as the "great and unorthodox protagonist for the medical use of marijuana many years before the current interest in its use as a therapeutic drug". J. P. van Niekerk of the South African Medical Journal notes that "Frances Ames led by conviction and example" and history eventually justified her action in the Biko affair. Ames's work on the Biko affair led to major medical reforms in South Africa, including the disbanding and replacement of the old apartheid-era medical organisations which failed to uphold the medical standards of the profession. According to van Niekerk, "the most enduring lesson for South African medicine was the clarification of the roles of medical practitioners when there is a question of dual responsibilities. This is now embodied inter alia in the SAMA Code of Conduct and in legal interpretations of doctors' responsibilities". Ames testified during the medical hearings at the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in 1997. Archbishop Desmond Tutu honored Ames as "one of the handful of doctors who stood up to the apartheid regime and brought to book those doctors who had colluded with human rights abuse." In acknowledgement of her work on behalf of human rights in South Africa, Nelson Mandela awarded Ames the Order of the Star of South Africa in 1999, the highest civilian award in the country. Selected publications Mothering in an Apartheid Society (2002) References Further reading Hoffenberg, Raymond (May 1994). Doctors and society – the Biko lecture. South African Medical Journal, 84: 245–249. McLean, G.R.; Trefor Jenkins (2003). The Steve Biko Affair: A Case Study in Medical Ethics. Developing World Bioethics, 3 (1): 77–95. Taitz, Jerold (May 1986). Medical Mores, Judicial Review and the Last Days of Steve Biko. The Modern Law Review 49 (3): 374–381. Veriava, F. (2004) Ought the Notion of ‘Informed Consent’ to be Cast in Stone? Vrm v The Health Professions Council of South Africa. South African Journal on Human Rights, 20 (2): 309–320. 1920 births 2002 deaths Alumni of Rustenburg School for Girls White South African anti-apartheid activists Cannabis researchers People from Cape Town People from Pretoria South African human rights activists South African neurologists South African women neuroscientists South African whistleblowers Steve Biko affair People who testified at the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (South Africa) University of Cape Town alumni