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UK and Northern Ireland Update
The UK parliament is due to debate the government's embryology proposals next Wednesday. The House of Commons report stage and third reading of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill is scheduled for the 22nd. [Leader of the House of Commons, 9 October]
Mr Nigel Dodds, Democratic Unionist MP for Belfast North, said that it was inappropriate that the bill should be used to extend abortion to Northern Ireland, given widespread opposition in the province. [Christian Institute, 9 October] Mr Pat Ramsey, Social Democratic and Labour member of the legislative assembly, said such a move could destroy that assembly. [LifeSiteNews, 9 October]
It has been reported in the [Telegraph Oct 15th] that the move by pro-abortion politicians to extend abortion to Northern Ireland has been scrapped after being privately warned by ministers that with the Stormont executive close to collapse, it could tip the province's politicians into withdrawing from negotiations.
It is also reported that there will be a Rally for Life at Stormont, Belfast on Saturday, October 18th at 1.00pm.
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ABC Case V Ireland
A report in the medical news today in respect of the ABC case v Ireland currently before The European Court of Human Rights, cites a pro abortion Wall Street Journal report which says the court for years "has essentially turned a blind eye to Ireland's abortion laws, considered among the most restrictive in Europe," and some observers are concerned that "it may avoid the issue, as it has in the past." clearly the pro-abortionists believe the outcome will not be favourable to their position
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We report this week on the conference of the Polish federation of pro-life movements, with updates on the UK and Northern Ireland and on the upcoming ABC cases against Ireland currently before the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. We also report on a new challenge to the Unborn by UNESCO
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UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY BAN ON ALL HUMAN CLONING TO BE RECONSIDERED BY UNESCO ETHICS PANEL
The United Nations has announced that its ethics panel will focus on the permissibility of so called "therapeutic cloning" later this month, when it considers whether the 2005 General Assembly (GA) declaration, that called on Member States to ban all forms of human cloning, should be reassessed in light of scientific, ethical, social, political and legal advances. Therapeutic cloning involves the killing of cloned human embryos for the extraction of stem cells and has been renamed "clone and kill" by the pro-life movement
for further coverage see my BLOG POST
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Polish Federation of pro-life movements annual conference
Last weekend 11-13 Oct. the Polish Federation of pro-life movements held their annual conference at the conference centre attached to the shrine of the Divine Mercy at Lagiewniki, Krakow. The conference was attended by about 300 delegates from all over Poland. The morning session on Saturday looked at the protection of life, first internationally at United Nations level, secondly at EU level, and finally the current position in Poland. Patrick Buckley of European Life Network outlined the current international issues impacting the protection of human life. Konrad Szymanski MEP addressed the conference regarding the impact of the EU and Marek Jurek discussed the current situation in Poland.
Professor Bogdan Chazan addressed the conference on the problems associated with IVF and a young couple Michal and Agnieszka Pietrusinscy gave an excellent presentation on NaproTechnology as a real alternative to IVF
Mass was celebrated by his Excellency Bishop Stanislawa Stefaneka who also attended the conference.
Other speakers included Dr. Wanda Poltawska and Dr. Antoni Zieba. The conference was closed on Sunday by Dr Pawel Wosicki who discussed the mission and programme of the federation in today's world
See BLOG POST for further coverage
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most significant political speech of the 21st century.
SPUC Chief executive John Smeaton wrote in a recent blog
I watched Sarah Palin "live" delivering a speech in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, which included some timeless comments on Trig, her son who has Down's syndrome. In my opinion, hers was the most significant political speech of the 21st century. She said: "I believe the truest measure of any society is how it treats those who are least able to defend and speak for themselves. And who is more vulnerable, or more innocent, than a child? "When I learned that my son Trig would have special needs, I had to prepare my heart for the challenges to come. At first I was scared, and Todd and I had to ask for strength and understanding. But I can tell you a few things I've learned already."Yes, every innocent life matters. Everyone belongs in the circle of protection. Every child has something to contribute to the world, if we give them that chance. There are the world's standards of perfection and then there are God's, and these are the final measure. Every child is beautiful before God, and dear to Him for their own sake. The full text can be viewed at the following link |
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Render Unto Caesar
The Catholic Archbishop of Denver, Charles Chaput has written a book entitled 'Render unto Caesar: Serving the Nation by Living Our Catholic Beliefs in Political Life.'
The book is, in the words of reviewer William May, of "crucial importance for all American Catholics, who should all be struggling to combat the "culture of death" and develop the "culture of life
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