LifeZine No. 598: 9th Jun 08
European ‘Human Rights’ Commissioner Criticised for ‘Shocking and Callous Betrayal of Unborn’
Europe’s “human rights” watchdog has been strongly criticised for its call on the Irish Government to legislate for abortion. The Council of Europe in a report on Ireland's human rights record recommended that the Irish government legislates for the conditions under which an abortion can be performed legally. However, Irish pro-life spokeswoman, Éilís Grealy of Galway for Life, said it was “a shocking and a callous betrayal of the human rights of the most vulnerable section of European society, the unborn child”. She pointed out that abortion “is not a human right, it is a human wrong”. Details: CLICK TO READ MORE.....
Ireland Must not Assume that Destructive Embryo Research Won’t Happen
According to an “Irish Catholic” newspaper reader, Máirtín Ó Maolruaidh, “most right-thinking people will be horrified to discover that the British Parliament has now approved the creation of human/animal hybrid embryos for the purposes of experimentation. However, he noted, we in Ireland, while expressing our horror, “should not assume that such research could not occur here”. He pointed out that the Irish Council for Bioethics (ICB), a body appointed by the Irish Government, has in its recent report “peddled the same vague and unsubstantiated arguments used in Britain to allow such research”. Details: CLICK TO READ MORE.....
British Catholic Cardinal Says We Must Work Together to Reduce Abortions
The leader of British Catholics is encouraging pro-life advocates after the disappointing votes in the House of Commons against reducing late-term abortions. Cardinal Cormac Murphy O'Connor released a statement saying more should be done to educate and persuade Britons to oppose abortion and seek alternatives. Some pro-life groups had hoped to be able to reduce the current 24-week limit to at least 20 or 22 weeks into pregnancy. A reduction in the abortion limit to 20 weeks would have saved the lives of 2,500 babies annually. "Many people will have been very disappointed by the result of the votes on the abortion time limit. But this issue will not go away", Cardinal O'Connor continued; "Even without a change in the law we can and should work together at least to make abortion much rarer." LifeNews.com. CLICK TO READ MORE.....
'Morning-After Pill? It's Against My Religion
A Muslim pharmacist in northwest England reportedly refused to supply morning-after pills on conscientious grounds. J Sainsbury plc, owner of the dispensary, said staff with moral objections should refer customers to another pharmacist and/or say where the drugs were available. Some other pharmacists who refuse to give out the morning-after pill because of its abortifacient nature also object to helping people get them because they would be complicit in an unethical act.A spokeswoman for Sainsburys said all its pharmacists were governed by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society.The society's ethics code says if the morning-after pill is against a pharmacist's personal, religious or moral beliefs they are within their rights not to supply it. Manchester Evening News. CLICK TO READ MORE.....
Belgian Legislators Seek to Legalise Euthanasia for the Unconscious and Children
A former politician in Belgium is seeking to expand the practice of euthanasia to include minors and those who are unconscious, according to a recent article in the Spanish newspaper “Hoy”. The initiative, spearheaded by former Senator Jean-Jacques de Gucht, was originally launched in 2004 and failed, the article stated. The new proposed legislation would allow people to create a type of "living will" that would allow doctors to euthanise them if they are unconscious and unable to give consent. While euthanasia has been legal in Belgium since 2002, the existing law has prohibited the practice under the above-mentioned circumstances. Doctors who refuse to kill their patients under the law will be required to refer them to a doctor who is willing to do it. LifeSiteNews.com. CLICK TO READ MORE.....
More Successes for Adult Stem Cell Research
A new study shows one more success in harnessing the power of adult stem cells to discover new cures. A pilot study has established a safe pathway for using bone-marrow stem cells to slow the progress of Lou Gehrig's disease. Also known as Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), the condition is a fatal neurodegenerative disease without a known cure. Dr Neil Cashman, professor of neurology at the University of British Columbia and director of the ALS programme at Vancouver Coastal Health and VCH Research Institute, headed the study. He published the results in the latest issue of the medical journal “Muscle & Nerve”. “Our idea was to use a growth factor stimulant to increase the number of circulating stem cells from within the body’s bone marrow where they would have the potential to travel to the site of injury and begin repair, slowing down the progression of ALS”, said Cashman. “This pathway, if one day successful, may provide a new therapy that will avoid the ethical debate surrounding embryonic stem cells,” he explained. LifeNews.com. CLICK TO READ MORE.....