Health News Roundup: French right-to-die case; food firms on warning over antibiotics

Indiana abortion cases ripe for U.S. Supreme Court action

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday could act on appeals seeking to revive two Republican-enacted abortion restrictions from Indiana, even as debate rages over a new measure in Alabama that would ban the procedure almost entirely. If the nine-justice court takes up either case, it would give the conservative majority an opportunity to chip away at the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that found women have a constitutional right to terminate pregnancies.

Doctors to end care for French patient in landmark right-to-die case

Doctors treating French quadriplegic Vincent Lambert, who has been in a deep vegetative state for more than a decade, plan to stop feeding him this week, renewing a furious debate over the right-to-die that has split France and Lambert's family. Lambert, a former psychiatric nurse, has been completely paralyzed since a motorcycle accident in 2008. He has almost no consciousness but is able to breathe without a respirator and occasionally moves his eyes.

Investors keep food firms on warning over antibiotics

An investor group managing some $5 trillion said it was pleased with the steps taken by fast-food companies to cut the use of antibiotics in their products and will continue to monitor firms as its three-year-long engagement comes to an end. Resistance to antibiotics has been flagged as a major risk to public health and economic growth by policymakers and the investor action formed part of global efforts to fight back by curtailing their use in the foodchain.

South Africa's Aspen sells Australian prescription portfolio to Mylan

Aspen Pharmacare said on Monday that Mylan NV had exercised an option to buy the South African drugmaker's portfolio of prescription and over-the-counter products in Australia for 188 million Australian dollars ($130 million). In December, Aspen said its wholly owned subsidiary incorporated in Mauritius, Aspen Global Incorporated, and its Australian subsidiaries had entered into a distribution arrangement with Alphapharm, a subsidiary of Mylan in respect of the portfolio commercialized in Australia and New Zealand.

Back to nature: UK Duchess Kate shows off garden skills at Chelsea Flower Show

Kate, Britain's Duchess of Cambridge, released new pictures of her family playing in a woodland wilderness garden she designed for London's Chelsea Flower Show. Co-created with landscape artists Andree Davies and Adam White, Kate's "Back to Nature Garden" includes a rope swing, a tree house and a stream with waterfalls.