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Families
Really do Matter for Canada - As the family goes, so too goes the
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faith - Prayer, Fasting
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Information
updated June 30nd, 2008
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News Ticker provided by LifeSiteNews.Com
News Items
- Actress Works With Feminists For Life To Provide Life-Affirming Options To College Women – June 27, 2008
- Call On York University To Stop Mandatory Fee To The Canadian Federation Of Students – June 26, 2008
- Case Against Euthanasia – June 27, 2008
- In Old Canada, Morgentaler Was Prosecuted While In New Canada, He Is Awarded Highest Honour – July 2, 2008
- International Right To Life Federation Newsletter – June 28, 2008
- Lifeissues.Net Newsletter #377 – June 29, 2008
- Members Of Parliament Condemn Abortionist Morgentaler’s Order Of Canada – July 3, 2008
- Northwest Territories Passes Motion In Support Of Equal Parenting And Vellacott’s Motion M-483 – June 27, 2008
- Parental Rights Are Clearly Under Attack – June 27, 2008
- Prolife Students Seek Board’s Support – June 26, 2008
- Students Against Margaret Sanger, How SFLA Is Exposing Big Abortion's Racism – June 27, 2008
Newsletter
Archive
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1. Actress Works With Feminists For Life To Provide Life-Affirming Options To College Women – June 27, 2008
Friday Five: Patricia Heaton
Family News in Focus
Actress works with Feminists for Life to provide life-affirming options to college women.
Patricia Heaton, a two-time Emmy-winning actress and New York Times best-selling author, is best known for her role as Debra Barone on the CBS sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond. Now, Heaton is playing a different role: honorary chairwoman of Feminists for Life.
The pro-life, pro-woman organization recently conducted a nationwide survey that revealed a lack of options and information for unwed mothers on college campuses, leaving some women to think their only option is abortion.
Heaton spoke to Family News in Focus about the work Feminists for Life is doing to educate unwed mothers about the life-affirming options available at their schools.
1. Why did you decide to become a pro-life spokesperson?
The community in which I live and work — Hollywood — is a very liberal community, and it’s harder for people to hear a message, which is based on someone’s religious beliefs. Feminists for Life approaches abortion from a secular but holistic approach, meaning taking in the whole package of what’s involved when a woman and her partner find themselves in an unplanned pregnancy.
2. Why do some women think abortion is their only option?
(Our) studies and research show — and this research has been done also by the Guttmacher Institute, the research branch of Planned Parenthood — that women have abortions for economic reasons, mostly because they feel they are not able to sustain another person on their own. They feel they are going to be abandoned by their families, rejected by their partner, thrown out of their workplace, forced to drop out of university if they’re in college.
3. Do you find that colleges push women toward abortion rather than life-affirming options?
At universities, there is a slant toward abortion; some universities even pay for abortions. One student at UCLA wanted to test that theory and went to the health clinic and recorded what the head nurse told her: “Everybody here has abortions. There’s nothing at the university that can help you if you decide to have your baby. Pro-life people make my job a lot harder.”
I believe Planned Parenthood and other abortion clinics have targeted their clinics around colleges.
4. What about Christian universities?
(At Pepperdine), most students said, “Because it’s a Christian college, we felt we could not be pregnant, and if we were that we should have an abortion.” And that’s part of the issue — not being supported by a Christian community because you’ve made this mistake.
Pepperdine has been very responsive. They’ve been great in addressing it and making sure students know there is help available and they would be supported.
5. How is Feminists for Life working to address this problem?
We try to go after those root causes of abortion.
We help students find out what their college will support, if there is housing for pregnant students. Can they telecommute? Are there places to change diapers? Is there childcare? A lot of these things would make a difference. We’re trying to (make sure) every university provides these options and that the information is available to students and faculty.
It’s sometimes a difficult line to walk because we don’t want to be seen as encouraging students to have … sex or get pregnant, but the fact is so many women get pregnant and have an abortion at college. We want to provide students with the access they need in order to go through their nine months of pregnancy and either place their baby for adoption or raise it.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Learn more about Feminists for Life and how to start a chapter on your college campus.
(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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2. Call On York University To Stop Mandatory Fee To The Canadian Federation Of Students – June 26, 2008
Action Alert! Press Release – June 26, 2008
Please find below a press release that NCLN issued today with respect to York U. We are now calling on the admin to eliminate the mandatory student fee that supports the CFS and turn it into an optional 'opt-in' fee. We need MANY people to contact Mr. Robert Tiffin and Mr. Mamdouh Shoukri about this and hopefully encourage York U to take concrete action against the CFS. (contact info follows below). Any help you could provide with this would be much appreciated. (Informing your contacts and also send a message to Mr. Tiffin and Shoukri yourself) would be much appreciated.
Thanks!
Alex.
The campus group at York University, Students for Bioethical Awareness (SBA), have launched a formal complaint under the York University Student Code of Conduct. They allege that their rights have been violated due to a number of incidences, including the last minute cancellation of an approved abortion debate[1].
The complaint also addresses the recent motion passed by the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS), which promises support for any member union that denies resources or space to pro-life student groups. The York Federation of Students (YFS) have been the first to act on this support, by passing a motion to deny resources, space, recognition or funding to pro-life student groups.
Theresa Matters, Executive Director of National Campus Life Network (NCLN) comments, “The CFS is encouraging its member unions to ban pro-life students from participating in campus life. There is an obvious trend: first a debate is cancelled, next CFS moves to support student unions that prohibit pro-life students groups, and now the YFS is acting on this official CFS support,” she continues, “These actions also come shortly after a successful human rights complaint from the pro-life club at Capilano College against their student union, a CFS member, that banned them.”
By virtue of an automatic student fee the CFS is funded by over one half million students, with 45,000 of those at York alone, who were never individually asked if they wished to pay the CFS membership fee.
At York University, every fulltime student is required to pay $7.20 per year directly to the CFS.
Matters notes, “In an era of high tuition fees, CFS is collecting millions of dollars per year from students across Canada and using this money in part to silence students who disagree with them.” While the York administration has publicly stated that they do not support this type of discriminatory behaviour, the collection of the mandatory levy to the CFS continues.
NCLN is thus formally calling on the York administration to allow students the choice of whether or not to pay before they are charged. Matters concludes, “If the YFS and CFS want to ban so-called ‘anti-choice’ activity, York administration should in turn eliminate the ‘anti-choice’ practice of automatically collecting CFS membership fees from every student.”
The York University mission statement claims, “We test the boundaries and structures of knowledge. We cultivate the critical intellect.” It is time that York’s administration recognizes the negative impact of the decisions by the YFS and CFS and acts accordingly.
For More Information Contact:
Theresa Matters, Executive Director of National Campus Life Network: director@ncln.ca, 905-630-7271
[1] Refers to February 28, 2008 abrupt and last minute cancellation of an abortion debate organized by the SBA.
_______________________
York U administration contacts:
Mr. Robert Tiffin, Vice President Students
E-mail: vpstdnts@yorku.ca
Phone: 416.736.5955
Mailing: N303 Bennett Centre for Student Services York University, 4700 Keele St. Toronto, Ontario M4P 1E2
Fax: 416.736.5990
Mr. Mamdouh Shoukri, President York University
Email: mshoukri@yorku.ca
Phone: 416.736.5200
Mailing: S949 Ross Building York University, 4700 Keele St. Toronto, Ontario M4P 1E2
Fax: 416.736.5641
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3. Case Against Euthanasia – June 27, 2008
It's impossible not to be moved by a plea to end someone's suffering – but the arguments against assisted suicide are ultimately more compelling – Margaret Somerville
Margaret Somerville – The Ottawa Citizen
Friday, June 27, 2008
There is a trend in western democracies these days of increasing activism to legalize euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide.
Here in Canada we have seen a private member's bill (C-562) introduced in April by Bloc Québécois MP Francine Lalonde, which would amend the Criminal Code to allow a physician to "aid a person to die with dignity." So understanding the arguments both for and against these interventions is of crucial importance. But that's not necessarily easy to accomplish, if my own experience holds true more generally.
I teach a course, "Ethics, Law, Science and Society," to upper year and graduate law students at McGill and, at the end of last semester, the topic was euthanasia.
I've researched euthanasia, physician-assisted suicide, the ethics and law of palliative care and pain relief treatment, decision-making at the end of life, and related topics, for nearly three decades and published a 433-page book, Death Talk: The case against euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide.
Yet, I came away from the class feeling that I had completely failed to communicate to most of my students what the problems with euthanasia were – that I was hitting a steel wall. This was not due to any ill-will on their part; rather, they seemed not to see euthanasia as raising major problems – at least any beyond preventing its abuse – a reaction I found very worrying.
The one student who tried to express a contrary view, although normally very articulate, ended up by saying, "Well, it's what I believe and I guess my background has something to do with that.”
So, I E-mailed my students explaining I felt "that I had not done a good job in presenting the euthanasia debate... [and] decided to see if I could work out why not by writing about it." I attached an early draft of this article and asked for comments; I received several, very thoughtful replies.
My concern went beyond failing to convince my students there was, at the least, a strong case to be made against euthanasia. It included the fear that their response was likely to be true also for the wider society.
The difficulty of communicating the case against euthanasia and the ease of communicating the case for it, is a serious danger, especially if, as seems likely, we are headed into another debate about whether we should legalize euthanasia in Canada.
So why is the case against euthanasia so hard to establish?
When personal and societal values were consistent, widely shared and based on shared religion, the case against euthanasia was simple: God commanded "Thou shalt not kill."
In a secular society based on intense individualism, the case for euthanasia is simple: Individuals have the right to choose the manner, time and place of their death.
In contrast, in such societies the case against euthanasia is complex.
It requires arguing that harm to the community trumps individual rights or preferences.
One student explained that she thought I was giving far too much weight to concerns about how legalizing euthanasia would harm the community and our shared values, especially that of respect for life, and too little to individuals' rights to autonomy and self-determination, and to euthanasia as a way to relieve people's suffering.
She emphasized that individuals' rights have been given priority in contemporary society, and they should also prevail in relation to death. Moreover, legalizing euthanasia was consistent with other changes in society, such as respect for women and access to abortion, she said.
To respond to such arguments, we need to be able to embed euthanasia in a moral context without resorting to religion – that is, formulate a response that adequately communicates the case against euthanasia from a secular perspective.
That requires, first, countering the belief that individual rights should always prevail – a task I failed at in class.
We must show, as well, there are solid secular arguments against euthanasia, for example, that legalizing euthanasia would harm the very important shared societal value of respect for life, and change the basic norm that we must not kill one another. It would also harm the two main institutions – law and medicine – that paradoxically are more important in a secular society than in a religious one for upholding the value of respect for life. And, it would harm people's trust in medicine and make them fearful of seeking treatment.
So why now? There is nothing new about people becoming terminally ill, suffering, wanting to die, and our being able to kill them. So why now, after we have prohibited euthanasia for millennia, are we debating whether to legalize it?
Although the euthanasia debate usually centres on a dying, identified person, who wants euthanasia, I believe the answer to what has precipitated the debate lies in understanding a complex interaction of certain unprecedented changes in society. Identifying these factors can also help us to see what is needed to make the case against euthanasia clearer and stronger.
Dying alone or unloved seems to be a universal human fear. In democratic western societies many people have a sense of loss of family and community: relationships between intimates have been converted into relationships between strangers. That loss has had a major impact on the circumstances in which we die. Death has been professionalized, technologized, depersonalized and dehumanized. Facing those realities makes euthanasia seem an attractive option and easier to introduce. Euthanasia can be seen as a response to "intense pre-mortem loneliness."
We engage in "death talk" in order to accommodate the inevitable reality of death into the living of our lives. That talk helps us to live reasonably comfortably with that knowledge, which we must do if we are still to be able to find meaning in life.
"Death talk" (and other morals and values talk) used to take place in religion and its churches, synagogues, mosques and temples and was confined to an hour or so a week. Today, it has spilled out into our daily lives, especially through media. The euthanasia debate is one example of such "death talk."
Moreover, "secular cathedrals" – our parliaments and courts – have replaced our religious ones. That has resulted in the legalization of societal ethical and moral debates, including in relation to death. It is not surprising, therefore, that the euthanasia debate centres on its legalization.
Mass media and the mediatization of societal debates, including euthanasia, also have major impact. Media focus on individual cases:
People, such as Sue Rodriguez – an ALS sufferer who took her fight to die to the Supreme Court of Canada – pleading for euthanasia, make dramatic, personally and emotionally gripping television.
The arguments against euthanasia, based on the harm that it would do to individuals and society in both the present and the future, are very much more difficult to present visually.
Moreover, the vast exposure to death that we are subjected to in both current-affairs and entertainment programs might have overwhelmed our sensitivity to the awesomeness of death and, likewise, of inflicting it.
But one of my students responded, "If anything, I think many of our reactions come not from an overexposure to death, but from an aversion to suffering, and an unwillingness or hesitancy to prolong pain."
Finding convincing responses to the relief-of-suffering argument used to justify euthanasia is difficult in secular societies. In the past, we used religion to give value and meaning to suffering. But, now, suffering is often seen as the greatest evil and of no value, which leads to euthanasia being seen as an appropriate response.
Some answers to the "suffering argument" might include that:
- even apart from religious belief, it's wrong to kill another human;
- euthanasia would necessarily cause loss of respect for human life;
- it would open up an inevitable slippery slope and set a precedent that would present serious dangers to future generations. Just as our actions could destroy their physical environment, likewise, we could destroy their moral environment. Both environments must be held on trust for them;
- recognizing death as an acceptable way to relieve suffering could influence people contemplating suicide.
Might the strongest argument against euthanasia, however, relate not to death but to life? That is, the argument that normalizing it would destroy a sense of the unfathomable mystery of life and seriously damage our human spirit, especially our capacity to find meaning in life.
Margaret Somerville is director of the Centre for Medicine, Ethics and Law at McGill University, and author of The Ethical Imagination:
Journeys of the Human Spirit.
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4. In Old Canada, Morgentaler Was Prosecuted While In New Canada, He Is Awarded Highest Honour – July 2, 2008
A Symbol Of Moral Decay
In the old Canada, Morgentaler was prosecuted. In the new Canada, he is awarded our highest honour
Ian Hunter, National Post Published: Wednesday, July 02, 2008
To award the Order of Canada to Henry Morgentaler does not much diminish Governor-General Michaelle Jean nor Canada (neither, truth to tell, have much of a reputation to tarnish), but it might make some past recipients – for example, Jean Vanier (1971), or the Salvation Army's Arnold Brown (1982), or the late Cardinal Emmett Carter (1983) – seem to be in rather uncomfortable company. But then, people forget that the 1994 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Yasser Arafat.
In the early 1970s, when I was just beginning my law teaching career, I was scheduled to debate Henry Morgentaler at the law faculty at the University of Ottawa. At the time, I was worried less about the substance of the debate, more about procedural niceties: Should I shake his hand? And how should I address him? To call someone "Dr." whose grisly practice made a daily mockery of the Hippocratic Oath, seemed unappealing. In the event it didn't matter; Morgentaler did not show up, sending a replacement instead.
Today, such niceties of address and nomenclature wouldn't arise. The Governor-General has chosen to confer the country's highest honour on Canada's most notorious abortionist.
The government so seldom does anything original. The Order of Canada follows the decision by the University of Western Ontario in 2006 to confer an honorary doctorate on Morgentaler. At the time, I wrote that this is what happens when a university loses its way, when it no longer knows why it exists, nor what it is supposed to do.
Well, what does awarding Morgentaler the Order of Canada say about Canada?
It says that the new Canada – the Canada of Michaelle Jean, and Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin (who chaired the selection committee) and the mummers who sat on the committee are as like the old Canada, as, in Hamlet's words, "am I to Hercules." In old Canada, Morgentaler was prosecuted and sent to jail for performing illegal abortions. But that was in another era and, as far as I'm concerned, another country – a country as dead as any of the recipients of Morgentaler's attentions.
The decision to give Morgentaler the Order of Canada was scheduled to be made on Canada's birthday. It would require macabre sarcasm to call this a "birthday" present; so, for this "deathday" present, let me briefly remark on three propositions.
One, the Canada where I was born, where I was educated and grew to manhood, came to an end at about the time of the Supreme Court of Canada's Morgentaler decision (1988). I do not suggest any cause and effect; that would be to give undue weight to one ludicrous Supreme Court decision, one of many the court has made since judges became infatuated with the Charter of Rights. What I do assert is that the Canada I am sometimes inclined fondly to remember ended at about that time.
Back then, I wrote articles about the Morgentaler decision in scholarly journals, analyzing the court's ideological motives and its flawed legal reasoning. All a waste of time and paper. Today, I cannot bring myself to re-read the decision or my critiques; abortion no longer seems a subject for scholarly analysis and debate, but rather an evil to be fled from.
Two, all who are touched by abortion are hurt by it. No winners, only losers. The most obviously hurt, of course, are the children who are not allowed to draw breath. But the women who undergo the procedure, their men and even the abortionist, are also hurt by it.
Three, while we do not forget the evil functionary, sometimes our remembrance of him is subsumed in the triumph of the victim. Through the centuries Pontius Pilate has not been forgotten, but he is remembered only in the greater drama of Jesus Christ.
So let it be with Morgentaler. He will not be forgotten, nor should he be, nor the evil he has perpetrated. But the greater story --even in as pathetic a country as Canada -- is not his, it is Humanae Vitae (1968) and the final triumph of life over the culture of death.
The words of Pope Paul VI in Humanae Vitae will be pondered by those who come after us (assuming that there are any) when the Order of Canada has been mercifully and deservedly forgotten.
"To [governments] is committed the responsibility of safeguarding the common good… Never allow the morals of your people to be undermined… Never tolerate those practices which are opposed to the natural law of God."
And--might I add--do not honour men without honour. – Ian Hunter is Professor Emeritus in the Faculty of Law at the University of Western Ontario.
http://www.nationalpost.com/opinion/story.html?id=625590
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5. International Right To Life Federation Newsletter – June 28, 2008
Online Version is available at http://www.lifeissues.org/international/2008/v19no3.htm
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Volume 19, Number 3 |
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May/June 2008 |
Mexico - Women Die
Mr. Jorge Serrano Limon, who heads Mexico's pro-life group, says that officials have only acknowledged one of eight known maternal deaths due to abortions, and that over 6,000 babies have been killed since abortion was legalized in Mexico City one year ago.
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.
Columbia - Not Many Abortions
There was wide spread dismay two years ago when this nation's Constitutional Court decriminalized abortion in cases of rape, incest, foetal deformity, and threats to a woman's life or health. It was feared that this would open the country to wide spread abortion on demand. Columbia's Attorney General Edgardo Maya recently announced that only 40 abortions have been carried out in these last two years. This was in the nature of a complaint from him who thought that many more abortions should have been committed. It is interesting to note that prior to this judicial legalization, the pro-abortion folks claimed that 450,000 illegal abortions were taking place annually. This replicates the same type of bogus claims that we have seen in other countries. |
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Nicaragua - Stringent Pro-Life Law - Results Are In
Foreign critics charged that this law would result in more maternal deaths because of illegal abortions. In fact, overall maternal mortality has decreased 58% in the year since abortion was made totally illegal. It dropped from 50 to 21 deaths, a stunning reversal and proof that the foreign critics were all wet.
Pro-Abortion Law Passes in South Africa
The National Assembly has passed a controversial pro-abortion law. The thrust of the law is to broaden access to abortion facilities. It is feared that it will require health care workers to perform abortions in violation of their personal rights. Pro-life leaders predicted that the law would become one of the major campaign issues during next year's national election.
Ireland - No For Embryo Bill
Britain is on its way to pass a Human Fertilization and Embryology Bill. Northern Ireland's officials have protested, stating that such a bill would allow amendments that could spill over into Northern Ireland and legalize abortion by the back door. Energetic campaigning against this bill in Northern Ireland is proceeding. |
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Angola - Pro-life and They Mean It
Angola is currently in the process of reforming its Penal Code. It is clearly going beyond mere criminalization of abortion. It will also add two new laws for the protection of intrauterine life. They forbid "propaganda favourable to the interruption of pregnancy" and "the circulation of means for the interruption of pregnancy." All abortions are illegal in Angola, although abortions in the case of forcible rape and foetal handicap tend not to be punished.
Slovakia - Abortion Law Unchanged
An attempt in this predominantly Catholic country to toughen the conditions that permit abortion has met with failure. We note that the Slovak Constitutional Court ruled last year that abortion until the twelfth week at a woman's request is constitutional.
Ecuador - Ob-Gyns Reject Abortion
The Ecuadorian Federation of Societies of Gynaecology and Obstetrics meeting in Guayaquil signed and sent to the Parliament a document strongly condemning the legalization of abortion.
Belgium, Euthanasia
Belgium's ruling party wants to force every hospital in that country to install protocols for patients who request euthanasia. They already have a law that allows doctors to kill patients. Under this proposed law, a physician may refuse to administer euthanasia, but if the patient requests it, that request must be carried out by another doctor. This law not only creates pressure for a "duty to die" for the patient, but a "duty to kill" for the physician.
Czech Abortions Continue Dropping
The Czech Republic has very permissive abortion legislation. Even so, its record is impressive. In 1970, there were 148,000 children born and 72,000 abortions. In 2007, there were 114,000 births with 25,000 abortions. To partly dampen this good news, it is noted that hormonal contraception and intrauterine devices have been increasing in use. |
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Britain - Late Term Abortions Increase
The number of abortions carried out in Britain in 1997 was 2,641. In 2006, it had climbed to 2,948. Only one-fourth of these were listed as eugenic for foetal abnormality.
Croatia Abortions Dropping
The latest reports from Croatia list a total of 4,563 induced abortions in 2005. These numbers continue to drop, as this figure is less than 10% of the 1989 total. Back in 1989, Croatia's 51,000 abortions were nearly equal to its live births. The main reason for the change has been the aggressive leadership of the bishops in this largely Catholic country. At this time, it and Slovakia, both of which still have permissive laws on the books, share the honours for the largest percentage drop of abortions of any nations in recent years.
Scotland - Abortions Increase
Its abortion rate has continued to rise alarmingly. Earlier health officials had claimed that increasing sex education, increasing access to contraception for younger teenagers and the wider availability of the morning-after-pill would reduce the pregnancy rate. Exactly the opposite has happened, vindicating the Catholic Cardinal's prediction that such methods only throw fuel on the fire.
U.S. Abortions Lowest In Thirty Years
The Guttmacher Institute, Planned Parenthood's research arm, reports that the number of abortions in the U.S. has dropped to 1.2 million. This is the lowest level since one year after the Roe vs. Wade decision by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1973. It is interesting that this radical pro-abortion organization admits that we now only kill 1 out of 5 pregnancies, rather than what was close to 1 out of 3 ten years ago. Not surprisingly, they are suggesting that it is due to more contraceptives, while offering no basis for such a claim. Rather it is quite obvious that the continuing passage of state laws, increasing women's information and other options, has led to this decline. We note that this is happening in the face of a continuing overall increase in population. |
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Uruguay - President Vetoes Bill
After two years of discussion and manoeuvring the Senate approved a bill legalizing abortion by a vote of 18-13. The President vetoed the bill, and thus killed it. The bill would have allowed first trimester abortions on demand.
London - Hybrid Cloning Approved
By a 2-1 vote, the British Parliament approved allowing scientists to create hybrids combining animal and human DNA in human cloning attempts. All such living human embryos would be required to be killed at fourteen days of age (for now).
Germans Oppose Human Cloning
Both political and medical officials in Germany are reported to be "outraged" over a recent vote by the British Parliament to legalize human cloning involving hybrids. Reaction throughout the scientific community in Germany was unanimous. "This is a serious mistake"… "It is scientifically irrational and irresponsible"... "It is unethical to use a person for spare parts"… "It will not likely provide any medical benefits."
Western Australia Defeats Cloning
Following a vote in the Federal Parliament to overturn a human cloning ban, the State of Western Australia has defeated an attempt to legalize such cloning.
GLOBAL FUND Helping China
This fund was created to help fight HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis. We now learn that substantial funds have been given to China, which presumably can and does use them to help support its draconian One Child Pro-abortion Policy. China received 174 million of which the U.S. contributed 58 million.
Vienna Austria - Chimpanzees, Legal Persons?
Austrian animal rights activists have tried to have a chimpanzee legally declared a person. That country's Supreme Court rejected the request. These animal right's people have now taken their case to the European Court of Human Rights. |
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Fiji - Fewer Students Coming Up
Fiji's Council of Social Services has stated that family planning policies need to be revised because of a significant drop in the number of students entering school. They would encourage population growth and have called for a reduction in the use of condoms.
Humane Vitae - Forty Years Old
This encyclical on human life, which was intensely controversial when published, has survived the test of time. Now on its fortieth birthday, we find reports from around the world in support of its message, noting that its predictions have come true.
Chile - Birth Control Pills Limited
Chile's Constitutional Court has outlawed distribution of emergency contraceptive pills in public health clinics. In September 2006, President Michelle Bachelet ruled that such pills should be given to teenagers free in order to reduce the teen birth rate. Since such distribution began, similar to experience in other countries, the rate has not dropped.
Abstinence Education Equals Fewer Teen Births
During the past eight years, as funding for authentic abstinence education in the U.S. has increased, the young unmarried teen birth rate has been cut in half. The most dramatic decrease has been among young (10 to 14) black unmarried teens, their birth rates now are the lowest in recorded history. Birth rates for all teens, age 10 to 14, are also the lowest in 40 years. Birth rates for teens, age 15 to 19, are the lowest in 20 years. It is noted that in 1995 and 1998, when abstinence education funding was significantly increased, the teen birth rate began its sharpest decline.
New Head - Pontifical Council for Family
To replace Cardinal Trujillo, who died April 21, the Pope has appointed Cardinal Antonelli of Florence, Italy to be its new president. He is described as "one of the Church's strongest advocates for life and the family." |
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Progress with New Stem Cells
The research with induced pluripotent stem cells conducted in the last six months, since they were first produced, has progressed into being able to grow functioning heart and blood cells. This is a first, as differentiation into the three types of cardio-vascular cells that are needed to repair heart and blood vessels has now been achieved. Publishing in the medical journal, Stem Cells, Dr. Robb MacLellan stated, "I believe these IPS cells address many of the shortcomings of embryonic stem cells obtained from human embryos and are the future of regenerative medicine."
IVF Fails in Older Mothers
According to researchers at Aberdeen University, Scotland, in-vitro fertilization success rates are approximately 30% at age 30, but drop to only 1% at age 44.
More Progress on Primitive Stem Cells
The original work by scientists in Japan and Wisconsin showed that you could turn skin cells backward to pluripotent (embryonic) stem cells. This work was replicated and thus proven. Then Dr. Yamanaka from Japan reported that these new cells would not create tumours. Now German scientists have been able to use drugs rather than viruses to turn adult brain cells into these new embryonic stem cells. This makes cell-reprogramming technology simpler and more practical.
Stem Cells for Lou Gehrig's Disease
A new study in animals, comparing adult stem cells with embryonic ones has shown that the adult types, unlike embryonic cells, slow down the progress of disease and can potentially treat this disease. It is also known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Marrow stem cells were used. There were no adverse effects. |
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Anencephalic Baby Survives
A Brazilian baby born with only a partial brain is now 1-½ years old. This has been brought to the attention of the Brazilian Supreme Court, which is expected to soon rule on whether to permit abortions for anencephalic babies.
Australia - Stem Cells for Parkinson's
Adult nasal stem cells have been used by Griffith University researchers in rat's brains to reverse symptoms of Parkinsonism. Research continues.
Pregnant and Stressed
She is pregnant and stressed? So is her baby. The British Royal College of Ob and Gyn has announced results of a study showing that unborn babies as early as four months into the pregnancy suffer from maternal stress. Cortisol, a stress hormone can easily be measured in the woman. They have shown that simultaneously this stress hormone also rises in amniotic fluid, which is largely produced by the baby.
Vitamin A to Prevent Cleft Palate?
Researchers in Oslo, Norway, who studied more than a thousand women, report that consuming plenty of this nutrient cut in half the likelihood of cleft palate, when compared with women who received very little of it.
Breast Feeding Limits Arthritis?
Research at Sweden's Malmo University Hospital reports that mothers who have more children, and especially if they breast feed, have a significantly lower risk of arthritis later in life. Oral contraceptives on the other hand offered no benefit. Breast-feeding for more than a year reduced the risk of rheumatoid arthritis by 54% and if even for one month reduced the risk 26%, while each successive child decreased the risk by an additional 13%. |
www.internationalrighttolife.com |
J.C. Willke, President, International Right to Life Fed.
1821 West Galbraith Road
Cincinnati, Ohio 45239 USA
Phone +1 (513) 729-3600
Fax +1 (513) 729-3636
E-mail: IRTLF@lifeissues.org |
International Right to Life Fed., International Office
Ruitersweg 35-37 1211 KT Hilversum
The Netherlands
Phone +31 35 624-4352
Fax +31 35 624-9141
E-mail: info@schreeuwomleven.nl |
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6. Lifeissues.Net Newsletter #377 – June 29, 2008
Greetings from LifeIssues.net (www.lifeissues.net)
Dear Friends for Life,
Mental Health Again: The New Zealand government has released figures on abortion showing that 98.9% of the abortions approved were done on mental health grounds. Experience worldwide, of course, has shown that such a reason is a total farce and amounts to abortion on demand for any reason at all. Professor David Ferguson of Canterbury University has responded to this showing that women who have abortions are 40% more likely to have mental health problems and that nearly half of the women he studied, who had abortions "had elevated rates of subsequent mental health problems, including depression, anxiety, suicidal behaviours and substance abuse disorders."
Bishops in Brazil Declare Culture War: Reversing their historical lukewarm position, the Catholic bishops of Brazil have issued what amounts to a declaration of war against abortion. They stated, "Since the 1980s, there has been a strategic plan designed by large international foundations that promotes abortion and population control. They have deliberately camouflaged this under the appearance of false emancipation of women and the defence of supposed sexual and reproductive rights. It has been spread by the creation and financing of international work of NGOs. They have promoted feminism, liberal sex education, homosexuality and abortion." This has included, as prime movers, the United Nations, International Planned Parenthood, and other organizations. The declaration then states, "This has attempted to decriminalize abortion, has engaged in fraud and manipulation of language, has included the distribution of birth control, hedonistic sex education, gender ideology, homosexuality, and euthanasia." This is a new stance by the Brazilian bishops, and looks as if it is inaugurating a very aggressive reaction to the above problems.
God Bless, Jerry Novotny, OMI
Thought: 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 #377 – June 29, 2008
Table Of Contents:
1. India Baby Girl Deaths 'Increase'
2. Poll Shows Support For Abortion Drops To Seven-Year Low, Pro-Life Views Up
3. North Miss. Doctor Charged With Cyber Stalking
4. A Third Of Secondary Schools Have A Sex Clinic
5. Disappearing Daughters: India Sex Selection Crisis Worsening
6. Do Embryos Have Souls?
7. Abortion Kills Your Sex Life Says UK Doctor In Times Column
8. The Bitter Irony Of Sex-Selective Abortion
9. Same-Sex 'Marriage' And The Persecution Of Civil Society
10. Mother's Delight As Baby Survives Abortion
11. Abortion In Britain: The Case For A New Approach
12. Why Fathers Matter
13. More On Conception By Dr. Paul A. Byrne
Focus On Asia: "Corruption index: India ranked 74" – India has been ranked a lowly 74, two steps down since last year, among 180 countries of the world on the worldwide Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), prepared by independent international agency Transparency International.
http://www.worldpress.org/link.cfm?http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/Corruption-index-India-ranked-74/327777/
Item #1. India Baby Girl Deaths 'Increase'
A report by the UK charity says increasing numbers of female foetuses were being aborted and baby girls deliberately neglected and left to die. In one site in the Punjab state, there are just 300 girls to every 1,000 boys among higher caste families, it says. ActionAid says India faces a "bleak" future if it does not end its practice of cultural preference for boys.
View full article at BBC News: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7466916.stm
Item #2. Poll Shows Support For Abortion Drops To Seven-Year Low, Pro-Life Views Up
A new poll conducted by ABC News and the Washington Post shows support for abortion dropping to a seven year low. The survey also found the percentage of Americans who take a pro-life position on abortion is tied for its highest level during that same time period.
View full article at LifeNews.com: http://www.lifenews.com/nat3984.html
Item #3. North Miss. Doctor Charged With Cyber Stalking
We often get complaints from hospice staff who resent the accusations that any terminal patient may have been killed through an overdose of sedatives and/or opioid medications like morphine. However, the complaints of exactly that crime keep pouring in all over our nation. Not just from lay people, but from knowledgeable family members who are doctors, nurses and other professionals who know what good quality care is.
In this article, we see that a hospice doctor (not mentioned as "hospice" doctor in the headline) is charged with a cyber crime for sending threatening emails. The real story is found at the very end of the article where it says, "The relatives of several people who died at the hospice claim that their loved ones were intentionally given lethal doses of narcotics such as morphine." What happened to investigating that objectively? We have seen many, many cases where the investigations of obvious, proved murders (through autopsy and other expert analysis) have been stopped in their tracks. As I've said many times, hospice is a protected industry, the "sacred cow" which cannot be tarnished with the truth! No truthful account of the many killings occurring in SOME hospices is allowed to ever see major news coverage.
See article below.
Ron Panzer for Hospice Patients Alliance: http://www.hospicepatients.org
View full text at SunHerald.com: http://www.sunherald.com/306/story/635497.html
Item #4. A Third Of Secondary Schools Have A Sex Clinic
Almost 1,000 British secondary schools offer so-called sexual health programmes some of which include the provision of morning-after pills, contraception and pregnancy tests. Most secondary school pupils are under the age of consent and some are just 11. Schools were surveyed by the mainly tax-funded Sex Education Forum and a researcher said the results were encouraging. Dr Patricia Morgan, an author on family matters, said condom distribution did not work and urged abstinence education.
View full article at Mail Online:
http://www.mailonsunday.co.uk/news/article-1028554/A-million-school-children-access-contraceptives-sexual-health-services.html
Item #5. Disappearing Daughters: India Sex Selection Crisis Worsening
Sex-selective abortion is widely practised in India with ultrasound scans routinely used to determine the sex of the child. The All-Party Parliamentary Group on Population, Development and Reproductive Health heard in London yesterday that there were an estimated 35 million missing girls in India. On average there are just 800 girls for every 1000 boys, with the number as low as 300 in Punjab, according to ActionAid's report to the committee.
To learn more see ActionAid:
http://www.actionaid.org.uk/101356/disappearing_daughters_india_sex_selection_crisis_worsening.html
Item #6. Do Embryos Have Souls?
The moral teaching of the Church is that the human embryo must be treated as if it were already ensouled, even if it might not yet be so. It must be treated as if it were a person from the moment of conception, even if there exists the theoretical possibility that it might not yet be so. Why this rather subtle, nuanced position, instead of simply declaring outright that zygotes are ensouled, and therefore are persons? First, because there has never been a unanimous tradition on this point; and second, because the precise timing of ensoulment/personhood of the human embryo is irrelevant to the question of whether or not we may ever destroy such embryos for research or other purposes.
See the full article at CERC:
http://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/medical_ethics/me0116.htm
Item #7. Abortion Kills Your Sex Life Says UK Doctor In Times Column
In the May 2 instalment of his regular health feature in The Times, Dr. Thomas Stuttaford responded to a reader who complained of a loss of interest in sex following an abortion. "Though my boyfriend and I agreed it was the right thing to do, I feel guilty and I've gone off sex," wrote the questioner. Dr. Stuttaford responded by saying that loss of libido after an abortion is "so common that it can almost be said to be expected".
Full article at LifeSiteNews.com: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/may/08050506.html
Item #8. The Bitter Irony Of Sex-Selective Abortion
Critics have derided this as an attempt by the Republican gubernatorial candidate to pander to pro-lifers. But a quick glance at international statistics suggests that sex-selective abortion is no dystopian fantasy. It is a chilling reality throughout the world and in our own backyard.
Full Article at CERC: http://catholiceducation.org/articles/abortion/ab0130.htm
Item #9. Same-Sex 'Marriage' And The Persecution Of Civil Society
Advocates of same-sex "marriage" present the idea as a step forward for tolerance and respect. But recent developments place that interpretation very much in doubt.
View entire text at CERC: http://catholiceducation.org/articles/homosexuality/ho0112.htm
Item #10. Mother's Delight As Baby Survives Abortion
Britain's lawmakers have voted to extend scientific research on embryos to allow the mixing of human and animal egg and sperm, to allow lesbians to create children through IVF without the need for a father, and against lowering the 24-week legal limit for abortions.
View entire text at Telegraph.co.uk:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/2078023/Mother%27s-delight-as-baby-survives-abortion.html
Item #11. Abortion In Britain: The Case For A New Approach
Britain's lawmakers have voted to extend scientific research on embryos to allow the mixing of human and animal egg and sperm, to allow lesbians to create children through IVF without the need for a father, and against lowering the 24-week legal limit for abortions.
View entire text from The New Yorker:
http://www.godspy.com/opinion/abortion-in-britian-the-case-for-a-new-approach/
Item #12. Why Fathers Matter
Greater levels of fathers' involvement were associated with lower levels of adolescents' behavioural problems, both in terms of aggression and antisocial behaviour and negative feelings such as anxiety, depression, and low self-esteem. Fathers' involvement was measured by the frequency with which fathers discussed important decisions with and listened to their adolescents, know whom their adolescents are with when not at home, not miss events or activities that are important to their adolescents, along with adolescents' reports of closeness to their fathers and whether their fathers spend sufficient time with them and how well their share and communicate with one another.
View entire text at familyfacts.org: http://www.familyfacts.org/topten.cfm
Item #13. More On Conception By Dr. Paul A. Byrne
It appears as though Professor Dianne Irving did not read my entire article. Words, like conception, have definition and meaning. The roots of words never change, no matter how distorted. A true physician always is defined in relationship to the patient. A veterinarian is defined by beast and brutes. The embryologist is defined by a time period from the zygote to the foetus (8 weeks). The patient is a person. The person is an individual substance of a nature rational. Human life on earth is the substantial fact of the unity of soul and body. The formation of the body at the instant of conception manifests the person created by God.
View entire text at LifeIssues.net:
http://www.lifeissues.net/writers/byrn/byrn_02conception.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: 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: Fr. Jerry Novotny, OMI; LifeIssues.net, Editor; 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.
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7. Members Of Parliament Condemn Abortionist Morgentaler’s Order Of Canada – July 3, 2008
Members of Parliament condemn abortionist Morgentaler’s Order of Canada.
Published by Tim Bloedow at 11:31 pm
Andrew Scheer, Conservative Member of Parliament for Regina-Qu’Appelle, Saskatchewan, issued the following statement: “I am deeply troubled by the announcement that Henry Morgentaler has been awarded the Order of Canada. I am greatly disappointed that Canada’s highest civilian honour has been politicized and debased by this appointment. Henry Morgentaler has been a central figure in a very divisive and emotional debate. Far from uniting Canadians with feelings of pride and appreciation, there is a significant portion of the population who will be outraged by this decision. I would urge all Canadians who are dismayed by this appointment to contact the Governor-General and the advisory panel to express their disappointment.”
Rod Bruinooge, Conservative Member of Parliament for Winnipeg South, Manitoba, issued the following statement: “Appointees to the Order of Canada should be seen by a clear majority of Canadians as being noble and beyond reproach. Since this is not the case with Dr. Morgentaler, he should not be considered for our highest civilian award. I find myself now questioning the Order of Canada and its very legitimacy as a voice for all Canadians. I recently nominated a deserving citizen in my community, but I no longer feel I can associate with the Order and have asked to have my name disassociated with the nomination process. I urge Canadians to contact the Governor General and the Order of Canada Selection Committee to express your concern and disappointment with this divisive selection.”
Art Hanger, Conservative MP for Calgary Northeast, Alberta, was quoted in the Globe & Mail’s online report today saying: “Apart from providing a so-called service which I don’t believe should be even offered in the nation, but is unfortunately, because we don’t have a law governing the taking of life of the unborn. But that’s my strong opinion. I know it probably won’t be shared by many in the party or the government, but that’s where I stand.”
An earlier G&M article, wrote the following about Maurice Vellacott, Conservative MP for Saskatoon-Wanuskewin, Saskatchewan: “Maurice Vellacott… said the honour normally goes to someone who is the unanimous choice of the advisory council. Mr. Vellacott said he has heard this was not the case with the selection of Dr. Morgentaler. ‘You would think it should be, as it has been in the past, a consensus,’ he said. ‘This is a pretty divisive issue. I think we can all agree on that. So why would we have the highest honour in the country being issued when there is obviously strong difference of opinion about it?’ There are so many deserving Canadians, there was no need to choose somebody like Dr. Morgentaler, he said.”
The same article had this to say about Dan McTeague, Liberal MP for Pickering-Scarborough East, Ontario: “Liberal MP Dan McTeague said Dr. Morgentaler is a very controversial person and if he is admitted to the order, it will polarize Canadians. The Governor-General and the committee advising on appointments to the Order of Canada have always been careful in the past not to choose people who were controversial or who would not be unanimously celebrated by all Canadians, Mr. McTeague said. ‘It’s more of a social statement rather than the usual apolitical decisions,’ he said. ‘There will be people who cheer what he has done. There will be others who fundamentally disagree with what he represents’.”
In the same article, Paul Steckle, Liberal MP for Huron-Bruce, Ontario, was quoted saying, “It diminished
in my mind what we think the Order of Canada stands for.”
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8. Northwest Territories Passes Motion In Support Of Equal Parenting And Vellacott’s Motion M-483 – June 27, 2008
For Immediate Release – June 27, 2008
OTTAWA – The Northwest Territories has demonstrated its pioneering spirit by paving the way for equal parenting in Canada. Guided by the leadership of Kam Lake MLA David Ramsay, the Legislature of the Northwest Territories, on June 19, passed a motion to affirm the importance of "equal parenting" as in the best interests of children even in cases of marriage break-up and family dissolution. This guiding principle of course recognizes exceptions in cases of proven child abuse or neglect. In speaking to his motion, Ramsay said, "I believe strongly that both parents should be involved in the upbringing of a child. If you look around the world, the movement is going to a default system of equal, shared parenting so that both parents in separation and divorce have equal access to children."
The motion passed unanimously with a vote of 11 to zero, with seven abstentions. The Cabinet abstained, but Ramsay, noting that they did not vote against the motion, is confident that, with further study, they will come down strongly in favour of equal shared parenting.
Ramsay's motion was introduced as an expression of support for an equal parenting motion introduced in the Parliament of Canada by Saskatoon-Wanuskewin MP Maurice Vellacott. Vellacott tabled Private Member's Motion M-483 earlier this year and it is scheduled for its first hour of debate this fall. Ramsay said, "I’m waiting anxiously for this vote to take place and debate to take place in the House of Commons in Ottawa this fall. I would look to Members of this House to lend our support to the government in Ottawa to open up the federal Divorce Act and make amendments to it so that we do have a default to equal, shared parenting in this country, and we get with the program of respecting the rights of everybody." Ramsay added: "Mr. Maurice Vellacott, MP from Saskatoon–Wanuskewin, is the MP in Ottawa that is spearheading an effort to open up the federal Divorce Act so that we can see a move towards equal and shared parenting."
In this fall's debate, Vellacott is looking forward to making the case for the importance of both fathers and mothers taking an active role in the lives of their children, regardless of the nature of the relationship between the parents themselves. "The social science is air-tight on the importance of fathers and mothers if children are to be prepared in their early years for the best outcomes in the whole range of life experience as they grow older," Vellacott said. "I want to thank the MPs from different parties who have publicly expressed their support for this motion by putting down their names as Seconders of the initiative," he added.
M-483 reads: "That, in the opinion of the House, the government should propose amendments to the Divorce Act so that law and practice ensure due process protection of rights and equality of parents, and to ensure that children benefit from equal parenting from both their mother and their father, after separation or divorce."
The motion passed in the Northwest Territories' Legislature reads as follows:
- "WHEREAS it is in the best interest of the child to have, wherever possible, both parents involved in the parenting of said child;
- "AND WHEREAS the current adversarial process pitting parent against parent with the child in the middle is promoted in legislation like the federal Divorce Act;
- "AND WHEREAS it would be desirous for the federal government to propose amendments to the federal Divorce Act so that in law and in practice the rights of both parents to due process are observed in all proceedings and that children benefit from equal parenting from their mothers and their fathers after separation or divorce;
- "NOW THEREFORE I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Great Slave, that this Assembly signify their support for amendments to the federal Divorce Act to protect the rights of both parents to be involved in parenting the children;
- "AND FURTHER that the content and result of these proceedings be forwarded to the federal Minister of Justice and the Member of Parliament for Western Arctic for their consideration."
"I want to thank Northwest Territories MLA David Ramsay for his leadership on this issue of equal parenting," said Vellacott. "Support for equal parenting is a vote for children, a vote for the equally necessary role of moms and dads, and a vote for the principle of equality," Vellacott added.
- 30 –
For more information, contact Maurice Vellacott at (613) 992-1966, (613) 297-2249 or Vellacott.M@parl.gc.caand contact David Ramsay at (867) 669-2296 or at david_ramsay@gov.nt.ca.
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9. Parental Rights Are Clearly Under Attack – June 27, 2008
Today’s Family News http://www.focusonthefamily.ca/tfn/
June 25, 2008
Both in the Senate and in a Quebec courtroom last week, the right of Canada’s parents to discipline their children in ways they deem appropriate were “clearly under attack,” wrote Calgary Heraldcolumnist Licia Corbella. See Story
In Ottawa, as the CBC reported on Thursday, the Senate passed S-209, a bill aimed at removing Section 43 Section 43from the Criminal Code. That section allows parents, teachers and caregivers to use “reasonable force” if necessary to correct a child’s unruly behaviour. The bill now goes to the House of Commons, where it will likely be voted on this fall.
If S-209 were ever to become law, it would mean that any parent who spanks a child could face assault charges, especially those who resort to it often. As Liberal Senator Céline Hervieux-Payette (See Story), who drafted the bill, told the Montreal Gazette, “It is to send a signal so that people who use violence in a repeated way will no longer feel protected.”
Hervieux-Payette tabled the bill in 2004, after the Supreme Court of Canadahad ruled 6-3 earlier that year to uphold Section 43 within certain guidelines. Focus on the Family Canada had been among a number of groups that had intervened in support of the existing law.
During the Senate’s lengthy deliberations, the bill was amended to allow spanking to be used in very specific situations, such as in trying to stop a child deemed to be in imminent danger of causing serious harm – running out into traffic, for example. But other than that, she told the CBC, “No corporal punishment would be allowed.”
Proponents http://www.repeal43.org/index.html of abolishing Section 43 claim the scientific research shows that spanking is tantamount to child abuse and thus no longer socially acceptable. But Dave Quist, executive director of the Institute of Marriage and Family Canada, counters that the facts do not warrant this degree of state intrusion upon the rights of parents.
“We must ask ourselves,” he told the CBC, “does the state have a role in the raising of our children? I believe the state only has a role in limiting society’s rights and freedoms if those rights and freedoms are deemed to be harmful to society and its members. There is no evidence that the state needs to interfere in this issue.”
Or as the Sault Star commented in an editorial, “Are we that dense as a society that we can’t tell the difference between a corrective spank and abuse?”
Meanwhile, Canadian Press reported that Quebec Superior Court Justice Suzanne Tessier ruled on Friday that a divorced custodial parent had no right to deny his 12-year-old daughter permission to go on a three-day class field trip to mark her graduation from elementary school. His actions were meant to punish her for posting inappropriate photos of herself on the Internet after he had repeatedly warned her not to.
With her mother’s backing, the girl challenged her father’s actions in court, as she needed both her parents’ consent in order to go on the field trip. Tessier found that keeping her from going was unduly severe punishment, as the girl and her parents are already caught up in a bitter custody battle. The father has vowed to appeal the decision.
National Post columnist Lorne Gunter called Tessier’s logic “dumbfounding.” “Here is a father,” he wrote, “who has full-time custody struggling to keep his daughter from getting caught up in the whole world of Internet predators, while also dealing with all the issues of discipline and conflicted loyalties that arise from divorce, and now the court has made his task far more difficult.”
The irony, as the Ottawa Citizen suggested, is that his behaviour ought to be applauded by those who oppose the use of even “reasonable force” to discipline a wayward child.
“This was hardly an instance of cruel or arbitrary authority. There was no abuse involved, not even close,” it stated. “The father, it seems, used clear and consistent warnings, letting his child know that there would be consequences for inappropriate behaviour. This is how you raise responsible children who understand the results of their actions. It is an approach to discipline that should be encouraged, not outlawed by the state.”
Taken together, said Corbella, these two outcomes do not bode well for the future of parenting in Canada, because “if social engineers have their way, parents won’t be able to ground their kids, spank them, deny them privileges, etc.”
“But one thing is certain,” she added. “Loving parents will always continue to do what’s best for their children, regardless of what the state imposes upon them. Why? Because most parents would die for their kids, to protect them. How many of those senators and rights groups’ busybodies would?”
Take Action: Respectfully urge your Member of Parliamentto vote against Bill S-209 whenever it comes up for a vote in the House of Commons. As Parliament is currently not sitting, most MPs can be contacted in person or in writing through their constituency office. Letters sent to MPs in Ottawa are postage-free.
Private schools score top marks
Today’s Family News http://www.focusonthefamily.ca/tfn/ – June 25, 2008
Parents with limited incomes who send their children to comparatively “inexpensive” independent schools seem, for the most part, more than satisfied with the choice they made, suggests a new study by the Fraser Institute, a Vancouver-based think-tank.
Included in the survey were Ontario families who receive a $4,000 grant per child per year from the Institute’s Children First program. Set up in 2003, the program helps families whose household income is less than $29,000 a year to send their children to a school of their choice.
Also included were families that still chose to have their children attend a private school without the grant, and families whose children went to a public school.
Among its findings, according to a Marketwire news release, 69 per cent of the grant recipients and 73 per cent of the non-recipients awarded their schools an “A” grade, while 74 per cent of the public school groups gave their schools either a “B” (44 per cent) or a “C” (30 per cent). Of the public-school parents, only 19 per cent thought their school deserved an “A”.
Parents in private schools were also more likely to report an improvement in their children’s academic performance – 37 per cent among the Children First group and 27 per cent among the no-grant group – compared to the previous year. And again, only 15 per cent of public-school parents saw an improved academic performance in their children.
There is more. “The parents surveyed reported lower incidences of bullying, fighting, drug use, and racism in inexpensive private schools compared to public schools. They also found their children did better academically and had improved social skills,” said Claudia Hepburn, the Institute’s director of education studies, who co-authored the study.
Hepburn added, “We were astounded to see that small independent schools make such a difference for disadvantaged children, particularly considering that these schools cost, on average, 45 per cent less than public schools.”
The average cost of tuition at the schools attended by grant recipients was $4,398. By comparison, to send one child to a public school in Ontario for one year, according to the Fraser Institute, costs taxpayers more than $8,000.
Go Deeper Go Deeper Go Deeper
Boundaries with Teens – by Dr. John Townsend
Strong, healthy boundaries are the key to a strong, healthy relationship with your teen. Learn when to say “Yes” and how to say “No” so you can enhance both your relationship with your teen, and their relationships with others.
Purchase this resource from our online bookstore.
The Truth Project
You are part of God’s plan to make an eternal difference in our world.
Learn how to bring God’s truth to the people of your church and community through The Truth Project Simulcast Training event, coming this September.
For more information, click here http://www.thetruthproject.ca/Default.aspx?cat=0.
What’s wrong with thongs
“There's always a link between style and social values... Besides being inspired by the stereotype of the prostitute... [thong underwear] fits exactly the expectations of the contemporary consumer defined as being impatient, insatiable, unfaithful and whose purchasing impulses are stimulated by packaging.”– Professor Mariette Julien of Montreal University
[Source: Plugged In Online, 06/23/08;/ Nationalpost.com, /06/09/08/]
Heard Around
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10.
Prolife Students Seek Board’s Support – June 26, 2008
The Daily Observer
Pro-life students seek board's support; Pembroke Daily Observer (ON) – Thu 26 Jun 2008
Byline: By Danielle Vandenbrink, Staff Writer
A delegation of Bishop Smith Catholic High School students made a presentation to the Renfrew County District School Board this week, asking for a week designated to the pro-life movement.
Students with the "Crusaders for Life" leadership group made their case to the board, asking that it demonstrate its pro-life stance by supporting the students in naming a board-wide week designated to the cause.
The pro-life cause isn't just about antiabortion, explained the students, but also about the opposition to assisted-suicide and euthanasia. They also explained the focus on nurturing life from conception to a natural death, and celebrating life instead of celebrating "the culture of death" that is apparent in today's society, they said.
The students suggested that a pro-life committee be formed with staff representatives from each school to set the theme for the week, and to come up with ideas and the resources for pro-life initiatives.
Different ideas were suggested by the students to the board as themes for the week.
The students also asked that the board support the students' participation in the March for Life, a pro-life rally held in Ottawa each year.
Last year, 90 students from Bishop Smith attended the march, which filled two buses with students.
It was explained to the committee that each student on the trip paid $10, and the group had to turn people away because they could not afford another bus.
Teacher Steven Platt said the buses cost the group, and individual students, $525 in total, and asked the board to fund next year's march by providing a few thousand dollars to cover transportation costs.
The students explained that since awareness is growing at the school, more resources would be needed for next year's event.
St. Joseph's Catholic High School and Madawaska High School would also be participating in the march.
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11. Students Against Margaret Sanger, How SFLA Is Exposing Big Abortion's Racism – June 27, 2008
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Students Against Margaret Sanger:
How SFLA Is Exposing Big Abortion's Racism – by Colin Mason
Margaret Sanger is one of the pro-choice movement's iconic figures. She is extolled as a pioneering feminist, health worker, and woman's activist. Her quotes on these subject are treated as scripture. But she was also an outspoken supporter of eugenics, who wanted more children from the fit and sterilization, even segregation, for the unfit. The infamous Negro Project, which targeted Blacks for contraception and sterilization, was one outcome of this.
Planned Parenthood, of course, does not want you know these facts. So the organization works hard to burnish Sanger's reputation, and goes into damage control mode whenever questions are raised about her more unsavoury views. At the same time, however, they continue to quietly practice what she preached.
Although Planned Parenthood denies it, it continues to be obsessed with race, deliberately targeting minorities in their propaganda, methods, and even choice of building sites.
Consider the recent investigation of Planned Parenthood by UCLA pro-lifers working with Students for Life of America (SFLA). Their goal was to see if Planned Parenthood would accept donations specifically for the abortion of black babies. The students first determined where it was legal to secretly record telephone conversations, and then made arrangements to call Planned Parenthood abortuaries in those states. An actor was hired, and the calls were made from the Students for Life offices in Arlington. The results of the calls were published in The Advocate, UCLA's pro-life student magazine, but the story attracted the attention of the major media.
In the recorded conversations, the actor made it clear that he was a racist, saying things like "there are too many black babies being born." He also insisted that his donations be specifically earmarked for the abortion of black babies. Most organizations would want nothing to do with an openly racist proposition of this kind, but Planned Parenthood personnel were only too happy to accept them. |
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"The Idaho Planned Parenthood development director expressed excitement," Kristan Hawkins, the executive director of Students for Life, said to PRI. "She said she wanted to make sure she was getting everything down because this was the first time this had happened to her and she was very excited. She also laughed when the actor said 'the less black babies out there, the better,' and said 'understandable, understandable.' And in Ohio, the administrative assistant contacted said 'we'll take your money for whatever reason.'"
The investigation was part of SFLA's larger push against Planned Parenthood. Not only does Planned Parenthood accept racist donations, it has a propensity for building clinics in minority neighbourhoods. Students for Life's push against Planned Parenthood is to be admired not only for its courage, but for its ability to mobilize the black community against the outrages that are being committed against it. |
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Margaret Sanger, outspoken proponent of eugenics and founder of Planned Parenthood |
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On April 24th, Students for Life organized a demonstration at the 16th Street Planned Parenthood abortuary in Washington DC. Prominent black leaders and pastors stood up and demanded that Congress cease funding this transparently racist organization. These included back leaders like Day Gardner (National Black Pro-Life Union), Jesse Lee Peterson (Brotherhood Organization of A New Destiny), Dr. Lillie Epps (Preserving Life and Legacy), Rev. Clenard Childress (LEARN), and others.
"The pastors and leaders emphasized the recent allegations that have been brought against Planned Parenthood," said Hawkins. These included other inquiries and accusations being brought to bear against Planned Parenthood across the nation by other groups and organizations, like the ongoing fight against Planned Parenthood's fraud in Aurora, Illinois, the battle against their unethical practices by Kansas attorney Phill Kline, and the charges made earlier by the same UCLA students that Planned Parenthood covers up instances of statutory rape.
Planned Parenthood, predictably, insists that it is not a racist organization, but refuses to address the substance of the allegations. It does admit that its development directors showed a "a serious lack of judgment," saying that "had the employees been properly prepared for this kind of attack, they would have figured out that the calls were nothing short of a cruel hoax, designed to portray Planned Parenthood as money-grubbing racists." In other words, Planned Parenthood is claiming that the student investigators (mean and spiteful right-wingers) somehow tricked its sophisticated fundraisers into sounding like "money-grubbing racists." To which we say "If they sounded like money-grubbing racists," this is because they probably are money-grubbing racists. If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck ..
More and more instances are cropping up all over the nation where Planned Parenthood has been guilty of overt or implicit racial profiling. Recent research by PRI shows that even Alaska natives and Native Americans are being targeted as well, even though they are the tiniest of tiny minorities. PRI hopes that the pioneering research being done by groups like Students for Life and The Advocate will join the fast-expanding body of evidence that will indict Planned Parenthood, and the genocidal legacy of Margaret Sanger, once and for all. |
Colin Mason is Director of Media Production at Population Research Institute. |
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Media Contact: Colin Mason
Email: colin@pop.org
(540) 622-5240, ext. 209
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(c) 2007 Population Research Institute. Permission to reprint granted.
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The pro-life Population Research Institute is dedicated to ending human rights abuses committed in the name of "family planning," and to ending counter-productive social and economic paradigms premised on the myth of "overpopulation." Find us at www.pop.org.
PRI, PO Box 1559, Front Royal, VA 22630 USA Phone: 540-622-5240 |
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