The Republican candidate for US vice president has criticised the Democrat presidential nominee for a remark he made about abortion. Mrs Sarah Palin recalled how Senator Barack Obama had spoken of how he would not want his daughters "punished with a baby" if they had an unwanted pregnancy. Mr Obama had departed from the middle ground on life issues. [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 11 October] Mrs Palin spoke about her youngest child who has Down's syndrome. She said: "Every child has something to contribute to our world if we give them that chance. [Our son] is ... more precious because he is vulnerable ... [W]e stand to learn more from him than he does from us." [AFP on Google, 12 October] The head of SPUC has called Mrs Palin's oration, given in Pennsylvania on Saturday, the speech of the century. He wishes he were American, presumably so he could vote for her. He quotes her saying: "I believe the truest measure of any society is how it treats those who are least able to defend and speak for themselves. And who is more vulnerable, or more innocent, than a child?" [John Smeaton, 13 October]
The governor general of Canada has presented a national award to an advocate and practitioner of abortion. Rt Hon Michaëlle Jean gave the Order of Canada to Dr Henry Morgentaler. Her office commended him for heightening: "awareness of women's reproductive health issues among medical professionals and the Canadian public." The statement did not mention abortion. [LifeSiteNews, 10 October] Before the ceremony, Most Rev Thomas Collins, Catholic Archbishop of Toronto, said the giving of the award to Dr Morgentaler divided the nation and asked: "Is a country made better when those who are most vulnerable are not allowed to continue their brief experience of the precious gift of life itself?" [LifeSiteNews, 10 October]
A pro-life campaign in the US and Canada claims to have saved the lives of more than 100 unborn children. Supporters of 40 Days for Life, organised in 170 branches, have been protesting at abortion facilities. [LifeSiteNews, 10 October]
Australian Right to Life is trying to get a suicide handbook taken off the internet. Dr Philip Nitschke was due to launch his publication in Britain today. Ms Margaret Tighe of Right to Life said he was a dangerous man. The authorities had to stop him. [ABC, 13 October]
A long-term unconscious woman in Italy whose father wants her starved to death has suffered a haemorrhage. Ms Eluana Englaro, 36, has been in a coma for 16 years and Mr Beppino Englaro says she previously expressed a wish not to live like that. He wants her feeding tube removed. [Seattle Pi, 11 October]
The leader of Scottish Catholics has expressed approval for a charity which supports pregnant women who have cancer. Cardinal Keith O'Brien, Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh, applauded the Andrea Kearney Fund whose name commemorates a mother who died of breast cancer after giving birth to her fifth child. [Sunday Mail, 12 October]
Research suggests that having children late in life could improve women's longevity. A Boston University, Massachusetts, survey of people who had attained 100 years of age suggests that giving birth after 40 increases the likelihood of a woman's reaching 100. [Mail on Sunday, 12 October] Motherhood may make women more intelligent, say scientists at the University of Richmond, Virginia. Pregnancy apparently reconfigures the brain and can bring lifelong improvements in cognition. [Sunday Times, 12 October]
Chemicals have been used to make human skin tissue into pluripotent stem cells. Harvard Stem Cell Institute, Massachusetts, published its results in Nature Biotechnology. Chemicals are an alternative to using genes or viruses. [Reuters, 12 October]
Twins were delivered by caesarean section from their dying mother. Mrs Sarah Underhill, 37, a policewoman of Oxfordshire, England, suffered a fatal loss of blood but her son and daughter survive in their father's care. [Herald, 13 October]