World Congress of Families, Madrid 2012

An Introductory Report: Multidimensional Challenges Ahead
The Echo Chamber at the World Congress of Families

This weekend, May 25–27, the biennial World Congress of Families (WCF) international conference will be held in Madrid, Spain. Running under the banner “Marriage and the Family: The Future of Society,” this year’s conference promises to be an echo chamber for regressive social views presented by advocates from a variety of arch-conservative organizations, notably the Howard Center for Family, Religion and Society, its sponsor. Biographies for selected speakers are available here.

Catholics for Choice has reported from several previous iterations of the WCF. Our previous reports are available here. Because of the nature of these gatherings, and the fact that antichoice activists tend to hold them up as examples of a new dawn in antichoice activity, we attend and report on the events in order to provide the truth about what is happening: who is there and what they are saying. Providing accurate information about the opposition’s activities helps all of us counter their propaganda from a position of strength.

The choice of Spain as the venue also provides us an opportunity to assess what really lies behind the noises that the conservative Spanish government has made about reversing the progressive laws passed under the last administration. It is clear that the decision to host this event in Spain was at least somewhat driven by the notion that “the faithful” must drive headfirst into the heart of iniquity, slaying the dragon of modernity in order to achieve salvation, both here and in the hereafter. However, as they tilt towards these windmills on Don Quixote’s home turf, it is entirely possible that a sexually progressive and politically active opposition may show up to protest. In which case, the World Congress of Families may draw some attention—just not the sort of attention that, even if they want it, will be beneficial to their cause.

One might suppose that given the current global economic climate, a significant portion of the World Congress of Families would relate to helping families make it through the crisis. Help with real challenges like unemployment, healthcare and childcare would be welcome. With breakout sessions such as “The Homosexual Lobby,” “Effects of Social Experimentation and Same-Sex Adoption,” “Solutions to Homosexual Behavior” and “Promoting Fatherhood: the Crisis of Manhood,” however, the Congress appears far more concerned with fabricated social issues that have no substantial impact on the welfare of the family.

The WCF gives the distinct impression that it means to codify an antiquated set of social behaviors they hope will safeguard them from an “encroaching darkness,” which the majority of the world simply refers to as “change,” “the future” or even “progress.”

This viewpoint draws a special assortment of speakers at the Congress. Yet the extremist nature of previous Congresses has moved big-name speakers with sympathies to the group’s aims into last-minute cancellations—the most notable of these at the last conference being Cardinal Alfonso Trujillo and Polish President Lech Kaczynski. For this year’s conference, while there are some minor EU officials, there are no figures with any sort of instant name recognition outside of the insular community of attendees.

This is no fluke—the conference has consistently failed to meet attendance expectations. In 2007, attendees to the Warsaw event were bussed in from surrounding parishes. And at one point in 2009, the only echo to be heard was conference speaker Austin Ruse infamously tweeting “What’s going on? Where is everybody?” as he looked out on an almost-empty conference hall.

The Howard Center’s first notice on the event was titled “Multidimensional Challenges Ahead,” a background document drafted by one of the Congress speakers, Dr. Farooq Hassan. With a world of rights-empowered advocates fighting for everything the Congress is fighting against, the Madrid gathering will have its work cut out as it tries to shore up its retrograde vision of society. In the next few days, Catholics for Choice will be reporting on the World Congress of Families as it faces these many challenges with all hands on deck.

For more on Catholics for Choice’s opposition work, please read Twenty Years of Taking Down the Opposition.

what methods are patented in Russia for drug treatment

Anya Sarang wrote at her FB page:

Couldnt resist sharing. We're now preparing a complaint to UNESCO on inhibiting access to scientific information on drug treatment in Russia. I know noone will read it so i want to share the hits. Heres a little illustration on what methods are patented in Russia for drug treatment:

8.1.2 A recent content analysis provided an account of methods patented in Russia for drug treatment . A database of the Russian Federal Institute of Industrial Property from the year 1925 to 2011 was analysed, including 429 patents related to addiction treatment. Out of 34 methods of Opioid dependence treatment 18 were found to be life threatening. Majority of patents were authored by academicians of the National Scientific Center of Narcology of the Ministry of Health and Social Development of Russian Federation – the national leading research institution in the field of addictions and treatment . The content analysis of the patented methods revealed that while “the titles of the [Russian] national scientific journals in general correspond to the content of international [scientific] journals… significant part of intervention is queer, overwhelming part of them is not well-founded or very few trials are described. This is true both for private addiction treatments, and state institutions” . Professor E.Krupitsky called the Russian methods of drug treatment a “science decorated shamanism” . Examples of officially patented methods include:

Patent No 2110288 – A general and individual prayer is performed during the procedure. During the prayer the healer is performing slow movements of hand above the vessel and the patients.

Patent No 2162349 – Inside the video row, in 25th cadre, there is a printed word information which may have the following content: 1 year ban on alcohol; 2 years ban on alcohol; 3 shots on holyday; ban on heroin; ban on pervitin; ban on marijuana; ban on tobacco etc.

Patent No 1279641 – Patient should feel the stroke of lightning into the head which is achieved by consecutive exposure of the patients brain to sinusoidal electrical currents with a frequency 5000 hertz in 0.5-1 second.

Patent No 2152774 – Electrodes shall be inserted into both ears for influencing the auricle with the electric current.

Patent No 2034576 –A doctor fixes the patients attention with a gesture or verbal order, then suddenly, by abrupt movement of hands, dissolves the attention and irritates one of the brunch of trigeminus by energetic mechanical thumbs pressure in the sphere of the trigeminus’s exit, and pronounces at the fastest possible tempo the formula of the “pledge” with indication of the time frames of the pledge.

Patent No 2055602 – An electric current provoking unilateral convulsive fit, is used to produce stress. After emptying the bowels and bladder the patient clutches a rubber cylinder in his teeth; the temples and the expected spot for the second electrode is wiped with the solution of spirit; the electrodes shall be placed by unilateral electroconvulsive therapy with stimulation of the dominating cerebral hemisphere.

Patent No 2177337 – The doctor-healer in a consecutive way put fingers on the area of nay-hu, tsin-tzyan and how-din, and then joints the fingers together at the area of hoy-din and offer to the patient to imagine the God’s Temple and enter it mentally, pronounce a prayer and swear not to take alcohol and not to smoke. The doctor then removes fingers from the area hoy-din and informs the patient that from this moment on, the patient would lead a healthy life style.

Patent No 2181593 – The charm against drunkenness or drug dependence shall be pronounced; charms are performed on Tuesdays and Thursdays for men, and Wednesday and Friday for women. The mixture for body detoxification shall be used based on the water solution of chlorine sodium and ascorbic acid, vitamin B6, diphenhydramine hydrochloride, aminophylline, corglicon, relanium, furosemide, nootropil, and magnesium sulphate. The prayers shall be pronounced above the mixture: “Lord’s Prayer” (7 times) and “The Prayer to the Saint Vonifatii the Graceful”.

Patent No 2195199 – Available points for administering drugs shall be blocked by turning the surface veins of upper and lower limbs into sclerotic condition. The negative conditioned reflex on drugs intake shall be created by way of intravenous injection of adrenalin up to condition of nausea and headache. The patient should read aloud the text; his hearing analysers shall be influenced by sound waves through the headphones. The patients body shall be influenced in a complex way by the acoustic field with a power from 2 to 7 watt. The vision analyser shall be influenced with the light emanation of red, yellow and green color with the share of green color to be not less than 40%. The patient’s piles shall be influenced with electromagnetic emanation with a power of 0.2 watt. The points of acupuncture shall be influenced with the light impulses of helium-neon laser or alternating current with the magnitude not more than 0.6 ampere.

Patent No 2112471 – General heating of the body is used in medicine by way of artificial increasing of the body’s temperature up to 43.0 degree Celsius. The gist of the invention: the patient shall be brought into narcosis and the heating shall be carried out with help of water at temperature from 44 to 46 degrees Celsius.

Patent No 2129866 – This method includes injection of atropine. The method is distinct from other methods as atropine is injected in dosage leading to the condition of coma, in which the patient shall remain for 4 hours. After this the patient shall be brought out of coma. The procedure shall be undertaken not less than 10 or 12 times, with every day coma during the first days of treatment and every second day coma later.

Patent No 2222313 –The psychotherapeutic influence and acupuncture at corporal and auricular points. In addition the chakra Vishudkha shall be sedated, the chakra Manipur and Svadkhistan shall be toped up with HF waves. Chakra Vishudkha and Svadkhisnana at palm and the back of the hand shall be influenced by way of acupuncture.

Patent No 2227031 –Atropine-comatose therapy alternates with electroconvulsive therapy. On the day of atropine-comatose therapy the patient is given 5 mg of haloperidol, 2 mg of sodium oxybutyrate, 25 mg of tisercin. Eserin ointment shall be introduced into the eyes conjunctival sacs. After 30 minutes the patient shall be injected with 50-75 mg of 1% solution of atropine sulphate. After 3-5 hours of comatose condition the patient shall be given 15-30 mg of physostigmine, 6 g of pyracetam, 7.5 g of magnesium sulphate, 400 ml of sodium hypochlorite, and the patient shall be slowly driven out of coma. At every subsequent session of atropine-comatose therapy the atropine sulphate dosage shall be increased by 10 mg and up to 70-150 mg or 90-170 mg. On the day of electro-convulsive therapy the patient shall be injected intravenously with 1 ml of 0.1% solution of atropine sulphate and 2 ml of cordiamine. The initial narcosis shall be performed by way of injection intravenously of 200-300 ml of thiopental sodium or 100 mg ketamine and simultaneously 3-4 ml of 2% dithylinum. After this the electro-convulsive therapy shall be performed followed with artificial pulmonary ventilation.

Patent No 2258508 - The comatose therapy shall be alternated with the electro-convulsive therapy every second day.

Patent No 2153882 - Patients with alcohol dependence receive the xeno-implant of donor fetal brain tissue with the use of cloth of bluish spots laboratory mammal in the amount of 15-25 mg. Transplantation is carried out under the patient skin distant in 6.5 intercostal space. The method reduces the expression of undesirable side effects of treatment and abstinence.

New Russian Theocracy

On September 19 the chairman of the Duma Committee on Health Olga Borzova had a meeting with the working group to discuss proposed amendments to the article "Pregnancy termination" of a draft federal law "On the basis of health protection in Russia". The amendments had been submitted by representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) to prevention abortion.

Opening the meeting, Olga Borzov recalled that the coordination of positions with the ROC on the article "Induced abortion" is conducted in a constructive manner and has already reached many agreements, "July 8 between the Russiab Health Ministry (MoH) and the Russian Orthodox Church signed an agreement on cooperation, one of the directions of which is opposition to abortion. At the meeting on August 2 in the framework of this cooperation the parties agreed on the issue of "period of silence." For pregnancy up to 11 weeks this period was extended from 48 hours to 7 days, and they agree to apply it not only to primiparous, but to all women. We strive for consensus on many other clauses of this article, because we share a common objective: reducing the number of abortions. "

Head of the Committee noted that much of what the church offers, is already reflected in the law: "For example, the law is registered a ban on abortion on the same day a woman attended a clinic for this purpose. The written informed voluntary consent of a women to abortion does not need fixing since the more general rule covers this subject. The draft law now includes the possibility for a doctor to refuse of carrying out abortions, except when there are medical indications or when continuation of the pregnancy is life threatening, and the substituting doctor is not available.

However, please note that "On the basis of health protection in Russia" - a framework law, it is impossible to prescribe all the details. Therefore accompanying federal laws (currently there are 44 of them) will follow. This will include only the basic, fundamental points, and details will be specified in the coming federal laws or in legal documents of the Government. "

Director of the Department of medical care for children and maternity services of the MoH Valentina Shirokova expressed the MoH position on many initiatives of the Church and assured the audience that all reasonable proposals that are not included in the basic law, will be covered in the relevant legal documents. Thus MoH will ban any physician initiative to abortion in its procedures for rendering obstetrical and gynecological care. MoH order will introduce an obligatory preliminary ultrasound visualization of fetal heart beat for a woman performing an abortion. This order will require mandatory interviews of a woman with a psychologist and a social worker during the "period of silence." In addition, the Government plan to reduce the list of social indications for abortion.

Employee of the Synodal Department for Youth Affairs Fr Dmitry Pershin, authorized at the meeting to voice the position of the ROC, insisted on deleting abortion from the mandatory health insurance: if the taxpayer is a staunch opponent of abortion, it is impossible to collect money from him and then apply for funding of this procedure . But, as noted in the discussion, such a rule would lead to an increase in private services and to abuse.

A number of initiatives has been fully supported by the meeting participants: limiting advertising of abortion, antichoice media campaign, creation a network of shelters for single mothers. However, these issues are not subject to the bill.

When the discussion touched the article, "Assisted reproductive technology", the chairman of the Duma Committee on Health, Olga Borzov stressed that the rule of surrogacy is not a novel of the bill: "The current law surrogacy enshrined in Articles 51 and 52 of the Family Code. And in the law "On the basis of health protection in the Russian Federation" surrogacy is included as a high technology. "

At the end of the meeting Olga Borzov thanked participants for their activity and commitment to dialogue and expressed confidence that the positions on many issues continue to converge and the working group will continue its work.

September 20, 2011 Duma Administration of Public Media Relations