LifeZine No. 525: 21st Sep 07
Marriage Still Popular Despite Rise in Number of Breakdowns
The number of people in Ireland who have experienced marriage breakdown has increased fivefold over the last 20 years, new research shows. Marriage breakdown is most common in socially-deprived urban areas and among couples in their 40s and 50s. The figures, based on the latest Central Statistics Office (CSO) data, are contained in a report on changing family structures produced by the Iona Institute, a pro-marriage organisation. Consultant psychiatrist, Professor Patricia Casey, said the report confirmed that marriage breakdown was becoming a serious problem for Ireland. The research also shows that the number of people marrying is continuing to increase, although the proportion of married couples as a percentage of all family units is falling. Married couples accounted for 80 per cent of family units in 1996. This has since fallen to 70 per cent. Details: CLICK TO READ MORE.....
The Irish Labour Party and Abortion
According to J O’Brien of Drumcliff, Co Sligo, writing recently in “The Irish Times”, “Desmond J. Kelly (September 5th) correctly points out the similarities between Labour Party policies and Christianity and how they agree on matters regarding the weak and the dispossessed.” However, he continued, “What Mr Kelly fails to mention is that Labour has a pro-abortion policy. As a Christian I would love to vote Labour, but I don't trust them with the most basic of human rights—life.” He concluded, “When a political party cannot respect the weakest members of society, then there is little hope for what remains.” The Irish Times. September 17.END.
Parliamentarians to Push for End to Current Limited Abortion Restrictions
A group of pro-abortion British MPs from all parties will be launching a campaign to sweep away the last formal restrictions on abortion and make it available on demand. They want to allow nurses and midwives to kill unborn children and they recommend increasing the number of facilities allowed to abort babies in the first trimester of pregnancy. The move is a proposal of a cross-party coalition of MPs and is scheduled to coincide with the debate in the House of Commons on the Human Tissue and Embryo Bill which the government has admitted is likely to affect the abortion laws. It comes at the same time as representatives of the abortion industry plan to hold a Global Conference on Abortion in London on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the 1967 Abortion Act. One stated aim of the conference is to influence MPs to abolish the remaining abortion restrictions in British law. LifeSiteNews.com. CLICK TO READ MORE.....
UK to Approve Human/Animal Hybrid Clones
The UK's Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), that regulates cloning and stem cell research as well as the IVF industry, announced the results of its public consultation on the creation of human/animal hybrid clones. The HFEA carried out a public consultation over 12 months, during which it was subject to intense lobbying by research organisations determined to carry cloning and destructive stem cell research forward. The HFEA said that despite initial reservations about the research from the public, "When further factual information was provided and further discussion took place, the majority of participants became more at ease with the idea.” A pro-life spokesman said the public were given nothing more than “a big lie” about the “nightmare that is cloning”. F&L.LifeSiteNews.com. CLICK TO READ MORE.....
Debate Over Italian Abortion Law Re-Ignited
The Catholic Church in Italy has reignited the debate over Italy's abortion law after a woman had her healthy unborn baby aborted instead of a sibling with Down's syndrome. Cardinal Camillo Ruini, former head of the country's bishops' conference and the pope's vicar for Rome, said that the time had come to re-examine the abortion law in the light of new medical advances. International Herald Tribune. CLICK TO READ MORE.....
International Planned Parenthood Federation Launches New Abortion Campaign in Europe
The International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF), of which the Irish Family Planning Association is a member, has called for widespread legalisation of abortion in the European Union (EU). In a document, “Why We Need to Talk About Abortion”, the IPPF targets the predominantly Catholic countries of Slovakia, Malta, Ireland, Portugal and Poland, and urges the EU Commission and European parliamentarians to drive the issue of abortion forward, despite the fact that the EU has repeatedly said that abortion is outside its remit and should be left to member states. Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute (C-FAM). CLICK TO READ MORE.....