LifeZine No. 465: 19th Feb 07
CPA Head Meets with Bishops over CURA
After months of fruitless negotiation, the head of the Crisis Pregnancy Agency (CPA) has met representatives of the Bishops’ Conference to try to resolve the ongoing dispute over continued funding of CURA, the Catholic Church’s pregnancy counselling agency. CURA receives most of its funding from the State via the CPA. However, the CPA have threatened to stop this funding since CURA, directed by the bishops, now refuses to hand out the CPA’s pro-abortion “Positive Options” leaflet. The leaflet contains the contact details of all “service providers” funded through the CPA, including agencies that give women details of abortion clinics abroad. Details: CLICK TO READ MORE.....
Abortion—The Kind of Compassion that is Anything but ‘Safe’ for the Unborn
Milltown Institute Philosophy lecturer, Dr Kevin O’Reilly, recently took issue with “Irish Times” contributor Séamus McKenna who posited an ethic of compassion that includes abortion, that is, among other things, “safe”! According to Dr O’Reilly, “As one engaged in philosophical ethics I hope that, on Mr McKenna's understanding, the Irish people continue to lack this destructive kind of “compassion”—a kind of compassion which is anything but ‘safe’ for the unborn”. The Irish Times. CLICK TO READ MORE.....
British Abortion Industry Calls on People to be ‘More Responsible’
The largest abortion business in England said it carried out more abortions in January than it has in any past year and it “blames” Christmas drinking for the problem. Marie Stopes International (MSI) urged people to be “more responsible” and said drinking leads to more incidents of unprotected sex and, therefore, a higher pregnancy and abortion rate. MSI said it carried out 5,992 abortions at its nine abortion facilities in January, which is the highest figure in 32 years and a rise of 13% compared with January 2005. MSI carried out 61,983 abortions at its UK abortion businesses during 2006. A commentator in Ireland however questioned MSI’s call for people “to be more responsible”. He pointed out “Marie Stopes will never, ever advise restricting sex to marriage”. If they did, “this would save an awful lot of people an awful lot of trouble”. In particular, he added, MSI would never refer to the “children residing in their mothers’ womb, who are destroyed by abortion”. He also pointed out that the abortion industry never mentions, “the guilt many women feel following an abortion, as humans are not programmed to kill their offspring”. The Irish Catholic. February 15. LifeNews.com. CLICK TO READ MORE.....
Pope Asks Italian Politicians to Protect the Family
The Pope has told senior Italian politicians that there is an urgent need for them to enact policies to protect and serve the family. Benedict XVI stressed that in this respect “the Church and Catholic organisations are happy to offer their help, in the light of the great principles of the sacredness of human life from conception to natural end, and of the central importance of sick people”. Catholic News Agency. CLICK TO READ MORE.....
Holy See Will Not Sign UN Convention on Disabled People
The Holy See has confirmed that it will not sign the Convention on Disabled People agreed at the United Nations in New York last month, citing pro-life concerns, the most important of which is the reference to “reproductive rights”. VIS. CLICK TO READ MORE.....
Leading Scientist Charges Colleagues with ‘Misleading’ Public on Humanity of Embryos
A leading US researcher in adult stem cell technology has stated there is no legitimate scientific justification for questioning when human life begins. In an interview with “Celebrate Life” magazine, Dr. James Sherley claimed that he was recently denied tenure at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, because of his views on embryo research. He accused some of his colleagues of deliberately misleading the public about the beginnings of human life in order to justify embryonic research. “I am upset when I hear knowing scientists needlessly confuse and mislead people who look to them for objectivity and integrity”, he said.“ “Scientists can define when a human life begins. Like thousands of other multicellular organisms on this planet, human beings start life as a single cell embryo, the product of the union of a complete human genome and the programming cytoplasm of a human egg. This union occurs at fertilization.” Dr. Sherley added: “Whether or not the embryo has yet developed spinal nerves or self-awareness is an irrelevant point made to distract and confuse. I challenge the promoters of human embryonic stem cell research to justify why another human embryonic life is less worthy than their own was.” LifeSite.net. CLICK TO READ MORE.....