Argentina's Congress has authorized the force extraction of DNA from individuals suspected of being the children of political prisoners held captive during the "dirty war" (during the 1976-1983 dictatorship). Thousands of leftists 'disappeared' for dissenting against the government (these missing individuals are known as "Los Desaparecidos" or "The Disappeared"). Many of these people are suspected to be dead. It's believed that many of these people were held as political prisoners and were tortured before they were killed. Many surviving family members don't know what happened to their loved ones. It's suspected that about 400-500 babies were stolen from women who were kidnapped and gave birth inside hidden torture centers. These children of The Disappeared were often given to military or police families who were considered loyal to the government.
The parents of The Disappeared want to locate their grandchildren. The Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo -- a group of mothers of The Disappeared -- have been demonstrating in front of the presidential palace every day since 1977. They carry with them pictures of their missing relatives and demand to know what happened to their children. Recovering their grandchildren has been a priority for the group. DNA technology has already helped to identify 98 out of 500 children they believe were born in prison or kidnapped as infants.
The new law legalizes the extraction of DNA -- including "minimal amounts" of saliva, blood, skin, hair, or other biological samples -- to determine one's identity. If the individuals refuses to give a sample, a judge can issue a warrant for genetic material from items such as a hairbrush, toothbrush, or clothing. Some see the new law as intrusive and an invasion of privacy. Some of these suspected children have grown up not even knowing they were adopted until activists or judges announced efforts to obtain their DNA. Opponents of this law say that if the individual doesn't want to know their origins, their wishes should be respected. Furthermore, some of the children don't want to implicate the parents that raised them. Opponents argue that the child's right to privacy outweighs the grandparents' right to know. While those on the other side say that the truth outweighs privacy rights, and families have the right to know what happened to their grandchildren.
There are many concerns about this new law. This law is unprecedented in that it requires DNA testing of those that aren't suspected of crimes. There is fear that this will be abused and will enable DNA to be collected from any individual if a judge rules it necessary. Moreover, in the past some DNA findings from suspected children of The Disappeared have been made public against the orphan's wishes -- either because the judge released the information or the biological family did. The new law provides no guarantees of privacy.
Elisa Carrio, a leading political rival of the president (Christina Fernandez), says that this decision has political motivations. Carrio thinks this is decision is targeting Ernestina Herrera de Noble, who is the director of the Clarin Group (Grupo Clarin) -- which is Argentina's dominant media group and is critical of the president and her husband [See our entry for November 6, 2009 for more background on Clarin Group vs. Fernandez]. It is suspected by The Grandmothers group that Herrera adopted two babies in 1976 that were stolen from women who gave birth in prison before they were killed. For years, the efforts to resolve this case have been blocked by Herrera's adoptive children (now in their 30s), who have refused to submit DNA tests. (Full Story)
At Lincoln University (in Pennsylvania) there is a requirement that overweight undergraduates have to take a fitness course in order to receive their degrees. Not every student is required to take this course, just those that are considered obese (i.e., those with a BMI of 30 or more). This mandate also requires students to get tested for their BMI (body mass index).
The intentions of the university are good -- the school is concerned about high rates of obesity and diabetes; especially within the African-American community (Lincoln University is a historically black school). However, there are complaints and concerns about this decision. It's great the school offers fitness courses, but as a requirement to graduate? As one student said, "I didn't come to Lincoln to be told that my weight is not in an acceptable range. I came here to get an education."
Some people argue that students being forced to disclose health information is "awkward" and "distasteful". Furthermore, the use of BMI to determine who needs to take the course is problematic. BMI can be misleading and inaccurate. The BMI doesn't make a distinction between body weight from muscle and body weight from fat. As one assistant professor of nursing stated in the article, since muscle weighs more than fat, "it is impossible to be overweight and still be physically fit."
Moreover, obese students shouldn't be singled out. If the school wants to encourage healthy lifestyles and exercise, they should encourage all students to take the course. It's further argued that this program might not be very effective or lead to the best outcomes. A director of bioethics at the University of Louisville's School of Medicine said, "when the (health) goals are imposed on people, they don't do that well in meeting them."
A registered dietitian added that, if the school wants to get their students healthy, they need to offer more than a fitness course. The university should also ensure that its dining halls and vending machines offer healthy choices. (Full Story)
...To which the university replied, 'And lose corporate sponsorship and make Coca-Cola unhappy?! We're not that interested in healthy lifestyles.'
Next month Sri Lanka is planning to release the remaining 136,000 Tamil refugees that have been detained in government camps since the country's civil war ended six months ago (more than half were released in recent months due to international pressure). The remaining refugees will be free to return to their village after December 1 and the camps will be closed January 31. These ethnic-minority Tamils are war refugees that tried to flee during the final months of the civil war between the government and the separatist Tamil Tiger rebels (who wanted an independent homeland for Tamils). About 300,000 refugees were forced into these camps and were held against their will. The camps are guarded by soldiers, surrounded by barbed wire, and access is heavily restricted. The Sri Lankan government argued that these Tamils needed to be screened for rebel ties before being released. Sri Lanka has been getting a lot of pressure from human rights groups and other governments to release these civilian war refugees. "Rights groups say the detention is an illegal form of collective punishment for the ethnic group." (Full Story)
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