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Assisted suicide report from Falconer's stacked commission is worthless says SPUC

The report by Lord Falconer's self-styled commission on assisted suicide, funded by pro-death activists, amounts to a renewed attack on the legal status of disabled and elderly people. The commission has been widely discredited as stacked with supporters of assisted suicide. Paul Tully of SPUC Pro-Life said: "Lord Falconer's cooking-up of a dodgy dossier via a stacked panel shows the lengths to which the assisted suicide lobby will go. They seek to create a two-tier system: people who deserve a right to life, and those who maybe don't." [SPUC, 4 January]

SPUC launches campaign against gay marriage

SPUC has launched a campaign against the Westminster government's proposals for same-sex marriage. SPUC has published a position paper on same-sex marriage following a resolution by SPUC's Council last month. SPUC has also made available a background paper to be read in conjunction with the position paper and which provides some additional references and reflections. Same-sex marriage represents an attempt to redefine marriage, thus undermining marriage. This undermining lessens the protection for unborn children which true marriage provides. [SPUC, 3 January]

UK abortions to reduce multiple births on the rise

Abortions of twins in the UK have risen since 2006, official statistics show. In 2010, 85 women aborted at least one unborn child while going on give birth to another baby, up from 59 in 2006. [Telegraph, 28 December] Anthony Ozimic of SPUC commented: “There are a number of factors which may be responsible for this rise. There may be pressure from doctors on women to abort babies deemed as ‘surplus’, whether conceived through IVF or naturally following fertility treatment. Doctors may also be influencing women to abort with the reason that disability in a child or complications for the mother are more likely in multiple pregnancies than in single pregnancies. Another reason may be the practice of sex-selective abortion among some ethnic groups. Whatever the causes of the rise, it nonetheless reveals the reality of eugenics in modern British medicine, in which some innocent human beings are deemed too inconvenient to be allowed to live.”

Other stories:

Embryology

• US researchers explore link between stem cells and ageing [Mail, 4 January]
• Stem cell research on donor eggs often not disclosed [Reuters, 3 January]
• Scientists grow sperm in laboratory dish [Telegraph, 2 January]

Euthanasia

• Elderly 'robbed of dignity' by failing social services, say charities [Independent Catholic News, 3 January]
• Catholic archbishop of Cardiff opposes presumed consent for organ donation [Wales Online, 2 January]

Sexual ethics

• Senior UK judge launches pro-marriage campaign [Mail, 4 January]
• European Catholic bishops urge defence of family [CNA, 4 January]
• Boys raised by traditional families 'do better at school' [Telegraph, 3 January]
• US lesbian couple in custody battle following donor child [Mail, 3 January]
• Gay activist praises Westminster archbishop for "recognis[ing] the value of civil partnerships" [Guardian, 3 January]
• Polish MEPs resign from group over its support for gay marriage [Bloggers4UKIP, 3 January]
• UK doctors warn alcohol is fuelling sexual health crisis among teens [Mail, 31 December]

General

• A celebration of motherhood [Pat Buckley, 2 January]

To subscribe to SPUC's email information services, please visit www.spuc.org.uk/em-signup. The reliability of the news herein is dependent on that of the cited sources, which are paraphrased rather than quoted. Opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the society. © Society for the Protection of Unborn Children, 2018