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New York Times Finally Issues Correction on Abortion El Salvador Story

By John-Henry Westen

NEW YORK, January 8, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Five weeks after they were notified by a LifeSiteNews.com article that they had made a grave error in reporting on abortion in El Salvador, and one week after the paper's ombudsman published his corroboration of the LifeSiteNews.com evidence, the New York Times has issued a correction.  On Sunday, the New York Times magazine issued an editor's note admitting at least one of the errors in an April 9 story.

With information from contacts in El Salvador, LifeSiteNews.com pointed out in late November that the cover article in the NYT magazine of April 9 claimed falsely that some women in El Salvador were imprisoned for thirty years for illegal abortions.  LifeSiteNews published the full court ruling in the case which showed that rather than being jailed for a clandestine abortion - as the Times magazine asserted - the case study cited actually concerned infanticide of a full-term baby. (see coverage: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2007/jan/07010404.html )

The emotionally laden piece published by the magazine carried a photo of a young woman in prison by the name of Carmen Climaco.  The caption stated she "was given 30 years for an abortion that was ruled a homicide."  Moreover, the article concluded, "She'd had a clandestine abortion at 18 weeks, not all that different from D.C.'s, something defined as absolutely legal in the United States. It's just that she'd had an abortion in El Salvador."

Complaints from LifeSiteNews.com readers prompted New York Times public editor (ombudsman) Byron Calame to investigate the Times magazine story in light of the court ruling.  After verifying that the court ruling published by LifeSiteNews.com was authentic and did in fact contradict the assertions by the magazine, he corresponded with magazine editor and the standards editor, both of whom as of the December 31 publication of Mr. Calame's article were refusing to admit their error and publish a correction. (see coverage: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2007/jan/07010208.html )

The story spread like wildfire on talk radio, blogs, and even in the mainstream press both in America and El Salvador. (http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2007/jan/07010507.html )  There were even assertions that the paper would remove it public editor position altogether (http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2007/jan/07010404.html )

The pro-abortion bias of the New York Times was aired to millions.  Prominent attention was paid to the fact that Times Publisher Arthur Sulzberger Jr. gave a speech to graduates of the State University of New York at New Paltz in May 2006 where he demonstrated his extreme pro-abortion and pro-same sex 'marriage' militancy.  In his speech he "apologized" to the graduates saying, "You weren't supposed to be graduating into a world where we are still fighting for fundamental human rights, whether it's the rights of immigrants to start a new life, or the rights of gays to marry; or the rights of women to choose."

The editor's note in the magazine's corrections section yesterday stated: "The Times should have obtained the text of the ruling of the three-judge panel before the article was published, but did not vigorously pursue the document until details of the ruling were brought to the attention of editors in late November."

The editor's note adds: "Ms. Climaco was sentenced to 30 years in prison for a case that was initially thought to be an abortion but was later ruled to be a homicide; she was not given 30 years in prison for an abortion that was ruled a homicide."

See the full editor's note in the NYT magazine here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/07/magazine/07edsnote.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

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New D.C. Archbishop Washes Hands Over Nancy Pelosi Political Exploitation of Catholic Mass

Spokesman redirects objecters to Trinity University where Pelosi attended mass

By Peter J. Smith

WASHINGTON, January 8, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Pro-abortion House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the most powerful Catholic in Congress is recasting her image as a Italian Catholic mother, despite her stark defiance of the Catholic Church’s teachings opposing abortion, embryonic stem-cell research, and same-sex marriage.

The Speaker publicized well in advance her visits to St. Leo the Great church in Baltimore and attendance of a special Mass at Trinity University offered for victims of hurricane Katrina and of the Darfur genocide, as part of her plan to propel the image of a good Roman Catholic mother and grandmother at home in the Democratic party.

“The Catholic Mass also signals something very important,” Katherine Hall Jamieson, a liberal professor, told the Baltimore Sun. “The Democratic Party wants those defecting Catholics who have voted for Republicans for a long time but came back to the Democratic Party in 2006 to see the Democratic Party as home.”

Pelosi’s much publicized attendance of the Catholic Mass at Trinity January 3rd has dismayed pro-life advocates looking to recently appointed Archbishop Donald Weurl to correct Pelosi’s assertions that she is a “conservative Catholic.”

Judie Brown, president of American Life League, had appealed to Archbishop Weurl to use what power and influence he could muster to deter Nancy Pelosi from making the Mass at Trinity University a political spectacle. Brown said it is “unconscionable for Rep. Pelosi to call herself a Catholic in good standing while supporting the heinous act of abortion.”

“As a practicing Catholic mother and grandmother, I am highly offended that this woman would use the influence of her new office to flaunt her Catholic label while advocating the brutal murder of preborn children without apology” Brown wrote in Human Events.

“A thinking person with any sort of moral sensibilities would conclude that the bald-faced contradiction between advocating for abortion and heralding one’s attendance at a Catholic Mass is simply outrageous and should not be permitted.”

Susan Gibbs, spokeswoman for the Archdiocese of Washington and the Archbishop, told LifeSiteNews.com that the Archdiocese had nothing to do with the event. Gibbs said Archbishop Weurl did not interfere since Trinity University was under the jurisdiction of a religious order, the Sisters of Notre Dame, not the Archdiocese, and said she was redirecting complaints to Trinity. Gibbs did not indicate whether Weurl intends to discipline Pelosi for her public support of abortion, embryonic stem-cell research, and same-sex marriage.

Pelosi’s Catholic Mother and Grandmother public relations ploy may be working to distract voters from her uncontradicted anti-Catholic beliefs. A Rasmussen Reports national phone survey of 800 likely voters released Friday show Pelosi's approval rating has jumped to 43 percent -- up 19 points from November.

Pelosi, who has received a 100 percent rating from NARAL, a radical pro-abortion group, vowed to reinstate funding for embryonic stem-cell research in the first 100 hours of the 110th Congress.

To respectfully contact Archbishop Weurl:

The Most Reverend Donald W. Wuerl
Archdiocese of Washington
P.O. Box 29260
Washington, DC 20017-0260
301-853-4500

Secretary to the Archbishop: Rev. Carter Griffin, 301-853-4500

Vicar General and Moderator of the Curia:
Most Rev. Kevin J. Farrell, 301-853-4520

To contact Trinity University:

Ann Pauley, Media Relations
Trinity, 125 Michigan Avenue NE,
Washington, DC 20017

(202) 884-9725

See Judie Brown’s Article in Human Events:
Pro-Abortion Pelosi Insults Catholic Faith
http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=18732

See National Catholic Reporter’s interview with Nancy Pelosi discussing life as a “pro-choice Catholic” and “conservative Catholic”:
Roots in faith, family and party guide Pelosi’s move to power
http://ncronline.org/mainpage/specialdocuments/Pelosi.htm

See Previous LifeSite Coverage:

Will New Archbishop of Washington Deny Pro-Abort Nancy Pelosi Communion at Jan. 3 Showcase Mass?
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2006/dec/06122005.html

Pro-abortion Dem House Leader Calls Herself a “Conservative Catholic”
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2002/nov/02111804.html

US Bishops Set to Tell Catholics Opposed to Teaching on Abortion or Homosexuality not to Receive Communion
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2006/oct/06102001.html

Highest Authorities in Vatican Back Denial of Communion to Pro-Abortion Politicians
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2004/jul/04070501.html

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LifeSiteNews.com's Best and Worst of President Bush in 2006

By John-Henry Westen
WASHINGTON, January 8, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - U.S. President George W. Bush despite his shortcomings on life and family issues showed himself in 2006 as a national leader who said with conviction that he was pro-life, pro-marriage and Christian.  Nonetheless 2006 also provided a few vivid examples where President Bush seriously let down his pro-life support base. 

The following are LifeSiteNews.com articles from the past year which covered the U.S. President.

THE BEST

Jan. 2006 - President Bush to March for Life Via Telephone
"I want to thank everybody there . . . for your devotion to such a noble cause."
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2006/jan/06012302.html

Bush Includes Pro-Life and Pro-Family Remarks in State of the Union Address
"Human life is a gift from our Creator -- and that gift should never be discarded, devalued or put up for sale."
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2006/feb/06020101.html

President Addresses National Prayer Breakfast
Bush: "Surrendering Our Will to God's Will, We Learn To Serve His Eternal Purposes"
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2006/feb/06020701.html

President Bush Blamed for Failure of Erotic Film Industry
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2006/apr/06040403.html

President Bush Asks All Americans to Pray Today - National Day of Prayer
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2006/may/06050401.html

President Bush Issues First Veto Rejecting Embryonic Stem Cell Bill
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2006/jul/06071908.html

Bush: Abstinence Only 100 % Effective Means of Preventing Pregnancy, HIV, STDs
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2006/jun/06062308.html

Bush tells Graduates, "Don't Become Slaves to Technology" Warns against "manipulations of life that violate human dignity"
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2006/jun/06062308.html

Bush: Marriage Amendment Necessary since "Activist Courts have left us no other Choice"
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2006/jun/06060503.html


BUSH LETDOWNS

President Bush Approves Over the Counter Early Abortion Pill
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2006/aug/06082101.html

President Bush Supports Abortion in Cases of Rape and Incest Says Official Spokesman
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2006/feb/06022809.html

Bush Appointment of Gay Man to Head US AIDS Program Dismays Social Conservatives
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2006/oct/06101603.html

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Over 300 Peacekeepers Investigated in UN Sex Abuse Scandal

By John Jalsevac

January 8, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A UN senior official has admitted that over the last several years the UN has investigated 319 peacekeepers for alleged sexual exploitation and abuse while on missions across the world. Of the 319 peacekeepers that have been investigated, over half were either dismissed from their jobs or ordered to return to their homelands.

The admission of the extent of the scandal follows the publication of an exposé by England’s The Daily Telegraph. In its report The Daily Telegraph presented evidence of over 20 incidents of sexual abuse or exploitation by UN peacekeeping personnel in the town of Juba in Sudan. The reported incidents include cases of sex abuse against children as young as 12; in many cases women and children were given food in exchange for sex.

This is not the first time that UN personnel have come under fire for sexually abusing natives of the localities which they are supposed to be protecting. In the past UN peacekeepers have been accused of sexual abuse in missions from Bosnia and Kosovo to Cambodia, East Timor, Somalia, West Africa and Congo.

Information revealing the improper or criminal activities of UN personnel surfaced amidst a firestorm of controversy in 2004. At that time it was found that the UN was investigating 150 allegations of sexual abuse by UN staff and peacekeepers in Congo, including allegations of rape, prostitution and pedophilia. It was also alleged that in many cases peacekeepers were engaging in cover-ups in order to protect their guilty colleagues. 

A report by the advocacy group Refugees International released in October 2005 charged that “A ‘boys will be boys’ attitude in peacekeeping missions breeds tolerance for exploiting and abusing local women.” 

U.N. Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping, Jane Holl Lute, said in a press conference that over the last two years, since the story first broke, the UN has been monitoring the problem, and attempting to stem incidents of sex abuse, adding “but we’re not satisfied with where we are.”

Given the large number of UN peacekeepers, said Lute, it is inevitable that some people “are going to behave badly…What’s different now is…our determination to stay with this problem…and constantly improve our ability to deal with it.” 

While Lute admitted that 180 UN personnel were either dismissed or repatriated, she did not mention any prosecutions against the peacekeepers, reports The Independent.

According to Lute the UN is about to initiate a new anti-prostitution campaign, “to target what has been a troubling pathway for sexual exploitation and abuse in the missions.”

See related LifeSiteNews.com coverage:

Report Charges that UN Soldiers Covering Up Sexual Exploitation, Rape and Abuse
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2005/oct/05102007.html

UN Congo Staff and Soldiers Accused of Prostitution, Rape, and Pedophilia
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2004/nov/04112408.html

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B.C. School Boards Refuse to Assure Parents of Right to Oversee Children’s Education

Only 3 of 60 school boards have so far responded positively to Catholic Civil Rights League letters

By John Jalsevac

VANCOUVER, B.C., January 8, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Despite the ongoing efforts by the Catholic Civil Rights League to obtain assurances from all 60 British Columbia school boards that parents will retain their right to remove their children from the classroom when material being taught conflicts with religious or family values, as of yet only 3 out of 60 school boards have provided such an assurance. 

The Catholic Civil Rights League has been engaged in this particular fight to protect parents’ rights ever since the province’s Liberal government settled a human rights case with gay activists Murray and Peter Corren in June 2006.

That contentious settlement not only gave Murray and Peter Corren an unprecedented say over the development of a new pro-homosexual provincial curriculum, but also led to the approval of a policy that would disallow parents from removing their children from the classroom if material being taught contravened their personal values.

In September of 2006 Vancouver’s Archbishop Roussin protested the B.C. policy in an editorial in the local Catholic paper, in which he reminded B.C. parents that their rights to educate their children are "non-negotiable", and that they must take action during the government's consultation about the program engineered by the Correns.

Since the passing of the policy depriving parents of their right to guide their children’s education, the Catholic Civil Rights League has carried out an extensive letter writing campaign, which has sought to obtain assurances from B.C.’s school boards that parent’s will in fact retain the right to oversee their children’s education.

 “The focus of these letters,” said the League’s regional director, Sean Murphy, according to the Vancouver Sun, “has been specifically on that. The focus has not been on the subject of homosexuality as such.

“I think most people would be very uncomfortable with the idea that parents are going to surrender their children to the state and their experts to basically deal with as they see fit—even when that is contrary to the wishes of the parents.”

As of yet, however, says Murphy, only 3 school boards have responded to the League’s letter writing campaign in an acceptable fashion. In all only 20 of the 60 school boards have responded at all, even though the League has written some of the boards up to three times.

“I’m hoping if I can get them to seriously look at the matter that some of them may revisit their positions, but we’ll see,” said Murphy.

According to the Sun, Vancouver board chairman Ken Denike said that issues such as these must be approached with common sense. “We’re quite sensitive to these matters,” he said. “We won’t bolt them to their desks.” Several other school boards have responded to the letter-writing campaign in a fashion that Murphy says is in need of clarification. The Catholic Civil Rights League is following up with those school boards.

In the meantime, the process of overhauling B.C.’s curriculum to include positive references to “alternative” lifestyles is continuing. A new course called Social Justice 12, which will focus in part on issues pertaining to “LGBT” issues, is being prepared for pilot testing beginning next fall.

See related LifeSiteNews.com coverage:

Gov't Agrees to Mandatory Homosexual Curriculum with No Opt-Out for Students or Parents
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2006/jun/06060101.html

B.C. Gay Couple Seeks Mandatory Homosexual School Curriculum Without Parental Opt-Out
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2005/jul/05071106.html

Canadian Bishop Calls Parents to Action against Homosexual Indoctrination in Schools
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2006/sep/06090706.html

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Exciting Amniotic Stem Cell Discovery Backed up by New Study

By Hilary White  
WINSTON-SALEM, January 8, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A new study from North Carolina’s Wake Forest University School of Medicine and Harvard University shows that stem cells from amniotic fluid could present a new source that does not require the death of an embryonic stage human to obtain.
 
The study reports that amniotic stem cells have many of the properties of both embryo cells and adult stem cells. They can double in number every 36 hours, dividing at least 250 times without mutating, and without forming tumours. They were successfully turned into new bone, heart muscle, blood vessels, fat, nerve and liver tissues in lab mice.
 
“We asked the question: 'Is there a possibility that within this cell population we can capture true stem cells?' The answer is yes,” said lead researcher, Dr. Anthony Atala, head of the Institute for Regenerative Medicine at Wake Forest University.
 
"It has been known for decades that both the placenta and amniotic fluid contain multiple progenitor cell types from the developing embryo, including fat, bone, and muscle," Dr. Atala said.
 
The research, published online in the journal Nature Biotechnology this weekend, comes at the moment the US government prepares to reconsider its prohibition on federal funding for embryonic stem cell research.
 
Though the researchers warn that tests for treatments in human patients are years away, they are hopeful that the cells could be harvested even from healthy children and banked for use in case of injury or illness in later life.
 
The research coincides with similar findings from the University of Pittsburgh in 2005 in which it was discovered that the placenta could be a rich source of embryo-like stem cells. It is in line with the discovery, also in 2005, by Dr. Dario Fauza of Boston’s Children’s Hospital of possible uses for amniotic fluid stem cells to treat a variety of birth defects.

With the condition of firm assurance that these amniotic cells will only be harvested without posing any danger to preborn babies along with assurance that the collection will be not done as part of  "search and destroy" amniocentesis or chorionic villus sampling (CVS) procedures, the method is certain to receive wholehearted support from pro-life citizens and leaders.
 
Read related LifeSiteNews.com coverage:
Placenta Cells Share Characteristics of Embryo Cells Without Tumor Formation
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2005/aug/05081004.html

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Louisiana Nurse Demoted for Not Distributing ‘Morning After’ Abortion Pill

Court gives her ‘all-clear’ for lawsuit against hospital for violating conscience rights

By Cassidy Bugos

COVINGTON, La., January 8, 2007 (LifeSiteNew.com) – A lawsuit filed on behalf of a nurse demoted for refusing to administer the ‘morning-after’ abortion pill, Plan B, will go forward, Alliance Defense Fund attorneys say.  Louisiana’s 22nd Judicial District Court gave notice Friday January 5 that the hospital’s request for summary judgment has been denied, and the judge desires to see the facts of the case taken before a jury. 

Attorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund filed suit against St. Tammany Parish Hospital in June 2005 for terminating the full-time employment of Nurse Toni Lemly after she refused to administer the early-abortion pill in conjunction with a new ‘family planning’ clinic at the hospital. 

The lawsuit argues that the hospital’s actions violated Title VII of the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discriminating against employees because of their religious beliefs; the Louisiana Employment Discrimination Law; and another state law that protects employees who wish to refrain from participating in abortions. 

“This case is about protecting a person’s freedom of conscience, particularly when it is guided by religious beliefs,” said ADF attorney Brian Arabie of Lake Charles. “The hospital acted unlawfully when it refused to make a reasonable accommodation for Ms. Lemly and instead terminated her full-time position.”

Ms. Lemly, a nurse for 23 years, had worked at the Covington hospital’s Community Wellness Center for eight months before the family planning program was initiated. According to the lawsuit, Ms. Lemly was required by the hospital to administer Plan B to those patients who requested it.

In a May 2004 letter to St. Tammany Parish Hospital staff, Lemly outlined her moral and religious objections to participating in the distribution of the pill. She asserted that the pill is prescribed to be taken within 72 hours after intercourse precisely in order to cause an early abortion if a pregnancy has occurred. The pill causes an abortion by preventing “a living, united female egg and male sperm which is HUMAN life from attaching itself to the uterus lining.”

“I have an innate, deep-seeded belief in Supreme Holy God and I am one of His children,” Lemly wrote to the center’s director Judy Wischkemper. “Since He is my Lord and Savior, for me to give pills to take a life He creates would be for me to go against Him and His plan.”

Lemly submitted to the hospital a list of suggested ways she could be allowed to refrain from directly participating in the administration of the pill while the hospital could continue making it available.

The hospital accepted none of these solutions, and though, from the outset, the family planning clinic only operated out of the Center on Thursdays, Lemly, a single mother, was quickly demoted from full-time status to part-time, working only three days a week and suffering a significant salary reduction and loss of benefits.

The Alliance Defense Fund has handled similar cases regarding conscience rights of medical personnel and pharmacists in several states including Washington, Illinois, and Wisconsin. Brian Arabie says the court’s dismissal of the hospital’s motion is encouraging for this particular case.

“Ms. Lemly provided St. Tammany Parish Hospital with options that would have accommodated both her full-time position and their wish to distribute the morning-after abortion pill,” Arabie said. “Instead, the hospital chose to engage in discrimination based on her courageous commitment to the unborn. We are pleased that we will now be able to continue to pursue justice on her behalf.”

A copy of the court’s denial of the hospital’s motion for summary judgment is available at: http://www.telladf.org/UserDocs/LemlyJudgment.pdf. ;

The lawsuit, Lemly vs. St Tammany Parish Hospital District No 1, was filed in June 2005 in the 22nd Judicial District Court for the Parish of St. Tammany.  The petition can be read at: http://www.telladf.org/UserDocs/LemlyPFD.pdf

To respectfully contact:

The President and CEO
Patti Ellish
(985) 898-4018


And Board of Commissioners:
St. Tammany Hospital Foundation
1202 S. Tyler Street
Covington, LA 70433


Foundation Phone: 985.898.4174
Fax: 985.871.5744

See list of Board of Commissioners
http://www.stph.org/aboutus/boardofcommissioners.aspx

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U.S. Navajos Protest Use of Their Name for UK Gay Rights Project

Navajo leaders dispute contention their ancestors honoured homosexual members

By Meg Jalsevac

WYRE BOROUGH, England, January 8, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Residents and officials of the large Navajo reservation in the southern US are protesting the use of their Navajo name in a campaign for “gay-friendliness” in Britain. 

The campaign, entitled the ‘Navajo Charter Mark’ was established in 1999 by the health council of North West Lancashire as part of an awareness campaign and county-wide effort to give assistance to gays, lesbians and bisexuals.  Organizations are awarded the mark after exhibiting sufficient effort in aiding the homosexual community. 

Numerous city councils, police forces, and health departments have adopted the ‘Navajo Charter’ mission as a symbol of their “gay-friendly” identity.  Over 100 organizations have been awarded the ‘Navajo Charter Mark’ for gay-friendly policies and functions.

The Navajos in North America are upset over the use of their name for such a project which they say does not uphold Navajo beliefs or law.  The attorney-general of the reservation, Louis Denetsosie, has written a letter to the British newspaper, The Sunday Telegraph, expressing “great concern” over the issue.  

The large Navajo reservation in north-eastern Arizona, Utah and New Mexico houses over 300,000 Navajo and is largely self-governed with very little interruption from Washington.  The majority of laws in the reservation are made and passed within their own governmental frame-work and in 2005, they overwhelmingly passed a law forbidding same-sex “marriage”.

Supporters of the ‘Navajo Charter Mark’ project insist that the name is appropriate since they say that historically, the Navajo respected homosexuality, and even honored homosexual members of their community as privileged for having two spirits – one of a man, and one of a woman. 

Some anthropologists do claim that the Navajo did honor homosexuality but that the practice ceased when Christianity was introduced over 100 years ago. Leaders in the Navajo community, both political officials and traditional medicine men, deny the theory.

Wyre Borough council is one such council that proudly displays the ‘Navajo’ mark after voting for an agenda that included homosexual “marriage”, staff “diversity training” and “gay-friendly” images in council publications. 

A Wyre council spokesman said: “The Navajo project takes its name from a tribe of native North Americans who recognized sexual diversity in their community. Wyre has an equality strategy and Navajo links with that because it recognizes diverse groups in the community.

All has not gone smoothly for the ‘Navajo Charter Mark’ project.

After county residents and retirees, Joe and Helen Roberts requested permission in late 2006 to display Christian pamphlets next to the pro-homosexual ones approved by the Wyre council, they were interrogated for over 80 hours by the borough police for their “potentially homophobic attitudes”.  Police told the 75 year old Roberts that they “were walking on eggshells.”

Denetsosie also wrote to the Roberts saying, “The Navajo nation is greatly concerned regarding the use of the word Navajo in any context, but even more so when it is used to express a view or policy that is contrary to Navajo law.”

The Roberts sued the council and the police department for breach of their right to freedom of expression and religion and were awarded £70,000 by the courts.

Tom Ellis, an attorney for the Roberts, criticized the Wyre council and similar “Navajo Project” participants saying, “At a time when gay activists are pressing for laws that will give them a right not to be offended, it appears that some groups, including many funded by the taxpayer, are prepared to offend a whole nation.”

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Exeter University Christian Union Files High Court Suit Over Campus Ban

Campus gay activists angered that Christian group bars gays from leadership positions

By Gudrun Schultz

LONDON, United Kingdom, January 9, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The Christian Union at Exeter University has filed suit with the High Court after the university banned the group from campus for maintaining policies opposing homosexuality.

The 50-year-old Christian Union at Exeter was barred from campus activities by the Students Guild after complaints that the group discriminated against homosexual students.

The CU asks students to support the Christian beliefs of the Union if they are going to be official members--any student is welcome to participate in meetings without full membership status, but they are not allowed to hold office with the Union.

That restriction angered homosexual students on campus, who complained that their rights were being violated.

The Christian Union issued a statement in November warning the Students’ Guild that it would face legal action if it failed to reinstate the CU within 14 days.

Ben Martin, with the CU, said: "Legal action was the very last thing we wanted to take, “ the Daily Mail reported.

"We are all students trying to concentrate on our studies, but the action by the Guild, in blatant infringement of our rights, and their reluctance to reinstate us, has left us with no alternative."

In October 2006 the Students Guild forced the Union to change its name to the Evangelical Christian Union, after a one-time member complained the CU was too exclusive and proposed the change to the guild.

Exeter University’s ban  on the Christian group was just one of several recent cases in the UK where universities have barred Christian groups from campus after complaints from homosexual student activist groups, including universities in London, Birmingham, Glasgow and Edinburgh.

See related LifeSiteNews coverage:

Christian Student Union Shut Out Over Refusal to Include Gays, Lesbians
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2006/jan/06012504.html

Edinburgh University Bans Christian Club from giving Abstinence Course
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2006/nov/06112210.html

UK Bishops Warn Student Unions Ban of Christian Groups “Intolerant and Unlawful”
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2006/nov/06112407.html

Canterbury Archbishop Says Univ. Ban on Christian Unions Shows Fear of Debate
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2006/dec/06120803.html

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UK: Orkney Island Officials Won’t Permit “Celebrity” Homosexual Civil Union Ceremony

By Gudrun Schultz

SANDAY, United Kingdom, January 9, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Officials on the remote Orkney island of Sanday have refused to permit a civil ceremony for homosexual couple Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, Master of the Queen’s Music, and builder Colin Parkinson, causing the pair to seek legal council.

Citing restrictions which prevent registrars on outlying islands from carrying out same-sex partnership ceremonies, officials said the pair would have to travel to Kirkwall on the Orkney mainland for the ceremony, the Times reported last week.

One-time member of the Hell’s Angels, Charlie Ridley, who is Sanday’s resident registrar, had agreed last year to conduct the ceremony.

The council suggested last Thursday that a compromise might be possible. A spokesman said, “In common with all the other home-based registrars in the Orkeny Island Council registration district, the Sanday registrar is not authorized to carry out civil partnership ceremonies. The council will be discussing this situation with all those concerned to find an acceptable solution within council procedure.”
 
An elaborate show had been planned for the event, with Sir Peter, who is 72, and Mr. Parkinson, 52, arriving at a local tea room on a miniature train.

Sir Peter blamed the council’s move on religious fundamentalists, whom he called “malignant,” telling The Independent, "Fundamental religious people, who delve into the Bible to justify their hatreds, still hold great sway. That kind of malignant influence is wrong.”

Scotland’s Western Isles banned same-sex civil ceremonies in January of last year, after the United Kingdom passed legislation permitting legal homosexual unions. A church-led campaign mobilized the islands’ residents to oppose the move, with most islanders supporting the ban, according to a report by The Universe Catholic News agency at the time.

While registry officials will not conduct ceremonies for same-sex civil unions, the region has not banned the granting of registrations to homosexual couples.

“It is a practical decision,” said Western Isles policy committee chairman Angus Campbell at the time, “our officers don’t want to do [the ceremonies.]”

See Timesonline coverage:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-2533465.html

See related LifeSiteNews coverage:

UK Region Outlaws Homosexual ‘Weddings’
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2006/jan/06011006.html

Gay Civil Unions Bill Approved in UK
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2005/feb/05022202.html

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Majority of Portuguese (64%) Support Lifting Ban on Abortion, New Poll Shows

Referendum on law change scheduled for Feb. 11

By Gudrun Schultz

LISBON, Portugal, January 9, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - More than 64 percent of Portuguese voters would support a law permitting abortion on demand in the first ten weeks of pregnancy, according to a new poll released last week.

Commissioned by the Portuguese daily newspaper Correio da Manha, the survey showed 64.1 percent of those questioned intended to vote yes in a coming referendum on the issue next month.

Scheduled for Feb. 11, the referendum will ask voters: "Do you agree with the decriminalization of the voluntary interruption of pregnancy, in the first 10 weeks, in a legally authorized health establishment?"

While only 27.3 percent of those questioned said they would vote to uphold the current law, an anticipated low turnout for the referendum could render the results invalid..

Portuguese law requires that at least 50 percent of voters participate before a referendum result can be considered binding. Only 56 percent of the electorate is expected to vote in February’s referendum.

"It isn't yet clear, but there is a risk of the 'yes' camp winning but voter turnout being less than 50%," pollster Jorge de Sa said.

In a very similar political situation on a moral issue last year, Italy’s bishops convinced many Catholic voters to stay home which resulted in far less than 50% of voters showing up for a vote on gutting Italy’s in vitro fertilization restrictions. The low turnout for the referendum automatically killed the proposal.

Currently in portugal abortion is only permitted to save the woman’s life, or in cases of rape or fetal malformation up until 12 weeks gestation.

An earlier referendum in 1998 was declared void after only 32 percent of the population turned out to vote.

Bishop António Marto, of Leiria Fátima diocese, spoke out against the move to break down abortion laws in his New Year message last week, the Scotsman reported.

"The liberalisation of abortion ... is not an adequate and worthy answer," he said. "It does not attack the problem in its roots."

"The threat to peace is not just in armed conflicts and in terrorism; it is also, subtly but no less cutting, in the silent deaths brought about by hunger, abortion, embryo experimentation and euthanasia."

Prominent doctor Isabel Neto,  with Nao Obligada, a group campaigning against the law change, said, "In a society that faces a tsunami of chronic illnesses and the fall in births, we should not be moving funds to abortions but to the women who are going to have more children."

See previous LifeSiteNews coverage:

Socialist Portugal Government to Introduce Abortion Vote January 2007
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2006/sep/06091803.html

Five Convicted of Abortion Crimes in Portugal
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2006/jul/06070505.html

Abortion Referendum Planned for Portugal by New Socialist Government
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2005/mar/05032310.html

Italian IVF Referendum Ends with Half the Required Vote
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2005/jun/05061303.html

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