Washington Blade - September 16, 2005

WASHINGTON - A drug developed by India's Aurobindo Pharma to prevent the AIDS virus from reproducing has tentative approval from the U.S. Food & Drug Administration, according to a news release from the company. The drug, Zidovudine, is a generic liquid version of a child-friendly oral solution and now may be used overseas under the U.S. program to fight the spread of HIV. Zidovudine is the first tentatively approved generic version of zidovudine oral solution, manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline, according to the FDA. The drug is sold under the brand Retrovir or ATZ, and it is used with other antiretroviral drugs to treat HIV.

Indian tribunal strikes down rule that denies jobs to HIV-infected police

BANGALORE, India (AP) - An Indian state government tribunal said last week it has struck down a rule that barred HIV-positive people from joining the state's police force. The tribunal in the southern state of Karnataka also said it had ordered that an applicant - rejected six years ago for a job on the state's police force because he had HIV - be given a job. In its official order to the Karnataka police, the tribunal said the rule, enacted by the state force in 1994, was "arbitrary, illegal and unconstitutional." The order said the police force must no longer refuse to give jobs to applicants infected with HIV. The ruling was handed down by the Karnataka Administrative Tribunal. It directs Karnataka's police force to appoint R. Ramesh Rao.

Lawsuit alleges Utah surgical center refused to treat HIV-positive man

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - A Spanish Fork man has sued a Provo surgical center and two doctors, saying he was refused surgery because he is HIV-positive. The U.S. District Court lawsuit filed by Daniel S. Richardson contends the HealthSouth Provo Surgical Center violated the Americans with Disabilities Act by canceling surgery on his ulcerated toe. Richardson, 42, said a doctor there said it was the center's policy not to accept HIV-positive patients. The lawsuit filed Aug. 26 seeks unspecified monetary damages and an order barring the center and its doctors from refusing to treat people who have tested positive for HIV. Stephen Owens, an attorney for HealthSouth Provo, said the center is looking into Richardson's complaint. The lawsuit said Richardson scheduled his non-emergency surgery for Dec. 17 and his physician sent his medical paperwork to HealthSouth Provo.

Battle looms on Utah mayor's move to offer gay benefits

SALT LAKE CITY - A new poll shows that most residents support Mayor Rocky Anderson's promise to offer health care benefits to domestic partners of city employees, the Deseret Morning News reported. The poll by Dan Jones & Associates for the Deseret Morning News and KSL-TV found 54 percent of residents favor Anderson's plan, while 42 percent oppose it. When voters approved a state constitutional amendment last fall to ban gay marriage, Anderson said he would sign an executive order to provide dental and medical benefits to non-married domestic partners before this November. Now, gay rights advocates who warned last fall that the amendment would prevent municipalities and businesses from offering DP benefits say such offerings are allowed under state law, while gay marriage opponents who once argued that benefits could still be offered under the amendment now say they cannot.

British scientists test methods to allow same-sex reproduction

NEWCASTLE - British scientists now have a license to test their theory involving a method to allow an embryo to be created using DNA from two parents of the same sex, GayNZ reported. Newcastle University researchers will test a method in which they fuse a sperm and egg, then implant it into another egg to form an embryo. In a second technique, scientists will implant genetic material from one mother into a sperm, which then can be fertilized with the other mother's egg to form an embryo. Both methods allow two mothers to reproduce, but they also allow for research into prevention of mitochondrial disease, which is caused by genetic defects and can lead to muscular dystrophy in children, GayNZ reported. The organization Comment on Reproductive Ethics criticized approval for the testing, saying, "The Human Fertilization & Embryology Authority are turning this country into the wild West."

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