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Preventable Maternal Deaths Should Be Recognized As Women's Rights Violations, Opinion Piece Says
"Human rights organizations around the world are starting to demand that governments recognize preventable maternal death as a violation of women"s rights," Mary Robinson and Alicia Yamin, both advisory council members of the International Initiative on Maternal Mortality and Human Rights, write in a Boston Globe opinion piece. They add that with the "United Nations Human Rights Council"s June session just around the corner, governments have a chance to prove that they value women"s lives by taking concrete action on this issue." According to Robinson and Yamin, "[m]ore than one woman dies every minute from preventable causes in childbirth, and for every woman who dies as many as 30 others are left with lifelong, debilitating complications."They continue, "Moreover, when mothers die, children are at greater risk of dropping out of school, becoming malnourished and simply not surviving," adding, "Not only is maternal mortality and morbidity a global health emergency, but it triggers and aggravates cycles of poverty that cause generations of suffering and despair." The authors write, "Asserting that these preventable deaths are an issue of human rights does not mean that poor governments are going to be blamed for not doing what they cannot do." Instead, "understanding the profound injustice of disparities in maternal deaths makes it all the more urgent that donor states honor their funding commitments and that effective monitoring and accountability mechanisms are put in place to ensure that aid is going to the interventions that evidence has shown will save women"s lives," they add.According to Robinson and Yamin, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton 14 years ago at the Fourth World Conference on Women, then U.S. first lady, "declared that "women"s rights are human rights."" They add that Clinton recently has "passionately and eloquently affirmed [the Obama] administration"s commitment to women"s reproductive health needs around the world, and the Obama administration has called for increased funding for global health." They conclude, "As a new member of the Human Rights Council, the United States has the chance to lead the way in promoting a woman"s right to go through pregnancy and childbirth in safety and, just as important, to back up that assertion with adequate funding commitments" (Robinson/Yamin, Boston Globe, 6/4).

Milburn Report Ignores Crippling Cost Of Medical Education, Says British Medical Association
A new report aimed at increasing the number of doctors from lower income groups was branded a missed opportunity by doctor and medical student leaders after it failed to address the full of extent of the soaring financial cost of studying medicine in the UK.
News of the day
King Khalid University Hospital Links State-Of-The-Art Medical Imaging Applications With Aruba Networks' 802.11n Solution From ASACO-IT
Aruba Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ: ARUN), a global leader in wireless LANs and secure mobility solutions, announced that Saudi Arabia"s King Khalid University Hospital (KKUH), the teaching hospital of King Saud University, has deployed Aruba"s high-speed 802.11n Wi-Fi and security solutions for PACS, RIS, and HIS applications at its facilities in Riyadh. KKUH is the largest teaching hospital in the Kingdom, with more than 800 beds and 500 medical specialists. The network was deployed by ASACO-IT (Ahd Al-Saudia Company), an authorized Aruba partner in Saudi Arabia.
Public Health

Editorials Respond To Selection Of Sotomayor As Supreme Court Nominee

Several newspapers recently published editorials on President Obama"s nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court. Summaries appear below.~ Boston Globe: "Some liberal activists hoped that Obama would seek a firebrand to counter [Supreme Court Justice] Antonin Scalia, the darling of the right," but "Sotomayor has made her reputation not on hot-button social issues but on matters ranging from environmental regulation to the baseball business," a Globe editorial states. It adds that while Sotomayor "presumably shares Obama"s support for abortion rights, she upheld the Bush administration"s restrictions on family-planning activities" by international groups that received U.S. funding. Now, "conservative groups have seized upon an offhand remark in 2005" when she described the "federal appeals courts as the place "where policy is made" ... as evidence that Sotomayor would legislate from the bench," the editorial states, adding. "The attack is disingenuous." The editorial concludes, "Short of any unexpected revelations about her record or her philosophy, though, the Senate should confirm Sonia Sotomayor," adding that in addition to her "intriguing" personal background she "also has the experience to make an excellent Supreme Court Justice" (Boston Globe, 5/27).~ Chicago Tribune: Sotomayor "has to bring more than diversity to the court," a Tribune editorial states, adding that the "evidence so far suggests that she is up to the job." One "would expect a nominee chosen by Obama to be on the liberal side of the judicial spectrum," but some of her rulings "suggest otherwise," according to the editorial. While Sotomayor "has stressed that the "duty of a judge is to follow the law, not to question its plain terms,"" on the bench, "she ruled against an abortion-rights group challenging" the Bush administration"s "global gag rule," the editorial notes, among other rulings that "could be characterized as "conservative decisions"." However, "the point is not that she"s a closet conservative -- it"s that ideology didn"t seem to determine her decisions," according to the editorial. The "Senate has a responsibility to undertake a thorough examination of her record and her thinking," the editorial states, concluding, "But for now, it looks as though her critics have a tough task ahead of them" (Chicago Tribune, 5/27).~ Los Angeles Times: "Sotomayor doesn"t possess the political experience that would be brought to the court"s cloistered chambers by Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm (D) or Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano," but "she satisfies Obama"s other criteria: experience, erudition and, as he put it, "a common touch and a sense of compassion, an understanding of how the world works and how ordinary people live,"" a Times editorial states. Sotomayor"s "experiences as a Latina raised in a housing project who went on to excel at Princeton and Yale don"t in themselves qualify her for the court," but these facts do "complement her sterling credentials and equip her with perspectives that could illuminate legal issues that come before her," the editorial continues. Senate Republicans "should accord her the same respect [they] demanded for Bush"s nominees and end the tiresome tit-for-tat that has cheapened the confirmation of federal judges and deprived the bench of some of the nation"s most capable legal minds," the editorial concludes (Los Angeles Times, 5/27).~ Philadelphia Inquirer: "Sotomayor would bring to the court a diversity it has lacked for most of its history," an Inquirer editorial states. Although "[c]onservatives want to make an issue out of President Obama"s search for "empathy" in a nominee" and "criticize Sotomayor for a speech in 2001 in which she said that being a woman of color affects her decisions," neither comment "is sinister nor shocking," according to the editorial. It concludes, "The Senate has a duty to examine Sotomayor"s qualifications rigorously and fairly. But she appears to have the experience and the temperament to merit Obama"s confidence" (Philadelphia Inquirer, 5/27).~ Washington Times: "Justice is supposed to be blind, but some Democrats want everyone to focus on Sonia Sotomayor"s race and impoverished upbringing when considering her Supreme Court nomination," a Times editorial states. The editorial continues, "Sotomayor"s judicial record and views of the law are what must be examined, not the color of her skin or where she grew up." The editorial concludes, "With the first Hispanic women positioned to serve on the Supreme Court, liberal Democrats are diverting attention from Judge Sotomayor"s controversial record by playing the race card" (Washington Times, 5/28). Reprinted with kind permission from http://www.nationalpartnership.org. You can view the entire Daily Women"s Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery here. The Daily Women"s Health Policy Report is a free service of the National Partnership for Women & Families, published by The Advisory Board Company. © 2009 The Advisory Board Company. All rights reserved.


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