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Wednesday March 15, 2006
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Print- Canada Releases Abortion Numbers – 103,768 Babies Killed in 2003
- Book Review: Peggy Noonan’s ‘Remembering John Paul the Great’
- Pro-Abortion and Pro-Life Women Join Forces to End Exploitive Harvesting of Human Eggs
- New UK Law: Restaurants Must Permit Gays to Publicly Exhibit Affection
- Canadian Film Celebrating Homosexuality Sweeps Film Awards
- Astonishing Success of Pro-Life Project at Canadian University
- Posters Celebrating Fetal Development Ripped Down at Harvard
- Dolly Cloner Now Says Others Did Most of the Work, Award May be Withdrawn
- Virginia Judge Rejects Registration of Vermont Civil Union Order Stopping Lesbian Child Visitation
- Atheists Insist Prayer Be Stripped from University of Toronto Convocation
- New Nova Scotia Premier Backs Parental Choice in Childcare
- Menstrual Blood has 30 Times more Stem Cells than Bone Marrow Says Study
Canada Releases Abortion Numbers – 103,768 Babies Killed in 2003
TODAY'S HEADLINES
OTTAWA, March 15, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Statistics Canada today released information that 103,768 babies were deliberately killed in their mothers’ wombs in the year 2003 in Canada. This death toll is added to the nearly three million slaughtered since 1969. There was a slight decline in abortions committed mostly among teen-aged girls, StatsCan reported.
“The magnitude of this atrocity appears to be lost on the average person in Canada,” said Jim Hughes, National President of Campaign Life Coalition (CLC). “Canada likes to brag about its human rights record at home and abroad, while it ignores the mounting death toll that it has refused to stop,” he continued.
“Statistics are cold numbers but each one of these precious babies before birth are human beings who were systematically dismembered by doctors and this was paid for by the taxpayers,” said Mary Ellen Douglas, National Organizer of Campaign Life Coalition. “The death of each of these babies has been recorded in the Book of Life long before they were counted by StatsCan. The fact that the numbers are lower among teenage girls is encouraging, perhaps, but the final figures are staggering,” she stated.
Campaign Life Coalition has called on the federal government to enact legislation to protect the right to live for all Canadians from conception (fertilization) until natural death as they were directed by the Supreme Court in 1988.
Among
teen-aged women, the abortion rate in 2003 was 14.5 per 1,000 women
under the age of 20, down from 15.7 the year before. The abortion rate
for teen-aged women has declined gradually since 1997 when it was 18.4
per 1,000 women under the age of 20.
The crude birth rate for teen-aged women has also continued to fall. In
1997, there were 16.8 live births per 1,000 women under 20. By 2003,
this had declined to 12.1.
The number of induced abortions per 100 live births decreased to 31.0 in 2003, from 32.1 in 2002.
Induced abortions continue to be most common among women in their
twenties, who accounted for 53% of all women who obtained an abortion
in 2003. On average, 26 women out of every 1,000 in their twenties
obtained an abortion.
Induced abortion rates remained the same or increased for residents of
most provinces and territories except for New Brunswick, Ontario and
British Columbia, where the rates decreased.
The data is of
limited accuracy since there are some abortion clinics which fail to
respond to the voluntary government survey of abortions and one
province - Nunavit - provided no information.
Back to TopBook Review: Peggy Noonan’s ‘Remembering John Paul the Great’
By John-Henry Westen
Editor
LifeSiteNews.com
The eminently readable Peggy Noonan, best known as a columnist and contributing editor at The Wall Street Journal has penned an in-depth and fascinating biographical sketch of the late great Pope John Paul II, all in 256 pages. Noonan, the New York Times bestselling author of ‘When Character Was King’, has produced a faithful snapshot of the life and times of the last Pope of the 20th century in a format accessible to the common man who lacks the time to pour over the tens of thousands of pages in tomes detailing John Paul’s heroic story.
In ‘John Paul the Great: Remembering a Spiritual Father’, Noonan – whose articles and essays have appeared in Time, Newsweek, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and more - combines her art at story telling with some very personal faith experiences of her own which were drawn to life by the subject of her book.
I was pleasantly surprised by Noonan’s openness about the depth of her lively faith, a faith which, she says, was rekindled by the spiritual fatherhood of John Paul II. This experiential dimension of the work by an author who has for decades honed her skill at describing her sentiments, draws the reader into the experience, prompting reflection on the personal impact of the Polish Pontiff on the reader himself.
Noonan has extracted some of the most moving and fascinating revelations on John Paul’s life from his various biographers. Naming names and providing just enough information on the intrigues and incidents to satisfy the casual reader and to entice the more interested to further research.
In that light, Noonan’s book is perfect for a Google generation. Those interested in the personages, the scandals, the prophecies, the events, the joys and the sufferings related in the book have the necessary key (words) to unlock the information highway’s secret pathways to the treasured knowledge.
As a celebrated author and a former speechwriter for President Ronald Reagan, Noonan provides the reader with access to conversations by Catholic, political and even Hollywood leaders with insights on the late Holy Father. The book does not shy away from criticism.
‘John Paul the Great: Remembering a Spiritual Father’ details some of the many mystical experiences surrounding the late Pope. Those mystical experiences may sometimes be called providential coincidences which are for the faithful treasured reminders of the Hand of God in their lives. And this is where I found myself most impressed by the book.
Many an elevated and public persona of Noonan’s stature would have avoided so personal and revealing an account of deeply held faith and conviction, sharing in all humility spiritual struggles and what she recognizes as Godincidences. But Noonan has laid open her soul. While in doing so she opens herself to ridicule, she at the same time opens to her readers the door to the Supreme Resident who resides in every soul given over to His service. A Resident whom our beloved Pope John Paul served faithfully to the last.
The book is available here:
Amazon.com
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0670037486/104-6555008-7892765?v=glance&n=2...
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbninquiry.asp?ISBN=0670037486&...
Pro-Abortion and Pro-Life Women Join Forces to End Exploitive Harvesting of Human Eggs
LONDON, March 15, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) - On March 8th, International Women's Day, a coalition of abortion-supporting and pro-life women, concerned at the growing exploitation of women in biotechnology launched a new campaign against the harvesting and marketing of human eggs. The campaign, "Hands off our ovaries!" highlights the short and long-term risks involved in egg harvesting and its significance for the health and dignity of women.
Concerned feminist representatives have joined together on this common ground, outraged by the casual attitude of the biotech industry towards the female body. Like-minded leaders and groups from around the world are invited to join a list which already includes representation from the USA Europe and Asia.
"Egg extraction as currently practiced poses inadequately understood, yet clearly significant risks to women's health. It is unconscionable to encourage young women to take these risks purely for research purposes," says Diane Beeson, Professor of Sociology at the California State University, East Bay and founder member of "Hands off our ovaries".
"Women must quickly come together so that these life threatening concerns for our health and safety are heard. We can no longer sit idly by while women altruistically put themselves in harms way," stated Jennifer Lahl, President of Every Woman First.
Leading Italian Feminists, Paola Tavella and Alessandra Di Pietro, authors of the newly-published, "Untamed Mothers-Against Technorape of the Female Body", support the campaign and comment, "We believe that current biopolitics are separating men and women from natural reproduction and are robbing women of their biological tissues for experimental technoscience. We will fight together with other feminists for the freedom of women and the welfare of future generations."
"Women can die from egg harvesting, or suffer irreversible infertility, and the long term effects of the drugs which are used in the process are still being questioned," said Josephine Quintavalle on behalf of Comment on Reproductive Ethics. "None of these issues has been adequately addressed by the stem cell scientists eager to get their hands on women's eggs and ovaries. And all for scientific research which still remains in the realm of hypothetical benefit."
The group's website contains a petition which can be signed online as well as more information and can be found online here:
http://www.handsoffourovaries.com
New UK Law: Restaurants Must Permit Gays to Publicly Exhibit Affection
Bed and Breakfasts Must Admit Homosexual Couples
By Terry Vanderheyden
LONDON, March 15, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A new UK law prohibits restaurants from preventing homosexuals from public displays of affection under pain of prosecution. The same law mandates that bed and breakfasts and hotels give rooms to same-sex couples or face legal backlash.
The Department of Trade and Industry announced the new rules Monday, which also forces retail shops to grant wedding registry lists to same-sex couples. The law expands previous provisions against discrimination in the workplace to include guaranteed access to “goods, facilities and services” for homosexuals. The new rules place homosexual disposition on an equal footing with race and gender.
Trade Secretary Alan Johnson told the Times, “I want to make sure that no one gets refused a room at a hotel or a table in a restaurant because of their sexuality.”
Canadian Film Celebrating Homosexuality Sweeps Film Awards
By Gudrun Schultz
TORONTO, Ontario, March 15, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A Quebec film celebrating homosexuality swept the Canadian Genie awards on Monday night.
C.R.A.Z.Y. is a film about a young gay man growing up with four brothers in a large Catholic family. The story is set in suburban Quebec during the 60’s.
Following the trend set by the gay cowboy movie Brokeback Mountain, C.R.A.Z.Y. was nominated for 12 awards and won ten of them. The film won for best picture, best director and leading actor.
The film’s director, Jean-Marc Vallee, describes the story as “a mystical fable about a modern-day Christ-like figure.”
Presumably, he attributes Christ-like-ness to the gay central character for his willingness to hide his gayness from his father out of love for him.
C.R.A.Z.Y. was also Canada’s largest grossing movie, earning more than $6.2 million and the Golden Reel Award. The bulk of the film’s earnings came from Quebec. The French-language movie was barely noticed by the rest of Canada, only bringing in some $500,000 outside of Quebec.
The Canadian film surpassed Brokeback Mountain, which was nominated for eight awards at the Oscars, failed to get best picture and won three awards for original score, adapted screenplay and direction.
See LifeSiteNews coverage of Brokeback Mountain:
Priest Advises a “Brokeback Lent”, Homily Encourages Propaganda Film
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2006/mar/06030707.html
Astonishing Success of Pro-Life Project at Canadian University
Leader says, “We are going to make the March for Life the biggest thing on campus”
By Luke Jalsevac
HAMILTON, March 15, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Arriving at Hamilton’s McMaster University on a snowy Tuesday morning for their regular classes had no idea they were in for a sobering dose of the reality of abortion. Early in the morning, LifeLine, the McMaster pro-life group, had set up displays of photos depicting the grisly truth of abortion all around campus. The project was entitled simply “Unmasking Choice.”
The effect on the student population was powerful and immediate.
Johanna Miller, president of LifeLine, could not contain her excitement when she spoke to LifeSiteNews later in the evening. “From the responses of the students it was obvious that many had never been exposed to the pro-life message before,” effused Johanna.
“Our intent was to give students the chance to see and hear the truth, and it worked, because many students came by and said that throughout the entire campus, even in classes, everyone was talking about abortion. Apathy was everywhere on campus before, but this has really shaken people up.”
A counter-protest formed within half an hour of the display being erected, but Johanna reports that this actually helped their cause. “The protestors actually got people talking. Students were going back and forth between the two groups asking questions and seeking out counter-arguments.”
Johanna was relieved that the protest did not result in any physical confrontation. In fact, the pro-abortion protestors came to the pro-life students at the end of the day and thanked them for being so peaceful, and they even shared hot chocolate together.
“University is a place to be informed of the facts, to be critical of commonly held beliefs, and to engage in honest and open debate,” it says on the LifeLine website. And since the establishment of most universities no longer encourages genuine debate, these students boldly took matters into their own hands.
Johanna did say, however, that she has been surprised by the support the pro-life club has received from security and even some members of the administration at the secular university: “There must be a few people at the higher up levels who are working quietly to ensure that we are given the necessary freedom to pursue our mission.”
In the weeks leading up to this demonstration the pro-life club had flooded the university newspaper with letters outlining and defending the pro-life position. Pro-choice students then responded by flooding the paper with letters supporting abortion. This was followed in turn by another wave of pro-life letters. The editor of the paper finally got fed up and said she was not going to print any more letters on abortion.
But that was before yesterday’s display took the campus by storm.
Johanna says she is amazed at how events have unfolded over the past couple of years since McMaster LifeLine was formed. She recalls being reluctantly dragged into the position of secretary last year, but how quickly her mentality began to change as she got involved. “Last year we did the usual things that pro-life clubs do – set up information tables, handed out buttons and pamphlets, and brought in a few speakers. This was as necessary for the executive as it was for the students since we really had a lot to learn.”
But it was last year’s March for Life in Ottawa, which was attended by 15 McMaster students, that was the catalyst for ratcheting up their activities to the next level.
“For the first time I saw the hugeness of the pro-life movement,” said Johanna, “and in the midst of the great crowds of enthusiastic youth I realized that we are nothing without each other, and that in some way we are all responsible for abortion.”
She continued, “We are just following those in the pro-life movement who have paved the way. We are simply picking up the torch. When you begin doing pro-life work it pulls you in and takes you over.” But she clearly loves it, for she knows she is fighting for the truth and for life. “Please take a stand one way or the other. Don’t be apathetic,” is all she asks of the students.
Strategically building on the momentum of their demonstration, LifeLine has sponsored a debate for today between the McMaster debating society and Stephanie Gray, Executive Director of the Canadian Centre for Bio-Ethical Reform, over the question of whether abortion should be legal.
If yesterday’s events aren’t enough to get students interested, LifeLine has bombarded the campus with flyers advertising the debate, even putting them under all the professor’s doors.
LifeLine then plans to end the year with a campaign advertising the Canadian March for Life in May. Their glossy, professional flyers will challenge the students to join “The Human Rights Movement of the 21st Century.”
“We are going to make the March for Life the biggest thing on campus,” says Johanna passionately. “This will be the culmination of our year where we will stand together with people from across the country in solidarity for life.”
LifeSiteNews.com will present part II of this report after Wednesday’s debate
http://www.mcmasterlifeline.com
Posters Celebrating Fetal Development Ripped Down at Harvard
By Gudrun Schultz
CONNETICUT, United States, March 15, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A series of simple posters by Harvard Right to Life, showing the early stages of fetal development, accompanied by cheerful text and line drawings, have so outraged pro-abortion students they are ripping the posters down.
In February, HRL began posting the series on campus. The posters contain photos of an unborn child named “Elena,” who offers enthusiastic, slightly goofy commentary on her development and enjoyment of life. One reads “Oh hi! I was just celebrating all my organs and me being 56 days alive, eight weeks old.” They are accented with colourful doodles and line drawings, and end with the statement “A person’s a person no matter how small.”
The posters generated heated controversy and triggered some violent reactions among abortion advocates on campus.
One person told the Harvard Crimson the image was “disgusting.”
“I personally find the image disgusting and don’t want to walk past it everyday,” Nichele M. McClendon said. “It doesn’t have to do with abortion as an issue or free speech; it’s about being decent and not being disgusting.”
Another Oh Harvard blogger wrote, on February 16:
“I think I have a right to not see that crap on my way to breakfast, lunch, and dinner…Ethically charged poster like that have no place in common spaces. Quite simply, if one is pro-choice, they make you uncomfortable and annoyed…Some things aren’t suited to cute posters with girly fonts and doodles. Some things don’t serve a real purpose…”
A Harvard Crimson editorial, written by Alexandra Atiya on March 10, said:
“[I]t is simply a statement of anger to express your ideas in the way of the “Elena Posters”…[I]t’s unnecessarily divisive…[T]his deliberately flattens an intensely painful and complicated issue. It also happens to misrepresent the pro-choice members of this campus as bloodthirsty baby killers.”
HRL president Meghan E. Grizzle said the posters were getting torn down “left and right,” and the organization had to constantly replace them.
”Apparently people find the picture of a fetus gruesome and I don’t understand why, because we’re not showing pictures of an aborted fetus or a dead baby.”
Thanks to Jill Stanek for the story tip:
http://www.jillstanek.com
Dolly Cloner Now Says Others Did Most of the Work, Award May be Withdrawn
by Hilary White
EDINBURGH, March 15, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Ian Wilmut, the creator of Dolly the cloned sheep and the world’s foremost expert in human cloning, could be stripped of a prestigious international award worth £70,000.
The Frankfurt-based Paul Ehrlich Foundation is considering recalling the Paul Ehrlich and Ludwig Darmstaedter Prize for medical research awarded to Wilmut, after the British cloning expert admitted his research may not be entirely his own.
While it is understood that all medical research is a communal effort with findings building upon findings, Wilmut has admitted that he neither developed the technology nor conducted the vital experiments to create Dolly, even though his name appeared on the papers as lead researcher. Wilmut made the admission at an employment tribunal in Edinburgh in which he is accused of the racial harassment and bullying of an Asian colleague.
A spokesman for the Foundation said, "It has never happened before that an award has been taken away. It is a very complicated issue. It is not about faking results or data, for example, and the question of who takes credit for what and how much credit they should take is a very complex one and there's no simple answer."
Wilmut is the golden child of British genetic researchers. Thus far, his every request has been granted by the notoriously permissive UK Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority. These have included permission to create cloned human beings for experimentation and human/rabbit hybrids. His suggestion that the research community be allowed to use dying human patients as test subjects was well received by the UK medical research community.
It is ironic that the prize comes from a German research foundation. Germany is particularly sensitive to the use of human beings, even at the embryonic stage of life, for medical research. The move to award Wilmut the prize, half of which is paid out of German tax revenues, was criticized by Marburger Bund physician’s organization. German Research Foundation (DFG) President Ernst-Ludwig Winnacker added, "Concerning therapeutic cloning, our opinion is unchanged, that therapeutic procedures with humans is the wrong way."
Read related LifeSiteNews.com coverage:
Germany Condemning Dolly Cloner Wilmut as Recipient of Prestigious Ehrlich Science Prize
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2005/mar/05031702.html
Virginia Judge Rejects Registration of Vermont Civil Union Order Stopping Lesbian Child Visitation
WINCHESTER, VA, March 15, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) - In the case of Miller v. Jenkins, Virginia Circuit Court Judge John R. Prosser ruled that a Vermont civil union may not be registered in the state because the laws of Virginia do not permit civil unions or same-sex marriage. Lisa Miller is represented by Mathew D. Staver, President and General Counsel of Liberty Counsel and Rena Lindevaldsen, Senior Litigation Counsel of Liberty Counsel and adjunct professor of law at Liberty University School of Law.
The case involves Lisa Miller, her biological child, and Janet Jenkins. In December 2000, Lisa and Janet, while living in Virginia, obtained a civil union in Vermont. Lisa gave birth to a child through artificial insemination. Janet never adopted the child. The relationship ended when Lisa became a Christian and Janet became abusive. Lisa is no longer a lesbian. She resides with her daughter in Virginia. A Vermont court awarded Janet "parent-child" contact and visitation. A Virginia court declared Lisa to be the sole parent and ruled that the Virginia Marriage Affirmation Act barred recognition of civil unions. In addition to state law, the cases involve the application of the federal Parental Kidnapping Prevention Act (which requires courts to recognize out-of-state custody and visitation orders) and the federal Defense of Marriage Act (which allows states to reject out-of-state, same-sex unions and any rights from that relationship).
While the simultaneous appeals of the Miller v. Jenkins case remain pending at the Vermont Supreme Court and the Virginia Court of Appeals, Janet tried to register in Virginia the Vermont trial court order which granted her "parent-child" contact and visitation. Registration is the first step to enforce an out-of-state visitation order in Virginia. Although acknowledging that the Vermont order could not be enforced while the appeals were pending, Domestic Relations Judge William Sharp registered the Vermont order anyway. Appealing the registration to the Circuit Court, Judge Prosser has now ruled that the registration of the Vermont order was impermissible since Virginia does not recognize a Vermont civil union. The Vermont order must now be removed from the court registry.
The two separate appeals of Miller v. Jenkins remain pending at the Vermont Supreme Court and the Virginia Court of Appeals. These cases pit the laws of Vermont and Virginia and two federal laws against each other.
Mathew D. Staver, President and General Counsel of Liberty Counsel, stated, "We are pleased the court ruled that a Vermont civil union has no legal validity in Virginia. Unless the federal Constitution is amended to protect traditional marriage, same-sex marriage advocates will continue using the courts to force their agenda on the rest of the country. The definition of marriage is not for judges to decide. It must be decided by the people. It must be uniform. When the people speak on this issue, they overwhelmingly choose marriage as one man and one woman."
Atheists Insist Prayer Be Stripped from University of Toronto Convocation
By Gudrun Schultz
TORONTO, Ontario, March 15, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A student atheist group at the University of Toronto is campaigning to have all elements of prayer removed from the convocation ceremonies at the University.
Members of the Toronto Secular Alliance say they are “disgusted” at having to listen to words like “Eternal God” at a public ceremony. The government-funded student group is demanding that all religious elements should be banned from any public ceremony on campus.
Stephen DeSousa, U of T public affairs, told the National Post that basic prayer has been part of the convocation tradition since the university began in 1827. The traditional 14-line prayer in use today was already “sanitized” in 1990, when “Eternal Father” was changed to read “Eternal God.”
Ralph Wushke is campus chaplain for the university. He told the Post he has never received any complaints from students about the use of the prayer.
“The prayer had a lovely sentiment of wisdom and understanding—nothing particular to Christianity,” he said.
“It gives thanks to wisdom and learning. I always found it very meaningful. It was a blessing for all learning, the search for knowledge, research and the desire for creativity. That desire to create is in part an activity in spirit.”
Mr. Wushke referred to the alliance as an “active bunch” saying, “Only absolute atheists would have objected.”
The convocation committee’s report on the issue is due out mid April.
The text of the prayer appears below.
To contact the University of Toronto Department of Public Affairs and express concern:
Department of Public Affairs
University of Toronto
21 King’s College Circle
Toronto, ON
Canada M5S 3J3
Tel: (416) 978-8638
University of Toronto convocation prayer:
Eternal god, from whom alone come wisdom and understanding, we pray that you will bless and preserve our Universities, Colleges and Schools. In particular, we pray that you will look with favour upon this University and all its sons and daughters. Let knowledge be increased among us and all good learning flourish and abound. Bless all who teach and all who learn, and grant that we may always look to you, the source of light and ground of truth, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
New Nova Scotia Premier Backs Parental Choice in Childcare
By Terry Vanderheyden
HALIFAX, March 15, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A federal Conservative government proposal to allow parental choice in childcare has been met with criticism from some provinces such as Liberal-held Ontario, while new Nova Scotia Conservative Premier Rodney MacDonald supports the idea.
“I . . . outlined our government’s support for a blended approach to child care, supporting both stay-at-home parents and day cares,” he said in his first news column as premier, which appeared in The Chronicle-Herald. MacDonald, 34, took over from retiring Premier John Hamm two weeks ago.
“We all want what’s best for our families,” he added.
Menstrual Blood has 30 Times more Stem Cells than Bone Marrow Says Study
by Hilary White
ATLANTA, March 15, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A team of researchers from
Japan has shown that stem cells are found abundantly in menstrual
blood. The discovery was announced at the meeting of the American
College of Cardiology in Atlanta on Monday.
Dr. Shunichiro Miyoshi reported that he and his colleagues at Keio
University School of Medicine, Tokyo had harvested stem cells from the
blood of six women that originates in the endometrium.
When the cells were harvested and cultivated, the researchers were able
to obtain about thirty times more stem cells from menstrual blood than
from bone marrow, Miyoshi told Reuters Health. The stem cells were
induced to become heart cells about half of which showed signs of
electrical function as do normal heart cells.
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