LIFE DIGEST: Abortion doctor suspended again, still can practice
- Aug 17, 2010 -
The Florida Board of Medicine has suspended the license of abortion doctor James Pendergraft for the fourth time but will still allow him to resume his practice.
The board, which delivered the one-year suspension Aug. 7, said Pendergraft permitted a female employee to administer narcotics to patients without a license, granted her “free reign” to order drugs in his name though he knew she had abused drugs and prescribed steroids for her without a medical basis, according to Channel 13, an Orlando television station.
Also in this edition: Adult stem cells treat deadly skin diseases in children.
The Department of Health said Pendergraft will be able to resume practicing medicine in the state when he is finished serving his current suspensions simultaneously
It was not only pro-life advocates who were displeased with the board’s failure to act more strongly.
“Unfortunately, in the state of Florida over the past many years, we have not seen the enforcement and the rigor [of] some other states like Iowa, Indiana, (and) Minnesota,” said Aaron Liberman, chairman of the Department of Health Management and Informatics at the University of Central Florida.
If Pendergraft were in those states, it is likely he would be unable to regain his license, Liberman said, according to Channel 13.
“I think it’s a wake-up call for us all when we have an individual who is allowed to practice medicine in a way that draws question as to both his credibility and capability,” Liberman said.
One of Pendergraft’s previous suspensions was for illegal performance of a third-trimester abortion in 2005. Third-trimester abortions are allowed in Florida if they are performed in a hospital and two doctors have certified in writing a woman’s life is threatened. Pendergraft violated both rules.
Pendergraft’s latest punishment also includes a $10,000 fine, three yeas of probation and participation in a course on record keeping, Channel 13 reported.
Adult stem cells treat deadly skin diseases in children
University of Minnesota researchers have used non-embryonic stem cells in successful treatments of children with a lethal skin disease.
Using stem cells from donor blood marrow or donor umbilical cord blood, the scientists have treated children with recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa (RDEB), a severe form of epidermolysis bullosa (EB). EB, which also affects the lining of the mouth and esophagus, causes skin to blister, which can lead to infections and a virulent form of skin cancer. The disease has been regarded as incurable. Most children with EB do not survive their 20s.
The research team, led by John Wagner and Jakub Tolar, has transplanted adult stem cells into 10 children since 2007. The recipients have responded to a variety of degrees, Wagner said.
“This discovery is more unique and more remarkable than it may first sound. . . . what we have found is that stem cells contained in bone marrow can travel to sites of injured skin, leading to increased production of collagen which is deficient in patients with RDEB,” Tolar said. “Bone marrow transplantation is one of the riskiest procedures in medicine, yet it is also one of the most successful. Patients who otherwise would have died from their disease can often now be cured. It’s a serious treatment for a serious disease.”
Human trials using stem cells from non-embryonic sources have produced therapies for at least 73 ailments in human beings, according to Do No Harm, a coalition promoting ethics in research. Among the afflictions treated by non-embryonic cells are cancer, juvenile diabetes, multiple sclerosis, heart damage, Parkinson’s, sickle cell anemia and spinal cord injuries, according to Do No Harm. Extracting non-embryonic stem cells does not harm the donor.
Embryonic stem cell research, which has been highly touted by many scientists, has yet to provide treatments for human beings and has been plagued by the development of tumors in lab animals. Removing stem cells from an embryo destroys the donor.
David Prentice, senior fellow for life sciences at Family Research Council, posted an Aug. 12 report about the Minnesota research on the organization’s weblog. The study was published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
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