LifeZine No. 554: 7th Jan 08
Children’s Rights Submissions Sought
All interested individuals and organisations will now have their opportunity to give politicians their views on the upcoming children’s rights referendum following the setting up of an all-party Oireachtas (Houses of Parliament) Committee to examine the issue. A deadline of January 31, 2008 has been set. Earlier last year, the Irish Government announced that it would be holding a constitutional referendum aimed at giving children more rights. It published the wording in March. Critics warned that the referendum might unnecessarily increase the power of the State to intervene in family life. The new joint Committee of the Oireachtas will be under the chairmanship of Mary O’Rourke TD, and is to report back to the Government on the issue by next April. Details: CLICK TO READ MORE.....
Crisis Pregnancy Agency—‘Vehicle for Introducing Abortion into Ireland’
John O’Nolan, writing on the Irish Government-funded Crisis Pregnancy Agency (CPA) in the Irish Catholic newspaper recently, noted that “rather than go cap in hand to look for money from the Crisis Pregnancy Agency the leaders of the Catholic Church in Ireland might be better occupied in condemning out of hand its ethos”. He noted that the CPA, by its representation of abortion as a ‘positive’ answer in the case of a crisis pregnancy (through its pro-abortion Positive Options leaflets), is clearly pro-abortion and is the vehicle whereby abortion will be introduced into our country”. Mr O’Nolan continued, “ What process of reasoning allows our bishops to condemn Amnesty International for its pro-abortion posture while simultaneously according validity and recognition to the CPA?” The Irish Catholic. December. END.
Report: Key to Reducing Maternal Mortality in UK or Africa is Quality of Care, Not Availability of Abortion
Half of all women who die during pregnancy or after giving birth in the UK have received poor quality care from doctors and midwives, a new report claims. Sub-standard care contributed to 149 of the 295 maternity deaths between 2003 and 2005, according to the study by the Confidential Enquiry into Maternal and Child Health (Cemach). In many cases, mothers could have been saved if common medical conditions had been recognised earlier, it is alleged. Some women died because doctors and midwives were ignorant of "basic clinical knowledge and skills". The review of deaths in pregnancy and childbirth, entitled “Saving Mothers' Lives”, also finds that many women were not seen by a senior consultant at all, even those who were in a critical care unit. The report noted, "The apparent lack of basic clinical knowledge and skills among some doctors, midwives and other health professionals, senior or junior, was one of the leading causes of potentially avoidable mortality. "The assessors were particularly struck by the number of healthcare professionals who failed to identify and manage common medical conditions or potential emergencies outside their immediate area of expertise." The Telegraph. CLICK TO READ MORE.....
UK Government’s ‘Desperate’ Move to Stem Tide of Teenage Pregnancies
Chemists in the UK could be given the power to hand out the contraceptive Pill without prescription under plans unveiled by the Government recently. Women and girls under 16 would be able to obtain the contraceptive after one interview with a qualified pharmacist. It would put the Pill on the same footing as the morning-after pill, which is already available without direct authorisation from a doctor. Professor Lord Darzi, the junior health minister, announced that the Government would be working with primary care trusts over the next year to pilot the scheme. The Pill is currently available only on prescription from GPs and family planning doctors following a full consultation with the patient. Dr Trevor Stammers, a GP and trustee of the Family Education Trust, said he feared many high street chemists would not have private rooms in which to conduct confidential interviews. He said the Government was "desperate to be seen to be doing something" about teenage pregnancies but said, "lack of availability of contraception is not the problem". Campaigners also raised concerns about widening access to the Pill could raise the risk of blood clots and breast cancer. The move could also encourage under-age sex by making it easier for under-16s to get contraception without their parents' knowledge. The Daily Telegraph. CLICK TO READ MORE.....
EU Devalues Family Life to Level of a ‘Hobby’?
At a meeting of the European Parliament before Christmas, the European Large Families Confederation (ELFAC) warned that the long-term economic well-being of large families is “seriously compromised” by current EU family policies. Stating that “large families are the only key to the demographic future of Europe”, ELFAC argued that the EU’s current policy towards the demographic crisis in Europe ignores the fact that almost a third of European women aged 20-34 years would like to have three or more children. And this at a time when the birth rates in many EU countries continue to drop alarmingly. ELFAC argued that the EU’s family focus is on the “average” woman, which creates inequalities for large families since these policies are based on a family size of fewer than three children. Large families are treated as only marginally important for the well-being of the whole society and family life is devalued to the level of a “hobby.” Instead, the EU focuses on programmes such as promoting reconciliation of work and family life, while ignoring the fact that policy should also be geared to women who choose to stay at home and care for their children, which is not recognized as “work” in any of the policy documents. C-Fam/LifeSite. CLICK TO READ MORE.....
US Abortion Conference Focuses on ‘Reclaiming Fatherhood’
Men also suffer from abortions because they grieve the loss of their fatherhood, said the founder of Project Rachel. Project Rachel, along with the Archdiocese of San Francisco, and the National Office of Post-Abortion Reconciliation and Healing (NOPARH), sponsored the first US conference to focus on the effects of abortion on men. The event concluded at St Mary's Cathedral in San Francisco. Vickie Thorn, the executive director of NOPARH and founder of Project Rachel for post-abortive women, said grieving men can't be forgotten, since, "After all, it takes two parents." "The model to help men with post-abortion healing has to be different than for women", Thorn explained. "Men have a different way of dealing with these issues. While with women, the emphasis is on talking and crying, men have different ways to deal with their grief. "A man's grief often is for the lost fatherhood. There is grief for the child, but many times it focuses more on the loss within himself, that he didn't make the transition into fatherhood." Zenit. CLICK TO READ MORE.....