Sex and the sacred: sterilization and bodily integrity in English and Canadian law

Through an examination of cases of non-consensual sterilization for learning disabled persons in Canada and England, this article considers the role that law plays in framing the thoughts, beliefs, and norms that fashion the ways we think about bodies, sex, gender, and sexuality. The author asks how it is that Canadian and English law, while both claiming to protect bodily integrity, have reached opposing conclusions about whether non-therapeutic sterilization can be in a person's best interests. She hypothesizes that the answer could lie in the manner in which courts have constructed the bodies of learning disabled men and women in the sphere of sexuality and reproduction. Where the overriding concern in the sterilization cases is the containment of the sexuality of a learning disabled person perceived as "out of control" or "vulnerable to seduction", sterilization is cast as a just and humane solution that will advance the welfare of the individual concerned. Conversely, where the overriding concern is the preservation of the integrity of a law committed to the principle of equality, sterilization is thought to be a violation of the bodily integrity of the person. The author shows that these two views engender very different legal and cultural discourses about best interests and bodily integrity. The debate highlighted by the sterilization cases and the commentary surrounding them reflect larger tension within legal discourse between the commitment to liberal values and the maintenance of a particular social order.     

Age estimation from aspartic acid racemization of root dentin by internal standard method

In this study, we investigated the application of the internal standard method to determine age from aspartic acid (Asp) racemization. D-Methionine (D-Met) and D-norleucine (D-Nleu) were tested as internal standards for the purpose of validating the derivatization and gas chromatographic measurements. Using a set of standard amino acids plus the internal standards in constant volume, calibration plots with reasonable linearity (R > 0.98) were constructed. Based on the analysis of sample chromatograms, D-Met appeared to meet the criteria for internal standards, hence it was selected for use in D- and L-Asp quantification. The correlation between dentin age and D-/L-Asp ratios from the peak areas as well as from the absolute concentrations was investigated. Correlation coefficients were calculated as 0.98 and 0.90, respectively. The slight decrease in accuracy was attributed to the conversion of D-Asp/D-Met ratios to concentrations employing the calibration curves figured from pure Asp. Because the application of the internal standard method produced reproducible and precise measurements, the employment of internal standards in age estimation based on Asp racemization appears to provide quality assurance by avoiding possible errors arising from sample preparation.     

Preparation of degraded human DNA under controlled conditions

DNA typing through analysis of short tandem repeats (STRs) and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) by means of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and sequencing are the common methods for the forensic identification of persons and reconstruction of kinship, especially when skeletal human remains have to be analyzed. Furthermore, samples typically found at crime scenes may be both quantitatively and qualitatively inadequate since they may contain very scarce and often degraded DNA due to exposure to heat, light, humidity, and microorganisms. In order to improve the performance of STR typing technology in those cases where DNA availability is limited, it would be desirable to have a source of degraded DNA with known properties. For this purpose, we have developed a method to prepare artificially degraded DNA under controlled conditions. By treatment of genomic DNA with sonication and DNAse I we have produced DNA fragments within a defined range of lengths. STR typing of this degraded DNA with a commercially available multiplex kit could only produce partial profiles as indicated by the absence of STR alleles with sizes >200 bp. This artificially degraded DNA can be used for the improvement and standardization of STR typing protocols when only highly degraded DNA is available for analysis.     

Virtopsy--fatal motor vehicle accident with head injury

A man wearing no protective helmet was struck by a motor vehicle while riding a bicycle. He was loaded on his left side, and the impact point of his head was his occiput on the car roof girder. He was immediately transported to the general hospital, where he passed away. Postmortem examination using multi-slice computed tomography (MSCT) revealed an extensively comminuted fracture of the posterior part and the base of the skull. Observed were deep direct and contrecoup brain bruises, with the independent fractures of the roof of the both orbits. Massive subdural and subarachnoidal hemorrhage with cerebral edema and shifting of the mid-line towards left side were also detected. MSCT and autopsy results were compared and the body injuries were correlated to vehicle damages. In conclusion, postmortem imaging is a good forensic visualization tool with great potential for documentation and examination of body injuries and pathology.     

Mutation in the STR locus D21S1 1 of father causing allele mismatch in the child

We analyzed a case of paternity dispute with 15 autosomal STR loci and found a mismatch in one of the alleles of the locus D21S11 in the child. The composition of the alleles of this locus in the mother, suspicious father, and child were 29/32, 29/29, and 29/30, respectively. The combined paternity index (2.4 x 10(10)) and paternity probability (0.9999) suggest that the suspicious father is the biological father of the child. Further analysis of 6 Y chromosome STR loci revealed matching of all the Y chromosomal alleles of the child with that of the suspicious father. Since there was a perfect match of all the paternal alleles inherited (15 autosomal and 6 Y chromosomal) in the child with that of the suspicious father except the allele D21S11, it is suggested that this might be a case of mutation. Cloning and sequencing of all the alleles of the locus D21S11 of the suspicious father, mother, and the child helped in determining that the suspicious father contributed the mutated allele.     

Moving from voluntary euthanasia to non-voluntary euthanasia: equality and compassion

Abstract.  The recent Dutch law legalising active voluntary euthanasia will reignite the euthanasia debate. An illuminating method for evaluating the moral status of a practice is to follow the implications of the practice to its logical conclusion. The argument for compassion is one of the central arguments in favour of voluntary active euthanasia. This argument applies perhaps even more forcefully in relation to incompetent patients. If active voluntary euthanasia is legalised, arguments based on compassion and equality will be directed towards legalising active non-voluntary euthanasia in order to make accelerated termination of death available also to the incompetent. The removal of discrimination against the incompetent has the potential to become as potent a catch-cry as the right to die. However, the legalisation of non-voluntary euthanasia is undesirable. A review of the relevant authorities reveals that there is no coherent and workable "best interests" test which can be invoked to decide whether an incompetent patient is better off dead. This provides a strong reason for not stepping onto the slippery path of permitting active voluntary euthanasia.     

知识分子的未来和新阶级的兴起

该书是“现代思想译丛”第五辑中的一册，其《跋》文如下： 垂死的阶级有资格获取片刻功夫来审视并认识自我。西方旧的有产阶级可能会发现它与东方政治精英最深刻的历史共同点在于他们都是过渡阶级。在东方，先锋队政党相当于新教改革的共产主义对应物，一旦为新阶级铺平了道路，它（像新教一样）就成了一个中空的意识形态外壳。