Two leading technology companies, Apple and Facebook, are funding their workers or ‘partners’ to have their eggs frozen for future IVF. This is already covered by Facebook's employee benefit plan, and Apple plans to introduce it in the 2015. Both…
Author: Frank Fischer
Young people and porn
Pope Paul VI predicted in Humanae vitae, “that a man who grows accustomed to the use of contraceptive methods may forget the reverence due to a woman, and, disregarding her physical and emotional equilibrium, reduce her to being a mere…
Stem Cells in Queenstown
A recent news article reports that a regenerative medicine and research centre is planned for Queenstown. While the current therapies offered by those involved are all from adult stem cells, the involvement on Dr Samuel Wood from San Diego is…
The Numbers game
One question that frequently comes up in parenting circles is 'how many children is the right number?' I've always thought it is an odd that in a pluralistic world, people would think there would be a one size fits all…
Ebola, an unnecessary epidemic
A few years back I attended a seminar by a colleague who had worked as a volunteer dentist in a hospital in Uganda. Conditions in the hospital weren’t great. She frequently worked out in the open air to get enough…
The STD superbug
For the last 60 years, we have enjoyed a period where most infections have been easy to treat. That time could be coming to an end. I should know, I’ve worked in the area of antimicrobial drug resistance. It’s…
Life affirming ultrasound
I recently had the experience of sitting in on a 19 week pregnancy scan. For my wife and I it was the first chance to see our new child and as such, we were both looking forward to it. For…
Abortion and pre abortion visits
When the topic of liberalising abortion comes up, as it has recently, invariably there is talk about “increasing access” and reducing the number of visits required before a woman can have an abortion. New Zealand law stipulates that the woman…
Decriminalisation of what?
Decriminalising’ abortion is in the media again. It’s not the first time it’s been in the news and it certainly will not be the last time. This time it looks like it’s going to be an election issue, or at…
The Edges of Life
The edges of life are controversial. On one side there are the debates about contraception, abortion and in vitro fertilisation. At the end of life the debates are about euthanasia, organ transplantation, and its cousin, brain death. Trauma surgeon Peter…