Articles for Month: October 2010

Friday October 29, 2010 Smeaton to International Conference: Pro-Lifers Must Challenge Vatican to Appoint Pro-Life Bishops By Patrick B. Craine OTTAWA, Ontario, October 29, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Pro-life advocates should call on the Vatican to appoint bishops who will teach and defend the Church’s teaching on the transmission of human life, pro-life veteran John Smeaton, national director of the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC), told the International Pro-Life Conference in Ottawa on Friday. The “failure of Catholic bishops” to teach on life issues is “directly responsible for great confusion and, consequently, for the failure of the overwhelming […]

Friday September 3, 2010 Women Convicted of Infanticide Released following Pressure from Mexican Pro-Abort Groups By Matthew Cullinan Hoffman, Latin America Correspondent GUANAJUATO, Mexico, September 2, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Seven women convicted of infanticide have been released by the governor of the state of Guanajuato and a state judge following a massive campaign by pro-abortion groups, who have turned their cases into a cause célèbre in the national media. Governor Juan Manuel Oliva has also announced a legislative initiative to reduce the criminal penalty for infanticide from 25 to 35 years in prison, to three to eight years. The decision […]

Thursday October 28, 2010 Pope Calls Upon Brazilian Bishops to Speak out against Abortion as Election Approaches By Matthew Cullinan Hoffman, Latin America Correspondent VATICAN CITY, October 28, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Pope Benedict XVI is telling Brazil’s Catholic bishops to speak out against ideologies that justify abortion, only days before a hotly contested presidential election in which the frontrunner has been accused of supporting the decriminalization of abortion. In a speech delivered to a group of Brazilian prelates present in Rome for a regularly-scheduled visit, Benedict stated that “in defending life we should not fear opposition and unpopularity, refusing any […]

Monday October 25, 2010 Children Raised by Homosexual Parents More Likely to Identify as Gay: Study By Kathleen Gilbert MANHATTAN, Kansas, October 25, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A study due out next month has found that children raised by homosexual parents are far more likely to identify as homosexual themselves. Walter Schumm, a family studies professor at Kansas State University, told AOL News that he questioned the conviction – ironclad in both popular culture and the academic world – that parents could not influence their children’s sexual orientation, while being able to influence so many other aspects of their lives. “I […]

Wednesday October 27, 2010 Mich. Woman Advertises for “Christian Roommate”: Gets Hit with Civil Rights Complaint GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., October 27, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) — When a 31-year-old single woman in Grand Rapids placed an ad for a Christian roommate on her church bulletin board, she had no idea it would result in a civil rights complaint accusing her of illegal housing discrimination. The Fair Housing Center of West Michigan, a private group, has said that the statement specifically asking for a Christian roommate “expresses an illegal preference for a Christian roommate, thus excluding people of other faiths.” The Alliance Defense […]

Wednesday October 22, 1997 PORNOGRAPHY AWARENESS WEEK American Family Association TUPELO, MS – October 26-November 2, 1997 marks the dates for PornographyAwareness Week (PAW) in America. PAW was started 15 years ago to raise the awareness of the prevalence of pornography throughout our nation and to encourage citizens to work toward eliminating its devastating effects on our communities. American Family Association (AFA) initiated Pornography Awareness Weekbecause of the negative impact pornography has on American families.“Pornography victimizes women and children and is a vicious downward spiral of addiction for the men involved. Pornography erodes a man’s relationshipwith God, his wife, his […]

Monday October 20, 1997 SHEEP CLONER WARNS OF HUMAN MANIPULATION JASPER, Alta., Oct 20 (LSN) – Ian Wilmut, the Scottish scientist who was responsible for the cloning of an adult sheep, warned against the creation of “designer babies”. Speaking at a conference of science teachers in Alberta on the weekend, the researcher urged his listners to “remember there are people who are already thinking of this.” The Human Genome Project, an international project to map all human genes, could urge the use of this new knowledge to manipulate the human race. “To let us rip with this present technology… is […]

Tuesday October 26, 2010 Court Allows San Fran City Resolution Condemning Catholicism as ‘Insulting,’ ‘Hateful’ By Kathleen Gilbert SAN FRANCISCO, October 26, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has shakily allowed to stand a resolution by the city government of San Francisco that lambasted the Vatican as “meddl[ing]” and “insult[ing]” for reaffirming its teaching against homosexual adoption, and which urged Church officials to disobey the Magisterium. The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in 2006 had issued a statement clarifying that Catholic Church agencies, in line with the Church’s moral teaching on sexuality, should not […]

Wednesday October 27, 2010 Chinese Woman Kidnapped by Govt Officials for Supporting Imprisoned Nobel Winner By Kathleen Gilbert CHONGQING, China, October 27, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A Chinese woman who tweeted that she would demonstrate her support for imprisoned human rights advocate and Nobel peace Prize winner Liu Xiaobo was kidnapped by Chinese officials in the middle of the night, according to online friends. Freelance designer Mou Yanxi has reportedly returned home, but her mobile phone and computer have been confiscated after she stated on Twitter that she planned to carry a banner with the words “Congratulations, Uncle Xiaobo!” The tweet, […]

Monday October 25, 2010 Day 34 of 40 Days for Life: 445 saved … One Week Left! Commentary by Shawn Carney, 40 Days for Life October 25th, 2010 (40DaysforLife.com) – How many more lives will be saved this fall? This is the last week of the campaign and a wild week for me — I go to Southern California before closing this fall’s campaign at the site of one of the largest abortion facilities in the world — the Planned Parenthood in Houston, Texas. The number of babies God has saved in response to your prayers during this 40 Days […]

Monday October 25, 2010 Pro-Life Independent Tom Tancredo Surges to Virtual Tie in Colorado Gov. Race By Peter J. Smith DENVER, Colorado, October 25, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The race for Colorado’s governorship now shows a virtual tie between former U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo, a pro-life 3rd party candidate, and pro-abortion Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper, a Democrat. Tancredo, a staunch pro-life, pro-family advocate known for his anti-illegal-immigration views, has surged into a dead heat with Hickenlooper, now that GOP candidate Dan Maes campaign has collapsed amid allegations of campaign finance abuse and flip-flopping on the issues. Running on the American Constitution […]

Tuesday October 26, 2010 Fewer People Mean Less Government Cost: Planned Parenthood President By Kathleen Gilbert WASHINGTON, D.C., October 26, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The president of Planned Parenthood has argued that the new federal health care reform ought to consider funding all contraception with taxpayer dollars because preventing new children leads to less government expense. In an appearance on the Bill Press radio show, PP president Cecile Richards said that, although the costs of the federal health care bill already promise to skyrocket out of control, federal officials ought to consider covering birth control a priority because of the “cost […]

Monday January 11, 2010 China Admits Massive Gender Imbalance from One Child Policy By Hilary White January 11, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The Chinese state media has admitted that the country’s One Child policy has resulted in a potentially disastrous demographic crisis. The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences reports that the policy that mandates abortion for many pregnancies, combined with sex-selection and a cultural preference for boys, has created a gender imbalance that will result in 24 million men who cannot find wives by 2020. The Academy study said that for every 100 girls born in China, 119 boys are born. […]

Commentary by Hilary White ROME, October 27, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – What is the first thing that pops into the minds of ordinary people when they hear the word “abortion”? If you have been lucky, or blessed, enough to have seen through the common rhetoric of our death-cult culture, you may answer something like, “…kills an unborn child.” But, sadly and despite our continuing efforts, the world at large has not yet made that connection. No, what most people think spontaneously when they hear the word is “women’s rights.” The issue of “rights” in abortion rhetoric is the first and last […]

OTTAWA, Ontario, October 28, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – “The most important achievement of the pro-life movement in Canada, in Europe, and in the world, is that we exist,” said John Smeaton, director of the U.K.'s Society for the Protection of Unborn Children, in Ottawa Thursday as the International Pro-Life Conference kicked off. “The fact that the pro-life movement exists is far more important than any successes we may have enjoyed at the national or international level,” he said. “What's most important is that our pro-life movement is well-established and it's growing,” he continued.  “What's most important is that we're passing on […]

Friday October 8, 2004 Pro-Abortion Environmental Activist and Renegade Bishops Headline Catholic Program Event at Ontario Pembroke diocese Grey Sisters convent PEMBROKE, Ontario, October 7, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Tickets are on sale now for the October 16 offering of “The Cosmic Culture of the Canoe”, offered as one of many new age programs running at the Marguerite Centre in Pembroke Ontario this year. The Centre, run by the Grey Sisters of the Immaculate Conception and housed in their Motherhouse, features the Executive Director of the pro-abortion Sierra Club of Canada Elizabeth May as well as renegade Catholic Bishops Thomas Gumbleton […]

Tuesday August 24, 2010 NewsBytes for Aug. 24 – Obama and Islam Compiled by Steve Jalsevac See introductory article Militant Islam Versus the West * 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. Obama’s Milky Way By George Neumayr – The Spectator.org His presidency largely exists for the benefit of one religion, the only religion he appears to consider blameless and holy – Islam, and not even its moderate variant. Under Obama, America undercuts moderate Muslims while pandering to violent […]

Tuesday August 24, 2010 NewsBytes for Aug. 24 – Ground Zero Mosque Compiled by Steve Jalsevac See introductory article Militant Islam Versus the West * 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. Archbishop Dolan Calls for Dialogue Over “Ground Zero Mosque” The New York archbishop is underlining the need for civil, respectful dialogue as controversy heats up over plans for building an Islamic center near the site of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. “I know it’s a controversial topic,” said […]

Tuesday August 19, 2008 Head of Vatican’s Highest Court: Ministers Have “Obligation to Deny” Communion to Pro-Abortion Politicians By John-Henry Westen ROME, August 19, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The head of the highest court in the Vatican has given an interview with a Roman magazine in which he notes that when dealing with pro-abortion Catholic politicians, “the minister of the Eucharist has the obligation to deny It (Communion) to him.” Last month, Pope Benedict XVI appointed Archbishop Raymond Burke, formerly the Archbishop of St. Louis, as the Prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura, which is the highest judicial […]

Thursday October 21, 2010 “Married” Lesbian Couple from U.S., Australia Denied Refugee Status in Canada By Patrick B. Craine TORONTO, October 21, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Two women, one from the U.S. and the other from Australia, who were “married” in Canada four years ago are trying to gain refugee status in the country by claiming that they would face persecution in their countries of origin. The couple, whose names are withheld, are appealing after their claim was denied in July by the Canadian Immigration and Refugee Board. They came to Canada in September 2007 and filed for refugee status the […]

Friday October 22, 2010 Purple Homosexualist ‘Spirit Day’ Saturates U.S. Schools, Media, Stock Exchange By Kathleen Gilbert October 22, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – An Internet-born movement to encourage solidarity with teen victims of gay bullying has spurred several celebrities, schools, and media to officially promote the pro-homosexual campaign by wearing purple this past Wednesday. A young woman named Brittany McMillan, who spread the idea on her Tumblr account, and was championed by the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), reportedly began the movement, which is intended to memorialize homosexual youths who have killed themselves. Several media outlets endorsed the movement, […]

Friday October 22, 2010 The Card to Protect You from “Presumed Consent” Organ Harvesting By Patrick B. Craine October 19, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – As the push for organ harvesting gets increasingly aggressive, and more and more cases of abuse by transplant teams surface, one pro-life leader has developed a card to ensure doctors respect one’s wish to live a natural lifespan. “The card documents that they want to live as long as God gives them,” said Dr. Paul Byrne of the Life Guardian Foundation, who is a pioneer in the field of neonatology and a leading opponent of the notion […]

Thursday October 21, 2010 Pro-Life, Pro-family Leaders Congratulate Pro-Life Hero Archbishop Burke By Patrick B. Craine Note: To send a personal note of congratulations to Archbishop Burke, visit CongratulateBurke.com ROME, October 21, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Catholic, pro-life, and pro-family groups are praising Pope Benedict XVI’s decision to elevate pro-life hero Archbishop Raymond L. Burke to the status of Cardinal. “Cardinal-designate Burke is one of the Church’s greatest defenders of faith, and one of the pro-life movement’s greatest allies,” said Jim Hughes, vice-president of International Right to Life. Burke, 62, who serves as prefect of the Apostolic Signatura (the Vatican’s highest […]

Thursday October 21, 2010 Facebook Teams Up with Gay Activist Orgs to Stop ‘Hateful’ Comments By Peter J. Smith WASHINGTON, D.C., October 21, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The social networking site Facebook has teamed up with a who’s who list of homosexual advocacy groups to set up a Network of Support for homosexuals, part of an effort to remove “hateful” speech and bullying from the social network site. But pro-family groups are expressing serious concern about the arrangement, as some of the homosexualist organizations call not only for the removal of legitimately hateful or violent speech, but also censorship of statements […]

Friday October 22, 2010 Congratulations to One of the World’s Greatest Pro-Life Champions Dear LifeSiteNews.com reader: Will you join us in congratulating one of the greatest champions of the pro-life cause? The news came in this week that Archbishop Raymond Burke will be among the 24 men made a Cardinal next month in Rome by Pope Benedict XVI! Cardinals are the closest advisors to the Pope and elect new popes out of their numbers. Faithful Catholics and other pro-life and pro-family individuals around the world have joyfully greeted the news of this great honor. Join your voice with theirs and […]

Friday March 5, 2010 Oklahoma Supreme Court Rules State Abortion Law Unconstitutional By Peter J. Smith OKLAHOMA CITY, February 22, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The Oklahoma Supreme Court has declared that an Oklahoma law regulating abortion practice and requiring ultrasounds for women seeking abortion violated the state constitution’s single-subject rule, saying it contained multiple subjects for legislation. The high court struck down SB 1878, upholding the August 2009 decision of Oklahoma County Judge Vicki Robertson, who ruled the multiple legislative mandates in the law required separate bills to pass constitutional muster. “We are growing weary of admonishing the Legislature for so […]

Tuesday August 10, 2010 Homosexual ‘Marriage’ Advocates Seek to Destroy Matrimony and Society Itself: Cardinal Archbishop of Mexico City ‘Church cannot cease to call evil, evil,’ prelate says By Matthew Cullinan Hoffman, Latin America Correspondent MEXICO CITY, August 10, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – In the face of the “aberrant” Supreme Court decision declaring constitutional the “immoral legal reform that permits unions between people of the same sex,” the Church “cannot cease to call evil, evil,” declared Mexico City’s Cardinal Archbishop Norberto Rivera during Sunday mass at the Metropolitan Cathedral.. What proponents of the law “abusively” call “marriages” are in reality nothing […]

Thursday October 21, 2010 Pro-Abort Org Inciting Physicians to Commit Criminal Acts in N. Ireland: Pro-life Advocates By Hilary White NEWCASTLE, N. Ireland, October 21, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – One of Europe’s busiest abortion agencies, the Family Planning Association (FPA), sponsored a conference in Newcastle, Northern Ireland, earlier this month, that the pro-life campaign group Precious Life said was “absolutely outrageous” and illegal because it incited physicians to commit criminal acts. In Northern Ireland abortion remains a criminal act, except in cases where there is an immediate threat to the life of the mother. The conference called for the abolition of […]

Wednesday October 20, 2010 Students from Ontario School ‘Inspired’ to Participate in Ottawa 40 Days for Life By John Jalsevac PETERBOROUGH, Ontario, October 20, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – “Everything that our school and community does is pro-life,” says Adam Parker, the principal of Wayside Academy, a private Catholic school in Peterborough, Ontario. For years already the school has participated en masse in the annual March for Life in Ottawa, and school families regularly join a weekly pro-life vigil in front of the local hospital, where abortions are committed. But this fall the school has added participation in the 40 Days for […]

Wednesday October 20, 2010 “The Most Important School Board Election”: CLC Rates Candidates for Ontario School Trustee By Patrick B. Craine TORONTO, Ontario, October 18, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Campaign Life Coalition, the political arm of Canada’s pro-life movement, has published their ratings of candidates running for school trustee in Monday’s Ontario municipal election, which the group has said “may be the most important school board election Ontario has ever faced.” (For Catholic candidates click here. For public candidates click here.) CLC said that Premier Dalton McGuinty and the Ministry of Education “have embarked on a strategy of child indoctrination,” and […]

Wednesday October 20, 2010 Pro-Abort Group Pushes “Blob” Media Images that Hide the Humanity of the Unborn By Patrick B. Craine VANCOUVER, British Columbia, October 20, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada (ARCC) has recommended a set of photos to the media for abortion-related stories that, according to one pro-life leader, shows the “foolish” lengths to which the abortion lobby will go to hide the humanity of the unborn. At the same time, the pro-abortion group has admitted that the number of abortions reported by Statistics Canada is lower than the true figure, saying “many” abortion facilities […]

Wednesday October 20, 2010 DC Congressional Candidate Blankets Capital with Graphic Abortion Campaign Ads By Kathleen Gilbert WASHINGTON, D.C., October 20, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A pro-life Congressional candidate in the nation’s capital has taken advantage of campaign advertisement law to show graphic abortion pictures on four local stations during daytime television. Missy Smith is airing advertisements in which she declares her opposition to the abortion holocaust while showing several images of the bodies of abortion victims. “I killed two of my babies by abortion. I was told it’s not a baby; they lied to me, they exploited me. Then I […]

Tuesday October 19, 2010 Evangelical and Catholic Immigration Proponents Push Back against Same-Sex Benefits WASHINGTON, October 19, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Christian supporters of immigration reform are criticizing a bill proposed by Democrat senators that would pave the way for the homosexual partners of illegal immigrants to receive benefits on a par with married spouses. Democratic Senators Robert Menendez and Patrick Leahy introduced S.3932, the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act, on September 29, which focuses on creating a “pathway” to U.S. citizenship for foreigners who have illegally entered or remained in the United States. But the bill also includes a “Uniting American […]

Tuesday October 12, 2010 National Right to Life Releases Online Voter Guide for 2010 Midterm Elections By Peter J. Smith WASHINGTON, D.C., October 12, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The National Right to Life Committee has released a new online voter guide for pro-life advocates looking for a brief rundown of candidates for the U.S. congressional mid-term elections. Entitled “Compare. Decide. Vote.”, the guide posted on the NRLC website StopTheAbortionAgenda.com features brief comparisons (in downloadable PDFs) that outline key differences between a number of candidates on legal abortion and the right to life. The guide covers Senate and House elections in 26 […]

Tuesday October 19, 2010 Study: Too Much Screen Time Linked to Psychological Difficulties, even for Physically Active Kids By Thaddeus M. Baklinski BRISTOL, UK, October 19, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A new study conducted at the University of Bristol has found that too much TV and computer screen time is bad for children, regardless of how much physical activity they get. Previous research has shown that too much screen time has an adverse effect on children’s mental well-being, but whether the lack of physical exercise and long periods of sitting still significantly contributed to this was not clear. Dr. Angie Page, […]

Monday October 18, 2010 Silence to Rock Thousands of Campuses Tuesday as Students Protest Abortion October 18, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – On Tuesday morning, students from thousands of schools around the world will keep silence and refuse to speak as a protest against the silencing of countless innocent children by abortion. Leaders of the Pro-life Day of Silent Solidarity, a project of Stand True – Christ Centered Pro-Life, say hundreds of thousands of students will lose their voice in solidarity with their brothers and sisters who will never have a voice. Last year Stand True heard from participants that over 80 […]

Monday October 18, 2010 Colorado Senate Candidate Vilified for Calling Homosexuality a Lifestyle Choice By Kathleen Gilbert WASHINGTON, D.C., October 18, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A Tea Party-backed GOP candidate for Colorado’s U.S. Senate seat came under fire after stating that homosexuality, while possibly influenced by genetic factors from birth, is essentially a lifestyle choice. Ken Buck sparked the reaction after telling the host of NBC’s Meet the Press during a debate with his opponent Sunday that the genetic effect upon homosexuality could be compared to that of alcoholism. “Do you believe that being gay is a choice?” asked host David […]

Monday October 18, 2010 Author Michael O’Brien to LSN Staff: Intelligence, Money not Enough to Win Pro-Life War By Patrick B. Craine OTTAWA, Ontario, October 18, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The pro-life battle will only be won if we embrace Christ’s Cross, become “the poor and despised of the world,” and “listen … to the promptings of the Holy Spirit,” said acclaimed author and artist Michael O’Brien at LifeSiteNews’ inaugural all-staff planning event in Barry’s Bay, Ontario in August. O’Brien will be a featured speaker at next week’s International Pro-Life Conference in Ottawa. He will address the theme ‘Overcoming Evil and […]

Monday October 18, 2010 Planned Parenthood Admits Defeat: No Abortion as a Human Right in UN Summit Document By Hilary White ROME, October 18, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Pro-life and pro-family advocates have scored two major political victories in the same month in two different international organizations. Following the defeat of the McCafferty Report – which attempted to abolish the rights of European doctors to refuse to commit abortions – at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, pro-life advocates are now declaring a victory over the International Planned Parenthood Federation at the UN. Carmen Barroso, regional director of International […]

Tuesday October 19, 2010 Catholics Urge Ontario Bishops to Reconsider Approval of Gay-Neutral Education Policy By Patrick B. Craine TORONTO, Ontario, October 19, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The Ontario Catholic bishops have now publicly endorsed the implementation of the Ministry of Education’s controversial equity and inclusive education strategy in the province’s Catholic schools. In an October 4th statement, the bishops explain that they have endorsed a Catholic version of the equity policy. “The Bishops believe that the proposed template will help ensure that our schools will remain faithful to Catholic teaching as they move forward with the Ministry’s directive,” it reads. […]

Friday October 8, 2010 A Champion For Maternal Health By Amanda Pawloski NEW YORK, October 8, 2010 (C-FAM) – One night in Nigeria, a sick pregnant woman stumbled into a clinic on the verge of death. A young English doctor on his first medical trip to Africa rushed to help her. Robert Walley started an IV while another doctor grabbed a stethoscope to listen for the baby’s heartbeat. The woman died just as Walley was setting up the IV. He was holding her hand. Without any equipment to perform an emergency C-section, both doctors watched for five frustrating minutes until […]

Re: Cliff 'Watchman' Saves Hundreds from Suicide with Kindness and a Smile I would like to comment on the “Cliff Watchman” story that you wrote so beautifully about humanness -  that we can save the lives of people who are hurting often times just by showing them we care.  I work with families after someone has ended their life, as well as with those who are at risk for suicide.  We can prevent 95% of suicides if we know what to do with someone who may be at risk. Your story just sent a powerful message that there are people who […]

The inclusion of Archbishop Raymond Burke among the 24 Catholic bishops named to enter the College of Cardinals in a Vatican consistory on November 20, is cause for celebration in the pro-life and pro-family movements. This man understands the gravity of the Culture of Death and speaks and acts on that understanding like very few other religious leaders in the world.     For LifeSiteNews and others who have been the brunt of harsh, defamatory attacks from some clergy and Catholic Church bureaucrats for simply reporting the truth about disturbing situations needing correction, Archbishop Burke has been a champion. We note especially the […]

Friday October 15, 2010 Interamerican Court Ignores Deaths of Unborn Children in Discrimination Ruling October 14, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – In a recently-announced decision, the Interamerican Court of Human Rights has refused to recognize the deaths of unborn children of indigenous people in Paraguay who were victimized by discriminatory government policies. In the case of the Xákmok Kásek Indigenous Community vs. Paraguay, the Court found that Paraguay was responsible for the deaths of various indigenous listed by the plaintiffs, but omitted any decision on two unborn children who were listed in the complaint. The Court instead responded that “the Court notes […]

Monday October 18, 2010 Day 27 of 40 Days for Life: 317 Babies Saved…So Far Commentary by Shawn Carney, 40 Days for Life October 18, 2010 (40DaysforLife.com) – Yes, that’s right. As of this writing, there have been … 317 babies — that we know of, that God has saved from abortion in answer to your prayers during this 40 Days for Life campaign! There’s a story behind each of those lives … so here are just a few. INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA If you’ve followed these reports, you may remember reading about Erin, the “wrong number” woman from Indianapolis. To quickly […]

Friday October 15, 2010 Pro-Life Victory: KS Supreme Court Allows Planned Parenthood Criminal Case to go Forward TOPEKA, Kansas, October 15, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The Kansas Supreme Court ruled today that the mammoth 107-count criminal case against Planned Parenthood of Kansas and Mid-Missouri may move forward and remanded the case back down to the Johnson County District Attorney’s Office for prosecution. “This is a huge victory for the cause of life,” said Operation Rescue President Troy Newman, whose group has worked for years to bring Planned Parenthood to justice. “Now it is up to the Johnson County District Attorney to […]

Thursday October 14, 2010 Terrorism, Drugs and Attacks on Marriage, Chastity “False Divinities that Must be Unmasked”: Pope Benedict By Hilary White ROME, October 14, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – In unscripted remarks in his opening day address to the Synod of Bishops of the Middle East on Monday, Pope Benedict XVI denounced “forms of life touted by the public opinion today for which values like marriage count for nothing” as “false divinities that must be unmasked” and thrown down. Pope Benedict linked the destruction of marriage with religiously-motivated terrorism and drugs. “Today, marriage does not count and chastity is no longer […]

Friday October 15, 2010 Susan Boyle: Docs Told Mum to Abort Me By Peter J. Smith EDINBURGH, United Kingdom, October 15, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – International singing phenomenon Susan Boyle has revealed in a new autobiography that doctors had told her mother to abort her, because they thought the pregnancy was risky. Boyle soared to stardom in April 2009 after appearing on the UK television program, Britain’s Got Talent, when the plain-looking Scotswoman shocked audiences with a powerful rendition of “I Dreamed a Dream” from the musical version of Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables. But the 49-year-old native of Blackburn, a village […]

Friday October 15, 2010 Former Brazilian Soldiers Say they Were Forced to Have Sex with Homosexual Superior By Matthew Cullinan Hoffman, Latin America Correspondent MARABÁ, Brazil, October 14, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A group of former Brazilian soldiers say that a lieutenant colonel sexually harassed and forced recruits to engage in sex acts with him in order to continue their military careers, according to the Brazilian television network R7. However, despite photographic and video evidence, formal complaints by six soldiers, and numerous witnesses interviewed by R7, the Brazilian military denies that evidence implicating the colonel exists. Following the initial complaints in […]

Thursday October 14, 2010 Philippine Bishop Says Excommunication for President Benigno Aquino ‘a Possibility’ By Thaddeus M. Baklinski MANILA, October 14, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Bishop Nereo Odchimar, President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, said there is “a possibility” that the Catholic Church could excommunicate President Benigno Aquino if he continues in his intent to distribute contraceptives to couples who request them. “That is a possibility, but I don’t see right now that it is a proximate possibility,” the bishop said late last month in response to a question. Speaking in an interview on the Church-run Radio Veritas, […]

Thursday October 14, 2010 Britain Needs Graphic Images of Abortion to Spark Debate: Christian Legal Centre Head By Hilary White LONDON, October 14, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Britain is “a society where there is a massive denial about the true nature of abortion” that needs to see graphic images of abortion to shake complacency and spark a meaningful public debate, Andrea Williams of the Christian Legal Centre told the BBC last week. Williams’s comments came as part of a debate on Radio 4 with Ann Furedi, the head of the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS), Britain’s busiest abortionist organization, in the […]

Commentary by Shawn Carney, 40 Days for Life October 18, 2010 (40DaysforLife.com) – Yes, that’s right. As of this writing, there have been … 317 babies — that we know of, that God has saved from abortion in answer to your prayers during this 40 Days for Life campaign! There’s a story behind each of those lives … so here are just a few. INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA If you’ve followed these reports, you may remember reading about Erin, the “wrong number” woman from Indianapolis. To quickly recap, Erin had scheduled an abortion last spring. She called to confirm her appointment — […]

Friday October 15, 2010 Spiritual Combat Necessary to Combat Abortion Mentality in Nigeria: Nigerian Priest-Activist IPPF “Rampaging” through Nigeria promoting sexual immorality By Hilary White ROME, October 15, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A Nigerian priest, military officer and pro-life activist has described the war against abortion in Nigeria and elsewhere as a “spiritual combat” and said that he hopes to bring the methods and spirituality of the Helpers of God’s Precious Infants to Africa. Fr. JC Akpan was forced to address a gathering of the world’s leading pro-life leaders near Rome indirectly last week after being refused an entry visa by […]

Friday October 15, 2010 Russian Orthodox Patriarch Condemns Gay Propaganda in Spain’s Schools By Hilary White ROME, October 15, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill has condemned a move by the Spanish government to insert what he called homosexual “propaganda” into school textbooks. Patriarch Kirill said the Orthodox Church “would never fail to call a sin a sin.” “I consider it very important to take into account the second article of the Protocol 1 of the European convention on human rights that stipulates that ‘the state shall respect the right of parents to ensure such education and teaching in […]

Monday October 4, 2010 Expert: Religious Freedom Eroding in Britain in the Wake of Equalities Laws and Terrorist Threat By Hilary White DUBLIN, October 4, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – New “equality” legislation combined with the Northern Irish “Troubles” and Islamic terrorist bombings in New York and London have created an atmosphere in Britain in which religion in general is held in suspicion, said an expert on religious discrimination law late last month in Dublin. British barrister Neil Addison told the Iona Institute’s conference on religious freedom that in Britain and elsewhere, the attitude is taking hold that religion must not in […]

Monday September 20, 2010 Archbishop Chaput Urges Christian Renewal in Response to Growing Persecution in US By Patrick Craine DENVER, Colorado, September 20, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Faced with growing persecution from an increasingly secular culture, Catholics must work for a true Christian renewal of America by embracing and living the teachings of the Catholic Church, said Archbishop Charles Chaput in a Friday column for First Things. In the piece, entitled ‘Catholics and the Next America’, Archbishop Chaput reemphasizes his belief that Catholics, indeed all Christians, are poised to face growing persecution in the coming years. America’s public discourse, while traditionally […]

Thursday October 14, 2010 California School District Sued over Threat to Terminate Principal for Endorsing Prayer Breakfast SANTA BARBARA, California, October 14, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – An elementary school principal is filing a lawsuit against the Goleta Union School District after it threatened to end his contract for appearing in a short video promoting the 52nd Annual Community Prayer Breakfast to honor teachers. Foothill School Principal Craig Richter, an evangelical Christian, was disciplined by his district after a district board member saw the promo video on YouTube and reported it to the board, according to the complaint. The school district said […]

Tuesday October 12, 2010 Close Friend of Pope JPII Explains Pope’s Thoughts on Shame and Nakedness By John-Henry Westen ROME, October 12, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Dr. Wanda Poltawska, a life-long close friend of Pope John Paul II has made a significant contribution to the debate over the interpretation of the late pope’s Theology of the Body (ToB). In an address given at the Human Life International World Prayer Congress for Life in Rome last week, Dr. Poltawska, a psychiatrist and Member of the Pontifical Council for the Family, said that JPII taught that shame is a virtue, and that love […]

Wednesday August 18, 2010 Monsignor/Vatican Consultor Warns African Bishops against Dangerous Gender Ideology By Hilary White August 18, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Gender ideology is the “most worrying sign of the current ideas about man,” Monsignor Tony Anatrella, a psychoanalyst, told an audience of African bishops in Ghana late last month. Speaking on the pope’s most recent encyclical, “Caritas in Veritate,” the French priest and consultor to the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for the Family, said that a new anthropology, a new way of viewing the nature of human beings, has grown in the last fifty years that is deeply antithetical to […]

Wednesday October 13, 2010 World’s First Global Atheistic Civilization Headed for Disaster: Former Czech President By Hilary White ROME, October 13, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The world’s first global and deliberately atheistic civilization is heading for disaster, the first president of the modern Czech Republic told an audience this week. Vaclav Havel, one of the most respected political and literary figures in recent European history, said that the West “has lost its connection with the infinite and with eternity,” with the result that “endless consumer collectivism is giving birth to a new type of loneliness.” The West’s disconnection from eternity, he […]

Tuesday October 12, 2010 Abortion as a “Human Right” a Corruption of International HR Agreements: John Smeaton By Hilary White ROME, October 12, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The push in recent years to establish abortion as an international “human right” flies in the face of international human rights law that springs from the natural law and the world’s response to the Nazi atrocities, John Smeaton, head of the UK’s Society for the Protection of Unborn Children, told an international conference last week. International agreements dating back to 1948, in the aftermath of the Nuremberg trials, repeatedly insist on the right to […]

Tuesday October 12, 2010 De-population and De-Christianization Leading to Cultural Islamic Jihad: Catholic Apologist By Hilary White ROME, October 12, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The de-Christianization of Europe, the “removal of Christian principles and institutions from the daily life of a country,” has created a religious and social vacuum that is being filled by Islam, a prominent U.S. Catholic speaker said on Thursday. Raymond de Souza, the Program Director for Portuguese-speaking countries for Human Life International told an audience of the world’s pro-life and pro-family leaders that “Europe … is being culturally Islamized.” “The world in general, and the West in […]

Monday October 11, 2010 Underdog GOP Pro-Lifer Dino Rossi now Polling Ahead in Washington Senate Race By Peter J. Smith OLYMPIA, Washington, October 11, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Pro-life GOP candidate Dino Rossi is starting to take a lead in the polls over four-term incumbent and pro-abortion U.S. Senator Patty Murray, placing Rossi in a good position to make history as Washington State’s first elected pro-life U.S. Senator. Rasmussen Reports show that Rossi has edged ahead of Murray in the U.S. Senate race, and now leads 49 percent to 46 percent among 750 likely voters. The race is still considered a […]

Tuesday October 12, 2010 SHOCK: Pro-Abort Health Care Author John Dingell Trails in Democrat Stronghold By Peter J. Smith DEARBORN, Michigan, October 12, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Democrat Congressman John Dingell is the longest current serving member in the U.S. Congress, but a shocking poll shows that the author of the House version of health care reform is trailing a pro-life GOP opponent for the first time in his almost 55-year-long legislative career. Dingell represents the 15th Michigan District, a Democrat stronghold based in Dearborn and Detroit suburbs, where working class Democrats have always returned Dingell to office since 1955 – […]

Tuesday October 12, 2010 40 Days for Life Announces Milestone: 3,000 Babies Saved By John Jalsevac October 12, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Yesterday the 40 Days for Life campaign announced a significant milestone for the burgeoning pro-life initiative – its 3,000th baby saved from abortion since the first 40 Days campaign in the fall of 2007. “To God be the glory for reaching this major milestone!” wrote Shawn Carney of 40 Days in yesterday’s update. “That’s a LOT of children and mothers spared from abortion. And that’s a lot of GREAT stories.” Carney shared one such story from an abortion facility […]

Wednesday October 6, 2010 Government of Mexico City is Acting like a ‘Dictatorship’: Archdiocese of Guadalajara By Matthew Cullinan Hoffman, Latin America Correspondent GUADALAJARA, Mexico, October 6, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The Archdiocese of Guadalajara has said that the government of Mexico City is behaving like a “dictatorship” by filing a complaint with the nation’s Secretariat of Governance in response to the archbishop’s opposition to the city’s abortionist and homosexualist policies. In a communiqué addressing the legal complaint filed by the city, the archdiocese stated that, “We are waiting the terms in which Governance will present the issue, to give a […]

Commentary by Fr. Frank Pavone, Priests for Life October 14th, 2010 (PriestsforLife.org) – It is dismaying to hear some pro-life politicians calling for a “truce” on social issues like abortion – possible White House contenders Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels and Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour among them. Their suggestion is that it’s more important to do whatever is necessary to get elected than to worry about issues that appear to be intractable. This tactic is akin to the pro-life and pro-abortion movements agreeing to disagree, an option often considered a reasonable one. It does not require that either side change its […]

By Patrick B. Craine OTTAWA, Ontario, October 13, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The Canadian government is set to insert references to Canada’s recognition of homosexual “marriage” and “rights” into a revision of its study guide for immigrants applying for Canadian citizenship, reports Postmedia. The current version of “Discover Canada: The Rights and Responsibilities of Citizenship,” released last November, makes no mention of homosexual “rights.”  It does, however, include a photo of Olympic gold medallist Mark Tewksbury that identified him as a homosexual activist.  The new study guide replaced the 1995 version developed by the Liberals. Rick Dykstra, parliamentary secretary for Immigration […]

By Hilary White ROME, October 12, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The de-Christianization of Europe, the “removal of Christian principles and institutions from the daily life of a country,” has created a religious and social vacuum that is being filled by Islam, a prominent U.S. Catholic speaker said on Thursday. Raymond de Souza, the Program Director for Portuguese-speaking countries for Human Life International told an audience of the world’s pro-life and pro-family leaders that “Europe … is being culturally Islamized.” “The world in general, and the West in particular, is undergoing a tragic process of de-Christianization. Christian principles, values and institutions have […]

Friday September 24, 2010 Pastors Gear Up to Challenge Tax-Exempt Regulations on Pulpit Freedom Sunday LEAWOOD, Kansas, September 24, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) — One hundred pastors nationwide will be participating in the Alliance Defense Fund’s third annual Pulpit Freedom Sunday on September 26, braving potential challenges to their tax-exempt status by educating their congregations about the candidates in this upcoming election in the light of their Christian faith. The pastors say they are exercising their constitutional right to free religious expression, despite a problematic Internal Revenue Service rule often invoked by activist groups looking to silence churches. Pulpit Freedom Sunday is […]

Friday October 8, 2010 U.S. Rep Seeks to Defend DOMA, Criticizes “Faint-Hearted” Obama Admin Efforts WASHINGTON, D.C., October 7, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The ranking Republican member of the House Judiciary Committee has petitioned to intervene as defendant in two cases brought against the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), amid speculation that Obama administration Department of Justice officials would fail adequately to defend the pro-marriage law. U.S. Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX) has argued that Obama’s Department of Justice (DOJ) is not doing enough to defend DOMA, and therefore asked a federal court Tuesday for permission to intervene. Smith is being […]

Thursday October 7, 2010 Carleton University Rep.: Pro-Life Students Arrested for Trespassing because of Content By Patrick B. Craine OTTAWA, Ontario, October 7, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – While Carleton University said earlier this week that it had five pro-life students arrested mainly because they had set up a display in an area on campus that the university claimed was “not normally permitted” for displays, a university representative today told LifeSiteNews.com that the real issue was “the nature of the content.” The students – four from Carleton and one from Queen’s University – were arrested around 9:00 a.m. Monday as they were […]

Thursday October 7, 2010 Democrats Hope Pro-Life Candidate Will be GOP Spoiler in Illinois Pro-Abort Senate Battle By Peter J. Smith CHICAGO, October 7, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – In Illinois voters are faced with two pro-abortion politicians slugging it out for the lead in the senate special election race. However one third party candidate is pro-life, and Democrats are hoping that his candidacy could end up having a spoiler effect on the GOP’s chances to cobble together a majority in the U.S. Senate. GOP’s Mark Kirk, who is presently serving in the U.S. House, and Democrat Alexi Giannoulias are about evenly […]

Monday October 16, 2000 BC PREMIER DEMANDS PHARMACISTS DISPENSE ‘EMERGENCY CONTRACEPTION’ VANCOUVER, Oct 16 (LSN.ca) – Premier Ujjal Dosanjh threatened “government action” Friday to ensure pharmacists will dispense abortifacient morning- after pills without a doctors prescription. The Vancouver Sun quotes the premier as saying, “I want to make sure we have the morning-after pill available to women in British Columbia, readily available and I want the doctors and the pharmacists to work together to end the jurisdictional squabble. I just want them to speed it up. I hope no government intervention is required because that is not my first preference.” […]

Friday August 11, 2000 OPRAH WINFREY SUPPORT FOR ABORTION AND HOMOSEXUALITY HOLLYWOOD, Aug 11 (LSN.ca) – Questions about the life and family values of TV talk show host Oprah Winfrey have surfaced after reports emerged that she has participated in both a pro-abortion conference and made a cameo appearance in a pro-homosexual television episode. In mid-February, Winfrey was the keynote speaker at a luncheon held by a group whose priority this year is to ensure that minors, without parental consent, maintain their access to contraceptives and abortion. Human Life International issued a press release objecting to Winfrey’s presence saying it […]

Tuesday August 1, 2000 BC LAUNCHING “MASSIVE” “EMERGENCY CONTRACEPTION” PILOT PROGRAM VANCOUVER, Aug 1 (LSN.ca) – The British Columbia government seems to have resolved legal problems associated with doling out abortifacient morning-after pills to women without a prescription from a doctor. Michelle Stewart, a spokeswoman for the BC Ministry of Health told the Toronto Star that “BC is launching a separate, massive pilot program in September involving emergency contraceptives . . . the program will distribute the pills through pharmacies and will not require women to obtain a prescription first.” For related news see: https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2000/july/00070604.html | Send Letter to Editor

Friday December 1, 2000 B.C. PHARMACISTS NOW “PRESCRIBING” MORNING AFTER PILLS VANCOUVER, Dec 1 (LSN.ca) – As of December 1st, B.C. women of all ages will be obtaining their emergency contraception directly from pharmacists. For the first time in history, a politician, Premier Ujjal Dosanjh changed the pharmacy bylaws so pharmacists can now “prescribe” a product directly to patients without their having to see a physician. Some B.C. pharmacists are petitioning the government to reverse this risky project. “It is not only pro-life pharmacists who are protesting,” says Vancouver pharmacist Cristina Alarcon, who represents B.C. Pharmacists for Conscience. “Our protest […]

Tuesday October 5, 2010 Vatican Cardinal: Artificial Procreation a “Shameful Form of Commerce” By John-Henry Westen in Rome ROME, October 5, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – With evident joy, Cardinal Ennio Antonelli, the president of the Pontifical Council for the Family, on Tuesday celebrated the opening Mass for the Human Life International World Prayer Congress for Life in Rome. The cardinal noted the dire situation of the world with regard to the culture for life: “Today, the hardness of heart that grieves the Lord and the Church, has widely spread around the world: abortion and euthanasia have become socially respectable choices, and […]

Tuesday October 5, 2010 Between the Boy and the Bridge — A Haunting Question Commentary by Albert Mohler, President, Southern Baptist Seminary Tuesday, October 5, 2010 (AlbertMohler.com) – By all accounts Tyler Clementi was an 18-year-old young man who was excited to be a freshman in college, gifted as a violinist, and looking forward to the future. All that changed last week when he walked out onto the massive George Washington Bridge that connects New York with New Jersey and jumped 200 feet to his death. The last few days of Tyler Clementi’s life were a cauldron of confusions. Over […]

Tuesday October 5, 2010 Brazilian Presidential Frontrunner Loses First Round Vote – Abortion the Key Issue By Julio Severo and Matthew Cullinan Hoffman BRASÍLIA, Brazil, October 5, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) — The abortion issue was the principle reason that Brazilian frontrunner Dilma Rousseff failed to win a majority in Sunday’s presidential elections, according to the Brazllian press. Polls in the weeks leading up to the election had consistently given Rousseff, who represents the ruling Labor Party, a victory of 59-51%. However, Rousseff managed to win only 47% of the vote after her lead dropped among Evangelical voters, following the distribution of […]

Wednesday October 6, 2010 James O’Keefe Has a Lot of Questions to Answer Commentary by John Jalsevac October 6, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – James O’Keefe has finally released a statement on the website of his organization Project Veritas, distancing himself from a bizarre and highly objectionable plan to prank (or “punk”) CNN reporter Abbie Boudreau. O’Keefe, you will remember, shot to fame last year when he released undercover video footage apparently showing staff members of ACORN giving advice on how to traffic underage prostitutes and to set up brothels. That video led to the firing of multiple ACORN employees, seriously undermined […]

Thursday October 7, 2010 U.S. Judge Delivers Setback to ObamaCare Foes By Peter J. Smith DETROIT, Michigan, October 7, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A federal judge in Detroit has delivered a setback to opponents of the national health care reform law passed in March, ruling that the individual insurance mandate and other aspects are constitutional. U.S. District Judge George Caram Steeh ruled Thursday that Congress has the authority to mandate that individuals carry health insurance by 2014 in the Affordable Care Act. Steeh said the commerce clause of the U.S. Constitution allows Congress to not only regulate economic activity, but also […]

Thursday October 7, 2010 U.S. Gov Infected Hundreds of Guatemalans with STDs in 1940s: Obama Admin Apologizes By Kathleen Gilbert WASHINGTON, D.C., October 7, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The U.S. government has issued a formal apology after it was discovered recently that the American government had infected hundreds of unwitting Guatemalans with syphilis and gonorrhea as part of a medical experiment between 1946-1948. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius condemned as “appalling” an unpublished study describing the U.S. Public Health Service’s trials on Guatemalans decades ago as they sought to test penicillin’s effectiveness […]

Wednesday October 6, 2010 ‘There’s So Many Basic Things Wrong Here’: Couple Urged Surrogate Mother to Abort By Patrick B. Craine VANCOUVER, British Columbia, October 6, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – More light has been shed on the web of legal and moral dilemmas surrounding artificial reproduction this week after a B.C. fertility doctor revealed a dispute between a couple and their surrogate over the couple’s desire to abort their baby. The National Post reports that the parents had discovered through a first trimester ultrasound that the child likely had Down syndrome. The surrogate, a mother of two, initially disagreed with the […]

Wednesday October 6, 2010 Congressman: Google-Searched Federal Audit on Obama Abortion Push in Kenya “Embarrassing” By Peter J. Smith WASHINGTON, D.C., October 6, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Pro-life U.S. Congressman Chris Smith of New Jersey this week blasted a just-released report commissioned by USAID’s inspector general (IG) on the Obama administration’s involvement in Kenya’s abortion-promoting constitution as “poorly researched,” “embarrassing,” and “a whitewash.” Smith, who is the ranking U.S. congressman on the House of Representative’s Africa panel and co-chair of the Congressional Pro-life Caucus, had asked U.S. Agency for International Development’s IG Donald Gambatesa for a detailed report into allegations that […]

Friday October 1, 2010 Pope Calls for Worldwide Vigil for All Nascent Human Life October 1, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – On Saturday, November 27th at St. Peter’s Basilica, Pope Benedict XVI will celebrate a “Vigil for All Nascent Human Life” coinciding with first vespers of the First Sunday of Advent. The Holy Father has also requested that “all Diocesan Bishops (and their equivalent) of every particular church preside in analogous celebrations involving the faithful in their respective parishes, religious communities, associations and movements.” An outline for the Vigil was provided from the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the […]

Wednesday October 6, 2010 Planned Parenthood Telemed Abortion Safety Claims Cast into Doubt by Data, Informant DES MOINES, Iowa, October 6, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – New data released in the United States and Australia concerning complication rates for the abortion pill RU-486 point to a possible cover-up of the true complication rate for “telemed abortions” done by Planned Parenthood of the Heartland (PPH) in Iowa, reports Operation Rescue. On September 30, 2010, the Centers for Disease Control revealed in the New England Journal of Medicine that two more deaths linked to RU-486 (also known as Mifepristone or Mifeprex) were reported: one […]

Wednesday October 6, 2010 Ontario Catholic College Accused of “False Compassion” in Hosting Homosexual Activist By Patrick B. Craine LONDON, Ontario, October 6, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – In hosting a talk this month by a leading U.S. homosexual activist, King’s University-College, a Catholic institution affiliated with the University of Western, is “caving into a false compassion which neuters the healthy teachings of the Church,” says David MacDonald, a Canadian Christian musician and speaker who left the homosexual lifestyle. Jody Huckaby, executive director of PFLAG (Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays), is set to deliver a talk at the College […]

Tuesday October 5, 2010 Rick Scott Seizes Lead over Pro-Abort Emily’s List Challenger in Florida Governor’s Race By Peter J. Smith MIAMI, Florida, October 5, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Pro-life and Tea Party-backed candidate Rick Scott has now pulled ahead of his pro-abortion challenger Alex Sink in the Sunshine State’s gubernatorial contest. A new Sunshine State News Poll now has Scott, a Republican, as “favored to win” on November’s election day against Sink, the Democrat nominee. While that poll shows Scott leading with 44 percent of the vote to Sink’s 42 percent, and 14 percent undecided, which is all within the […]

Tuesday October 5, 2010 138 Babies Spared from Abortion…So Far: 40 Days for Life Commentary by Shawn Carney, 40 Days for Life October 5, 2010 (40DaysforLife.com) – Thus far during this current 40 Days for Life campaign, we have reports of … 138 lives that have been saved from abortion — that we know of! Take a look at the stories behind those numbers: LAS VEGAS, NEVADA The 40 Days for Life vigil in Las Vegas is held outside an abortion center that is on a cul-de-sac. Just next to the abortion center is First Choice Pregnancy Center. Anyone going […]

WASHINGTON, D.C., October 7, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The ranking Republican member of the House Judiciary Committee has petitioned to intervene as defendant in two cases brought against the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), amid speculation that Obama administration Department of Justice officials would fail adequately to defend the pro-marriage law. U.S. Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX) has argued that Obama's Department of Justice (DOJ) is not doing enough to defend DOMA, and therefore asked a federal court Tuesday for permission to intervene. Smith is being represented by the Alliance Defense Fund. The motion argues that the act, which defines marriage […]

Friday April 16, 2010 Translation of Notice of Clarification by Archbishop Fernando Saburido on Abortion Source: Archdiocesan website, dated April 15, 2010 https://www.arquidioceseolindarecife.org.br/noticias1.htm NOTICE OF CLARIFICATION In the face of the misunderstanding resulting from an interview with me published in the Diário de Pernambuco, on the 10th of the current month, regarding ABORTION, I would like to clarify the following points: 1. I share, in all senses, the orientation of our Holy Church which defends life and does not admit, in any hypothesis, that it be eliminated because it is a gift of God and it is only proper for […]

Thursday June 24, 2010 New Bill Introduced to Combat Child Sex-Trafficking within U.S. By Peter J. Smith WASHINGTON, D.C., June 24, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – New legislation designed to aggressively address the sexual exploitation of children by sex-traffickers was introduced into the House of Representatives this week by U.S. Representatives Carolyn Maloney (NY-14) and Chris Smith (NJ-04). The bill would add $45 million to law enforcement and victim-assistance efforts. Maloney and Smith are co-chairs of the Congressional Caucus on Human Trafficking. They said the proposed law (H.R. 5575) is a legislative response to the findings of a 2009 study called the […]

Monday October 4, 2010 Police Detain Young California Activists for Pro-Life Witness on Public Sidewalk NIPOMO, California, October 4, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Members of the Survivors’ Campus Life Team were detained for holding graphic images and advocating the pro-life message on public sidewalks in front of Nipomo High School on Monday, September 27, 2010. The activists were offering literature to students as they left the school when they were approached by campus administrators and guards shortly after school dismissal and instructed to leave the area or face arrest. According to the Survivers, Principal Johnson and San Luis Obispo County Sheriff […]

Friday October 1, 2010 Homosexual Agenda Safe in U.K’s Labour Party Under New Leader Miliband By Hilary White MANCHESTER, October 1, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Already dubbed “Red Ed” by the media, Edward Miliband, the newly elected leader of Britain’s Labour Party, has indicated his intention of continuing the anti-family and anti-life policies established for the party under former Prime Ministers Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. At the party’s leadership conference in Manchester, Miliband, an atheist, re-committed the party to the social re-engineering project started under Blair and Brown that created “New Labour.” Last month Miliband pledged that the Labour party […]

Friday October 1, 2010 Pro-Lifers Will Fail Unless We Confront the ‘Corruption of Innocence’, Says Leader By Patrick B. Craine October 1, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – If the pro-life movement is to gain any headway, pro-life leaders must confront the root of the attack against the culture of life – the corruption of innocence through sex education and contraception, says Mercedes Arzu Wilson, founder and president of Family of the Americas and a pioneer in the natural family planning movement. “We have been ignoring the root of the problem all these years,” says Wilson. “The diabolical forces don’t care how much […]

Wednesday July 7, 2010 Philippine Legislators Attempting to Resurrect Controversial Reproductive Health Bill By James Tillman MANILLA, Philippines, July 7, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – At least two representatives in the Philippine legislature have re-filed a controversial Reproductive Health (RH) bill. The bill would bring about government-sponsored promotion of contraception and sex education. “If they will continue to push for this Reproductive Health Bill, the Church will definitely make known its stand and oppose it,” Caloocan Bishop Deogracias Iniguez said in response. The bill has been introduced several times in previous congresses. Only in the last did it get past committee and […]

Commentary by Steve Jalsevac in Rome ROME, Italy, October 6, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Readers may have noticed that Editor-in-Chief John-Henry Westen and myself have been mostly absent from LifeSiteNews reports for over a week. That is because we have been in Rome since September 26. The trip, which has included several meetings with Vatican officials, plus on-going meetings with international pro-life leaders posted in Rome and with others in attendance at an HLI conference, has been exceptionally busy and productive. At the same time we have had to deal with a few unpleasant surprises for LSN while we have been […]

By Patrick B. Craine VANCOUVER, British Columbia, October 6, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – More light has been shed on the web of legal and moral dilemmas surrounding artificial reproduction this week after a B.C. fertility doctor revealed a dispute between a couple and their surrogate over the couple’s desire to abort their baby.  The National Post reports that the parents had discovered through a first trimester ultrasound that the child likely had Down syndrome. The surrogate, a mother of two, initially disagreed with the parents and decided to give birth to the child; however, she eventually decided to abort, according to […]

Tuesday September 28, 2010 Sixty Thousand Brazilians Attend Pro-Life Demonstration Led by Controversial Bishop By Matthew Cullinan Hoffman, Latin America Correspondent RECIFE, Brazil, September 27, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Over sixty thousand Brazilians attended a pro-life rally held on Sunday by the Archbishop of Olinda e Recife, Fernando Saburido. The archbishop is a controversial figure due to statements he has made in recent months that appeared to contradict the Catholic Church’s teaching on human life and family. But in a speech delivered to the crowd, Saburido condemned the movement to legalize abortion in Brazil, which is being spearheaded by members of […]

Friday September 17, 2010 Congressman Says Internet-Fueled Sex Trafficking Too Big for Government Alone By Peter J. Smith WASHINGTON, D.C., September 17, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Congressman Chris Smith (R-N.J.) told a House subcommittee on Wednesday that stronger efforts need to be made to curb the scourge of child sex-trafficking, which has gained new fuel through the internet. Such an effort must involve stronger laws, but also needs the full and voluntary cooperation of foreign governments, businesses, and private citizens, he said. “Driven by demand and fueled by the ease and secrecy of the internet, we are facing a crisis of […]

Friday October 1, 2010 Researchers Announce Embryo-Free Breakthrough in Stem Cell Research By Kathleen Gilbert BOSTON, October 1, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A faster and more efficient way of deriving stem cells from ordinary skin cells has been discovered, announced scientists in Boston Thursday, who say their discovery will revolutionize an already-booming field of medical advances through adult stem cells. Meanwhile, stem cells derived from human embryos cannot claim even one success in human treatment. A technique that develops ordinary cells into stem cells, or induced pluripotent stem (IPS) cells, was created four years ago; however, because that procedure tampered with […]

Friday October 1, 2010 U.S. House Reapproves Funding for Ethical Cord Blood Stem Cells By Peter J. Smith WASHINGTON, D.C., October 1, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Hope for future therapies and cures from stem cell research got a big boost Thursday, when the U.S. House of Representatives voted to renew funding for non-controversial work in stem cells derived from umbilical cord blood over the next five years. The House reauthorized the “Stem Cell Therapeutic and Research Act,” authored by New Jersey Republican Rep. Chris Smith in 2005, with a unanimous voice vote. “The Stem Cell Therapeutic and Research Reauthorization Act of […]

By Kathleen Gilbert ARLINGTON, Virginia, October 5, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – An American organization of pro-life students has expressed solidarity with a group of Canadian students arrested Monday morning for setting up a display against abortion on the campus of Carleton University in Ottawa. Ruth Lobo, James Shaw, Nicholas MacLeod, and Craig Stewart were joined by Zuza Kurzawa from Queen’s University in Ontario. All five were taken into custody by police for setting up a Genocide Awareness Project display on the Tory Quad. The school had forbidden the group from displaying the images in the public area, allowing them to use […]

Tuesday February 2, 2010 Pope Drops Strong Hint to English Bishops: Get with the Program By Hilary White ROME February 2, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Pope Benedict XVI has urged the Catholic bishops of England and Wales to stand firm against proposed legislation that he said opposes the natural law, and to present the Catholic Church’s moral teaching in the face of the acceptance of moral relativism. The pope’s remarks are being interpreted by the media as being aimed at the Equality Bill that the Catholic bishops have warned will force churches to violate their religious beliefs on homosexuality, marriage and […]

Friday October 1, 2010 Amnesty International Demands Decriminalization of Abortion throughout Latin America By Matthew Cullinan Hoffman, Latin America Correspondent October 1, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Amnesty International has issued a press release demanding the legalization of abortion throughout Latin America. “All regulations should be repealed that sanction or permit the imprisonment of women and children who seek or obtain an abortion under any circumstance,” said Amnesty International (AI) through its affiliate in Asunción, Paraguay. Claiming that it is “shameful” that Latin Americans continue to prohibit the killing of unborn children, AI added that “the penalization of abortion denies to pregnant […]

By Peter J. Smith DENVER, Colorado, October 4, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Sponsors of Colorado’s personhood amendment lost their legal challenge against this year’s state voter’s guide, the Colorado Blue Book, which they alleged was biased and filled with false statements. Last week, a district judge dismissed the lawsuit on the grounds that the courts did not have the jurisdiction to overrule the Legislative Council, the authors of the voter’s guide. Denver District Judge Robert Hyatt also contended as a practical matter that it was too late to intervene before the general election, as all 1.8 million Coloradans had already received […]

Wednesday September 29, 2010 Texas AG Tightens Licensing/Informed Consent Requirements for Abortion Clinics By Peter J. Smith AUSTIN, Texas, September 29, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The Attorney General of Texas released an opinion tightening the licensing requirements for clinics that dispense abortion drugs, as well as the state’s informed consent laws for women seeking an abortion. Responding to a request from Texas Rep. Franke Corte jr. (R- San Antonio) for clarification, AG Greg Abbott declared that abortion facilities must stop using prerecorded phone calls or one-way conference calls to inform women of the risks of abortion in order to comply with […]

Monday February 1, 2010 U.K. Mother Acquitted in Assisted Suicide Case Becomes Poster Girl for Euthanasia Advocates By Hilary White LONDON, February 1, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Since Kay Gilderdale of Stonegate, East Sussex, was acquitted of murder charges in the death of her daughter, she has been transformed into the poster-girl of Britain’s increasingly vocal and popular euthanasia movement. Kay Gilderale admitted to assisting the suicide of her 31-year-old daughter Lynn, who had suffered from Myalgic Encephalopathy for 17 years. Lynn’s illness, also called Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, had left her severely disabled, in pain and expressing her desire for suicide. […]

Thursday September 30, 2010 Divorce — The Scandal of the Evangelical Conscience Commentary by Albert Mohler Note: Albert Mohler is the president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary – the flagship school of the Southern Baptist Convention and one of the largest seminaries in the world. Thursday, September 30, 2010 (AlbertMohler.com) – Mark A. Smith, who teaches political science at the University of Washington, pays close attention to what is now commonly called the “culture war” in America. Though the roots of this cultural conflict reach back to the 1960s, the deep divide over social and moral issues became almost […]

Thursday September 30, 2010 Embattled Abortionist Claims States Can’t Prosecute over Interstate Abortion Scheme By Kathleen Gilbert VOORHEES, New Jersey, September 30, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A New Jersey abortionist under criminal investigation has made an attempt to slip out of prosecutors’ grasp by claiming that neither New Jersey nor Maryland, where he ferried his clients mid-abortion to complete the late-term procedures, are in a position to sue him. Stephen Chase Brigham, who once operated an empire of abortion clinics in four states, has come under scrutiny after a botched abortion last month led government officials to uncover his practice of […]

Thursday September 30, 2010 Catholic Schools in Singapore Forced to Present Condom-Promoting Sex-Ed Program By Thaddeus M. Baklinski SINGAPORE, September 30, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A report by Singapore Catholic News says that a sexuality-education program based on Catholic moral principles that has been used in the country for 23 years has been replaced by a Ministry of Education program. The new program, which is mandated for both secular and religious schools, heavily promotes the use of condoms to high school and junior college students. “After 23 years of providing their sexuality-education programme in schools, Family Life Society (FLS) has failed […]

Wednesday September 29, 2010 Senate Markup Postponed for Abortion-Friendly Int’l Violence Against Women Act By Kathleen Gilbert WASHINGTON, D.C., September 29, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The Senate committee markup of a $1 billion bill pro-life leaders say they fear could become an engine for more abortion funding overseas has been postponed. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee office confirmed to LifeSiteNews.com Wednesday afternoon that the meeting in which IVAWA was to be discussed had been postponed from its original slot at 2:15pm Wednesday, but not yet rescheduled. The vote may wait until after the Senate goes on recess, which a committee spokesperson […]

Wednesday September 29, 2010 D.C. Court Allows Embryonic Stem Cell Research to Continue During Appeals Process By Peter J. Smith WASHINGTON, D.C., September 9, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The U.S. Court of Appeals in the District of Columbia has ordered that a district judge’s order blocking the National Institute of Health’s (NIH) embryo-destroying stem-cell research will be suspended while the appeals process works itself out. The order from Appeals Court judges Judith Rogers, Thomas Griffith, and Brett Kavanaugh, followed two days after oral arguments for and against U.S. District Chief Judge Royce Lamberth’s August 23 injunction that banned the NIH from […]

Tuesday September 28, 2010 Brazilian Supermodel Says U.S. Agency Pressured Her to Have Abortion By Matthew Cullinan Hoffman, Latin America Correspondent BRAZIL, September 28, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Brazilian supermodel Isabeli Fontana has revealed in a recent interview that she was pressured by a U.S. modeling agency to terminate the life of her unborn child when she became pregnant for the first time. Fontana told Brazil’s Istoé magazine that after modeling during her adolescence, she decided to leave her mother’s home at the age of 18 and live with her boyfriend. When she became pregnant at the age of 19 with […]

Tuesday September 28, 2010 School Must Allow ‘Transgender’ 6th Grader to Use Girls’ Bathroom: Maine Human Rights Panel By Kathleen Gilbert AUGUSTA, Maine, September 28, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The Maine Human Rights Commission (HRC) has ruled that a middle school unlawfully discriminated against a “transgender” sixth-grade boy by disallowing the child from entering a girls’ bathroom and instead assigning him his own separate bathroom. The matter concerned Orono Middle School’s treatment of a child whose parents have insisted has a right to use a girl’s bathroom, despite being biologically male, because of his chosen gender identity. “In choosing to disallow […]

Wednesday June 16, 2010 The Reverse Side of the News Editor’s Note: Hilary White is the LifeSiteNews European and Vatican Correspondent and one of LSN’s most experienced and knowledgeable persons on the myriad issues we cover. In addition to covering European and Vatican issues she has specialized in reporting on the complex reproductive technologies issues. Hilary has written a very detailed Briefing Book for Legislators on Reproductive Technologies which she is currently updating. Hello, Some years ago, I had a Toronto Slovak priest friend who was ordained in then communist Czechoslovakia. While secretly studying for the priesthood he took jobs […]

Wednesday September 29, 2010 UK Bishops Support for Homosexualist Agenda Based on Vatican-Rejected 2005 Policy By Hilary White ROME, September 27, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Last Monday, when the head of the Catholic Bishops of England and Wales (CBEW) told a BBC interviewer that the U.K. bishops had not opposed the creation of legal civil partnerships for homosexuals, he was speaking from a longstanding policy that was published in 2005. But a source close to the CBEW has told LifeSiteNews.com that that policy was rejected by the Vatican for not being in line with Catholic teaching. The UK bishops, however, have […]

Friday July 30, 2010 In the LifeLight: 40 Days for Life Leader Talks Saving Lives, One Prayer at a Time By Peter J. Smith WASHINGTON, D.C., July 30, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Following the closure of yet another abortion facility deluged by pro-life prayer and fasting, one leader of the wildly successful 40 Days for Life campaign has discussed the principles behind a movement that has electrified the pro-life community around the world. Shawn Carney is Campaign Director for 40 Days for Life, a national prayer campaign to end abortion that has grown by leaps and bounds since it was launched […]

Friday July 30, 2010 Brazilian Government Joins UN to Urge Latin American Nations to Depenalize Abortion By Matthew Cullinan Hoffman, Latin America Correspondent BRASILIA, July 29, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The Brazilian government has signed a UN-sponsored document endorsing the depenalization of abortion throughout Latin America. The legally non-binding document, entitled the “Brasilia Consensus,” was issued by the Eleventh Regional Conference on Latin American and Caribbean Women (CEPAL) meeting in Brazil’s capital city. It contains numerous references, some oblique and others explicit, to measures in favor of abortion, homosexualism, contraception, and other anti-life and anti-family policies. In its section on “sexual […]

Tuesday September 28, 2010 Three Decades of Forced Abortion…and Counting: China to Continue One-Child Policy By Thaddeus M. Baklinski BEIJING, September 29, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – On Sept. 25, 1980, the Communist Party Central Committee issued a statement saying that “in 30 years, when our current extreme population growth eases, we can then adopt a different population policy.” But while the 30th anniversary of China’s coercive one-child policy came and went this past week, the Chinese government has shown no signs of easing the policy, and instead expressed its intent to continue the use of forced abortion and sterilization, with no […]

Monday September 27, 2010 Philippines President Says Government Will Provide Contraceptives to the Poor Church spokesman says Aquino is ‘selling out the Filipino soul’ for American dollars By Thaddeus M. Baklinski MANILA, September 27,2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – President Benigno Aquino III said today that the Philippine government will provide contraceptives to poor couples who request them. “I think the government is obligated to inform everybody of the responsibilities of their choices. At the end of the day, government might provide assistance to those who are without means if they want to employ a particular method,” Mr. Aquino said, during a satellite […]

Monday September 27, 2010 Abortionist Romeo Ferrer Closes Abortion Facility, Ending 20-Year Reign of Terror BALTIMORE, September 27, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Notorious abortionist Romeo Ferrer is closing his Severna Park, Maryland, abortion facility after a 10-year campaign by dedicated pro-life organizations and the suspension of his medical license by the Maryland Board of Physicians. Pro-life activists learned September 23 that the Gynecare Center is not scheduling new appointments and does not have a doctor to perform the procedure. The staff answering the phone indicated they are closing the facility. Ferrer’s license was abruptly revoked on September 8 after the Board […]

Friday August 6, 2010 Prominent Lutheran Pastor: Yes, I Struggle with Same-Sex Attraction By Peter J. Smith MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota, August 6, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Rev. Tom Brock is a senior pastor at Hope Lutheran Church in North Minneapolis who recently became the center of a controversy after his personal struggles with same-sex attraction were made public. Earlier in June, an undercover journalist with the Minnesota-based homosexual publication “Lavender” infiltrated and exposed Brock’s attendance at a local chapter of Courage, a Catholic-run, prayer-based support group for men struggling with unwanted same-sex attractions. Brock, 57 years old and a virgin by his […]