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Families Really do Matter for Canada - As the family goes, so too goes the nation! |
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Weekly News Dec 9/08 |
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| Life Chain Photos 2008 | MP Voting Records for NS | |||
News Ticker provided by LifeSiteNews.Com
- A Letter To Canadians From The CHP National Leader – December 4, 2008
- British Balance Human Gain Versus The Cost Of Drugs – December 3, 2008
- Life Issues Institute – December 5, 2008
- Lifeissues.net Newsletter #399 – November 30, 2008
- Lifeissues.net Newsletter #400 – December 7, 2008
- LifeSiteNews.Com Looks To The Future At First Ever Key Supporter Dinner – December 5, 2008
- UN Gives Awards To Promoters Of Abortion And Homosexual Agenda – December 7, 2008
- Weekly Newsletter Of Christianity.Ca – Friday, December 5, 2008
- YWCA Proudly Supports Abortion – December 2, 2008
1. A Letter To Canadians From The CHP National Leader – December 4, 2008
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Christian Heritage Party | PO Box 4958 Station E | Ottawa | Ontario | K1S 5J1 | Canada |
By Gardiner Harris
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
RUISLIP, England: When Bruce Hardy's kidney cancer spread to his lung, his doctor recommended an expensive new pill from Pfizer. But Hardy is British, and the British health authorities refused to buy the medicine. His wife has been distraught.
"Everybody should be allowed to have as much life as they can," Joy Hardy said in the couple's modest home outside London.
If the Hardys lived in the United States or just about any European country other than Britain, Hardy would most likely get the drug, although he might have to pay part of the cost. A clinical trial showed that the pill, called Sutent, delays cancer progression for six months at an estimated treatment cost of $54,000.
But at that price, Bruce Hardy's life is not worth prolonging, according to a British government agency, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence. The institute, known as NICE, has decided that Britain, except in rare cases, can afford only £15,000, or about $22,750, to save six months of a citizen's life.
The British authorities, after a storm of protest, are reconsidering their decision on the cancer drug and others.
For years, Britain was almost alone in using evidence of cost-effectiveness to decide what to pay for. But skyrocketing prices for drugs and medical devices have led a growing number of countries to ask the hardest of questions: How much is life worth? For many, NICE has the answer.
Top health officials in Austria, Brazil, Colombia and Thailand said in interviews that NICE now strongly influences their policies.
"All the middle-income countries – in Eastern Europe, Central and South America, the Middle East and all over Asia – are aware of NICE and are thinking about setting up something similar," said Dr. Andreas Seiter, a senior health specialist at the World Bank.
Even in the United States, rising costs have led some in Congress to propose an institute that compares the effectiveness of new medical technologies, although the proposals so far do not allow for price considerations. At the present rate of growth, medical costs will increase to 25 percent of the nation's gross domestic product in 2025 from 16 percent, with half of the increase coming from new drugs and devices, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
To arrest this trend, the United States needs to adopt at least some of NICE's methods, said Dr. Mark McClellan and Dr. Sean Tunis, who served earlier in the Bush administration as, respectively, administrator and chief medical officer of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Tunis said he spent a lot of time in government "learning about NICE and trying to adopt the processes and mechanisms they used, and we just couldn't."
That is because the idea of using price to determine which drugs or devices Medicare or Medicaid provides has provoked fierce protests.
But McClellan said the U.S. government would soon have no choice.
Drug and device makers, which once routinely denounced the British for questioning product prices, have begun quietly slashing prices in Britain to gain NICE's coveted approval, especially because other nations are following the institute's lead.
Companies have said that they will consult with NICE to help determine which experimental compounds enter the final stage of clinical trials, so the British agency's officials will soon influence which drugs enter the market in the United States.
The British government created NICE a decade ago to ensure that every pound spent buys as many years of good-quality life as possible, but the agency is increasingly rejecting expensive treatments. The denials have led to debate over what is to blame: company prices or the health institute's math.
Dr. Michael Rawlins, chairman of NICE, blames the industry, saying that some companies raise prices "to get profits up so their executives can get better bonuses." Dr. Karol Sikora, a prominent London oncologist, said that the institute's math was flawed and that Rawlins had a "personal vendetta" against cancer treatments.
Drug company executives who were interviewed uniformly promised to cooperate with NICE, but industry advocates were not so kind. Robert Goldberg, vice president of the Center for Medicine in the Public Interest, an advocacy group financed by drug makers, likened Rawlins and his institute to terrorists and said their decisions were morally indefensible.
It all started with Viagra.
Pfizer's introduction of the drug in 1998 panicked British health officials, who feared it would wreck the government's health budget.
So they placed restrictions on its use. Pfizer sued, claiming the government's decision was arbitrary. To defend itself against similar claims, the government needed a standard method of rationing. The following year, NICE opened.
Asked whether he thought the institute would succeed, Frank Dobson, the Labour health minister at the time, famously said, "Probably not, but it's worth a bloody good try."
Britain's National Health Service provides 95 percent of the nation's care from an annual budget, so paying for pricey treatments means less money for, say, sick children. Before NICE, hospitals and clinics often came to different decisions about which drugs to buy, creating geographic disparities in care that led to outrage.
Now, any drug or device approved by the institute must be offered to patients. The institute has also written hundreds of treatment guidelines in hopes of improving, and making more consistent, basic medical care.
The institute has analyzed the cost-effectiveness of surgeries, cancer screening tests and medical devices. For example, it found that drug-coated cardiac stents were worth only $450 more than bare-metal ones.
Five years ago, the British health institute recommended more emergency room CT scans of patients suffering from head trauma – forcing hospitals to buy more machines.
But the decisions that get the most attention are those involving new drugs. Any drug that provides an extra six months of good-quality life for £10,000 – about $15,150 – or less is automatically approved, while those that give six months for $22,750 or less might get approved. More expensive medicines have been approved only rarely.
The spending limits represent the health institute's best guess for how much the nation can afford.
After consulting a citizens group, the institute decided that the nation should spend the same amount saving or improving the life of a 75-year-old smoker as it would a 5-year-old.
The academics got drug prices for the drug that Hardy, the kidney cancer patient, wanted, and the value of three other kidney cancer medicines, and calculated the costs of administering them and treating their side effects. Not one of the drugs came close to being worth their expense, the group suggested. In a preliminary ruling in August, a committee from NICE agreed.
The decision caused a firestorm. Twenty-six prominent British oncologists wrote a letter to The Sunday Times saying that the institute assessed cancer treatments poorly and that patients were re-mortgaging their homes to buy drugs freely available in other countries.
Flooded with anguished comments, the institute beat a hasty retreat. A preliminary consultation posted Nov. 5 said that the institute would instruct its appraisal committees to consider approving expensive life-saving drugs for terminal illnesses affecting fewer than 7,000 patients per year – a policy that seems tailor-made for Sutent and the three other kidney cancer drugs.
Negotiations with companies on possible discounts are continuing, and a committee is scheduled on Jan. 14 to make public this nascent compromise.
Agencies like NICE are popping up across the globe. Dr. Leonardo Cubillos, Colombia's national director of insurance, said that Colombia was using British methods to choose drugs for a national health insurance package.
Membership in an international group of drug and device assessment agencies has grown to 45 last year from 8 in 1992. The British institute has created a consulting group to advise foreign governments.
Much of the reason for this proliferation of agencies is that, while prescription drugs represent just 10.3 percent of overall medical spending in the United States, that share is 17 percent on average in industrialized countries.
As spending on drugs soared in many nations, often haphazardly, overall health often showed little improvement. So international aid agencies are advising governments to adopt British assessments and deliberations to improve their public's health while lowering costs, and officials are listening – a trend that is likely to accelerate during the present global economic slowdown.
Copyright © 2008 The International Herald Tribune | www.iht.com
3. Life Issues Institute – December 5, 2008
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4. Lifeissues.net Newsletter #399 – November 30, 2008
Greetings from LifeIssues.net (www.lifeissues.net)
Dear Friends for Life,
Now there will be more abortions in Nepal. The new government in Nepal, which has replaced its previous monarchy, intends to introduce RU 486 for wide spread use in this mountainous country. They also intend to develop and use the manual vacuum aspirator as a back-up for incomplete abortion.
Good news from Ecuador and Sao Paulo. Ecuador's Special Assembly, elected to draft a new Constitution, has recommended to the nation that the new Constitution eliminates protection for the unborn. This has been challenged by a public referendum set for late September.
Movement in Defence of Life sponsored a large march in the streets of Sao Paulo. Tens of thousands of people marched to protest the suggested law that would legalize abortion.
However, on the other hand, euthanasia is beginning to make inroads throughout the world. The latest focuses on Switzerland killing fields. The Swiss-based Dignitas Euthanasia Center has reported that, since opening, it has now killed nearly 900 people, most of them British citizens. By a 2-1 margin, licensed physicians in England oppose legalizing assisted-suicide.
God Bless, Jerry Novotny, OMI
Quote of the Week - If people contemplate and really see the sanctity of life, their "quality of life" arguments fall away and they will understand that we are here to care for each other, not to kill each other. Caring, and not convenience, is the sign of a civilized and just society! – Ron Panzer
Lifeissues.net Newsletter #399 – November 30, 2008
Table Of Contents:
1. St. Louis Bishop: 'Privilege To Die' To End Abortion
2. New Obama Advisor Backs Embryonic Stem Cell Research, Despite Failures
3. Purity Rings...How A Generation Of Virtue Is Expressing Itself
4. Planned Parenthood Issues Christmas Gift Certificates: Give The Gift Of Abortion
5. We Can Help Those Suffering To Find Meaning Beyond Human Limitations
6. The Epidemic Of Sexually Transmitted Diseases
7. Birth Defects Linked With Assisted Reproduction
8. Condic's 'Pre-Zygote' Error In 'When Does Human Life Begin?'
9. Vatican To Issue Bioethics Instruction On Cloning, Stem Cell Research In December
10. Texas Court Ruling On Murder Case Defines Unborn Child As "Person"
11. Bishops Condemn IVF
Focus On Children: "Indonesia gets tough with foreign drug companies" – Foreign drug companies can quit Indonesia if they do not like new rules requiring them to have local production facilities, Health Minister Siti Fadilah Supari said Monday. Rules introduced earlier this month are designed to encourage foreign companies to transfer technologies to Indonesia and boost investment to create jobs, she said. "If they want to get licences (to sell their products) they have to invest here also, not just take advantage of the Indonesian market," Supari was quoted by AFP as telling Dow Jones Newswires. "They can't just operate like a retailer here, with an office size that's three metres (yards) by three and make billions of rupiah. That is not fair."
http://www.worldpress.org/link.cfm?http://www.antara.co.id/en/arc/2008/11/25/indonesia-gets-tough-with-foreign-drug-companies
Item #1. St. Louis Bishop: 'Privilege To Die' To End Abortion
At the November 10-12 meeting of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Bishop Hermann had said, 'We have lost 50 times as many children in the last 35 years as we have lost soldiers in all the wars since the Revolution. I think any bishop here would consider it a privilege to die tomorrow to bring about an end to abortion. If we are willing to die tomorrow, then we should be willing to, until the end of our lives, to take all kinds of criticism for opposing this horrible infanticide.'
View full article at Reviewonline: http://www.stlouisreview.com/article.php?id=16465
Item #2. New Obama Advisor Backs Embryonic Stem Cell Research, Despite Failures
In an interview with the Pew Forum in July, Moreno made it clear that he strongly supports embryonic stem cell research funding and has little regard for human life at its earliest stage.
View full article at LifeNews.com: http://www.lifenews.com/bio2637.html
Item #3. Purity Rings...How A Generation Of Virtue Is Expressing Itself
Many who wear purity rings are religious and make their promise to God. Premarital sex is accepted as the norm by society despite its religious implications while virginity is shunned. There are many people who pledge abstinence for non-religious reasons. With the rise of sexually transmitted diseases, people are rethinking their beliefs while avoiding peer pressure and unwanted pregnancies.
View article at examiner.com:
http://www.examiner.com/x-704-Pop-Media-Examiner~y2008m11d24-Purity-ringsexpress-yourself
Item #4. Planned Parenthood Issues Christmas Gift Certificates: Give The Gift Of Abortion
In what could easily become the most offensive Christmas offer ever a Planned Parenthood affiliate is offering Christmas gift certificates. Purchasers can use them to give the gift of abortion even though the group claims that's not its purpose or intent.
View full article at LifeNews.com: http://www.lifenews.com/state3669.html
Item #5. We Can Help Those Suffering To Find Meaning Beyond Human Limitations
The most challenging clinical cases usually are the ones where patients are suffering from existential distress, or in other words, loss of purpose in life in the face of suffering. I would also name it "depression of the soul." Fortunately, there are ways to approach these problems.
To learn more see CERC: http://catholiceducation.org/articles/euthanasia/eu0049.htm
Item #6. The Epidemic Of Sexually Transmitted Diseases
Sexually Transmitted Diseases (or STDs) are at unprecedented and epidemic proportions. Thirty years of the sexual revolution is paying an ugly dividend. While a few STDs can be transmitted apart from sex acts, all are transmissible by the exchange of bodily fluids during intimate sexual contact. I want to discuss the severity of the problem as well as what must be done if we are to save a majority of the next generation from the shame, infertility, and sometimes death, that may result from STDs.
The information I am about to share is from data gathered by the Medical Institute for Sexual Health out of Austin, Texas. All of these statistics are readily available from reputable medical and scientific journals.
Today, there are approximately 25 STDs. A few can be fatal. Many women are living in fear of what their future may hold as a result of STD infection. It is estimated that 1 in 5 Americans between the ages of 15 and 55 are currently infected with one or more STDs, and 12 million Americans are newly infected each year. That's nearly 5% of the entire population of the U.S. Of these new infections, 63% are in people less than 25 years old.
See the full article at Human Life Alliance: http://www.humanlife.org/abstinence_epidemic_std.php
Item #7. Birth Defects Linked With Assisted Reproduction
Babies born to couples who rely on medical technology to become pregnant have much higher rates of certain birth defects, according to a study published online Monday in the journal Human Reproduction.
Full article at chicagotribne.com: http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/triage/2008/11/birth-defects-l.html
Item #8. Condic's 'Pre-Zygote' Error In 'When Does Human Life Begin?'
More specifically, the use of inaccurate scientific facts of when a human being begins to exist would thus "scientifically" justify the unethical use of living human embryos – whether reproduced sexually or asexually, whether in vivo or in vitro – as unfettered biological "material" for human embryonic stem cell research, human cloning, IVF and other ART laboratory and clinical practices, all manner of human genetic engineering (including OAR, ANT, and iPS research), as well as the early destruction of these human embryos by the use of abortifacients, the production of vaccines, the testing of chemicals and biological products, etc. Unfortunately, such unethical practices may be inadvertently advanced as the result of Dr. Condic's White Paper, unless critical scientific corrections are made - especially if such errors find their way into laws and regulations.
Full Article at LifeIssues.net: http://www.lifeissues.net/writers/irv/irv_134maureencondic1.html
Item #9. 'Eugenic Abortion': With Pre-Natal Testing, 9 In 10 Down Syndrome Babies Aborted
The document, which has been in the works for at least two years, will reportedly act as a follow-up to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith's (CDF) 1987 instruction, Donum Vitae, by exploring more recent ethical problems and therapeutic options.
View entire text LifeSiteNews.com: http://www.lifeissues.net/news.php?newsID=00023694&topic
Item #10. Texas Court Ruling On Murder Case Defines Unborn Child As "Person"
A Texas appellate court has upheld its ruling that affirms the personhood of an unborn child who was murdered along with its mother.
View entire text LifeSiteNews.com: http://www.lifeissues.net/news.php?newsID=00023693&topic
Item #11. Bishops Condemn IVF
Archbishop Jozef Michalik: 'Refunding IVF is paying for murder.' Archbishop Henryk Hoser: 'It's moral schizophrenia.'
View entire text at Gazeta Wyborcza: http://wyborcza.pl/1,86871,6000729,Bishops_Condemn_IVF.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.
5. Lifeissues.net Newsletter #400 – December 7, 2008
Greetings from LifeIssues.net (www.lifeissues.net)
Dear Friends for Life,
The following is taken from Family and Life: Scientists and physicians from around the world have signed a declaration on human rights for nascent human beings. The signatories include human-biology research scientists, obstetricians, gynaecologists, and professors of a range of disciplines, doctors in general practice and nurses.
They have joined together to declare the truth about the human embryo. The signatories' action is a collective response to a meeting in Paris of UNESCO's international bioethics committee, which discussed whether so-called therapeutic cloning should be banned worldwide.
The declaration among other things, says: "We, in our capacity as members of society who undertake scientific discovery and deliberate on scientific knowledge, herein pledge to respect the inherent rights of human embryos and foetuses during our quest for beneficial knowledge, just as we respect the inviolable and inalienable rights of children and adults."
It also says: "We request the removal of all existing permissions and practices that enable negative discrimination against human embryos and foetuses. Chief among these are the legalisation of abortion and approval for research that harms or destroys human embryos." The declaration adds: "We declare that every stage in the developmental continuum of human life has the same right to life and right to protection from harm as all others."
The full declaration can be found at: http://www.amnestyforbabies.com/scidec
God Bless and pray for the protection of our unborn children throughout the world,
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 #400 – December 7, 2008
Table Of Contents:
1. New Study Shows Direct Link Between Abortion And Mental Health Problems
2. British Government Reports Abortions Set New Record Highs, Jumper Over 200K
3. Vatican Tells United Nations To Quit Pressuring Countries To Legalize Abortion
4. 'Open Season' On Human Embryos Around The Corner?
5. Swedish Doctors Back Euthanasia
6. Should California Declare Homosexuality 'Marriage' In Light Of HIV/AIDS Data?
7. No To Reproductive Health Bill– Mayor Lim
8. The Pain Of Abortion
9. Spain's Rate Of Abortion Doubles In A Decade
10. Parents Torn Over Surplus Embryos
11. Psychiatric Drugs Force Queried
12. Condic's 'Pre-Zygote' Error In 'When Does Human Life Begin?'
Focus On Asia: "Jakarta police disclose human trafficking syndicate" - The Jakarta Police on Tuesday evening disclosed a trafficking syndicate at a house on E street in Kebon Jeruk area, West Jakarta. The police raided the house and held some 18 young women who would be sold to Taiwan but the owner of the house, a Taiwanese national, managed to escape.
Item #1. New Study Shows Direct Link Between Abortion And Mental Health Problems
A new research study featuring numerous controls and a national data set finds a link between abortion and psychiatric disorders. The study refutes the report the American Psychiatric Association released in August claiming abortion causes no mental health issues for women. The research team found induced abortions result in increased risks for a myriad of mental health problems ranging from anxiety to depression to substance abuse disorders. The number of cases of mental health issues rose by as much as 17 percent in women having abortions compared to those who didn't have one and the risks of each particular mental health problem rose as much as 145% for post-abortive women.
View full article at LifeNews.com: http://www.lifenews.com/nat4617.html
Item #2. British Government Reports Abortions Set New Record Highs, Jumper Over 200K
A new report from the British government shows the number of abortions again hitting a record high in England. The numbers from the Office for National Statistics show 205,600 abortions last year with 198,500 done on British women and the rest on women from other countries. The report indicates the number of abortions in 2008 will likely be higher as well, despite the promotion of the morning after pill and contraception. The 105,000 abortions in the first six months of 2008 is slightly higher than the figure from the first six of 2007. The numbers show the British abortion rate is higher than the rest of Western Europe, where abortions aren't legalize as late into pregnancy.
View full article at LifeNews.com: http://www.lifenews.com/int1005.html
Item #3. Vatican Tells United Nations To Quit Pressuring Countries To Legalize Abortion
Many who wear purity rings are religious and make their promise to God. Premarital sex is accepted as the norm by society despite its religious implications while virginity is shunned. There are many people who pledge abstinence for non-religious reasons. With the rise of sexually transmitted diseases, people are rethinking their beliefs while avoiding peer pressure and unwanted pregnancies.
View article at examiner.com:
http://www.examiner.com/x-704-Pop-Media-Examiner~y2008m11d24-Purity-ringsexpress-yourself
View another article at CNA: "Dominican Cardinal Blasts The U.N. For Promoting Immorality"
http://www.lifeissues.net/news.php?newsID=00023762&topic
Item #4. 'Open Season' On Human Embryos Around The Corner?
Jonathan Moreno of the University of Pennsylvania is heading up President-elect Obama's bioethics campaign and pro-lifers are calling that a negative for the movement. Embryonic research involves the destruction of tiny human beings and is vigorously supported by Obama. Dr. David Prentice knows about Moreno's position on the subject and says that Moreno was on the National Academy of Sciences panel - a panel that approved guidelines for destroying embryos that were used for research and human cloning.
View full article at Politics and Government: http://www.onenewsnow.com/Politics/Default.aspx?id=334906
Item #5. Swedish Doctors Back Euthanasia
35 percent of doctors were positive to the prescription of medicines to patients with an expressed desire to kill themselves. 40 percent were against and 25 percent were uncertain, according to a report in Svenska Dagbladet.
"We had thought that opposition was stronger within the medical profession," said Anna Lindblad at Karolinska Institute (KI), which had carried out the study and interviewed 1,200 practising physicians.
Psychiatrists and older doctors were the groups most positive to allowing euthanasia.
To learn more see The Local: http://www.thelocal.se/16016/20081129/
Item #6. Should California Declare Homosexuality 'Marriage' In Light Of HIV/AIDS Data?
For two decades, the U.S. has done virtually nothing to arrest the behaviour causing most cases of HIV/AIDS in this country: homosexual sex. In California, homosexuals are now demanding their behaviours be considered "marriage," even if it means subverting a lawful vote. Let's look at California and HIV/AIDS:
1. In California, 67% of HIV/AIDS cases are directly linked to male homosexual behaviour, with another 9% involving the combined risks of males having sex with males (MSM) and injection drug use (IDU)(Source: California Department of Public Health)...
See the full article at Christian Newswire: http://www.christiannewswire.com/news/345298804.html
Item #7. No To Reproductive Health Bill – Mayor Lim
Manila Mayor Alfredo S. Lim stated that he disapproves of the bill: first, because it kills lives (kumikitil ng buhay); second, it can destroy families (sumisira ng pamilya): and third, it destroys health (kontra kalusugan).
Lim said that reproductive health and family planning must be founded from the perspective of values. We do not want to develop a nation with the "contraceptive mentality" that we believe the supporters of the reproductive health bill are promoting.
Full article at balita-dot-ph: http://balita.ph/2008/12/02/no-to-reproductive-health-bill-mayor-lim/
Item #8. The Pain Of Abortion
"As a society, we don't understand abortion," she writes. "We debate it. We pass laws about it. We argue about it as a moral and political issue. But we don't understand it as a life-changing experience. In that latter regard, grief after an abortion is neither expected nor permitted in our society. This is a great national tragedy."
Full Article at onenewsnow.com: http://www.onenewsnow.com/Perspectives/Default.aspx?id=339308
Item #9. Spain's Rate Of Abortion Doubles In A Decade
Surgical abortions in Spain have increased in all age groups, especially among young unmarried women, reported the health ministry. A Tuesday statement reported that abortions numbered 112,138 in Spain last year, indicating an increase of 10% compared to 2006. This figure is double that of 1998 (53,847). One out of every five pregnancies ends in abortion, resulting in a rate of more than 300 abortions each day. According to the data, 97% of abortions were sought due to "risk for the physical or psychological health of the mother." Ninety-eight percent of the abortions were carried out in private clinics.
View entire text Zenit: http://www.zenit.org/article-24457?l=english
Item #10. Parents Torn Over Surplus Embryos
At least 400,000 embryos are frozen at clinics around the country, and many of their parents don't know what to do with them, The New York Times reported.
A survey of 1,020 patients at nine fertility clinics shows 43 percent do not want their embryos destroyed - yet 66 percent said they would allow their embryos to be destroyed for research. The survey is being published today in the journal Fertility and Sterility. The survey suggests couples believe destructive embryonic stem-cell research is a worthy pursuit. In reality, it means the end of their young children's lives.
Ron Stoddart, executive director of Nightlight Christian Adoptions, said the results don't make any sense. "People believe that embryonic stem cells hold the key to every cure for any disease known to mankind," he told Family News in Focus. "The reality is, there have been no cures (and) no treatments developed from embryonic stem cells. All of the advances have been made from adult stem cells."
View entire text citizenlink.com: http://www.citizenlink.org/content/A000008812.cfm
Item #11. Psychiatric Drugs Force Queried
The practice of forcing psychiatric patients to take medication is not backed by evidence, say UK researchers...
The threat of coerced medication can discourage people from seeking treatment when they need it and may damage the relationship between patients and mental heath professionals.
View entire text at BBC News: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7764512.stm
Item #12. Condic's 'Pre-Zygote' Error In 'When Does Human Life Begin?'
More specifically, the use of inaccurate scientific facts of when a human being begins to exist would thus "scientifically" justify the unethical use of living human embryos – whether reproduced sexually or asexually, whether in vivo or in vitro – as unfettered biological "material" for human embryonic stem cell research, human cloning, IVF and other ART laboratory and clinical practices, all manner of human genetic engineering (including OAR, ANT, and iPS research), as well as the early destruction of these human embryos by the use of abortifacients, the production of vaccines, the testing of chemicals and biological products, etc. Unfortunately, such unethical practices may be inadvertently advanced as the result of Dr. Condic's White Paper, unless critical scientific corrections are made – especially if such errors find their way into laws and regulations.
Full Article at LifeIssues.net: http://www.lifeissues.net/writers/irv/irv_134maureencondic1.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 Looks To The Future At First Ever Key Supporter Dinner – December 5, 2008
Angelicum University Refuses to Believe Cherie Blair’s Pro-abortion and Anti-Family Reputation:
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/dec/08120501.html
Italy’s Most Prominent Muslim Convert to Catholicism to Establish Party to Defend “Europe’s Christian Values”:
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/dec/08120505.html
UN Gives Awards to Promoters of Abortion and Homosexual Agenda:
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/dec/08120504.html
Texas Bishop Reaffirms that Sterilization Is Contrary to Church Teaching and True Health Care:
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/dec/08120506.html
Researchers Question Johns Hopkins Study Claiming No Evidence for Post-Abortion Syndrome:
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/dec/08120507.html
Hillary Clinton at State Department Worries Veterans of UN Abortion Wars:
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/dec/08120503.html
Christian Pro-Family Advocate Calls For Hate Crime Charges for "Dangerous Bigot" Remarks:
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/dec/08120502.html
Kansas High Court Orders Abortion Records Returned in Phill Kline Planned Parenthood Case:
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/may/08050504.html
Pope Urges Argentina to Reject Proposals to Legalize Abortion and Gay "Marriage":
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/dec/08120510.html.
7. UN Gives Awards To Promoters Of Abortion And Homosexual Agenda – December 7, 2008
By Samantha Singson
(NEW YORK – C-FAM) Last week, United Nations (UN) General Assembly president Miguel d’Escoto Brockmann announced the 2008 winners of the UN Prize in the Field of Human Rights, an award for “outstanding contribution to the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms.” This year’s winners include former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour and Human Rights Watch (HRW), both staunch global advocates for abortion and homosexual rights.
Brockmann characterized the recipients as “an inspiration to all of us who seek and believe another type of society, another type of political system, another economic model, another world is possible where all persons will be treated as brothers and sisters, without discrimination, exclusion or destruction of life in all its forms.”
Arguably the most prominent of the award recipients, Louise Arbour is a long-time proponent of sweeping abortion and homosexual rights. During her time as High Commissioner, she encouraged human rights treaty monitoring bodies to promote this agenda. Under her leadership, the UN committees responsible for monitoring state compliance with international treaty obligations have becoming increasingly vocal over national abortion laws – even though no human rights treaty mentions abortion. During Arbor’s four-year term, over 60 countries have been pressured to legalize or liberalize abortion access.
A supporter of homosexual rights since her days as a Canadian Supreme Court Justice, Arbour also pledged her office’s support for the highly controversial Yogyakarta Principles, which seek to make “sexual orientation” a protected non-discrimination category on par with established categories like race and religion even though the term “sexual orientation” has never been accepted in any binding negotiated UN document. Moreover, the Principles seek to reinterpret existing human rights to include homosexual marriage and adoption.
Human Rights Watch is another recipient of this year’s UN prize. In recent years, HRW has been a leader in promoting abortion rights, particularly in Latin America. In 2005, HRW released a report on Argentina that recommended liberalized abortion laws. That same year, HRW filed a legal brief in support of a Colombian case challenging the country’s once-strict abortion ban. In 2007, HRW also mounted a legal challenge to Nicaragua’s abortion law, claiming that Nicaragua’s ban is contrary to international law.
Human Rights Watch said that it “believes that decisions about abortion belong to a pregnant woman without interference by the state or others. The denial of a pregnant woman's right to make an independent decision regarding abortion violates or poses a threat to a wide range of human rights."
Other winners of the 2008 Human Rights Prize are radical lawyer and former United States Attorney General Ramsey Clark, Dr. Carolyn Gomes, and Dr. Denis Mukwege. Pakistan’s Benazir Bhutto and Catholic nun Sister Dorothy Stang were awarded the Prize posthumously.
The UN Human Rights Prize is awarded every five years. The 2008 awardees were selected from among 189 nominations. The Prize will be awarded in the General Assembly on December 10, the sixtieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
For more news, visit us at: www.c-fam.org
8. The Weekly Newsletter Of Christianity.Ca – Friday, December 5, 2008
Virtual House News
Check What’s New!
What’s happening in Ottawa?
When battle lines are drawn, people change. Good people can act badly, says Don Hutchinson, legal counsel for The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada (EFC). He calls for improvement in behaviour among the people running our nation, and points out, “During the election, the EFC’s President, Bruce J. Clemenger, expressed the need for “civility” as the most important issue for Canada’s 40th Parliament, an expression echoed in his December 3 open letter to Parliamentarians and Canadians.”
In a time of economic uncertainty people need assurance of the stability of our government. In his letter Bruce Clemenger urges, “These disciplines, civility, integrity, statesmanship and extending grace, would be significant steps toward restoring and improving the functionality of Parliament and fostering political cohesion in uncertain times.”
Unfortunately good behaviour cannot be legislated points out pastor and writer Bert Warden. While today our society is governed by more laws than ever, he says, we have abandoned our spiritual motivation for godly behaviour. Jimmy Cobb, professor of ethics at Canadian Baptist Seminary, sheds an additional ray of light on this dilemma in his musings. How we choose to live or not live, he offers, is based on the value or worth we place on ourselves and others around us.
So far we’ve focused on the behaviour of our Parliamentarians this week, but may we redirect your thoughts to another matter involving self-worth?
Pastor Stanley Groothof tries to understand why our society seems to have lost the concept of modesty specifically in relation to the way we dress. His call is to parents. Why Do We Dress Our Daughters Like Skanks? He asks, and states, “Provocative, inappropriate clothing is not just a problem of immodesty. It’s a spiritual problem.” Focus on the Family’s Institute of Marriage and Family Canada recently published a review of the book, So Sexy So Soon. Communication is critical, they say. If we want to help our children navigate a sex-saturated culture then they need to learn our beliefs—not those of society around them.
We invite you to read these articles and check out additional ones below. Have a good week as you start getting ready for Christmas.
Blessings, Daina
Daina Doucet
Online Editor
Write us at: feedback@christianity.ca
9. YWCA Proudly Supports Abortion – December 2, 2008
By Jennifer Mesko, editor
Organization with Christian roots embraces the overreaching Freedom of Choice Act.
The Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) is celebrating its 150th anniversary this year. For most of those years, it did not champion abortion rights.
Yet, CEO Dr. Lorraine Cole now is claiming her group has "always been pro-choice” and even supports the Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA), CNSNews.com reported. FOCA could nullify virtually every state, local and federal pro-life law.
The YWCA adopted a pro-abortion position in 1967 and reaffirmed that position in 1988, CNSNews reported.
Mark Crutcher, founder of Life Dynamics, said an organization like the YWCA taking a pro-abortion stance is “outrageous.”
“An organization who claims to be Christian and support the interests of women having a pro-choice stance … that’s absolutely preposterous," he told CNSNews.
The YWCA has gone so far as to support the Freedom of Choice Act, which President-elect Barack Obama has promised to sign into law.
“FOCA will invalidate common-sense, protective laws that the majority of Americans support, including parental involvement, bans on partial-birth abortion, and protections for health care providers who object to participating in abortions," said Denise Burke, vice president of legal affairs at Americans United for Life (AUL).
AUL is calling on state legislatures to take action against FOCA before it reaches Obama's desk.
TAKE ACTION
Nearly 300,000 Americans have expressed their opposition to FOCA. You can add your name to the list.
(NOTE: Referral to Web sites not produced by Focus on the Family is for informational purposes only and does not necessarily constitute an endorsement of the sites' content.)
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