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International
Right to Life Federation, Inc.
Vol.
13 No. 5
(September/October, 2002)
Victory at UN in Johannesburg
Once again, President Bush's nominees hanged tough and prevented
pro-abortion language from going into the final document
in Johannesburg. At the end of the UN World Summit On Sustainable
Development, all issues had been resolved except a last
minute attempt by pro-abortion forces to insert permissive
language on abortion. Our lobbyists again endured a marathon
in trying to prevent a pro-abortion victory. The following
email illustrates this:
"This email is being composed on the
third floor of the conference building at the Sandton, Johannesburg,
South Africa at 1:30 pm on Monday September 2nd. There have
been negotiations all week. We have been in this building
since 3:00 am and only got to bed at 4:20 am. The negotiations
remain in deadlock. The ministers from the European Union
and Canada are being very abusive toward the U.S.A. and
the G7 underdeveloped nations…Please pray, 1) that
we can get enough sleep, and 2) that the U.S.A. and the
G7 remain strong and brave and do not cave in to all of
the abuse and intimidation of the pro-abortion countries."
Happily, 48 hours later, final language was
accepted. Pro-lifers gained a little. Pro-abortionists gained
nothing, and the proposed language supporting abortion was
blocked. Agreement was finally reached at 1:30 am on September
4th. Our deep appreciation and warm thanks to Peter Smith
(above) and other members of the International Right to
Life team, who, once again, fought the good fight, endured
constant abuse, but came out victorious in the end. It would
not have happened without George Bush's pro-life appointments.
Abortion Death Camp Opens in Afghanistan
The British abortion group, Marie Stopes, has opened a "reproductive
health clinic" in Kabul. Feminists for Life president,
Serrin Foster, said, "Leave it to Marie Stopes to finish
what the Taliban couldn't - further violence against women
through abortion…When women ask for food for their
children's empty stomachs, Marie Stopes is ready to empty
their wombs."
Killing Baby Girls in India
This practice seems to be continuing unabated. A recently
passed Prenatal Diagnostic Test Act, which forbids ultrasound
tests for sex selection and outlaws attempts to conceal
a birth by secretly disposing of a baby's body, seems to
be widely ignored. A March 2001 census reports that India
now has 933 women for every 1,000 men. The worst areas are
Chandigarh City in Northern India, with 773 and parts of
Rajastahan City with 600 per 1,000. It would seem that unless
there is an immediate and drastic cultural change in India,
there is nothing but trouble ahead.
Australia's National Parliament Bans Cloning
Australia's National Parliament has voted unanimously to
ban all human cloning. This includes so-called "reproductive"
cloning, in which the cloned human embryo would be planted
in a woman's womb and allowed to come to term. It also includes
"research" or so-called "therapeutic"
cloning, in which the human clone is created, experimented
upon and then killed after the experiments.
European Union Parliament Votes Pro-Abortion
A controversial report had been submitted by Anne
Van Lancker on women's rights and equal opportunity. The
report had asserted that women's sexual and reproductive
rights, including abortion, are fundamental human rights
demanding special protection. It also urged the EU countries
to provide adolescents with sex education starting early
in life and to ensure access to comprehensive reproductive
services, including "emergency contraception."
No mention was made of parental notification or consent.
The report relied heavily on reports from the UN Cairo conference
in 1994 and the one held in Beijing in 1995. It totally
ignored the most recent children's conference recommendations
this spring in New York. In a narrow 280 to 240 vote, the
EU Parliament adopted this recommendation. It included a
recommendation that "abortion should be made legal,
safe, and accessible to all," and that all current
members should remove any remaining legal barriers to abortion.
This would include Ireland, Spain, Portugal, Poland and
Malta.
Parliament Rejects Feminists' Request
The European Parliament's Women's Rights Committee has rejected
an amendment proposed by the pro-abortion European Women's
Lobby. It would have re-instituted a monopoly on EU funding
for pro-abortion purposes for women's groups. Pro-life people
succeeded last year in ending this monopoly, and since then
there has been a more fair distribution of funds.
No Destructive Embryo Research in EU
Denmark, currently the president of the European Union's
Counsel of Ministers, has announced that a compromise proposal
on EU research funding has been reached. There will be no
EU money spent on destructive embryo research, at least
through the year 2003.
Swaziland-Legalized Abortion?
Swaziland's Parliament has before it a proposal to legalize
abortion. The same tired arguments used elsewhere are being
put forward to justify this. Unlike South Africa, which
surrounds this small African country, unborn babies are
still protected in Swaziland. As of August, Prince Mguciso
of the Swaziland National Counsel confirmed that there was
no chance that abortion would be legalized in the near future.
Ghana-Canada Refuses Medical Assistance
MaterCare International (MCI) is a group of Catholic obstetricians
and gynecologists dedicated to the care of women in the
developing world. They had assembled a "world class
team of specialists" for a trauma center in Ghana.
Its government supports the project. They had received donations
of money, land and medical equipment to set up a new birth
trauma center. It, however, would not do abortions. Its
director, Dr. Richard Walley, said that his group had been
working with the Canadian International Development Agency
(CIDA) for some time and "Recently, they have found
out exactly who we are (that they are Catholic and pro-life)
and they are now out to block or destroy us." This
is not the first happening. According to Walley, "We
have most recently experienced the same opposition when
we tried to establish essential obstetrical care in East
Timor, which has no obstetricians. The UN made it clear
to us that we were not welcome unless we would agree to
provide abortions, the morning-after pill, sterilizations,
etc. We refused, and the UN has blocked our participation."
UN Humans Rights Commission Elects Gaddafi
The UN Humans Rights Commission has 53 members. The option
of selecting the chairman rotates among the continents.
This year it was Africa's turn. Guess who they elected to
chair the UN Human Rights Commission? It was Libya's Muammar
Gaddafi, the brutal dictator of that nation.
Downs Syndrome-Newer Tests No Better
The gold standard for prenatally diagnosing the existence
of Downs Syndrome in a pre-born child has always been amniocentesis
i.e., the testing of fluid from the bag of waters around
the baby. In more recent years, ultrasonic examination has
pinpointed a number of features that allegedly help to confirm
this diagnosis, such as swelling and fluid retention in
the back of the neck. Finally, blood tests are used which
also give a clue. Which is better? A study from England
of 155,000 infants, 323 of whom had Downs Syndrome, examined
the prenatal testing. If blood tests only were used, 57%
of actual cases were diagnosed. If blood tests, ultrasound
screening and amniocentesis were done, 52% of cases were
detected. If only maternal age and ultrasound scans were
done, 54% of cases were detected. These percentages are
within margin of error. So, essentially, none of them are
superior to others. If this is accurate then amniocentesis
is not necessarily indicated, particularly in view of the
fact that 1% to 2% of pre-born babies tested by amniocentesis
die in a subsequent miscarriage caused by the test itself.
No Norplant in U.S.
The abortifacient implant, Norplant, will henceforth not
be marketed in the United States. Its owner, the Wyeth Company
announced this on 31 July. It had been pulled from the market
2 years ago, but perhaps because of some questions raised
about its effectiveness. Protesting that the product was
effective, nevertheless, Wyeth has decided to cease marketing
it in the U.S., stating that it was purely a "business
decision," based on a limited supply of some of its
ingredients. Pro-life observers, however, assumed that the
company was afraid of the continuing onslaught of lawsuits
against it over injuries and side effects of the drug. A
Finnish pharmaceutical company, Leiras Oy, will continue
distributing Norplant to other nations. Of the original
100,000 doses implanted in U.S. women, it is estimated that
about 17,000 still have the rods in their arms.
Poland Still Pro-Life
In his recent visit to Krakow, Poland, Pope John Paul II
celebrated mass for more than 2½ million people.
He said that modern man was putting himself in God's place
by "claiming for himself the Creator's right to interfere
in the mystery of human life." Your editor can only
recall one other mass assembly in history of a larger crowd
than this. It was in Manila several years ago, again at
an open air Mass by the Pope, which was attended by 5 million
people.
Rotary International Is Pro-Abortion
Rotary International is well known for its humanitarian
projects. At the moment, it is involved in a massive campaign
to eradicate polio. However, it now has taken a very precarious
and unfortunate step. It has aligned itself with the United
Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) to promote population control
programs in other countries. Its president, Frank Devyln,
has recently stated, "One of the most pressing problems
that we face today is the rapid growth of our world's population."
Hasn't this man kept up with literature on this subject?
Hasn't he even read the New York Times recently, this powerful
mother of the pro-abortion movement in the United States?
Even the New York Times now is admitting that the "population
explosion" is turning into a population dearth, that
most of the nations in the world have birthrates below replacement
level. Even undeveloped nations that were having 6 and 7
babies per woman are now down to 2 and 3 and dropping fast.
Doesn't he know that the UNFPA is one of the most anti-life
organizations in the world? It ranks right up there with
Planned Parenthood. It has supported the brutal, coercive
one-child policy in China, helping to underwrite the direct
killing, even in very late abortions, or by infanticide
of a second child. Doesn't he know that the government of
Peru holds UNFPA at least partly responsible for the forcible
sterilization of almost 200,000 women in that country?
Rotary International has 1.2 million members in 160 countries.
It does a vast amount of good. Why is it meddling in this
anti-life, anti-family corruption? We'd suggest it back
out of this in a hurry, wash its hands and continue with
the good it has always done in the past.
Death From RU 486
A 38-year-old woman from Tennessee died from a ruptured
ectopic (tubal) pregnancy, five days after taking RU 486
to induce an abortion. The Food and Drug Administration
has warned that this drug will not abort a tubal pregnancy.
The abortion facility apparently failed to diagnose this,
even though they did an ultrasound and, according to the
boyfriend, said, "We don't see any fetus in the uterus,
but that's not unusual; this is an early pregnancy."
She had a positive pregnancy test. In this case, you have
an ectopic pregnancy until proven otherwise. She returned
home, developed severe pain and bleeding, which became worse
over several days. She placed multiple calls to the abortion
facility, each time being advised that her symptoms were
normal and routine. She finally went for legitimate medical
care but died from a massive peritonitis from the ruptured
tube five days after taking the drug. A major lawsuit has
been filed.
Adult Stem Cells Effective In Forming Blood
Hematopoietic stem cells can restore blood formation if
transfused into a patient who is immune deficient. Because
of this, growth of these cells in culture is important.
Research to date in Sweden had shown that a growth gene
added to embryonic stem cells could produce such hematopoietic
stem cells in culture. Experience, however, has shown that
when embryonic stem cells were used, they were relatively
inefficient after being transplanted. A new study just published
has shown that adding the same growth gene, LHX2, to adult
bone marrow stem cells is far more successful and allows
unlimited growth of these vital hematopoietic cells. Cells
grown in this fashion have proven to be much more efficient
in generating new blood cells in the patient transfused
than embryonic stem cells had been.
Journal Blood 99, 3939-46, 6-1-02
Induced Abortion Harmful To Mental Health
Here's a new study, published in the American Journal of
Orthopsychiatry's July issue. It shows that induced abortion
is harmful to a woman's mental health. The authors examined
MediCal (welfare cases in California) records for 173,000
women. They took the rate of psychiatric outpatient treatment
for women who had abortions and compared to women who had
delivered babies. To neutralize any prior existing psychological
problems they excluded women who had had any psychiatric
care for a full year prior to the pregnancy outcome.
The results were clear. Women who had had abortions were
63% more likely to receive professional mental health care
within three months of an abortion, as compared to women
three months after a delivery. In longer follow-up for over
four years, significantly higher rates of continuing mental
health treatment persisted. Abortion was most strongly related
to neurotic depression, bi-polar disorder, adjustment reactions
and schizophrenic disorders.
Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research
Researchers at the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research
in Boston have found that 1 in every 25 genes in the placentas
of cloned mice were abnormal. They concluded from this that
the cloning process jeopardizes the integrity of an animal's
entire genetic makeup. They also noted that, because of
this, adult stem cell technology may well be far more promising
for the treatment of human ailments than approaching such
problems through research or "therapeutic" cloning.
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