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Wednesday March 13, 2002
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Print- EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT ADOPTS RADICAL FEMINIST RESOLUTION
- US HOUSE APPROVES PROTECTION FOR BABIES WHO SURVIVE ABORTION ATTEMPTS
- ABORTIONISTS CLAIM ALBERTA HEALTH MINISTER ASSURED THEM OF CONTINUED PUBLIC FUNDS
- TWO LARGEST ORTHODOX JEWISH GROUPS IN U.S. APPROVE EMBRYO RESEARCH AND HUMAN CLONING
- FIRST DAY OF LIFE A HIGH HOMICIDE RISK
- LIFESITE NEWSBYTES
- US NEWSBYTES
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT ADOPTS RADICAL FEMINIST RESOLUTION
TODAY'S HEADLINES
Includes Article to Subject Religious Freedom to United Nations Conventions
***NOTE: New information on March 14 reveals that the resolution on "Women and Fundamentalism" passed by the European Parliament March 13 was amended to strip some of its controversial contents. Thus LifeSite's March 13 report below is in error regarding some of the statements adopted since the quotes were obtained from the original document. The press release by the EP did not reveal these facts and LifeSite has submitted a request for clarification and will report on the details as soon as they are available.
BRUSSELS, March 13, 2002 (LSN.ca) - The European Parliament (EP) voted yesterday, March 12, to adopt a radical feminist resolution that attacks pro-life religious beliefs and Catholicism specifically. The report on "Women and Fundamentalism" was first proposed in October 2001 by María Izquierdo Rojo and was unsuccessfully challenged in the EP by Ireland Independent MEP Mrs Dana Rosemary Scallon.
Scallon warned that article 4 of the resolution could be used to oblige the Catholic Church to ordain women. Article 4 says that the European Parliament "condemns the administrations of religious organisations and the leaders of extremist political movements who promote racial discrimination, xenophobia, fanaticism and the exclusion of women from leading positions in the political and religious hierarchy."
Another Article of concern for Scallon in the report was a section which would prevent countries which protect the unborn child from joining the European Union. Article 23 says the EP "Insists that the Commission ensure that in negotiations for accession, cooperation or association agreements the Community 'acquis' in the field of women's rights is upheld."
Article 31 of the resolution says the EP "Calls on all believers of whatever creed to promote equal rights for women, including the right to control their own bodies and the right to decide when to have families of their own, their lifestyles and their personal relationships; calls on the Member States to adopt legislation to outlaw any practice which endangers the physical or mental integrity and health of women." Moreover, Article 33 singles out the Pope and the Romanian Patriarch to alter their stance on homosexuality. It says the EP "Expresses support for the difficult situation of lesbians who suffer from fundamentalism, and calls on religious leaders. including the Romanian Patriarch and the Pope, to change their attitudes towards these women."
With another article of the resolution the EP seeks to circumscribe church and state relations and restrict religious freedom to make it subject to United Nations conventions. Article 29 says the EP "Considers the separation of church and state to be the only acceptable form of government in a democratic society; calls on the Member States to remain neutral vis-à-vis the various religious creeds, to retain their secular character, ensuring a complete division of responsibilities between Church and State, and to abolish any legal and practical obstacles to the performance of religious duties and the use of religious symbols, insofar as religious precepts are compatible with national legislation, the rule of law and international conventions."
See the EP release on the resolution's passage and the full resolution at:
http://www2.europarl.eu.int/omk/OM-Europarl?PROG=PRESS-DAILYNB&L=EN&PUBREF=
-//EP//TEXT+PRESS-DAILYNB+DN-20020313-1+0+DOC+SGML+V0//EN&LEVEL=1&REFERER=X&NAV=X#SECTION15
http://www2.europarl.eu.int/omk/OM-Europarl?PROG=REPORT&L=EN&PUBREF=-//EP//TEXT+
REPORT+A5-2001-0365+0+DOC+SGML+V0//EN&LEVEL=3&NAV=S
(with files from Euro-Fam)
Back to TopUS HOUSE APPROVES PROTECTION FOR BABIES WHO SURVIVE ABORTION ATTEMPTS
WASHINGTON, March 13, 2002 (LSN.ca) - On Tuesday evening (March 12), the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Born-Alive Infants Protection Act (H.R. 2175) on a voice vote. The three-paragraph bill codifies the traditional definition of "born alive." Its aim was to ensure babies who are accidentally born alive after abortion attempts are given the right to life and care guaranteed by law.
Specifically, under the bill, the terms "person," "human being," "child," and "individual," whenever they appear in federal laws or regulations, will be construed to include "every infant member of the species homo sapiens who is born alive." The term "born alive" is then defined as "complete expulsion or extraction from his or her mother," followed by a heartbeat, respiration, or movement of voluntary muscles.
The National Right to Life Committee explained that sometimes induction of labor is used as a method of abortion, and sometimes this results in a live birth. This is sometimes referred to as a "live birth abortion." On occasion, other abortion methods also result in live births. The bill clarifies that a premature infant is a premature infant -- and a legally protected person -- regardless of how he or she reached that state. Horrific accounts of babies born after abortion attempts and left to die without adequate medical care abound.
A similar bill, sponsored by Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., is pending in the Senate.
ABORTIONISTS CLAIM ALBERTA HEALTH MINISTER ASSURED THEM OF CONTINUED PUBLIC FUNDS
CALGARY, March 13, 2002 (LSN.ca) - Abortionists from two Alberta abortuaries are claiming that Health Minister Gary Mar said his government is not considering de-insuring abortions. However, a letter sent to the abortionists dated Feb. 14 said only that the province was not considering defunding abortion "at present."
Three weeks prior to the letter's date, the province said it would set up a committee to decide if some medical services, including abortion, should continue to receive government funding. The Calgary Herald reports that the advisory panel, which has yet to be formed, is scheduled to issue its recommendations by Aug. 30. A Ministry spokesman said membership on the 10-person panel, which will include two members of the public, will be announced by the end of the month.
See the coverage in the Calgary Herald:
http://www.canada.com/calgary/news/story.asp?id={982E12D9-82D0-4525-BC7B-A5BF25C...
(with files from Pro-Life E-News)
TWO LARGEST ORTHODOX JEWISH GROUPS IN U.S. APPROVE EMBRYO RESEARCH AND HUMAN CLONING
WASHINGTON, March 13, 2002 (LSN.ca) - Yesterday, the nation's two largest Orthodox Jewish umbrella organizations -- the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America (UOJCA), representing nearly 1,000 congregations, and the Rabbinical Council of America, whose membership consists of more than 1,000 rabbis -- issued a joint statement entitled "Cloning Research, Jewish Tradition & Public Policy."
The document explains that while "Our Torah tradition places great value upon human life ... our tradition states that an embryo in vitro does not enjoy the full status of person-hood and its attendant protections." In advocating cloning the document says, "if cloning technology research advances our ability to heal humans with greater success, it ought to be pursued since it does not require or encourage the destruction of life in the process." It qualifies that the support for cloning humans is extended only to "cloning for therapeutic purposes -- which ought to be pursued" and not to "cloning for reproductive purposes -- which we oppose."
See the complete document at:
http://www.ou.org/public/Publib/cloning.htm
FIRST DAY OF LIFE A HIGH HOMICIDE RISK
Infants Killed by Their Mothers
ATLANTA, March 13, 2002 (LSN.ca) - NBC news reported on a study released last Thursday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that indicated "Americans are at least 10 times more likely to be murdered on the day of their birth than at any other point in their lives".
The study's data indicated that 3,312 or 7.3 percent of all U.S. infant homicides recorded between 1989 and 1998 occurred on the date of birth. This first day of life homicide rate was about 10 times greater than that for adults between the ages of 20 and 24. 89 percent of the newborn infant killers were female and were usually the mothers, who were likely to be adolescent and with a history of mental illness.
Dr. Len Paulozzi of the CDC noted that the actual rate of newborn infanticide might be even higher because of the potential for under reporting of such murders. Homicide is the 15th-leading cause of infant deaths in the United States.
See the story in MSNBC
http://www.msnbc.com/news/720785.asp?0si=-
LIFESITE NEWSBYTES
TORONTO STAR PUBLISHES LANDSBERG ATTACK AGAINST CATHOLIC TEACHING ON CONDOMS
Column strongly supports Toronto World Youth Day action by Catholics for a Free Choice. Michele Landsberg is an extremely outspoken advocate of abortion and radical feminism and venomous opponent of the pro-life movement. She is the wife of Stephen Lewis who is similarly outspoken on these issues and has been a Member of Parliament, a UNICEF director and Canadian ambassador to the United Nations.
http://thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?GXHC_gx_session_id_=a1c3be63c0cc5b7f&...
thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1015455916159&call_page=TS_News&call_pageid=
968332188492&call_pagepath=News/News
CBC SHOW DEBATES EMBRYO AND UNBORN CHILD GENETIC TESTING
http://www.cbc.ca/national/news/measuringup/index.html
AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT TO ALLOW MPS FREE VOTE ON EMBRYO RESEARCH http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2002/03/12/1015909852639.html
US NEWSBYTES
CALIFORNIA MURDER SUSPECT ADDICTED TO PORNOGRAPHY
http://www.reuters.com/news_article.jhtml;jsessionid=CK3HM4M1ZHXEGCRBAELCFEYKEEA...
NEW YORK'S CARDINAL EGAN LOBBIES AGAINST FORCED CONTRACEPTIVE COVERAGE
http://www.pressconnects.com/today/news/stories/ne031302s90785.shtml
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