May, 27 2016, 02:00pm EDT
Groups Demand Answers From Obama Administration Regarding Alleged U.S. Interference in Colombian Health Measure
Embassy Letters Suggest U.S. Support for Colombia Peace Plan Threatened in Closed-Door Meeting to Protect Big Pharma Profits
WASHINGTON
A coalition of nonprofit groups today demanded answers from the Obama administration about its alleged interference in Colombia's effort to lower the price of a cancer drug. It comes as Colombia moves toward lasting peace after more than 50 years of war and domestic turmoil, and as the country is being considered for hundreds of millions in aid.
Colombia's minister of health, Alejandro Gaviria, appeared at the World Health Assembly this week and spoke of the external pressure his country has faced over a potential compulsory license for imatinib (marketed in Colombia by Novartis under the brand name Glivec), a lifesaving substance used in drugs to treat certain types of leukemia and other cancers of the blood. Compulsory licensing provisions under consideration by the Colombian government would make imatinib available in Colombia for half the current extortionate price and free up scarce health system resources for other lifesaving interventions.
This week 15 members of the U.S. House and Senators Brown and Sanders expressed serious concern and objected to any efforts to intimidate and discourage Colombia's government from taking measures to protect public health.
"It appears that the U.S. government may have sought to intimidate a country that is trying to protect its people's health. That is unconscionable," said Peter Maybarduk, director of Public Citizen's Access to Medicines Program. "If any member of the U.S. government further implied that U.S. support for peace in Colombia would be in jeopardy, that would represent a terrible new low for American foreign policy."
All countries, including Colombia, have the right to issue compulsory licenses on medicine patents and "the freedom to determine the grounds upon which such licenses are granted," a right confirmed in the World Trade Organization's Doha Declaration.
Colombia's Ministry of Foreign Relations and its Ministry of Health each received letters in late April from their Washington, D.C. embassy describing pressure from U.S. Senate Finance Committee staff and U.S. Trade Representative (USTR). The leaked letters expressed concern that Colombian interests in the United States might be at risk if the country issues the compulsory license for imatinib, including U.S. support for Paz Colombia, the Obama administration's signature $450 million aid initiative to support the Colombian peace process.
The coalition of groups, which include the AFL-CIO, Presbyterian Church (USA), Health Global Access Project, Knowledge Ecology International, the Latin America Working Group, Oxfam America, Public Citizen and others sent a letter to Obama today. The letter calls on the administration to clarify publicly that no action taken by Colombia toward expanding access to medicines, and specifically regarding the issuance of a compulsory license on imatinib, will affect U.S. support for the peace process in Colombia.
Imatinib is priced in Colombia at nearly double the country's GDP per capita, and its patent holder Novartis has rejected the Colombian government's offer to negotiate a price reduction for the treatment. High prices for important medicines impose a burden on the public health systems responsible for providing it and lead to the rationing of treatment and other health services.
Read the letter here.
Public Citizen is a nonprofit consumer advocacy organization that champions the public interest in the halls of power. We defend democracy, resist corporate power and work to ensure that government works for the people - not for big corporations. Founded in 1971, we now have 500,000 members and supporters throughout the country.
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New Jersey Governor Signs Freedom to Read Act Barring Book Bans
The law, said the Democrat, "cements New Jersey's role on the forefront of preventing book bans and protecting the intellectual freedom of our educators and students."
Dec 09, 2024
Democratic New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy on Monday signed legislation protecting librarians and prohibiting public schools and libraries from banning books—a move that came as Republican state lawmakers are proscribing a record number of titles, many of them works addressing sexual orientation, gender identity, and racial injustice.
Flanked by educators, librarians, and other advocates, Murphy signed
A.3446/S.2421—known as the Freedom to Read Act—in the Princeton Public Library.
"The Freedom to Read Act cements New Jersey's role on the forefront of preventing book bans and protecting the intellectual freedom of our educators and students," said Murphy. "Across the nation, we have seen attempts to suppress and censor the stories and experiences of others. I'm proud to amplify the voices of our past and present, as there is no better way for our children to prepare for the future than to read freely."
According to a statement from Murphy's office:
Under the law, boards of education and governing boards of public libraries are barred from excluding books because of the origin, background, or views of the material or of its authors. Further, boards of education and governing boards of public libraries are prevented from censoring library material based on a disagreement with a viewpoint, idea, or concept, or solely because an individual finds certain content offensive, unless they are restricting access to developmentally inappropriate material for certain age groups.
The legislation "also provides protections for library staff members against civil and criminal lawsuits related to complying with this law."
New Jersey Association of School Librarians President Karen Grant said that "the Freedom to Read Act recognizes the professionalism, honor, work ethics, and performance of school and public library staff" and "promotes libraries as trusted sources of information and recognizes the many roles that libraries play in students' lives."
"The bill will protect the intellectual freedom of students as well as acknowledge that school libraries are centers for voluntary inquiry, fostering students' growth and development," Grant added. "Additionally, we are grateful for the broad coalition of support from so many organizations for this legislation."
The leader of one of those groups—Garden State Equality executive director Christian Fuscarino—said, "Gov. Murphy just made it clear: In New Jersey, censorship loses, and freedom wins."
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The New Jersey law comes amid a near-tripling in the number of books banned or challenged by Republican state lawmakers and right-wing organizations over the past year, with PEN America counting over 10,000 such titles during the 2023-24 academic year—up from 3,362 titles during the previous scholastic year.
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During a 76-minute interview with NBC News' Kristen Welker, Trump said he "absolutely" intends to end birthright citizenship, potentially through executive order, despite the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Among many lies the Republican told, he also falsely claimed that the United States is the only country to offer citizenship by birth; in fact, there are dozens.
In response,
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Congresswoman Gwen Moore (D-Wis.) similarly stressed that "birthright citizenship is enshrined in the Constitution as a cornerstone of American ideals. It reflects our belief that America is the land of opportunity. Sadly, this is just another in the long line of Trump's assault on the U.S. Constitution."
Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.), the daughter of Guatemalan immigrants, said in a statement: "'Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.' It is important to remember who we are, where many of us came from, and why many of our families traveled here to be greeted by the Mother of Exiles, the Statue of Liberty."
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Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-N.Y.) highlighted the difficulties of passing constitutional amendments while discussing Trump in a Monday appearance on CNN. The incoming chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus was born in the Dominican Republic and is the first formerly undocumented immigrant elected to Congress.
As Mother Jones reporter Isabela Dias detailed Monday:
Critics of ending birthright citizenship for the U.S.-born children of undocumented immigrants argue it would not only constitute bad policy, but also a betrayal of American values and, as one scholar put it to me, a "prelude" to mass deportation.
"It's really 100 years of accepted interpretation," Hiroshi Motomura, a scholar of immigration and citizenship at UCLA's law school, told me of birthright citizenship. Ending birthright citizenship would cut at the core of the hard-fought assurance of equal treatment under the law, he said, "basically drawing a line between two kinds of American citizens."
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The land supports local communities as well as porcupine caribou herds and polar bears.
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