| French President Sarkozy rejects Irish NO to Lisbon Treaty.
The current leader of the European Union wants Ireland to vote again on a measure which could affect that country's abortion law. President Nicolas Sarkozy of France, whose country holds the union's presidency till the end of the year, says last month's referendum on the Lisbon treaty should be repeated. The Irish electorate rejected ratification by 53.4% to 46.6%. [Timesonline, 16 July]
The suggestion that Ireland should hold another referendum is a gross insult to the people of Ireland. The decision by European leaders to continue with the ratification process is deeply disturbing and indicative of the democratic deficit in the EU which caused Ireland to vote against the Lisbon treaty in the first place. Mr Sarkozy should be asked to explain what part of NO he does not understand and he should be challenged to hold a referendum in his own country to establish the real views of the French people rather than those of the political elite.
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New abortion consultation in Northern Ireland
SPUC Report that the Northern Ireland executive has launched a consultation on the termination of pregnancy. [Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety, 16 July] It comes at the height of the holiday season in the province, where the 1967 Abortion Act does not apply. Mrs Betty Gibson, SPUC chairwoman in Northern Ireland, said: "Publishing the draft guidance now means many people won't actually be aware of the document until they have returned to work in a couple of weeks. The Assembly is in recess and, even when politicians return to their constituencies, it may be September before they can discuss the proposals with their party colleagues - less than three weeks before the closing date for submissions. In the past, consultations on contentious issues have been launched during the holiday season in order to reduce the time available for objections. These draft guidelines contain some very serious flaws, not least the failure to acknowledge the suffering frequently experienced by women after abortion. We are determined that the final version of the guidelines should warn of the terrible psychological damage associated with abortion." | |
| Greetings!
We lead this week with the rejection of Irelands NO to the Lisbon Treaty by French President Sarkozy.
Following last weeks on the continuing war on babies in the UK we report today that further action the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill has been postponed until the next parliamentary session. Hopefully this will give pro-life organisations such as SPUC additional time to lobby MP's. We also report this week on the rising levels of sexually transmitted disease in both Britain and Ireland and on a new consultation seeking clarification of the legal position regarding abortion in Northern Ireland
I have also posted a number of new articles on my blog which can be accessed on the following URL
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The United Nations declared July 11th this year "World Population Day". Rather than celebrating population however the emphasis, as ever, is on depopulation and consists of a cynical exercise in scare-mongering. UNFPA, the United Nations population fund is calling for more investment in family planning which they claim will reduce poverty, slow population growth and ease pressure on the environment. The real agenda is anti life and is primarily about reducing population particularly in third world countries.
See also BLOG article
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Dangerous Abortifacient RU 486 offered on website
The Times (Malta) recently published an article on a new pro-abortion website which provides women access to abortion medication. The Customers are asked to answer 25 questions on the website before they can obtain the drugs. This new attempt to frustrate pro-life laws in many countries has been launched by Women on the Waves the owners of the abortion ship that previously targeted Ireland and Portugal for the provision of abortion services. The web site claims that "it is safe to perform a medical abortion procedure at home as long as the woman lives near a hospital or other emergency service". The website offers provision of RU 486 the highly dangerous cocktail of drugs otherwise known as mifepristone (which has been termed "the Human Pesticide") According to published figures eight women in the United States, one in Canada, three in the UK, one in Sweden, and one in France have died from RU 486.
See also my BLOG post http://europeanlifenetwork.blogspot.com/2008/07/abortion-service-preying-on-women-in.html
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Largest ever increase in sexually transmitted disease in Britain
It has been reported that sexually-transmitted disease in Britain is more widespread than ever, with a total incrcrease of 397,990 new cases, the highest number since record-keeping began thirty years ago, STD's have risen by 72% over 10 years. Half of sufferers last year were aged 16 to 24. [Independent, 16 July] The Health Protection Agency urged young people to have fewer partners. [Guardian, 16 July]. These statistics coupled with the recent reports on the increase in teen pregnancies underline the failure of the present government approach to the issues. The answer does not lie in more sex education and contraceptive schemes, but in educating young people in the values of abstinence and chastity and that the only sure way to avoid being infected with an STD is to keep sexual intimacy within the context of a lifelong, mutually faithful relationship [Daily Mail, 16 July].The issue was also covered in SPUC director John Smeaton's BLOG |
10% rise in cases of Chlamydia in Ireland
The number of people Irish people testing positive for the sexually transmitted disease, chlamydia, increased by more than 10% last year compared to 2006, according to a report 17 July 2008 on RTE Radio 1 The rise is recorded in the annual report of the Dublin Well Woman Centre. The group's report shows the number of clients attending for full screening for sexually transmitted infections increased five-fold in five years, while those wanting to be tested for chlamydia had tripled. Of those being tested, one in 20 was found to have that disease. The report says this infection was particularly prevalent in the under-25 age bracket. They also used the opportunity to call on the Irish government to implement strategies based on a "more of the same" approach that caused the chlamydia increase in the first place. The results of such an approach can be seen clearly in the ever-worsening statistics in Britain and should be avoided. The only sure way to avoid being infected with Chlamydia or any STD is to keep sexual intimacy within the context of a lifelong, mutually faithful relationship (marriage)
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