weekly update, 6 November

weekly update, 6 November The British government has affirmed its intention to permit the creation of human-animal hybrid embryos. After the announcement of the legislative programme for the new parliamentary year, Anthony Ozimic, SPUC political secretary, commented: "Today is a fateful day for Britain and for the world, because the government's bill represents an unprecedented attack upon the dignity of human life, seeking to lead the world in truly sinister experiments - the creation of human-animal hybrids and the genetic modification of human beings. These developments, and the financial motivation behind them, are ethically deplorable. We have had a very positive response to our campaign against the bill among the general public, and we are using that support to call upon members of both Houses of Parliament to vote on principle against the bill as a whole at the first opportunity." [SPUC, 6 November ] A British woman who has been in a coma for seven years has shown signs of improvement after being given the Zolpidem drug. Amy Pickard suffered severe brain-damage after a heroin overdose, and is being cared for at the Raphael Medical Centre in Hildenborough, Kent. Her mother said that she noticed an improvement in her daughter within about 20 minutes of her taking the drug, and that she is making steady progress. [BBC, 31 October ] Argentina's president-elect recently claimed to be opposed to abortion but, when asked to clarify her statement, Ms Cristina Fernández de Kirchner's equivocal reply appeared to affirm her party's pro-legalisation position. She maintained that those campaigning for decriminalisation were not in favour of abortion. [LifeSite, 30 October ] Pharmacies in Chile have been warned that they could face heavy fines and closure if they refuse to sell morning-after pills. The government has imported supplies in response to the claim that the drug could not be bought locally. A statement from one of the pharmacy chains expressed the view that the pill was abortifacient, and claimed the right of conscientious objection to providing it. [BBC, 30 October ] More than 80,000 girls aged 13 to 16 attended contraception clinics in Britain last year. The proportion of under 16s seeking advice has risen from six percent to 8.5% over the last decade. Mr Mike Judge of the Christian Institute said that children had been let down by not being empowered to delay sexual activity. [Telegraph, 30 October ] Research published in the British Medical Journal found that women who chose to have caesarean section for non-medical reasons were putting themselves and their babies at greater risk of serious complications. Experts said the study was a reminder that caesarean sections carried risks and should not be seen as just another delivery option. [Telegraph, 31 October , and Sun, 31 October ]