LifeZine No. 540: 7th Nov 07
Victory for the Unborn as CURA's Refusal to Distribute CPA's Pro-Abortion Information Wins the Day!
The Crisis Pregnancy Agency (CPA) and CURA, the Catholic organisation that provides pregnancy counselling support and services, have signed a three-year Service Level Agreement. The agreement outlines the services CURA will provide to women with a crisis pregnancy through its 16 branches in the Republic of Ireland. It provides for the continuation of funding for CURA’s crisis pregnancy and post-abortion counselling services, as well as making available funding for a new post-natal support service. However, the organisation will not be made distribute the pro-abortion “Positive Options” leaflet, following its refusal to do so in line with its absolute opposition to abortion. Details: CLICK TO READ MORE.....
All-Party Pro-Life Group Launched at Northern Ireland Assembly
November 2 was another historic day for Northern Ireland with members of different political parties uniting together in the core belief that human life from conception until natural death is sacrosanct. The event was the official launch of the “All-Party Pro-Life Group of the Northern Ireland Assembly”. The keynote speaker at the event was Dr Alveda C. King, the niece of the American Civil Rights leader, Martin Luther King. All Assembly members had been invited to attend, together with Church leaders, medical and legal professionals, and pro-life groups from across the UK and Ireland. The DUP’s Jeffrey Donaldson and the SDLP’s Pat Ramsey hosted the event in the Long Gallery, Parliament Buildings. Other speakers were Professor Patricia Casey, Professor of Psychiatry, Mrs Johanna Higgins, Barrister and Dr Seán Ó Domhnaill, Consultant Psychiatrist. The All-Party Group affirmed it would do everything within its power to oppose any attempt to extend the 1967 Abortion Act to Northern Ireland. Details: CLICK TO READ MORE.....
LIFE Disappointed at Government Abortion Review
In the UK, the national pro-life charity LIFE has expressed disappointment at the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee's report on the country’s abortion law. The committee confined itself to scientific and medical evidence. It concluded there was no evidence to favour a reduction in the upper time limit for abortion, and found no problem with further liberalisation of the law, for example, allowing nurses to sign off on abortions. Michaela Aston, a spokeswoman for LIFE, said, "the report seems to have wilfully ignored a great deal of this evidence, and followed a predetermined ideological agenda that owes very little to a careful consideration of the facts." She added: "We also feel that by refusing to discuss the ethics of abortion, the committee passed up a valuable chance to hear from experts in bioethics and to have the full and frank debate that is needed on this most sensitive of all issues. Recent poll data indicates a groundswell in public support for changes to the law.” ICN. LIFE. CLICK TO READ MORE.....
Pro-Life Rallies Mark Anniversary of Abortion Act
Major rallies took place in London recently to mark the 40th anniversary of the Act which made abortion legal in the UK. Campaigners from a number of pro-life groups gathered at the Houses of Parliament to call for a reduction in the upper time limit for abortion. They then walked to Westminster Cathedral for a service commemorating 6.7m abortions performed since 1967. Julia Millington, political co-ordinator for Alive and Kicking, the pro-life alliance organising Saturday's events, said the campaign was intended to raise awareness of the rising number of abortions and call for a change in the law. She said: "We believe there is increasing public concern about these latest figures and we want to draw attention to this anniversary." Jim Dobbin, Chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Pro-Life Group, said he hoped the Act would be amended. He said, "The moving testimonies and thorough research we have heard, present a conclusive case for Parliament to reconsider the abortion law because of the psychological and physical effects on women." ICN. END.
Russian Government Urges Practitioners to Tell Women Abortion's Consequences
The Russian government's health ministry has approved an informed consent agreement that women having abortions are urged to sign. The new agreement is similar to the Right to Know laws in the United States, requiring abortion practitioners to tell women of abortion's risks. The effort is to help reduce the number of abortions in Russia, which has seen the practice decimate its population. Russia has significant underpopulation problems because abortion has been used for so long as a method of birth control. Russia's birthrate has been on the decline for decades and, in 2004, was just 1.17 babies per woman. A recent UN report that shows the Russian population shrinking by one-third by 2050. The new informed consent document lists possible medical and mental health complications resulting from an abortion. Women would be told that abortion is not necessarily a safe medical procedure.LifeNews.com. CLICK TO READ MORE.....
Chilean Government Responds to Pope By Pushing Morning After Pill
The government of Chile has responded to Pope Benedict XVI’s request to respect human life by promoting the morning after pill harder than ever. The Pope met with the recently elected President Michelle Bachelet earlier this month, and pressed her to maintain Chile’s pro-life laws and culture. However, she has responded by doing the opposite of what he asked. Chile has clashed with pro-life advocates and the Catholic Church by strongly promoting the morning after pill. Bachelet is the first woman president of this South American nation, and has come under fire for promoting the Plan B drug to girls under the age of 14 without parental consent. Now, the Chilean government is warning pharmacies that they could face fines and other penalties for refusing to sell the lethal drug. These developments come on the heels of a Monday talk of Pope Benedict, who said that Catholic pharmacists have a right to opt out of dispensing drugs, such as the Plan B or abortion pill RU 486, that violates their moral and religious beliefs. LifeNews.com. CLICK TO READ MORE.....