News in brief - Jan. 16, 2006

Pharmacists say it's OK to refuse Plan B scripts - Calif. suit on funding for stem cell research headed to court - Center studies vaccine ethical issues - Fla. board honors pediatric neurosurgeon

Pharmacists say it's OK to refuse Plan B scripts

Among 859 pharmacists surveyed, 69% said they should have the right to refuse to fill a prescription for the controversial morning-after pill marketed as Plan B, according to a poll the marketing firm HCD Research conducted in December 2005.

Pharmacists split on whether they should be required to refer the prescriptions to a pharmacist who would fill the order; 37% agreed with such a requirement and 38% disagreed. Only 22% of pharmacists agreed that state laws should require pharmacists to fill prescriptions despite personal objections. An HCD poll in July 2005 reported that 79% of physicians said pharmacists should be required to fill prescriptions for the morning-after pill.

Some health professionals believe Plan B is a form of abortion.

Calif. suit on funding for stem cell research headed to court

State funding of stem cell research remains mired in the courts after a California judge in November 2005 said that two lawsuits challenging Proposition 71, a $3 billion bond measure that voters passed to pay for research, could go to trial. The trial is scheduled to start Feb. 27.

While tangled in the courts, the state can not sell bonds to finance research grants. The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, the agency overseeing grant distribution, has had to get by on a $3 million loan from the state and a $5 million private grant. The institute is raising $50 million through private bonds so that it can begin awarding the estimated $39 million it had already promised to researchers over three years. It sold the bonds to private individual investors and foundations with the caveat that they would not be repaid if the courts say that the state cannot put $3 million toward stem cell research.

In the November opinion, Alameda Superior Court Judge Bonnie Sabraw rejected the notion that Proposition 71 is unconstitutional, but she found that the California Family Bioethics Council, the National Tax Limitation Foundation and the People's Advocate could go forward with the portion of the lawsuit that claims there is a lack of oversight for how the money is distributed and a conflict of interest because some of the institutions applying for money are represented by CIRM board members.

Center studies vaccine ethical issues

The University of Pennsylvania's Center for Bioethics last month launched an 18-month project that will attempt to develop a framework to guide public health agencies, drugmakers, researchers, physicians and patients on the safe, effective and ethical use of vaccines.

The center will hold a series of interdisciplinary seminars on the topic, according to Arthur Caplan, PhD, the group's director.

"The prospect of an avian flu pandemic -- and it is still just a prospect -- is bringing into sharp relief where we need to focus our energies in terms of the ethics around the role of vaccines in global public health," Dr. Caplan said in a statement.

Fla. board honors pediatric neurosurgeon

The Florida Board of Medicine has chosen Alexa I. Canady, MD, as the recipient of its Chair's Recognition Award. The award acknowledges physicians who exemplify public service and outstanding contributions to the medical profession.

Dr. Canady is a pediatric neurosurgeon at Sacred Heart Medical Group in Pensacola, Fla. She is an attending physician at the Children's Hospital of Michigan. Dr. Canady has won numerous awards, including the American Medical Women's Assn. President's Award and the Heroes for Health Award.

"By presenting this award, the board is able to recognize Dr. Canady for her dedication and commitment to the areas of pediatric neurosurgery and mentoring," Florida Board of Medicine Chair Laurie K. Davies, MD, said in a statement.