News, 7 March 2013

Top stories:

Same-sex 'marriage' has negative effects, shows latest evidence

The experience of legalising marriage for same-sex couples in Europe and North America shows that such legalisation has negative effects for real marriage and for families, shows latest evidence. The evidence was presented to the House of Commons committee examining the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill, in a written submission by Dr Patricia Morgan, the British family policy researcher, on behalf of SPUC. The submission can be read in full at www.spuc.org.uk/campaigns/ssmsub20130301 [SPUC, 2 March]

New abortion law in Northern Ireland reflects alarm about Marie Stopes

New legislation on abortion introduced to the Northern Ireland Assembly is a response to the level of public concern aroused by the arrival in Northern Ireland of Marie Stopes International (MSI). The opening of the MSI abortion facility in Belfast in October last year left the Assembly with no choice but to address the threat posed by abortion businesses determined to defy the existing law. [SPUC, 27 February]

Northern Ireland abortion court-case shows abortion-lobby desperate, says SPUC

SPUC, which twice forced the Northern Ireland Department of Health to withdraw misleading guidance on the Province’s abortion law, has said that abortion advocates are becoming increasingly frustrated at the lack of success they have had in winning support for their agenda. SPUC made its remarks as an application for a judicial review brought by the Family Planning Association of Northern Ireland was beginning in the High Court in Belfast. [SPUC, 27 February]

Other stories:

Abortion

Embryology

  • IVF wiped out my life savings and left me a mess, says TV star Lisa Faulkner [Mail, 6 March]

Euthanasia

  • Pensioner placed on Liverpool Care Pathway without family's permission dies after 8 days without food or water [Mail, 6 March]

Sexual ethics

  • Read this excellent analysis of the same-sex marriage debate [John Smeaton, 7 March]
  • Finland rejects same-sex marriage Bill [Christian Institute, 7 March]
  • Ruling upheld that Scottish Catholic charity must accept adoption applications from gay couples [Pink News, 6 March]
  • SPUC quoted in this story: The Bitter Pill: UK’s Tablet calls for Church to abandon fight against ‘gay marriage’ [LifeSiteNews.com, 5 March] Anthony Ozimic, SPUC's communications manager, said: “One of the most practical tributes that Catholics in the UK can pay to Pope-emeritus Benedict would be to eliminate The Tablet from Catholic life. The Tablet is a tool of ‘the dictatorship of relativism’ which Pope Benedict condemned so forcefully. It has given succour to many of the lobbies which constitute the culture of death.” Related blog: The Tablet tells the Catholic Church to surrender [John Smeaton, 1 March]
  • Poland: Deputies strike down three civil partnership bills [Pink News, 1 March]

General

To subscribe to SPUC's email information services, please visit www.spuc.org.uk/em-signup. The reliability of the news herein is dependent on that of the cited sources, which are paraphrased rather than quoted. Opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the society. © Society for the Protection of Unborn Children, 2013



© SPUC 2013