LifeZine No. 527: 28th Sep 07
Vacancy at Family & Life
Family & Life is currently looking for a committed, energetic person to assist with office administration, outreach projects and, in particular, our school presentation project on the development of unborn human life. Please send your C.V. to Mrs Angela Keaveney, Secretary, Family & Life, 26 Mountjoy Square, Dublin 1. You can email your C.V. to fandl@iol.ie or upload it directly on the jobs section of our website. Details:CLICK TO READ MORE.....
Constitution Should Protect Rights of Children, Report Says
A report on the rights of children in Ireland has recommended that they should be given explicit protection in the Constitution. Prepared for the Ombudsman for Children's Office (OCO) by Dr Ursula Kilkelly, of University College Cork, the report entitled “Obstacles to the Realisation of Children's Rights in Ireland” identified six key impediments to the full implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Dr Kilkelly found that children's rights are often ignored in decision-making processes. She said the principles of children's rights—including non-discrimination, the requirement to take their best interests into account and to ensure their voices should be heard—should be given explicit protection in the Constitution. They should also be included in law and policy-making, particularly in the areas of education, healthcare, youth justice and family law. She found that children are largely invisible in law, policy and decision-making. Details: CLICK TO READ MORE.....
‘Choice’ Generation Regrets
A poll in Britain has revealed that almost three quarters of women are afraid that their lifestyle has reduced their fertility. More than 60% said that they wished they had not waited until their 30s to start trying to conceive. Professor Bill Ledger, a fertility expert from Sheffield University, said, "Human biology says that the best age for a woman to have children is 20 to 35." Other causes he cited for reduced fertility include obesity, smoking and sexually transmitted diseases. He also claimed that IVF treatment is too expensive, and has become "the preserve of the well off", The Daily Telegraph. END.
Taking Pill Over Long-Term Increases Cancer Risk—BMJ
A study by scientists at the University of Aberdeen, Scotland, published in the British Medical Journal, has found that those taking the contraceptive pill for more than eight years, had a significantly higher risk of developing cancer. The study of 46,000 women began in 1968. The average user of the contraceptive pill takes it for 44 months. According to the manufacturers, the pills may cause an early abortion. The Daily Telegraph.
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Italian Bishops Join Protest Against AI’s Pro-Abortion Policy
The president of the Italian bishops' conference has condemned the new abortion policy adopted by Amnesty International and stressed the value of human life. Archbishop Angelo Bagnasco said that Amnesty International’s choice to embrace abortion as a right underlines the "dangerous erosion" of conscience. The archbishop of Genoa indicated that among the "strongholds of the history and traditions of our people" there are non-negotiable values including the “intangible value of the person and human life”. The Italian bishops join a host of other Catholic leaders who have spoken out against Amnesty International's policy decision, including Cardinal Renato Martino, president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, and bishops from Ireland, England, Scotland, Australia and the United States. ZENIT. CLICK TO READ MORE.....
Amnesty International Loses Support Down Under
Archbishop Philip Wilson of Adelaide, president of the Australian bishops' conference, has called on Amnesty International to reverse its new policy promoting access to abortion. He said that Amnesty's shift away from a neutral stance on abortion was regrettable. "Catholic people have had a long association with Amnesty International, going right back to its inception, and the two bodies have been closely aligned in their commitment to social justice", the archbishop said. "However," he added, "Amnesty International has now adopted a position, under the misleading term of 'sexual and reproductive rights', which is at odds with the Catholic understanding of the dignity of the human person and sexuality." Archbishop Wilson continued: "In adopting this position, Amnesty has moved to a concept of human rights founded not upon the good of the human person, but simply upon the autonomy of the individual.” "Unfortunately", he said, "despite entreaties from people the world over, Amnesty International decided to proceed with the new policy." Zenit. CLICK TO READ MORE.....