Scott Sisters Kidney Transplant Violates Donation Laws

ABC - Ethicists say suspending a prison sentence on the condition that one sister give the other a kidney is a "quid pro quo" and threatens the ethical underpinnings of living donation laws. Dr. William Hurlburt, a Stanford neurologist who sat on the President's Council on Ethics, said the news was troubling. "We pondered over and over this issue and came to the conclusion that it was such a tricky medical realm with so much risk for abuse that we agreed organ donation must always remain altruistic," he said. On Thursday, the governor signed an order that suspended the Scott sisters' life sentences as long as Gladys, 36, who is healthy, donates her kidney to Jamie, 38, who has been on dialysis. The women have been imprisoned for the past 16 years on charges of masterminding an armed robbery. "As soon as the governor began throwing around commutation -- getting out of her prison sentence -- he began to undercut the ethical framework," said Dr. Art Caplan, director of the Center for Bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania. "He has now put the sisters' donation in jeopardy because the parole is absolutely a payment, which is against the law. It would be considered pressure or coercion." READ MORE: http://abcnews.go.com/Health/scott-sisters-kidney-donation-threatens-organ-transplant-laws/story?id=12515616&page=2

Sexual violence in Haiti 'increasing'

According to UK-based NGO Oxfam, reconstruction has barely begun in Haiti, a year after its devastating earthquake. In a new report, the organisation says Haiti has been paralysed by a lack of leadership from the government and the international community. In one example of what the report calls poor planning some money was allocated to build housing, while no money has been set aside to clear away rubble. Oxfam says the result has led to only a fraction of the rubble being cleared, while just 15 per cent of the much needed temporary housing has been built. One major reason Haitians - especially Haitian women - need temporary housing is security. According to another new report, released by Amnesty International, the risk of rape and sexual violence has increased dramatically in the camps. Aid groups have been trying to help women combat the threats. Al Jazeera's Tom Ackerman reports.

Prostitution: Emma Thompson on human trafficking

Emma Thompson, the internationally acclaimed actress and human rights activist, has opened an exhibition in The Hague on human trafficking. "Journey" is based on the story of Elena, who at the age of 18 was trafficked from Moldova to England and forced into prostitution.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HnSU1eLsRH8

When a Child is Too Young to Realize All Rights Are Being Violated - Amb...

Prison activist and advocate, Carol Leonard, founder and owner of The
PrisonReformMovement
has authored a petition to help free Amber, please take a moment of your
time to sign this petition
@change: At Age 16 She Faced Life In Prison http://chn.ge/hqiZMp
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Snoop on Larry King Live

Felicia "Snoop" Pearson discusses what it was like at Maryland Correctional Institution for Women in Jessup, Maryland on an episode of "Larry King Live". (Original Airdate: July 1st 2008)
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nEOe31MHXmM