LifeZine No. 463: 12th Feb 07
Special Book Offer from Family & Life!
“How do you bring a friend or relative back into the Church? First, you pray. Then, you follow Patrick Madrid’s advice in ‘Search and Rescue’”—Edward Cardinal Egan, Archbishop of New York. You do not have to become a biblical scholar or a theologian to be an effective spokesman for the Catholic Faith. In fact, even though you do not know all the answers and cannot explain every aspect of the Faith, you can begin winning souls to the Church right now … using prayer, friendship, and common sense. This classic book is now available from Family & Life. Details: CLICK TO READ MORE.....
Baby’s Body Used as Evidence in Irish Rape Trial after Health Board Arranges Abortion
The Central Criminal Court in Dublin heard that a teenage Zambian girl, living in Ireland, who became pregnant as a result of a rape, was assisted by the then Eastern Health Board (now part of the Health Services Executive/HSE) to have an abortion in England. According to an “Irish Times” report, the Scottish scientist who gave evidence to the court, found that DNA analysis on “foetal matter from the abortion and on hair and blood samples from Kasenge Bangu”, the accused, “showed there was an ‘extremely strong indication’ that he was the father, with it ‘being two million times more likely’ he was the father than if they were unrelated.” Mr Justice Barry White of the Central Criminal Court gave Bangu, who was found guilty of the rape, a 15-year prison sentence. Bangu, who is from the Congo, was convicted in December on four charges of raping the then 15-year-old victim at an address in Wexford on dates from November 20th to December 7th, 2002. Details: CLICK TO READ MORE.....
UK Medicines Regulator in Talks to Make Pill Available Over Counter
The official medicines watchdog in Britain is to hold discussions on whether the hormonal birth control pill should be made available without a prescription. The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Authority hopes the discussions will lead to the pill and other sexual health products being classified as “pharmacy medicines”, available with the agreement of a pharmacist but not requiring a doctor's prescription. Such a re-classification of “the pill” as a pharmacy medicine would mirror the re-classification of the morning-after pill in 2001, which has led to cases of girls under the age of consent being able to obtain the potentially abortifacient drug with few or no questions asked. The Guardian. February 5. CLICK TO READ MORE.....
HFEA Support Animal-Human Hybrid Embryos
It is reported in the UK that the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has told parliamentarians that it does not want the government to ban the creation of animal-human hybrid embryos. It had previously been reported that the HFEA was inclined to support the government's position, but the HFEA then deferred its decision pending further debate. Readers of “LifeZine” will doubtlessly recall that Ireland’s Commission on Assisted Human Reproduction (CAHR) seemed completely in agreement with the regulatory authority of the United Kingdom, i.e. the HFEA, representatives of whom were invited to speak at the Commission’s infamous public conference in Dublin Castle in 2003. The Independent. February 5. F & L.
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Euthanasia Disability Ruling in Switzerland Reminiscent of Nazi Era
The highest court in Switzerland has ruled that certain mentally-ill people may lawfully be assisted to commit suicide. Ruling in the case of a man with a bipolar condition who had requested a lethal drug, the court said: “If the death wish is based on an autonomous decision which takes all circumstances into account, then a mentally-ill person can be prescribed sodium-pentobarbital and thereby assisted in suicide.” Elspeth Chowdharay-Best, honorary secretary of ALERT (Against Legalised Euthanasia—Research & Training), said: “I think this is a horrifying development. It takes one back to the Nazi era, when people with disabilities were considered disposable.” The Scotsman. February 4. CLICK TO READ MORE.....
Texas Governor Makes HPV Vaccine for Girls Mandatory
In the state of Texas, USA, girls as young as nine years old will be required to be vaccinated for the sexually-transmitted Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), after Texas Governor Rick Perry issued an executive order on February 2, mandating immunisation for schoolgirls. Perry bypassed the State Legislature to issue the order, directing the Health and Human Services Commission to work out rules for the administration of the vaccine. Many states are considering legislation to enforce HPV vaccination, after a nation-wide campaign promoted the “necessity” of protecting girls from the cancer-causing virus—HPV is linked to the majority of cases of cervical cancer. Opponents of the vaccine order say parental rights and authority to make medical decisions for their children would be violated by state-enforced vaccination for a highly preventable infection caused by sexual promiscuity. They also pointed out that the decision presumes that all children are going to be sexually active, and in fact, encourages them to be sexually active. Furthermore, they pointed out, who knows what side effects this vaccination might have on children. LifeSiteNews.com. CLICK TO READ MORE.....