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International Right to Life Federation,
Inc. RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA: Sheik Abdul-Aziz bin Baz, Saudi Arabia’s leading theologian, has ruled that Islamic law forbids euthanasia. He said it is not permitted "to take the life of a person before death takes its natural course." Head of the Council of Senior Islamic Scholars, he issued his ruling at a meeting of these scholars in June in the city of Taif. ADOPTION: Is adoption under attack in your country? If so, you are not alone. International Planned Parenthood World Population and its allies have recently intensified their attack on adoption. Never forget that every baby adopted is one more small defeat for these death peddlers. If you need assistance in fighting the anti-adoption forces, let us recommend the National Council for Adoption, Att: President William Pierce, 1930 17th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009, Phone: 202/328-1200, Fax: 202/332-0935. WILLKE’S IN SOUTH AMERICA: Dr. & Mrs. Willke have just returned from a lecture tour in South America. They began in Rio de Janeiro where the Pope recently visited. After their annual International Right to Life board meeting in that city, they journeyed to the interior of Brazil to the city of Presidente Prudente. There, along with the majority of the members of the IRTLF international board, they led a two-day pro-life seminar. From there, the Willke’s journeyed to Montevideo, Uruguay, for three days and then on to Asuncion, Paraguay, for another two days of lecturing. Three weeks after returning to Cincinnati, Dr. Willke spent four more days in a lecture tour in Puerto Rico. Much of the credit for the success of the seminar was due to the efforts of Dr. Talmir Rodrigues, IRTLF board member. EUTHANASIA – BAD NEWS: In 1994 the U.S. State of Oregon passed a bill to allow doctor-assisted suicide in a referendum by a vote of 51 to 49. This was not to allow lethal injections. It only allowed a doctor to write a prescription for a lethal drug at the patient’s request. The bill was held up for three years in a court challenge. A repeat referendum of all the voters of Oregon in November confirmed the original passage by a vote of 60-40. Was this a seminal happening that will lead the way to many other such laws? Or was it a unique, one-of-a-kind that happened because of a variety of circumstances in that state which will probably not be repeated elsewhere? If you’re interested in details, write to Dr. Willke at our Cincinnati office. BRAZIL: In the aftermath of a seminar conducted by board members of the International Right to Life Federation in the Brazilian city of Presidente Prudente, we have received the following resolution from their university: "We, the academics of this university, are immensely grateful and happy for having participated in your event of such great importance which was conducted by such a distinguished, cultural, persuasive and friendly faculty. We have learned with you, not only to defend the right to life but also to follow the better way of life, being always true human beings in the communion of faith and the love of God. "Congratulations to the entire team for your outstanding presentation and the seriousness of your work. We have therefore decided to put ourselves at the service of life and to form a group of Lawyers for Life." AUSTRALIA – THEY WON’T QUIT: The pro-euthanasia people in Australia are trying their best to resurrect legalization from the ashes of their solid defeat in the national parliament which reversed the Northern Territory'’ pro-euthanasia law. Mr. Kennett, the Premier of Victoria (Australia'’ second most populous state), has called for such legalization in his state. Coincident with this, a number of doctors in Victoria have publicly stated that they have "hastened the deaths" of patients. Kennett said that if the law is going to be "openly defied", that it would be better to legalize the practice. "That is a rather bankrupt rationale," replied pro-life voices, noting that if such were applied, all laws against murder, theft, etc., would have to be canceled, for people continue to openly defy them. A politician in the Northern Territory has also reacted. Mr. John Bailey has announced that he hopes to circumvent the federal bill. Under his proposal, euthanasia would be illegal but would be de-criminalized so that the doctor who killed would not be prosecuted. Your editors think he probably has visited Holland, as that was the way the Dutch law began. It slowly was broadened by judges and finally encompassed euthanasia of a significant percent of all people who die in Holland today. Let’s hope neither of these transparent attempts go very far. EUTHANASIA: Apropos the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court, let us quote the following: "Ultimately, we do not believe there is sufficient reason to weaken society’s prohibition of intentional killing. That prohibition is the cornerstone of law and of social relationships. It protects each one of us. We therefore recommend that there should be no change in the law to permit euthanasia. Dying is not only a personal or individual affair. We believe that the issue euthanasia is one in which the interests of the individual cannot be separated from the interests of society as a whole." Does this sound like the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision? Well, it could be, but, in actuality, this was a statement from February 1993 by the Select Committee on Medical Ethics created by the British House of Lords to study euthanasia and related issues. That committee also recommended the growth and development of palliative care services in hospices, hospitals and in the community, and asked that research into pain relief should be more adequately supported. In January of ’96 the British parliament reaffirmed its opposition to euthanasia. LONDON: Doctors at the Royal College of Obstetricians & Gynecologists are urging colleagues to use fetal pain killers when they abort babies of at least 24 weeks of age. They also recommend using pain killers on pre-born babies who are being diagnosed and given intrauterine treatments. MEXICO CITY: Mexico’s National Population Council, an aggressive official organization promoting birth control, has recently admitted that Mexico will become a "nation of elders" if changes are not made. It recently issued a report warning that the elderly population in Mexico will reach 20 million by the year 2000, with the percentage of children and youth diminishing dramatically. If present trends continue unchanged, in the next 15 years the total population will increase 22%, but those older than 60 years will increase 73%. Life expectancy in the last 60 years has increased from age 35 to 76, while the fertility rate has dropped from six children per woman in 1975 to 2.6 in 1997. CHINA: NOT ENOUGH FOOD OR SPACE? Contrary to hysterical claims by Lester Brown of Worldwatch and other members of the population control lobby, China is in no danger of famine or even a lack of food. China’s food output per person has increased by more than 40% since 1979-81. The daily food supply now amounts to more than 2,700 calories per capita. The food problems and even starvation which occurred in the past were the result of government policies which taxed farmers in order to subsidize industry, controlled and requisitioned output, drafted farmers to work on poorly-planned government projects, restricted agricultural trade and shipping, and prevented farmers from acquiring the land and other resources needed to produce food. The government is now gradually reforming these pollicies and food output is increasing greatly. China has more arable land per person than half the countries of Asia, including the Philippines, Japan, South Korea and Malaysia. China also has almost half of all the pastureland in Asia, which is a greater endowment relative to its population size than is true for other countries in the region. China has an even greater potential in industrial production, with great mineral resources and a large, skilled labor supply. It is presently attracting large-scale foreign investment. It is likely, therefore, that in the future, China will be known as an industrial, rather than an agricultural, power, not because of a lack of agricultural resources but because of its comparative advantage in industry. Finally, since China is self-supporting and will continue to be so, even if her government and citizens choose to import food while concentrating their own productive efforts on industrial output, the rest of the world is fully capable of producing food for sale to China. Agricultural economists estimate that the world is capable of producing food for several times as many people as now live on earth. Africa alone could feed almost twice as many people as now exist. Jacqueline R. Kasun, Ph.D., Humboldt University SOUTH AFRICA: Doctors for Life is concerned about a proposed law that would permit involuntary, active euthanasia against the wishes of the family. At this rate, some people are going to begin to judge that the old government wasn’t so bad after all. KENYA: Young people in Nairobi, Kenya, recently took to the streets in a silent march to support life and oppose the programs of International Planned Parenthood Federation. Over 2,000 members of the Kenya Catholic Youth for Life from 22 diocese participated. They carried banners bearing anti-abortion and anti-contraceptive messages and messages stating that chastity and fidelity are the only sure ways of reducing AIDS. At the rally Mrs. Angelina Hyonda, Director of Family Life for the Catholic Secretariat in Kenya, stated, "Some European countries are dying. Their population is very low and beyond repair. They have preached the anti-child gospel in Europe, and now they are extending it to Africa. We are going to resist with all means except violence." HILLARY CLINTON IN ARGENTINA: On October 6, speaking in a major auditorium in Buenos Aires, Mrs. Clinton called for "access to quality health care – especially family planning and reproductive health services." Pro-abortion forces cheered, one spokeswoman stating: "It became clear that Hillary is a radical feminist." – while the vice president of the Society for the Defense of Family Traditions said, "We are a God-fearing people here, and we adhere to what the Church has always taught on these issues." It is interesting that the true Hillary Clinton seems more outspoken when abroad than when in the U.S. COLOMBIA: At the last women’s summit in Beijing, Colombian Congressional Rep. Piedad de Cordoba promised the group that she would "secure the legalization of abortion in Colombia", according to Catholic World News. On June 12 she submitted to the Colombian congress a bill to legalize abortion. The ensuing five-hour debate included "an avalanche of pro-life statements from doctors, non-governmental organizations and congressmen … Before the bill was debated, de Cordoba decided to withdraw her proposal." DR. BERNARD NATHANSON, who ran the first major abortion facility in New York, presiding "over 75,000 deaths" before his change of mind, author of Aborting America and the film, Silent Scream, was baptized into the Roman Catholic faith by John Cardinal O’Connor. BREAST CANCER: Dr. Janet Daling (who is pro-abortion) published a landmark study two years ago linking abortion with breast cancer. In the September 28 edition of L.A. Daily News was an editorial entitled "Findings Linking Cancer to Abortion Is A Well Kept Secret". In that is a constructive comment made by Dr. Daling: "If politics get involved in science, it will really hold back the progress that we make. I have three sisters with breast cancer, and I resent people messing with the scientific data to further their own agenda, be they pro-choice or pro-life. I would have loved to have found no association between breast cancer and abortion, but our research is rock solid, and our data is accurate. It’s not a matter of believing. It’s a matter of what is." JAPAN – NO BIRTH CONTROL PILLS: A little known fact is that the birth control pill has never been legalized in Japan. There has been a recent campaign to legalize it, but health officials have again "abandoned" plans to introduce oral contraceptives this fall. The reason given is that, with the pill available, people would "stop using condoms, and this would lead to unleashing an AIDS epidemic." The chief method of birth control used in Japan is condoms. CANADA – "EMERGENCY CONTRACEPTION": Planned Parenthood has recently spent $50,000 in Toronto to advertise the availability of their "emergency contraception". Canada’s pro-abortion media has picked this up and given it quite a bit of national TV news time, e.g., in Calgary, Ontario, Channel 3 has given it extensive coverage. DOWN’S SYNDROME: Recent findings suggest that mental retardation resulting from disordered brain development in the pre-born patient with Down’s Syndrome (Trisomy 21) begins after 22 weeks gestation. These findings open up the possibility of treatment of whatever chemical hormonal or metabolic defects may exist in the pregnancy. If such could be remedied during those months, it might decrease the neurologic damage done to such pre-born children. Research on this has been done by Volpe in 1995 and Wisniewski in 1984. ECTOPIC PREGNANCY – METHOTREXATE: How effective has Methotrexate been in "treating" ectopic (or tubal) pregnancy? Apparently claims of almost complete "success" have been exaggerated. At least that is the message of the "Efficacy of Methotrexate" in the American Journal of OB&GYN, January ’97. This study shows resolution rates closer to 60%. RU 486 – BREAST CANCER: In the Journal of Clinical Oncology, a Canadian group reported that RU 486 "had minimal activity" in the treatment of breast cancer. "Our data do not support its use as a single agent in the management of breast cancer." (see Vol. 14, No. 10, 10/96, Page 2709). TWINS – BORN 88 DAYS APART: Yes, that’s right. Little three-month-old Stephanie Bartels was joined by her twin sister three months after Stephanie was born. Her mother had gone into premature labor because of an internal infection and delivered Stephanie at 23 weeks, weighing 1 lb., 2 oz. (509gm.). Only 20% of babies this age survive, but Stephanie did, and now three months later her mother says, "She’s really a little chunk." To keep the second twin from delivering, they stitched her cervix closed, gave her antibiotics, medication to prevent contractions and kept her in the hospital. The hospital stay was okay by her, because she got to see her first daughter every day. Both babies are now doing fine. CONTACT US Phone: (513) 729-3600
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