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Biomedical subjects

D A Frenkel

Publications and source records attributed to D A Frenkel.

15 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

Legal regulation of surrogate motherhood in Israel.

The Israeli Law on surrogate motherhood demands a preconception agreement to include payments to be made to the surrogate mother. Surrogacy arrangements with family members are forbidden. Commercial surrogacy is allowed and encouraged. The Law causes many problems. Validity of consent given by surrogate mothers is doubtful. Possible future psychological harm are ignored. There is a danger of "commodification" of children. Abusing women of low socio-economic status as breeding machines may be another outcome. No clear responsibility is imposed on the "intended parents" for an impaired child. The law ignores possibility of divorce or death of the "intended parents" before the child's birth. Splitting motherhood is another social problem that has to be dealt with. So far the sperm of the husband from the "intended parents" has to be used, but further steps may follow. It is not certain that a policy of "positive eugenics" will not develop.

Child Custody↗
PubMed1998

Nurses in Israel: the struggle for regulating the profession.

To date (1998), Israel does not have a nurses' law. Israel has 6 million inhabitants, approximately 15,000 physicians, and 33,000 nurses--a ratio of 180 nurses per 100,0000 inhabitants. Since the 1970s, drafts for a nurses' law have been formulated to set a legal framework for the profession, as is customary in many other countries. This framework would define the particularities of nursing as a profession, who may practice it, levels of training, recognized areas of specialization, and expertise in the operation of specific medical equipment and various nursing duties. Between 1993 and 1996, drafts for legislation were deliberated a number of times by committees appointed by the Ministry of Health but were not passed. Many elements opposed the drafts: the physicians and both the nurses' union and the midwives' union--the latter being a separate and an independent professional body from the nurses' organization.

Education, Nursing↗
PubMed1993

CoMFA validation of the superposition of six classes of compounds which block GABA receptors non-competitively.

Thirty-six compounds, representing six different structural classes of insecticides which are known to act at the gamma-aminobutyric acid receptor/chloride ionophore, have been superimposed by methods which maximise the commonality of steric and electrostatic fields. Maximal steric and electrostatic alignment was derived by pairwise comparisons of the different chemical classes with picrotoxinin. To test the validity of the combined superposition, a Comparative Molecular Field Analysis (CoMFA) was carried out within SYBYL, using recently published in vivo and in vitro binding data for insecticides. The resultant partial least-squares (PLS) analysis of sampled steric and electrostatic fields showed a significant statistical correlation with the published biological data. The predictive model obtained was shown to have a greater than 95% chance of significance.

Allosteric Site↗
PubMed1984

Ethical dilemma of late pregnancy termination in cases of gross fetal malformations.

Modern diagnostic methods reveal an increased number of cases of gross fetal malformations, and physicians are faced with serious ethical considerations. The disclosure of data during conversations with the parents, the decision-making process and the different courses of action are discussed. Cases with defined diagnoses may be divided into three different clinical situations: 1) a malformation incompatible with extrauterine life; 2) increasing organ damage caused by a fetal defect; and 3) a severely handicapped fetus capable of short- or long-term survival. The recent concept of fetal abuse is emphasized. When pregnancy is allowed to continue to term in these cases, psychological and social aspects must be taken into consideration. Medical assessment, ethicolegal norms, and religious beliefs of parents and physicians should guide the course of action. We believe that the medical team should perform late termination of pregnancy when justified and approved by a court or a statutory committee.

Abnormalities, Multiple↗
PubMed1983

Legal aspects of clinical trials in Israel.

Clinical trials were mainly the concern of medical ethics until the first code on this subject was laid down in a judgment given by a military tribunal in Nuremberg in 1947. In 1964 the World Medical Association adopted the Declaration of Helsinki, which was revised in 1975, regarding clinical trials and research. The Declaration of Helsinki and the developments in the pharmacological and pharmaceutical sciences led to legislation regarding clinical trials and human experimentation. In Israel it is forbidden to use any drug that is not registered. In order to register a drug, evidence of quality, safety and efficacy is necessary, and the means by which these factors are proved is the clinical trial, which demands appropriate legislation. Developments in various medical fields, as well as new treatment techniques, brought about the need for more comprehensive legislation on experimentation on human beings and embryos. In Israel, this field is covered by two enactments, the first on drugs and the second on any other experimentation on human beings. However, these enactments are frame laws, which lay down the rule that no clinical trial may be carried out without the prior approval of the Ministry of Health. They also state the minimum conditions to be met, and provide the Ministry with the authority to add any conditions at any time, as well as the right to stop the trial. The Declaration of Helsinki serves as the minimal legal basis for clinical trials. Some legal problems relating to the clinical trial remain unsolved and are left to the discretion of the Ministry of Health. The author makes some observations and suggestions with regard to matters of consent, incompetents as subjects, the right of withdrawal, and the power of the Ministry.

Clinical Trials as Topic↗
PubMed1979

Law and medical ethics.

Summarising the interrelationship between law and medical ethics, I would say that in cases which do not touch the patient's body or integrity, such as professional secrecy, statutory law may take precedence over rules of medical ethics. But in cases where the human subject becomes a victim because of domestic statutory laws which are in contradiction with medical ethics, the medical practitioners should insist on adhering to their professional standards in such a way that the legislators will have to adapt their legislations to the laws of humanity and public conscience. Legislators, as well as medical practitioners, should not forget that the term 'being' is preceded and qualified by 'human'.

Abortion, Legal↗