Women in Britain are to be offered half-price IVF treatment in exchange for donating some of their eggs for embryonic stem cell research. Researchers in Durham and Newcastle have been given permission by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) to go ahead with the scheme, which will take a year to set up. The eggs will be used to create cloned embryos from which stem cells will be extracted, thereby killing them. Paul Danon of SPUC described the scheme as "the commercialisation of human life for research." He said: "Here we have money changing hands in a matter of human reproduction. This must surely degrade the young lives that will be created." [The Scotsman, 28 July]

The Dominican Republic parliament has rejected a proposal to legalise abortion for rape victims. It is thought that a concerted effort by pro-life lobbyists persuaded parliamentarians to reject the proposal. Bishop Ramon Benito, secretary-general of the country's Catholic bishops' conference, said: "Just as there are centres of care for children, society must seek out solutions in favour of life for children who are conceived through rape, as well as quality care for mothers." [Life Site, 27 July]