Politics
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Monday January 13, 2003
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Print- POPE SAYS WORLD SURVIVAL DEPENDS ON RESPECTING RIGHT TO LIFE
- USAID TO HEAD AWAY FROM POPULATION CONTROL IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
- EUTHANASIA PREVENTION GROUP SEES HOPE FOR PAIN CONTROL IN NEW PAINKILLER
- N.Y. SENATE LEADER CRITICIZES ANTI-CATHOLIC, GAY ACTIVIST SENATOR
- PLANNED PARENTHOOD ANNUAL REPORT SHOWS MORE ABORTIONS, MORE PROFITS
- PROPOSED KENTUCKY LEGISLATION ATTACKS PRIEST-PENITENT SECRECY
- UBC STUDENT SOCIETY ABSOLVES ITSELF OF PRO-ABORTION VANDALISM
- SUICIDE DEATH KITS TO BE 'MADE IN USA'
- SCALIA CHASTISES COURTS FOR OVERSTEPPING BOUNDS
- TEXAS HIGH COURT UPHOLDS ABORTION FUNDING LIMITS
- LIFESITE NEWSBYTES
POPE SAYS WORLD SURVIVAL DEPENDS ON RESPECTING RIGHT TO LIFE
Powerful address presents warnings of dire consequences of death culture
TODAY'S HEADLINES
VATICAN, January 13, 2003 (LifeSiteNews.com) - In his 'state of the world' address to the Vatican diplomatic corps today, Pope John Paul II reflected on the main woes of the world - the culture of death, poverty and war. "If entire peoples, perhaps even humanity itself, are not to sink into the abyss," the pope said certain requirements must be met. "First, a "YES TO LIFE"! Respect life itself and individual lives: everything starts here, for the most fundamental of human rights is certainly the right to life."
"Abortion, euthanasia, human cloning, for example, risk reducing the human person to a mere object: life and death to order, as it were! When all moral criteria are removed, scientific research involving the sources of life becomes a denial of the being and the dignity of the person," the Pope continued. He also insisted on an end to selfishness which sustains poverty and implored nations to say 'no to war.'
The Pope said that "choices need to be made so that humanity can still have a future." Thus encouraging "the peoples of the earth and their leaders" to have the courage to say 'No'. First on the list of No's was: "'NO TO DEATH'! That is to say, no to all that attacks the incomparable dignity of every human being, beginning with that of unborn children. If life is truly a treasure, we need to be able to preserve it and to make it bear fruit without distorting it. 'No' to all that weakens the family, the basic cell of society. 'No' to all that destroys in children the sense of striving, their respect for themselves and others, the sense of service".
To see the full address see the Vatican website at:
http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/speeches/2003/january/documents/h...
Back to TopUSAID TO HEAD AWAY FROM POPULATION CONTROL IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
WASHINGTON, January 13, 2003 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the primary governmental foreign aid agency, issued a major report last week to "to inform and focus international development assistance." The report, "Foreign Aid in the National Interest: Promoting Freedom, Security, and Opportunity" suggests that the agency will ease up on population control pressure and concentrate resources on other strategies to improve development.
The Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute (C-Fam) points out that the report could signal "a major shift in USAID policy away from promoting fertility decline as a chief means to achieve international development." The report states, "As far back as the mid-1980s, it was reported that demographic factors such as fertility decline and population growth play a role in economic development - but that good governance, adequate resources, sound economic policies, and lack of corruption are even more important. The conclusion, then, is that good economic policies do more to reduce poverty than fertility and family planning programs."
C-Fam focuses attention on the portion of the report which asserts that, for the majority of developing countries, health care programs should expand beyond a reproductive health mentality in order to address the needs of all members of a family. "Global health programs can shift their focus from women of reproductive age and children under 5 to entire families, including income earners and elderly dependents," the report states.
With this latest development it appears that, under the Bush administration, the U.S. government is finally changing its pervasive population control policies initiated under the Nixon/Kissinger era NSSM 200 document .
See the full report online at:
http://www.usaid.gov/fani/
See C-Fam online at:
http://www.c-fam.org
See LifeSite's NSSM 200 page
http://www.lifesite.net/waronfamily/nssm200/index.html
EUTHANASIA PREVENTION GROUP SEES HOPE FOR PAIN CONTROL IN NEW PAINKILLER
TORONTO, January 13, 2003 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Phase II clinical trials for a new painkiller named TectinTM, which is derived from the pufferfish, are being carried out in cancer centres throughout Canada. Current clinical trials are being done on late stage cancer patients who are experiencing uncontrolled pain and who have not undergone chemotherapy during the past month.
Alex Schadenberg, Executive Director of the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition, explained his group's interest in the painkillers. "The fear of experiencing uncontrolled pain is cited as the most important reason that people support legalizing euthanasia and assisted suicide. When pain is controlled, dying people seem more concerned about living their final days rather than having control over the time and place of their death," Schadenberg told LifeSite.
Another important consideration for the Coalition is that it is believed that TectinTM does not have the possible but unintentional side-effect of hastening or causing death. High dosages of morphine, in some circumstances, can have a "double effect" of relieving severe pain but also eventually killing the patient when not properly administered. The amount of TectinTM that is required to kill a patient would be astronomical.
TectinTM was developed in China for many uses and has been extensive tested in that country. Chinese clinical tests that were done on cancer patients whose pain was not relieved by traditional analgesics found that all of the participants experienced nearly total pain relief within 5 - 30 minutes, that the pain continued to be relieved, and there were few side-effects.
The Euthanasia Prevention Coalition is urging anyone who may qualify for TectinTM clinical trials to call the toll-free information number: 1-800-722-7549.
Visit the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition website:
http://www.epcc.ca/
N.Y. SENATE LEADER CRITICIZES ANTI-CATHOLIC, GAY ACTIVIST SENATOR
ALBANY, NY, January 13, 2003 (LifeSiteNews.com) - New York State Senator Tom Duane, a self-described practicing homosexual, fired off an angry letter complaining that Albany Bishop Howard Hubbard delivered the opening prayer for the legislative session. The New York Post reports that Duane demanded that priests never be allowed to pray in the Senate due to the sex scandal in the Catholic Church.
Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno, the recipient of the complaint, said through an aid that Duane's letter "doesn't even dignify a response."
Not surprisingly, Duane, calls himself a 'Catholic'.
See the New York Post online at:
http://www.nypost.com
PLANNED PARENTHOOD ANNUAL REPORT SHOWS MORE ABORTIONS, MORE PROFITS
WASHINGTON, January 13, 2003 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Douglas R. Scott, president of Life Decisions International, has released of an analysis of Planned Parenthood Federation of America's (PPFA) Annual Report (2001-2002). PPFA's Annual Report shows a large increase in the number of surgical abortions committed by the organization. Moreover, the books also reveal a substantial profit earned by the supposedly non-profit organization.
"PPFA affiliates committed 213,026 surgical abortions between January 1 and December 31, 2001--an increase of 8.1 percent over the previous year. With one exception, Planned Parenthood has increased its share of the surgical abortion market every year. PPFA's vastly more lucrative "emergency contraception" market, which includes an untold number of chemical abortions, rose a staggering 248.6 percent, from 131,638 in 2000 to 458,892 in 2001," reports Scott.
Financial reports for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2002 show that the organization's total revenue was $692.5 million (up nearly three percent from the 2000-2001 fiscal year). Its expenses were nearly $680.3 million (up 8.2 percent), leaving a $12.2 million profit for that one-year period alone. Despite the surplus cash, which is common for Planned Parenthood, Scott notes that PPFA continually claims to need more and more money. "Maybe Planned Parenthood would be willing to return the funds it gets from taxpayers?" Scott asked.
http://fightpp.org/show.cfm?page=special_reports
(with files from Pro-Life E-News)
PROPOSED KENTUCKY LEGISLATION ATTACKS PRIEST-PENITENT SECRECY
Threat to religious liberty in the U.S.
FRANKFORT, Kentucky, January 13, 2003 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Kentucky State Democratic Rep Susan Westrom has introduced legislation to strip the ancient right of total confidentiality of confession to a priest. The legislation would amend the state's "clergy-penitent privilege" so that "The privilege shall not extend to any communication relating to the neglect or abuse of a minor child."
Catholic League president William Donohue spoke to this issue saying, "This bill does not touch tangentially on church-state relations - it cuts to the core. The sanctity of the confessional is one of the most important elements of the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Indeed, it is impossible to fathom how the sacrament could operate if the government is permitted to penetrate the privacy of the priest-penitent relationship. At stake is both the religious liberty clause of the First Amendment and the establishment clause."
See coverage from the Gleaner:
http://www.myinky.com/ecp/gleaner_news/article/0,1626,ECP_4476_1665703,00.html
UBC STUDENT SOCIETY ABSOLVES ITSELF OF PRO-ABORTION VANDALISM
VANCOUVER, January 13, 2003 (LifeSiteNews.com) - UBC's Alma Mater Society (AMS) has withdrawn its previous admission of responsibility in the wanton destruction of a pro-life display by one of the AMS's own councillors.
Lawyer Malcolm Maclean noted that the student society did not "endorse" the vandalism of the AMS Lifeline Club's booth on Nov. 23, 1999. "Our position is that the AMS is in no way liable for the attack on this display," the lawyer representing the AMS told B.C. Supreme Court Justice Bruce Cohen, who reserved judgment after hearing final arguments this week.
Lifeline launched a legal bid two years ago to bring to account Erin Kaiser, Jon Chandler and Lesley Washington, who tore down and trampled the display. Their anti-free speech frenzy was recorded on videotape and played to the courtroom. The university eventually "disciplined" the student leaders with only a temporary suspension.
(With files from Pro-Life E-News)
For previous coverage see:
PRO-LIFE UBC STUDENTS SUE OVER FREEDOM OF SPEECH
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2000/feb/00021602.html
ONLINE VIDEO OF DESTRUCTION OF UBC PRO-LIFE DISPLAY
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/1999/dec/99121002.html
SUICIDE DEATH KITS TO BE 'MADE IN USA'
SAN DIEGO, January 13, 2003 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Australia's Dr. Death, Philip Nitschke told a San Diego assisted suicide conference that he will manufacture suicide-homicide kits in the United States to avoid his recent humiliation by Australian customs.
As reported by LifeSite last week, customs officers seized Nitschke's death bags at the airport as he was leaving for a Hemlock Society conference. Nitschke referred to the potential market for his device. "There's a wave of baby boomers hitting this period of time," he said. "They're used to getting what they want. They're used to having political clout." Nitschke called Dr. Jack Kevorkian "a hero" for pioneering the right to death.
Nitschke has previously produced death bags that are placed over a victim's head and tightened like a noose to induce suffocation. The new kit reportedly consists of drip bags that release chemicals into a canister to produce carbon monoxide, which is then inhaled through a tube through nostril prongs, causing death within an hour.
For newswire coverage see:
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20030113/ap_on_he_me/death_mac...
For related coverage see:
AUSTRALIA SUICIDE-HOMICIDE BAGS SEIZED BY CUSTOMS
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2003/jan/03011002.html
EUTHANASIA PREVENTION COALITION DEMANDS 'EXIT BAG' INVESTIGATION
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2002/jul/02071102.html
SCALIA CHASTISES COURTS FOR OVERSTEPPING BOUNDS
FREDERICKSBURG, Va., January 13, 2003 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia said judges in the United States have exceeded their bounds out of mistaken zeal for separating church and state.
Scalia explained, as every student of basic U.S. history and law should know, that the Constitution says the government cannot "establish" or promote a religion. But this never implied that God must now be stripped from every corner of public life. "That is contrary to our whole tradition," Scalia said, citing "In God We Trust" on coins, Thanksgiving proclamations by the President, chaplains in Congress and tax exemption for places of worship, a tradition "which has always existed in America."
To make his point, Scalia used a lone protester at the event carrying a sign that said, "Get religion out of government." Such a philosophy, he said "can be imposed on the whole country. I have no problem with that philosophy being adopted democratically. If the gentleman holding the sign would persuade all of you of that, then we could eliminate 'under God' from the Pledge of Allegiance," Scalia said, "That could be democratically done."
For news coverage see:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,75306,00.html
For court rulings that violate basic U.S. tradition see:
U.S. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE RULED UNCONSTITUTIONAL
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2002/jun/02062704.html
TEXAS HIGH COURT UPHOLDS ABORTION FUNDING LIMITS
AUSTIN, January 13, 2003 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The Texas Supreme Court ruled on Dec. 31 that Texas Medicaid restrictions on funding for "medically necessary" abortions for poor women don't violate the state constitution.
The 8-0 decision in Bell v. Low Income Women of Texas, et al. reverses a 3rd Court of Appeals ruling in December 2000 that the denial of funding for a poor woman to have an abortion when her health -- but not necessarily her life -- might be threatened by a pregnancy, violates the Texas Equal Rights Amendment.
The court has thus ruled constitutional a law that prefers childbearing over abortion. "The people of Texas never put the right to abortion funding in their constitution," says Christopher Maska, an Austin attorney who helped write an amicus brief filed on behalf of 66 members of the state Legislature.
For newswire coverage see:
http://biz.yahoo.com/law/030106/0d89626676be29b8ee2250380f793aa8_1.html
For related coverage see:
NO FORCED PAYMENTS FOR ABORTION ON DEMAND IN TEXAS
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/1998/mar/98032505.html
LIFESITE NEWSBYTES
UN GRANTS ASYLUM TO TWO WOMEN THREATENED WITH FORCED ABORTIONS
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20030108/ap_wo_en_po/me_gen_eg...
US CATHOLIC BISHOPS BACK WELDONSTUPAK CLONING BILL
http://www.usccb.org/comm/archives/2003/03-005.htm
CLONE COMPANY FOUNDER IS JESUIT-EDUCATED BRIT
http://www.ewtn.com/vnews/getstory.asp?number=32739
BUSH NOMINATES HOMOSEXUAL ACTIVISTS BUT FINDS LITTLE OPPOSITION
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2002/12/29/MN184289.DTL
AUSTRALIA'S ARCHBISHOP GEORGE PELL HAS BEEN APPOINTED TO THE PRESIDENTIAL COMMITTEE OF THE PONTIFICAL COUNCIL FOR THE FAMILY.
http://www.catholicweekly.com.au/03/jan/19/02.html
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