monitoring the virus for this mutation.</p>
<p>So should we be concerned? There have been many scares over the years that have not come to anything, and this could turn out to be one of those too, but it is worth taking some sensible precautions rather than just relying on the scientists to find a powerful enough solution. Having a strong immune system has to be the first line of defence. Eating a good diet, taking exercise, getting plenty of sleep, and reducing stress can all lead to a stronger immune system that can fight more effectively against the bugs of this world and any dangerous mutations.</p>
<p>References:<br />
Daily News Central: Swine Flu on Similar Evolutionary Path as 1918 Killer Virus</p>
<p>Centers For Disease Control &#038; Prevention: Key Facts About Avian Influenza (Swine Flu) and Avian Influenza A (H5N1) Virus</p>
<p>The Times (London) 21 January 2006 and 23 March 2006 </p>
<p>The Guardian (London) 1 March 2006</p>

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		<title>Get Well: Exercise Tips For Fibromyalgia Sufferers</title>
		<link>http://www.swineflumedicines.info/2010/09/get-well-exercise-tips-for-fibromyalgia-sufferers/</link>
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		<pubDate>Sun, 05 Sep 2010 03:21:14 +0000</pubDate>
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		<description><![CDATA[526 If you suffer from fibromyalgia, it is possible that you will benefit from a carefully constructed exercise program. However, those who have fibromyalgia are often not in the best of shape, so it is important to implement the exercise carefully and with a plan in mind. Here are some exercise tips for fibromyalgia sufferers [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>526</p>
<p>
If you suffer from fibromyalgia, it is possible that you will benefit from a carefully constructed exercise program. However, those who have fibromyalgia are often not in the best of shape, so it is important to implement the exercise carefully and with a plan in mind. Here are some exercise tips for fibromyalgia sufferers that can help you to feel better and get your active lifestyle back again.</p>
<p>If you have fibromyalgia, you may not feel like exercising. So, then, why do &#8230;<br />
If you suffer from fibromyalgia, it is possible that you will benefit from a carefully constructed exercise program. However, those who have fibromyalgia are often not in the best of shape, so it is important to implement the exercise carefully and with a plan in mind. Here are some exercise tips for fibromyalgia sufferers that can help you to feel better and get your active lifestyle back again.</p>
<p>If you have fibromyalgia, you may not feel like exercising. So, then, why do it? Part of implementing exercise to cope with fibromyalgia is understanding why you would do that.</p>
<p>Exercise can lessen your pain and prevent weakness of your muscles. Endurance exercise, like walking and cycling, can help you become stronger overall and give you additional energy. In a nutshell, exercise will help you feel better overall. As long as you do it the right way, exercise can be one of the most effective treatments for those who suffer from fibromyalgia.</p>
<p>Start Slowly</p>
<p>If you suffer from fibromyalgia, you know that you are not usually energetic and that your body has likely become somewhat stagnant. Because of the blow to your overall physical fitness, you should make sure you start slowly. With that in mind, one of the best exercise tips or fibromyalgia suffers is to go from low amounts and intensities in your workouts and work up to the higher ones and longer sessions. Helpful exercises for those with fibromyalgia include low impact exercises, walking, and anything that may be designed for those with arthritis. Water exercise classes and programs, in fact, are as good as any for those with fibromyalgia.</p>
<p>Stretch First</p>
<p>No matter what exercise you choose to help you with your fibromyalgia, you have to stretch first. No matter what, one of the top exercise tips for fibromyalgia sufferers you will get is to stretch. Stretching helps your body warm up before activity begins. Additionally, it is its own type of exercise and can improve blood flow. You will also greatly reduce the risk of injury as you exercise if you remember to stretch first.</p>
<p>Soreness is Okay</p>
<p>Another one of the exercise tips for fibromyalgia sufferers is to expect some soreness. Listen to your body and make sure you don&#8217;t overdo things, but when you start a new exercise program, you are gong to feel some soreness. As you continue your program and become stronger, though, the soreness will likely begin to subside. If, though, the pain gets worse or is intense, then it is time to cut back on the exercise. Additionally, talk to your doctor before you start an exercise program to make sure your fibromyalgia will cause no complications. If he or she gives you the okay then you will be on your way to feeling better and being happier.</p>
<p>With the help of these exercise tips for fibromyalgia sufferers, you can aid in your own treatment. Exercise will help you feel stronger and increase your stamina. Before you know it, if you plan it right, you will be exercising more and feeling your fibromyalgia less. In the end, isn&#8217;t that the only goal you really have?</p>

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		<title>Gastric Bypass &#8211; Solution To Weight Loss?</title>
		<link>http://www.swineflumedicines.info/2010/09/gastric-bypass-solution-to-weight-loss/</link>
		<comments>http://www.swineflumedicines.info/2010/09/gastric-bypass-solution-to-weight-loss/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 04 Sep 2010 04:05:49 +0000</pubDate>
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		<description><![CDATA[438 The most common surgery for obesity is gastric bypass. The gastric bypass results in an effective resolution of major illnesses that accompany obesity. Most gastric bypass surgery candidates have already tried more conventional diet and exercise plans with little success. With few options, doctors and patients are increasingly turning to gastric bypass surgery as [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>438</p>
<p>
The most common surgery for obesity is gastric bypass. The gastric bypass results in an effective resolution of major illnesses that accompany obesity. Most gastric bypass surgery candidates have already tried more conventional diet and exercise plans with little success. With few options, doctors and patients are increasingly turning to gastric bypass surgery as a lifesaver and often as a last resort.</p>
<p>Laparoscopic gastric bypass surgery is a treatment for obesity. Obesity&#8230;<br />
obese,obesity,weight loss,gastric,gastric bypass,bypass,obese weight loss,Laparoscopic,Laparoscopic<br />
The most common surgery for obesity is gastric bypass. The gastric bypass results in an effective resolution of major illnesses that accompany obesity. Most gastric bypass surgery candidates have already tried more conventional diet and exercise plans with little success. With few options, doctors and patients are increasingly turning to gastric bypass surgery as a lifesaver and often as a last resort.</p>
<p>Laparoscopic gastric bypass surgery is a treatment for obesity. Obesity risks add to complications of gastric bypass. Today, gastric bypass surgery is being marketed and promoted to obese patients as a panacea for obesity. According to the report, &#8220;Gastric bypass is now established as an effective and safe therapy for morbid obesity and its associated health problems.</p>
<p>Research investigators followed 20 women who underwent gastric bypass for treatment of morbid obesity to compare the safety and effectiveness of RNY and MGB in the treatment of morbid obesity. It was found that Laparoscopic gastric bypass is simple, effective and safe.</p>
<p>Patients who have a BMI over 50 tend to lose about 50 percent of their excess weight with a gastric bypass. With the gastric bypass, patients with a BMI under 50 seem to lose 70 percent of their excess weight or more.</p>
<p>Undergoing a gastric bypass requires patients to commit to a new lifestyle. The amount of calories and nutrients absorbed by the body are significantly decreased after gastric bypass surgery.</p>
<p>People who have gastric bypass operations usually lose two-thirds of their excess weight within two years after the operation. It is no miracle that patients of the gastric bypass lose weight rapidly.</p>
<p>However, weight reduction surgery known as gastric bypass is merely the first step. After a gastric bypass, it is recommended that you follow a certain diet in order to maintain proper weight balance and nutrient intake. The gastric bypass diet helps you maintain good nutrition while losing weight. People who regain weight after gastric bypass surgery usually are consuming too many high-calorie foods and beverages and do not exercise enough. About 1 in 20 people who have gastric bypasses fail to lose sufficient weight or regain weight and the operation has to be repeated.</p>
<p>Kyle Potts is a general surgeon who specialize in performing Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery for people with severe obesity. He performs laparoscopic obesity surgery since 1994 and is experienced in gastric banding, gastric bypass, intragastric stimulation and intragastric balloon procedures. He specializes in laparoscopic redo surgery where he converts failed previous obesity surgery to gastric bypass laparoscopically.</p>
<p>Before you consider going for such a surgery, it is always wise to read up everything on this subject, and subsequently meet your doctor to discuss the possibilities of the surgery.</p>

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		<title>Finding A Home Remedy For Snoring</title>
		<link>http://www.swineflumedicines.info/2010/09/finding-a-home-remedy-for-snoring/</link>
		<comments>http://www.swineflumedicines.info/2010/09/finding-a-home-remedy-for-snoring/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 03 Sep 2010 05:41:48 +0000</pubDate>
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		<description><![CDATA[374 Home remedies are terrific for many things, but did you also know that there are home remedies for snoring? They are natural, safe and, best of all &#8211; they are free. If you are looking for the perfect home remedy for snoring, you are at the right place. Sleeping on your side is a [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>374</p>
<p>
Home remedies are terrific for many things, but did you also know that there are home remedies for snoring? They are natural, safe and, best of all &#8211; they are free. If you are looking for the perfect home remedy for snoring, you are at the right place.</p>
<p>Sleeping on your side is a terrific home remedy for snoring. Research shows that individuals who sleep on their back snore more often than side sleepers. Another good home remedy for snoring is to sleep on two pillows instea&#8230;<br />
sleep apnea,snoring treatments,sleeping disorder,snoring remedy,stop snoring, snoring, snoring aids<br />
Home remedies are terrific for many things, but did you also know that there are home remedies for snoring? They are natural, safe and, best of all &#8211; they are free. If you are looking for the perfect home remedy for snoring, you are at the right place.</p>
<p>Sleeping on your side is a terrific home remedy for snoring. Research shows that individuals who sleep on their back snore more often than side sleepers. Another good home remedy for snoring is to sleep on two pillows instead of one. The additional few inches of elevation may help you to breathe better through the night, which may help you to say goodbye to snoring altogether.</p>
<p>If you are an allergy sufferer, there may be a home remedy for snoring that you can use to also help eliminate your allergy symptoms. When airway passages become restricted, which is often the case with allergies, snoring is a possible result. Breathing steam from hot running water is a home remedy for snoring that is also great for opening the nasal passages and improving breathing. In addition, ridding your home of airborne allergens with the use of air filtration units can help to get rid of many airborne allergens.</p>
<p>Many snoring sufferers, who are searching for the perfect home remedy for snoring, turn to anti-snoring aids for help. The Sleep Genie is one such device, which is doctor recommended. While comfortably supporting the jaw with it&#8217;s nylon lycra blend, the Sleep Genie holds the mouth closed to prevent snoring. The best part is that this anti-snoring device requires no medication, no invasive surgery and does not hinder the wearer&#8217;s movement during the night. </p>
<p>Another home remedy for snoring is weight loss. A combination of diet and exercise will not only help you to lose weight and lessen the chances of snoring, but will also promote a healthier lifestyle overall. Obesity is one of the leading causes of snoring, so consider shedding those unwanted pounds and your snoring habit in the process.</p>
<p>This article is intended for informational purposes only. It should not be used as, or in place of, professional medical advice. Before beginning any treatment for snoring, please consult a doctor for a proper diagnosis and remedy.</p>

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		<title>Swine Flu: Human Infection</title>
		<link>http://www.swineflumedicines.info/2010/09/swine-flu-human-infection/</link>
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		<pubDate>Thu, 02 Sep 2010 06:31:32 +0000</pubDate>
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				<category><![CDATA[Medical News]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.swineflumedicines.info/?p=93</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[972 Swine Flu is a disease caused by a specific type of avian (bird) influenza virus, the so-called H5N1 virus. This virus was first discovered in birds in China in 1997, and since then has infected 125 people in Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, and Indonesia, killing 64 of them. It is spread by infected migratory birds [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>972</p>
<p>
Swine Flu is a disease caused by a specific type of avian (bird) influenza virus, the so-called H5N1 virus. This virus was first discovered in birds in China in 1997, and since then has infected 125 people in Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, and Indonesia, killing 64 of them. It is spread by infected migratory birds (including wild ducks and geese) to domestic poultry (primarily chickens, ducks, and turkeys), and then to humans.<br />
Swine Flu, avian flu, avian influenza, virus, h5n1 virus, pandemic, <br />
Swine Flu is a disease caused by a specific type of avian (bird) influenza virus, the so-called H5N1 virus. This virus was first discovered in birds in China in 1997, and since then has infected 125 people in Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, and Indonesia, killing 64 of them. It is spread by infected migratory birds (including wild ducks and geese) to domestic poultry (primarily chickens, ducks, and turkeys), and then to humans.  </p>
<p>Some infected people have developed abnormal clotting profiles resulting in excessive bleeding-which was a frequent clinical symptom in the deadly so-called Spanish influenza of 1918-19, which killed more than 100 million people worldwide. Indeed, Swine Flu shares a number of disturbing characteristics with the 1918-19 influenza virus.  These two viruses have, in fact, recently been shown to be similar genetically. And in a recent laboratory experiment with mice, the 1918-19 virus was found to produce 39,000 times more viruses four days after infection than the regular seasonal human flu strain. The 1918-19 virus killed 100 percent of the mice that were infected with it, compared to none of the mice infected with the regular flu strain.  With a current &#8220;case fatality rate,?or death rate of approximately 50 percent in humans, Swine Flu is obviously also a very deadly disease.</p>
<p>There are only a few reports in the medical literature describing the clinical features of Swine Flu in humans. The clinical spectrum of H5N1 infection ranges from asymptomatic infection-where the person doesn&#8217;t even know he or she is infected-to fatal pneumonia and multiple organ failure. Some infected individuals develop liver or kidney dysfunction, and there were two children who died from the virus that came to medical attention because of diarrhea and seizures related to encephalitis (infection of the brain). However, the most common presentation is one of fever, cough, and trouble breathing.  Approximately 70 percent of patients also have diarrhea, and a few patients have had only gastrointestinal symptoms (such as stomach ache, vomiting, and diarrhea) and no breathing problems.  </p>
<p>Deaths have generally been in normally healthy people. The first report in the medical literature of deaths from Swine Flu was on 12 patients living in Hong Kong. Their median age was nine years, with a range of one to 60 years. All presented with fever, and eight had symptoms or signs of upper-respiratory infections (five had clinical and X-ray evidence of pneumonia when first diagnosed). Gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms, including stomach pain, vomiting, and diarrhea, were present in eight patients. There were a total of five deaths (one died with Reye&#8217;s syndrome, which is associated with taking aspirin in children).</p>
<p>In a study of 10 patients in Vietnam with laboratory-confirmed avian influenza (H5N1), the mean age of the patients was 13.7 years. For eight of the patients, there was a clear history of either direct handling of poultry (chickens or ducks) or exposure to sick poultry in the week before the onset of illness. All presented in January 2004 with cough, shortness of breath, and fever, and seven had diarrhea; none had myalgia (muscle aches)-which is often found in the regular seasonal flu. Notably, oseltamivir (Tamiflu) was administered to five patients, four of whom died (treatment was probably started too late for the medication to be effective-it must be given within 48 hours after onset of symptoms to be effective). In total, eight of the patients died, for an 80 percent case fatality rate or death rate.</p>
<p>As is apparent from the descriptions above, the presenting symptoms of individuals with Swine Flu are very similar to the symptoms of the normal seasonal flu. Infections caused by either the bird-flu virus (H5N1) or the seasonal influenza virus can be completely asymptomatic-that is, cause no symptoms at all. Fever, cough, malaise (feeling ill), and gastrointestinal symptoms are common to both infections. Excessive bleeding occurs only with Swine Flu, but currently this symptom doesn&#8217;t appear to be common. Difficulty breathing is more common with severe cases of Swine Flu, not seasonal flu. Runny nose and sneezing are found only with colds (or allergies).  </p>
<p>The cough in either type of infection is what is referred to in medicine as &#8220;nonproductive?meaning there is no sputum brought up when coughing, or if any sputum is brought up, it is white in color. This type of cough is characteristic of upper respiratory viral infections. As either type of infection progresses or worsens, tissues may be damaged, disrupting the normal structure and function of the infected cells. This in turn may allow bacteria to grow and also cause damage. When this happens following a viral infection, it is referred to as a &#8220;secondary?bacterial infection. When this occurs, the color of the sputum characteristically turns yellow or green. If this happens, antibiotics are indicated to treat the bacterial infection. (Antibiotics are not indicated in the treatment of viral infections, because they don&#8217;t work.)</p>
<p>It is safe to assume that during a bird-flu pandemic, most individuals who become infected with the bird-flu virus will either be asymptomatic-having no symptoms-or their illness will not be severe enough to require hospitalization. The small percentage who do become seriously ill will have to be hospitalized, and treated with either of the two antiviral agents available, oseltamivir (Tamiflu) or zanamivir (Relenza). A smaller subset of that group will develop life-threatening complications such as acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), which requires treatment with a mechanical ventilator, a respirator.  </p>
<p>Some individuals may develop other serious complications such as liver failure, kidney failure, neurological problems-such as seizures, paralysis, psychiatric problems such as delirium or psychosis, or bleeding problems. However, it is reasonable to predict that most people infected with the virus will not die and will not have significant residual symptoms, although a small percentage will.  </p>
<p>Bradford Frank, M.D., M.P.H., M.B.A.<br />
The Frank Group<br />
P.O. Box 138<br />
Lakewood, NY 14750<br />
www.AvoidBirdFlu.com</p>

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		<title>Gastroenteritis Is A Serious Problem</title>
		<link>http://www.swineflumedicines.info/2010/08/gastroenteritis-is-a-serious-problem/</link>
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		<pubDate>Wed, 01 Sep 2010 07:23:51 +0000</pubDate>
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		<description><![CDATA[493 Gastroenteritis means inflammation of stomach as well as the gastrointestinal tract. It is also known as stomach flu. It can be caused by an infection, virus, bacterium or parasite. These viruses can lead to condition like fever, diarrhea and vomiting. The different viruses that cause gastroenteritis are rotavirus, adenoviruses, caliciviruses and astroviruses. The signs [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>493</p>
<p>
Gastroenteritis means inflammation of stomach as well as the gastrointestinal tract. It is also known as stomach flu. It can be caused by an infection, virus, bacterium or parasite. These viruses can lead to condition like fever, diarrhea and vomiting. The different viruses that cause gastroenteritis are rotavirus, adenoviruses, caliciviruses and astroviruses. The signs and symptoms of gastroenteritis may vary depending upon the individual. It is very important that your doct&#8230;<br />
Gastroenteritis home remedies, Stomach Flu, Diarrhea, vomiting<br />
Gastroenteritis means inflammation of stomach as well as the gastrointestinal tract. It is also known as stomach flu. It can be caused by an infection, virus, bacterium or parasite. These viruses can lead to condition like fever, diarrhea and vomiting. The different viruses that cause gastroenteritis are rotavirus, adenoviruses, caliciviruses and astroviruses. The signs and symptoms of gastroenteritis may vary depending upon the individual. It is very important that your doctor makes the proper diagnosis before writing down the prescription.</p>
<p>This condition may not cause too much harm if proper care is taken. You body takes quite a toll due to diarrhea and other symptoms. Without proper care it can be get severe. Adults as well as kids are not spared by this inconvenience. Gastroenteritis can be contagious and can spread from person to person. The contamination of drinking water is one of the reasons for trouble. Unhygienic food and unhygienic conditions of maintaining the food causes problem too. Sea food in the likes of shellfish reaped in polluted water and handled by unhygienic people creates problems.</p>
<p>One of the common symptoms of gastroenteritis is severe diarrhea. It is the main reason for dehydration. You also suffer stomach pain, nausea, vomiting and fever. Due to this continuous pain there is loss of appetite, fever or chills. You also endure body ache as well as stiffness of your joints. There is lack of stool control. Dark color urine should ring a bell. It is very important that you wash your hands once you have been to the bathroom. By keeping your kitchen spic and span you can avoid any causes of infection. Drink boiled or bottled water. Avoid food which is half-cooked especially seafood.</p>
<p>Children are the common patients of gastroenteritis and special care has to be taken for that. Due to loss of fluids it is very important that the child remains dehydrated by constant intake of fluids. Take plenty of rest. Consume at least eight to ten glasses of water everyday. Avoid spicy food and eat more of vegetables. Plain and simple food may go a long way.</p>
<p>Some Home Remedies</p>
<p>You can make concoction by using eight ounces of fruit juice (one, which won&#8217;t escalate your gastro problem), 1/2 tsp honey, corn syrup and a pinch of salt, mixed in a glass. In another glass you can have 8 ounces of purified water with 1/4 tsp baking soda. Drink alternately from each glass until it&#8217;s over.</p>
<p>Having clay mixed with water is very good to prevent gastro.</p>
<p>Campfire ash used also helps due to its astringent and drying-up effect when brewed in tea.</p>
<p>Blackberry root when made into a tea can assist with your gastro problem.</p>
<p>Warning: The reader of this article should exercise all precautionary measures while following instructions on the home remedies from this article. Avoid using any of these products if you are allergic to it. The responsibility lies with the reader and not with the site or the writer.</p>

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