---

SHARE THIS PAGE: E-mail  Print

---

---

Kerry's Campaign Heading Straight for Rocks Says Drudge Report

WASHINGTON, February 12, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) - In late-breaking news, the US political watchdog Matt Drudge has reported that liberal Massachusetts Senator John Kerry is being investigated by several formerly fawning news media about a possible marital infidelity that may ruin his chances of securing the Democratic Presidential nomination.

A serious investigation of a woman who has fled the country at Kerry's prompting, "and of the nature of her relationship with Sen. John Kerry, has been underway at TIME magazine, ABC NEWS, the WASHINGTON POST, THE HILL and the ASSOCIATED PRESS" says Drudge. "General Wesley Clark plainly stated: 'Kerry will implode over an intern issue.'" Political analysts have made clear that Kerry was the Democratic candidate who had the most chance of unseating President George W. Bush in the upcoming election.

To follow ongoing coverage see Drudge Report website:
http://www.drudgereport.com/mattjk1.htm

 Back to Top

---

Recent Polls Indicate Bush Besting Kerry Because of Life and Family Positions

WASHINGTON, DC, February 12, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A poll released today indicates that President George W. Bush is outstripping democratic front-runner John Kerry - largely because of life and family issues.

The Rasmussen Reports survey found that 43 percent of voters favour Bush's Pro-life stance, versus Kerry's 39 percent support for his pro-abortion position. Bush's view on the role of religion in American society has garnered a backing of 46 percent versus Kerry's 30 percent support.

Most significant, Bush's stand against homosexual 'marriage' has earned him a backing of 46 percent versus Kerry's pro-homosexual 'marriage' position, with only 29 percent support. Kerry - a Massachusetts Senator - is unambiguously in favour of homosexual 'marriage'.

In his bid to face Bush in this November's presidential elections, Kerry is thus far the nation's top choice among the Democrat nominees.

Rasmussen Reports surveyed 1,500 likely voters nation-wide over a period of three consecutive evenings.

Read the Rasmussen Reports at:
http://www.rasmussenreports.com/Bush%20Kerry%20February%208.htm
http://www.rasmussenreports.com/Presidential_Tracking_Poll.htm

 Back to Top

---

Italian Parliament Passes Restrictive IVF Law

Unlike Canadian bill, the Italian law will effectively restrict many morally offensive practices

ROME, February 12, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Italian IVF legislation has passed the second to last stage before being signed into law by the president. The bill, which has been working its way through the Italian legislative process since June 2002, has pleased pro-life opponents of artificial pro-creation with its restrictions.

The law will prohibit pre-implantation eugenic screening of embryos, and the freezing, cloning of or experimentation on human embryos. While it does not go far enough in putting a complete stop to in vitro fertilization, it limits the harm by restricting the practice which, up to now, has remained completely unregulated in Italy, as it has in most countries. Unlike the Canadian proposed legislation, it appears that the Italian law will effectively restrict many morally offensive practices.

The legislation was approved by the Italian Senate in December 2003 and was at that time criticized by the Vatican for allowing in vitro fertilization to continue. Bishop Elio Sgreccia, vice president of the Pontifical Academy for Life, said that the law "does not reflect Catholic morality," Bishop Sgreccia, however, conceded that it could be praised for its real restrictions on the some of the more morally and socially dangerous practices like embryo freezing and the use of "donor" sperm and oocytes.

The law will impose fines of $363,000 to $726,000 for using donors, and 10- to 20-year jail terms and fines up to $1.21 million for doctors who try to clone humans. The bill was passed in the Chamber of Deputies late Tuesday 277-222, with three deputies abstaining.

Thus far, no detailed analysis of the Italian legislation is available to see if it suffers from the same type of flaws in wording and definitions that have rendered useless many other bills purporting to ban human cloning. The Canadian legislation, (formerly Bill C-13) also claims to ban cloning but upon close examination was found to be completely toothless because of errors in definitions. The bills claiming to prohibit cloning in the US, such as the Weldon-Brownback bill, also suffer from the same deficiencies in language, as do many in Europe.

Washington Times Coverage:
http://washingtontimes.com/world/20040211-100547-2985r.htm

Previous LifeSite Coverage:
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2002/jun/02061201.html

 Back to Top

---

After Rejecting Compromise Measure Massachusetts now set for All-or-Nothing Gay Marriage Vote

Pro-Family Groups Cheer Defeat of Massachusetts Compromise on Traditional Marriage

BOSTON, February 12, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The battle over marriage is raging in the Massachusetts state legislature where yesterday lawmakers narrowly defeated two constitutional amendments defining marriage and dealing with civil unions. The compromise measure would have codified homosexual civil unions in the state.

The combined House-Senate conclave, meeting as a Constitutional Convention, deliberated for six hours before adjourning. The proceeding recommenced today at noon.

On the table now is a clear measure either defending traditional marriage or permitting homosexual 'marriage'. While the vast majority of the state legislators are Democrats, most are also Catholic. The non-compromise vote will now force legislators to come clean on their pro-family or anti-family stand, in plenty of time for the upcoming November elections.

Concerned Women for America (CWA) praised the legislature for rejecting the compromise measure. "We are very pleased the legislators refused to legitimize faux marriage by putting it into the state's constitution last night," said Jan LaRue, CWA's Chief Counsel. CWA is supporting a Marriage Protection and Affirmation Amendment offered by Democrat Rep. Phil Travis that defines marriage and contains language that could be construed to bar civil unions.

To date, thirty-eight states have banned recognition of homosexual 'marriage'. Five states - California, Hawaii, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Washington, D.C. - allow domestic partnership status, and only Vermont recognizes homosexual civil unions.

 Back to Top

---

Human Clones Created to be Mined for Spare Parts

SEOUL, February 12, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The race to create living, cloned human beings for use in stem cell research has been won by researchers in South Korea. Seoul National University's Woo Suk Hwang and colleagues have created 30 human embryos that were cultured long enough to start producing the earliest body parts, and plan to destroy them to salvage the stem cells.

The stem cells, the researchers claim, can then be used to replace damaged tissue and to treat diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. However, no experimental therapies in human or animal trials have been successful. On the contrary, all attempts to use emrbyonic cells in experimental treatments have ended in disastrous and incurable side effects for the patients. Details of the research are published online by the journal Science, on its Science Express website.

The clone breakthrough will be used to advance even more ghastly work in manipulating the early stages of human life. These researchers' findings also make it possible to learn how to reprogram the human genome to an embryonic state. "This will likely accelerate the development of alternative ways of reprogramming human cells, which could in the future diminish the need to use human eggs for this purpose," said Roger Pedersen, professor of regenerative medicine, at the University of Cambridge, UK

Ethical researchers and human rights groups have already responded. "Controversy continues to swirl around killing even long-abandoned human embryos for research," said John F. Kilner, Ph.D., president of The Center for Bioethics and Human Dignity. "The South Korean experiment disturbingly goes significantly further. It produces human embryos for the explicit purpose of fatally mining them to obtain bodily materials for experimental purposes. One does not need to see human embryos as full-fledged persons to be deeply troubled by such manipulation of human life," said Dr. Kilner.

The BBC online reports that the researchers sought approval for their work from "an ethical review board" before going ahead, giving an indication of the usual questionable moral value of modern "ethics" boards. Showing an astounding ignorance of his own action, Dr. Hwang said, "We will never try to produce cloned human beings." Professor Hwang also called for a worldwide ban on activities which would seek to use this technology to create living children. He said that any attempt to produce a baby would be "crazy".

BBC Online coverage:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/3480921.stm

Centre for Bioethics and Human Dignity:
http://www.cbhd.org/

For LifeSite Resources on stem cells, cloning and bioethics, see:
http://www.lifesite.net/features/stemcellembryo/

 Back to Top

---

Texas Pharmacists Fired by Eckerd Corporation for Ethical Stand on Morning After Pill

DENTON, February 4, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Eckerd Corporation, the owner of the Eckerd Pharmacy chain, has fired three pharmacists six days after they refused to fill prescriptions for the abortifacient Morning After Pill. Gene Herr, one of the pharmacists, said that his refusal to fill the prescription was based on religious convictions. Herr said, "I went in the back room and briefly prayed about it. I actually called my pastor ... and asked him what he thought about it."

Joan Gallagher, spokesman for Eckerd said the company employment manual says pharmacists are not allowed to opt out of filling a prescription for religious, moral or ethical reasons. Herr was not aware of the company policy until he was fired. "In my mind if I agree to work for someone knowing that that's their policy, then I should submit to that policy. But I didn't even know about it," he said.

Much is being made of the fact that although Herr had refused to fill such prescriptions in the past, this is the first time that the patient had been a victim of a rape. It is a common perception that abortion, including chemical abortion, is less morally offensive if the means of conception was rape. Last week, Lifesite reported that the pharmacy had been picketed by feminist protesters incensed that a rape victim had been refused an abortifacient drug.

In Canada, work continues by pro-life groups to implement protection of conscience legislation to prevent such discrimination. Canadian physicians have the right to refuse to commit immoral acts as part of their practice. However, no protection exists in this country for pharmacists or nurses.

The Eckerd web site states, "Eckerd Corporation, a subsidiary of J.C. Penney Company, Inc., is headquartered in Clearwater, Florida and is one of America's largest retail drug chains with over 2,775 drug stores in 23 states."

Wayne Harris is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Eckerd. To contact Eckerd call or fax
Tami Alderman
Manager, Community Relations
727-395-6380 (Office)
727-395-7934 (Fax)

Allen Questrom is Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of J.C. Penney.
He may be contacted at
JC Penney Company, Inc.
6501 Legacy Drive
Plano, TX 75024
(972) 431-1000

Previous LifeSite coverage:
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2004/feb/04020407.html

 Back to Top

---

ACLU/Doctors Challenge Partial Birth Abortion Ban

Judge Stymies U.S. Justice Department Bid to Argue that the 'Health' of Women was Never an Issue

CHICAGO, February 12, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A US federal judge in Chicago has restricted the federal Justice Department's access to medical records in Illinois which it requested in its bid to defend the partial birth abortion ban. The Judge and hospitals cite a breach of patient confidentiality as the issue.

The American Civil Liberties Union and a group of Doctors is suing the federal Justice Department over charges that the partial birth abortion ban implemented late last year is unconstitutional. The group argues that the ban does not allow an exception for the procedure "if it is needed to protect the mother's life."

The US Department of Justice seeks to determine if the procedure was necessary to save the lives of the women who had the partial birth abortions performed at the hands of the doctors involved in the case.

The US Department of Justice has subpoenaed the medical records of the patients of the seven doctors involved in the suit. U.S. Chief District Judge Charles P. Kocoras has denied the request, despite the assurance from the Justice Department that names and any other identifying information could be withheld. Officials said that government lawyers commonly subpoena medical records with names and other identifying information withheld for other types of cases, such as fraud.

On the other hand, U.S. District Judge Richard Casey, who is hearing the case in New York, was frustrated by the lack of cooperation from the hospitals. An attorney for the plaintiffs told Judge Casey that the doctors cannot force hospitals to surrender their records, to which Judge Casey replied "I will not let the doctors hide behind the shield of the hospital. They didn't have to be plaintiffs. They chose to be, and now they are going to get it done."

The partial birth abortion ban, implemented by President George W. Bush in November 2003, outlaws a procedure carried out after the first trimester of pregnancy called "intact dilation and extraction", which consists of delivering a baby its head crushed, usually during an otherwise normal birth. The head is first caved in, in order that the baby be born lifeless and silent.

The suit is one of three filed last November by the National Abortion Federation after President Bush signed the ban into law.

Read related LifeSiteNews.com coverage from South Carolina at: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2003/apr/030429.html

Read local coverage at:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0402120342feb12,1,2450045.sto...

 Back to Top

---

The Latest Passion Surrounding "The Passion of the Christ"

LOS ANGELES, February 12, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A flurry of news and activity is preceding the February 25 release date of Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ. Theatres around the world have been inundated with calls requesting group showings of the film, with, in some cases, whole theatres being booked - only permitted after the opening week.

Even though faithful Jews such as Michael Medved and Rabbi Daniel Lapin have panned the charge of anti-Semitism flung at Gibson and his film (http://www.taemag.com/issues/articleid.17815/article_detail.asp ), the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in anticipation of the film, is nevertheless publishing a collection of key documents of Catholic teaching on the Church's relationship to the Jews and its opposition to anti-Semitism. (http://www.usccb.org/comm/archives/2004/04-024.htm )

The Motion Picture Association of America has assigned the film an R rating for graphic violence. Gibson himself has advised against young children viewing the film.

Newsweek covers the film in its current issue which, apart from an interview with star Jim Caviezel, mostly bashes the film. Caviezel told Newsweek that it has been "frustrating" to watch Gibson being accused of anti-Semitism. "I can tell you this much, the guy is not in the least anti-Semitic. I never saw it," he says. "Maia Morgenstern [who plays the Virgin Mary] is this beautiful Jewish Romanian actress whose parents were in the Holocaust. Every day he'd say, "Maia, tell me about your traditions. Is this OK to do?" He wanted to make this film very Semitic." He concluded, "I believe that when all my Jewish brothers see this film, they will realize that it's not about assigning blame. It's about love. It's about sacrifice. It's about forgiveness and hope," he says.

Caviezel also recounts being struck by lightning while shooting the Sermon on the Mount. "About four seconds before it happened it was quiet, and then it was like someone slapped my ears," he says. "I had seven or eight seconds of, like, a pink, fuzzy color, and people started screaming. They said I had fire on the left side of my head and light around my body. All I can tell you is that I looked like I went to Don King's hairstylist."

When asked whether playing the role has deepened his faith, Caviezel says he loves Christ "more than [he] ever knew possible." "I love him more than my wife, my family. There were times when I was up there [on the cross], and I could barely speak. Continual hypothermia is so excruciating. I connected to a place I could have never, ever gone. I don't want people to see me. All I want them to see is Jesus Christ."

Praised by the Pope, Cardinals, Bishops and countless priests and ministers of all Christian denominations, the film has been seen as an awesome tool for evangelization. While such measures are numerous within Evangelical Protestant circles, the film has even normally reticent North American Catholics in the evangelical mood. A recent venture called the "Catholic Passion Outreach" is loaded with free downloads and materials to use Gibson's masterpiece to draw people to the film's central character. ( http://passion.catholicexchange.com/ )

 Back to Top

---

Don't go see 'Cold Mountain'; Rent 'Radio' Instead

Mainstream Media Movie Reviews Can't be Trusted

TORONTO, February 12, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Despite stellar reviews and much hoopla, the film 'Cold Mountain' starring Nicole Kidman, necessitated for many a walkout and complaint to management. While rated 14AA, and mentioning the reason for the rating as "violence, course language, mature theme", the film also contained gratuitous sex scenes.

Envoy Magazine publisher, EWTN television personality, and best-selling author Patrick Madrid blogged about his experience with the film saying, "it was irretrievably marred by a few offensive sex scenes. One scene in particular was so egregious -- and so damned unnecessary! -- that, as I closed my eyes till it was over, I whispered an apology to (my wife) Nancy for choosing this movie."

New video release "Radio" on the other hand is a great uplifting film. Starring Cuba Gooding, Jr., it is pro-life - promoting the life and worth of the disabled.

Given the common tendency for reviews to lash out at violence and totally ignore nudity and graphic sex as causes for concern, parents are encouraged to use resources such as http://www.screenit.com where all the details on films are provided. The site is not encouraged for children since objectionable graphic scenes are factually described in some detail. Screenit's review of Cool Mountain
http://www.screenit.com/movies/2003/cold_mountain.html rates both the sex/nudity and violence of the movie as "extreme".

See other usually reliable movie reviews at http://www.decentfilms.com/ and http://www.usccb.org/movies/

 Back to Top

---

LifeSite NewsBytes

San Francisco officials marry same-sex couple- Mayor's unprecedented move defies state law
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=37094

Idaho House Approves gay 'marriage' ban amendment
http://www.idahostatesman.com/story.asp?ID=60838

Sex-Ed Beginning As Early as Grade 4 Across Canada
http://www.globeandmail.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20040210/SEXED10//?qu...

Democrat Presidential Contender Kerry quote from the 1960's: "I'm an internationalist. I'd like to see our troops dispersed through the world only at the directive of the United Nations."
http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=352185

Franciscan University of Steubenville plans pro-life conference June 5-6
http://www.franciscanconferences.com

'Catholic' Notre Dame Holds Gay Film Festival
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=2027&ncid=2027&e=1&u=/chitribts/...

Utah House OKs ban on abortion funding
http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,590042664,00.html

Bush Dismisses Question about membership in Skull and Bones Society
http://www.brunei-online.com/bb/tue/feb10w33.htm

Harvard University Permits Official Student Porn Magazine
http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2004/02/12/flesh_amid_ivyharvard_allow...

Pope John Paul II's Academy for Life Celebrating 10 Year Anniversary
http://zenit.org/english/visualizza.phtml?sid=48815

The Goddess Cult In Australia . .The Mercy Nuns And The New Religion
http://thewandererpress.com/a2-12-2004.htm

Black clergy rejection stirs gay marriage backers
http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2004/02/10/black_clergy_rejection_stir...

Mass. Lawmakers Reject Civil-Union Proposal
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,111094,00.html

75,000 have HIV/AIDS in New York City
http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=20040210-080401-8625r

Over Last Century, Autonomous Individual Has Come Dangerously Close to Replacing the Family
http://www.cwfa.org/articles/5227/BLI/reports/index.htm

FCC Chief Calls Super Bowl Show 'New Low'
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20040211/D80L5V5O0.html

The Windows Patch—What You Need to Know
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,4149,1525075,00.asp

Ruling Puts Microsoft's 'Windows' Trademark at Risk
http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,4149,1525080,00.asp

 Back to Top

---

SHARE THIS PAGE: E-mail  Print

---

---

MORE NEWS: LifeSiteNews.com Home Page  Last 10 Days   Archives   Special Reports

Copyright © LifeSiteNews.com. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivatives License. You may republish this article or portions of it without request provided the content is not altered and it is clearly attributed to "LifeSiteNews.com". Any website publishing of complete or large portions of original LifeSiteNews articles MUST additionally include a live link to www.LifeSiteNews.com. The link is not required for excerpts. Republishing of articles on LifeSiteNews.com from other sources as noted is subject to the conditions of those sources.