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The New York Sun

WASHINGTON


ABSTINENCE-ONLY PROGRAMS SHOULD GET FEDERAL REVIEW, FRIST SAYS


Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist said yesterday that the government should review federally funded sexual abstinence programs, under fire from Democrats who say they contain false and misleading medical information.


The “abstinence-only” programs, which get $170 million from Congress this year, teach children and teens the benefits of abstaining from sex until marriage. By law, they are not allowed to discuss any benefits of birth control or condoms in preventing the spread of sexually transmitted diseases.


A report last week by Rep. Henry Waxman, a Democrat of California, found 11 of the 13 most widely used programs contain misinformation. He said they underestimate the effectiveness of condoms in preventing pregnancy and the spread of disease, exaggerate the prevalence of emotional and physical distress following abortion, blur science and religion, or get fundamental scientific facts wrong.


Asked about these findings, Dr. Frist, a doctor who often calls on his medical expertise, did not directly address the issues raised. But he said the programs should be reviewed. “Of course they should be reviewed,” Dr. Frist said yesterday on ABC’s “This Week” program. “That’s in part our responsibility to make sure that all of these programs are reviewed.”


– Associated Press


WEST


MICHAEL JACKSON GIVES DNA SAMPLE TO AUTHORITIES


LOS ANGELES – Michael Jackson voluntarily gave a DNA sample to authorities, returning to his Neverland Ranch estate a day after he left during a search by sheriff’s deputies, a source close to the case said yesterday.


When Santa Barbara County sheriff’s deputies arrived with search warrants Friday, his lawyer instructed him to leave and take his children with him, the source told The Associated Press.


Mr. Jackson’s attorney, Thomas Mesereau, flew by helicopter from Los Angeles to Mr. Jackson’s ranch in Los Olivos,100 miles northwest, when he heard the search warrant had been served, said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity.


On Saturday, when the deputies returned, they asked for a DNA sample and Mr. Jackson returned by car to the estate and supplied the sample voluntarily, the source said. Authorities had never before asked for a DNA sample, the source said. A cotton swab was used to collect the sample from Mr. Jackson’s mouth.


The 46-year-old entertainer has pleaded not guilty to charges of child molestation, conspiracy, and administering an intoxicating agent, alcohol, to his alleged victim. He is scheduled to stand trial January 31.


– Associated Press


HEALTH


NIH HALTS SICKLE CELL STUDY BECAUSE SUBJECTS SUFFER STROKES


ATLANTA – A study aimed at determining if some children with sickle cell anemia could be weaned off blood transfusion therapy has been halted because two young patients who stopped getting the procedure suffered strokes and others developed a high chance of strokes.


The National Institutes of Health decided to issue a clinical alert recommending that doctors continue using blood transfusions to reduce the risk of stroke among young sickle cell patients, even though the treatment has its own risk.


The study, called STOP II, was funded by the NIH’s National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute and involved 23 American medical centers and two in Canada.


The $15 million study, which started in July 2000, was prematurely ended last month after 16 children with sickle cell anemia developed narrowed arteries and other risk factors for strokes after they stopped receiving blood transfusions. Two other children suffered strokes but are recovering, said Dr. Robert Adams, the study’s principal investigator and professor of neurology at the Medical College of Georgia. The study “showed that when transfusions were discontinued after a minimum of 30 months, a significant number of children reverted to high risk” of stroke, the federal agency’s clinical alert said.


– Associated Press


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