News,

The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops has responded to the passing of a bill on assisted human reproduction by the House of Commons. The statement reaffirms the humanity of the early embryo, praises the positive elements within the bill but laments its failure to prohibit embryo research. [CCCB, 29 October ] The US Catholic bishops' conference have issued a statement welcoming the ban on partial-birth abortion, which it describes as 'a particularly heinous abortion procedure.' The statement praises the efforts of the Catholic community in the battle for the ban, especially the 47 million messages that were sent to congressional offices by Catholics. Regret is expressed that abortion advocates are using the courts to push their agendas, having 'failed to persuade the American people, through the normal democratic process, to accept their extreme agenda of abortion on demand.' The statement also notes that Americans are more pro-life as a result of the debate. [US bishops, 24 October ] The abortion rate dropped in the US during the 1990s, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The abortion rate dropped 22% from 27.4 to 21.4 abortions per 1000 women between 1990 and 1999. However, this probably does not include abortions through abortifacient drugs. The abortion rate among teenagers dropped 39%. [CWNews, 3 November]