"What rights are in danger of being violated, for instance, if we proceed with the cloning of human beings? Does this justify banning a procedure which could provide therapeutic benefit to millions of people? Is a ban even possible or should the technique be legalised and regulated? These are the issues we need to consider urgently before decisions can be made."

Working Party To Examine Doping in Sport

The Association has set up a working party to consider the issue of doping in sport. The group, under the chairmanship of the Danish Medical Association, will consider whether in the light of the recent spate of sports doping scandals across the world, the WMA should issue fresh advice to doctors. The Association last issued guidance in its 1981 Declaration on Principles of Health Care for Sports Medicines, which was amended in 1987 and 1993.

At the General Assembly meeting, Dr Torben Pedersen, president of the Danish Medical Association, said that doping could not take place without the participation of doctors and it was time for the medical profession to speak out on the issue. The WMA must give clear guidelines to all its members and must consider whether members who participated in doping should be expelled from the association and whether licences should not be revoked by their regulatory bodies.

A draft paper drawn up by the Danish Medical Association urged the medical profession to rally to oppose doping in sport and to censor any doctors involved in doping. It said that doping was now systematically being used in the professional sports world and significant abuse was also occurring on the amateur level, often with even more dangerous drugs.

The paper said that doctors who participated in doping were behaving unethically and in some cases in a criminal manner. The argument that if physicians did not involve themselves, athletes' health would be in greater danger was spurious and unacceptable. Physicians and their professional associations must now take a leading role in publicising information about the dangers in doping in sport and assist in uncovering and prohibiting such misuse.

Human Rights in Kosova

The meeting approved a resolution expressing its grave concern over the situation in Kosova and urging its member national medical associations to press their governments to ensure the immediate provision of humanitarian assistance to thousands of displaced persons.

Governments should insist that authorities allowed impartial forensic investigations, under the auspices of international forensic experts and should insist that steps are taken immediately to monitor human rights violations, ensure respect for medical staff and facilities and facilitate unrestricted access to international humanitarian organisations. The resolution also called for an end to discrimination in the provision of health care in Kosova and to any distinction based on ethnicity between health care structures.

Medical Care for Refugees

Against the background of a steady increase in refugees throughout the world, the General Assembly passed a resolution stating that governments should not deny patients and physicians the right to receive and administer adequate treatment and that physicians had a duty to provide appropriate medical care regardless of the civil status of the patient. The resolution said that physicians cannot be compelled to participate in any punitive or judicial measures involving refugees or to administer any non medically justified diagnostic measure or treatment, such as sedatives, to facilitate easy deportation. Physicians must be allowed adequate time and sufficient resources to assess the physical and psychological condition of refugees who were seeking asylum.

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