News,
Abortions on teenagers in Britain are higher than ever with more than 21,000 under-18s having the procedure in 2007. Pregnancies among under-16s increased by 6.4%. The British Pregnancy Advisory Service said it was a positive sign that more than half of pregnant teenagers had had an abortion because it showed there was less of a stigma about it. The ProLife Alliance said that remark was offensive and the Family Education Trust said the government's teenage pregnancy prevention strategy had failed. The government says it will spend millions more on birth control. [Telegraph, 27 February] Professor David Paton of Nottingham University said the government was particularly failing the most vulnerable teenagers. [Daily Mail, 27 February] Dr Patricia Morgan, the sociologist, writes that she cannot find evidence that sex education of the kind favoured by the government is effective, while abstinence programmes in America have worked. [Telegraph, 27 February] A teenage mother has told SPUC's national director that she and her parents think the sexual health clinic at her school actually promoted sexual activity. [John Smeaton, 26 February]
US senators have revived a bill, vetoed by President Bush, to allow government funding for research on human embryos. Sponsors include Senator Edward Kennedy, Democrat. President Obama supports such funding. [Reuters, 26 February] The Democratic leadership in the House of Representatives has blocked pro-life amendments to the president's spending bill. Representative Chris Smith's measures would have stopped funding for abortion (including forced abortion) and forced sterilisation overseas. [Catholic News Service, 26 February]
Concerned Women for America are warning that abortion is likely to be promoted at next week's annual meeting in New York of the United Nations' Commission on the Status of Women. Ms Wendy Wright is worried that Mr Obama's new government will be highly active. Previous meetings have used phrases like "sexual and reproductive health services" which conceal an abortion agenda. Ireland, Malta and Poland have previously dissented from the European Union's anti-life line. [Catholic Family & Human Rights Institute, 26 February]
A court in Scotland has persuaded the local state health authority to pay for IVF for a female homosexual couple. Caroline Harris and Julie McMullan claimed discrimination because of their sexual orientation and the Glasgow-based health board says it re-examined their case in the light of last year's Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act. [Scotsman, 27 February]
An American state now requires parental consent for tattoos on minors but not for abortion. Maryland's legislature unanimously approved the measure on tattoos and body piercing. Our source points out that, if a minor requests an abortion, one parent is notified but their consent is not necessary. [LifeSiteNews, 26 February]
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