LifeZine No. 683: 20th May 09
Ireland's Hidden Diaspora—and Her Hidden Pro-life Heroines
Mary Stewart, writing in "The Irish Times", has criticised Anthea McTiernan’s review of Ireland’s Hidden Diaspora by Anne Rossiter (Opinion, I.T., May 7th), which lauds the Irish Women’s Abortion Support Group that helped women to go to Britain for abortions. She said she looked forward to the day when a book will be written that details the “tremendous work done by so many women who offered those with crisis pregnancies every assistance in giving birth to their babies, and including the grateful testimonies of those same women who either kept their babies or unselfishly handed them for adoption to those who could not themselves conceive”. “Why is it less interesting”, she continued, “to acclaim those who gave life-giving assistance over those who saw nothing wrong with the killing of the baby? It is so sad that, in these so-called enlightened and compassionate times, the push is on to make it more and more acceptable to deny life rather than support it. Life is precious and, while it is heartening to read of so many cases where life is saved in very difficult circumstances, it is heartbreaking to read of the innocent lives of babies being destroyed—over 50 million worldwide through abortion each year. By even the most basic of standards surely that cannot be justified”. The Irish Times. May 12.
Irish MEP Kathy Sinnott Names Pro-Life Election Substitutes
Pro-life activists have been nominated as election substitutes for Kathy Sinnott MEP for Ireland South, at the official launch of her 2009 re-election campaign last week in the Clarion Hotel, Cork City. According to legislation, all election candidates must nominate four substitutes who would replace them should they be unable to continue their work. Mrs Sinnott says it’s time that “substitution stopped being about staying in favour with the parties but instead enabling people who already work in the community to be nominated”. “Since my election five years ago”, she added, “I have been continuously advised and encouraged by different members of the community in Munster. They are the unsung heroes of our time. All of my substitutes have proven themselves to be capable and committed when it comes to putting their communities and others first, [and] if we had more people like that working in the Parliament then we may not have the problems we currently have”. Hannah Lane (24) from Brosna, a UCC graduate and an employee of Mrs Sinnott for the past three years, is her first substitute. Miss Lane completed her honours degree in Government and Public Policy in UCC in 2006 and has worked in Mrs Sinnott’s Brussels Office since. She originally met the pro-life MEP in 2005 when she did an internship in her office as part of her college work placement. Hannah has worked on two EU-funded projects on rescuing the elderly and people with disabilities in emergency situations. She’s also worked extensively on pro-life issues with Kathy. UCC Economics Researcher Fergal O’Connor (23) from Tralee is another substitute for Mrs Sinnott should the need arise. Mr O’Connor first came in contact with her many years ago on pro-life issues and has collaborated closely with her as chairman of UCC’s student society, “Students For Life”. He’s been actively involved with family care through sick relatives. Office of Kathy Sinnott, Independent MEP for Ireland South. May 12.
Most UK Teen Pregnancies Now End in an Abortion
Most pregnancies among UK girls under 18 last year ended with the killing of the unborn baby. Out of some 40,000 pregnancies, more than 20,000 were aborted—the first time more mothers had chosen death than birth. The figure is higher than that for 2007, when it just hit 50 percent, and is consistent with a steady upward trend since the Government started its controversial Teenage Pregnancy Strategy in 1999. Figures coming out on May 21 will also show that for the first time the number of abortions committed on women living in England and Wales topped 200,000. The teen pregnancy strategy, which has cost taxpayers more than £300 million, was meant to halve the number of conceptions among girls under 18 in England between 1998 and 2010. Ministers have tried to slash the number of teen pregnancies by freely handing out contraceptives and expanding sex “education”. But the fall in pregnancy rates has not met Government targets, and in 2007 the rate actually rose. Teen pregnancy rates are now higher than they were in 1995. Pregnancies among girls under 16—below the age of consent—are also at their highest level since 1998. Critics labelled the Government scheme the “Teenage Abortion Strategy”. Tory MP Julian Brazier minced no words: “This is a further sickening indicator of a society that has broken down and lost its moral compass”. Phyllis Bowman of the Right to Life group was just as blunt: “Contraception campaigners and clinics depend for their living on providing contraception and abortion to underage girls. The Government listens to them, but they are responsible for this disaster. We have the highest level of sexually transmitted disease in Europe and the highest level of sexual activity among teenagers in Europe. Unicef says we have the unhappiest teenagers in Europe. The young have been deliberately sexualised in a culture which sneers at the idea of telling teenagers they should not have sex”. Daily Mail. May 11.
Suicide Expert Turns on “Dr Death”
The former chairman of the Voluntary Euthanasia Society, Dr Michael Irwin, has launched a fierce attack on Philip Nitschke, the Australian voluntary euthanasia campaigner nicknamed “Dr Death”. Dr Irwin slammeded Nitschke after he held a series of suicide workshops in Britain. For well over a decade, the two were friends as they waged a global campaign to legalise assisted suicide for terminally ill patients. But after Dr Nitschke toured Britain last week to show people how to kill themselves, Dr Irwin blasted his former colleague’s actions. He accused Dr Nitschke of being “totally irresponsible” for telling people how to obtain an “easy access” drug, either to kill themselves or to help seriously ill relatives kill themselves. His comments come just five days after Dr Nitschke began his series of “suicide workshops” in Britain, in which he showed people how to kill themselves or others using “exit bags” and “peaceful pills”. The Telegraph. May 9.
Sweden Rules “Gender-Based” Abortions Legal
Swedish health authorities have ruled that aborting a baby because of “gender” is not illegal under current law and therefore cannot be stopped, according to a report by Sveriges Television. The Local reported in February that a woman from Eskilstuna in southern Sweden had twice aborted babies after learning their sex. ]The woman, who already had two daughters, asked for an amniocentesis to allay fears of possible chromosomal abnormalities. At the same time, she asked to know the baby’s sex. Doctors at Mälaren Hospital expressed concern and asked Sweden’s National Board of Health and Welfare (Socialstyrelsen) to draw up guidelines for handling requests that make them “feel pressured to examine the baby’s gender” without a medically compelling reason. The board has now replied that doctors cannot deny such requests, and thus cannot deny the abortions, nor can they deny a woman an abortion up to the 18th week of pregnancy, even if the baby’s sex is the reason for the request. The Local. May 12.
Obama to Defund Abstinence-Only Sex Ed Programmes
President Obama’s health budget proposals for 2010 omit all funding for abstinence-only sex education programmes, despite their huge success across the USA, and boost funds for both condoms and contraceptive-based sex education, despite their obvious failure. The budget eliminates the $133 million set aside for CBAE (Community-Based Abstinence Education) and Title V Abstinence Education Programme, the two main federal abstinence-education initiatives. ELN. May 14.