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Compiled by Steve Jalsevac
ABORTION
Pro-Lifers Look to Spread Fetal Pain Law – CNS
Abortion rights foes emboldened by a new Nebraska law that restricts late-term procedures based on the disputed notion that fetuses can feel pain after 20 weeks are pushing for similar legislation in other states, particularly those where Republicans won big in November
National Right To Life Urges States To Push ‘Fetal Pain’ Bills Next Session
Pro Life Legislation to Proliferate in New Legislative Environment – Wesley J. Smith
In all of the stories about the flip of the House of Representatives, few paid enough attention to the massive changes in state governance. But the pro-life movement did, noting that its allies have gained much political power. And that will result in a lot of new anti-abortion legislating
Catholic senators strongly favor abortion – National Catholic Register
Here’s our snapshot of the spectrum of pro-life votes and views of Catholics on Capitol Hill, newly updated for the 112th Congress.
No more “mental retardation”. So? We need to stop aborting them – Mercator
I would prefer my daughter to be called a “retard” and know that abortion of babies with Down syndrome had ceased. Early last month President Barack Obama signed a law decreeing that federal statutes must no longer use the term “mental retardation”. The phrase replacing it will be “intellectual disability”. Many Down syndrome advocates were jubilant. But I am more skeptical. Drawing a new word from the thesaurus is not enough. We have to respect the right of the mentally disabled to exist. We need to stop aborting them.
Georgia has Highest Abortion Rates in the World – Finchannel.com
Georgia along with Armenia and Azerbaijan has the highest abortion rates in the world,
the number of induced abortions on average for each woman during their lifetime is close to three.
Doctors highlight Korean abortion problem – CathnewsIndia
A group of young obstetricians campaigning against abortion in South Korea have highlighted the country’s high number of pregnancy terminations and has suggested ways to redress it. Korean Prolife Doctors Association member Kim Hae-suk said there were some 340,000 abortions in 2005
Mother suffocates newborn baby, avoids jail – The Portugal News
A 39-year-old woman from Arcozelo, Vila Verde, who suffocated her newborn daughter and hid the body has avoided being sent to jail after courts sentenced her to a suspended prison sentence of two years and nine months.
EUTHANASIA
Quiet euthanasia – Renew America
“Hundreds of thousands of patients are killed in the world each year in this manner, and no police or district attorney will act to investigate or prosecute.” These are the alarming words of Ron Panzer, founder and executive director of Hospice Patients Alliance, an organization dedicated to preserving the original mission of hospice care and exposing the pervasive problem of “quiet euthanasia” in the hospice industry.
Swiss Court Effectively Legalizes Active Euthanasia – Wesley J. Smith
I have warned and warned that legalizing assisted suicide leads directly to permitting active euthanasia.
STEM CELLS
Sewing in Healing Adult Stem Cells – FRC
Researchers at Worcester Polytechnic Institute have developed biological sutures that could be used to sew adult stem cells into various parts of the body, including heart muscle.
Ave Maria Jackson Lab Scandal: Donors and Sales Pitches – Speroforum
The Jackson Lab is involved in the controversial world of Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research (HESC)– by holding workshops and providing resources for it.
IN VITRO FERTILIZATION
Spanish Researchers Want to Tag Human Embryos With Bar Codes By Loren Grush – Fox News
Researchers from the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona in Spain have just finished testing a method for imprinting microscopic bar codes on mouse embryos—a procedure they plan to test soon on humans. The venture is meant to avoid mismatches during in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer procedures.
A Global By-Pass of the Heart Elizabeth Scalia – First Things
In vitro fertilization is not therapy because “it does not treat whatever pathologies are at the root of couples’ infertility,” writes Tim Muldoon on the Patheos website, taking issue with the Nobel Prize in Medicine awarded to Robert Edwards for his work in developing the techniques of human in vitro fertilization.
One might argue, he suggests, noting that IVF has become a lucrative industry despite its low (30 percent) success rate, that IVF has allowed the medical community to ignore these underlying pathologies and focus instead on achieving successful pregnancies.
POPULATION CONTROL
Philippines population bill speaks with forked tongue – Anna Halpine, Mercator
Who really believes women’s reproductive health is the main concern in House Bill 96?
The Philippines, you may have noticed, is currently the global focus of population and development debates. The born-again “Reproductive Health and Population Development Act of 2010”, or HB Bill 96, is being touted as the solution to women’s reproductive health, women’s rights in the Philippines, and economic development for the poor.
Expert criticizes UN distribution of condoms in Peru – CNA
The Latin American director of the Population Research Institute, Carlos Polo, recently charged that the United Nations’ donation of 20,000 “female condoms” given to Peru’s “family planning” programs are part of a “huge business” that involves more than $33 billion worldwide.
Polo clarified on Dec. 13 that the 20,000 female condoms were given free-of-charge to Peru, but that once they are included officially as part of the government’s family planning program, “the Peruvian State will have to pay for them with tax-payer money.”