LifeZine No. 539: 6th Nov 07
Pro-Abortion Advocate’s Figures Challenged
”Irish Times” contributor John O’Reilly challenged the abortion statistics given by a representative of the pro-abortion organisation, Choice Ireland. In a recent letter to the newspaper (I.T. 30/10), Ms Louise Caffrey had stated that the illegality of abortion in Ireland results in Irishwomen who travel to England for abortions having later abortions than residents of England and Wales. “On points of accuracy” said Mr O’Reilly, “The latest Statistical Bulletin Abortion Statistics, England and Wales: 2006 reports 193,737 abortions on residents of England and Wales a rate of 18.3 per 1,000 females ages 15-44. The comparative figure for Ireland is 5,042, a rate of 5.2 per 1,000 Irish residents aged 15-44. It does not require advanced mathematics to see that the abortion rate of our near neighbour is over three times higher than the Republic's". Details: CLICK TO READ MORE.....
Professor Anthony Clare on Abortion
Professor Anthony Clare, the renowned Irish psychiatrist and broadcaster who was credited with helping to transform the reputation of the psychiatric profession through his groundbreaking radio interviews and books, died recently. During the 2002 abortion referendum debate in Ireland he said, "The overwhelming majority of abortions on Irish women are carried out for social and economic reasons. Those who powerfully demand that women should have the right to choose to abort their unborn babies should not enroll psychiatry or psychiatric justifications for their cause." Details: CLICK TO READ MORE.....
UK Catholic Bishops Join to Condemn Abortion
The head of the Catholic Bishops' Conferences of Scotland and England and Wales have issued a joint letter condemning abortion on the 40th anniversary of its legalisaton in the UK. The Catholic leaders said that abortion "is always a choice between life and death" and urged Catholics in Great Britain to do more politically to get involved in reducing and eliminating abortions. Cardinal Keith O'Brien, president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Scotland, and Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales, wrote the letter. They said they had a duty as leaders of the Catholic Church to speak up and motivate people to engage in social action against abortion. "It is both licit and important for those in public life who oppose abortion on principle to work and vote for achievable incremental improvement to what is an unjust law", they wrote. They endorsed legislation that would reduce abortions even if it does not eliminate them entirely. "The law affects attitudes, but it does not itself compel anyone to have an abortion", they wrote. "Even without a change in the law the abortion rate could fall dramatically if enough minds and hearts were changed." LifeNews.com. CLICK TO READ MORE.....
Italian Politicians Criticise Pope for Speech on Abortion Drugs
Political leaders in Italy criticized Pope Benedict XVI for a speech he gave on Monday to a conference of Catholic pharmacists in which he said they should stand up for their right to opt out of dispensing drugs involved in abortions or euthanasia. They say Italian law requires pharmacists to fill orders for all prescriptions. The Pope urged the pharmacists to educate their customers on how various drugs work, especially those involved in the destruction of human life. He also said they had both a religious and moral obligation to exercise their conscience rights and refuse to take part in dispensing drugs to customers that are meant to take lives. LifeNews.com. CLICK TO READ MORE.....
EU Bishops Issue Document on the Family
On 5 November the Secretariat of COMECE (Commission of the Bishops' Conferences of the European Community) presented a new document on the family. The document, “Proposal for a Strategy of the European Union for the Support of Couples and Marriage” draws attention to challenges for families in Europe. It suggests political initiatives (labour law, tax policy, housing policy, etc.) through which European institutions can support families. Stable couples and families are sources of mutual trust, the bishops say. In view of the current demographic changes in Europe and the increasing rate of divorce, “it is necessary to offer also an increased attention to family-related issues on the European level”. COMECE. END.
Imprisoned Cuban Pro-Life Activist Wins US Presidential Medal of Freedom
President George W. Bush has announced this year's recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the USA's highest civil award. Prominently named on the list of eight is Dr Oscar Elias Biscet, who is currently serving a 25-year prison sentence for pro-life activities and peaceful demonstrations against the Communist regime in Cuba. Dr Biscet was originally arrested in 1999 for refusing to perform abortions at the hospital where he worked. He had served two years of a three-year sentence when he was released, but then was re-arrested shortly after and imprisoned again in 2003 for "disorderly conduct" and "counter-revolutionary activities". He is the founder of the Lawton Foundation of Human Rights, which promotes the study, defence, and denunciation of human rights violations inside Cuba and wherever the rights and liberties of human beings are disregarded. LifeSiteNews.com. CLICK TO READ MORE.....