Alison Davis, head of No Less Human, has responded to a story in the Telegraph last week about a blood test which will allow doctors to check unborn children for Down's syndrome. Alison said that she was dismayed to read the story "Blood test for Down's syndrome", which expressed the "hope" that a new non-invasive pre-natal test for Down's syndrome will soon be widely available. She said that this "hope" seems to be based on the fact that the test may reduce the numbers of miscarriages of so-called "healthy" babies who currently die as a result of invasive tests to detect Down's syndrome." Alison said that this perpetuates the common myth that while killing a "healthy" baby is a tragedy, killing a disabled baby is to be lauded. A spokesman for the Royal College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology dubbed the new test as the "holy grail" of Down's syndrome testing. Alison questioned whether a greater offence could be given to another human being than telling them that killing him/her is a "holy grail". [John Smeaton, 4 July] http://bit.ly/9ykqgO
Pro-abortion activist admits humanity of unborn, but says women must be prepared to kill
Antonia Senior, a pro-abortion journalist, has said that despite coming to believe that all human life begins at conception that feminists must be prepared to kill for their reproductive rights. R. Albert Mohler has described Senior’s essay "Yes, Abortion is Killing. But It’s the Lesser Evil," as a moral earthquake. [The Christian Post, 4 July] http://bit.ly/cxLqtD
IVF treatment increases chance of cerebral palsy, study says
A new study has found that Children conceived via common infertility treatments are twice more likely to be diagnosed with disabling cerebral palsy. The risk of developing cerebral palsy was more than doubled among children born through IVF and for children conceived using fertility drugs, the risk was reported to be 55 percent higher. [PressTV, 3 July] http://bit.ly/br5rkp
Pro-abortion activist says women should feel guilty for not aborting in some cases
Elfriede Harth, Secretariat of European Parliament Study Group on Religion and Secularity and a Spanish member of Catholics for the Right to Decide has said that women who do not choose an abortion when not having one might ‘ruin’ their life should feel guilty. Harth was speaking at a Women’s Deliver conference, the major focus of which was to promote population control in developing countries worldwide through contraception and abortion funding. [LifeSiteNews.com, 30 June] http://bit.ly/9Jizva
Report on Polish March for Life
Patrick Buckley reports that the March for Life and Family that took place in Warsaw at the beginning of June, attracted an attendance of at least 6000 people. The first such March for Life was in 2006 and, since then, the numbers involved have increased by 300 percent. A reporter said of the event that the crowd consisted mostly of young people and families with children. They said that these people represent a new generation of pro-life and pro-family Poles. [Patrick Buckley, 1 July] http://bit.ly/adrr1P
Bishop known for boldly opposing abortion given senior Vatican position
Pope Benedict has appointed Archbishop Marc Ouellet of Quebec to the position of prefect for the Congregation of Bishops. The Archbishop is known for his bold stand against abortion, recently explaining why abortion was wrong even in the case of rape. The position is a highly influential one, as the Congregation for Bishops supervises the selection of most of the world's diocesan bishops. [CatholicCulture.org, 30 June] http://bit.ly/aEaPGR
Other stories:
Abortion laws undermine condemnation of child abuse, says New Zealand pro-lifer. [Scoop, 4 July] http://bit.ly/dxwiof
Spanish public oppose new abortion law. [Malaysian Mirror, 3 July] http://bit.ly/b43qYC
New Zealand MP proposes new abortion law. [nzherald.co.nz, 3 July] http://bit.ly/9mmLsI
UK Methodist Church to clarify its position on abortion. [LifeSiteNews.com, 30 June] http://bit.ly/drdwKN
Spain agrees to review new abortion law. [Yahoo Finance, 30 June] http://yhoo.it/d0Jrpn
UK baby to have four parents. [BBC, 2 July] http://bit.ly/98d7Sm
Study into birth defects of IVF children launched. [Daily Mail, 30 June] http://bit.ly/abZ1Gt
IVM linked to oversized babies. [AOL News, 1 July] http://bit.ly/bb1nOJ
Popular IVF practice expensive, risky and with low success rate. [Daily Mail, 30 June] http://bit.ly/bjO1gW
Admitted assisted-suicide counselor attempts to have his charges dropped. [Euthanasia Prevention Coalition, 30 June] http://bit.ly/98vxwx
Ireland approves ‘civil partnerships’. [Patrick Buckley, 2 July] http://bit.ly/d3f515
Pro-lifers given reason for hope with new president of Pontifical Academy for Life. [LifeSiteNews.com, 30 June] http://bit.ly/cHpuGN
Woman commits suicide after failed IVF. [Herald.ie, 30 June] http://bit.ly/dnpwUT
Switzerland considers tightening its laws on euthanasia for foreigners. [BBC, 2 July] http://bit.ly/dir3Kj
Assisted suicide will lead to killing without consent, Professor tells medical society. [Euthanasia Prevention Coalition, 1 July] http://bit.ly/bsOOj8
US Supreme Court nominee needs to clarify her position on abortion, says Bill Saunders. [Human Events, 28 June] http://bit.ly/aA6haI