News,

Irish abortion lobby use European court ruling to push for legalised abortion

The Irish abortion lobby is using a mixed ruling in the European Court of Human Rights to push for legalised abortion in Ireland. The Court ruled that a woman who was unable to procure an abortion while in remission from cancer had been denied her medical options. Mary Harney, the pro-abortion Irish health minister, said that the government would be seeking legal advice on implementing legislation allowing abortion. Eamon Gilmore, the Labour Party leader, said that Irish law must allow abortion where a mother's health is at risk. Liam Gibson, director of SPUC Northern Ireland, said the Labour Party was ignoring the European ruling and acting on an ideological commitment to promote abortion on demand. [LifeSiteNews.com, 6 January] http://bit.ly/hpwETE

Abby Johnson, former abortion centre director, gives hope for the unborn

Abby Johnson, the former director of a Planned Parenthood abortion facility, has released a new book explaining her conversion to pro-life values. In the book 'unPLANNED', Abby Johnson explains that during the first time she was asked to assist with an abortion she realised that the work she had been involved with for years was a lie. Anthony Ozimic, SPUC's communications manager, said that Abby's story gives us a glimmer of hope that the abortion industry may one day collapse from the inside. [John Smeaton, 11 January] http://bit.ly/hAUXtO

SPUC director claims that recent stories show abortion follows in the wake of contraception

A study of women in Spain shows that abortion rates and contraception rates rose in parallel between 1997 and 2007. Secondly, among a large number of British women whose contraceptives failed, some went on to have abortions. John Smeaton, national director of SPUC, has said that both stories provide evidence of the close relationship between contraception and abortion. Mr Smeaton says that the provision of contraception not only fails to prevent unplanned pregnancies, but results in unborn children being victimised to death as the unwelcome consequences of so-called contraceptive failure. [John Smeaton, 5 January] http://bit.ly/g3U62D

Abortion

• American Catholic university hires pro-abortion professor [LifeSiteNews.com, 11 January] http://bit.ly/f6ivyo
• Survivor of abortion tells her story in TV interview [LifeSiteNews.com, 11 January] http://bit.ly/etIBK7
• Abortion rate rises in the US after years of decline [medilexicon.com, 11 January] http://bit.ly/eE2UVR
• Irish GPs criticise Boots for sale of morning-after pill [Irish Examiner, 12 January] http://bit.ly/fivL7T
• Australian couple abort twin boys in hope of girl conceived through IVF [associatedcontent.com, 9 January] http://bit.ly/hZp6nL
• Jamaican pro-lifers take real action against the culture of death [John Smeaton, 9 January] http://bit.ly/gcjI2i
• Claims of rising voluntary abortion rate among young women in China [AP via Guardian, 8 January] http://bit.ly/dFVK8E
• American politician introduces measure to cut funds to major abortion provider [LifeSiteNews.com, 7 January] http://bit.ly/ghTHaL
• There is a paradox in society's attitude to infertility and child destruction [John Smeaton, 6 January] http://bit.ly/fMgjEo
• Woman sues NHS claiming contraceptives and abortion destroyed her marriage [Telegraph, 5 January] http://bit.ly/gfvmSJ
• Irish people must renew their protection of unborn children [Patrick Buckley, 7 January] http://bit.ly/hbKe4U
• Abortion provider calls for sexualisation of children from birth [LifeSiteNews.com, 6 January] http://bit.ly/h8OD1T
• Abortion advocate appointed to the Vatican's academy for sciences [LifeSiteNews.com, 6 January] http://bit.ly/h8Zowc
• American Catholic hospital investigate staff member's connection to abortion provider [CatholicCulture.org, 6 January] http://bit.ly/ighMsc
• UK government should not spend tax-payers' money on aborting the poor [John Smeaton, 4 January] http://bit.ly/eid0Fh
• Entire student body of American university to attend pro-life march [LifeSiteNews.com, 4 January] http://bit.ly/gb6Ps7
• US Republican lawmakers call for new abortion law based on foetal pain [mediLexicon.com, 4 January] http://bit.ly/eZ1Jxm
• US newspaper claims anti-abortion activists are buoyed by foetal pain act [mediLexicon.com, 4 January]http://bit.ly/hlhxPb

Embryology

• IVF practice shows human life desperately wanted and readily discarded [Wesley Smith, 4 January] http://bit.ly/gQmCwE
• US government allows embryonic stem cell experimentation for blindness [channelnewsasia.com, 3 January] http://bit.ly/h2Jpw4
• Couple conceive naturally thanks to ethical treatment after numerous IVF failures [Telegraph, 3 January] http://bit.ly/f3RvaY

Euthanasia

• Legalised assisted suicide has led to a higher suicide rate in Oregon [Alex Schadenberg, 11 January] http://bit.ly/i5DkcX
• Eminent British surgeon joins euthanasia campaign [The Independent, 10 January] http://ind.pn/ghY25V
• UK study reveals failings in the care of dementia patients [Telegraph, 8 January] http://bit.ly/f9gci4
• Australian euthanasia lobby attack Catholic opponents [Alex Schadenberg, 6 January] http://bit.ly/gAKx50
• British pensioner commits suicide after killing his wife [24dash.com, 6 January] http://bit.ly/gnRSFt
• Judge who ordered Terri Schiavo's death retires to a bouquet of awards [LifeSiteNews.com, 3 January] http://bit.ly/e7SKt2
• Mass grave of Nazi euthanasia victims discovered [LifeSiteNews.com, 3 January] http://bit.ly/hRjjwT
• US citizen criticises offensive euthanasia adverts [Ales Schadenberg, 4 January] http://bit.ly/epRWXU
• Study finds that only a tiny proportion of elder abuse cases are reported [Alex Schadenberg, 4 January] http://bit.ly/f3ObyX
• Swiss doctor acquitted of euthanasia charge reignites end of life debate [UPI.com, 4 January] http://bit.ly/fyksbJ
• Novel exploring infanticide wins award [BBC News, 4 January] http://bbc.in/i1I13Z
• UK social workers accused of leaving a pensioner to die [Daily Express, 5 January] http://bit.ly/dXTfd3

Population

• Popular disc-jockey says women shouldn't delay childbearing [Daily Mail, 7 January] http://bit.ly/eLSsaV
• Chinese population control causes eugenics [Wesley Smith, 3 January] http://bit.ly/g7S9yK

Sexual ethics

• UK mother seeks to freeze her own eggs for use by her daughter [Daily Mail, 11 January] http://bit.ly/gAAnFP
• UK government proposes plan to reduce divorce rate [Daily Mail, 10 January] http://bit.ly/i8mLhK
• Channel 4 criticised for pornographic sex education programme [Daily Mail, 9 January] http://bit.ly/eEucQH
• More evidence emerges that the EU's human rights agency is anti-family [John Smeaton, 8 January] http://bit.ly/hNh7nG
• Eminent Vatican theologian provides useful perspective on AIDS and condoms [John Smeaton, 7 January] http://bit.ly/ed3rU8
• Report reveals women have been injured by and are still becoming pregnant using contraceptives [Telegraph, 5 January] http://bit.ly/hg3b9U
• Study suggests morning-after pill may be linked to increase in sexual diseases [Daily Express, 5 January] http://bit.ly/grIoNe
• Austen Ivereigh claims urging condom use is Catholic pastoral care [James Preece, 6 January] http://bit.ly/gfxsrm

General

• Honduran cardinal's boldness for life and family is a model for bishops [John Smeaton, 10 January] http://bit.ly/feBPfV
• Pope Benedict XVI criticises laws that threaten conscientious objection [LifeSiteNews.com, 11 January] http://bit.ly/fLtxWq
• New DNA test devised to identify unborn babies with Down Syndrome [The Independent, 12 January] http://ind.pn/fGAYob
• Thousands plan to march for life in France [Patrick Buckley, 10 January] http://bit.ly/hlqo4F
• Soap-opera cot-death story-line causes uproar [Daily Mail, 7 January] http://bit.ly/h3vB3H
• Thousands of Spaniards demand the right to conscientious objection for medical staff [CNA, 6 January] http://bit.ly/g7iCg5
• Ambulance technician keeps his job despite allegedly ignoring a heart attack [BBC News, 4 January] http://bbc.in/fDQyc2
• Professor John Harris calls for the legalisation of organ trading [The Independent, 5 January] http://ind.pn/gDSmOo
• Surgeons call for legalisation of organ trading [Belfast Telegraph, 5 January] http://bit.ly/fT7dBW
• Dead baby is found on board a flight to the Philippines [Herald.ie, 4 January] http://bit.ly/dVHHoB
• Death of Israeli footballer sparks organ donor debate [medindia.net, 4 January] http://bit.ly/gJRqbJ
• UK secular society calls for a ban on Christian school assemblies [The Christian Institute, 5 January] http://bit.ly/dYXI8e
• All UK learner drivers to be asked if they will donate organs [mediplacements.com, 5 January] http://bit.ly/fSRP73
• US pro-lifers welcome the 'most pro-life' Congress in living memory [LifeSiteNews.com, 5 January] http://bit.ly/g2mo6Y

The reliability of the news herein is dependent on that of the cited sources. Opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the society.

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