3/8/02
in this issue:
adolescents: "SERVICES" PROMOTE SEX adolescents
"SERVICES" PROMOTE SEX: A new British study says teens under 16 who
use family planning services "were more likely to be sexually active than
other teenagers." Lead researcher David Paton of Nottingham University
said, "Family planning seems to encourage more people to have sex... A lot
of people won't like it, I'm aware of that. But it's important to take
account of the facts before making policies in this area." Added Catholic
Church spokesman Peter Kearney, "The government is happy to moralize on
issues like healthy eating, alcohol consumption, tobacco use and even
speed limits, so why not sexual behavior?"
(Reading: "Clinics
blamed for rise in teenage mothers," The Herald [Glasgow, Scotland],
3/5/02)
dark side
ACLU: An excerpt from the American Civil Liberties Union page
promoting March 10, the National Day of Appreciation for Abortion
Providers: "On this day, stand up with your abortion services providers
and say: Thank you for your heroism, perseverance, courage, and commitment
to women." Much of the page is copied directly from the text offered by
the event's originators, the activist group Refuse and Resist.
(Reading: "National Day of
Appreciation for Abortion Providers," ACLU; "National
Day of Appreciation for Abortion Providers," Refuse and Resist)
NEXT GENERATION: Medical Students for Choice wants to know if
any of its members plan to enter the National Health Service Corps when
they complete their medical residencies. The organization is encouraging
such persons to attend its annual meeting in San Jose, Calif., April
13-14.
(Reading: "From the MSFC national office," Medical Students for Choice, 3/3/02)
human cloning
BOTTOM LINE: Writer Wesley J. Smith says human cloning is indeed
immoral. But that isn't the reason why it will eventually be rejected:
"There is increasing evidence that therapies based on cloned embryo cells
would be so difficult and expensive to develop and so utterly impractical
to bring to the bedside, that the pie-in-the-sky promises which fuel the
pro-cloning side of the debate are unlikely to materialize. Not only is
human cloning immoral but it may have negative utility -- in other words,
attempting to develop human cloning technologies for therapeutic use may
drain resources and personnel from more useful and practical therapies."
(Reading: "The
false promise of 'therapeutic' cloning," Weekly Standard, 3/11/02)
EXTRATERRESTRIAL PRINCE OF CLONING: After months of getting a
free pass by most of the mainstream media, Claude Vorilhon finally gets a
critical review from the Los Angeles Times. Vorilhon, guru of the Rael
cult, teaches that mankind is descended from space aliens. He also is one
of the purported frontrunners in the effort to clone a human being.
"Serious" scientists fear Vorilhon's antics will lead lawmakers to ban
cloning.
(Reading: "Clones,
free love and UFOs," Los Angeles Times, 3/5/02; also see "Mutant sheep, space
aliens and Elvis sightings," Celebrate Life, 11/01; Clonaid, the first human cloning
company)
media
CONTEXT: Commentator Dean Karayanis notes that media pundits came
unglued when HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson used the term "unborn child" --
but uttered the very same words themselves when they talked about slain
Wall Street Journal reporter Danny Pearl's pregnant widow. "So tell me,
CNN," he writes. "Are they unborn children or aren't they?"
(Reading: "Danny
and Mariane Pearl: Pro-life heroes," World Net Daily, 3/1/02)
pill
UK LAWSUIT: In a test case in London, 100 women are suing
pharmaceutical companies Schering Healthcare, Organon Laboratories and
Wyeth for failing to inform them of the risks of the third generation
birth control pill. The BBC reports that, according to court documents,
the pills "caused the women to develop blood clots which led to long-term
damage to their health, and in around 10 percent of cases proved fatal."
(Reading: "Pill
'caused long-term damage,'" BBC News, 3/4/02)
pontifical academy
NON-NEGOTIABLE: The Pontifical Academy for Life wrapped up its
annual assembly by declaring that the right to life is non-negotiable.
"The Universal Declaration of Human Rights gives a clear definition of the
right to life," said Monsignor Michel Schooyans of the University of
Leuven, a member of the academy. "However, in the second half of the 20th
century, legislation has been approved in favor of abortion and, more
recently, of euthanasia, which explicitly violates the right to life."
(Reading: "Rights
can't be at mercy of majority consensus, says academy," Zenit News
Service, 3/4/02)
UNITY: Bishop Elio Sgreccia, vice president of the Pontifical
Academy for Life, says it is time for all people of faith to join forces
in the fight against abortion. "According to a certain libertarian
culture, Catholics are opposed to abortion because they go back to a
religious sentiment, but this is not exactly the truth. The time has come
to surmount the clash between non-Catholics and Catholics," he said. "We
hope to ask one question: 'Is there a morality that is valid for all human
beings?' We are convinced that the answer is to be found in respect for
the natural law, which precedes the Catholic religion and is present in
man's heart. The natural moral law is a principle that is valid for all
and that presupposes a high conception of man, which must be respected
because of his intrinsic dignity, and the need to defend his real good."
(Reading: "Focusing on
natural law in the fight against abortion," Zenit News Service,
2/26/02)
providers
LOUISIANA: "We were just astounded at the things they told us,"
said Mike Johnson, an attorney representing women with malpractice claims
against Delta Women's Clinic in Baton Rouge. According to a Baton Rouge
newspaper, the state medical examiners' board found that abortionist A.
James Whitmore, III, "used improperly sterilized equipment, let tissue
float in sterilizing solution and reused devices that were supposed to be
used only once." Whitmore's medical license is on indefinite probation
while the state decides if he's fit to practice.
(Reading: "Medical
board investigating former abortion provider," The [Baton Rouge]
Advocate, 3/6/02)
reminder
WORLD FAMILY CONFERENCE: Plans are unfolding for American Life
League's next Celebration of Life World Family Conference, scheduled for
July 10-14 in New Orleans. Speakers include former ambassador Alan Keyes,
Life Dynamics founder Mark Crutcher and Omaha Archbishop Elden Curtiss.
reflection for prayer
ISAIAH 41:10: Do not be afraid; I am with you. I am your God; let
nothing terrify you. I will make you strong and help you; I will protect
you and save you.
©2002 American Life League, Inc.
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