Politics
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Thursday January 9, 2003
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Print- ALBERTA JUDGE ATTACKED FOR CALLING DIVORCE 'ABHORRENT'
- MALAYSIA MUSLIMS APPROVE CLONING, ABORTION UP TO 120 DAYS
- NORWEGIAN GOV'T CAUGHT USING INFLATED FIGURE FOR WORLDWIDE DEATHS FROM "UNSAFE" ABORTIONS
- BRITISH COUPLE WANTS DESIGNER BABY FOR SPARE PARTS
- U.S. CONGRESSMEN FORM BIPARTISAN COALITION VS. ALL CLONING
- LOBBY GROUP ASKS U.S. SUPREME COURT TO REVIEW OPPRESSIVE FACE ACT
- RESEARCHERS CONTINUE TO 'IMPROVE' UNBORN SEARCH AND DESTROY METHODS
- GROUP TO PROTEST AT BAPTIST CHURCH SERVICE HONOURING PRO-ABORTION GRANHOLM
- WHISTLEBLOWER MAGAZINE REVEALS LIES BEHIND ROE V. WADE
- NEWSBYTES
ALBERTA JUDGE ATTACKED FOR CALLING DIVORCE 'ABHORRENT'
TODAY'S HEADLINES
EDMONTON, January 9, 2003 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Judge Al Chrumka of Provincial Court of Alberta told his courtoom that he finds it "abhorrent" for couples to have children and then refuse to find a way to avoid splitting up and damaging the children's lives irreparably. "That parties who decide to have children together should split for any reason is abhorrent to me," he said while sentencing a 25-year-old separated mother to 9 months' probation for locking her unattended children inside a car on a hot day.
The judge made the statement after both separated parents complained about the challenges of parenting during their testimony. He added, "They have a responsibility to the children and to each other to make sure, for whatever reason they may have gotten together, not to separate." He added later, "I get upset where children are involved, because I feel we as adults have a responsibility to give them the very best that we can," he said during Tuesday's court proceedings. "If that means we have to suffer as parents because we don't like each other any more, then we still have to stay together for the benefit of the children."
The National Post reported that Judge Chrumka is now "under attack ... for launching into a moral lecture in court" -- predictably from feminist groups who believe divorce is about women escaping from abusive situations and not primarily about the children who are victims of divorce when parents are too selfish to consider their welfare.
To read National Post coverage, use the keyword "Chrumka" in the search function at: http://www.nationalpost.com
Back to TopMALAYSIA MUSLIMS APPROVE CLONING, ABORTION UP TO 120 DAYS
KUALA LUMPUR, January 9, 2003 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Malaysian Muslims' National Fatwa Council, the local body of clerics that delivers "fatwas" (religious decrees), this week declared that "therapeutic" cloning of human embryos is ethically acceptable for research purposes so long as the embryo is destroyed before it reaches 120 days of age.
The clerics said reproductive cloning of humans is not allowed because according to the Koran, "a baby must be a result of a union between a man and a woman who are legally married." But council chairman Ismail Ibrahim explained that scientific "therapeutic" research on human embryos up to 120 days would be in keeping with the view in some sectors of Islam that, until a fetus reaches four months, it has no soul and therefore can be aborted.
To read CNSNews coverage see:
http://www.cnsnews.com/ForeignBureaus/archive/200301/FOR20030109a.html
For related LifeSite coverage see:
MULTI-FAITH COALITION OF LEADERS OBJECT TO CLONING
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2001/jan/01011603.html
NORWEGIAN GOV'T CAUGHT USING INFLATED FIGURE FOR WORLDWIDE DEATHS FROM "UNSAFE" ABORTIONS
EDMONTON, January 9, 2003 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Just after last year's UN child summit, David Hansen, a political advisor in Norway's Department of international aid, admitted that the term "reproductive rights" in UN documents includes "safe" abortions. He added that it is important for Norway to emphasize that nations who allow abortion are responsible to do it in a proper way.
Later, Mrs. Valgerd Svarstad Haugland, minister of culture and church and the leader of the supposedly pro-life Christian People's Party (Kristelig Folkeparti or KrF), followed up, saying, "Each year 800,000 women die in developing countries because abortions are not performed in a medically proper way. Is it ethically right to cut ourselves off the possibility to help these women? Then the consequence can be two murders and not one," claimed Haugland.
According to Jostein Sandsmark, a reporter for Dagen, the 800,000 figure is 130 times higher than estimated by American Life League and 11.5 times higher than even UNFPA's figures. Sandsmark says that the policy of the KrF is that abortion is not acceptable for Norway, but in the countries where it is legal it should be "safe".
When the minister was asked about the high figure, Sandsmark said she responded, "I got the figure 800,000 from our Department of international aid. I have no reason to doubt it". After being confronted with the disparity between her figures and other sources, Sandmark says Haugland became confused and has started an investigation to find out why her information was so grossly inaccurate. "I have to check it out before I can give any further commentary," she stated.
Pro-lifers in other countries consulted by Sandsmark found nothing surprising. This politician is grossly misinformed, comments Doug Sylva, director of research at The Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute in New York.
Hillary White, director of research for Campaign Life Coalition Toronto, compares the Norwegian figure with the pro-abortion lie in the U.S. that before Roe V. Wade, "hundreds of thousands" of women died each year from back street abortions. The Norwegian number is, by the way, the biggest number claim I have seen so far. It is very likely not just an exaggerated statistic, but an outright lie."
Sandsmark says that Dagen newspaper will be awaiting the minister's further clarification.
BRITISH COUPLE WANTS DESIGNER BABY FOR SPARE PARTS
LEEDS, England, January 9, 2003 (LifeSiteNews.com) - An immigrant couple told they cannot create a designer baby for spare parts to save their three-year-old son, who has the blood disorder thalassaemia, have vowed to take their quest abroad in search of a doctor willing to create a spare parts baby for their son.
Britain's High Court ruled in December that the couple, Raj and Shahana Hashmi, could not use IVF technology to select a perfect match embryo for little Zain. According to BBC News, the couple have vowed to challenge that decision in the House of Lords.
"We as parents should be allowed to have a choice and we are choosing an option that will give our son a life that is disease and pain free. Anybody who has ever loved know they will go to the ends of the earth to help the person they love. We will follow our instincts."
For BBC coverage see:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/2643483.stm
For related coverage see:
COUPLE 'DEVASTATED' THEY CANNOT HAVE 'DESIGNER BABY' FOR SPARE PARTS
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2002/aug/02080208.html
U.S. CONGRESSMEN FORM BIPARTISAN COALITION VS. ALL CLONING
WASHINGTON, January 9, 2003 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Republican Congressman Dave
Weldon of Florida and Democrat Bart Stupak of Michigan are reintroducing legislation to ban all cloning of human life, to be voted on in February or March.
"Adult stem cells have been used for 20 years to treat a multitude of different diseases," Rep. Weldon, who is a doctor, told CNSNews. "Every month, a new method is shown that can use adult stem cells to treat a new disease. ... Cloning, in my opinion, is unethical and unnecessary."
Opponents would prefer to see a ban on so-called reproductive cloning while allowing "therapeutic" cloning for research purposes. The latter means creating human embryos for experimentation.
But Rep. Stupak responds that scientists should use animals before even seeking to destroy human life for research purposes. "Prove it on animals first, then let's talk about humans," he said. "That's the way our research is done now."
For CNSNews coverage see:
http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2003/1/9/72035.shtml
For related LifeSite coverage see:
US HOUSE PASSES COMPREHENSIVE BAN ON HUMAN CLONING
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2001/aug/01080101.html
LOBBY GROUP ASKS U.S. SUPREME COURT TO REVIEW OPPRESSIVE FACE ACT
ANN ARBOR, January 9, 2003 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The Thomas More Law Center is applying to the U.S. Supreme Court to strike down the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act, signed by President Clinton in 1994 to "suppress and intimidate pro-life demonstrators," the group says.
The law prohibits the use of "force," "threat of force," or "physical obstruction" to "intimidate" or "interfere with" a person seeking "reproductive health services," on pain of severe punishment. The centre believes the law is unconstitutional because Congress lacked the constitutional authority under the Commerce Clause to enact this law.
"Federal and state law enforcement agents, as well as Planned Parenthood and other pro-abortion organizations, have used this federal law to suppress the free speech rights of peaceful, pro-life demonstrators," says Robert Muise at the Thomas More Law Center.
For more information about the Thomas More Law Center call (734) 827-2001 or visit their website at http://www.thomasmore.org.
For related LifeSite coverage see:
NEW YORK BISHOPS SLAM ABORTUARY BUFFER ZONES
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/1999/apr/99040805.html
RESEARCHERS CONTINUE TO 'IMPROVE' UNBORN SEARCH AND DESTROY METHODS
LIFESITE, January 9, 2003 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The latest issue of the journal Obstetrics and Gynecology includes an article on "advances" in identifying Down's Syndrome in unborn babies.
The abstract under the title, "Combined Second-Trimester Biochemical and Ultrasound Screening for Down Syndrome," says that, "Nuchal fold, femur, and humerus measurements, treated as continuous variables, can substantially enhance the quad test in second-trimester screening for Down [sic]syndrome." The authors are Peter A. Benn, Lillian M. Kaminsky, Jun Ying, Adam F. Borgida and James F. X. Egan.
The article may be available from the "green journal" website for a fee:
http://www.greenjournal.org/gj12-02.cfm
For related LifeSite coverage see:
400 HEALTHY CHILDREN ABORTED PER YEAR DUE TO DOWN'S SUSPICION
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/1999/aug/99081203.html
GROUP TO PROTEST AT BAPTIST CHURCH SERVICE HONOURING PRO-ABORTION GRANHOLM
DETROIT, January 9, 2003 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The movement continues to "re-convert" newly-installed Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm, who describes herself as a pro-life Catholic but believes in a woman's right to choose.
Tomorrow, January 10th at 8:30 a.m., the Stop Granholm Church and Truth Project will hold an "educational picket" at the Interfaith Prayer Service, being staged at New Providence Baptist Church in Granholm's honour. The church is located at 18221 Plymouth Road in Detroit, at the corner of Plymouth Rd. and Southfield Rd.
Lynn Mills, an organizer for Stop Granholm, says the group won a major success in persuading Cardinal Maida to publicly pray for the unborn at Granholm's much-ballyhooed inauguration service in Detroit's Catholic cathedral. Since July, Mills reports, the group has "maintained a physical presence at her church," and still hopes to "convert her" to the pro-life position by continuing the campaign as long as she is governor. Mills says the group is made up of 90% Catholics but that volunteers have also come forward from other denominations.
For more information contact Dr. Monica Migliorino Miller at 248-486-3123 or Lynn Mills at 734-542-1307.
For related coverage see:
PRO-ABORTION MICHIGAN GOVERNOR PLANS 'INTERFAITH' SERVICE IN CATHOLIC CHURCH
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2002/dec/02120607.html
WHISTLEBLOWER MAGAZINE REVEALS LIES BEHIND ROE V. WADE
CAVE JUNCTION, Oregon, January 9, 2003 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The January issue of WorldNetDaily's monthly print magazine, Whistleblower, in a story entitled, ABORTION: The 30-Year War", features Norma McCorvey, the real-life "Jane Roe" of Roe v. Wade.
In 1973, McCorvey was the young, unmarried, pregnant "abortion-seeking plaintiff and focal point of the fight for legalized abortion in America," a WorldNetDaily promotional article says. "Today, having experienced a profound change of heart, McCorvey tells ... how the Roe v. Wade case was fraudulent because she fabricated her story of being raped and thus impregnated, how she was callously used by heartless pro-abortion attorneys, and how she never actually had the abortion. She also relates the incredible story of how she turned around and came to be a Christian and a pro-life activist, working tirelessly to undo the results of Roe v. Wade."
Also quoted are ex-abortionist Dr. Bernard Nathanson, co-founder of the fiercely pro-abortion NARAL, as well as other doctors and clinic personnel with stories to tell.
For a link to WorldNetDaily's Whistleblower see:
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=30216
NEWSBYTES
MORE COVERAGE OF F.D.A. WARNINGS ABOUT ESTROGEN THERAPY
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/09/health/09HORM.html
'MALE PILL' LIKELY TO *INCREASE* SEXUAL IRRESPONSIBILITY
http://www.ncregister.com
MICROSOFT TRIES TO CRUSH ANOTHER COMPETITOR BY CLAIMING IT OWNS THE COMMON WORD "WINDOWS"
http://rtnews.globetechnology.com/servlet/ArticleNews/tech/RTGAM/20030109/wtwrob...
See also IS MICROSOFT COURTING DISASTER?
http://rtnews.globetechnology.com/servlet/ArticleNews/tech/RTGAM/20030109/gtsurv...
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