LifeZine No. 516: 20th Aug 07
Senator Hopes Election Victory Will Encourage Debate on Family Values
Senator Rónán Mullen wants to instill “a new era of respect and dialogue” into Irish politics following his surprise election to Seanad Éireann (Irish Senate) on the National University of Ireland (NUI) panel. Senator Mullen, a well-known pro-life commentator in Ireland, polled the second-highest number of first preference votes, and unseated a longtime occupant of the Seanad. Speaking to the “Irish Catholic” after his stunning electoral victory, he said, “no one can be in any doubt about the kind of values that our campaign was trying to promote. I made it very clear from the beginning that we were about protecting the institution of marriage and for speaking about values in a way that is respectful.” Senator Mullen said he hoped his election would empower other politicians to speak positively about family values. “What marked our campaign was a youth and a vigour that people might not necessarily associate with a candidate with strong family values.” Details: CLICK TO READ MORE.....
Pro-Lifers Takes Newspaper to Task on Abortion's Impact
Pro-lifers in Northern Ireland have taken the “Belfast Telegraph” newspaper to task—saying that a recent editorial it ran failed to acknowledge the negative consequences abortions for women. Pro-Life spokesman Betty Gibson said women frequently experience major post-abortion problems. She said the editorial acknowledges that women "often suffer an overwhelming sense of loss and despair" following abortion, but it refused to depict the "severity of the trauma women can experience after abortion". "Not only do suicide rates go up, recent studies show that post-abortive women have an increased death-rate due to accidents, when compared with women who were not pregnant, or those who carried a pregnancy to term", Gibson pointed out. Details: CLICK TO READ MORE.....
Contraceptive Pill’s ‘Enduring Effects’ on Fertility Highlighted
Women who use the contraceptive long-term are often shocked at the effect it has on their fertility once they stop taking it. For an increasing number of women there is a lesser known and distressing side effect—amenorrhea, or lack of ovulation—that materialises only when cease it. "I have seen cases where women in their thirties have not ovulated for two or three years after taking the contraceptive pill", says Dr Marilyn Glenville, author of “Natural Solutions to Infertility”. Dr Margaret Cook, former consultant haematologist at St John’s Hospital, Livingston, West Lothian, in the UK, shares her views. She believes that many GPs have a "cavalier attitude" when it comes to prescribing the Pill. "It is all too often billed as some kind of magic pill, but it is a powerful drug that has serious side-effects which need to be highlighted. Many doctors have the tendency to highlight the good points and shove all the bad points under the carpet." The Daily Telegraph. CLICK TO READ MORE.....
Russia’s Under-Population Crisis Worsens
The Russian region of Ulyanovsk has a unique way to respond to the under-population crisis plaguing the nation as a result of years of unlimited abortions. The regional government has declared September 12 the Day of Conception and wants workers to go home and procreate. Couples who then give birth on June 12 during the nation's annual holiday can win anything from cash prizes to cars to refrigerators. Ulyanovsk, which is about 550 miles east of Moscow, has conducted similar contests since 2005 and the number of participants and prizes awarded each year has risen. President Vladimir Putin recently defined the crisis as the nation's biggest problem and his government is offering hefty bonuses to women who have a second child. He has also discouraged foreign adoptions of Russian children. LifeNews.com. CLICK TO READ MORE.....
New Study Shows Abortion Leads to Higher Crime
A study conducted by a researcher at the University of Maryland in the USA shows that legalsed abortion has led to higher crime rates. This occurred because a higher percentage of children grew up in single-parent homes during the years following Roe v. Wade. The findings have been published in the April 2007 issue of the academic journal “Economic Inquiry”, and are part of a new book written by researcher John R. Lott. According to Lott, the Supreme Court’s decision ultimately resulted in more out-of-wedlock births, a reduction in the number of children adopted and fewer married parents. "Those are contradictory directions", the economist said. "What ties them together is liberalised abortion rules." Lott said those results produced by Roe "affected decisions on premarital sex and careful contraception. It's a matter of economics. When something seems less costly, there's more of it." LifeNews.com. CLICK TO READ MORE.....
UNFPA Proposes New Global Campaign to Push Abortion
The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) proposes that the solution to what it sees as “over-population” is the spread of "reproductive health services," a phrase that is used by UN agencies and committees as synonymous with abortion. UNFPA recently released its proposal for a comprehensive four-year, $224 million advocacy strategy aimed at supporting and raising "awareness of reproductive rights". Claiming "the right to reproductive health applies to all people at all times", the UNFPA programme aims to "increase demand for sexual and reproductive health services and reproductive rights" across the globe by working with all sectors of society from governments and community leaders to NGOs and the media. UNFPA asserts that population growth is "outpacing the capacity of economies to generate jobs" and aims "to address the unmet need for contraception" in Africa in particular. C-FAM/LifeSite. CLICK TO READ MORE.....