News,

The Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC) has expressed disappointment and concern after seeing a preview of the Channel Four programme about abortion which is to be screened on Tuesday (20 April). SPUC has also challenged Channel Four to give the complete picture of the issue and to represent the pro-life side fully and fairly. Mrs Eileen Brydon of SPUC's north-east England office said: "This documentary purports to lift the veil of secrecy about abortion yet the subject will remain obscure after people have seen it. Although some people from the anti-abortion side were featured, this was principally an attempt to make abortion seem easy, normal and good. There were some good photographs of unborn children but many of the images consisted of brief flashes of the giant pictures of aborted children which some American campaigners display on lorries over there. The UK situation wasn't properly represented. The abortion which viewers will see was a very early one, which is unusual. The message was that this was a quick and easy operation, yet nothing was mentioned of all the possible psychological or physical effects, some of them long-term, on women of having abortions at any stage." Pro-life groups at the United Nations' human rights meeting in Geneva are continuing to press for the rejection of a report which advocates "sexual and reproductive health". Mr Paul Hunt's report will be voted on tomorrow. Pro-life lobbyists are also opposing a resolution which could be interpreted to mean that the denial of abortion is a type of violence against women. [LifeSite, 14 April ] Reproductive health is a euphemism which the World Health Organisation has defined as including abortion on demand. Some 85% of pregnant Irish women drink alcohol and more than two fifths smoke, according to a survey by the Royal College of Surgeons. A college spokesman described the findings as alarming and astonishing. [online.ie, 14 April ] The Uruguayan senate is expected to agree with the house of representatives to legalise first-trimester abortion, though President Jorge Batlle has refused to approve the proposed law. Grounds for abortion would include social and economic hardship. [LifeSite, 14 April ] Small uterine fibroids could make miscarriage more likely according to preliminary findings by North Carolina university. Researchers found that, among the 1,600 women they studied, most who had fibroids had not been told. More than a fifth of women of reproductive age contract the benign muscle tumors. Small ones are reportedly more likely to cause miscarriage than large ones. The research will continue and a larger number of women will be studied. [Medical News Today, 14 April ]