Pay Covid survivors for plasma, ethicist proposes

EU raises its bet on blood plasma in search for Covid-19 treatment | Ekatherini.com:
July 7, 2020 - "The European Union wants to fast-track funding to treat Covid-19 patients with blood plasma collected from survivors ... in a sign of the bloc’s growing confidence in the experimental treatment.... Since the beginning of the pandemic, medics across the world have been transfusing convalescent plasma into critically ill Covid-19 patients, often with positive results, although its efficacy is still under investigation.

• People who survive an infectious disease like Covid-19 are left with blood plasma containing antibodies, or proteins made by the body’s immune system to fight off a virus, that can be transfused into newly infected patients to try to aid recovery.
• Plasma, which is the liquid component of blood, is also being tested by public authorities and companies to develop medicines against Covid-19, such as hyperimmune globulins.
• Separate research is under way on its possible use to prevent Covid-19 infections, as antibodies extracted from it could be transfused to boost immunity defenses of vulnerable people. That could be particularly important in the absence of a vaccine.

Read more: https://www.ekathimerini.com/254587/article/ekathimerini/news/eu-raises-its-bet-on-blood-plasma-in-search-for-covid-19-treatment

Bloody Well Pay Them: The Case for Voluntary Remunerated Plasma Collections | Niskanen Center:
June 14, 2020 - "Transfusing the blood plasma of those who have recovered from Covid-19, called convalescent plasma, appears to help against the novel coronavirus. Multiple trials are now underway around the world, with the U.S. Government supporting a national program to collect and provide convalescent plasma to patients in need across the country.

"The rest of the world must take similar action. A new paper, authored by Georgetown University professor Dr Peter Jaworski, argues this World Blood Donor Day (14th June) that it’s time for donors in other countries to be paid for donating blood plasma to ensure a healthy supply. New uses for plasma therapies, and a reduction in plasma donations during the crisis, will put additional strain on what is already a strained global supply, the report outlines....

"There is now not a single jurisdiction anywhere in the world that meets its needs exclusively based on non-remunerated plasma collections.... The report argues that the UK, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia should follow many European countries and the USA in withdrawing prohibitions on voluntary remunerated plasma collections. These developed, English speaking democracies would ensure a domestic security of supply and free themselves from over-reliance on the United States or EU-only schemes....

"Voluntary Remunerated Plasma Collections are the only evidence-based path towards a safe, secure, and sufficient supply of plasma. Relying on non-remunerated donations ... is a threat to patients, and a risk to their supply of plasma therapies. The UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand are a drain on the global supply of plasma. The only way we can finally begin to contribute to the global supply of plasma is to permit Voluntary Remunerated Plasma Collections at home.”
Read more: https://www.niskanencenter.org/bloody-well-pay-them-the-case-for-voluntary-remunerated-plasma-collections/

Watch video: https://twitter.com/petermjaworski/status/1281580950418329601

Bans on paying for plasma put supply at risk

Bans on paying for human blood distort a vital global market - The Economist:

May 10, 2018 - "A willing buyer in a market with plenty of willing sellers, Barzin Bahardoust is finding life surprisingly hard. For years he has been trying to pay Canadians for their blood plasma — the viscous straw-coloured liquid in blood that has remarkable therapeutic powers. When his firm, Canadian Plasma Resources (CPR), tried to open clinics in Ontario in 2014, a campaign by local activists led to a ban by the provincial government on paid plasma collection. Undeterred, he tried another province, Alberta — which also banned the practice last year. Then, on April 26th, when CPR announced a planned centre in British Columbia, its government said it too was considering similar legislation. CPR has managed to open two centres, in far-flung Saskatchewan and New Brunswick. Even these have faced opposition.

"The global demand for plasma is growing, and cannot be met through altruistic donations alone. Global plasma exports were worth $126bn in 2016 — more than exports of aeroplanes.... But Canadian reservations about paid plasma are shared across most of the world. America, China, parts of Canada and some European countries are among the few places that permit it....

"Only countries that pay for plasma are self-sufficient in it. (Italy, where donors are given time off work, is close to self-sufficiency.) Half of America’s plasma is shipped to Europe — 20m contributions-worth. Canada imports 80% of its plasma products from America....

"Exported plasma is used to manufacture pharmaceuticals.... Pharmaceutical plasma ... has all manner of uses. If blood fails to clot properly, as in haemophiliacs, a plasma product helps. A plasma product can restore an immune system weakened, for example, by chemotherapy. A complication known as Rhesus disease, in which the blood type of a fetus is incompatible with the mother’s was responsible for 10% of stillbirths in America as recently as the 1960s. These days plasma products can save the child.

"Plasma today is mostly collected via apheresis, a process where whole blood is extracted, spun in a centrifuge, and the plasma is skimmed off. Red blood-cells are then mixed with an anticoagulant and transfused back into the donor.... Plasma donors can give up to 800ml of plasma — and in America are allowed to do so twice a week.... In a year a plasma donor could give over 80 litres of the stuff, compared with just 1.6 litres from a whole-blood donor. Mr Bult says paid repeat donors, who have been intensively screened, help keep plasma products safe.

"But a stigma about paying for blood lingers.... Some data, for example, lend weight to the suspicion that it preys on the poor.... The other worry ... is that paying for plasma may lead to a reduction in whole-blood donation. But Peter Jaworski, of Georgetown University, is sceptical, suggesting that, anecdotes aside, the evidence shows paid plasma donation 'does not crowd out voluntary blood-donation'. Americans, for example, continue to donate as much voluntary blood per head as do Canadians.

"The aversion to paid-for plasma carries its own risks... the geographic imbalance puts supplies of plasma products at risk. At the plasma industry’s main annual conference, held this year in Budapest in March, over-reliance on imports from America was a hot topic. Representatives from several countries (including Canada) recognised they must do more to diversify their supplies. Making it legal to pay for plasma is an obvious first step."

Read more: https://www.economist.com/international/2018/05/12/bans-on-paying-for-human-blood-distort-a-vital-global-market
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Routledge Handbook of Libertarianism published

The Routledge Handbook of Libertarianism - The Washington Post - Ilya Somin, The Volokh Conspiracy:

August 29, 2017 - "The Routledge Handbook of Libertarianism  (edited by Jason Brennan, Bas van der Vossen, and David Schmidtz), has just been published. This book is the most wide-ranging analysis of libertarianism, its strengths and weaknesses, and its applications to a wide range of political issues, to be published in a long time.

"In addition to the editors, contributors include a wide range of prominent libertarian scholars and critics of libertarianism, including Peter Boettke, Geoffrey Brennan, Sarah Conley, Jessica Flanigan, Samuel Freeman, Gerald Gaus,  Michael Huemer, Peter Jaworski,  Anna Stilz, Fernando R. Tesón, Kevin Vallier, and others....

"Here is the publisher’s summary of the book:

Libertarians often bill their theory as an alternative to both the traditional Left and Right. The Routledge Handbook of Libertarianism helps readers fully examine this alternative without preaching it to them, exploring the contours of libertarian (sometimes also called classical liberal) thinking on justice, institutions, interpersonal ethics, government, and political economy. The 31 chapters – all written specifically for this volume – are organized into five parts. Part I asks, what should libertarianism learn from other theories of justice, and what should defenders of other theories of justice learn from libertarianism? Part II asks, what are some of the deepest problems facing libertarian theories? Part III asks, what is the right way to think about property rights and the market? Part IV asks, how should we think about the state? Finally, part V asks, how well (or badly) can libertarianism deal with some of the major policy challenges of our day, such as immigration, trade, religion in politics, and paternalism in a free market. Among the Handbook’s chapters are those from critics who write about what they believe libertarians get right as well as others from leading libertarian theorists who identify what they think libertarians get wrong. As a whole, the Handbook provides a comprehensive, clear-eyed look at what libertarianism has been and could be, and why it matters.

"Sadly, the price [$171. on Amazon - gd] may well be too high ... to buy the book ... for anyone but libraries, the very wealthy, and academics with expense accounts. But if you’re at all interested in the subject, you should definitely at least take a look at it and check out some of the chapters."

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2017/08/29/the-routledge-handbook-of-libertarianism/?utm_term=.ef6fc0504a5e
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5 great books on politics and policy from 2016

5 Great Books on Politics and Public Policy from 2016 | Competitive Enterprise Institute - Richard Morrison:

December 21, 2016 - "A lot of interesting books on politics, economics, and public policy were published over the last twelve months. It can be difficult, though, finding the gems among the extremely large number of books about public affairs that hit bookstore (and Amazon warehouse) shelves each year. For every volume as eagerly anticipated as Deirdre McCloskey’s Bourgeois Equality, engaged readers must sift past a dozen volumes of hot-take pop commentary like Thomas Friedman’s Thank You for Being Late. That said, here are a few new titles that caught our attention at CEI in 2016.

"The Intimidation Game: How the Left Is Silencing Free Speech by Kimberley Strassel. Reviewed ... by Fred L. Smith, Jr.... 'A skilled investigative journalist, Strassel documents the extensive efforts to suppress political opposition, intimidate dissidents, and weaken the First Amendment. Strassel notes that attacks on speech — and defenders of it — have come from both parties.... Readers will gain clarity, but little comfort, from her chronicle of culture and politics conspiring to weaken free speech.'

"Progress: Ten Reasons to Look Forward to the Future by Johan Norberg, summarized here by Ryan Young.... 'Norberg is a Swedish economist and political commentator who ... updates CEI hero Julian Simon’s work showing why the world is getting better, not worse.... Norberg remains pessimistic about a scare-obsessed media’s ability to accurately report on the human condition. But the facts on the ground give him no choice but to be optimistic about humanity’s future, from declining disease rates to rising life expectancies to mass prosperity finally reaching the developing world'....

"Real Heroes: Inspiring True Stories of Courage, Character, and Conviction by Lawrence W. Reed. Reviewed by Kent Lassman.... 'Reed brings to life dozens of stories where high character animates courage and triumph. Reed has mastered the maxim that people think analytically but learn analogically. He carefully makes the case that we need real heroes and they can be found all around, if we are willing to see them.'

"Rivalry and Central Planning by Don Lavoie. Summarized here by Ryan Young.... 'Lavoie played a major role in building up George Mason University’s economics department before he passed away in 2001. The Mercatus Center’s new reissue of his 1985 book ... remains relevant to today’s debate between spontaneous orders versus central planning....

"I also include my own review, for Cato Journal, of Markets without Limits: Moral Virtues and Commercial Interests by Jason Brennan and Peter M. Jaworski ... released in 2015, but the review was published this year.... 'The authors do a good job of separating incidental objections from the fundamental moral questions at the heart of the anticommodification debate.... Their primary question is whether there are things that categorically cannot be legitimately bought and sold.... For example, Brennan and Jaworski engage in fascinating discussions on whether public betting on the likelihood of future terrorist attacks should be legal, as well as on more well-trod debate topics like legalizing sex work and the moral status of surrogate motherhood.'"

Read more: https://cei.org/blog/5-great-books-politics-and-public-policy-2016
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Some important new libertarian books

Some important new books on libertarianism - The Washington Post - Ilya Somin, The Volokh Conspiracy:

February 26, 2015 - "A number of new books on libertarianism and related issues have come out recently or should be in print soon. If you are interested in libertarianism, these books may well be of interest to you....

"Perhaps the one with the broadest appeal is The Libertarian Mind, by David Boaz of the Cato Institute. It is the best recent introduction to libertarianism for a popular audience. Boaz does an excellent job of surveying both the history of libertarianism and libertarian positions on a variety of modern political issues. He is especially good on 'noneconomic' issues that many people with only a passing knowledge of libertarian thought don’t normally associate with the movement. For example, he emphasizes that libertarian thinkers were calling for the abolition of anti-sodomy laws, the War on Drugs, and other pernicious 'social' regulations long before these became mainstream positions elsewhere on the political spectrum.... Boaz also does a good job of raising and addressing a variety of standard objections to libertarian ideas that are traditional advanced by critics (particularly mainstream liberals and conservatives in the United States)....

"Jacob Levy’s Rationalism, Pluralism, and Freedom is a great overview of a longstanding issue in libertarian thought (and liberal thought more generally): the appropriate role of 'intermediate groups' such as religious organizations, voluntary associations, and organized ethnic groups. While such groups can enhance individual liberty, they can also undermine it....He argues that neither pure freedom of association nor complete homogenization of groups to eliminate illiberal tendencies is defensible. Thus, he concludes that the tension between group pluralism and the possible need for centralized control of these groups in order to protect individuals can’t be completely eradicated....

"Finally, I very much look forward to Jason Brennan and Peter Jaworski’s book Markets Without Limits. Despite the title, the authors don’t claim that markets should be literally without limits, in the sense that any and all possible commercial transactions are morally defensible. Rather, as the authors put it, they argue that '[i]f you may do it for free, you may do it for money.' For example, if it is permissible to donate organs, it should also be permissible to sell them in organ markets. On the other hand, it is wrong for a hit man to commit murder for profit, because committing murder is wrong regardless of whether he gets paid for it or not."

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2015/02/26/some-important-new-books-on-libertarianism/
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Bleeding Heart Libertarians

Bleeding Heart Libertarians | The Volunteer - Peter Jaworski, Mar. 11, 2011:

"There’s something of a growing movement afoot, a new kind of fusionism, and a surprising disentangling of former alliances. The new fusionism is liberal & libertarian.... It started, more or less, with a seminal [2006] article by Brink Lindsay, formerly of the Cato Institute, called “Liberaltarians”. In it, Lindsay argued for a new alliance between liberals and libertarians, and urged the further dissolution of the old alliance between traditionalists and libertarians.

"The article caused something of a stir after its publication in the New Republic. Slowly, others joined the movement, or came out of the closet as having always been liberal in cultural attitudes.... Foremost amongst these early adopters was Will Wilkinson, also formerly of the Cato Institute and now, amongst other gigs and duties, a blogger for The Economist....

"Most recently, and most excitingly, a group of academics the three of us respect a great deal have started an academic blog called 'Bleeding heart libertarians.' That blog is full of young intellectuals who are trying to break the association of libertarianism with natural rights theories, and with traditionalist attitudes."

http://www.thevolunteer.ca/2011/03/bleeding-heart-libertarians/

Liberty Summer Seminar & Jaworski Family Win Freedom of Assembly

Canadian Constitution Foundation

 Press Release

For Immediate Release: February 14, 2011.

Liberty Summer Seminar & Jaworski Family Win Freedom of Assembly

The Canadian Constitution Foundation (CCF) today announced that it has succeeded in getting charges dropped against Marta and Lech Jaworski for hosting the Liberty Summer Seminar on their rural property in the Municipality of Clarington.

For video footage, click here.

Background

The Liberty Summer Seminar (LSS) has been held annually outdoors at the Jaworskis’ home for 10 years. The seminar brings together university professors, think-tank executives, and liberty-minded activists to speak to an audience consisting primarily of students about political and economic freedom.

The Jaworskis, who fled Poland in 1984 while it was still a totalitarian regime, were astonished to find themselves charged in August, 2010 with an offence under Ontario’s Planning Act, merely for hosting the seminar on their 20-acre property. “We left Poland seeking freedom, but when we tried to help celebrate freedom in Canada, we found ourselves being treated like suspected criminals,” said Marta Jaworski, 57.

The Jaworskis retained a local lawyer to help them fight the charges but Clarington refused to budge.

Freedom of Peaceful Assembly

In December, 2010 the CCF took on the case. The CCF is a registered charitable organization that engages in public interest litigation in selected cases where it perceives government bodies to be breaching citizens’ constitutional rights.

The CCF filed court documents maintaining that the forbidding of the LSS would constitute a breach of the Jaworskis’ constitutional right to freedom of assembly under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

The municipality informed the CCF last week that the charges against the Jaworskis would be withdrawn, in recognition of the fact that “their use of the property was purely for the purpose of a peaceful assembly and expressive activity”.

CCF Litigation Director Karen Selick said, “We are very satisfied with this result, and we’re particularly pleased that Clarington conceded the Jaworskis’ constitutional rights instead of putting them through the ordeal of a trial”.

http://www.canadianconstitutionfoundation.ca/article.php/215

Help for the Jaworski family

Finally some good news for the Jaworskis of Clarendon, Ontario, threatened with a crippling penalty for letting their son Peter host Canada's annual Liberty Summer Seminar on their rural property. They face a $50,000 fine if convicted. Read the details here:  http://willowpond.ca/?page_id=126

On Dec. 16, the Canadian Constitutional Foundation (CCF) announced that it will be providing pro bono legal counsel to the family. The CCF also served notice on the Canadian and Ontario attorneys-general that it intends to argue that the municipal bylaw under which the Jaworskis were charged, and its enabling provincial legislation, both violate the freedom of peaceful assembly guaranteed by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Says CCF Executive Director Chris Schafer: “The Jaworskis escaped Poland in 1984 fearing persecution by the government for distributing pro-freedom literature. It’s ironic that they are now facing charges in Canada for allowing their son to host an event in support of freedom on their property."

Read the full release here:  http://www.wireservice.ca/index.php?module=News&func=display&sid=4106

You can donate to the Jaworski family's legal defence fund via CCF here:    https://secure.lexi.net/ccf/gift_of_freedom.php