Articles for Month: August 2002

LONDON, England, August 30, 2002 (LSN.ca) – A survey by Britain’s Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has found a great variation in the “success” rates of the country’s IVF clinics. Those with high rates of success in implanting artificially fertilized embryos that are carried to term in a woman’s womb are being described as “better than nature in producing babies.”  However, “better than nature” is an ironic overstatement, given that most of the G-7 societies most likely to “improve upon” nature using technology (the United States, Canada, Britain, France, Germany, Japan and Italy) – have populations in decline, while […]

ANN ARBOR, Michigan, August 30, 2002 (LSN.ca) – Studies at the University of Michigan have revealed that some types of stem cells in adult laboratory rats survive from before birth. Neural stem cells are gestational cells that develop into the peripheral nervous system. “This is the first indication that [such cells] remain in the peripheral nervous system—not only after birth, but into adult life,” says study author Dr. Sean J. Morrison. “We don't know what these neural crest stem cells are doing in the gut or whether they persist into adult life in humans, as they do in rats. The […]

MONTREAL, August 30, 2002 (LSN.ca) – The third-generation contraceptive pill, long promoted as a “safe” and even as a beneficial pregnancy-prevention method, has once again been declared “safe” in a new study—except for a “slightly increased risk of blood clots.”  The third generation, which includes the products Femodene, Femodette, Marvelon, Mercilon, Minulet, Triadene and Tri-Minulet currently on the market, has been found not to increase the risk of heart attacks in young women. However, the BBC reports, “there remains a slightly increased risk of blood clots with the newest pills.” Yet inexplicably, Britain’s High Court recently threw out a suit […]

Rat researcher forced to admit video deception

ENVIRONMENTALIST DEPLORES ‘INVENTION OF THE TOILET’ AT EARTH SUMMIT In what some see as a sign that the Earth summit is literally going down the drain, an environmentalist at the Earth summit here has lamented the introduction of the flush toilet. One of the panelists taking part in a television special on the Earth summit complained about the “pernicious introduction of the flush toilet.”  https://www.cnsnews.com/ViewForeignBureaus.asp?Page=ForeignBureausarchive

REPUBLICAN CHALLENGER TO GRAY DAVIS CHANGES POLICY ON GAYS Republican challenger Bill Simon, whose struggling campaign for governor of California is short on advertising cash, has made a desperate bid for publicity this week by reversing his position on legal benefits for unmarried couples, including homosexuals. He also endorsed Gay Pride Day. Social conservative supporters have expressed dismay over Simon’s opportunistic cave-in although a spokesman for the candidate insists he has not changed his position.  https://www.washingtontimes.com/national/20020830-68264188.htm https://www.newsmax.com/showinsidecover.shtml?a=2002/8/29/120046   “UNDER GOD” ATHEIST WANTS CONGRESS CHAPLAINS ABOLISHED The California atheist who sued to remove “under God” from the Pledge of Allegiance is […]

LANSING, Michigan, August 29, 2002 (LSN.ca) – Kathleen Holey, 43, took a plea bargain this week, under a reduced charge of attempted assisted suicide for helping her own son Patrick and daughter-in-law Jennifer in a suicide pact.  Jennifer Holey survived, and is now serving a 4-year to 15-year sentence for her role in the rape of a 14-year-old girl. The mother, Kathleen, was accused of supplying painkillers to the couple and helping them find an abandoned farmhouse in which to kill themselves in April while under investigation for the rape.  Michigan banned assisted suicide in 1998, under pro-life Republican Gov. […]

HYATTSVILLE, Maryland, August 29, 2002 (LSN.ca) – The rate of births that are induced has doubled in the U.S. over the past decade, says the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS). The percentage of births induced by medical intervention rose from 9% in 1989 to 19% in 1998, according to findings published in the August issue of Pediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology.  Traditionally, induction is advised only for sound reasons, such as a medical condition or when the pregnancy runs over 42 weeks. But Marian McDorrman’s NCHS team found that only half of pre-term inductions listed an identifiable medical reason. Their […]

CHRISTIAN PERSECUTION CRUSADER DIES Reverend Steven L. Snyder, described as a “tireless global traveler and advocate for voiceless Christians abroad who faced religious persecution under communist and Islamic regimes,” has died aged 53.  https://www.washingtontimes.com/national/20020829-26312760.htm

CALGARY, August 29, 2002 (LSN.ca) – “No Catholic can responsibly take a pro-choice stand when the choice in question involves the taking of innocent human life,” said Bishop Fred Henry of Calgary,  backing up a Medicine Hat priest’s decision not to allow a Planned Parenthood employee to be married in her Catholic parish. “The whole Planned Parenthood agenda is not in accordance with the teaching of the Catholic Church,” Henry said. “And consequently if a Roman Catholic is going to work for them, then they have to be prepared to accept the consequences of that decision.”  Celina Ling and her […]