LifeZine No. 481: 16th Apr 07
Family & Life’s Cinema Ad Approved for Widespread Distribution
We are happy to report that Family & Life's new Cinema Ad has been approved, and is now ready for widespread distribution. Our previous pro-life Cinema Ad, "Life is Precious", was shown with great success in cinemas throughout Ireland for the past number of years. Moreover, from time to time, to spread the pro-life message, we ensured that it reached a wider audience when we capitalised on batches of highly acclaimed new releases that reached Irish cinemas. This ad and now its successor are the only pro-life commercials in Ireland, and are specifically aimed at young people, those most likely to opt for an abortion in a crisis. With its completion and approval we are now beginning a campaign to raise funds for its distribution throughout Ireland in May/June 2007. Watch our new cinema ad on-line at:
http://www.familyandlife.org/Bio-Ethics-Research/no/37.html
Details: CLICK TO READ MORE.....
Alcohol and Pregnancy
According to Michelle Savage of the Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders Ireland organisation “For almost 30 years Irish companies exporting alcohol to the US have been required by law to warn women of the risks when alcohol is consumed in pregnancy.” Writing in “The Irish Times”, she continued, “however, the same products sold in the Irish market do not offer that information, and so knowledge of the potential for harm, which will not always be evident at birth, is withheld”. She pointed out that Foetal Alcohol Syndrome is the rarest of foetal alcohol spectrum disorders, forming only a fraction of the outcomes resulting from pre-natal exposure to alcohol. Alcohol-related neuro-developmental disorder is far more prevalent, but as the signs are far more subtle, it is vastly under-recognised and under-reported. She added, “Every woman has both the right to know that all alcohol consumed in pregnancy will reach her baby, and the right to have some choice in giving her baby the best start possible.” The Irish Times. CLICK TO READ MORE.....
British Woman Loses Legal Battle to Use Frozen Embryos
A British woman has lost a four-year legal battle to use frozen embryos that she and her former boyfriend. In its judgment, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled that Natallie Evans did not have the right to use the embryos against the wishes of her former fiancé, Howard Johnston, since British law was clear on this point. The decision by the grand chamber of the ECHR is the final appeal procedure open to Ms Evans (35), who said she was "distraught" at the decision. She argued that her human rights were violated by her husbands’ refusal. The ECHR did not decide anything about UK law. The ECHR found unanimously that there was no violation of her human rights according to the European Convention on Human Rights. The judgment has implications for "Mrs R", who last November lost her legal action in the Irish High Court to have three embryos implanted against the wishes of her estranged husband. In a landmark judgment, the High Court also declared that frozen embryos do not have the same constitutional right to life as those carried in the womb. “Mrs R” is understood to be appealing her case to the Supreme Court. In the interim, the embryos created after IVF treatment undertaken by her in 2002 will remain in frozen storage at the Sims Fertility Clinic in Dublin until the legal process is exhausted. The Irish Times. CLICK TO READ MORE.....
More Paid Maternity Leave for UK Mums-To-Be
Expectant mothers in Britain are to receive longer paid maternity leave. All women will now receive a statutory maternity pay for longer, and will be able to take a full year of maternity leave, no matter how long they have been working for their company. Mrs Kerrie Hulme from Manchester, who has a four-year old daughter Grace, and is now pregnant again, said: "Last time I was pregnant I was only entitled to 18 weeks off with pay and 40 weeks leave in total. I am relieved the rules are changing, as last time I would have liked to spend more time with Grace before going back to work." Daily Telegraph. CLICK TO READ MORE.....
Portugal President Signs Bill Legalising Abortion
Portugal President Anibal Cavaco Silva signed a bill into law on Tuesday that would legalise abortion on demand for the first 10 weeks of a pregnancy. Last month, the nation's parliament approved the bill, which came on the heels of a failed referendum. Just 26.2% of Portuguese voters backed legalising abortion. Silva strongly supported the new measure, and had hoped the people would have passed the measure in the referendum. While pro-life politicians failed to stop the new bill in parliament, they obtained some important concessions designed to reduce the number of future abortions, one of which is a three-day “cooling off” period before an abortion can be carried out. With this new law, Poland, Ireland and Malta are the lone nations in Europe to offer almost full legal protection for unborn children. LifeNews.com. CLICK TO READ MORE.....
Miss Jamaica World Gives up Crown for her Unborn Child
Miss Jamaica World 2006 has announced that she will relinquish her beauty pageant crown rather than have an abortion. Sara Lawrence wrote in a statement, “… having taken a deeply personal decision to face up to my responsibilities as one who expects to become a mother later this year.” The 21 year-old Lawrence is an alumna of Immaculate Conception High School, and holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Biology with an emphasis on Pre-Medicine from Randolph-Macon College, Virginia. She wrote, “I believe with all that is within me that it is my moral obligation to do what I believe to be ethically correct and follow what I believe in my heart to be right.” LifeSiteNews.net. CLICK TO READ MORE.....