Politics
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Wednesday February 12, 2003
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Print- U.S. HOUSE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE APPROVES BAN ON CLONING OF HUMAN EMBRYOS
- VATICAN NEWSPAPER WARNS AGAINST 'GLOBAL ETHIC' - A THREAT TO CHRISTIANITY
- EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT APPROVES HOMOSEXUAL 'MARRIAGE'
- CANADIAN PRO-FAMILY GROUPS URGE CHANGES TO WEAK CHILD PORN BILL C-20
- FOCUS ON THE FAMILY CONFERENCE ON HOMOSEXUALITY COMING TO TORONTO
- IRISH BISHOPS RELEASE GOV'T SUBMISSION ON ASSISTED HUMAN REPRODUCTION LAW
- DOCTOR UNDER INVESTIGATION FOR ABORTING PAST-DUE FETUS
- KENTUCKY SENATE PASSES FETAL HOMICIDE BILL
- LEGISLATOR SENDS PLASTIC UNBORN CHILD MODEL TO COLLEAGUES
- LIFESITE NEWSBYTES
U.S. HOUSE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE APPROVES BAN ON CLONING OF HUMAN EMBRYOS
Full House to Vote the Week of February 24 on Issue of "Human Embryo Farms"
TODAY'S HEADLINES
WASHINGTON, February 12, 2003 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The Judiciary Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives today approved legislation to prohibit the creation of human embryos by cloning in the United States. Chairman F. James Sensenbrenner (R-Wi.) announced that the full House will take up the issue the week of February 24.
Douglas Johnson, legislative director for the National Right to Life Committee (NRLC), applauded the committee vote as "a step towards preventing cloned human embryo farms from opening for business."
The Judiciary Committee approved, 19-12, the Weldon-Stupak Human Cloning Prohibition Act (H.R. 534). The bill is nearly identical to legislation approved by the House on July 31, 2001, but never acted on by the Senate. It is very similar to the current Brownback-Landrieu bill in the Senate (S. 245). These bills are supported by President Bush, who in his January 28 State of the Union address repeated his past calls for Congress to approve legislation to ban all human cloning. The President warned in an April 10, 2002 speech that without such a law, human "embryo farms" may begin operation in the United States. (The President's speech is here: http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/04/print/20020410-4.html )
The Judiciary Committee rejected amendments that would have permitted human embryos to be created by cloning and allowed to develop for days or weeks to harvest their stem cells or for other research purposes. However, on the House floor, opponents of H.R. 534 are expected to offer a competing proposal (a "substitute amendment") to permit human cloning for research. Bush Administration officials have repeatedly warned that legislation to permit human cloning for research would be subject to a veto.
NRLC has released a factsheet that explains what the competing bills would actually allow and what they would forbid, at:
http://www.nrlc.org/Killing_Embryos/Cloningmediabackgrounder.pdf
Back to TopVATICAN NEWSPAPER WARNS AGAINST 'GLOBAL ETHIC' - A THREAT TO CHRISTIANITY
VATICAN, February 12, 2003 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Archbishop Javier Lozano Barragán, president of the Pontifical Council for Health Care Workers, surprised those who doubt that the Maurice Strong led movement for a new "global ethic" presented a threat to Christianity. In an article published yesterday in the Vatican's L'Osservatore Romano, the Archbishop warned that the aim of the program was to supplant Christian values with a "global ethic."
The "New Paradigm" as it is called in the article is an eco-religion which holds "sustainable development" as the highest good. The Archbishop warns that the New Paradigm manifests itself "as a new spirituality that supplants all religions, because the latter have been unable to preserve the ecosystem." In a word, this is "a new secular religion, a religion without God, or if you prefer, a new God that is the earth itself with the name GAIA," he said.
The influence of the New Paradigm is already felt in the field of bioethics which uses warped interpretations of ethical stands which result in justifying research which offends human dignity such as embryonic stem cell research.
"The different religions existing in the world have been unable to generate this global ethic; therefore, they must be replaced by a new spirituality, which has as its end global well-being, within sustainable development," explained Archbishop Barragán.
See the coverage from Zenit News agency:
http://zenit.org/english/visualizza.phtml?sid=31264
See related LifeSite coverage:
NEW WORLD 'TEN COMMANDMENTS' VENERATED IN 'ARK OF HOPE'
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2002/sep/02091201.html
OMINOUS ANTI-LIFE, ANTI-FAMILY EARTH CHARTER COMPLETED
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2000/mar/00033101.html
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT APPROVES HOMOSEXUAL 'MARRIAGE'
STRASBOURG, February 12, 2003 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The European Parliament (EP) voted on Tuesday to recognize homosexual marriages, registered partnerships and cohabitation contracts across the European Union. While the EU Council of Ministers are yet to discuss the measure, EU member states are required to consider the stance of the EP.
While the EP would not force nations to grant marriage rights to homosexuals , it pressures the countries to recognize such 'marriages' performed in EU states which perform them, such as the Netherlands and Belgium.
See the Expatica coverage:
http://www.expatica.com/index.asp?pad=2,18,&item_id=28790
CANADIAN PRO-FAMILY GROUPS URGE CHANGES TO WEAK CHILD PORN BILL C-20
Long list of MPs want to speak as debate scheduled to continue again on Feb. 24
CALGARY, February 12, 2003 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The Canada Family Action Coalition (CFAC) is urging Canadians to demand major changes to the federal Child Protection Bill C-20 because "it does very little to improve laws to protect children from pedophiles, predators and the sex trade industry".
CFAC says that the bill has three major shortcomings:
* The old child pornography loophole of "artistic merit" is being replaced by the new loophole of "public good".
*. The proposed bill fails completely on a most critical item - the age of consent for sex with young teens. CFAC says "The age of consent laws must be raised to 18 or at the very least 16".
*. While the bill does increase the maximum sentence for criminals who commit sex crimes against children it still does not address the problem of lenient sentencing by judges. CFAC calls for minimum mandatory sentences
Executive Director Brian Rushfeldt told LifeSite News that debate on the bill to date has led his organization and others to now realize that, like Bill C-13, the Child Protection Act is so badly flawed it should be broken into separate sections. That would allow the many issues in the bill to be properly debated and required amendments to be proposed and voted on by the MPs.
Rushfeldt says that the long list of Members of Parliament still wanting to speak on the bill has caused debate in the house to be scheduled to continue again on Feb. 24. Even then, further re-scheduling will likely required to accommodate all the MPs.
See CFAC web page on C-20
http://www.familyaction.org/Articles/action-issues/surrey-ruling/action-alert-01...
See previous LifeSite report :
CHILD PROTECTION BILL RECEIVES MIXED REVIEWS
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2002/dec/02120609.html
FOCUS ON THE FAMILY CONFERENCE ON HOMOSEXUALITY COMING TO TORONTO
COLORADO SPRINGS, February 12, 2003 (LifeSiteNews.com) - As Canada grapples with the question of homosexual 'marriage', Focus on the Family visits four major North American cities this year to host a one-day symposium to help the public navigate the myths clouding the issue of homosexuality. The Love Won Out conference will begin its 2003 schedule in Austin, Texas and conclude its 2003 schedule in Toronto, Ontario on September 20.
John Paulk, former homosexual and Love Won Out conference host said, "This conference exists for those seeking truth about homosexuality, who are troubled by the one-sided message presented in our culture. Thousands of men and women, dissatisfied with the gay life, have successfully struggled away from it." He added that the conference will address misconceptions about homosexuality as well as an understanding of how local churches can offer an appropriate, compassionate response to the homosexual community. "We encourage the public to come to our conference with open minds and hear real stories behind this controversial topic," Paulk noted.
Love Won Out is primarily led by former homosexual men and women and will feature experts in the field of homosexuality and gender identity, such as Dr. Joseph Nicolosi, Ph.D., President of the National Association of Research and Therapy of Homosexuality. Dr. Nicolosi has just authored A Parent's Guide to Preventing Homosexuality and recently appeared on the Fox's News Channel's O'Reilly Factor. Other speakers include Mike Haley, a former gay man who is now Focus on the Family's Youth and Gender Specialist; and Jane Boyer, a nurse practitioner and former lesbian.
Topics addressed include homosexuality and genetics; the pro-homosexual agenda in public schools; and homosexual recovery. Special sessions for teachers, pastors and parents will be available. Local ministries and organizations also will offer resources.
Apart from Austin and Toronto the conference will be held in Detroit, Mich. on April 26, 2003 and in Portland, Ore. on June 21, 2003.
For more information see:
http://www.family.org/cforum/lwo/
IRISH BISHOPS RELEASE GOV'T SUBMISSION ON ASSISTED HUMAN REPRODUCTION LAW
DUBLIN, February 12, 2003 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Over a year after it was presented to government, the Irish Bishops' Conference has published its submission to the Government Commission on Assisted Human Reproduction. One item lacking in the otherwise strong submission was a clear condemnation of in vitro fertilization. The submission called for regulation around IVF but did not ask that the procedure be banned.
The main Recommendations of the Submission are as follows:
1. Medical intervention on human embryos should only be permitted if it is designed to protect the life and health of the specific embryo being treated.
2. The production of embryos specifically destined for research is unethical and should be prohibited by law.
3. The cloning of human embryos for so-called therapeutic purposes e.g. stem-cell research should be prohibited by law.
4. In the treatment of infertility, the donation of human reproductive material or human embryos should be prohibited by law.
5. In cases where the donation of reproductive material or embryos has already taken place, the right of a person to know the identity of his/her biological parents should take precedence over the right to confidentiality of the donor.
6. Any legislation to provide for Assisted Reproductive Therapy (ART) should recognise and protect the right of every child to be born to a mother and father who are permanently committed to one another.
7. The cloning of human embryos for the purpose of reproduction should be prohibited by law.
8. The storage and disposal of human sperm or ova, if permitted by law, should be governed by appropriate legislation.
9. In any form of ART steps should be taken to avoid the production of more human embryos than can be safely transferred to the womb of the mother in any one treatment-cycle.
10. The deliberate destruction of human embryos should be prohibited.
11. Any fertilized ovum should be used for normal implantations.
12. The storage of embryos should be prohibited.
See the full December 2001 submission at:
http://www.catholiccommunications.ie/Pressrel/ahrsubmission.html
DOCTOR UNDER INVESTIGATION FOR ABORTING PAST-DUE FETUS
OKLAHOMA CITY, February 12, 2003 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A doctor in Oklahoma
City is under investigation by the state Medical Licensure Board, Medical Examiner's Office, city police and a number of other state agencies in the death of an unborn baby six weeks past the state's legal limit.
The State of Oklahoma's definition of a viable fetus as one that is at least 24 weeks gestation. Dr. Nareshkumar Patel is alleged to have aborted the baby at 29 to 30 weeks, well past the allowable age.
Patel was reprimanded in 1990 over a botched abortion. He was cleared of misconduct in 1992, after dozens of partially-burned bodies of unborn children were found in a field near Shawnee that was owned by Patel. Patel admitted he dumped 60 fetuses in the field near a trailer park, where they were found by two passers-by. Charges were dropped because officials were unable to cite any law that prohibited such disposal of aborted fetuses.
For local coverage see:
http://www.channeloklahoma.com/news/1971277/detail.html
KENTUCKY SENATE PASSES FETAL HOMICIDE BILL
FRANKFORT, February 12, 2003 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A bill that makes "fetal homicide" a crime passed the state Senate yesterday by a vote of 34-3.
Sponsored by Republican Sen. Richard Roeding, the bill empowers the state to prosecute someone who causes a stillbirth or miscarriage during an attack on a pregnant woman. Currently, state law says that a baby must be born alive to be considered a person.
The legislation now goes back to the state House, where similar laws have failed three times.
For local coverage see:
http://www.courier-journal.com/localnews/2003/02/12/ke021203s365523.htm
LEGISLATOR SENDS PLASTIC UNBORN CHILD MODEL TO COLLEAGUES
RICHMOND, Va., February 12, 2003 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A Virginia state legislator has send small plastic models of an unborn child, about 2.5 inches long (as it would be at about the end of the first trimester), to fellow legislators this month, with a covering letter explaining his motives.
The letter said, "Would you kill this child? ... You can see that by the 11th week of gestation, a child is well developed and unmistakably human." Responding to criticism from Democratic delegates, he said: "There are lawmakers, particularly the liberal Democrats, who are angered that people are allowed to know what a child looks like at that stage." He added: "If we're legislating on abortion, it's important to know what a baby looks like at the end of the first trimester."
Mr. Black is sponsoring House Bill 1402, which would require a physician to obtain parental consent before performing an abortion on a minor, and House Bill 1406 to authorize specialty license plates with the "Choose Life" slogan, as well as several other pro-life bills.
(With files from Pro-Life E-News)
For full coverage see:
http://www.zwire.com/site/tab1.cfm?newsid=7021478&BRD=2553&PAG=461&dept_id=50603...
LIFESITE NEWSBYTES
PRO-LIFERS IN KOREA COMMEMORATE 30TH YEAR OF ABORTION
http://joongangdaily.joins.com/200302/10/200302100143568779900090409041.html
FERTILITY DRUG BANNED DUE TO RISK OF MAD COW DISEASE
The Committee on Safety of Medicines (CSM) has put out a warning on a fertility drug because of a risk of contracting the human form of BSE.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/2748171.stm
CATHOLIC, PRO-LIFE LEADERS PROTEST SHARPTON'S ADDRESS TO CHICAGO CHURCH
http://www.crosswalk.com/news/1185043.html
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