News,

Professor Ian Wilmut, famous for creating Dolly the first cloned sheep, has added his voice to calls to allow so-called therapeutic cloning of embryos. Arguing that the potential medical benefits to people are vast, he said that the human embryo deserves respect, but only as a potential person and rather than an actual person. [Daily Telegraph, 13th April]


The latest information received from the British Parliament states that three more amendments have been tabled with respect to the Medical Treatment (Prevention of Euthanasia) Bill, although the substance of one of these has been converted into a new clause. Various new clauses and amendments already tabled have also received additional signatories. The Bill will have its report stage in the House of Commons tomorrow (April 14th) starting at 9.30 am.


Cancer sufferer Jill Baker, aged 67, was alarmed to discover that doctors at St Mary's Hospital, Portsmouth, UK, had written the phrase "inappropriate for resuscitation" on her medical notes without her permission during her treatment for septicaemia. Nine months later she is still enjoying a good quality of life. A spokesperson for the Age Concern charity observed that they learn of similar cases every month. [Daily Telegraph & Metro, 13th April]


A man has been charged with second-degree murder in Missouri after beating his wife with a log while she was pregnant because she refused to get an abortion. The baby, born three months premature, died from "placental abruption" and prematurity due to the injuries to the mother. Jason Hawkins, aged 22, who had thought that his wife was pregnant with another man's child, has also been charged with first and second degree assault. [Joplin Globe, 12th April (from Pro-Life Infonet)]


The latest figures from the Public Health Laboratory in Britain indicate that, in the past year, cases of gonorrhoea have risen by nearly 40% in girls aged 16 to 19, and by more than half among boys in the same age range. Gonorrhoea is a sexually transmitted disease which can leave a woman incapable of becoming pregnant. Furthermore, one in ten teenagers are infected with a sexually transmitted disease. [BBC, 12th April & Daily Mail, 13th April]


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