Articles for Month: January 2008

Warns, if allowed to continue, nations may grow distrustful of entire international law regime

Dear Readers,   As John Connolly points out, and as many are likely feeling, the Republican nomination is fraught with concerns about the social conservative positions and history of the leading contenders.   The pragmatic social conservatives ask mostly, who is more likely to beat the Democrat nominee? Others say, it doesn’t matter if in the end the Republican candidate is not a lot better than Hillary or Obama on the life and family issues – the issues that matter most in the long run.   There may be a serious lack of trust by the pragmatists that the public […]

By Peter J. Smith   LAUREL, Mississippi, January 31, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Nearly 10 years after a 1998 mistrial, a jury has finally found abortionist Malachy DeHenre guilty in the 1997 slaying of  his wife.   Dr. Malachy DeHenre was charged with killing his wife, Dr. Myasha DeHenre, with a single pistol shot to the head in their home. The Jones County Circuit Court jury, composed of six men and six women, deliberated 45 minutes before finding him guilty of manslaughter.   10 years ago DeHenre almost escaped conviction for the charge, when the jury in his 1998 trial voted […]

By Frank Monozlai   TORONTO, January 30, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – On Friday January 25, a broad array of pro-abortion activists came together at the University of Toronto Law School for an interdisciplinary symposium commemorating the twentieth anniversary of R v. Morgentaler, the Supreme Court case in which the criminal law on abortion in Canada was deemed unconstitutional.     The day was divided into predominantly legal analysis of the decision and the remaining barriers to abortion access, followed afterwards by talks from abortion providers, the journalist Heather Mallick, Member of Parliament Dr. Carolyn Bennett, and a talk on abortion at the United […]

By Thaddeus M. Baklinski VILNIUS, Lithuania, January 31, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – In a reaction to the European Court of Human Rights ruling on January 22nd that France had acted illegally by preventing a lesbian woman from adopting a child, the head of a Lithuanian parliamentary commission on Wednesday said Lithuanian gays and lesbians must be stopped from adopting children. Rima Baskiene made the comments after an extraordinary sitting of the Seimas (Parliament) Commission for Family and Child Affairs. “Moral principles, the strengthening of the institution of the family, the strengthening of institutional responsibility – everything must be directed in such […]

The effect of a Republican president tolerant to pro-death policies would be to remove the pro-life plank from the Republican platform

By Hilary White WINNIPEG, Manitoba, January 31, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – At the same time that a Canadian hospital is still engaged in a court battle over whether or not doctors can starve and dehydrate to death an 84-year-old Orthodox Jewish man who was brain injured, the Manitoba College of Physicians and Surgeons has issued guidelines for doctors that says that doctors have the right – not patients or their families – to decide when life-sustaining treatment can be withdrawn.  The ultimate decision, says Dr. Bill Pope, registrar of the College, lies with the physician, and there is no need to […]

FDA continues to refuse to investigate Chinese manufacturer

By Hilary White OTTAWA, January 31, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A British Columbia Parliamentarian, Keith Martin, has called for the abolition of the clause in the Canadian Human Rights Act that makes it possible for special interest groups to file petty grievance complaints through the Human Rights Commissions. Martin today presented the motion to Parliament in the face of the ongoing scandals of Human Rights Commissions and Tribunals being used to silence journalists, Christian pastors and political writers on a variety of controversial topics. The motion states, “That, in the opinion of the House, subsection 13(1) of the Canadian Human Rights […]

Des Moines, IA, January 31, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Liberty Counsel filed an amicus brief at the Iowa Supreme Court, in a case that will ultimately either protect or destroy the definition of marriage in Iowa. The sex-sex “marriage” issue hit Iowa in August 2007, when an Iowa judge decided in favor of a number of homosexual couples who had sued to overturn a state ban on marriage. At various times in 2004 and 2005 six homosexual couples applied for marriage certificates to the Polk County Recorder and Polk County Registrar, Timothy Brien. Brien denied their applications for marriage on the basis of […]

WICHITA, Kansas, January 30, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Judge Paul Buchanan ruled today that medical records must be handed over to a grand jury investigating illegal late-term abortions at George R. Tiller’s Women’s Health Care Services, under the condition that identifying information about the patients be redacted. The records will then be provided to an independent attorney and physician appointed by the judge. They will screen the records to determine if there are irregularities before turning them over to the grand jury. “Today’s ruling is a victory for truth and justice,” said Operation Rescue President Troy Newman, who was present during […]

Re: Canada: The Only Civilized Nation With No Legal Restriction on Abortion – January 28, 2008  Dear Editor,   I think the article by Dr. Will Johnston was very good one but part of the title leaves me a wee bit puzzled, i.e. “The Only Civilized Nation…” How can a nation call itself “Civilized” if it has no legal restraints on abortion? William J. Johnston  Dartmouth, NS  ____________________________________ Doctors Without Borders, or Schizophrenia Without Border? Editor,              As a former supporter of  “Doctors Without Borders” I recently received a request for a donation. I subsequently replied that I could no […]

By John-Henry Westen VATICAN CITY, January 31, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Addressing a plenary session of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith this morning, Pope Benedict XVI asked the Congregation to focus on “the difficult and complex problems of bioethics”.   In his remarks he explained the Church’s prohibition on artificial procreation.  Artificial procreation, such as in vitro fertilization, he said, has given rise to “new problems,” such as “the freezing of human embryos, embryonal reduction, pre-implantation diagnosis, stem cell research and attempts at human cloning”. All these, he said, “clearly show how, with artificial insemination outside the body, the […]

By Matthew Cullinan Hoffman NASHVILLE, January 31, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The Tennessee Senate has passed a constitutional amendment that could, if also passed by the state’s House of Representatives, nullify a state Supreme Court ruling that claims that abortion is protected under the Tennessee constitution. The amendment reads: “Nothing in this Constitution secures or protects a right to abortion or requires the funding of an abortion. The people retain the right through their elected state representatives and state senators to enact, amend, or repeal statutes regarding abortion, including circumstances of pregnancy resulting from rape or incest or when necessary to […]

Want an ad on CNN, But can’t afford one? Advertise on-line with the CNN of the pro-life, pro-family movement, LifeSiteNews.com! News and Views not covered by Big Media Organizations CNN is not…     TM Going to get your product or service before a Pro-Life audience: WE WILL!     TM Interested in seeing your business and organization prosper: WE ARE!     TM Going to use your support to help build the Culture of Life: WE DO! Advertise with a Leader   Alexa.com, the web-traffic analyzer run by Amazon.com, rates LifeSiteNews.com as the “Most Popular” of its Sites in Pro-Life on the internet. See:  […]

* Disclaimer: The linked items below or the websites at which they are located do not necessarily represent the views of LifeSiteNews.com. They are presented only for your information.   Pro-abortion, pro-homosexual Giuliani to endorse McCain.   https://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22903977/   Pro-abortion, pro-homosexual Schwarzenegger hints at endorsing McCain  https://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/politics/national_elections&id=5923544   McCain’s No Threat to Left  https://www.townhall.com/columnists/TerenceJeffrey/2008/01/30/mccains_no_threat_to_the_left   In truth, John McCain is a weak pro-lifer  https://ncregister.com/site/article/7918/   Far more Catholics than protestants vote for anti-life, anti-family Giuliani. Few Catholics vote for pro-life, pro-family Huckabee  https://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/primaries/results/epolls/#FLREP   Frontrunners, McCain and Romney are also the two candidates with most endorsements by Catholic pro-life leaders.  […]

OPINION: A response to the Calgary Herald

As elections approach, People's Party candidate makes token gesture

Re: “Canadian Auto Workers Union Funds Gay Lobby Group to Promote Homosexuality in Schools”   Dear Editor, Re: “Canadian Auto Workers Union Funds Gay Lobby Group to Promote Homosexuality in Schools” January 29. This was an excellent article by Hilary White.    The Canadian Auto Workers Union (CAW) has been funding numerous groups and causes with their memberships’ compulsory union dues for years. Here are some examples: The CAW gave a “$1-million donation to endow the CAW-Sam Gindin Chair in Social Justice and Democracy.” Judy Rebick well known Morgentaler supporter is in this Chair at Ryerson University.   In the book […]

TURIN, January 30, 2008 (CWNews.com/LifeSiteNews.com) – In an interview for the Italian magazine Sportsweek, a star defender from Turin, Italy’s Juventus soccer club, Nicola Legrottaglie, revealed that two years ago he made the decision to abstain from pre-marital sex. Legrottaglie said, “I have not had sex in two years and honestly, it has not been a burden.” The soccer player spoke candidly about his past exploits, saying that if he did not make a conquest every few days, “I panicked.” Reflecting on that experience now, he said: “One who is unable to live without sex, in the end, becomes a […]

 By Hilary White OTTAWA, January 29, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Canadian and international abortion supporters were in Ottawa and Montreal in force this week to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s 1988 Morgentaler decision, which threw out Canada’s legal protections for the unborn. “Songs and drumming” accompanied a grand event last night held by Senator Lucie Pépin, who invited “all MPs and Senators” to a “Gala Night Invitation to celebrate abortion” at the West Block of the House of Commons. Senator Pepin was joined by Canada’s abortion lobby groups: the Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada (ARCC), Action Canada for […]

LETHBRIDGE, January 30, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) –  Directly in front of the Canadian Reformed Church in Coaldale is a huge memorial in honor of the lives of the more than 100,000 unborn babies killed by surgical abortion each year in Canada. On January 28, the twentieth anniversary of the Supreme Court’s Morgentaler ruling, which struck down Canada’s abortion laws, the display was errected. Located at the Western edge of the town of Coaldale, the display consists of 100 white crosses – each representing 100,000 unborn children whose lives are ended by abortion every year in this country. The crosses are propped […]

WASHINGTON, January 30, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A March for Life Board of Directors release thanked March for Life participants for their concern and prayers for foundress Nellie Gray after her fall on the March for Life stage on January 22, 2008. Nellie described the incident like this: “I tripped over a piece of the sound equipment, which pulled my footing out so forcefully that I felt as if I were airborne. There was nothing for me to grab hold of and nothing to break my fall. My glasses fell off. The full weight of my body was thrown head-first atop […]

WASHINGTON, January 30, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Despite its Catholic mission, Trinity University in Washington, D.C., continues to extol two of its pro-abortion alumnae, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius. Both public officials identify themselves as Catholics, but reject Catholic teaching on serious moral issues. “It runs contrary to the very purpose of a Catholic university to applaud the pursuit of power for gravely immoral ends,” said Patrick J. Reilly, President of The Cardinal Newman Society. “By deliberately associating itself with vocal advocates of what Pope John Paul II called a ‘Culture of Death,’ Trinity University […]

OTTAWA, January 30, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – On Monday January 28th, 2008, from 11:30am – 4:30pm, Carleton University’s pro-life club, Lifeline, and members of the community, challenged the notion that the R. v. Morgentaler decision was beneficial for Canada. They set up a visual display on Parliament Hill showing the truth behind abortion. The group mourned the loss of the 1,714,892 children missing since 1988 because of abortion. Pamphlets and bilingual press releases were handed out and banners were obtained from Lifeline as well as Campaign Life Coalition. “It is apparent that Canadians are not settled on this issue, despite what […]

* Disclaimer: The linked items below or the websites at which they are located do not necessarily represent the views of LifeSiteNews.com. They are presented only for your information.   Pro-lifers cry foul when executive director of California Catholic Conference agrees to share stage with pro-abortion politicianhttps://www.calcatholic.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?id=f4a3746a-1ad5-49f4-b429-9aca53eed75a “It is not every day you see a bishop leading the faithful in procession through the streets of a major city”https://www.calcatholic.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?id=2b1aae9c-f4b1-4060-b28b-ac138dfb552d The Death of Irony – Benedict and the Enemies of Reasonhttps://ncregister.com/site/article/7917 Judge Orders Tiller to Turn Over Medical Records to Grand Juryhttps://www.citizenlink.org/CLBriefs/A000006378.cfm If organs can be bought and sold, the rich will […]

By Hilary White CALCUTTA, January 29, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Sr. Nirmala Joshi, the sister who succeeded the beatified Mother Teresa of Calcutta as head of the religious order the latter founded, has called for a moratorium on abortion to match a recently agreed UN declaration on the death penalty. Sr. Nirmala called abortion “the greatest destroyer of peace”. Speaking to AsiaNews, Sr. Nirmala said, “The culture of life loves life and protects life, promoting love, beauty, joy and peace – says Sr. Nirmala – The culture of death destroys life and sows hatred, discord and unhappiness…..The choice is ours”. The […]

By Thaddeus M. Baklinski BRAMPTON, Ontario January 29, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Brampton Faith Coalition, a group organized to present a united challenge to the city’s proposals to impose severe restrictions on places of worship, has announced that the City of Brampton has again postponed looking at a controversial “secret” study.  A copy of the study, which had been commissioned by the City of Brampton, was leaked earlier this month, and caused an outcry from religious leaders. Many of the study’s suggestions have been described as eerily reminiscent of measures taken by communist regimes, to quell religious activity. Recommendations include: taxing […]

By Hilary White OTTAWA, January 29, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A homosexual activist lobby has thanked the Canadian Auto Workers Union (CAW), for a donation of $25,000 Cdn. A media release from PFLAG Canada (formerly the Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) says the grant was provided through the CAW’s Social Justice Fund to help finance the homosexual lobby group’s efforts in Canada’s schools to legitimize homosexuality. The group says the money will go in part to fund “school anti-homophobia initiatives”. PFLAG is a key part of the homosexual lobby in the US, Canada and the UK. Founded in […]

New walk starting up in Ireland as well

Pro-life advocates encouraged to sign petition against legislation

Calls display "unseemly and inappropriate"

By Matthew Cullinan Hoffman SPAIN, January 29, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Bishop Rafael Palmero of the Spanish diocese of Orihuela-Alicante has become the second bishop in recent weeks to enrage homosexual groups by reiterating the Catholic Church’s perennial teachings on homosexuality. “Biology says that normally it’s an illness. What happens is that in some case there might be a concrete situation that has another explanation and such, but normally no one wants to be a homosexual,” said Palermo to the Valencian daily Levante. The bishop added that “same sex marriage” was unnatural and wrong.  “One is born in a family of […]

By Mathew Cullinan Hoffman BARCELONA, January 29, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A crowd of over 5,000 people packed the Barcelona Convention Palace yesterday to protest the Spanish government’s anti-family policies and to rally in favor of “Life, Family and Liberty”.  Attendance for the event, which was organized by the Catalonian Organization, Covenant for Life and Dignity, exceeded the seating capacity of the building, requiring some participants to remain outside. The group has said that it might have to rent a local soccer stadium for the next gathering. Speakers denounced the Spanish government’s anti-family laws and policies, including “homosexual marriage”, the “express” […]

By John Jalsevac LONDON, England, January 29, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A popular U.K. journal of science has taken the furor surrounding Pope Benedict’s cancelled speech at La Sapienza University as an opportunity to take the Holy Father to task over his opposition to contraceptives, claiming that his opposition is evidence of an anti-science bias. The recent controversy at La Sapienza has been ostensibly about the Pontiff’s views on science, with Benedict XVI’s opponents arguing that the Pope was opposed to science, and therefore unfit to speak at the university. The editorial in the Lancet begins by praising Pope Benedict, saying, […]

Dear readers,   Today marks 20 years since the infamous Morgentaler decision of 1988 which struck down any restriction on abortion in Canada. As pro-abortion groups celebrate the day, pro-life groups are pointing out the fact that Canada is now the only developed nation on earth without any legal restriction on abortion.    Many of the long-time pro-life activists who have been working in the movement were interviewed by various media today. Interestingly however, on the pro-abortion side, one of the main spokepersons to the Canadian media was the American head of the National Abortion Federation Vicki Saporta. The mainstream media […]

* Disclaimer: The linked items below or the websites at which they are located do not necessarily represent the views of LifeSiteNews.com. They are presented only for your information.   Planned Parenthood, other pro-abortion groups plan to spend tens of millions on 2008 US elections  https://www.calcatholic.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?id=b7bf91c4-d833-4979-8c31-f3d904169625   Giuliani’s Campaign In Free-Fall  https://www.nationalpost.com/news/world/story.html?id=268285   Romney name-called Gregg Jackson (WRKO host) on air, evaded question on same-sex marriage.  https://www.massresistance.org/romney/gregg_jackson_122007.html   Why I Don’t Trust Mitt Romney by Deal W. Hudson     https://insidecatholic.com/Joomla/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2407&Itemid=48   The Clintons’ Bad Night – a thumping that far and away exceeds any Clintonian expectations-setting   https://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=YTBiMGMwYWQ1MTdmY2RiMDA2ZDRkNDA3MTM4NzM4ODE=   At […]

Also says 12 mothers have changed their abortion decisions after seeing the movie

By Hilary White January 28, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Two women have died shortly after receiving the new vaccine for human papilloma virus (HPV) that is being used in massive vaccination programmes in Europe. The European Medicines Agency (EMEA) did not disclose the women’s names, but has reported that the deaths occurred in Austria and Germany. The agency, which acts as the European Union drug overseer, maintains that “benefits of Gardasil continue to outweigh its risks and that no changes to its product information are necessary.” An estimated 1.5 million women have already been vaccinated with the drug in Europe, the […]

"This is not idle talk. I am very serious," says Archbishop

By Thaddeus M. Baklinski BRASILIA, January 28, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Brazilian Archbishop Jose Cardoso Sobrinho has condemned a plan by Recife city officials to distribute the morning-after pill during the upcoming Carnival festival and has warned that those who use the pill are subject to excommunication. “This policy is wicked and immoral, and in this case, both those who use it and those who incite its use are committing a crime punishable by excommunication,” Archbishop Cardoso said. The Archbishop also noted that distribution of the abortifacient pill “is aberrant and illegal,” since abortion is illegal in Brazil. The Archbishop’s stand […]

Pro-life advocates encouraged to contact mayor and Metrobus

Pro-life activists strongly encouraged to write in to thank stations for running ads

WASHINGTON, DC, January 28, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Dr. J. C. Willke, speaking for the International Right to Life Federation, warmly praised the just announced Vatican statement that it will begin a global campaign for a moratorium on abortion. “This evil has infected our nations too long,” said Wilke.  “Having been central to this issue for four decades, it is obvious to me that every one of the arguments put forth to legalize abortion has been proven to be false.  Today, we are left with millions of dead babies but also millions of injured mothers and fathers.” “We warmly commend this […]

By Matthew Cullinan Hoffman VATICAN, January 28, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A campaign for a moratorium on abortion that began in Italy and is now being expanded to a worldwide effort by the Vatican, is being joined by people from across the ideological and religious spectrum, including individuals often identified with extreme leftism and atheism. The idea for a worldwide moratorium on abortion originated with Giuliano Ferrara, a non-Christian journalist and former head of the Italian Communist Party in Turin.  Although he was once associated with a movement that in most of the world has come to identify itself with abortion, […]

WASHINGTON, January 28, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The following statement has been issued by the National Right to Life PAC, the nation’s largest pro-life political action committee: National Right to Life PAC urges all pro-life Americans to do what is necessary to see that a pro-life president is elected in 2008. National Right to Life PAC does not want any of the pro-abortion Democratic candidates – Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, or John Edwards – elected president.  Nor does National Right to Life PAC want Rudy Giuliani to become the Republican nominee for president. National Right to Life is grateful for the […]

Physicians for Life comments 20 years after Morgentaler decision

"a lot of misunderstanding about the Morgentaler decision" which "did not declare abortion a right"

* Disclaimer: The linked items below or the websites at which they are located do not necessarily represent the views of LifeSiteNews.com. They are presented only for your information.   Peggy Noonan – “George W. Bush destroyed the Republican Party”. Re: Republican nomination – “It is John McCain versus Mitt Romney, period”   https://online.wsj.com/article/declarations.html   Ex-priest invited pro-abortionists to participate in “pro-life” video  https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=11569   Opposition to IVF growing in Poland   https://www.cwnews.com/news/viewstory.cfm?recnum=56204   Friday Five: Pro-Life Hero Wesley J. Smith  https://www.citizenlink.org/CLtopstories/A000006371.cfm   Poll Shows Americans Oppose Tax-Funded Abortions  https://www.citizenlink.org/CLNews/A000006370.cfm   For “The Scientists” It is Never Enough   https://www.wesleyjsmith.com/blog/2008/01/for-scientists-it-is-never-enough.html […]

Push will begin in western hemisphere

By Peter J. Smith   WASHINGTON, D.C., January 25, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Pro-life GOP presidential contenders Ron Paul and Mike Huckabee both took part in leading pro-life rallies in Washington and Atlanta protesting 35 years of abortion since the infamous 1973 Roe v. Wade decision and called for legislation protecting life from the moment of conception. Republican frontrunner John McCain, however, reiterated his support for embryo destroying stem-cell research even as his Senate colleague Sam Brownback reaffirmed his endorsement of McCain at the National March for Life.  “The debate about when life begins should not be a debate,” Rep. Ron […]

Dear Readers,   We are finally back from Washington and able to catch up on our stories. That is why there are so many reports today. The very late nights, early risings and constant activities were draining. However, that was more than compensated for by the wonderful experiences, interviews and discussions we had.   Five LifeSiteNews staff were in Washington – John Connolly, Peter Smith, John Jalsevac and Editor John-Henry Westen and myself. We thought it would be fun to take a photo of all of us together with our laptops writing reports in a downtown pub, but we were […]

By Hilary White TORONTO, January 25, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Ontario’s health minister has come under heavy criticism for his opposition to a Health Canada guideline that classifies active homosexual men as a “high risk” for disease for purposes of organ donation. Health minister George Smitherman, an open homosexual, called the policy “offensive”. In an interview with the Globe and Mail this week, Smitherman said, “To have these wonky bureaucrats up in Ottawa write that kind of nonsense, based on some long-standing bias within their department, ignoring the front-line people that actually do this stuff, that was the part that was […]

By Hilary White ST. LOUIS, Missouri, January 25, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The basketball coach at St. Louis University, Rick Majerus, appeared at a Hillary Clinton rally last Saturday night in St. Louis and made public his support for legal abortion and research using human embryos on local television news. Majerus is a Catholic and so is his employer St. Louis University, which was founded by the Jesuits in 1818. The statement was quickly followed by both support in the media and the condemnation of Majerus’ Archbishop, who called upon the Jesuits to discipline the coach. Archbishop Raymond Burke said on […]

RE: Unexpectedly Finding Hope   Dear Editor, I can’t tell you what an encouragement it was to read Mr. Connolly’s article.  For the most part of this month, because it’s the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, I have had a feeling of sadness and disappointment.  It’s been 35 years since Roe, which is almost a generation.  And in that generation, I felt that we have only gotten worse (ESCR, cloning, etc.) and not taken the time that God had given us to turn things around.  Mr. Connolly’s article gives me tremendous hope – hope that the upcoming generation has the energy, […]

By John Connolly NEW HAVEN, Connecticut, January 25, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The Yale Daily News removed coverage from its website of a demonstration on Yale’s campus that allowed participants to perform mock abortions on anatomically correct models of the human female pelvis. The original coverage relates the demonstration’s methods in detail, including the use of models of the female pelvis, complete with fallopian tubes, cervixes, vaginas, and papayas on which mock abortions were performed. The article was pulled from the website, however, after it attracted attention on the Catholic Answers Forums and the blog GODSBODY (https://www.matthewlickona.com/blog/2008/01/yesterdays-news-today-abortion-edition.html). Rasha Khoury MED ‘08, […]

By John-Henry Westen WASHINGTON, DC, January 25, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – One of the most riveting and energetic speakers at the March for Life Tuesday was Rabbi Yehuda Levin.  No stranger to pro-life Americans, Rabbi Levin has represented more than 1000 Rabbis calling for moral laws.  At the March, he made an unusual appeal – asking Pope Benedict XVI to lead religious leaders on the streets of New York in a declaration forbidding faithful to vote for politicians who support abortion.   Rabbi Yehuda Levin, the Special Emissary to Israel for The Union of Orthodox Rabbis of the United States and […]

By Hilary White EDMONTON, January 25, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The British Medical Journal is running a pair of articles this week offering two opposed views on the question, “Are condoms the answer to rising rates of non-HIV sexually transmitted infections?” Drs. Markus J Steiner and Willard Cates, of Family Health International, of North Carolina and Dr. Stephen Genuis, associate clinical professor at the University of Alberta, have written on either side of the issue. The former, Drs. Steiner and Cates argue that condoms “can and should play a central role in halting the rising rates of sexually transmitted infection other […]

 By John Connolly MADISON, Wisconsin, January 25, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The Republican controlled Wisconsin State Assembly passed legislation on January 23 forcing all hospitals to offer “emergency contraception,” even religious hospitals that object to dispensing the contraceptives/abortifacients on moral grounds. The bill, which has been blocked by pro-life Republicans for six years, passed by a vote of 61-35 and will go to Governor Jim Doyle’s desk, where it is expected to be signed into law. The bill requires hospitals to offer “emergency contraceptive” measures to victims of sexual assault. “Emergency contraception” includes the abortifacient morning after pill and the use […]

By John-Henry Westen   BELFAST, January 25, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Two months ago Northern Ireland’s pro-life movement won a victory in turning back an attempt to have abortion legalized ‘through the back door’.  Now a leading group is launching “40 Days for Life”, the startlingly successful campaign of fasting, prayer and pro-life witness which began in the United States in 2004.   When the Department of Health of the Government in Westminster drew up draft guidelines on abortion, Precious Life held a series of meetings with MPs and Northern Ireland Assembly Members warning them that guidelines would change how the […]

By John Jalsevac WASHINGTON, D.C., January 25, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) – This January 22, a group of young students, all of them wearing red plastic ponchos, proudly bore the March for Life Banner and led the hundreds of thousands of pro-life marchers through the streets of Washington, D.C., to the steps of the Supreme Court. “It hit me when we were walking up the hill (toward the Supreme Court) and I turned around and saw all those people behind us,” said Jessica Ramirez, a senior in high school, about the experience. The group of students, approximately 100 in number, who this […]

By John Connolly STOCKHOLM, Sweden, January 25, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Swedish Parliament concluded a debate on Wednesday that will give correctional facilities the ability to keep pornography out of prisoners’ cells if it is deemed unbeneficial. A spokesman for the Christian Democrat party told the press that since prisoners are being rehabilitated, it is not reasonable to give access to pornography to prisoners serving time for sexual crimes. The proposal, which will give censoring power to correctional facilities, goes into effect on April 1. Correctional facilities will also be able to ban reading material deemed non-beneficial. The proposal was opposed […]

ROCKFORD, Ill., Jan. 23, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Last year, France became the first non-Scandinavian country in Western Europe where a majority of births are now out-of-wedlock. World Congress of Families International Secretary Allan C. Carlson called it, “a troubling development which underscores the danger of weakening the natural family by accepting marriage-substitutes.” In France, 50.5% of the 816,500 births registered last year were to unmarried parents, up from 48.4% in 2006 and 40% a decade ago. Out-of-wedlock births kept pace with the rise of civil unions. In 2007, there were 305,385 of said “unions” registered in France, compared to only […]

Express concern about pictures of abortion shown to public

By John Connolly Washington, January 24,2008 (Lifesitenews) – The pro-life movement is undergoing a change. I came away from this year’s March for Life with a totally different perspective than I had when leaving the March in previous years. When I went to my first March for Life in 2000, I was only fifteen years old. It was hard not to be excited. Indeed, it’s easy to be excited as a young adult. It is natural for the young to throw themselves into life, exploring their new-found freedoms. But as I came back to the March over and over again, […]

By Hilary White ATLANTA, Georgia, January 24, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The two Catholic bishops of the state of Georgia have refused to support efforts to implement a “human life” amendment to the state constitution. Supporters of the effort, however, say that a constitutional amendment would protect the unborn, the disabled, the elderly and vulnerable patients and “guarantee their constitutional right to life” and offer a step towards overturning Roe v. Wade. “We do not support the passage of [House Resolution] 536” said a written statement signed by Archbishop Wilton D. Gregory, Archdiocese of Atlanta and Bishop J. Kevin Boland, Diocese […]

By Hilary White STRASBOURG, January 24, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The European Court of Human Rights has been successfully used by homosexual activists in a bid to force a sovereign nation to change its laws protecting children. A lesbian woman has obtained a ruling from the Court that effectively prohibits France from refusing adoption to homosexuals. She was awarded 24,500 euros (35,500 U.S. dollars) in damages and court expenses. The woman’s lawyer, Caroline Mecary, admitted in a statement that the case had been pursued as a political measure to overturn French law. “The consequences of this decision are important,” Mecary said. […]

By John Connolly CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas, January 24, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Corpus Christi’s local abortion clinic was the site of a pro-life rally, hundreds strong, on January 22, reported KRISTV.com. The protest, led by  Fr. James Farfaglia of St. Helena of the True Cross of Jesus Parish, was held in commemoration of the 35th anniversary of the passing of Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion in the United States. “[Abortion] is the cause of poverty,” Fr. Farfaglia said. “This is the cause of evil. This is the cause of corruption.” Hundreds of protestors flocked to […]

By Hilary White SEOUL, South Korea, January 24, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The Catholic Archdiocese of Seoul has awarded its first annual Mysterium Fidei (Mystery of Faith) Grand Prix award for outstanding pro-life work to George Cardinal Pell, the archbishop of Sydney, Australia. In his address at the award ceremony January 17, the Cardinal gave a comprehensive examination of the issues surrounding abortion, euthanasia, artificial procreation and the destruction of the traditional family. Cardinal Pell urged the pro-life movement “to draw society into deeper reflection about the mystery, wonder and value of human life,” and reject the new utilitarian morality. The […]

Translated by Matthew Cullinan Hoffman (Complete Text: https://www.presidencia.gob.ni/170108_DemocraciaRealiza.html) Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega: January 24, 2008, (LifeSiteNews.com) – I want to refer very specifically to the topic of therapeutic abortion.  I know that it has provoked a reaction in European countries, in the Nordic countries and above all I would say, in the Swedish government.   We even are given to understand that the withdrawal of the Swedish government has to do with this and other political factors, because, on the one hand, they withdraw from Nicaragua and other Latin American countries, it's true, but on the other hand, they continue offering […]

Underlines Nicaraguan people's devotion to human life

By John-Henry Westen WASHINGTON, DC, January 23, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Hundreds of thousands of pro-life activists gathered on the national mall in the nation’s capital yesterday standing in the cold on a cloudy day with a slight rain. The weather however did nothing to dampen the spirits of the vast crowd nor the political and spiritual leaders who addressed them prior to the march. Following the phone-in address by President George W. Bush in which he said he was proud “to be standing with you” (full text published yesterday here: https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/jan/08012201.html ), dozens of politicians spoke of their pro-life convictions and […]

FRONT ROYAL, VA, January 23, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Fifty Christendom College students attended a breakfast in honor of the Annual March for Life hosted by President George W. Bush at the White House on January 22. After the breakfast the group joined the rest of Christendom’s entire student body and the many thousands of pro-lifers at the March for Life. Braving the cold weather, students rallied on the Mall facing Capitol Hill. “It was very invigorating to see so many people stand together-people who fight with all their hearts,” Sophomore Sarah Miranda of Boston, Mass. said.  “You’re there to make […]

ST. LOUIS, January 23, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – On Tuesday, Archbishop Raymond Burke of St. Louis, Missouri, urged St. Louis University to discipline its basketball coach for public statements in support of abortion and embryonic stem cell research. “I’m confident (the university) will deal with the question of a public representative making declarations that are inconsistent with the Catholic faith,” Burke told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.  “When you take a position in a Catholic university, you don’t have to embrace everything the Catholic Church teaches. But you can’t make statements which call into question that identity and mission of the Catholic […]

By Thaddeus M. Baklinski VATICAN, January 23, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Archbishop Angelo Bagnasco, the president of the Italian Episcopal Conference, has given clear instruction to Christian politicians in his preliminary address to the Permanent Episcopal Council in Rome. “When it comes to legislative proposals going against Christian rational anthropology, Catholics should not take part in them,” said Archbishop Bagnasco, directing his remarks to politicians who have declared themselves Christian and should act accordingly. “On morally binding issues they should not follow in their decisions a merely political logic and abide by strategies or conveniences of single parties. It is true […]

By Hilary White LANSING, Michigan/JUNEAU, Alaska, January 23, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – On the 35th anniversary of the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade, the Michigan Senate voted 24-13 to outlaw partial-birth abortion. The bill will now go to the House of Representatives where it is expected to be passed. Governor Jennifer Granholm, who maintains that she is Roman Catholic, has not yet indicated whether she intends to veto the bill. A previous attempt to ban the grisly procedure in 2004 was vetoed by Governor Granholm. The veto was overturned by the legislature after a massive petition drive resulting […]

By Hilary White MAINZ, January 23, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – An opinion poll in Germany has shown strong public opposition to using human embryos as test subjects for research. Given Germany’s still painful past experiences with the eugenics movement, opposition remains high and is increasing with the advent late last year of new methods of creating embryo-like iPS (induced pluripotent stem) cells from adult tissue. The poll showed that at the start of 2008, 61 per cent supported using only adult or iPS stem cells, up from 56.3 per cent in 2007. 26.9 per cent support embryo research, down from 32.9 […]

By Matthew Cullinan Hoffman MANAGUA, January 22, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) –  Bishop Albelardo Mata of the Nicaraguan town of Estelí is urging the Nicaraguan government to move forward with its investigation of nine feminists who are accused of covering up the rape of a young girl while using her pregnancy to promote abortion. “One can’t think about a nation when we citizens don’t respect the laws, nor have an idea of what is fundamental, which in a nation is the Constitution,” the Bishop told the Managuan daily La Prensa.  “And we see this Constitution trampled upon, reduced, amended in an incoherent […]

By John Connolly DES MOINES, January 23, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Iowa Governor Chet Culver has pledged to stop gay “marriage” coming to his state should the Iowa Supreme Court uphold a lower court decision that struck down Iowa’s ban on gay “marriage” in August. Culver, speaking on January 18, said he did not want to take any action before the courts make their rulings.  “We’ll do whatever it takes to protect marriage between a man and a woman,” he said. “I think we have to let the judicial branch work through these cases and as a former government teacher and […]

By Matthew Cullinan Hoffman PARIS, January 22, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Up to 10,000 people marched in Paris last Sunday, January 19th in protest of the anniversary of the legalization of abortion, which occurred on the same date in 1975. While police estimated that only 2,500 people showed up for the march, organizers claimed that around 10,000 attended. Substantial underestimation of the actual size of crowds at pro-life events seems to be the rule for police and media in most of the Western world. The Paris March for Life began in the Plaza of the Republic and ended next to the […]

By John-Henry Westen Today during the March for Life rally just prior to the March, Nellie Gray who founded and has organized the March for Life since its inception, tripped and fell while on stage. The 84-year-old pro-life leader was taken to hospital and the hundreds of thousands at the March prayed for her health.  At the Rose dinner LifeSiteNews.com learned that Gray sustained bruises and cuts and she required stitches to her forehead.  Although she was no longer hospitalized she was unable to attend the Rose Dinner at which she has always been the MC.

By John-Henry Westen WASHINGTON, DC, January 22, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Working your way from the front to the back of the packed Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception was a near impossibility Monday night, and even if you could make the journey it required an extensive amount of time and effort.  The frigid temperatures outside were no match for the heat generated by the overflow crowd which caused many to fan themselves with brochures during the Prayer Vigil for Life Opening Mass. Yet despite the throng there was a sense of the sacred and the awesomeness of […]

WASHINGTON, January 22, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – “As America marks the 35th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade U.S. Supreme Court ruling that imposed abortion on our nation, pro-life advocates in 59 cities across 31 states are preparing to launch the next wave of a unique nationwide pro-life campaign, 40 Days for Life,” said David Bereit, national campaign director for 40 Days for Life. “From February 6 until March 14, people across America will join together for 40 days of prayer and fasting for an end to abortion, 40 days of constant, peaceful vigil outside abortion facilities and Planned Parenthood offices […]

BOSTON, January 22, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Attorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund filed a lawsuit in federal court Friday against a new Massachusetts law that creates a 35-foot “buffer” zone around abortion clinics.  The law essentially eliminates free speech rights within the zone by restricting pro-life advocates from sharing their message with people entering the clinics. “Pro-life advocates shouldn’t be penalized for expressing their beliefs,” said ADF-allied attorney and lead counsel Michael DePrimo.  “The buffer law is breathtaking in its scope.  It obviously was designed and intended to squelch pro-life speech, but it prohibits much more, such as labor picketing […]

By John Connolly WASHINGTON, D.C., January 22, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A group of 96 influential Catholics issued a petition today that explicitly criticizes a statement released by pro-choice politicians last November that calls for greater “civility” from Catholics in political discourse. The signers of the new statement believe the November statement would have the effect of silencing the pro-life movement and silencing criticism of pro-abortion Catholic politicians. Most of the signers of the new statement are influential in the public-square, public policy, or academia. Among the 96 signers are university professors, think-tank scholars, journalists, authors, doctors, lawyers and others. They […]

By Hilary White VANCOUVER, January 22, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Two separate Human Rights Commission complaints launched by student pro-life groups in British Columbia have received rulings. The struggles of pro-life university students to be allowed to present their views on campus has drawn the fire of some major legal players in British Columbia. John Hof, head of Campaign Life Coalition in the province said students groups facing discrimination on campus should stay away from Canada’s government appointed Human Rights Commissions and Tribunals. In Kelowna, pro-life students at the University of British Columbia, Okanagan had their request to form a campus […]

By John Connolly OTTAWA, January 22, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Following accusations of collusion and bias from Canada’s Conservative Party, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) transferred a reporter in the centre of the accusations from Ottawa to Toronto on January 21 in an effort to ‘fix’ the problem. Krista Erickson, a reporter for CBC, was transferred following an investigation by CBC officials at the behest of a formal complaint made by the reigning Conservative Party. The move was intended to end debate after a leak to the media over CBC feeding questions to a Parliamentary committee in an effort to embarrass […]

By Hilary White   ST. JOHN’S, Newfoundland, January 22, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The deep fissures in the Anglican Communion are increasing as the sides line up in the fight over the “blessings” of homosexual partnerings. A diocese of the Anglican Church of Canada in Newfoundland has announced it will attempt to force its clergy to assent to the blessings, even as the rest of the Worldwide Anglican Communion continues to fracture over the issue.    Clergy were called to a mandatory meeting in the cathedral of St. John’s and told that if they supported a breakaway movement that objects to the […]

 By John Connolly NEW YORK, January 22, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Carnegie Hall will host the anti-Christian and blasphemous show “Jerry Springer-The Opera” on January 29, to the protests of the Catholic League and its president, Bill Donohue. “Never before in its illustrious history has Carnegie Hall been home to Christian bashing, but that is all about to change on January 29 and 30,” said Donohue. “Incredibly, it is allowing a patently obscene and viciously anti-Christian musical to be performed on its stage. Thus has it got into bed with the bigots, making a mockery of art in the process. This […]

 By Matthew Cullinan Hoffman PORTUGAL, January 22, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The Portuguese Medical Association, defying threats by the socialist government’s health minister to begin criminal proceedings against it, has re-elected its president, Pedro Nunes, who has defied the government’s order to change the Association’s ethical code to allow abortion. In his victory speech, Nunes promised to maintain the independence of the Medical Association from the government, signaling his resolve to preserve the Association’s ethical code. The Association does not “have to do the work of the government nor the work of the opposition,” said Nunes, and added that his organization should […]

WASHINGTON, January 22, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – THE PRESIDENT: Nellie, good to be with you—we’re fellow West Texans who care deeply about the value of human life. Other members of the board of directors for the March for Life, leaders of the pro-life community, and all those who are here with us for the march, it’s good to have you here and welcome to the White House. (Applause.) As I look out at you, I’ll see some folks who have been traveling all night to get here—(laughter)—you’re slightly bleary-eyed. (Laughter), I’ll see others who are getting ready for a day out […]

By Hilary White ROME, January 21, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Ten times the usual number of faithful were in attendance at this Sunday’s Angelus address by Pope Benedict XVI, after he was snubbed last week by the science university, La Sapienza. The Vatican estimated the crowd at about 200,000, who came after being invited by vicar of Rome, Cardinal Camillo Ruini, to make a show of support for the Pope. The normal crowd for the Angelus is about 20,000 “Thank you all for this show of solidarity,” a smiling Pope told the cheering, clapping crowds who came from all over Italy. […]

By Hilary White ROME, January 21, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – For only the second time in its history, the Superior General of the Jesuits, Peter Hans Kolvenbach, retired, citing age. For nearly five hundred years, the Superior General of the Society of Jesus has been elected for life. At their General Congregation in Rome on January 19, the 217 voting delegates elected Spaniard, Adolfo Nicolas SJ, as the 30th “Black Pope”. In December, Nicolas told reporters, “I have a feeling, still imprecise and difficult to define, that there is something important in our religious life that needs attention and is not […]

By Matthew Cullinan Hoffman BRAZIL, January 21, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The National Conference of Brazilian Bishops (CNBB) has issued a recall of the DVD “Fraternity and the Defense of Life” after it was revealed that the video contained an interview with a representative of “Catholics for a Free Choice”, who denounces the Catholic Church’s opposition to contraception and abortion. The video, which was produced by the Brazilian branch of the Missionaries of the Divine Word, was issued with the logo of the CNBB on the cover. Although it is marketed as a pro-life video, using the slogan “Choose, then, Life”, […]

By Thaddeus M. Baklinski ANN ARBOR, MI, January 21, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The U.S. national motto “In God We Trust,” which is currently edge-incused on the Presidential one dollar coins, will soon return to its original, prominent position. The motto “In God We Trust” first appeared on U.S. coins in 1864. Congress declared it the national motto in 1956.  It was included on dollar bills one year later. In March 2007, the Thomas More Law Center, based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, alerted Americans that the federal government had removed “In God We Trust” from the face of $1 Presidential coins […]

WASHINGTON, January 20, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The following text is a proclamation by President Bush: On National Sanctity of Human Life Day, we recognize that each life has inherent dignity and matchless value, and we reaffirm our steadfast determination to defend the weakest and most vulnerable members of our society. America was founded on the belief that all men are created equal and have an inalienable right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, and our country remains committed to upholding that founding principle.  Since taking office, I have signed legislation to help protect life at all stages, and […]

* Disclaimer: The linked items below or the websites at which they are located do not necessarily represent the views of LifeSiteNews.com. They are presented only for your information.   Pope declines invitation to Quebec International Eucharistic Congress  https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=11489   In growing trend, home-schooled students find academic, social success  https://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/0800310.htm   Australia Catholic Archbishop Cardinal George Pell has received an award from the Catholic church in South Korea for his strong stand against abortion  https://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,23072062-5005961,00.html   Caritas against the “unacceptable massacre” caused by abortion in Sri Lanka  https://www.asianews.it/index.php?l=en&art=11269&size=A   Hospitals tagging babies with electronic chips  https://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=59690   We’ll pay for […]

Dismissing Fr. Bartolomeo   Dear Editor, I find it the very height of hypocrisy that a lesbian can object to a homily on “straight” family life and sex roles while the Church is still reeling and trying to regain some sort of equilibrium from the homosexual priests pedophilia epidemic. It is way past time to cleanse the Temple!   The Church should shield homosexual pedophiles and publicly be silent on straight sex within marriage between one man and one woman?   I don’t think so!   I wish there were legions more priests out there bold enough to preach the […]

By Hilary White   REGINA, January 18, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A Saskatchewan Court of Appeals has ruled that the suspension of a pro-life protester’s nursing license by the Saskatchewan Association of Licensed Practical Nurses (SALPN) was unconstitutional.    In 2002, Bill Whatcott, a licensed practical nurse, participated in a protest outside the Regina Planned Parenthood offices. The Association judged Whatcott’s protest to have constituted “professional misconduct” and suspended his nursing license and fined him $15,000.    Whatcott admitted in a court hearing to having carried signs with pictures of foetuses and captions saying “Planned Parenthood Aborts Babies” and “Planned Parenthood refers […]

Commentary by Colleen Roy   Every Christmas Scott and I watch “It’s a Wonderful Life.” It is a staple in our litany of Christmas movies.  This year however the movie hit me in a new way.  “This is such a pro-life movie, “I said to Scott.  He looked at me like, “Duh,” and continued watching.  I was stunned at my slow observation skills and started connecting the dots.  The movie tells us that every life has a purpose, and that the entire world changes when a life is taken before it’s time.  “Maybe I could host mass viewings of the […]

By John-Henry Westen   ROME, January 18, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – In a letter to the Jesuits, gathered at their 35th General Congregation dated January 10, 2008, Pope Benedict XVI has called on the ancient order which has been rocked by scandal to reaffirm their “total adhesion to Catholic doctrine” mentioning specifically the Church’s teachings on “sexual morality”.    The letter comes in the wake of the homily given by the Pope’s representative at the opening of the Assembly on January 7, which bemoaned the infidelity of some in the order to the teachings of the Church. (see coverage: https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/jan/08010708.html ) […]

By Thaddeus M. Baklinski MANILA, Philippines, January 18, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo today expressed her grief over the discovery of a dead foetus inside a washroom in the Malacañang Palace complex early Thursday morning. She has ordered authorities to intensify a government campaign against abortion. “The President is extremely sad over the discovery of the foetus in the New Executive Building. As a devout Catholic, a mother and grandmother, she is against abortion and believes strongly in the sanctity of life. We are saddened by this incident. We hold every human life sacred. We pray for the […]

"A child should be modified to fit society but instead that society needs to adapt and become more inclusive of disabled people": SCOPE

By Hilary White LA JOLLA, California, January 18, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The news around the world is full of reports that a team of scientists at a small California private company have claimed to be the first to have created three mature cloned human embryos, using DNA taken from single adult skin cells. The report from Stemagen Corp in La Jolla, California, says one of the cloned embryos carries DNA donated by Dr. Samuel Wood, a fertility doctor who is the California-based company’s founder. Despite the research world’s insistence that a cloned embryo is not genuinely a human being, Dr. […]

By John Connolly SEOUL, January 18, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Sydney’s Cardinal Pell heavily criticized an Australian medical journal for publishing a professor’s letter calling for a tax on children of $5000 per child and $800 yearly for each child after birth, as punishment for parents who have families larger than two children. Speaking in Seoul, where he was awarded the Mysterium Vitae Grand Prix award for his outstanding efforts for the pro-life movement, Cardinal Pell expressed his disbelief that the Medical Journal of Australia would give credence to such a view by printing it without censure. “I am not sure what […]

By John Connolly ROME, January 17, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Bishop Eli Sgreccia, president of the Pontifical Academy for Life, criticized doctors for engaging in a “conspiracy of silence” concerning informing terminally ill patients that they are dying, Zenit.org reported today. Bishop Sgreccia, speaking at a conference in Rome to study depression in cancer patients, insisted that such silence “hinders the patient from preparing himself for detachment and death.” The Bishop associated the problem with doctors who have not reconciled themselves with the possibility of death, claiming that such a doctor “does not know how to treat the dying because he […]

By Hilary White LONDON, January 17, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – It is expected that within mere weeks of the House of Lords defeating an amendment to outlaw the practice, the first human/animal hybrid embryos will be created in the U.K. In 2006 researchers from King’s College London and the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne applied to the HFEA to go ahead with plans to create human/cow cloned embryos to use for disease research. With the House of Lord having recently defeated the amendment, the HFEA announced today that the teams could go ahead. The researchers will attempt to create the embryos by inserting […]

By Hilary White LONDON, January 17, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The British government’s plans to consider a presumed consent scheme for organ donations was put on the back burner this week as a government appointed taskforce recommended alternative methods to increase organ donations by 50 per cent. But the wording of the recommendations has alarmed pro-life advocates who warn they may increase threats to the lives of vulnerable patients. Elisabeth Buggins, chair of the task force, wrote, “The UK has one of the worst records for organ donation in Western Europe. The Taskforce was, however, greatly encouraged by the evidence it […]

By Hilary White CALGARY, January 17, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – This fall, the Faculty of Nursing of the University of Calgary offered a day-long training seminar to teach nurses working at a publicly funded abortion facility to engage in “therapeutic conversations” with women planning to abort their unborn children. The Faculty of Nursing magazine, Faculty Links, said the purpose of the training was to give nurses “the skills and obligations” to talk to patients “offering comfort and healing in potential times of emotional, physical and/or spiritual suffering”. The magazine said that the “entire fifteen-person staff” of the Women’s Health Clinic participated […]

By John Connolly ROME, January 19, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The worldwide media is watching a Rome in turmoil, divided between a small group of academics and students and faithful Catholics, in developments of the controversy surrounding Pope Benedict XVI’s cancellation of a visit to La Sapienza, a university founded by the papacy in 1303. Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, Vatican Secretary of State, explained the decision to cancel the Pope’s appearance in a letter to the rector of the university. “As, unfortunately, the prerequisites for a dignified and tranquil welcome were not present, because of an initiative by a decidedly minority group […]

By Ted Baklinski NEW ORLEANS, January 17, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Noah Markham’s first birthday will be a quiet family affair, compared to the media attention he received when he was born. Sixteen months after being rescued as a frozen embryo from a hospital flooded by Hurricane Katrina, Noah entered the world January 16th, 2007, and was greeted by his cheering family and worldwide press. Noah was one of 1,400 embryos frozen in canisters of liquid nitrogen at a hospital in eastern New Orleans. When Katrina struck on Aug. 29, 2005 doctors evacuated from the Fertility Institute of New Orleans, worried […]

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WASHINGTON, January 17, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A new report issued by the Alan Guttmacher Institute, the special research arm of Planned Parenthood, shows the annual number of abortions reaching their lowest level in nearly 30 years. The Guttmacher Institute report finds just over 1.2 million abortions in the United States in 2005, down nearly 25% from their high of 1.6 million in 1990, and the lowest reported total since 1.179 million in 1976.    National Right to Life cited an increase in pro-life educational outreach and legislative initiatives as central to the decrease. “Today’s numbers confirm what we have known for […]

By Fr. Tom Euteneuer, President of Human Life International   As we gear up for next Tuesday’s March for Life in Washington DC, I offer this list of challenges to the pro-life movement in America. If we really wish to beat the abortion culture we have to mature as a movement. Thirty-five years of the same strategies and ideas have not gained us the victory we seek because the fight against the most pervasive spiritual evil that has ever entered the world can only be won on God’s terms. The pro-life movement has invested more in political and cultural change […]

RE: Euthanasia of Newborns with Spina Bifida    Dear Editor, I have Spina Bifida. It was discovered during X-rays when in my 40’s. I am now in my late 60’s. I completed university and had a satisfactory professional career. It is somewhat disconcerting to note that someone, who thinks he/she knows better, could have destroyed my “joie de vivre”. Keith Birch  Hamilton, Ontario   Canada   See: Paediatric Neurosurgeons Criticize Dutch Practice of Euthanasia on Babies With Spina Bifidahttps://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/jan/08011610.html   Go See Juno Dear Editor, Well I did it. I went to see the movie. I had been told by others, […]

By John Jalsevac   HAMILTON, Ontario, January 17, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The city of Hamilton Ontario has decided to pull a series of pro-life advertisements from its bus-shelters, saying that they were “offensive” and too “controversial.” The ads, which are part of a nation-wide pro-life campaign coordinated by Life Canada, depict a pregnant woman. At the top of the ad are the words, “Nine months: the length of time abortion is allowed in Canada. No medical reason needed.” At the bottom is the question, “Abortion, have we gone too far?” The ads, which include bus, transit shelter, newspaper, radio, billboard and […]

By John Jalsevac MAINZ, Germany, January 16, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Cardinal Karl Lehmann, the bishop of Mainz, has announced that he is resigning from his position as head of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference in Germany, a position he has held since 1987. His resignation will take effect on Feb. 18. Lehmann will, however, continue on as bishop of Mainz. The announcement of the Cardinal’s resignation comes after a year in which he has apparently suffered from ill health, having been admitted to the hospital last year for heart-related problems. “The demands from public life and the media, the personal meetings […]

By Thaddeus M. Baklinski NETHERLANDS, January 16, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Dutch paediatric neurosurgeon Rob de Jong, in collaboration with peers from several other countries, has expressed his concern at the practice in the Netherlands of carrying out euthanasia on some babies born with spina bifida in an article in the medical journal Child’s Nervous System. According to a report by Radio Netherlands Worldwide, the lives of a small number of babies are terminated each year by doctors who, together with the parents, believe the infant is experiencing unbearable suffering and will continue to suffer in this way in the future. […]

20th Anniversary of Morgentaler Decision   Dear editor, Twenty years ago this month, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled in R. v. Morgentaler that Canada’s criminal abortion law violated the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Specifically, a majority of the court held that certain procedural requirements of the old law violated the Charter, including aspects of the therapeutic abortion committees and the requirement that all abortions be procured in hospitals, not clinics. A majority of the court also considered the substance of the former abortion legislation, and arrived at these conclusions: (a) protection of unborn human beings from abortion […]

MANASSAS, VA, January 16, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The Cardinal Newman Society, a national organization that works to strengthen and renew Catholic higher education, is urging American Catholics to pray Sunday, in solidarity with Pope Benedict XVI, following protests that forced him to cancel an address at Rome’s La Sapienza University. Cardinal Camillo Ruini, Vicar for the Diocese of Rome, has urged Catholics to rally in St. Peter’s Square during Sunday’s recitation of the Angelus as a powerful display of support for the Holy Father, whose visit to La Sapienza was canceled because of anti-Catholic protests and false accusations that the […]

Angrily defends "right" to carry cocaine, to smoke marijuana in interview with local newspaper

By Hilary White MINNEAPOLIS, January 16, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The American Civil Liberties Union is arguing that men who have sex in public washrooms should be protected under court rulings guaranteeing privacy. On Tuesday, the ACLU filed an amicus brief to the Minnesota 4th District Court citing a Minnesota Supreme Court ruling 38 years ago that found that people who have sex in closed stalls in public restrooms “have a reasonable expectation of privacy.” The brief was filed in defence of Republican Senator Larry Craig who was arrested and charged with lewd conduct in June 2007. ACLU Executive Director Anthony […]

By Thaddeus M. Baklinski JACKSONVILLE, NC, January 16, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The body of 20-year-old pregnant Marine Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach, who claimed she was raped by a superior officer last April, has been found by police investigators. Onslow County Sheriff Ed Brown said at a news conference today that investigators on Saturday excavated a fire pit on the property of the prime suspect, Marine Cpl. Cesar Armando Laurean, and found what appears to be the charred remains of a female and an unborn child. Brown said the “fetus was developed enough that the little hand was about the size […]

By John Connolly ROME, January 16, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – It was announced yesterday that a scheduled visit by Pope Benedict to La Sapienza University had been cancelled due to the rowdy protests of a contingent of students who argued that the Pontiff was “anti-science.” Previously the students had announced their intention to disrupt the Pope’s scheduled speech by blasting rock music over loudspeakers. The Vatican cancelled the Pope’s visit to the university, which was started by a pope in 1303, following a break-in and sit-in by 50 students in the university rector’s office. Vatican spokesmen said it was “considered opportune […]

By John-Henry Westen LONDON, January 16, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A court ruling last week concluded that British Airways (BA) did not engage in unlawful discrimination when it suspended an employee for refusing to hide a cross necklace while at work, even though symbols of other religions are permitted. In October 2006, Nadia Eweida, a Christian who works at the British Airways check-in counter at Heathrow Airport in London, was told that she must either cover up or remove a necklace depicting a small cross.  Eweida was placed on unpaid leave when she refused to conceal the cross.  British Airways allows employees […]

By Pete Vere CALGARY, January 16, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Syed Soharwardy, the Calgary Imam and national president of the Islamic Supreme Council of Canada (ISCC), who filed the Alberta Human Rights Commission against Ezra Levant, is reportedly himself the subject of a complaint filed with the Canadian Human Rights Commission.   Soharwardy accused Levant of inciting hatred after Levant chose to republish a number of controversial cartoons depicting Muhammad in The Western Standard. Levant appeared before the AHRC last Friday, and has since created something of a stir by posting videos of the interviews with the AHRC, in which Levant […]

By Hilary White LONDON, January 16, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The House of Lords refused to reject clauses in the Human Fertilisation and Embryology bill that allow for the creation of and experimentation on human/animal hybrid embryos. The bill went before the Lords last night while Christians and other objectors protested outside. The Lords defeated an amendment to the bill that would have prohibited the creation of inter-species embryos, by 268 votes to 96, a majority of 172. Although the Lords have only two days allocated for debate, there continues to be strong opposition to the bill. Lord Tebbit, the former Conservative […]

January 15, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Americans United for Life (AUL) today released its fifth annual ranking of the most and least pro-life states, based on laws in the states. For the third year in a row, Michigan topped the list, followed by Louisiana, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Kansas. “These states have made great strides in protecting women and their children from the negative consequences of abortion,” said Denise M. Burke, AUL’s Vice President & Legal Director. While AUL’s criteria covers each state’s treatment of all life issues, the final ranking depends largely on each state’s enactment of prudent and well-supported laws […]

By Peter J. Smith HALIFAX, Nova Scotia, January 15, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Just four years after successfully challenging and demolishing traditional marriage in Nova Scotia, one homosexual activist couple has decided to call it quits on same-sex “marriage” and get a divorce. The Chronicle-Herald reports that Kim Vance and Sam Meehan, one of the three homosexual activist couples that sued Nova Soctia in 2004 for not recognising their same-sex “marriages,” have decided to end their relationship. According to the Chronicle-Herald, Vance made news of the divorce official to her friends through a December 21 posting on Facebook and included details […]

WASHINGTON, D.C., January 15, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – As 225 Jesuit delegates meet in Rome to elect a new superior and consider the future direction of the Society of Jesus, The Cardinal Newman Society today called upon Jesuit educators and leaders to take up the renewal of Catholic higher education. “The Jesuits must draw upon their proud history and participate in the renewal of Catholic higher education if the Church is to finally succeed in its efforts to reverse secularization in Catholic colleges,” said Patrick J. Reilly, President and founder of the Cardinal Newman Society. “Many of the largest and most […]

By John-Henry Westen OTTAWA, January 15, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Andrea Mrozek, Manager of Research and Communications for the Institute of Marriage and Family Canada, has launched a new venture of her own – a new woman-focused pro-life group.  Beginning with a group blog, the group – ProWomanProLife – aims to take a non-partisan, non-religious stand against the idea that abortion is good for women and, furthermore, that it is not only a choice, but a “right.” “We have no hidden agenda here but a very open one: To eradicate abortion in Canada, not by legislation or force, but because that is what women choose,” says […]

By John-Henry Westen ROME, January 15, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano has run two opposing opinion articles on Harry Potter.  In the article opposing the offerings of JK Rowling, Dr. Edoardo Rialti, a professor of literature at the University of Florence, notes the negative appraisal of the Potter books made by Cardinal Ratzinger, prior to his elevation to the pontificate. Catholic writer Paolo Gulisano, in his article in praise of Harry Potter, claims that Rowling is a contemporary CS Lewis or JRR Tolkein. Gulisano sees in Potter a story of the struggle between the values of good and evil, in […]

By Hilary White EDINBURGH, January 15, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The independent Parliament of Scotland has approved a bill to increase penalties for hate crimes, based on a judgement of the perpetrator’s motives of “ill will” towards homosexuals. Justice secretary Kenny MacAskill has said the government would support the bill. Should the bill be passed, it will bring Scotland into line with England and Wales, where courts have been able to impose tougher sentences for offences committed due to a victim’s disability or sexual orientation for several years. The Sentencing of Offences Aggravated by Prejudice (Scotland) Bill was proposed by Patrick […]

By Hilary White NEW YORK, January 15, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will answer questions emailed to him by school children around the world on the role of the U.N. chief and other global issues. Selected questions will be posted to a specially set up website, some time after March this year. The publicity project has been organized by the U.N. Department of Public Information’s Outreach Division, the Global Teaching and Learning Project. Students from primary to secondary school age are encouraged to write in to the UN’s website and ask any question related to the […]

Front page article signals sea-change in Chinese policy towards homosexuals

By Hilary White LONDON, January 15, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Numerous prominent voices in the UK are strongly objecting to the idea, endorsed by Prime Minister Gordon Brown, to have every British citizen automatically regarded as an organ donor through a “presumed consent” scheme.   Brown promoted the scheme in an op ed piece this week in the Daily Telegraph. The scheme, as Brown explained, would see all British citizens being regarded as potential organ banks unless they go through an official process of opting out. Brown’s suggestion follows recommendations from chief medical officer Sir Liam Donaldson, who made the recommendation for […]

 By John Connolly MANILA, January 15, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Catholic Bishops in the Philippines cautioned their flocks to beware of local or national laws and ordinances that would show disrespect for life or the family, reports Fides News Agency. Although abortion is illegal in the Philippines, Catholics “must defend the sacredness of human life,” said the Bishops, who convened an international conference, which featured a number of seminars and talks from experts on bio-ethics, in 2007. The Bishops spoke out against local ordinances that would legalize abortion, as well as the distribution of contraceptive or abortafacient drugs. Quezon City, the […]

Will receive $50,000 from school to advocate suicide

By John-Henry Westen WASHINGTON, DC, January 14, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Pro-life and pro-family leaders in the U.S. are backing a variety of GOP candidates for the Presidential nomination.  Today Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute founder and President Austin Ruse and his wife Cathy (Former chief pro-life spokesman for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops) threw their support behind Senator John McCain. U.S. pro-life and pro-family leaders have come out in favor of a whole host of GOP candidates with major endorsements going to Mike Huckabee, Mitt Romney, Fred Thompson and John McCain.  Conspicuously absent from the list is Rudy […]

By Hilary White   THUNDER BAY, Ontario, January 14, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Another student pro-life group has been refused official club status at Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, Ontario. Lakehead University’s Life Support (LULS) group applied to the student union (LUSU) twice to have their existence recognized, but were rejected by the Board of Governors January 10, for being too “political” and “controversial”.    The group, supported by the national students’ pro-life organization National Campus Life Network, told LifeSiteNews.com that the student union is guilty of “discrimination” and contradiction of its own principles of conduct.   During the 2006-2007 school year, Life […]

By Matthew Cullinan Hoffman TENIRIFE, SPAIN, Janauary 14, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The Spanish State Federation of Lesbians, Gays, Transsexuals and Bisexuals (FELGT) has filed a criminal complaint against the Catholic bishop of Tenerife, Bernardo Álvarez, for making statements against homosexual behavior and comparing it to child sexual abuse. Since making the statements in late December, Bishop Álvarez has been widely criticized throughout the mainstream Spanish media for reiterating the Catholic Church’s consistent teaching on the subject. After being asked “what is your opinion of homosexuality,” by the Spanish newspaper La Opinion de Tenerife, the Bishop stated that people who had […]

By Hilary White LONDON, January 14, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Gordon Brown’s Labour government is contemplating a move to force Britons to become organ donors unless they have specifically opted out. Prime Minister Brown wrote this weekend in an op ed in the Daily Telegraph that he wants to “start a debate” on the so-called “presumed consent” concept that Brown said would “close the aching gap between the potential benefits of transplant surgery and the limits imposed by our current system of consent”.  Brown’s “different consent system” would mean consent for organ donation after death would be automatically presumed, unless individuals […]

By John Connolly ORLANDO, Florida, January 14, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Scientists have created a beating heart using laboratory techniques that involve adult stem cells and that could revolutionize organ donation. Scientists at the University of Minnesota reported their findings at the American Heart Association’s annual meeting in Orlando, Florida. The highly experimental procedure involved removing all the cells from a rat’s dead heart, and using its protein blueprint as a guide for live adult stem cells seeded on the old heart. “We took nature’s building blocks to build a new organ,” said Harald Ott, who worked on the project. “When […]

Manitoba Hospital Ready to Pull Plug on ‘Awake’ Patient Dear Editor, This letter is in regard to the case of Samuel Golubchuk, an 84 year old man in Winnipeg who’s doctors wish to remove his food, fluids and respirator and who’s family are honouring Samuel’s wishes to have it continued. As every day passes, Samuel continues to improve, he is now “awake” but the hospital continues to insist that they have the right to pull the plug. In other words, “Futile Care Theory” has gone wild in Manitoba. The Golubchuk family have faced incredible legal expenses in their attempt to […]

FRONT ROYAL, VA, January 14, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – This January 22, the entire student body of Christendom College, as well as members of the faculty and staff, will join the hundreds of thousands of pro-life American’s at the 35th Annual March for Life in Washington, D.C. Christendom has cancelled classes for the day and the Student Activities Council has charted buses to transport over 400 people from its Front Royal, Virginia campus. The theme of this year’s March for Life is “Build Unity on the Life Principles throughout America. No Exception! No Compromise!” This theme is charged with the positive […]

"This commission is applying Saudi values, not Canadian values" says Western Standard Publisher

* Disclaimer: The linked items below or the websites at which they are located do not necessarily represent the views of LifeSiteNews.com. They are presented only for your information.   Catholic pizza billionaire Tom Monaghan backs Romney  https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=11414   Public schools: The new red-light district?  https://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=59602   Man lives 34 years with trisomy 13 and 18  https://www.thedailynews.cc/Main.asp?SectionID=2&ArticleID=18005   Singapore to create animals with human DNA   https://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=31&art_id=nw20080109121912559C146639   A UK fertility centre has started a scheme offering half-price IVF treatment for women who donate their eggs to research   https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/tyne/7175504.stm   The conclusion is inescapable that more condoms mean more […]

By Hilary White   LONDON, January 11, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The Labour controlled British Parliament has rejected a motion that would have afforded Christians and other conscientious objectors legal protection from accusations of hate crimes by homosexual activists.   The Labour party refused to allow its majority MP’s the freedom to vote on the amendment. The hate crimes bill moved through its final stages in the House of Commons on January 9.   The proposed “gay hate crimes” law would carry a maximum penalty of seven years in jail for anyone convicted of “inciting hatred” against homosexuals. The motion to […]

By Peter J. Smith   BUFFALO, New York, January 11, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Paintball vandals defaced a pro-life billboard outside a Buffalo abortion center early this week creating large round black splotches that look menacingly like bullet holes through the central image of the unborn baby.   The “You Shall Not Kill” billboard set up by pro-life advocates near the Buffalo GYN Womenservices abortion clinic on Main Street was riddled with about 20 round black and dark purple paint splotches late Monday night from either a paintball device or a launcher for paint filled balloons. The vandalism gives the violent […]

By John Connolly and John-Henry Westen   WASHINGTON, D.C., January 11, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The Alliance Defense Fund filed a lawsuit on January 2 on behalf of a Coast Guard officer who was refused an exception from injection with a Hepatitis A vaccine derived from an aborted child, even though the injection conflicts with the officer’s Catholic beliefs.   The U.S. Coast Guard refused to grant Lt. Commander Joseph J. Healy an exception, even though it allows injection exemptions based on other religious beliefs. The injection, required by the Coast Guard in lieu of proof of immunity for Hepatitis A, […]

By Thaddeus M. Baklinski   MOSCOW, January 11, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Metropolitan Kirill, Head of the Moscow Patriarchate Department for External Church Relations, has made a strong statement condemning societal acceptance of homosexuality and reaffirming the task of the Church to proclaim the truth, in an interview published on Thursday by the German magazine Spiegel.   Metropolitan Kirill said that if society stops considering homosexuality a sin, the next step will be general excuse of various sexual perversions. “Morality is either absolute or it does not exist. If you excuse homosexuality, why not to excuse pedophilia?” Metropolitan Kirill asked.   […]

Encourages Americans to attend the march on January 22 in Washington

Harrisburg Police Pro-Abortion Bias   Dear Editor, On December 22, 2007, a 69 year old man by the name of Mr. Ed Snell, was brutally assaulted near Hillcrest Abortion Clinic in Harrisburg, PA.  Mr Snell was peacefully protesting and was not on Hillcrest property.  The young man who assaulted him was taking his girl friend in for an abortion.  Mr Snell sustained life-threatening injuries, including bleeding on the brain, 4 fractured thoracic vertebrae, 2 fractured ribs and a fractured collar bone.   The brain injury alone could have killed Mr. Snell. I have seen only one piece of news coverage […]

 By Hilary White OTTAWA, January 11, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Earlier this week, the federal government came under attack after the CBC reported that active homosexual men are barred from being organ donors because of the high risk of disease associated with homosexual activity. The Globe and Mail reported yesterday, however, that transplant groups denied that active homosexual men are barred from donating organs. “Several transplant organisations” told the Globe that the rules that came into effect in December only “formalize” existing procedures that screen organs for disease. Mark Meloche, head of the surgery section at the British Columbia Transplant Society […]

By John Connolly TORONTO, January 11, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Two Canadian women have died and sixteen more have reported serious blood clotting in connection with the use of Evra, a hormonal contraceptive patch that releases estrogen directly into the bloodstream through the skin. Health Canada released safety information for the drug in late 2006, but the warnings about increased possibility of blood clots in the legs and lungs have not been enough to prevent women from using the patch. Two Canadian women who used the drug died from complications induced by the patch in 2006. One of the deaths was […]

By John Connolly LOUISVILLE, January 11, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A leader of the evangelical movement in the United States recently came down hard on the effects of in vitro fertilization on his blog, decrying the destruction of millions of embryos for the sake of IVF. Dr. R. Albert Mohler, Jr., president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, the primary school of the Southern Baptist Convention and one of the largest seminaries in the world, called the destruction of embryos in IVF a tragedy, after reading a report in the London Times that over one million human embryos have been killed […]

There are numerous interesting and informative activities taking place before, during and after the annual March for Life in Washington D.C. LifeSiteNews.com has compiled information about as many of those events as possible, to enable those interested in attending the March to choose which events to attend.   See interview with Nellie Gray about the 2008 March For Lifehttps://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/jan/08011111.html   * Note: this list will be updated as we receive information about additional events. SATURDAY, JAN. 19th 4:00Rock for Life’sTraining & Activism Weekend 2008 begins.  See https://www.rockforlife.org/article.php?id=10253 for more details. SUNDAY, JAN. 20  7:30am-9:45pm                      Students for Life of America ConferenceTo […]

By Samantha Singson NEW YORK, New York, January 11, 2008 (C-FAM) – The United Nations will begin the 2008 season next week, convening the first annual meetings of its various commissions in Geneva and New York. Several important social policy issues affecting human life and the family are coming up for debate. On Monday the CEDAW committee will convene its first session in Geneva. This will be the first year the committee will split its time between UN headquarters in Geneva and New York, ostensibly to harmonize with the other human rights instruments under the Geneva-based Office of the High Commissioner on […]

 By Matthew Cullinan Hoffman SPAIN, January 11, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) – In the wake of a massive pro-marriage and pro-family demonstration that included between one and two million participants, Spanish socialists are lashing out at the Catholic Church, accusing it of hypocrisy and of attempting to intervene in the political process. Speakers at the rally, which took place on December 30, rarely made mention of government or politics.  However, the message of the rally was clear, the natural, two-parent family, consisting of a husband and wife, is the foundation of society.  The Socialist Worker’s Party, which currently controls the presidency and […]

HOMILY XXXV General Congregation of the Society of Jesus His Eminence, the Most Reverend Franc Card. Rodé, C.M. DEAR MEMBERS OF THE XXXV GENERAL CONGREGATION OF THE SOCIETY OF JESUS      St Ignatius considered the General Congregation “work and a distraction” (Const. 677) which momentarily interrupts the apostolic commitments of a large number of qualified members of the Society of Jesus and for this reason, clearly differing from what is customary in other religious Institutes, the Constitutions establish that it should be celebrated at determined times and not too often.     Nevertheless, it must be called principally on two occasions: […]

Coinicides with large increase in use of contraceptives and morning after pill

Planned Parenthood in Northern New England counters that Obama "was a leader and activist in reproductive rights for more than 20 years"

Homily on NFP provokes congregation member to stand up and shout at priest "When are you going to stop?"

By John Connolly ROME, January 7, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – In an attempt to atone for homosexuality in the Roman Catholic priesthood, Pope Benedict XVI has called for constant prayer in churches worldwide in what some claim is the largest prayer initiative ever seen. The instruction was sent to bishops in the form of a letter by Cardinal Cláudio Hummes of Brazil, head of the Vatican Congregation for the Clergy. He told L’Osservatore Romano, that the Pope wanted Catholics to pray “to make amends before God for the evil that has been done and hail once more the dignity of the […]

OPINION

By John Connolly PHOENIX, Arizona, January 7, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Despite warnings and requests from the Diocese of Phoenix, a suspended priest who faces criminal sex abuse charges has been leading prayer services attended by his personal devotees. Monsignor Dale Fushek, who faces multiple sex-related misdemeanor charges, holds non-denominational prayer services at the Mesa Convention Center. The diocese has requested that Catholics not attend the services, because of the scandal caused by them. “We’re actually encouraging Catholics to refrain from attending. We would hope that they don’t,” said Jim Dwyer, a spokesman for the diocese. “I think most leaders in […]

Repeatedly spoke about his "sorrow and anxiety" at the state of the Jesuit order in terms of infidelity to the teachings of the Church.

Blair's role as major "architect" of the "culture of death" disregarded as "matter for individual conscience"

Bishop "overwhelmed" by the positive response he has received from Catholics

By Matthew Cullinan Hoffman ROME, January 7, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Italian Cardinal Camillo Ruini remarked on Tuesday of last week that it would be a “very logical step” to impose a “moratorium” on abortion in response to a recent vote in the United Nations calling for a moratorium on the death penalty. Pointing out that children can survive well before the 24th week of pregnancy, which is the limit for most abortions in Italy, Ruini suggested that Italian politicians discuss the possibility of reducing the time allowed for abortions. “It is truly inadmissible to proceed with an abortion when the […]

* Disclaimer: The linked items below or the websites at which they are located do not necessarily represent the views of LifeSiteNews.com. They are presented only for your information. Talk of Hilary Exit Engulfs Campaigns Reports Drudgehttps://www.drudgereport.com/flashhn.htm As Mexico’s Supreme Court nears historic decision, abortion supporters threaten massive protests if decision does not go their wayhttps://www.calcatholic.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?id=2c5677c0-8c6b-4af4-b227-53ef… Focus on the Family TV Ads Spread Pro-Life Messagehttps://www.citizenlink.org/CLtopstories/A000006227.cfm For the first time in 35 years, the U.S. fertility rate has climbed high enough to sustain a stable populationhttps://www2.tbo.com/content/2007/dec/25/na-were-bearing-up-us-fertility-reaches-… More than 500 people expelled from the Communist Party for violating one-child policyhttps://www.asianews.it/index.php?l=en&art=11180&size=A Family Advocates […]

One faces five months in jail while another has been sentenced to serve eight months behind bars.

Opposing conference to upcoming 14th Lambeth Conference seems to have been confirmed

By Matthew Cullinan Hoffman ARGENTINA, January 3, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The Catholic bishop of Nueve de Julio, Argentina, has opened the new year with a vigorous defense of human life and family, and a clear condemnation of the Argentine government’s recent anti-life policies. In a message given to commemorate January first, which has been named “The World Day of Peace” by the popes since the 1960s, Bishop Martín De Elizalde draws a connection between peace and the institution of the family, and asks the faithful to pray for both. Sadly, he notes, “this concern for peace includes the legitimate affliction […]

Appears deadly drug can easily be given to woman without her knowledge to kill unborn children not wanted by father

Openly homosexual George Smitherman admitted to using drugs before being elected to office

By John Connolly OXFORD, January 4, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The quintuplets of a Russian couple were born in the UK after doctors in Russia denied them care unless they aborted some of them. Dimitri and Varvara Artamkin, both Russian natives, gave birth to five girls at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford last month. Each of the babies now weighs 3 pounds 3 ounces, and they have been separated since birth so they can undergo incubation in two hospitals. Dmitri, a mathematics professor, says that the children are each a gift from God. “We believe God has given them to […]

"secret report" leaked

Not expected to do well in socially liberal New Hampshire

By John Jalsevac NEW YORK, January 4, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The head of the Episcopal Church in the United States, Bishop Jefferts Schori, shocked listeners of a BBC Interview when she announced that Gene Robinson – the controversial Episcopalian bishop who was consecrated bishop despite his being an openly practicing homosexual – is not the only homosexual and partnered bishop in the Anglican Church. “[Robinson] is certainly not alone in being a gay bishop,” Schori said in response to a question from her interviewer. “He is certainly not alone in being a gay partnered bishop. He is alone in being […]

* Disclaimer: The linked items below or the websites at which they are located do not necessarily represent the views of LifeSiteNews.com. They are presented only for your information. UK sex lessons not halting rise in teen pregnancyhttps://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2008/01/03/npreg103.xml Girls fainting after painful HPV vaccine – Gardasil gaining reputation as most painful of childhood shots, experts sayhttps://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22492557/ New “Right-to-know” Web site launched https://www.abortinfo.org Adventures in Pill Landhttps://www.catholicexchange.com/node/68643 Spanish leaders want bishops’ apology for pro-family rallyhttps://www.cwnews.com/news/viewstory.cfm?recnum=55720 Friday Five: Pro-Life Hero Norma McCorvey – Thirty-five years after historic Roe v. Wade ruling, ‘Jane Roe’ is living for the Lord.https://www.citizenlink.org/CLNews/A000006212.cfm 5 Characters Reject Abortion […]

The Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith

FRONT ROYAL, VA, January 3, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Life Decisions International (LDI) has released a revised edition of The Boycott List, which identifies corporations that are boycott targets due to their support of Planned Parenthood, the world’s primary abortion-advocacy group. “As a direct result of the commitment, action and prayers of pro-family people, at least 160 corporations have stopped funding Planned Parenthood,” said LDI President Douglas R. Scott, Jr. It is estimated that the boycott has cost Planned Parenthood more than $40 million since the Corporate Funding Project (CFP) began nearly 16 years ago. “This should be a testament to […]

Mainstream media systematically misreports attendance figures - Reuters, Associated Press deflate official figures

Homosexual Groups Threaten to Sue

By John Connolly SAN FRANCISCO, January 3, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Planned Parenthood Golden Gate (PPGG) has aired a new commercial featuring a stereotyped gay man showering teens with condoms and contraceptive pills aimed specifically at 18 to 24-year-olds. The ads, aired on MTV, VH-1, Comedy Central and TLC, are set to a “Mile High Club” theme, where Stephen, a flagrantly stereotypical gay man “educates” the teenage passengers about ‘safe sex’ by shoving contraceptives at them. At the end of the commercial, Stephen sits on the pilots lap and hits on him. “PPGG created this campaign to stress the importance of […]

By John Connolly NEW YORK, January 3, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The United Nations, in a desperate bid to regain prowess and favorable public opinion, has decided to team up with Marvel Entertainment and use Spider-Man to push pro-U.N. propaganda to children around the world. The move, reminiscent of World War II-era propaganda, is meant to sidestep the ugly relationship the U.N. has cultivated in recent years with the United States and other countries. Aside from political disagreements with the U.S. concerning foreign policy, the U.N. has suffered PR losses over its militant stance in favor of abortion and contraception. John […]

By Peter J. Smith BOSTON, January 3, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A number of Massachusetts conservative leaders are warning pro-life and pro-family voters to pay close attention to Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s decisions as governor on marriage, life, children, and family, saying that a number of conservatives are covering up a pro-abortion, pro-gay legacy to sustain his candidacy. John Haskins, of the Parents’ Rights Coalition, Peter LaBarbera, President of Americans for Truth, William Cotter, President of Operation Rescue-Boston and others are decrying what they call a cover-up by the “conservative establishment” of Romney’s gubernatorial record that shows he is not […]

Conference action contradicts 1992 Ratzinger instruction and cedes spiritual leadership role to opinion of diocesan lawyers

By Peter J. Smith BERLIN, January 3, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The Council President of the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD), Dr. Wolfgang Huber, has declared his support for postponing the cut-off date for embryonic stem cell research (ESCR) for the sake of high-level research purposes. According to the newspaper Frankfurter Rundschau, Dr. Huber said over the weekend that if the currently available stem cell lines were insufficient, the deadline could be postponed for high-level research. The Bundestag, the German national parliament, is expected to make a decision on cutting off ESCR before Easter. Dr. Huber said that research with adult […]

By Peter J. Smith AMARILLO, Texas, January 3, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A Catholic bishop has declared his diocese will observe the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision legalizing abortion in the United States, as a day of penance for Catholics. Bishop John W. Yanta of the diocese of Amarillo said that Tuesday January 22 will be observed in his diocese as a “Day of Fast and Abstinence.” The bishop said that day is a particular day of penance in the United States for violations to the dignity of the human person committed through acts of abortion, and of […]

By John Connolly CONCORD, New Hampshire, January 3, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A bill that was signed into law in May granting many of the legal rights of marriage to homosexual couples in New Hampshire went into effect on January 1, a scant week before the state holds one of the most influential primaries in the U.S. Presidential election. The law grants civil union status to homosexual couples, but legally is marriage in all but name. When the law was passed in May, state Reps. Jim Splaine and Gail Morrison, who sponsored the bill, kept quiet as to whether they would […]

Double murder reignites debate on unborn victims of crime bill currently before parliament

By Samantha Singson NEW YORK January 3, 2008 (C-FAM) – UNFPA’s recently released annual report says that promoting “reproductive rights” and contraception, especially among adolescents, is the primary focus of the organization’s work. Claiming that “every minute, 190 women are forced to confront the possibility of an unplanned or unwanted pregnancy—one that could have been easily prevented if only they had access to contraceptives,” the report justified the UN agency’s spending two thirds of its annual budget on the reproductive health agenda, but said that even more would be needed in the future. UNFPA intends to put pressure on countries […]

Pell says "it's almost as though people without religion…have got to be frightened of something"

The number of embryos used for in vitro fertilisation is expanding year after year

By John-Henry Westen VATICAN CITY, January 2, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – In the days leading up to January 1, and on New Year’s Day, Pope Benedict XVI stressed the family and morality. Speaking on New Year’s Eve, he warned that many people, “especially the young, are attracted by the false exaltation or, more accurately, the profanation of the body and the trivialisation of sexuality”. The Pope spoke of “the difficulty we find in transmitting to new generations the basic values of existence and of correct behaviour” as an “educational emergency.”  He said that the emergency must be confronted “Without clamour and […]

Police alow assailant to leave crime scene and threaten to arrest witnesses

By John Jalsevac CAIRO, Egypt, January 2, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The Islamic Research Council of Al-Azhar, considered by many to be the highest seat of Sunni Islamic learning in the world, has issued an edict declaring that women who become pregnant because of a rape must abort their child.  “A raped woman must terminate the pregnancy immediately upon learning of the pregnancy if a trusted doctor gives her clearance for the abortion,” the Council said, according to AFP news. The Council continued, saying that this would promote “social stability.” Egypt’s top imam, Mohammad Sayed Tatwani, who is also the Grand […]

Czech attitudes however remain firmly behind legal abortion

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Many signatures wrongly invalidated on citizen referendum on ballot initiative to rescind pro-gay law