LifeZine No. 596: 30th May 08
Abortion Trauma and How It Can Damage Women’s Mental and Physical Health
The Royal College of Psychiatrists has given the pro-life lobby a new impetus by acknowledging that abortion can damage women’s mental health, according to a report in Ireland’s “Sunday Business Post”. In March the British Royal College of Psychiatrists announced a major shift in its position on the psychological impact of abortion. It acknowledged, for the first time, that women could face mental health problems after they had had abortions. The college is now advising that abortions should not be performed on women until they have received counselling on the possible risk the termination poses to their mental health. The Sunday Business Post report highlights Irish women’s reaction. Details: CLICK TO READ MORE.....
Mary Kenny on Euthanasia—‘Helping People to Die is Not the Same as Killing them’
There is a marked difference between doctors administering a heavy dose of morphine and a heavy dose of cyanide, says Irish Independent columnist, Mary Kenny. An easeful death, supported by morphine, is in quite a different category from a deliberate "right to die", and is not at all related to a "licence to kill" as Nell McCafferty argued recently on “Prime Time”, she pointed out. A debate about end-of-life issues is worthwhile, she noted. Medicine and technology often change circumstances. She continued, “But it is wise to retain that principle of the ‘double effect’—of doing all that is possible to help and comfort the dying person, without a deliberate intention to kill.” Details: CLICK TO READ MORE.....
Cherie Blair Touts Catholicism While Extolling Contraception
Cherie Blair, wife of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, told a television interviewer recently that contraception is "really important for women". Describing herself as a "good Catholic girl," Blair said on a morning television programme, "One of the reasons women's lives have changed is that they have been able to control their fertility, it is an important issue." "People seem to be quite shocked that perhaps a Catholic girl even uses contraception but it is really an important thing for women." According to a “LifeSite” report, “This is not the first time that Cherie Blair has publicly dissented from the teaching of her Church. She is well known as a supporter of abortion and in 2003 while her husband was Prime Minister, was criticised for her support of a project by International Planned Parenthood Federation called "Lust for Life". LifeSiteNews.com. CLICK TO READ MORE.....
Germany Outraged Over British Vote for Hybrid Human Cloning
Both politicians and medical experts in Germany are outraged over a recent vote in the British Parliament to legalise human cloning involving hybrids. These are human embryos created with both human and animal DNA which are then destroyed to remove their stem cells. The House of Commons rejected an amendment 336 to 176 that would have prevented hybrid cloning. Members of parliament also voted 286 to 223 to reject a second amendment that would have prohibited so-called "true hybrids" using the sex cells of a human and an animal. Annette Schavan, Germany's minister of education and research, strongly criticised the decision saying it was "wrong and highly ethically dubious" and crossed moral and ethical boundaries. The “Deutsche Welle” newspaper, which carried her reaction, also warned that the European Union should not vote to put any public funds behind the research. LifeNews.com. CLICK TO READ MORE.....
Kremlin Will Reward Families to Stem Population Decline
The Kremlin is to revive the old Soviet tradition of honouring women who give birth to many children. The initiative is the latest in a series of measures which attempt to reverse a population decline that Vladimir Putin described as the country's biggest crisis. President Dmitry Medvedev signed a decree establishing the “Order of Parental Honour” and candidates include women with many children. Russia's population of 142 million is shrinking by more than 700,000 a year and may have halved by 2050.The government has spread the message that it is the patriotic duty of all women to bear at least three children – and many have taken up the cause. Pregnancy is now the height of fashion among wealthy women. But experts believe the chances of reversing the population decline are slim, partly because there are too few women between the ages of 20 and 30. The Telegraph. CLICK TO READ MORE.....
Miracle Baby Saved From Abortion Counsels Outside Kansas Abortion Centre
Donna Joy Vance has been called “a life spared to impact a nation”. She certainly has done that in her young life, having appeared at Congressional hearings in support of the national ban on partial-birth abortions. Yet, Donna Joy was once scheduled for abortion at the late-term abortion centre run by George Tiller in Wichita after having been prenatally diagnosed with severe foetal anomalies—conditions the doctors said were "incompatible with life." Thankfully, her mother refused the abortion. Donna Joy and her mother Lori Vance went to the abortion centre recently to talk to women going there for potential abortions. “Today, Donna Joy is very much alive and will join her mother, Lori, outside Tiller's abortion clinic where they hope to help other women chose life for their pre-born babies”, the pro-life group Operation Rescue said. This was the first time Donna Joy has visited Tiller's abortion clinic. LifeNews.com/Pro-Life Corner. CLICK TO READ MORE.....