ACDP Parliamentary newsletter - 5 September 2003

Here is the latest news from Parliament:

1. National Health Bill debate: No support for Bill promoting foetus research
2. Health officials should step down and be prosecuted
3. Medical Schemes Amendment Bill and Patents Amendment Bill supported
4. If it ain't broke, don't fix it - Religion in Education


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1. National Health Bill debate: No support for Bill promoting foetus research

ACDP MP Cheryllyn Dudley gave the following speech today in Parliament:

Since1998 when the ACDP submitted a Private Members Bill with regard to the prohibition of human cloning in SA, the ACDP has been calling on Government to urgently reassess the need for a separate bill prohibiting human cloning and the use of embryos for stem cell research in South Africa.

We therefore welcomed the inclusion of these issues in the Health Bill, which is at last before parliament. However, while the Bill includes a prohibition on reproductive cloning of human beings, it allows for 14 day old foetuses to be used for research, which the ACDP strenuously opposes. We are also concerned that the Bill offers insufficient protection against therapeutic cloning which involves the intentional creation and nurturing of an embryo which is then sacrificed to harvest cells, tissues or organs.

The health department officials in defending research done on developing human beings said it was justified because of the importance of its results but did not respond to whether or not they were implying that the importance of research then justifies the use of human beings as guinea pigs for experimentation.

Of course the department does not consider a developing human foetus a human being before 14 days, and provided the donor gives consent and research is documented it is legal. Apart from the fact that nothing changes within 14 days from conception to make the foetus any more or less a developing human being, this creates a market for foetuses and cash-strapped people could consider this a new method of making money.

Since it is legal in SA for a developing life to be terminated merely for convenience or economic reasons, or no particular reason at all, this approach is not surprising. In fact once people have been convinced that 14 days is ok, why not 24 days, or even 54 days, and then come to think of it why not children under two years as at least one academic has suggested, not even they are viable, and should be expendable.

This Bill unfortunately, does not give the much, needed protection and further exposes women and unborn children to exploitation and abuse in the name of science.

At the same time, the issue of a Certificate of need is a concern as these clauses lack clarity and create uncertainty. They undermine constitutional rights currently enjoyed by licensed and/or registered members of the private sector and potentially undermine health care services in general.

While the certificate of need applies to both, the private and public sector, the dept of Health as the responsible regulator would be receiving and granting applications from and to itself, while actively competing with the private sector. The DG will decide whether or not a service can be provided in an area dependent on the Departments perception of the need. Gatesville in Mitchell's Plain, is a black owned hospital and a case in point. The department has refused them a Cath lab on the grounds that a city hospital has one and therefore they see no need. You don't have to be a genius to guess how the people of Mitchell's Plain feel about this.

Unfortunately, this legislation will definitely negatively impact black empowerment in more ways than one, unintentionally of course! Black women empowerment in this industry has been doing particularly well but their
hands are also being tied more and more by legislation. Now new
restrictions on hospitals will allow for contracts of between 10 and 20 years and while this may inconvenience large hospitals it will not adversely affect their business. Smaller hospitals on the other hand will have shorter periods over which to off-set costs and this coupled with their restricted bargaining power will cause prices to go up. This in turn makes it easier for them to be swallowed up by bigger hospitals.

The ACDP is also concerned that clauses such as section 41(6)(d) could be used against health establishments, which refuse to perform medical functions they consider immoral such as abortion. The department however insists this is not the intention as providers still have the constitutional right to refuse to do an abortion but cautioned that in terms of regulations it is already a criminal offence to refuse to refer a person to a facility where they will get an abortion.

Section 45 states that any person who performs any of the acts contemplated in s 41 without a certificate of need would commit an offence and be liable to a fine or imprisonment for up to five years. Churches, NGO's and anyone caring for people independently, would need to qualify for a certificate of need and this could negatively affect thousands of people giving vital home based care in a country so seriously affected by HIV/Aids.

While the ACDP has welcomed the National Health Bill in principle as a vital piece of legislation that could potentially improve the quality of life of the people of South Africa and increase life expectancy, we must regrettably vote against the bill primarily on these grounds.

For more information: Cheryllyn Dudley MP at 082 890 6520
Media Liaison: Charmaine Horne at 084 370 3550 or 021 403 3307

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2. Health officials should step down and be prosecuted

The following Member's statement was given by ACDP MP Cheryllyn Dudley in Parliament today:

With forensic audit reports revealing evidence of corruption in the Mpumalanga Health Department, it is unacceptable for disgraced Mpumalanga Health MEC Sibongile Manana to be re-shuffled into the department of sports, recreation, arts and culture or for her head of department Rena Charles to trade jobs with the deputy director-general in the Premier's office.

Both Manana and Charles should step down immediately and face criminal charges in view of shocking revelations of corruption and misadministration in the department.

These officials have betrayed the peoples trust and should not be allowed to remain in positions of responsibility within Government. Taking money from desperate and dying people, and squandering it frivolously instead of implementing home-based care projects is an absolute disgrace.

The ACDP calls on the Mpumalanga Premier to follow through with disciplinary action against all those implicated and not merely re-deploy them. The department of sports, recreation, arts and culture is key to development in the province and should not be compromised to accommodate Manana. Both Manana and Charles will carry this scandal with them into their new positions.

Mismanagement and financial waste was already evident during our health portfolio committee visit to Mpumalanga last year, with some rural hospitals housing impressive high-tech equipment, standing idle and untouched with no staff to operate it and no patients in sight. Revelations that this was due to efforts to merely use up the budget are shocking.

The ACDP commends the Premier for having initiated the investigation and welcomes the handing of the forensic audit reports to the Scorpions in order to prosecute those involved. For the Premier to compromise now would be a great shame and we again call on him to do what is right and just.


For more information: Cheryllyn Dudley MP at 082 890 6520
Media Liaison: Charmaine Horne at 084 370 3550 or 021 403 3307

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3. ACDP supports Medical Schemes Amendment Bill and Patents Amendment Bill

Speaking on the Medical Schemes Amendment Bill and Patents Amendment Bill in Parliament today, ACDP MP Cheryllyn Dudley said that these Bills were not treated with the respect the deserved, as they were not adequately debated in the relevant portfolio committees.

The ACDP supported the Medical Schemes Bill as it protects pensioners and assists them acquire their pensions while Cheryllyn agreed that the issues in the Patents Bill around patents and international trade agreements are of critical importance and welcomed these issues coming under the spotlight.

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4. Letter to the Editor - If it ain't broke, don't fix it! - by Cheryllyn Dudley

While it may be necessary to deal with religious diversity in schools, the impact of the new Religion Education Policy could be damaging to an education system that faces so many challenges.

This policy implies that a crisis exists in South Africa around the issue of religious diversity and the need for tolerance in schools. It states that there have been "instances in which public education institutions have discriminated on the grounds of religious belief", yet there is in fact little evidence of intolerance or religious strife in South Africa.

When too much attention is focused on solving problems that do not exist or are incorrectly framed, the consequences can be harmful. If the department of education has evidence of unfair discrimination in specific schools, these must be dealt with on their own merits, according to our existing law and Constitution. Unless there is significant or widespread flouting of the existing rules and protections that exist, national policy is an inappropriate vehicle to deal with such problems.

While there is a place for being informed about other religions and approaching others with tolerance, elements of the policy are problematic for many religions, including Christianity. For some, learning songs of other religions is viewed as participating in a form of worship, and many believe that treating all religions as equal, or studying religion as merely a subject, amounts to the promotion of a secularist worldview.

The ACDP therefore calls on the government to remove all references to religious observances from the policy and allow school governing bodies their proper role in drafting rules under which religious observances will be conducted. We also call for the removal of stipulations that discourage learners from invoking their freedom of conscience by requesting exemption from religious observances.

The government can better achieve their objectives by focussing resources in areas where significant diversity does exist, allowing local solutions to be reached by individual school communities, to the satisfaction of all.

Cheryllyn Dudley, ACDP MP

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