LifeZine No. 476: 2nd Apr 07
Irish Catholic Bishops—‘More Comprehensive Analysis and Debate Required’ on Children’s Rights Referendum
Following their recent meeting in St Patrick’s College, Maynooth, the Irish Catholic bishops said they welcomed efforts to find agreement on the most effective way of providing greater protection and giving proper and balanced expression to the rights of all children in Ireland. They pointed out however, “Our analysis of the proposed wording for the constitutional amendment on the rights of children suggests that more comprehensive analysis and debate is required around all of the main elements proposed. We believe fuller discussion of the issues involved can only help to ensure maximum benefit for the children of our country.” Details: CLICK TO READ MORE.....
60% of Pregnant Mothers Drink Alcohol—New Report Highlights Need to Protect Children
More than 60% of women continue to drink alcohol while pregnant, according to a new Irish survey. The survey is the largest study of its kind ever conducted in Ireland, and the findings were unveiled by Minister for Health Mary Harney in the Coombe Women's Hospital recently. It examines trends in the consumption of alcohol, tobacco and drugs by over 120,000 pregnant women during the past two decades. Irish and UK-born mothers were more likely to report themselves as consuming more than six units of alcohol a week compared with EU and non-EU nationals. The survey also showed that in 2005, the most recent year for which there is data, over 45% of smokers did not give up during pregnancy. Younger mothers were less likely to stop smoking than their older counterparts. Dr. Siobhán Barry, visiting psychiatrist at the Coombe and lead researcher on the study, said that alcohol consumption patterns in pregnancy give particular cause for concern. Dr Chris Fitzpatrick, Master of the Coombe, said the issue of alcohol in pregnancy had to be taken far more seriously. "As the first report of its kind in the country, it also highlights the importance of conducting research in this area if we are to protect the next generation of Irish children", he said. The Irish Times. CLICK TO READ MORE.....
Scottish Pro-life Project Has Helped Over 2,000 Women
The Cardinal Winning Pro-Life Initiative is celebrating its tenth anniversary and the dozens of lives it has saved. On Friday, Archbishop Mario Conti of Glasgow celebrated an anniversary Mass in which he recalled the work of his predecessor, Cardinal Thomas Winning, who died in 2001. Archbishop Conti quoted Cardinal Winning: “Today I issue an open invitation to any woman, any family, any couple who may be facing the possibility of an unwanted pregnancy. Whatever worries or cares you may have ... we will help you. If you need pregnancy testing or counselling ... we will help you. If you want help to cope with raising the baby on your own ... we will help you.” In his homily, Archbishop Conti also recalled the letter written by Cardinal Paul Poupard on the occasion of Cardinal Winning's death. Cardinal Poupard wrote: “The prophets of doom thought he was unrealistic and possibly mad when, in March 1997, he took the bold step of offering practical help to women from any religious, social or racial background, who felt under pressure from an unwanted pregnancy. The press was astounded. Well, how delighted Cardinal Winning was to be able to say, just a year later, that many lives had been saved as a result of that initiative.” Archbishop Conti said that the Pro-Life Initiative has helped 2,222 women and that about 70 children are alive today who would otherwise have been aborted. Zenit.org. END.
Birth Boom Offers Temporary Reprieve for Nation’s Falling Population Figures
The number of births in Scotland has outnumbered the number of deaths for the first time since 1994. Statistics for 2006 recorded 55,690 births (up 2.3% on 2005) and 55,089 deaths (down 1.2% on 2005). However, Professor Robert Wright, a professor of economics at Strathclyde University, commented: "I would not expect to see fertility to continue to increase at this rate...The number of deaths will increase in the future because of the ageing population. We cannot get away from that. There is not going to be another baby boom in the future." A pro-life spokesman pointed out that “these figures do not take into account the 12,000 unborn children conceived but killed by abortion annually in Scotland”. The Scotsman. CLICK TO READ MORE.....
‘European Court of Human Rights has Done Disservice to Unborn’
According to William Binchy, Regius Professor of Laws at Trinity College Dublin, writing in “The Irish Times”, “the recent decision of the Chamber Court of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in ‘Tysiac v Poland’ is a ?source of concern to those who would wish the court to give full protection to the human rights of human beings at all stages in their lives”. The court until now has largely adopted a neutral stance, he argued, taking no definitive ?position on the right to life of unborn children under the convention and leaving it to the states to fashion their legal policy in accordance with their values rather than those of the court. The Tysiac decision however “represents a radical shift in the court's approach. The court has entered the debate in a way that “reduces protection for unborn children”. He pointed out that the “tenor of the decision in ‘Tysiac v Poland’ is to maximise whatever right to abortion may exist ?in a state's law. What emerges is thus a one-sided concern for protection of rights, which will surely have a chilling effect on doctors who might be disposed to decline to authorise an abortion.” Details: CLICK TO READ MORE.....
‘The Worst Day of Their Lives’—Abortion's Impact on Men Frequently Ignored, UCLA Psychologist Says
A psychology professor at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) said the impact abortion has on men is too frequently ignored. Dr. Miriam Grossman, who is a psychiatrist at the university's student health service, says that men involved in abortion decisions have become "invisible" to researchers and members of her profession. While research on the medical and mental health problems women face following an abortion has only barely scratched the surface, fewer scholars have examined the impact on men. Grossman says a sociologist named Dr Arthur Shostak is one of the few researchers to examine how abortion affects men. Shostak surveyed 1,000 men who accompanied their wives or girlfriends to an abortion facility at various spots around the country. He found that 80% of the men he surveyed said the trip to the abortion clinic “was the worst day of their lives. Grossman, added, "A few years afterwards, they were reporting that it was worse than they had anticipated.” LifeNews.com. CLICK TO READ MORE.....