LifeZine No. 589: 8th May 08
‘The Stem Cell Rubicon is a River We Dare Not Cross’—Recommendation of Irish Council for Bioethics ‘Repugnant’
“So, we will soon be crossing another moral Rubicon, if the Irish Council for Bioethics gets its way at any rate”, said David Quinn, writing in “The Irish Independent”. This state-funded body has recommended that Ireland conduct stem cell research on human embryos. Such research will have the “unfortunate side-effect of destroying said embryos”, he noted. He continued, “What's on the other side of this moral Rubicon is as follows; if the State accepts the Council's recommendation then for the first time in our history we will permit one class of human beings to be destroyed for the sake of another class of human beings.” Details: CLICK TO READ MORE.....
Council of Europe and Abortion
According to Fr Tom Ingoldsby SDB writing in “The Irish Times” recently, “the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe has singled out Ireland, Malta and Poland for failure to decriminalise abortion”. He asked, “will they ever come to see that the very first of all human rights (which they should be upholding) is the right to life—and that legalising abortion is denying that basic human right?” He said that this is “intolerable arrogance on their part and they should be told so”. Moreover, he pointed out, “We have surrendered enough of our hard-won independence to Europe already. 80% of our laws now come from Brussels." The Irish Times. April 29. END.
Girls Aged 12 Undergo Abortions in UK—Abortion Industry Says, ‘Stop Being Shocked’
Girls aged as young as 12 are having abortions, figures released for the first time by the UK’s Department of Health reveal. The figures, obtained by “The Sunday Times” using freedom of information legislation, show that each year 10 to 15 girls aged 12 have abortions. While some doctors reacted with sadness to the figures, representatives of the abortion industry said society needed to “stop being shocked” that children were having sex and becoming pregnant. Ann Furedi, chief executive of the British Pregnancy Advisory Service business, which runs a chain of abortion clinics, said: “This is a tiny number of girls. Children grow up very quickly in our society. They are maturing faster physically, psychologically and socially, and society just has to come to terms with that.” The Times. CLICK TO READ MORE.....
Italy Sees Abortion Figures Drop as More Doctors Refuse to Participate
Italy is seeing fewer abortions as more doctors refuse to do abortions, preferring to see women keep their babies and carry their pregnancies to term. A new report indicates that as many as 70% of all doctors in Italy won't do abortions, which has contributed to a decline of 3% in the abortion figures. A new report from the Italian ministry of health finds that 59% of doctors refused to do abortions in 2003 and that in 2007 the figure rose to just over 69%. At the same time, the number of anaesthetists refusing to take part in abortions rose from 45.7% to 50.4%. LifeNews.com. CLICK TO READ MORE.....
Spain Becoming Eugenic Society, Warns Archbishop of Valladolid
Archbishop Braulio Rodriguez Plaza of Valladolid has denounced the scorn for human life often seen in the West, the existence of a “eugenic society” and movements that push for legalised abortion. In one of his weekly pastoral messages, the archbishop said recently, “We have grown accustomed to abortion. It no longer seems strange and no longer scandalises many people.” Calling it a problem that “not only affects Catholics”, he criticised the “truly hypocritical face” of a society with high numbers of abortions while “thousands of couples have to go through long and arduous adoption processes.” The archbishop warned that a society that scorns “the human dignity of the weakest” ends up becoming a “eugenic society in which, for example, children with Down’s syndrome are not permitted.” EWTN. CLICK TO READ MORE.....
Benedict XVI: Divorce and Abortion Leave Wounds
The Church must offer the comfort of the Gospel of mercy to people who have experienced the consequences of divorce and abortion, said Benedict XVI. The Pope was speaking at an international congress in Rome to discuss pastoral solutions for those children who have been affected by the divorce of their parents, and for parents who are suffering the effects of the abortion of their children. “Oil on the Wounds: A Response to the Aftermath of Abortion and Divorce” a two-day congress, was organised by the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and the Family and the Knights of Columbus. In his speech to the participants, Benedict XVI reflected on the crisis that the institution of the family is experiencing, and on the defence of the dignity of the person and of human life. Zenit.org. CLICK TO READ MORE.....