LifeZine No. 528: 2nd Oct 07
NI Assembly to Debate Abortion
Pro-Life activists in Northern Ireland’s are to step up their campaign to keep the North abortion-free ahead of a proposed Assembly debate on the issue. A motion before the Assembly, which has not been allocated a date for the debate, calls on assembly members to reject “any attempt to make abortion more widely available in Northern Ireland”. The motion is signed by the Democratic Unionist Party’s (DUP) Jeffrey Donaldson and Iris Robinson but is expected to attract widespread cross-party support. Bernie Smyth, Director of Precious Life, said she welcomed the opportunity for Assembly members to send a clear message on abortion. “It is vitally important that there is a strong pro-life vote when this motion comes before the Assembly. This will send out a clear message to the Department of Health and Westminster that the people of Northern Ireland want protection for unborn babies and their mothers from abortion”, she pointed out. Details: CLICK TO READ MORE.....
MEP Challenges Irish Hospitals Veto on Lifesaving Stem Cells
Three leading Irish maternity hospitals have refused to provide cord-blood collection facilities for parents who might wish to save the stem cells in their baby's umbilical cord for future medical use. Dr Michael Geary, master of the Rotunda Hospital in Dublin, said: "The chance of ever needing to draw this blood is extremely low and even [then] it might not be suitable." However, Irish Member of the European Parliament (MEP) Kathy Sinnott described the policy as "criminal”, saying “…we are throwing away 60,000 umbilical cords a year." The Irish Independent. CLICK TO READ MORE.....
Bioethics Centre Protests at Animal-Human Embryo Research Ruling
In the UK, the Linacre Centre for Healthcare Ethics has raised major concerns following the news that a government committee has given the go-ahead to research involving the creation of animal human embryos. Dr Helen Watt, director of the centre, said there are moral and religious boundaries in the creation of such embryos that should not be crossed. "We cannot safely assume that this procedure will not create a real, though damaged, human embryo, who will have no human parents and whose quasi-mother is a non-human animal", she said. "This is a further offence to the embryo whom we plan to destroy, in that its very humanity will be called into question. Even if there were no risk of creating a genuine human embryo, it is a form of reproductive perversion to use a human nucleus to substitute in this way for animal reproductive material.” Dr Watt added, "The unique dignity of the human species, for which life and reproduction have a special meaning, needs to be safeguarded”. ICN. END.
UK Offers No Protection for Unborn in from the Womb to the Tomb Campaign
The British health secretary, Alan Johnson MP, is to begin a campaign to improve the nation's health "from the womb to the tomb." This replaces the previous slogan of "cradle to the grave" care. The new slogan could be mistaken to mean that the unborn will be protected, yet there appear to be no government plans to stop abortion. The Guardian. CLICK TO READ MORE.....
Poland Challenges One-Sided EU Protest Over Death Penalty
The European Commission's proposal to establish a European Day Against the Death Penalty has come under sharp criticism from Poland, which says the European Union (EU) instead needs to promote a day dedicated to the protection of all human life. In the proposed declaration, the EU and the Council of Europe "stress the importance of persevering in the pursuit of actions aimed at abolishing the death penalty in the world" and "invite European citizens to support the abolition of the death penalty in the world and thereby contribute to the development of fundamental rights and human dignity." However Poland has objected to the notion that "development of fundamental rights and human dignity" can take place without being placed in the context of the "right to life." "We think that when anybody wants to discuss a problem of death in the context of the law it is also worth to discuss on euthanasia and abortion in this context", declared a spokesman for the Polish delegation. The Polish government wants a parallel European condemnation of abortion and euthanasia. LifeSiteNews.com. CLICK TO READ MORE.....
Rise in India's Female Foeticide May Spark Crisis
The United Nations has warned that increasing female foeticide in India may lead to a demographic crisis. The UN estimated that 2,000 unborn girls are aborted every day in India due to the traditional preference for boys over girls, and warned that the consequences will include skewing of the population and a rise in sexual violence, child abuse and wife sharing. Reuters. CLICK TO READ MORE.....