WEEKLY BULLETIN: 6 FEBRUARY 2015

WEEKLY BULLETIN: 6 FEBRUARY 2015
UK Approves "3 Parent Baby" Technique
(United Kingdom)
The House of Commons has voted to legalize the use of donor mitochondrial DNA for
in-vitro fertilization (IVF) conceptions, allowing the creation of children who will have
three biological parents. The process will allow mothers who carry certain genetic
conditions to have children that share most of their genetic code, but without the
component that could lead to horrific diseases. Read the full article at
http://www.iflscience.com/health-and-medicine/uk-allows-ivf-using-dna-three-parents
Putting human rights at the centre of universal health
coverage (Commonwealth)
Leading thinkers in the health and human rights sectors gathered at the Commonwealth
Secretariat today to discuss the right to health in the context of universal health
coverage. Deputy Secretary-General Gary Dunn opened the event and stressed the
critical need for quality healthcare for all regardless of social or economic background

and how a rights-based approach could help achieve this. Read the full article at:
http://thecommonwealth.org/media/news
New Ebola cases show first rise in 2015 (Sierre Leone)
The number of new cases of Ebola went up in all three of West Africa's worst-hit
countries in the last week of January, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on
Wednesday.It is the first weekly increase in 2015, ending a series of encouraging
declines.The WHO says Sierra Leone registered 80 of the 124 new cases, Guinea 39
and Liberia the remaining five.Almost 9,000 people have died from Ebola since
December 2013. Read the full article at http://www.bbc.com/news/health-31140987.
Barack Obama: ‘Acts of intolerance’ in India would have
shocked Mahatma Gandhi (India)
US President Barack Obama on Thursday said “acts of intolerance” experienced by
religious faiths of all types in India in the past few years would have shocked Mahatma
Gandhi.The comments came a day after the White House refuted suggestions that the
US President’s public speech in New Delhi, in which he touched on religious tolerance,
was a “parting shot” aimed at the ruling BJP. Read the full article at
http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-others/religious-intolerance-in-indiawould-have-shocked-mahatma-gandhi-barack-obama/
Detention of mentally ill people in police cells needs to end,
say MPs (United Kingdom)
MPs say the detention of more than 6,000 mentally ill people in police cells last year is
a continuing scandal that urgently needs to be ended. A report from the Commons home
affairs select committee this Friday says detention of children, in particular, must cease
immediately. In all, 236 children under the age of 18 with mental health issues were
detained in police custody in England and Wales from 2013 to 2014. Read the full

article at http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/feb/06/detaining-mentally-illpolice-cells-scandal-home-affairs-commons-keith-vaz-report#img-1
Istanbul hospitals refuse abortions as government’s
attitude hardens (Turkey)
Most Istanbul hospitals are violating the law by refusing to carry out abortions,
women’s rights groups in Turkey have established.Activists from the Purple Roof
women’s shelter in Istanbul found that only three out of 37 state hospitals agreed to
provide non-emergency terminations, of which only one offered abortions between the
eighth and 10th week of gestation, when surgery becomes necessary. Under Turkish
law, hospitals are authorised to terminate pregnancies up until the 10th week. Read the
full article at http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/feb/04/istanbul-hospitalsrefuse-abortions-government-attitude