The number of abortions performed in the U.S. dropped from 1,221,585 in 1996 to 1,184,758 in 1997 – the lowest level in two decades, according to today’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. The CDC announced a second low, noting that the number of abortions for every 1,000 live births dropped from 314 in 1996 to 305 in 1997, the lowest national abortion ratio since 1975.
The UN has admitted that it has played a role in spreading the AIDS virus through its “peacekeepers”, reports the LA Times today. Peacekeepers have been found to have sex with local prostitutes in the countries where they are stationed thus introducing AIDS strains and carrying some new strains home.
The Federalist Digest, a weekly analysis of American news distributed on the Internet, reported today that in Maryland, “a Montgomery County Circuit Court Judge claimed an 11-year- old girl was to blame for a sexual assault by a 23-year-old man she ‘met’ through an Internet chat room. ‘It takes two to tango,’ he said.”
The National Post reports today that the federal government has filed its submission in defence of Canadian laws against child pornography in advance of the upcoming Supreme Court of Canada hearing beginning January 18.
Catholic World News reported today that L’Osservatore Romano has condemned the distribution of the “morning-after pill” in French schools saying the “morning-after pill, … has the effect of destroying an egg which has already been fertilized, and thus is a human embryo, rather than by preventing conception.” “The intention to abort is manifest – for the adolescent and for the public authorities as well.”
Scientists in England believe they have stumbled upon research that will lead to the creation of a male contraceptive pill.