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News Ticker provided by LifeSiteNews.Com
- Abstinence Education, A Selection Of Research – November 26, 2008
- Assisted Suicide Takes Centre Stage In Quebec Courtroom – November 23, 2008
- Beautiful Ads... Wow! – November 26, 2008
- Freedom Of Speech, Hope For The Nation Part One – November 26, 2008
- LifeIssues.Net Newsletter #398 – November 23, 2008
- LifeSiteNews.Com - Monday November 24, 2008
- LifeSiteNews.com – November 25, 2008
- Pornography - Quitting The Habit (Onenewsnow.Com) – November 26, 2008
- Western Catholic Reporter Canada's Largest Religious Weekly – November 28, 2008
1. Abstinence Education, A Selection Of Research – November 26, 2008
Linda Klepacki
Adolescent Depression/Suicide Risk with Sexual Activity
Adolescent Depression and Suicide Risk: Association With Sex and Drug Behaviours. Authors: D. Hallfors et al. In American Journal of Preventive Medicine, Vol. 27, No. 3 (October 2004): pp. 224–230. Available for a fee from Elsevier, Inc.
Abstinence Education
An Abstinence Program’s Impact on Cognitive Mediators and Sexual Initiation. Authors: S. Weed et al. In American Journal of Health Behaviour, Vol. 32, No. 1 (January/February 2008): pp. 60-73. Available free from Teen-Aid Inc.
Kim, C., Rector, R. (2008). Abstinence Education: Assessing the Evidence. The Heritage Foundation, (N) 2126.
Parent-Child Communications
Effects of a Parent-Child Communications Intervention on Young Adolescents' Risk for Early Onset of Sexual Intercourse. Authors: S. Blake et al. In Family Planning Perspectives, Vol. 33, No. 2 (March-April 2001): pp. 52-61. Available from the Guttmacher Institute.
Cause of Decline In Teen Pregnancy Rates
An Analysis of the Causes of the Decline in Non-Marital Birth and Pregnancy Rates for Teens From 1991 to 1995. Authors: J. Mohn, L.Tingle, and R. Finger. In Adolescent & Family Health, Vol. 3, No. 1 (March 2003): pp. 39-47. Available for a fee from the Institute for Youth Development.
Association of Virginity at Age 18 With Educational, Economic, Social, and Health Outcomes in Middle Adulthood. Authors: R. Finger et al. In Adolescent & Family Health, Vol. 3, No. 4 (April 2005): pp. 164-170. Available for a fee from the Institute for Youth Development.
Editor’s Note: Please see additional article titled: “Are there websites for additional information regarding sexuality education?” This article provides links to multiple websites for additional information and research.
Last revised on August 2008
If you enjoy reading stories like this one, sign up for the free CitizenLink Daily Update e-mail. You'll get news and commentary from Focus on the Family Action delivered right to your computer.
2. Assisted Suicide Takes Centre Stage In Quebec Courtroom – November 23, 2008Here comes! If politicians and judges can justify abortion, why not euthanasia? - Herm
http://www.google.com:80/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5jMe4UIrb6cikHoxncBH9qsxNyjwQ
Canadian Press - November 23, 2008.
MONTREAL — The controversial issue of assisted suicide will take centre stage in a courtroom in northeastern Quebec this week when a man charged with helping his severely ill uncle kill himself faces trial.
Stephan Dufour, 30, is charged with one count of aiding or abetting his uncle, Chantal Maltais, to commit suicide in September 2006 after the latter had badgered his family for years, confined to a wheelchair and suffering from polio.
Dufour has pleaded not guilty and looks forward to arguing his case in front of a jury, his lawyer Michel Boudreault told The Canadian Press in an interview last week.
"The time that has lapsed has allowed us to analyze the police report and to delve deeper into assisted suicide - both in Quebec and the rest of Canada," Boudreault said.
"We decided there were a number of reasons to hold a trial before a jury, for a number of reasons which we will argue in front of them."
What is particular about Dufour’s case is that it has gotten as far as the trial phase - something Boudreault calls a first in Quebec’s legal annals.
"A Quebec judge or jury has never been able to weigh the evidence before," Boudreault said.
"There have been people charged before, but never before has a jury been able to consider a case like this where someone has pleaded not-guilty to the charge."
The Crown alleges that Dufour helped his uncle hang himself.
While it is not illegal to commit suicide in Canada, it is to help someone complete the act.
Dufour had provided home-care assistance for Maltais for years, helping the man who had restricted mobility.
Boudreault said that Maltais suffered terribly for years and had tried for more than a decade to convince family members to end his life and had gone as far as planning his own funeral and picking a date.
Maltais, 49, had failed in several previous suicide attempts.
Jury selection in the case is scheduled for Tuesday in Alma, a town of a little over 30,000 on the shores of Lac Saint-Jean. An anticipated two-week trial is to begin immediately thereafter, Boudreault said.
Boudreault said his client believes that a question as important as assisted suicide should be mulled over by many.
Dufour was formally charged on July. 17, 2007 in Alma, after a lengthy provincial police investigation that spanned 10 months.
Boudreault is mum on whether he will present a defence during the trial.
If found guilty, Dufour could face up to 14 years in prison.
Thus far, other similar Canadian cases that have made it as far as the trial phase have generally ended without a guilty verdict, or with lesser sentences.
"We tend not to see the full extent of the Criminal Code brought to bear on to anybody," said Jocelyn Downie, a law professor at the Dalhousie Law School in Halifax.
"(This case) doesn’t create a precedent that impacts across the country, but it could fit into a broader pattern."
In the most recent assisted suicide jury trial in 2004, Evelyn Martens was found not guilty in a British Columbia court of helping two people kill themselves.
And in two other recent high-profile Quebec cases, those charged pleaded guilty to and received lesser sentences.
Both those Quebec cases, coincidentally involving two different women named Marielle Houle, ended with judges handing down three-year probation sentences.
In January 2006, Marielle Houle was sentenced to three years’ probation for helping her son, playwright Charles Fariala, kill himself. Houle said she was following instructions from her son, who suffered from multiple sclerosis and died after ingesting a drug cocktail.
In another case, Andre Bergeron received three years’ probation in October 2006 after pleading guilty to aggravated assault causing the death of his wife, also named Marielle Houle.
Houle suffered from Friedreich’s ataxia, a degenerative disease with no known cure. Bergeron upped Houle’s morphine dose before trying unsuccessfully to suffocate her with a plastic bag. She died in hospital.
Assisted suicide rose to the national agenda in the 1990s when Sue Rodriguez fought all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada for the right to kill herself.
Rodriguez, who suffered from Lou Gehrig’s disease, lost in a split decision but killed herself anyway with the help of an unidentified physician in 1994.
The Dufour case could serve to renew public pressure to reopen the debate to regulate assisted suicide. Downie said the appetite for public debate is there, even if there might not be in Ottawa with the Conservatives in power.
As such, activists on both sides of the assisted-suicide debate will be watching the fallout from the Dufour case.
The Right to Die Society of Canada’s Ruth von Fuchs said Quebec has always been a hot zone for debate, pointing to Bloc MP Francine Lalonde. She plans to reintroduce a bill, which would amend the Criminal Code to allow, under specific conditions, seriously ill people to end their lives.
"Quebec is one of the leaders in this whole area. When polls are taken, the support for aid in dying is strongest in Quebec," von Fuchs said.
Alex Schadenberg of the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition of Canada, which lobbies against assisted suicide, says surveys his group has conducted show the Canadian public tends to waffle on the issue.
"The Canadian people are not hardened on the issue," Schadenberg said.
3. Beautiful Ads... Wow! – November 26, 2008
To View go to http://www.virtuemedia.org/television.htm4. Freedom Of Speech, Hope For The Nation Part One – November 26, 2008
Link to PDF document: Click Here5. Lifeissues.Net Newsletter #398 – November 23, 2008
Greetings from LifeIssues.net (www.lifeissues.net)
Dear Friends for Life,
Souls on Ice: More than 500,000 embryos created by in vitro fertilization to help couples have children are being stored in the USA. A large percentage of those embryos will never be used, because the couples have succeeded in having children, have given up or have grown too old to try. There is very little market for embryo adoption, so most of these embryos are destined to be destroyed.
... As with ultrasound technology – which permits parents to visualize a foetus in utero – IVF allows many patients to form an emotional attachment to a form of human life that is very early, it's true, but still life, and still human. People bond with photos of three-day-old, eight-cell embryos. They ardently wish for them to grow into children. The experience can be transforming: "I was like, 'I created these things, I feel a sense of responsibility for them,'" is how one IVF patient put it. Describing herself as staunchly pro-choice, this patient found that she could not rest until she located a person – actually, two people – willing to bring her excess embryos to term ... (The Atlantic, 15 Nov 2008)
God Bless, Jerry Novotny, OMI
Quote of the Week – "Christians in general and Catholics in particular do not, and should not, seek to "force" their religious beliefs on society. But working to form the public conscience is not coercion any more than teaching the difference between poison and a steak is a form of bullying. Actively witnessing to and advancing what we believe to be true about key moral issues in public life is not "coercion." It's honesty. And it's also a duty – not only of faith but of citizenship." – Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap.
Lifeissues.Net Newsletter #398 – November 23, 2008
Table Of Contents:
1. Australian Committee Proposal To Pay Mothers Late Abortion Cost For Disabled Babies Compared To Nazis
2. Italy Agrees To First Withdrawal Of Life Support In The Country
3. Uruguay Head Vetoes Abortion Bill
4. "Coming Out" Puts Adolescents At Risk
5. The Abortion Lobby's Deep Pockets
6. End Of Life Care: A Time For Listening And Caring
7. Ottawa Archbishop Thanks Canadian Catholics Who Promoted Humanae Vitae In The Last 40 Years
8. Porn, Drugs, Alcohol Catching On With Delhi School kids
9. Lethal Injection: Cruel Or Just Punishment?
10. Are Science And Religion Really Enemies?
11. When Life Begins
12. Suffering And Loss In The Book Of Job
Focus On Children: "'Child Labour Free' Stamp No Guarantee"
Item #1. Australian Committee Proposal To Pay Mothers Late Abortion Cost For Disabled Babies Compared To Nazis
The Australian Parliamentary Group on Population and Development has been slammed by Queensland Senator Ron Boswell for holding to Nazi-style eugenic ideology on the abortion of disabled children.
"This revisiting of eugenics principles is repugnant to a society that prides itself on the contribution of all," Boswell said.
View full article at LifeSiteNews.com: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/nov/08111305.html
Item #2. Italy Agrees To First Withdrawal Of Life Support In The Country
The bitterly contested case of Eluana Englaro has divided Italy and the withdrawal of life support would be a first for the country.
The Cassation Court upheld a ruling made in July by a lower court in Milan that doctors could stop artificially feeding Miss Englaro, 37, as it had been proven that her coma was irreversible.
She has been in a vegetative state in a hospital in the northern Italian town of Lecco since a horrific car crash in 1992.
View full article at Telegraph.co.uk:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/3454765/Italy-agrees-to-first-withdrawal-of-life-support-in-the-country.html
Item #3. Uruguay Head Vetoes Abortion Bill
The president of Uruguay has vetoed a law to liberalise abortion. Mr Tabare Vazquez, a physician, blocked the bill, which would have allowed the procedure up to 12 weeks' gestation. There are reportedly not enough supporters of the measure in the congress to overturn the veto. Abortion is presently allowed for rape or when the woman's life is in danger.
View article at BBC News: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7728597.stm
Item #4. "Coming Out" Puts Adolescents At Risk
Encouraging adolescents with same-sex attractions to identify as gay has no scientific or ethical justification.
View full article at Mercator.net:
http://www.mercatornet.com/articles/view/coming_out_puts_adolescents_at_risk/
Item #5. The Abortion Lobby's Deep Pockets
The author of this article downloaded and examined 15,524 IRS Forms 990 in order to determine just how much income is generated annually by non-profit groups that support the Culture of Life and the Culture of Death.2 The last year that these Forms 990 are generally available for this kind of research was 2006, so that is the base year we will use in this analysis. The most logical way to examine this question is to look at three different match-ups: first, single-issue pro-life vs. single-issue pro-abortion and "family planning" groups; second, pro-family vs. anti-family groups; third and finally, the international population-control movement vs. those opposing it.
To learn more see LifeIssues.net: http://www.lifeissues.net/writers/clo/clo_07abortionpockets.html
Item #6. End Of Life Care: A Time For Listening And Caring
Summary: There is a new model of end of life care available which is much more holistic than the traditional model. In addition to looking at the patient's physical needs, this model also looks at the social, emotional, and spiritual needs as well. Many medical schools are now offering courses on spirituality in medicine. Since the patient is not simply a collection of diseases, but a living, breathing, rational, human being it is essential that every aspect of a patient's life be taken into consideration when discussing treatment options and end of life care when treatment options are no longer beneficial.
See the full article at LifeIssues.net: http://www.lifeissues.net/writers/gro/gro_02endoflifecare.html
Item #7. Ottawa Archbishop Thanks Canadian Catholics Who Promoted Humanae Vitae In The Last 40 Years
At the time of its publication, Humanae Vitae was rejected by many Catholics, clergy and bishops included. Even the Canadian bishops' conference at the time issued what is known as The Winnipeg Statement, which was interpreted by most as absolving Catholics should they dissent from the teaching against contraception.
Full article at LifeSiteNews.com: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/nov/08111712.html
Item #8. Porn, Drugs, Alcohol Catching On With Delhi School kids
When it comes to watching porn or experimenting with drugs and alcohol, school-going children in Delhi, be it boys or girls, are far from being shy, claims a latest survey.
"26 per cent of the boys surveyed fell in the moderate category and 21 per cent fell in the high category when it came to talks about visiting porn sites, being a common conversation in schools. Among girls, 24 per cent fell in moderate category and five per cent in high category," Chief Psychiatrist, Max Healthcare Dr Samir Parikh, who conducted the survey, said.
The survey conducted among 1000 children (541 boys and 459 girls) from the top public schools in the national capital stated, high population of boys and girls know or visit sites that are not for their age groups.
Full Article at Worldpress.org:
http://www.worldpress.org/link.cfm?http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/Porn-drugs-alcohol-catching-on-with-Delhi-schoolkids/387316/
Item #9. Lethal Injection: Cruel Or Just Punishment?
The deadly cocktail includes sodium thiopental which causes the inmate to lose consciousness and lose control of involuntary movements; pancuronium bromide, a sedative which relaxes the inmate; and finally potassium chloride, which stops the heart, ultimately causing death.
The arguments before the court did not concern guilt or innocence but rather the method of capital punishment in Kentucky and whether the combination of the three drugs cause tremendous pain or if administered incorrectly, cause pain that amounts to cruel and unusual punishment.
View entire text at kypost.com:
http://www.kypost.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=02e4b62f-07b1-4838-8ddd-ed6073ee2254
Item #10. Are Science And Religion Really Enemies?
Yet even if they deal with different domains, science and religion can and must speak to each other. Albert Einstein already saw this when he made his now-famous remark: "Science without religion is lame; religion without science is blind."
View entire text at CERC: http://catholiceducation.org/articles/apologetics/ap0273.htm
Item #11. When Life Begins
Your life began, as did the life of every other human being, when the fusion of egg and sperm produced a new, complete, living organism – an embryonic human being. You were never an ovum or a sperm cell, those were both functionally and genetically parts of other human beings – your parents. But you were once an embryo, just as you were once an adolescent, a child, an infant, and a foetus. By an internally directed process, you developed from the embryonic stage into and through the foetal, infant, child, and adolescent stages of development and ultimately into adulthood with your determinateness, unity, and identity fully intact. You are the same being – the same human being – who once was an embryo.
View entire text at CERC: http://catholiceducation.org/articles/abortion/ab0143.htm
Item #12. Suffering And Loss In The Book Of Job
Summary: Suffering is endemic to the human condition and few books speak about the topic the way that the Book of Job does. While the story of Job is quite "simple", the content becomes problematic because of the reason given for Job's suffering. In the beginning of chapter one, Job is referred to as an upright and blameless man who feared God and turned away from evil. There is no indication in the story that Job is Jewish, in fact there is a strong possibility that he was not an Israelite at all. The story continues that Satan was roaming about the earth and God asks him if he has considered God's servant, Job. Satan replies that the only reason why Job is so faithful to God is because of all that he has been given. However, if all of this is taken away Satan is convinced that Job would turn away from God instantly. How the topic of suffering is addressed in the Book of Job and the pastoral implications may prove beneficial to others as well.
View entire text at LifeIssues.net: http://www.lifeissues.net/writers/gro/gro_04sufferingandjob.html
You Can Change Society:
1. Be Informed: "My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge." Hosea 4:6. Visit Lifeissues.net Website for insights into current Life Issues www.lifeissues.net.
2. Pray Daily: for the courage to be God's presence in society and to strongly support those who are deemed "unworthy of life". "If My people who are called by My Name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land." 2 Chronicles 7:14.
3. Become Involved: "Journey for Life into the Heart of Asia" is a project, which appeals for donations to help finance plane travel for lectures and seminars to developing countries in Asia. Strong focus is placed on reaching Asian Catholic Major Seminaries, Universities, Parishes, Hospitals and Family/Pro Life related groups. The lectures place emphasis on "The Asian Family at Crossroads: Life Issues' Trends and Challenges". For inquires about no-cost Pro Life Talks to your group in Asia: contact Fr. Jerry at jerry@shirt.ocn.ne.jp . To become a supportive Missionary participant for this project in Asia, kindly send your donations directly to: Fr. Jerry Novotny, OMI; LifeIssues.net, Editor; Akebono-cho 1-15-9; Kochi City, Japan, 780-8072; (or transfer donation directly to ProLife bank account: Jerome Novotny, Shikoku Bank, Asakura Branch, No. 102-1-0080824).
Contact Editor: Jerry Novotny, OMI; Akebono-cho 1-15-9; Kochi City, Japan, 780-8072; Tel/Fax: 088-843-0406; E-Mail:jerry@lifeissues.net.
Websites by Editor:
English LifeIssues Site:http://www.lifeissues.net,
Japanese LifeIssues Site:http://www.japan-lifeissues.net,
OMI Site: http://www.omijapankorea.net/index.html.
6. LifesiteNews.Com - Monday November 24, 2008
Barack Obama Consulted Repeatedly with Homosexual Anglican Bishop
Look out MTV, Here Come Pro-Life Ads which Have Been Shown to Decrease Abortion Numbers
Calgary University Threatens Students with Arrest for Pro-life Display
Extreme Pro-Abortion Leader Chosen for Obama Communications Director
Pro-Abortion Med Student Shrinks away from Practice after "Disturbingly Brutal" Procedure
Vatican in “Firestorm” over Brain Death Criteria for Organ Transplants
“Zero Tolerance for Dissent” from Radical Anti-Life, Anti-Family EU Documents
Catholic Gonzaga University Rejects Pro-Life Fliers
Trial for Quebec Man Charged with Assisting Uncle to Commit Suicide Begins Tuesday
Send a Christmas Letter to a Pro-Life Heroine in Jail for Silently Witnessing to Life
TOP7. LifeSiteNews.com – November 25, 2008
Film Review: Volition - A Film that Demands a Radical Choice
The List So Far - Anti-Life Appointments in the Obama Administration
Poll Finds 44% of Canadians Would Choose Euthanasia over Palliative Care
“Gender Mainstreaming”: A Silent Revolution Dismantling Civilzation
Leading Canadian Pro-Life MP Relates Shocking 20 Year Lack of Support From Catholic Clergy
Tom Wappel's 13 Recommendations for Catholic Clergy and Bishops
Activist Miami Judge Defies Court Precedent and Rules against Homosexual Adoption Ban
Texas Cardinal Leads Prayer Rally against Abortion and Death Penalty
Australian Senate Passes De Facto Same-Sex “Marriage” Laws
Canadian Human Rights Commission Consultant's Report Calls For Repeal of “Hate Speech” Law
Georgia Senate Election Runoff Pits Pro-Life Senator against Abortion Advocate
Husband Saves Wife from Forced Starvation as Sister-in-law Sought to Remove Food and Hydration
Letters to the Editor for Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Donate to LifeSiteNews.com http://www.lifesite.net/contribute/lifesite/
8. Pornography - Quitting The Habit (Onenewsnow.Com) – November 26, 2008
http://www.onenewsnow.com/Culture/Default.aspx?id=3281089. Western Catholic Reporter Canada's Largest Religious Weekly – November 28, 2008
Friday – 11/28/2008
Last Updated: Wednesday – 11/26/2008
Week of December 1, 2008
Canadians divided over euthanasia – poll By Deborah Gyapong, Canadian Catholic News
Ottawa — Days before a controversial assisted-suicide trial begins in Quebec, a new poll reveals Canadians are evenly divided over euthanasia vs. palliative care.
A new Environics poll shows that 44 per cent of Canadians would choose palliative care as an end of life option, while 44 per cent would choose euthanasia. Six per cent answered, “it depends,” and four per cent offered no opinion.
The poll question, commissioned by educational pro-life organization LifeCanada, defined euthanasia as the intentional ending of another person’s life.
Life Canada executive director Gudrun Schultz described the poll results as “alarming.”
“People are not clear on what euthanasia means,” Schultz said.
Nor are people aware of the inevitable consequences of allowing euthanasia and assisted-suicide and their effects on vulnerable people — the aged, the sick and the disabled, she said.
When euthanasia becomes a legal option, it is “very hard to control it,” she said.
She stressed the need for greater education about euthanasia and palliative care, to show that palliative care can manage pain.
“A lot of health care workers aren’t aware of the advances in palliative care,” she said.
But work needs to be done to make sure palliative care is available in our health care system, she said, in addition to education to show that “euthanasia is not the solution.”
“A lot of health care workers aren’t aware of the advances in palliative care.” – Gudrun Schultz, LifeCanada
Within days of the poll release, Euthanasia Prevention Coalition executive director Alex Schadenberg put out an alert concerning the trial of a man who is accused of helping his uncle hang himself.
According to news reports, the uncle had polio, was confined to a wheelchair, had made previous suicide attempts and repeatedly asked for help in dying. The trial began Nov. 25 in Alma, in northeastern Quebec.
Schadenberg also raised concern that Bloc Quebecois MP Francine Lalonde is expected to re-introduce her assisted-suicide bill.
The Environics poll showed support for euthanasia is highest in Quebec at 49 per cent; while support for palliative care is lowest there at 36 per cent.
“There’s a serious concern because people don’t understand how euthanasia and assisted suicide affect the relationship with the physicians who then have the power to be involved in the taking of life,” Schadenberg said. “We’re not talking about suicide; we’re talking about somebody else taking their life.”
The poll shows that 51 per cent of older Canadians would choose palliative care, while 36 per cent would choose euthanasia.
Schultz said it is interesting that those closer to death are more likely to want palliative care.
Schadenberg pointed out that in jurisdictions where euthanasia is legal — Netherlands, Belgium and Oregon — “very few people choose euthanasia or an assisted death.”
“Just because people say they would choose it, when they are in that situation, very few people actually ask for it,” he said.
This is the first time that LifeCanada has included a euthanasia question in its annual poll on abortion.
The poll showed that those who support human life from conception are far more likely to support palliative care (59 per cent). Support for euthanasia is highest (50 per cent) among those who think legal protection for human life should begin at birth.
Abortion restrictions
On abortion the poll shows that six out of 10 Canadians want some restrictions on abortion, results that have remained in the same range in similar polls over 40 years, Schultz said.
Thirty-three per cent of Canadians support leaving the unborn child with no legal protection until birth. Thirty-three per cent of women support protection from conception, while 24 per cent of men do. The poll showed 65 per cent support informed consent requirements; and only three in 10 support the present system of tax-funded abortions.
Copyright © 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 – Western Catholic Reporter
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