Recent Catholic News

TALLAHASSEE, Fla., Oct 31 (LSN) – The Florida Supreme Court ruled Thursday that a mother who shot her child in her womb could not be prosecuted for killing the fetus. In 1994 Kawana Ashley, then 19, fired a .22 caliber bullet into her abdomen attempting to kill the 25 week old child in her womb. She claimed she could not afford to pay a doctor to kill the baby for her. The baby, named Britanny, was delivered by emergency Caesarean section with a bullet wound in the wrist. Brittany died 15 days later of complications brought on by the shooting. […]

OTTAWA, Oct 31 (LSN) – The Supreme Court of Canada today, in a 7-2 decision, denied children in the womb protection from harm caused by their mothers. The case involved a glue-sniffing mother who was ordered by the Children’s Aid Society in Winnipeg to receive treatment for her addiction for fear of harm to the five month old child in her womb. The Manitoba Court of Queen’s Bench upheld the agency’s right to force the woman into a program, but the ruling was overturned by the Manitoba Court of Appeal, which said the law is clear on the issue and […]

ROMULUS, Mich., Oct 30 (LSN) – John O’Haria, 54, a former probation officer who had been living in a New York City nursing home, was discovered dead in a Michigan motel room. Nearby was a note identifying O’Haria as a Kevorkian patient and ordering police to not investigate. Police investigated the body for fear of Kevorkian’s promise to harvest organs from his victims but found no identifiable tampering. A spokesman for the Wayne County Medical Examiner’s office said an autopsy would be performed Thursday.

BATTLEFORD, Sask., Oct 30 (LSN) – Jurors in the case against Robert Latimer heard more today from Latimer’s written confession to police. RCMP Sgt. Ken Lyons testified that Latimer considered shooting his daughter in the head and calling in Jack Kevorkian before deciding on the poisoning method he used to kill his daughter.

Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute New York City (October 29)- Citing UNICEF promotion of abortion overseas, the Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute today alerted parents concerning the annual children’s collection for the UN agency. “We urge all parents not to give to UNICEF this year and not to allow their children to assist in UNICEF’s annual Halloween collection,” said Austin Ruse, Deputy Director of the Institute. Long, a supporter of UNICEF’s legitimate mission, said last year the Holy See removed its annual donation to the agency citing four concerns about UNICEF and family planning

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands, Oct 29 (LSN) – A parliamentary committee this week approved a bill enshrining in federal law the right of gays and lesbians to adopt children and would also sanction same-sex marriages. The legislation, said to have broad backing in Parliament and a good shot at passage early in 1998, also would give gay couples the same pension, inheritance and social security rights as normal married couples.

INTERNET, Oct 29 (LSN) – The American Family Association and the Christian Family Network have alerted pro-family internet users to an MSNBC online poll about homosexuality in the schoolroom. At 9:00 AM today, out of 1,350 votes, the ‘no’ votes outweighed the ‘yes’ votes in answer to both questions 80% to 20%. This poll is in response to a decision by the Nebo School District (just South of Salt Lake City, Utah) to remove Wendy Weaver from her job as volleyball coach after she divorced her husband and chose to pursue a lesbian relationship with another woman. The school officials, […]

BATTLEFORD, Saskatchewan, Oct 29 (LSN) – Evidence was presented in court today regarding Latimer’s written confession to police of the murder of his daughter. Latimer informed police in stark detail how he carried 12 year old Tracy out to a shed on the family farm, put her inside a pick-up truck and ran a hose from the exhaust pipe into the cab. He then sat and watched for half an hour until his daughter was dead.

WASHINGTON, Oct 29 (LSN) – Hundreds of protesters gather daily at the sites where US President Bill Clinton entertains visiting Chinese President Jiang Zemin. Protesters decry the Chinese torture of Christians, the practice of forced abortions (within the one-child policy), and the selling of organs from executed prisoners. Rep. Christopher Smith, recounted the Chinese government recent history of “Torture, mass public executions, forced abortion and sterilization, the arrest and imprisonment of democracy advocates and religious.’’ Critics noted that Clinton rolled out the red carpet for Jiang, while Jiang’s regime rolled out the tanks at Tiananmen Square. Demonstrators criticized not only […]

TORONTO, Oct 29 (LSN) – Canadian centres for organ transplants are seriously looking at the proposal of organ harvesting. CTV news reported today, that the controversial procedure being performed in the US is being carefully studied by Canada’s transplant centres with the need for organs in the country now double the number of available donors. Under the new procedure, doctors ‘‘trigger’’ the death of the patients, by removing life support, and wait two minutes for the heart to stop beating, then remove the organs. Doctors supporting the mehod produced financial and compassionate reasons for the procedure. Pro-life leaders feel that […]