LifeZine No. 467: 26th Feb 07
Family & Life Begins New Year for ‘LifeZine’
Welcome to this edition of “LifeZine” as we embark on our second year of publication. “LifeZine” replaced “Irish Pro-Life News” a year ago and is a new web-based design and format. This change is part of Family & Life’s decision to strategically renovate its e-mail and website projects in an effort to reach more people in a professional and interactive format. “LifeZine” is part of the organisation’s determination to enhance the quality of the service for our existing readers as well as our determination to reach a wider audience. “This effort is all about creating a greater awareness of fundamental life issues in an Irish and global audience”, said David Manly, Director of Family & Life. As with “Irish Pro-Life News”, “LifeZine” is published bi-weekly. We welcome all comments and suggestions. Please ask friends and/or family to register by sending them the following link: www.familyandlife.org/ezine-order.php Details: CLICK TO READ MORE.....
Push to Target Children in Ireland for National HPV Vaccine Programme
Dr Shirley McQuade of the Dublin Well Woman Centre has called for a national Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) vaccination programme for school children to protect them against the sexually-transmitted and cancer-causing HPV. HPV is linked to the majority of cases of cervical cancer. Dr McQuade is medical director of Dublin Well Woman Centre, an organisation that would consider abortion to be a “positive choice” for women. Opponents of her views 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 such a programme presumes that all children are going to be sexually active, and too easily encourages them to be sexually active. Furthermore, they pointed out, who knows what physical side effects this vaccination might have on children. F& L. Details: CLICK TO READ MORE.....
BMJ—MAP Does Not Decrease Pregnancies or Abortions
A leading UK family planning expert has admitted that actively promoting emergency contraception has not decreased the number of pregnancies or abortions, which in fact have continued to rise. “Despite the clear increase in the use of emergency contraception, abortion rates have not fallen in the UK. They have risen from 11 per 1,000 women aged 15-44 in 1984 (136,388 abortions) to 17.8 per 1,000 in 2004 (185,400 abortions)”, wrote Anna Glasier, director of the Lothian primary care NHS trust in Edinburgh, in the “British Medical Journal”. Britain has seen a recent push to make the Morning after Pill (MAP) more accessible to girls as young as 12 by making the drug available in over-the-counter sales as well as reducing the tax on the drug. LifeSiteNews.com. CLICK TO READ MORE.....
'I Want' Abortion Generation Criticised
Pro-life campaigners and Church leaders in Wales have commented on the large number of women whom they say are using abortion as a form of contraception. Figures published recently reveal more than one in five Welsh women in their late 20s and early 30s have had an abortion while in a long-term relationship. Pro-life campaigners said the research reflected the attitude of an “I Want” generation who are determined not to let pregnancy interfere with their career plans. According to the latest Department of Health statistics, 7,764 abortions were carried out in Wales in 2005. The rate was highest among 18-19 year olds. The Most Rev Peter Smith, Catholic Archbishop of Cardiff, said choosing to terminate a pregnancy because it was inconvenient was “appalling”. Western Mail. CLICK TO READ MORE.....
Portuguese Pro-Life Groups Will Fight Government Bill to Legalise Abortions
A Portuguese pro-life group said it is ready to join Catholic Church leaders to lobby the nation's parliament to reject government plans to “enforce” abortion on the country. Prime Minister José Socrates, the head of the country's ruling Socialist government, said it would promote a bill in parliament to legalise abortion. The Accao Familia organisation said that pro-life advocates must continue to “stop those who are trying to impose a new morality on society”. Portuguese voters backed the abortion referendum on a 59 to 41 percent margin but it did not take effect because only 44% of the country turned out to vote. More than 50% of the electorate have to participate for the vote to be valid. Essentially, just 26.2% of Portuguese voters backed legalising abortion. Portugal’s ambassador to Ireland, Paulo Castilho, writing in “The Irish Times”, said his government would “enforce” the minority decision. Portugal is one of only four countries in Europe‹the others are Ireland, Poland and Malta, that have effective laws protecting unborn children from abortion. The Irish Times. February 14. LifeNews.com. CLICK TO READ MORE.....
Pontifical Academy for Life's Congress
The Pontifical Academy for Life held an international congress in Rome at the weekend. Bishop Elio Sgreccia, president of the Pontifical Academy for Life, opened the working sessions, which took place in the New Synod Hall in Vatican City. The theme of the congress was “The Christian Conscience in Support of the Right to Life”. In the first session topics discussed included: “The Moral Conscience According to Ethical Reflection”, by Bishop Anthony Fisher of Sydney, Australia; “The Moral Conscience in Face of Human Life”, by Robert P. George of the United States; and “Personal and Social Responsibility in the Context of the Defence of Human Life: The Problem of Cooperation with Evil”, by Professor Luke Gormally of England. The second session began with a talk on the “History of Conscientious Objection and Present-Day Interpretations of the Concept of Tolerance”, by Jean Laffitte of France. On the last day, talks included one by Cardinal Ivan Dias on “Commitment of the Christian Conscience to the Promotion of Life in Relation to Developing Countries”. The Pontifical Academy for Life.
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