International Right to Life Federation, Inc.
Vol. 12 No. 1
(January/February 2001)
Abortion Legal in Mexico City?
The Federal District in Mexico, which includes populace Mexico City, has recently changed its restrictive abortion law. The new law reduces the maximum penalty for doing an abortion, permits abortion in cases of fetal impairment as well as the previous rape and life exceptions, but now also permits it for a woman’s health. As is well known, when abortion is permitted for health, you have abortion on demand.
We understand that this will go to a vote of the people early next year.
Cytotec Linked to Eight Deaths
Mother Jones is a magazine with a strong pro-abortion editorial policy. It is therefore interesting to note that it has obtained U.S. Food and Drug Administration figures detailing 30 cases of rupture of the womb among women who were given the drug Cytotec (misoprostol). Of these 30 cases, eight babies died. Cytotec is the second of two drugs that are used for chemical abortions, the other being RU 486. It is noted that the drug’s manufacturer, the Searle Company, sent a recent letter nationwide to doctors warning that “Cytotec administration by any route is contraindicated in women who are pregnant.”
Burundi – Harrassment by CEDAW
The United Nations is at it again. Its Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) met recently and urged the nation of Burundi to decriminalize abortion. Such recommendation carries no direct legal compulsion, but in such a country, it does have a significant impact.
Netherlands- How Many Are Killed?
With passage by the Lower House of a new Dutch law officializing the current practice of euthanasia, much has been printed internationally. The most common figure quoted has been “3,663 cases of euthanasia and assisted suicide.” This has been listed as a quote from the government-appointed Remmelink Committee, which gave its most recent report in 1995.
Among practicing physicians in Holland, it is fully understood that this number is only the tip of the iceberg. The following is a quote from Karl Gunning, M.D, founder and president of the World Federation of Doctors Who Respect Life, a highly respected authority on the actual situation. He has stated: “But besides these cases of euthanasia, other situations of life-ending treatment, active or withholding, with or without the request of the patient, with or without the doctor’s intention to kill, were investigated. Intensifying pain treatment and refraining from further treatment are considered to be ‘normal medical treatment’, even when the doctor has the intention, or partly the intention, to end the patient’s life. If all cases in which a patient died after a decision by the doctor to hasten the end of his life are counted together, then we get the following picture. On a total annual mortality of nearly 136,000 in Holland in 1995, in over 26,000 cases (that is almost 20% of all deaths), a doctor made the decision to shorten the patient’s life. In many of these cases, there was no request by the patient.” According to multiple personal testimony that your editor has received from practicing physicians in Holland, I am told that at least 50% of these euthanasia or assisted suicide cases were done by a doctor without the patient’s knowledge or consent. So, let’s be more objective in reporting cases. It’s not just 3,663; it’s more like 26,000.
Belgium – Euthanasia
An unofficial, interesting public opinion poll was recently published in Belgium’s Metro, a newsletter of their railroad system. We do not have the exact wording of the question and so we do not know whether or not it led the answer, but the published results were that 9 out of 10 Belgian people were in favor of legalizing euthanasia. If this actually reflects their public opinion, and if their Parliament is as heavily in favor of legalizing euthanasia as reports indicate, it’s probably only a matter of time until such a law is passed.
RU 486 Legalized in Taiwan
Sadly, another country, Taiwan, has joined the list of those offering chemical abortion to its people. In his announcement, the Minister of Health mislabeled its use as “offering women an alternative to abortion.” May we gently correct him, for he has not offered an alternative to abortion, but merely another method of abortion.
France – A Bad Precedent
The highest court in France, on November 18 (N.Y. Times), ruled that a severely handicapped 17-year old-boy could demand compensation for being born rather than being aborted. The parents of the deaf, retarded and partially blind boy had appealed on the grounds that, having known that the mother had a case of German measles, the doctor should have informed the parents of the possibility of severe disability in time for them to kill him in the womb.
Cambridge, England – Stem Cells
Dr. I. Abuljadayel, a researcher in Cambridge, has apparently discovered a way of converting mature adult cells into embryonic stem cells. These cells are said to be able to produce various new body tissues and organs. The doctor calls this retro differentiation. Another professor, A. Newland of the Royal London Hospital Medical School, has reproduced these results. If this new discovery holds up and can be replicated, it would eliminate the need for obtaining embryonic stem cells by killing living human embryos.
Canada Election
Incumbent Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien was returned to office by a significant plurality of votes. His liberal party, which is strongly pro-abortion, achieved 172 seats, needing 151 for a majority. The brand new Alliance Party of Stockwell Day, which was pro-life, achieved approximately 25% of the votes. Its votes came largely from the West, with only a tiny handful from the province of Ontario which went heavily to the liberal candidate Chretien. The bad news is that the pro-aborts won again. The good news is that there actually now is a major political party in Canada that has a pro-life policy. Let’s hope it grows progressively in the years ahead.
Kevorkian “Patients” Not Terminally Ill
A letter to the New England Journal of Medicine reports on an analysis of 69 patients who were assisted in killing themselves by Jack Kevorkian before he went to prison. Only 17 of the 69 patients, after autopsy examination, were found to be terminally ill with a life expectancy of less than six months. The remaining 52 had a “recent decline in health status but were not terminally ill.” It showed that “persons who were divorced or who had never married were over-represented among his victims.” Almost three-fourths were women, which is interesting because a majority of suicides are by men. In five of the cases, examination after death was unable to confirm any physical disease at all.
Irish Abortion Recommendation
An all-party committee set up by the government to address the issue of abortion in Ireland has published its results. It outlines three options: 1) Favored by the Fine Gale Party – no change. 2) Favored by the Labor Party – maintain legal abortion to save the life of the mother and also when the mother is considered to be at risk of suicide. 3) Favored by Fiannna Fail Party – maintain “life of the mother” exception, cancel judicial ruling allowing abortion when suicide is threatened.
Cloning OK in Britain
Sadly, Britain’s House of Lords followed the House of Commons, locking in new government rules. These will allow cloning of unborn children for use in destructive stem cell research. Fierce debate had raged for seven hours, but then followed a pattern set by the Lower House. The vote was 2 to 1 to approve such research. Prime Minister Tony Blair had argued vigorously for this bill, while pro-life leaders saw it as a step down a slippery slope to full human cloning. It is interesting to note that the European Parliament had unanimously urged Britain to stop such plans. This leaves Britain as the only country in Western Europe endorsing such destructive research.
Dr. Margaret White (London) with Dr. and Mrs. Willke when she recently lectured in the U.S.
Catholics for a Free Choice – Not Catholic
As we have mentioned in the past, the organization Catholics for a Free Choice is not a Catholic group but rather is a virulently anti-Catholic organization. Its members’ only relationship to the Catholic Church is one of bitter antagonism. Something new has come to our attention from the January/February edition of Philanthropy. It has reviewed recent grants to the CFFC organization and notes its total reliance on secular foundations and that it finds not a single major supporter whose program focus is legitimate Catholic philanthropy.
Dutch Floating Abortion Mill
A certain Rebecca Gomperts is seeking to raise $190,000 U.S., to charter a Dutch ship. It will park 12 miles off shore from nations that forbid abortions. She’s doing this through an Amsterdam- based Women on Waves Foundation. A proposal to “service” Malta raised heated controversy in that small island nation. Aside from the dangers of abortion itself, concerns listed include the safety of patients traveling to and from the ship and the question of follow-up care to avoid infection or other complications.
Australia – No Hybrid Embryos
The Australian Federal Parliament has passed legislation banning human cloning and the creation of hybrid embryos containing human DNA. An amendment proposed by Senator Brian Harradine, which would have extended the ban to all research on human embryos, was rejected.
South Africa
The abortifacient morning-after pill is now available from pharmacists, without a doctor’s prescription, in South Africa. It is marketed as Norlevo, which is the same as Levonelle-2 used in the U.K.
Swiss House Legalizes Abortion
The Switzerland House of Representatives voted to legalize abortion. It has approved a proposal to allow abortion in the first three months. On paper it has some restrictions. It would oblige women to submit a written request for an abortion, then they would have to discuss the decision with the abortionist. The abortionist then is supposed to inform her of the risks and alternatives. Obviously, these are simply paper requirements that mean nothing. It now goes to their Senate, but we are informed that, even with Senate approval, the issue very likely will go to a nationwide initiative referendum vote. Abortion is technically illegal in Switzerland, but rarely enforced, and reports are that there are approximately 12,000 abortions each year at present.
New 3-D Ultrasound
The Siemens Company is marketing a new high-tech ultrasound machine at a cost of $175,000 each. This produces images of the baby’s face and body so clear that you can recognize whether the little one resembles his father more than his mother. Both normal and abnormal characteristics of a fetal baby can be seen much more clearly with this new instrument. At present it is only available in a very few centers. We will be awaiting more details.
“Emergency Contraception”
So-called emergency contraception, more accurately termed emergency chemical abortion, is being pushed in many countries to be made available over the counter. They claim it would drastically reduce the number of unplanned pregnancies. What it would do when the woman has been fertilized, is to kill a developing human embryo at one week of life. It is not a contraceptive. There is one other fall-out from it that people should know and that is it can radically increase teenage promiscuity. If young people know that, if they have sex and worry about being pregnant, this can be “solved” by a pill a few days later. With this pill easily available, they will be far less careful and we will find them more likely to have promiscuous sex. So, it has two direct evil effects – the first to produce a very early chemical abortion, the second to increase the amount of promiscuous sex among teenagers.
An Obstetric Miracle?
A lady in Britain had lost two pre-born babies because of the RH incompatibility of her blood with the baby’s RH factor. Pregnant again, a major effort was made to save her child. The first of nine blood transfusions was given directly into the unborn child’s abdominal cavity, beginning at four months gestation. After the fifth month, immunoglobulin to protect the baby’s blood cells was administered into a tiny vein in his liver. The baby was born at 34 weeks and survived.
Japan Forbids Cloning
By a vote of 29 to 11, the Lower House, in November, passed a bill forbidding human cloning. It also forbids the creation of hybrid embryos between human and animal cells.
Contraception Did Not Prevent Abortions
Britain has had emergency abortion (emergency contraception) pills and has been pushing them for the last decade. If, in fact, these were to have reduced the pregnancy rate, they have certainly failed. Mr. Paul Tully, Deputy Director of Britain’s Society for the Protection of the Unborn Child, recently stated: “Despite nearly a million prescriptions for morning-after pills being issued each year, the number of registered abortions has continued to increase and was at its highest ever level in 1948.”
Moldavia Church Excommunicates
The Moldavian Orthodox Church has announced that it will excommunicate any parliamentary deputy who votes in favor of a law to legalize abortion. Metropolitan Vladimir, in an open letter to Parliament, said, “We will demand from the clergy not to give communion to those supporting abortions until they have changed their attitude to this crime… Would you or your children like to be a victim of abortion?” This was in response to a vote in favor of abortion on a first draft of a proposed law. Further votes will be necessary to legalize.
Morning-After Pill Banned in Ireland
Medical licensing authorities in Ireland have ruled that the morning-after pill is an abortifacient, not a contraceptive. The particular brand is Levonelle-2.
