An enquiry is to be conducted this year by the Parliamentary Justice and Electoral select committee into the performance of the Abortion Supervisory Committee. The enquiry was announced by select committee chairman Tim Barnett, in February. The chairman said that he believed Labour would introduce legislation on abortion law reform next term if elected. The committee wanted the results of its enquiry incorporated into the proposed review of the law.
In November 2001 the select committee had conducted a brief financial review of the ASC which questioned the need for its existence arguing that its powers and functions are extremely limited. Mr Barnett said the enquiry was being conducted because the ASC last year tabled a report highly critical of successive government’s unwillingness to reform abortion laws. Because the report had been primarily written by outgoing committee members, its new members had been unwilling to discuss the report with the select committee at that time. That had been both “frustrating and unproductive,” because the issues raised by the report were so important the committee wanted to reconsider them. The committee was concerned that the annual report of the ASC, does not present information that would enable them to form a view on how, or how well, the ASCs functions are being discharged. It is the opinion of Right to Life, that the ASC is not fulfilling its statutory duties to ensure that the unborn child receives the full protection of the law and that abortions performed are lawful. It is our society’s view that 98% of abortions are being done unlawfully for socio-economic reasons masquerading as psychiatric.
The proposed review provides the pro-life movement with a unique opportunity to raise with the select committee the intolerable plight of New Zealand’s unborn children, which represents a massive violation of human rights. It represents a callous disregard for the welfare and health of women who are also the victims of abortion. A truly loving and compassionate society would be offering distressed mothers, love and assistance, and not offering to kill their baby as the solution.
Right to Life is committed to the lobbying of the select committee with the objective of achieving a positive outcome for mothers and their babies. Meetings have been held with two members of the select committee. Meetings will also be sought with other committee members. A four page submission with suggested questions for the enquiry has been sent to Tim Barnett. The first Parliamentary enquiry was held in 1996 and was the result of continuous lobbying of the, then - Justice and Law Reform Select Committee. Since 1996 there have been four select committee financial reviews of the ASC. Unhappily they achieved little for the unborn child. It was significant that the government’s response to the 96 enquiry made the important admission. “It remains the responsibility of the licence holder to ensure that the law is observed in the institutions.”
Tragically the ASC is not prepared to effectively uphold their duty to ensure that holders ensure that operating surgeons have honest belief in the grounds on which abortions are authorised. In the 98/99 financial enquiry the ASC wrote in response to written request from the select committee, “that the high 98% of abortions on mental health grounds reflect that certifying consultants use that ground to provide abortion on demand.”
It is disappointing to note that the select committee wrote in its report to Parliament after the 98/99 financial review, “the select committee wished to publicly thank the ASC for the services it had provided over many years.” Following the 95/96 financial review the select committee wrote, “It appears to us that the ASC is currently discharging its functions to the best of its ability. We acknowledge the excellent work and effort of its members.” This is unwarranted praise for a committee that has presided over the killing of more than 250, 000 helpless and innocent children. It is imperative that the pro-life movement commence now a vigorous campaign of lobbying of the select committee. This should also include parish councils, vestries, and other church organisations. There are many good, supportive members on the select committee who are deeply concerned at the plight of the unborn child and the failure of the ASC. The current members of the select committee are;
Tim Barnett – Chairman
Dr. Wayne Mapp – Deputy Chairman Mita Ririmui
Brian Neeson Lindsay Tisch
Kevin Campbell Janet Mackey
Stephen Franks Nanaia Mahuta
Nandor Tanczos
We need to ensure that the committee is aware that there are thousands of concerned New Zealanders who are deeply distressed over the plight of our unborn. That they have great expectations that this committee will achieve justice for our unborn as a result of this enquiry. On behalf of mothers wounded and shamed into silence by abortion and our unborn who have no voice but ours. Please, please we beg of you, write now to the committee to politely express your concern, hopes and expectations for this enquiry. Write to:
The Secretary
Justice and Electoral Select Committee
Parliament Building (stamp required)
You are invited to visit our website for a sample letter to be sent to the committee, "http://www.right-to-life.org"
Please pray for the success of this important enquiry.
Consideration of High Court action against the Abortion Supervisory Committee (ASC) has been postponed pending the completion of the proposed Parliamentary Select Committee enquiry into the performance of the ASC. A legal opinion obtained by the society from a Queens Counsel advises that a judge would be most unlikely to pre-empt Parliament by giving a favourable judgement to the society when a Parliamentary enquiry is pending.
A media release to newspapers, radio, and television, was made in January, deploring the conferment of the honour of Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the new year honours on Dr Sue Bagshaw, Clinical Director of the New Zealand Family Planning Association. Dr. Bagshaw was honoured for her services to youth health. In view of the damage done in the community by the NZFPA such an honour is scandalous and a government endorsement of a culture of death. A letter of protest was also sent to the Prime Minister.
Published two letters from our society on the subject of the honour to Dr. Sue Bagshaw and the link between abortion and breast cancer.
Our lobbyist spent a week in February in Wellington for meetings at Parliament. Meetings were held with MPs Steve Chadwick, Phillipa Bunkle, Geoff Braybrook, Kevin Campbell, John Carter, and the leader of the opposition Bill English. The purpose of the meetings was to lobby against the Prostitution Law Reform Bill and to lobby the Justice and Electoral Select Committee on the focus for the enquiry into the ASC. It is noted that Bill English is very supportive of our society’s efforts in Parliament and thanked the society for its work.
Important Correspondence
Letters were sent to the Minister of Health, Annette King, Dr Linda Scott, National spokesperson for health and Sue Kedgley Greens spokesperson for health, drawing their attention to the latest research in Britain on the link between abortion and breast cancer. The Minister replied that she had been advised that there was no proven link. Sue Kedgley thanked the society for this information.
A letter was sent to the Minister requesting that all United Nation conventions and protocols be submitted to a select committee for consideration and endorsement. This request was made as the Minister had previously advised that the UN Convention for the suppression of the Traffic in Persons and of the Exploitation of Others 1949, had not been signed by the government. That decision was made without public consultation.
A letter was sent to the Minister expressing our concern at the appointment of Dr. Rothwell, a certifying consultant, as chairperson of the ASC. A further letter was sent on the statutory duties of the ASC to uphold the law and asking to whom are certifying consultants accountable. We await his reply.
A letter was sent to the ASC, requesting confirmation that the chairperson of the committee is or was an abortionist at the Parkview Abortion Clinic. The committee replied stating that Dr. Rothwell is not and has not been an operating surgeon at Parkview.
A letter was sent to the ASC seeking information about the appointment of certifying consultants.
Visit our website "http://www.right-to-life.org" to see copies of societies media releases, and back copies of our newsletters.
Enquiries for information on life issues through email rtl@right-to-life.org are welcome.
Thank-you
The executive of our society is greatly encouraged by the continuing generous support of its members for the work of defending life. As our community is increasingly confronted by a culture of death with the escalating killing of unborn children and the threat of euthanasia for the elderly and the handicapped it is imperative that our society continues to promote a culture of life with respect for the right to life of every human being from conception to natural death.
Our society depends on the financial support of its members through payment of the annual membership subscriptions and donations. Your support is invaluable as without it your society could achieve very little. We are particularly indebted to those members who have paid their subscriptions and made donations, however small. Since the November Presidential Appeal, more than $5000 in donations have been received which included a donation of $200 from a branch of SPUC.
Moving Residence
If you are moving please advise this society of your new address in order that we may amend our records and ensure that you receive our newsletter and retain your membership.
Capital and Coast District Health Board advised this society on February 27, that they had “introduced in a very limited capacity within Capital and Coast DHB Mifegyne RU 486 for abortions.” The chief executive officer of the DHB advised that the Board is bound by the legislative requirements of the CS&A Act. It is interesting to note that ISTAR Ltd, the company set up for the sole purpose of importing and distributing RU 486 in New Zealand, has its registered office at the Wellington home of Carol Shand, a director of the company. Dr. Shand is the mother of Karl Geiringer, a member of the Capital and Coast DHB. Dr. Margaret Sparrow, a director of ISTAR Ltd, was previously employed by the DHB as the medical director of the Parkview Abortion Clinic, which is now situated in the Wellington Public Hospital. The introduction of RU 486 raises many important questions which have been presented to the Board by this society. RU 486 is chemical warfare against our unborn and is a serious threat to women’s health.
Its introduction marks a shameful chapter in New Zealand’s history. The Board is now offering the women of Wellington another means to kill their children before birth. The health reporter at the Wellington Evening Post was telephoned for clarification on an article on RU 486 appearing in that paper. Anthony Paltridge stated that he had been advised by Capital and Coast DHB, that RU 486 was being used for late term abortions and that women were required to stay in hospital until the abortion was complete. It is consoling that at this time the other four major DHBs, Auckland, Waikato, Canterbury and Otago have not made a decision to introduce RU 486. These Boards could make a decision in the future to introduce RU 486. Public pressure could succeed in keeping these areas free of RU 486 which is a human pesticide.
Action
You are encouraged to write to your local DHB to express your concern and to ask the Board to reject RU 486 for use in your community.
Late on Saturday night 6 October 2001, Linda Watson was suddenly awakened from a deep sleep by four explosions. Linda runs a prostitute rescue ministry in Perth. When a helper switched on the lights and called the police, Linda saw that the toughened glass windows in her bedroom and another front room of her House of Hope had been shattered, apparently by bullets. She saw several men running away to their car parked some distance away.
Fingerprints on one of the panes showed that an attempt had been made to remove it, possibly to toss in a petrol bomb. Police were unable to locate any suspects.
Seven weeks later on 24 November, Linda’s House of Hope was again attacked late at night – this time through the roof. Tiles were removed, but the intruder was frightened off. The attack coincided with a prominent advertisement in Perth’s Sunday Times which mentioned Linda’s compassionate support for the victims of prostitution.
Linda Watson, a former prostitute and madam, had spent 20 years in the sex trade when she finally got out in 1997. “I knew it had damaged me, but I couldn’t stand the damage it was doing to other girls,” she said. “Everyone gets hurt in this business. You can’t escape.”
In August 1999 Linda set up her House of Hope for girls and women seeking to get out of prostitution. She has helped many, but has also had to turn many more away.
She has also received regular death threats and harassment. “My problem is that I know too much,” Linda says. “I have evidence of the drug dealing, the children in brothels, the pimping and other crimes being committed daily in brothels in this state. But owners are telling the government that their businesses are clean and should be legalised!”
Earlier this year the WA Gallop government announced it would introduce a bill to legalise brothels under the Victorian licensing system. Linda Watson strongly opposed the move, and the bill has now been delayed.
Linda’s House of Hope is now set up as an independent trust.
Recently Linda was attacked again. Eight shots were fired at her from a passing car as she sat on her verandah. Fortunately she was not hit. Linda has been advised by the police not to get concerned.
Linda is a very brave women who is endeavouring to encourage and assist women to leave the violence and abuse of prostitution. Prostitution is a form of slavery, with prostitutes being treated as the property of brothel owners and pimps. Linda and any others who seek to assist women to leave prostitution are seen as a threat.
There is a lesson here for New Zealand, the Prostitution Reform Bill is promoted as protecting the right of women to choose to be prostitutes and to exercise their right to leave should they wish. The Prostitution Bill should be opposed by all New Zealanders who are concerned about the plight of women trapped in prostitution.
Have you written to your local MPs to vote against this
socially dangerous Bill?
In New Zealand 45% of women aged 25-54 were in a “relationship” where one or the other partner had been sterilised. This may be compared with 24% of married British women aged 16-40. By the early 1990s New Zealand men were the most vasectomised men in the world, with 23% of married couples using the method, almost double the proportion of vasectomised men in Britain or America. Sterilisation of New Zealand women accounted for 19% of couples.
Sterilisation of males is by vasectomy and for females generally by tubal ligation. In either case it is a mutilation of the reproductive organs and a violation of the natural law. Sterilisation is part of a culture of death.
According to Forest Chambers, author of the book “Vasectomy, Is it Right for You,” described the man seeking sterilisation as typically Pakeha, married, father of two or three children, and had his vasectomy in his early or mid 30s.
Maori and Pacific Island men have a comparative low rate of sterilisation. Maori make up 12% of the population but less than 3% of the number of vasectomised men, Pacific Islanders compose 4% of the population but less than 1% of vasectomy patients. The Pakeha female rate of sterilisation has declined with the increase in male sterilisation. The Maori female rate of sterilisation remains at around five per 1000.
Vasectomies have been promoted by the Family Planning Association since the 1970s. The CS&A Act requires that all sterilisations are reported to the Abortion Supervisory Committee. It is believed that many sterilisations are not reported, as a consequence the reported statistics are conservative.
Less than 50% of female sterilisations are reversible, and even if the reversal is successful, the risks of ectopic or tubal pregnancies are greatly increased.
Some vasectomies depending on the method used may be reversed. Surveys reveal that pregnancy is achieved in about 50% of all reversals. Sterilisation is promoted by the population control movement. In the mid 1920s, American eugenicists found that the simplest and most effective way of preventing the “less desirable classes” from reproducing, was widespread forcible surgical sterilisation. In the United States from 1907 to 1941 more than 36, 000 persons were forcibly sterilised, mostly in California, Virginia and Indiana.
Population controllers continue to use sterilisation on a massive scale to curb population growth.
Many sterilisations in developing countries are performed without a women’s consent or knowledge when they give birth. It should be a matter of great concern that surgical sterilisation has become accepted as part of our culture.
If today our society accepts voluntary sterilisation what is to stop a future government legislating for compulsory sterilisation?
NB; The above article does not necessarily reflect the views of RTLNZ Inc and is an opinion piece by the author
Cytotec is used as a prostaglandin overseas in conjunction with the French Abortion Pill. This drug has been used in New Zealand for abortions both medical and surgical. This drug is manufactured by CD Searle. The drug was developed specifically and exclusively for the purpose of treating persons with gastric ulcers. In spite of its widespread use as a prostaglandin, Searle has never sought approval for this use and actually prohibits this use in a label warning which states, “not to be used during pregnancy as it causes miscarriage.”
In August last year CD Searle in conjunction with the American Federal Drug Administration (FDA) issued a warning letter to medical practitioners in the United States warning them of the adverse affects on women’s health and requesting that the drug not be used as a prostaglandin. In January this year this society wrote to the Minister of Health providing information on the statistics compiled by the FDA on the adverse affects on women’s health. A copy of Searle’s letter to doctors was also enclosed. It is the view of this society that it is unethical for medical practitioners to use a drug for purposes unauthorised by the manufacturer. This drug was produced specifically to promote health not to take the life of unborn children.
The Minister was requested to prohibit the use of Cytotec to procure an abortion. The Minister has replied that in her view it is not unethical for doctors to use this drug for a purpose prohibited by the manufacturer. In February this society wrote to the New Zealand Medical Association requesting that the unauthorised use of Cytotec be deemed unethical and a breach of medical ethics. This issue was discussed by the ethics committee of the NZMA. Dr Keith Gibb, chairman of the committee, replied that the drug was considered to be safe and effective in procuring abortions and its use for this purpose was not considered unethical.
This society considers the stance of the Minister and the NZMA disturbing and unacceptable. In the United States there have been 30 cases of uterine rupture associated with the use of this drug. A survey in the States reveals that at least a third of hospitals have now stopped using Cytotec as a prostaglandin.
There are about 240 000 women in New Zealand taking oral
contraceptives. The 3rd generation
pill Marvelon, Mercilon, Minulet and Fermodene are abortifiacent ie. They
destroy a human embryo. The cost to
the taxpayer for these pills is $9 million per annum.
The Abortion Supervisory Committee announced on the 1 March that they had filed an application with the High Court seeking clarification on the use of the drug at the request of the drugs importer Istar Ltd. The law requires an abortion to be performed at a licensed institution. Dr. Rothwell chairperson of the ASC wanted the court to clarify whether women had to stay in the hospital or clinic until the baby had been expelled.
Emergency Contraceptive Pill ECP
The Minister of Health advised this society in Nov that the Medicines Classification Committee of the Ministry of Health has recommended that the ECP could safely be sold over the counter by appropriately qualified nurses and pharmacists. The Ministry considers this decision will make emergency contraception more readily accessible to women with the aim of reducing the number of unintended pregnancies and abortions. She states that research has demonstrated that almost half of all conceptions were unplanned and that awareness of the availability and the effectiveness of ECP in New Zealand was poor.
Under the regulations, this drug can only be provided either on a prescription from a doctor or when sold by a registered nurse or pharmacist. The Minister expects the appropriate systems to be in place for over the counter sales early this year. Right to Life NZ has had extensive correspondence with the Minister on this important issue with the objective of stopping over the counter sales. The Minister advises that ECP is not considered an abortifacient drug that destroys a human embryo before implantation. Right to Life has recently written to her again to bring to her attention new research that confirms the abortifacient action of this deadly drug. To comply with the legal requirement of informed consent women requesting this drug should be informed that it may destroy an unborn child before implantation. This drug may be given to a girl under the age of sixteen without the knowledge or consent of her parents.
Action
Your are encouraged to write to the Minister of Health to express your concern and to ask her to stop over the counter sales of this deadly drug.
In September last year the United States Ethics Committee responsible for setting fertility clinic standards in that country, announced that it was ethical for certain couples to choose the sex of their children by selecting only made or female embryos for implantation. Dr. Fisher of the Auckland based Fertility Associates, approved this decision as it would allow “flawed embryos” to be discarded. In October last year we wrote (NECAHR) in anticipation of a request for approval from Dr. Fisher. We opposed approval of this procedure in New Zealand as it was a violation of the right to life of the human embryo. It would entail the destruction of embryos not of the desired sex, probably female. This would be a violation of human rights and an act of sexual discrimination. The committee advised this society in November that an application from Dr. Fisher had not yet been received. Our submission was to be considered by the Committee in December. In November our society wrote to the committee expressing opposition to the committee’s proposal to grant approval for a woman to carry her brother’s baby. We submitted that the rights of the child were paramount. The child has a right to be conceived in its mother’s womb as the result of an act of conjugal love. It also has the right to receive nourishment, shelter, protection and love from its mother from whom it received life during its nine months in the womb. Surrogacy is a violation of God’s plan for procreation. The committee considered our letter and replied in December advising that approval had been given. The committee advised that in 1997 the committee, “gave approval to surrogacy in principle and within clearly specified parameters, but stipulated that ethical review would be on a case by case basis. In the following four years the committee has approved 15 surrogacy applications, all involving surrogacy using IVF as a treatment for infertility and taking place within an altruistic, non commercial framework.” The STET Assisted Reproductive Technology Bill of Dianne Yates has been with a select committee since 1995. The government proposes to introduce a new Bill on this issue.
NECAHR is appointed by the Minister of Health and accountable to her. The committee’s functions set out in the terms of reference from the Minister include;
-Review assisted reproductive proposals to determine whether they are ethical and in particular to determine whether:
-The rights of the people involved will be protected
-Proper account will be taken of the ethical perspectives of Maori, and other cultural, ethnic, religious and social groups in New Zealand
There is no reference to the sanctity of life ethic.
How then can the decisions of this important committee be truly ethical
if they are not based on this fundamental ethic?
A physician dubbed ‘Dr. Death’ is planning to produce a
make-it-yourself suicide pill as a way to sidestep Australia’s strict
anti-euthanasia laws. This right to
die campaigner, states that he has received $NZ 73, 000 from US supporters to
develop this pill. Dr. Nitschke has
sought registration with the New Zealand Medical Council to practise in New
Zealand. Right to Life NZ has
campaigned with the Medical Council to reject his application.
In November, the Council advised this society that, “not only will Dr.
Nitschke need to satisfy the Council, that he has adequate skill and knowledge
to practise medicine, but Council will also need to be satisfied that he is a
fit person to practice medicine.” As
Dr. Nitschke is registered as a doctor in all states of Australia, it will be
necessary for each state to support his application.
A total of 16, 103 abortions were reported by the Abortion Supervisory Committee, (ASC) for the year 2000. More than 15, 000 of these children were killed by operating surgeons employed by DHBs. Are these surgeons accountable for the deaths of these children? It is the opinion of this society that doctors employed by DHBs are accountable to their DHB for the abortions they perform. They are accountable first for their clinical assessment and secondly for acting in compliance with the law. The CS&A Act clearly states that the holders of abortion licences are responsible for ensuring that the laws on abortion are upheld in their institutions. There is a statutory requirement that the Abortion Supervisory Committee ensures that this obligation is met before renewing the annual licence of the holder. Following public statements by Dr. Christine Forster, the chairperson of the ASC, that we have abortion on demand in New Zealand, at least in the main centres, we wrote to the ASC in February 2001. One of the questions we asked was, “has the committee written to any holder to show cause why their licence should not be cancelled for failing to take reasonable and practicable steps to ensure that there is not a practice of abortion on demand at their institution?” The committee’s response was “no.”
It is clear that the ASC is not going to require holders and by extension DHBs responsible for ensuring abortions are lawful. In December, Right to Life wrote to the six major DHBs where more than 75% of abortions are performed. In our four page submission we asked the following three questions:
Does the Board accept that it is has a responsibility to ensure that the human rights of its unborn patients are protected an that their right to life receives the full protection of the law?
Does the Board accept that doctors employed by the Board are accountable to the board for their clinical assessments of women considering an abortion?
If so what action does the Board take to ensure a) that the rights of the unborn child are at the forefront of clinical consideration of doctors in accordance with the judgment of Justice Speight. B) That abortions performed in your facilities are lawful with doctors having an honest belief in the grounds on which an abortion is authorized.
Replies have been received to date from four DHBs.
These replies do not answer our questions to our satisfaction. The Canterbury DHB stated, “The Canterbury DHB understands its legal obligations under the CS&A Act and other legislation and as with all legislation, takes reasonable steps to ensure that its obligations are complied with.” The Hutt DHB in a brief reply gave a positive response to the first two questions. In response to question three the Board secretary David Williment, responded, “All decisions regarding clinical treatment for patients at the Hutt Valley DHB are made fully within the law.” Dr. Bill Adam the CEO of the Otago DHB in a lengthy reply concluded by stating, “We are satisfied that termination of pregnancy services are being provided by competent staff in accordance with the Act.”
We have abortion on demand, there is no effective legal protection for the unborn child and we have a regime of unlawful abortions. The Board’s replies would have us believe that all is in order. This we do not believe. Right to Life is considering what further action may be taken on this vital issue.
LONDON (CWN) – Abortifacient “contraception” could
become illegal in Britain if a pro-life group succeeds in reviving a
140-year-old law. The Society for
the Protection of the Unborn Child (SPUC) has been allowed to proceed with a
judicial review of the sale of the morning after pill Levonelle in pharmacies.
SPUC is basing its case on the 1861 Offences Against the Person Act,
which prohibits the supply of any “poison or other noxious thing” with
intent to cause miscarriage. The argument centres on the precise moment at which a woman
becomes pregnant. Family planning
organisation argue she is not pregnant until the fertilised egg implants in the
womb. SPUC maintain that pregnancy
begins with fertilisation of the egg. The
contraceptive pill prevents ovulation so fertilisation cannot take place, but it
also stops a fertilised egg from implanting.
The intra-uterine device prevents implantation but not fertilisation.
LONDON (SIO) – An article for an international pharmacy
journal has suggested that failure to inform women of the potential
abortifacient effect of morning-after pills goes against the principle of
informed consent. An article
entitled “Post-fertilization effect of hormonal emergency contraception”,
set to appear in the March issue of The Annals of Pharmacotherapy, notes that
the active ingredients of morning-after pills can cause the abortion of
newly-formed embryonic life. The
authors, Chris Kahlenborn, Joseph Stanford and Walter Larimore, conclude that
the drug probably causes early abortions more often than is recognised by
doctors or patients.
LONDON (SIO) – An unspecified number of unborn children
have been killed in the course of experiments to create artificial wombs,
according to a report in the Observer newspaper.
The report said scientists in the United States have created prototype
wombs made from cells extracted from women’s bodies and have successfully
implanted human embryos in the wombs, although the “experiments had to be
terminated after a few days to comply with in vitro fertilization
regulations.” Dr Hung-Ching Liu
of Cornell University’s Center for Reproductive Medicine and Infertility said
embryos “left over” from IVF programmes were used in the experiments.
Dr Liu was reported as saying he now intends to keep embryos alive for up
to 14 days to “see if the embryos put down roots and veins into our artificial
wombs’ walls, and see if their cells differentiate into primitive organs and
develop a primitive placenta”. Expressing
concern at the experiments, Bishop Elio Sgreccia, of the Pontifical Academy for
Life, said: “We are on the road to dehumanization.”
CANBERRA – Australian Capital Territory (ACT) women
considering an abortion will no longer be made to view pictures of dead fetuses
before having the procedure, Chief Minister Jon Stanhope said yesterday.
Making women look at the pictures was unnecessary, insensitive and
patronizing, he said. “Women in
these situations may already be under enormous emotional stress, and they do not
deserve to be subjected to further pressure,” Mr. Stanhope said.
Regulations created in 1999 under the Territory’s Maternal Health
Information Act made it mandatory for women to view these pictures before they
had the procedure.
MELBOURNE (NCR) – In what is believed to be the first
case of its kind, an Australian woman has settled with an abortion practitioner
after she sued because he failed to inform her of research linking abortion with
breast cancer. Australian attorney
Charles Francis said a similar suit, in New South Wales, was also proceeding.
A woman was suing a hospital and an abortionist for failure to warn her
of the increased breast-cancer risk. Similar
cases are pending in the United States. In
December 1999 a case was filed against an abortion facility in North Dakota for
false advertising. And last August
three California women filed against Planned Parenthood of San Diego and
Riverside Counties, and Planned Parenthood Federation of America.
Britain’s Royal College of Obstetrics and Gynecologists warned abortion
providers nearly two years ago that the abortion breast cancer link could not be
ignored.
PARIS (CWN) – France’s National Assembly has approved a
bill that would overturn a high court ruling that said a severely handicapped
boy could sue a doctor for wrongful birth.
The country’s highest appeals court ruled last year that the boy and
his parents could sue their doctor because he did not diagnose his birth defects
and give them the option of abortion. The
ruling sparked outrage and debate. Doctors
feared they would have to actively encourage pregnant women to have abortions
rather than risk lawsuits. Others
said they would refuse to perform prenatal screenings altogether.
The assembly voted early this month to overturn the court’s ruling by
adopting a bill that states “no one can sue for damages for the sole fact of
their birth.” The bill must now
be considered by the Senate.
A Canadian woman’s death during the testing of the
abortion pill RU 486 has prompted the suspension of the study. But Health Canada’s spokesperson Roslin Tremblay claimed
that information on adverse reactions during drug testing is not made public
even when a death occurs. Canadians
are wondering, then, if other deaths related to drug testing are left unreported
due to such restriction of public access to information.
She did say the death was being investigated, but the cause of death
remains “undetermined.”
In an out-of-court settlement, Kim Nicholls of Stafford,
England, was awarded nearly 10, 000 pounds compensation following a failed
abortion. Nicholls, a 36 year old
divorcee, took legal action against abortionist Sen Gupta when she discovered
she was 22 weeks pregnant after Gupta supposedly performed an abortion on her.
Nicholls told the BBC: “Three and a half months later, I was doing
everyday things and I felt kicking… I knew what it was from having three other
children, and I just went hysterical.” She
had been advised to abort because she experienced complications following the
Caesarean deliveries of her three older children.
Her fourth child, Darcy, was born healthy on Sept. 24, 1999 by Caesarean
section.
LONDON (LSN/CWN) – A study in Britain has found that
abortion makes women nearly twice as likely to suffer from breast cancer,
reports the Scotsman newspaper. Life,
a British prolife group which commissioned the Populations and Pensions Research
Institution to undertake the study, said that as many as 22, 000 women in
England and Wales could have developed breast cancer because they obtained legal
abortions. The researcher and
author of the study, Patrick Carroll, said the number of breast cancer cases was
expected to rise from 35, 110 in 1997 to 77, 000 in 2023, largely because of
abortions carried out on women who had not yet had a baby.
Unhappy that cooperation with their one-child policy is not
100 percent, Chinese officials are cracking down even harder on the poor in the
mountainous region of Guangdong. As
many as 20, 000 more abortions, some as late as 9months, are expected to be
forcibly performed on women of the province, and all approved births will be
followed by forced sterilization. Meanwhile,
discrimination in access to education and health care against “unofficial”
children – those born without permission – continues throughout China.
Government concern about feeding the Chinese people has continued since
the 70s to focus on eliminating them instead of developing new methods of food
production and distribution.
BOSTON (Zenit) – Researchers have found a stem cell in
adults they say can turn into every single tissue in the body, reports New
Scientist magazine. Until now, only
stem cells from early embryos were believed to have such properties.
If the finding is confirmed, it will mean cells from someone’s own body
could one day be turned into all sorts of matched replacement tissues and even
organs. If so, there would be no
need to resort to so-called therapeutic cloning – a procedure that clones
people to get matching stem cells from the resulting embryos.
Nor would someone have to genetically engineer embryonic stem cells
(ESCs) to create a “one cell fits all” line that does not trigger immune
rejection. “The work is very exciting,” says Ihor Lemischka of
Princeton University. “They can
differentiate into pretty much everything that an embryonic stem cell can
differentiate into.” The cells
were found in bone marrow by Catherine Verfaillie at the University of
Minnesota. Verfaillie says the
cells seem to grow indefinitely in culture, like ESCs.
Some lines have been growing for almost two years, and have kept their
characteristics, with no signs of ageing.
In North Dakota, Red River Women’s clinic was brought to
court September 11 on charges of false advertising. Brochures at the clinic claim that there is no evidence to
link abortion with increased breast cancer risks.
The brochures also state that undergoing an elective abortion is ten
times safer than giving birth. Amy
Jo Mattson, the plaintiff, is suing on behalf of the general public as she was
not
misled or harmed because of the misinformation contained in the
brochures. Mattson was a 1999
participant in the trans-national youth pilgrimage sponsored by Crossroads, a
youth division of American Life League.
LONDON (LSN/CWN) – A government report on the dispensing
of morning-after pills shows 25,200 British girls aged 12-15 received the
abortifacient drugs last year. News
of the “record high” number of children receiving them led child welfare
groups to slam the government for allowing children access to them without
parental consent or notification.
TASMANIA (LSN/CWN) – Tasmania has passed legislation, which, according to pro-life groups, will allow abortion virtually on demand on the island. The “emergency” legislation was initiated when abortionists stopped committing abortions after a medical student complained to police that abortionists were falsifying documents in order to skirt the 75-year old abortion law.
TOKYO (SIO) – Japan’s Society of Obstetrics and
Gynecology has voted to allow the destruction of human embryos to obtain stem
cells for medical research. Previous
guidelines only allowed the destruction of supernumerary in vitro fertilization
embryos for research into fertility.
Father Norman Weslin 71, is the founder of Lambs for Christ, an American Pro-life organization dedicated to opposing abortion through peaceful non violent action. Father Norman has been in prison since Nov 5, his crime peacefully praying on a public sidewalk in front of an abortion mill. He had previously had a court injunction prohibiting him from this peaceful action. He will remain in prison until April 3. At Christmas he completed a 39 day, water-only fast. Father Weslin has been battling the evil of abortion for decades and calling forth the generosity of others to do the same. He categorically rejects all forms of violence. He is considered a “violent extremist” by pro-abortion groups. Father Weslin is a heroic model for Christians in the defense of life. There are groups of Christians who pray peacefully outside abortion mills in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. Would you like to join them? Wellington, Contact Maria Hammond, Ph: 237 4939. Christchurch, Bernadette Walker, Ph: 385 9912
In Finland, researchers identified suicide rates among
aborted women were higher (35%) than women who gave birth (6%).
According to research in The American Journal
of Drug and Alcohol Abuse, women who abort their first pregnancy are five
times more likely to report subsequent substance abuse than women who gave
birth, and four times more likely than women whose pregnancies ended through
miscarriage or stillbirth. In the
United States, 13 out of 14 studies found more breast cancer among American
women who had chosen abortion. The
link between the two is so strong that The New England Journal of Medicine
listed abortion as a risk factor for breast cancer.
Washington, DC, The push by abortion advocates in the U.S. Senate to give more money to efforts that reduce the world’s population has stalled, thanks to the bold stand of a few pro-life congressmen. It looked like the conference committee negotiating on the Foreign Operations appropriations bill was about to increase federal funding for the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) from $25 million last fiscal year to $35 million in fiscal year 2002 with much of the money earmarked for population control. But all that has changed.
“Americans do not want their tax dollars to go to organizations that cooperate with and praise China’s one-child abortion policy,” said Connie Mackey, vice president of government relations for the Family Research Council. “And we have nothing but praise for Congressman Chris Smith (R-NJ) and Mike Pence (R-IN) and other members of Congress who went to the floor to try to fight this battle on our behalf.” “Twenty-five million dollars is $25 million too much, but it’s certainly not $34 million or $39 million or some other number,” Smith said. “They certainly shouldn’t be getting an increase when they are flaunting coercion while pretending to embrace volunteerism.” He said the population fund has “aided and abetted” communist China’s policies, in which the central authorities have set quotas for population growth for certain regions. In some cases local authorities, in order to meet their quotas, have forced population control, including abortion.
Pro-life groups have long opposed taxpayer funding for the UNFPA, in large part because of its partnership with Chinese government officials in carrying out the country’s policy allowing only one child per family. Officials often enforce the policy through forced sterilization and abortion. However , the battle in Congress is not over.
Senate abortion advocates on the conference committee strongly support increased funding for the UNFPA, and several in the House aren’t supportive of the strong stance taken by Smith and Pence along with pro-life Congressman Dave Weldon (R-FL), who is a medical doctor. Nevertheless, Smith has won the support of House leaders, who are willing to break off negotiations if Senate negotiators won’t give in, according to CQ Monitor, which covers developments on Capitol Hill.
Smith, Weldon and Pence, protested the allocation for United Nations Population Fund, period, during last week’s meeting of the House Republican Conference.
The three cited the recent hearing by the House Committee on International Relations, where UNFPA’s continued complicity with Red China’s forced abortion and involuntary sterilization program was exposed, as well as UNFPA’s burgeoning scheme to distribute back-alley, do-it-yourself abortion kits to Afghan refugees. Their pleas were of such passion that House Republicans concluded the UNFPA funding item must be reconsidered before the Foreign Operations bill can be finalized.
Wendy Wright, spokesman for Concerned Women for America, said pro-abortion senators are blind to what the U.N. does with taxpayer money. “We know United Nations Population Fund is using our tax dollars for coercive abortion and sterilization programs in China, and among refugees. It was done in Kosovo and apparently will be done among the Afghan refugees in Pakistan now,” Wright said. She added that Congress needs to stop throwing money at the U.N just because they’ve done it in the past. Mackey contends that the United States shouldn’t be spending tax dollars on abortion and sterilization programs, when the money could be better spent on the war effort and aiding Afghan children.
Editors note:
The New Zealand government makes an annual contribution out of its budget for overseas development assistance (NZODA) to the UNFPA. For the 2000/2001 year it was NZ $1.8 million. A grant of NZ $1.15 million was given to the International Planned Parenthood Federation. Right to Life NZ has written to the Minister of Foreign Affairs to protest at these grants.
Right to Life New Zealand has been requested by SPUC to make corrections to its statements made on the proposed SPUC petition in our society’s November newsletter. SPUC proposes to conduct a national petition to Parliament seeking a change in how abortion is funded. Abortion is currently funded as a core health service funded by the tax payer. Following an interview with the National Secretary of SPUC Philip Lynch, the NZ Catholic reported in the papers edition of 7 October that SPUC sought a “user pays service.” Right to Life wrote to the national executive of SPUC in December expressing its concerns about the implications of this petition for the unborn child. The national secretary wrote in December advising that “the points you raised are valid and have been taken into account.” He stated that the report in the NZ Catholic “used some phrasing which I consider was unfortunate. He went on to say that “SPUC would never consider the killing of children a service.” The published opinions and concerns of Right to Life, on the implications for the defense of the unborn child of the proposed petition, remain unchanged.