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International Right to Life Federation,
Inc. NAIROBI, KENYA: Five of us recently flew to Kenya to put on a one-week seminar. Our team consisted of Dr. & Mrs. Willke from the U.S. and John Smeaton, Peter Smith and Brendon Gerard from the British SPUC. The students were delegate leaders from Somalia, Sudan, Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania. Christians across the board are increasingly concerned about the heavy-handed population control methods being imposed on them "by our colonial masters", as one hospital administrator labeled it. The United Nations’ population efforts are increasingly amounting to thinly veiled genocide. Our task was to give a complete course in human sexuality and to provide adequate educational materials and training so that these fifty-some delegates could return and teach teachers in their own areas, with adequate facts and teaching materials. It is hoped that the "Ugly Americans" from President Clinton’s USAID and allied United Nations groups, who truly are the forces of evil, will be held off effectively. U.N. INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT: Gwen Landoldt, Vice President of REAL Women of Canada, reports that the U.N., "tired of being hedged in and restricted by various nations’ national sovereignty, and their worry about loss of cultural and religious rights, is attempting a preemptive strike…United Nations officials hope that a U.N. international criminal court will finally give it firm control over the world’s destiny and provide the long-sought objective of what will be in effect a one-world government." This is being presented as a noble deed needed to call to heel perpetrators of crimes against humanity, such as in Serbia and Rwanda. The U.N. argues that what is needed is in effect a permanent Nuremberg tribunal. What they propose is markedly different from the present International Court of Justice in The Hague. The present court adjudicates only disputes between nations, and its ruling is binding only if the participating nations agree. As proposed, the ICC will reach much broader and deal with other matters, including "gender crimes". These are defined as "rape, sexual slavery, enforced prostitution, enforced pregnancy [the new U.N. term for laws opposing abortion], forced sterilization, sexual violence, etc." Through this method, the U.N. could reach within any nation in the world and trump its own legal and juridicial system. Landoldt concluded: "Like a Mississippi gambler, the U.N. has decided on a showdown, hoping it holds the winning cards. This risky game will unfold at the U.N. meeting in Rome June 15-July 17." LONDON CONFERENCE HUGE SUCCESS: Compassionate Care of the Dying was the theme of the major international euthanasia conference in London on March 13-14. It was co-sponsored by the International Right to Life Federation and the British Society for the Protection of the Unborn Child. Attendees came from six nations, including Australia and the U.S. It was an excellent program throughout, attendees agreeing that there wasn’t a "soft spot" in the entire two days. The probable high point was the excellent address by Dr. Nancy Dickey, President-elect of the American Medical Association. In-depth reports were given by representatives from other areas. Mrs. Gayle Atteberry from Oregon, Dr. John Fleming from Australia and Dr. Krijn Haasnoot from Holland. Dr. Willke keynoted and also spoke on the U.S. Supreme Court euthanasia decision. His newly released book, Assisted Suicide & Euthanasia, Past & Present, was given to each registrant. Representative attendees came from most of the SPUC chapters throughout the United Kingdom. Ample materials were passed out and tapes were available. As a result of her presentation, Dr. Dickey received an invitation to return later in the year to speak to the British Medical Association and to visit Holland to further investigate the euthanasia situation there. It was generally agreed that the seminar will have a lasting impact, certainly in Britain, but also internationally. Our thanks to John Smeaton, Phyllis Bowman and their staff at SPUC for their invaluable contribution. SPAIN AND ABORTION: Abortion is legal, with exceptions, the law having been forced through the parliament by the Socialist government. However, it is still rare, as Spanish doctors and nurses in great numbers have simply refused to do abortions or to work with those few who do them. Accordingly, there are almost no abortions in hospitals, most being done at two free-standing abortion mills, the best known one being the Dator Clinic in Madrid. The newly formed Spanish Youth Defense Group last December blocked its entrance in a direct action effort. Forty protesters were eventually peacefully dragged away by the police. The action received considerable publicity, much of it favorable, and for several hours no babies were killed. PORTUGAL REFERENDUM 28 JUNE: On June 28 Portugal citizens will vote on an initiative referendum to legalize abortion in that country. The parliament has already approved a law allowing abortion-on-demand in the first ten weeks. Continuing controversy, however, moved the parliament to agree to allow the citizens to vote on the issue directly. Sadly, the wording of the question that will be printed on the ballot is sharply biased in a pro-abortion direction. It asks whether the voter "agrees with the decriminalization of the voluntary interruption of pregnancy, if carried out at the decision of the woman in the first ten weeks of pregnancy in a legally authorized clinic." This is aggressively pro-abortion wording. Past experience in many countries has shown that when a question is worded in this way, it all but guarantees a pro-abortion answer. If the wording of the question were to ask whether pregnant women should be allowed to kill their unborn babies, a pro-life result would be almost certain. At present, in this country of 10 million people, there are approximately 280 legal abortions a year. There is vocal opposition from the Roman Catholic Church , to which most citizens belong. Prime Minister Antonio Gutierrez has publicly opposed legalizing abortion, but the main party, Socialists, allied with the small Communist party to push the law through the 230-seat parliament earlier this year. The referendum decision will be final. It will either confirm or reverse the earlier vote of the parliament. U.N. FEMINISTS: In March, the Commission on the Status of Women held its annual meeting at U.N. headquarters in New York. Bella Abzug and others like her continued their attempt to mainstream "gender identity and equality" into all sectors of civil and political society and in every nation of the world. Under such harmless-sounding titling, this Commission has provided a forum for radical, pro-abortion feminists of the Western world to attempt to impose their ideology on the rest of the world. A few weeks later Ms. Abzug died of complications from surgery. WORLD DAY OF LIFE: First begun at an international meeting in Oslo in 1990, the observance of an International World Day for Life has, one by one, been picked up by a number of nations. The Norwegian and French organizations have been the leaders in continuing to make this day a major annual observance. This year’s World Day of Life was Saturday, 25 April. In Paris there was a demonstration on the "Parvis Day Notre-Dame", including a display of candles after races run throughout the city in the morning. This editor would be interested in receiving reports from other nations detailing their activities on that day. W.H.O.’S SAFE MOTHERHOOD DAY: On 7 April, the W.H.O. listed causes of maternal deaths. Deaths associated with pregnancy and child birth included: severe bleeding 25%, infection 15%, indirect causes 20%, other direct causes 8%, eclampsia 12%, obstructed labor 8%, and unsafe abortion 13%. Malnutrition was listed as an underlying factor in all maternal deaths. Interestingly enough, the one that received the most attention was "unsafe abortion." QUICKIE ABORITONS – ENGLAND: Even strong pro-abortion people groaned a bit when the Maurice Stopes pro-abortion organization publicly announced that they would commence "lunchtime-walk in-walk out" abortions in London, Leeds and Manchester. Talk about crass commercialism and disregard for women’s health – this tops the list! PUERTO RICO – PRO-LIFE: In the last 17 years, the number of abortionists operating in Puerto Rico has dropped from 51 to 9. The number of abortion facilities has declined from 43 to 9. The total annual number of abortions, which was 55,000, is now 8,000. Association President Carlos Sanchez and others have led the successful campaign. ABORTION INFORMATION IN IRELAND: The European Parliament has adopted a report condemning Ireland for its banning of pro-abortion information. Its Committee on Civil Liberties & Internal Affairs has demanded that access to such information be insured in all member states. Ireland’s response has been that such a matter is for each member state to determine on its own. JAPAN POPULATION: A recent report by the Japanese Ministry of Health & Welfare stated: "The current forecast envisions a Japanese society that is aging much faster than predicted five years ago. Steps should be taken immediately to stem the falling birthrate. This is not only because a lower birthrate erodes the foundation of the social welfare system and depresses economic activity, but also because it is not a sound society that discourages women from having children." The government projects a population peak at 128 million in the year 2007, 100 million in 2050, and 67 million by 2100. ZIMBABWE: Abortion remains illegal in Zimbabwe except for rape, incest, the mother’s life and severe fetal abnormality. The major pro-abortion push at this time has been to try to create an exception to allow abortions for HIV-positive pregnant women. Zimbabwe has one of the highest percentages of HIV infections in the world. CANADA – PRO-EUTHANASIA MOTION DEFEATED: A motion aimed toward legalizing assisted suicide was voted down in the Canadian House of Commons on March 25 by a vote of 169-66. OVER-POPULATION? Why are Western nations trying so frantically to reduce the population of the developing world? The answer is rather direct. In 1930, Eurocentric Caucasian people of the West made up 35% of the earth’s population. Today the West comprises 15% and is still dominant, economically, militarily and otherwise. But, if present birth rates continue, by the year 2025 the percent will be 9, and by the year 2100 it will drop under 5%. During the last century, Europe and the U.S. had extremely high birth rates and exported people to other countries. It was during these years that Western countries came to dominate the globe. But now its population is static and, except for immigration, would be shrinking. Its global dominance will continue only if (1) its birth rate again increases so as to maintain its present population or increase it, or (2) through whatever means, anti-population zealots are able to reduce the growth rate and/or even reduce the population of lesser developed nations. TURNER MONEY TO UNFPA: Some of Ted Turner’s promised money to the U.N. has now been allocated. $8 million US dollars will go to the U.N. Population Fund. Turner is married to "Hanoi Jane" Fonda. His money will be managed by population control zealot, Mr. Timothy Wirth. The Turner Foundation plans to give out $100 million each year for the next ten years for United Nations causes. BILL GATES DONATES TO UNFPA: Bill Gates, Chairman of MicroSoft Company, has donated $1.7 million to the United Nations Fund for Population Activity. The purpose is to "limit population growth" in poor nations. He has previously given grants for research on contraceptives and for other population and reproductive science programs. "FORCED PREGNANCY"TO BE USED: In a private meeting in Geneva in late April, the radical feminist Women’s Caucus of NGO’s decided to stop using the term "abortion" in future U.N. documents and speeches, since the term has become "so controversial". Instead, they announced they will use the term "forced pregnancy" or "enforced pregnancy". These terms, they note, are harder to define and thus will help to conceal their real agenda. PERU – STERILIZATION ABUSE: In recent weeks the Miami Florida Herald and the Washington Post both ran extensive stories on serious human rights abuses in Peru. Sterilizations there are running about 10,000 a month, paid for by the State. The sterilizations have not all been voluntary. According to the Herald, many women were enticed to accept the procedure with promises of free food; were sterilized without their consent during other medical procedures, and some, at least, had been abducted in public places and forcibly sterilized. The Washington Post, repeating the above, cited evidence of a quota system and credits given to doctors for meeting certain sterilization targets. The U.S. State Department in a 1997 Human Rights Report on Peru stated: "In October, allegations appeared that a number of physicians, hospitals and family planning clinics had enticed female patients to pot for sterilization, either by promising them quantities of food or by not providing them with complete information about the alternatives available. More information was released in the February report by Mr. Grover J. Reese, Chief Counsel to the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on International Operations & Human Rights. A data base research going back several decades has uncovered an aggressive campaign by the USAID aimed specifically at Peru, including the spending of tens of millions of dollars to "build consensus on national population and family planning issues…to secure resource commitment for the population control effort and to orchestrate changes in laws and regulations." A ten-year-old project had spent many millions more to support the creation of a government family planning delivery system in Peru. One early project paper (1966-68) was abundantly clear that a government population policy to markedly decrease fertility in Peru had long been an objective of extremely high priority by the USAID which has expended enormous amounts of money to achieve this goal. This, in spite of early resistance from the government. After an international outcry, and after a threat from the United States Congress to stop their funding, the government of Peru has announced a series of stringent changes in their compulsory sterilization program. Assuming these are applied (we’ll wait and see), there is a requirement that women be counseled and then given a formal 72-hour waiting period before being sterilized. IRTLF WELCOMES NEW BOARD MEMBER: Dr. Willke, President of the International Right to Life Federation, was pleased to recently announce that Beverly LaHaye will assume the seat representing the United States on the IRTLF board. Mrs. LaHaye is the founding president of Concerned Women for America. This is an Evangelical group that has over 600,000 members throughout the United States and North America. It is a multi-issue, Evangelical Christian group. It is by far the largest women’s group relating to the pro-life issue in the United States. It has three times the membership of the heavily publicized, radical feminist group, the National Organization for [Some] Women. Over the years, probably the chief concern of CWA has been the issue of abortion. Biblically based, its concerns have also included homosexuality, Christian schools, the integrity of the family and other issues. In recent years, CWA has developed an increasing and very strong concern internationally. It has sent a team of delegates to all of the major international conferences in Cairo to Beijing, Istanbul, etc. Most recently, it has taken the lead in lobbying before the U.S. Congress to cut off all U.S. aid to any and all types of family planning and population control by the U.S. government. Mrs. LaHaye is well known for her daily radio program. She and her husband, Pastor Timothy LaHaye, have co-authored a number of books. Pastor LaHaye is also an author of Christian-oriented fictional works, most recently completing a trilogy on the end times. He will accompany her to the 1998 annual board meeting in New Delhi in October. Mrs. LaHaye assumes the seat previously occupied by Dr. Wanda Franz of the U.S. National Right to Life Committee who had completed her second term. Dr. Willke, IRTLF President, is also from the U.S. but serves in an at-large capacity as president. ANNUAL MEETING IN DELHI: Responding to an official invitation from Dr. Maria M. Mascarenhas, the representative on the International Right to Life Federation’s board from India, the Federation will hold its annual meeting in New Delhi in conjunction with a major seminar there on 1-2 October which it is co-sponsoring. The meeting will bring delegates from throughout the nation of India. At the meeting, the International board will welcome its new member, Mrs. Beverly LaHaye, who will take her seat representing the United States. Anyone interested in attending this meeting should contact the Cincinnati office of the IRTLF for details. NEW DELHI – DRUG BANNED: Quinachrine, a dangerous drug used for female sterilization, will be banned in India, and those who distribute it will be prosecuted. This was announced by the head of the government’s Drug Policy Enforcement wing and a pledge to India’s Federal Supreme Court. Women’s groups had charged that more than 30,000 women had been given the drug without their knowledge or consent, many of them sustaining severe medical injuries from it. QUINACRINE FOR BIRTH CONTROL? This is a new one for many people. It is a toxic chemical substance that is inserted from below up into the womb and placed next to the openings of each of her tubes. It causes acute inflammation and scarring and, in many cases, results in sterilizing her. Most of the work on this has been done by two doctors in Georgia who have been almost totally financed by the Ford Foundation. Their experimentation has been on Third World women. To date, the World Health Organization and International Planned Parenthood are not recommending its use. The pro-abortion Family Health International has confirmed that Quinacrine can cause genetic damage in the animals used for experimentation. No word about the completely unauthorized experimentation on human women (guinea pigs?) in Third World countries. AUSTRALIA – LEGAL ABORTION: After months of debate, emotional and at times bitter, the parliament of the Australian state of West Australia finally passed a law. It legalized abortion on demand in that state, with almost no restrictions. It left informed consent as one of the sole qualification remaining. All criminal sanctions against women and abortionists were repealed. A last ditch effort to create a 48-hour cooling off period failed. Reporting on this in the public press was incredibly biased. I note the national newspaper, The Australian, on 22 May, said, in part, the pro-life leader "Richard Egan and his motley band of followers shook their heads in dismay, rosaries clinking harmlessly in a house of secular law." Not unexpectedly, it and other media outlets consistently spoke of the new law as "reform". Mr. Egan’s comment was: "No form of government, whether it is democratic or otherwise, has any right to give legal sanction to the mass killing of human beings." And the Catholic Archbishop said: "Parliament has crossed a line that no civilization should ever cross." Prior to this, abortion had been technically illegal but unprosecuted. Now it has been taken out of the criminal code and listed only in the "health" code. Your editor has a letter from MP, Phillip Pendal, to Cardinal Clancy in Sydney, elaborating on the latest developments. Worth repeating is his final sentence: "I wish to place on record our sincerest thanks to people like Kath Harrigan and Greg Smith from Sydney whose input was enormous." We’re proud to note that Mr. Smith represents "Down Under" on the board of the International RTL Federation. ABORTION IN VIETNAM: Vietnam’s Communist government has a goal of limiting family size to two children. According to an article in the Los Angeles Times by David Lamb, 12 April 1998, 40% of all pregnancies end in abortion, and an average woman has 2.5 abortions in her lifetime. In 1989 the average number of children born per woman was 3.8. By 1997 it had dropped to 2.7. The government has opened a condom factory in Ho Chi Minh City. It is now also using billboards and TV spots to publicize the use of condoms. AUSTRALIA – SANTAMARIA DIES: "The death of Bob Santamaria has ended the life of one of the most profoundly influential figures in post-World War II Australian politics," stated Conservative Prime Minister John Howard. A strong pro-life advocate, an anti-Communist crusader, a union organizer, a prominent Catholic layman, a writer and national television commentator, Santamaria will be sorely missed. NEW OATH? The World Medical Association has requested the British Medical Association to submit an oath which would replace the original Hippocratic oath. They consider the original oath to be "out of date due to its widely ignored prohibition against abortion and euthanasia." A proposed new wording includes: "Where abortion is permitted, I agree it should take place only in a legal and ethical framework." It also proposed: "Prolongation of life is not the only aim of health care." AUSTRALIA: The State of South Australia recently passed at its second reading a bill to legalize euthanasia. The vote was 11 to 8. It has been referred to a select committee for further consideration and submissions. CHINA – ONE CHILD: Due to China’s one-child policy, voluntary sex selection and female infanticide, a Harvard researcher has found that, among children born in the late 1980’s, there are 123 men for every 100 women. She warns that 20 years from now almost one-fourth of young Chinese men will be unable to find wives and predicts this will lead to increased crime, prostitution and divorce. World Magazine, Oct. 25, ’97, Page 9 CHINA – EUTHANASIA COMING? Dr. Hu Yamie of Beijing Children’s Hospital recently called for China to consider euthanasia. She said that China’s 1.2 billion-strong population was aging and that the issue needed to be discussed. She proceeded to list all of the requirements and restrictions that would be needed to control it. Perhaps she should visit Holland where all such restrictions have been in place for many years, and all of them are ignored. Her report was published in the South China Morning Post March 11, 1998. PHARMACISTS REFUSE MORNING-AFTER PILL? With the recent heavy publicity promoting the use of morning-after pills has come some very clear complaints from pharmacists who are pro-life. The California Pharmacists Association has adopted a policy which allows pharmacists "to refuse to fill prescriptions based on ethical, moral or religious grounds." In a recent poll of 625 pharmacists, 82% stated that they "believe they have the right to refuse to fill a prescription for a drug such as RU 486 that would facilitate abortion." MICHIGAN MEDICAL SOCIETY – EUTHANASIA: The Michigan State Medical Society on May 4th called physician-assisted suicide "fundamentally incompatible with the physician’s role as healer." It further stated it "would be difficult or impossible to control and would impose serious societal risks." Its immediate past-president, Peter McCabe, said that the vote was "rather overwhelming" and that "most doctors just don’t think it is proper for the medical profession to assist suicide." They adopted a proposal calling for "better pain management and depression treatment and better education for doctors on using hospice care." ALGERIA – WOMEN RAPED: Algeria’s highest religious body has apparently issued an edict overturning an earlier ruling. Previously, it had been stated that women raped by Muslim rebels could be aborted. On April 27 the new edict stated: "A raped woman is an innocent and virtuous woman. Anyone who harms her honor should be prosecuted and punished … Abortion is a criminal action and is banned except for extreme cases." Apex NGO: This is a new United Nations term markedly expanding the notion that some NGO’s are superior to others. In a joint letter issued last year to International Planned Parenthood Federation collaborators worldwide, and to the UNFPA’s Sadik, the Secretary General enclosed a 15-point Memorandum of Understanding. This encapsulated months of negotiations that made the IPPF an "Apex NGO". The letter says, "The cooperation between IPPF and UNFPA is of long standing at both national and international levels. This cooperation is now particularly crucial, since the objectives of our two organizations in the area of reproductive health are converging more than ever." "SINGAPORE, PASTORAL MEDICINE 2000": The 11th Asian Conference of Catholic Medical Associations was held in Singapore on November 6-9. It was attended by a broad array of doctors, nurses, health care workers and prominent clergy, including Archbishops Luigi Bressan and Gregory Yong, as well as Msgr. Dr. J. Suaudeau of the Pontifical Council for the Family. Indian, Asian, Australian and several European countries were represented. The International Right to Life Federation was represented by IRTLF'’ board member from Bangalore, India, Dr. Maria Mascarenhas. Her new documented scientific monograph, "The Splendor of Human Life", was released at the meeting. Its three parts include (a) The Meaning, Value & Beginnings of Human Life, (2) The Post Abortal Syndrome, and (3) Euthanasia. Copies may be obtained from CREST, East of NGEF, Bangalore, India 560 016. EARLY AMNIOCENTESIS IN CANADA: In January in the British medical journal, Lancet, two papers were published studying more than 4,000 Canadian women. These showed a sharply increased risk for miscarriage and stillbirth associated with amniocentesis when performed at approximately 12 weeks of pregnancy. The risk of foot deformity increased significantly. It is noted that there is a fetal loss of approximately 1%, and sometimes more, from mid-trimester amniocentesis, i.e., 18 to 20 weeks. Done occasionally now as early as 12 weeks, this report indicates a higher complication rate. Fluid leakage is mentioned as a possible cause. TAKE PILL IMPROPERLY? According to an article in USA Today, almost half of women in the United States who take birth control pills do not take them correctly, this according to one of the largest studies yet to look at pill-taking habits. Dr. Michael Rosenberg of Health Decision, Inc., Chapel Hill, North Carolina, studied 1,555 women. He found that 47% missed at least one pill each month, and 22% missed at least two pills each month. With every missed pill there exists the possibility of an unexpected pregnancy. This is particularly true with today’s lower dose pills. He reported that the theoretical "failure rate" was approximately 1%. But in the "real world the failure rate averages about 6%." (editor’s note: a "failure" is a baby) FETAL PAIN DURING ABORTION: A Los Angeles County lawmaker, California Assemblyman George Runner, Jr., is introducing a bill to require that pain-killing drugs be given to an unborn baby before the baby is killed in a late abortion. Quoting him: "These babies are old enough to survive, if born. How can anyone argue that they should not be protected from pain?" He noted that the Royal College of OB & GYN had advised British doctors to administer anesthesia to fetuses in late-term abortions and for certain other testing. MISCARRIAGES OR ABORTIONS? In every underdeveloped country, International Planned Parenthood tells us the same thing. The hospitals are filled with women who tried to induce abortion on the outside and then are admitted to have the abortion completed, lest they suffer serious physical problems. Their comments are always phrased to give the listener the impression that very few of these gynecologic cases are due to spontaneous miscarriage, and that almost all of them are due to attempted induced, illegal abortions. Accordingly, the following is enlightening: "Our impression is that not more than 1 in 5 `abortions’ treated in hospitals is other than spontaneous in onset. Such statistics as are available to the Registrar General are not out of keeping with this estimate." The paper reporting this is Legalized Abortion, Report by the Council of the Royal College OB&GYN, Br. Med. J., 2 Apr. 66, P. 850-854. To repeat, clearly, then, 80% of cases of "incomplete abortion" admitted to hospitals in developing countries were the result of natural miscarriages. IVF PROBLEMS? Are an increasing number of human embryos being created with genetic abnormalities? The technique, ICSI (intra-cytoplasmic sperm injection), may produce humans carrying genes that predispose them to a wide range of genetic diseases, including possibly being infertile themselves. When technicians select the sperm to inject, rather than allowing the body’s natural selection to do it, they may be selecting a high percent of abnormal sperm. At a meeting of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, urologist, Larry Lipshultz, of Baylor College of Medicine, stated: "Using this technique, there is significant concern over the transmission of abnormal paternal genes to the offspring. We must ask ourselves – what are we doing?" (USA Today, 3/24/98) CONTACT US Phone: (513) 729-3600
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