Pro-Life Times: November 2003

Major health charities back euthanasia

Anthony Ozimic

A group set up to lobby for the government's draft Mental Incapacity Bill has endorsed the deliberate killing of patients.

In oral evidence given to the parliamentary committee considering the draft Bill, members of the Making Decisions Alliance, a group of health and welfare charities, endorsed the practice of deliberately denying sustenance to incapacitated patients who are not dying.

The draft Bill creates legally-binding powers through which incapacitated patients could be deliberately killed through starvation, dehydration and neglect.

Mental health charity Mind said a doctor would be let "off the hook from their duty to keep the person alive" under human rights law if that person had made an advance refusal of tube-feeding. The Alzheimer's Society told the committee that it is "very inappropriate" for a person with advanced dementia to be fed by tube "solely for the purposes of prolonging life". Both Richard Kramer, the Alliance's co-chair, and Roger Goss of Patient Concern told the committee that "starving a patient to death" through withdrawal of tube-feeding could "be in that patient's best interests".

Mr. Goss is a long-standing senior member of the Voluntary Euthanasia Society (VES). In a recent election for the VES board, Mr. Goss admitted that his directorship of Patient Concern "gives [him] continuous opportunity for complementing and supporting the VES by promoting [VES] objectives to the medical establishment", in particular living wills and lasting powers of attorney.

Paul Tully, SPUC general secretary, commented, "It is now even clearer that both the bill and its leading supporters are pro-euthanasia. As leading medico-legal academic Dr Jacqueline Laing has said, the draft Bill encourages abuse, routine and systematic neglect and deliberate killing by omission of those who cannot care for themselves. The public will be disturbed to know that leading charities have been infiltrated by the euthanasia movement, to the extent that these charities now officially support euthanasia."

The committee is due to issue its report on the draft Bill by the end of November.

Love is a heart beat

When Lorraine Hart knew her baby's heart was still beating and saw her little unborn daughter on a scan, she said to herself, "I cannot terminate, I cannot terminate." Baby Aaliyah was born earlier this year, three months premature, with a birth weight of just 12 ounces and has become the smallest surviving baby in the UK. Aaliyah was growing too slowly in the womb and doctors told her parents she had only a 10% chance of survival. Aaliyah is now off a ventilator but is still being tube-fed.

Comment

Frank Brookes

One Saturday afternoon, as I came out of the church with my wife and our two young children, I was approached by two ladies who explained to me that my church was next to Marie Stopes International - an abortion clinic. They estimated that over the last ten years 50,000 babies have been aborted there. This grieved my soul. They gave me a video called "The Silent Scream", actually showing an abortion taking place. I wept through the whole video and, from that life-changing experience, prayed to God to make me a catalyst and a helper for the unborn child. It was at this time we also discovered that Marie Stopes International was trying to get permission to build a three storey building with a twenty-four seater waiting room. This will certainly double the capacity to perform abortions. The leaders of the church are strongly opposing this proposed building project. We are a small congregation and are very isolated, but God answered our prayers and put us in contact with SPUC and some very good Christian lawyers.

We hold a prayer meeting on the first Monday of every month at 8pm in the church to focus and pray for the abortion situation. All are welcome to come and pray with us. Prayer is the most important thing we can do. We are praying to build a counselling centre on a spare plot of land we have right next to the clinic, or a portacabin to reach out to the women who come into the area looking for an abortion. We are looking for volunteers to help us with this.

God, forgive us for not listening to cries of the unborn children.
God, forgive us for our silence and apathy.
God, forgive our spiritual leaders, our politicians, our doctors, nurses and families that have hardened their hearts and seared their consciences.
Oh God raise up an army to pray for and to save the unborn child.
IN JESUS' NAME WE PRAY.

Frank Brookes is the pastor of Raleigh Park Baptist Church in Brixton, London. Prior to this, he was a missionary with Operation Mobilisation - working in India for five years, living in Calcutta and working with the poor in a very deprived area. Living opposite Mother Teresa's home for the dying and destitute (whom he met on several occasions) he was inspired by her lifestyle and commitment to the poor. He spent many years on the educational book ships Logos and Doulos, visiting many nations to share the good news of Jesus Christ. Frank is also the founder of Transformed Ministries who recently took the Home Secretary and police to court over the relaxation of the drug laws in Brixton. They have formed the first Christian fellowship of ex-drug pushers and friends. They can be contacted on 020 8671 3163 or email ATRANSFORMEDMAN@AOL.COM. Frank is married to Vandrine, a psychiatric nurse and counsellor and they have two lovely children, Olivia and Grace.

Brixton pastor takes on might of Marie Stopes

Antonia Tully

SPUC is backing a Brixton pastor who has taken on the might of the Marie Stopes International organisation in trying to block moves to extend its abortion clinic which is adjacent to Raleigh Park Baptist Church.

Marie Stopes, a leading worldwide abortion provider, has been operating from the building next to the church since the mid-1970s. This has since been extended on a strip of land behind the church with a single storey building. Now they are seeking planning permission to replace the single storey building with a three storey building.

Frank Brookes, pastor of the 40-member church which re-opened in 2000, contacted SPUC and they immediately put him in touch with a pro-life lawyer. SPUC is now helping the Reverend Brookes' campaign to prevent the development. A restrictive covenant, where the present clinic is situated, states that the land may only be used for a dwelling place or a chapel. Marie Stopes bought the land and opened their abortion clinic when the church was closed.

Marie Stopes has already had planning permission turned down once and local feelings are running high on this issue, largely due to the campaigning work of the congregation at the church. Last year they took to the streets with a survey. "A significant number of people in the streets around the clinic had no idea what was going on there," said Frank Brookes. "We've also collected signatures on a petition against the clinic from both the immediate neighbourhood and 3 other local churches."

The Reverend Brookes feels that this issue is causing a great deal of stress to people in the area. He claims that Marie Stopes has been saying that the new building is for storage space. But having looked at the plans he has seen provision for, among other things, a sluice room, toilets and a 24-seater waiting room. "This is a walk-in walk-out clinic and they clearly want to double or treble the number of abortions performed there," he said.

SPUC challenges BBC claims

It is possibly the worst example of pro-abortion propaganda ever produced by the BBC. At a time when Catholics are celebrating the 25th anniversary of John Paul II's pontificate, BBC Panorama thought it appropriate to screen a programme attacking the Church's pro-life stance. "Sex and the Holy City" gave free rein to a gallery of abortion campaigners, from Frances Kissling of Catholics For a Free Choice to Nafis Sadik, former director of UNFPA.

The programme focused on three countries and three issues: abortion in Nicaragua, population control in the Philippines and AIDS prevention in Kenya. In Nicaragua, underground abortionists were made to look like the saviours of women, and extreme examples, such as schoolgirls made pregnant by their fathers, were portrayed as the norm. In the Philippines, Dr. Junice Melgar from the Likhaan women's group, said, "I think personally that John Paul's teachings are taking a toll on people's lives here, that his admonition against reproductive healthcare is actually causing deaths of women here from unwanted pregnancy and even from pregnancy that's complicated". In Kenya, hard-working nuns caring for AIDS victims were accused of 'peddling rumour and superstition'.

But if BBC 'investigator' Steve Bradshaw was not prepared to challenge a single unsubstantiated claim made by his pro-abortion interviewees, SPUC plans to do just that. SPUC is currently putting together a detailed critique of the BBC programme, analysing the claims made and the information that was deliberately excluded from the report. When the BBC parades misinformation under the guise of a 'hard-hitting report', SPUC has no choice but to call it to account.

For further information, please contact me at johnsmeaton@spuc.org.uk or telephone 020 7222 5845

Call to government for DIY abortion

Fiorella Sultana De Maria

The British Pregnancy Advisory Service has called on the government to allow women to take the abortion drug RU-486 at home after only one visit to an abortion clinic.

BPAS chief executive Anna Furedi has said that "many women become very distressed in a clinic." However, in taking the drug at home, the woman may have to cope with cramping pains, nausea and extensive bleeding on her own. She then has to dispose of the dead foetus which is often recognisable as a baby. If complications arise there is no medical help at hand.

Last month, in the USA, an 18 year-old woman died of septic shock after using RU-486. Holly Patterson is one of five women to have died from infection or bleeding connected with this 'safe, effective' form of abortion since its introduction, leading some groups in the US to call for its withdrawal pending further investigation.

Dr Donna Harrison, a Michigan gynaecologist said "If you don't want to see a Holly Patterson in Britain you should reject any moves to relax medical supervision of these drugs."

News In Brief

· Holland & Israel - Research on aborted girls has focused media attention on the prospect of growing eggs for IVF from foetal tissue. Dutch and Israeli scientists kept alive ovarian follicles from second and third trimester foetuses in the laboratory and some follicles began to develop. Presenting their research at the European society of human reproduction and embryology's conference in Madrid, Spain, they conceded that new techniques would be needed to produce eggs. It is claimed that there is a shortage of women who will donate eggs for IVF. The work was done by Utrecht university and Meir hospital, Kfar Saba. The use of eggs from aborted girls in fertility treatment is banned by law in the United Kingdom.

· MEXICO - A group of bishops from Southern Mexico have urged people to vote 'according to the Gospels and the moral principles that sprout from them' and for political candidates to 'take the side of life', in a joint statement. The bishops have been accused of violating the Mexican constitution which forbids political intervention by the Church and are being threatened with legal action by Mexico's attorney general. 6 bishops have already been sued for their statements and 2 priests punished on these grounds.

· DENMARK - A Danish academic has caused outrage by calling for the state to encourage intelligent people to have larger families and to restrict childbearing among those of lower intellectual ability. Helmuth Nyborg of the University of Aarhus admitted that his proposals to 'improve the coming generations and avoid degenerates in the population' were controversial but denied that they had anything to do with Nazi ideology. Integration Minister Bertel Haarder condemned Nyborg's views as 'against all moral principles'.

· SCOTLAND - In a bid to tackle Scotland's high rate of teenage pregnancy, health authorities have instructed chemists to make the morning after pill freely available to schoolgirls as young as 14. The move has caused concern among local councillors, who have likened the free distribution of the morning after pill to "putting a sticking plaster on a serious wound". High Street chains involved in the scheme include Boots and Safeway.

Towards a culture of life

The pro-life challenges in Ireland

For pro-lifers across Ireland, 2003 has been a landmark year because of two events 20 years apart. On 7 July the Belfast High Court dealt the most serious defeat to the pro-abortion lobby since the House of Commons voted against the extension of the Abortion Act to Northern Ireland in 1990. In the Republic, 7 September saw the twentieth anniversary of the adoption of Article 40.3.3, the 'pro-life amendment', to the country's Constitution.

Liam Gibson

Despite the 1992 Supreme Court ruling making the threat of suicide grounds for abortion, Article 40.3.3 remains a robust defence of the right to life from conception. This would not be the case, however, had the Government won last year's referendum to change the Constitutional protection of the unborn. Now the pro-life movement is becoming increasingly concerned by the policies of the country's coalition Government. While the referendum split the movement, recent decisions have brought a united response.

At an EU Council of Ministers meeting in May, Ireland accepted the Sandbaek Report committing Irish taxpayers to help finance Europe's 'reproductive healthcare' programmes which provide abortions in the developing world. The Government is also under fire for dropping its opposition to EU funding for destructive tests on human embryos. When, in September of last year, EU Ministers approved a moratorium on destructive experiments, Ireland sided with Germany, Austria, Italy and Portugal in opposing any form of cloning. Earlier this year Deputy Prime Minister Mary Harney told the Irish Times, "Ireland cannot and will not be involved in any experiments involving human embryos."

However, the moratorium will end in December. Last month, a Government spokesman told journalists "we do not consider it appropriate to object to such research being carried out in member states where it is both legal and ethical."

Ireland's Roman Catholic Bishops have issued a warning to the Government about the growing acceptance of so-called 'therapeutic cloning'. In a joint pastoral entitled 'The Wonder of Life', they described the label as absurd, saying, " 'Therapeutic cloning' simply means that these human beings would be created with a view to abandoning them when they no longer serve any useful purpose for us."

In Northern Ireland it is 'therapeutic' abortion which has become a major issue for the pro-life lobby. For more than 10 years the Family Planning Association demanded new legislation claiming the existing law, which permits abortion on limited grounds, was unclear. Frustrated by its lack of success, it resorted to the courts. This high risk strategy backfired in July when the High Court declared the Province's abortion laws to be perfectly clear.

Claiming it only sought guidelines on when abortion was legal, Mr Justice Kerr rejected the FPA's arguments as 'unsupported and unsustained', saying, "Apart from stating the law clearly, no further guidance can or requires to be given". The judgement also confirmed that abortion of unborn children suspected of being disabled is not permitted in Northern Ireland. The FPA intends to appeal the decision but the ruling has seriously damaged the campaign to liberalise the Province's abortion laws. Of course, no one expects the pro-abortion lobby simply to accept defeat. The pro-life movement, North and South, has resisted considerable pressures but women and children continue to be hurt and killed by abortion. The challenge in coming years will not be simply maintaining resistance but building a genuine culture of life.

Joanna Bogle Column

LOVING WELL We hear a lot about "education for citizenship" these days and much of it sounds, at best, extremely vague and confused. Now here at last is a useful contribution. CIVITAS - the Institute for the Study of Civil Society - has teamed up with the Family Education Trust to produce "The Art of Loving Well", a character education curriculum for today's teenagers. It's unique in using good literature as a way of teaching moral truths. In a 340-page anthology, young people are introduced to stories from the world's great classics, grouped under three headings "Early Loves and Losses", "Romance" and "Commitment and Marriage". The book comes with a full teachers' guide and is designed for 12-16 year olds. To make the project work, CIVITAS is appealing for support and funds. They don't want a Government grant - this is an independent initiative. I can hardly think of one more worthy of our support. Contact CIVITAS/Family Education Trust at Elizabeth House, York Road, London SE1 7NQ, or email fyc@ukfamily.org.uk or visit the website at www.famyouth.org.uk

IDEAS FOR SLOGANS?

I remember attending a meeting to discuss reform of the abortion law, which was besieged by pro-abortion campaigners shrieking, "Women should decide their fate, not the Church and not the state". One young pro-life student responded swiftly, "Babies should decide their fate. Once you've killed them, it's too late!" I liked that. Any other ideas for countering pro-abortion slogans?

ABORTION AND RELIGION

The election of Arnold Schwarzenegger as Governor of California prompts some thoughts about the question of abortion, politics, and religion. Schwarzenegger takes the standard pro-abortion line, offering no protection whatever to helpless unborn babies ("It's a woman's choice").

But as the election drew near he gave a generous donation to a local Catholic church. He and his wife announce themselves as practising Catholics. The destruction of innocent unborn life is not a private matter and it is not acceptable for a proclaimed Catholic holding public office to say that he or she is "personally opposed" to it but will not do anything to protect the babies. Catholicism is not a private hobby: it is a belief in a whole approach to life itself, and those who flag themselves up as enthusiastic church-going Catholics are attacking their own Church when they flagrantly disobey its teachings. This applies to all the world's great faiths, and of course to every Christian denomination. Why is it that the media gives such an easy ride to pro-abortion Catholics?

SCHOOLS AND PROJECTS

As chairman of an ecumenical Christian group, I get letters from school pupils wanting information on abortion and euthanasia. We send material to them as do, of course, all pro-life groups in Britain. It is seen as a major part of our work. But I worry. The moral and spiritual void within today's teenagers, who often get nothing more substantial than soap operas as a source of cultural values, needs a wide-ranging programme to restore spiritual values. The pro-life movement can help. SPUC's programme of training speakers (aiming to reach 50% of children annually within 10 years), developing new resources, student events/conferences, and a national essay competition are all geared to trying to get pupils to think more deeply. Information from Katherine Hampson on 0207 2225845.

Chinese woman finds refuge from one-child policy

Anthony Ozimic

A victim of China's brutal one-child policy has been granted asylum in the United States. Xuan Wang fled to the US with her husband after she was forced to undergo two abortions and told that she would be forcibly sterilised on return to China. The US federal appeals court said that she showed 'a genuine and well-founded fear of future persecution, should she return to China.' In 1996, the US Congress passed a bill allowing a maximum of 1,000 people to claim political asylum annually if they can show their home countries forced abortions or sterilisations on them as a result of population control programmes.

In marked contrast, the British Foreign Office's newly-issued annual human rights report states that "The UK Government has never questioned China's right or need to implement family planning policies". Dr John S. Aird, former senior China specialist at the US Bureau of the Census, responded, "The continuing support of foreign governments, the UNFPA and the IPPF for the Chinese programme has always sent the message that they really do not take seriously violations of human rights that advance the cause of population control."

Disability groups slam government push to weed out disabled

A government White Paper proposing genetic screening for all newborn babies and the offer of Down's Syndrome testing for pregnant women, regardless of their age, has been condemned by disability rights groups. The paper was welcomed by researchers, but No Less Human (NLH), a group within the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children, has described this move as widening the net to identify babies with disabilities with a view to destroying them.

A recent BBC report revealed that women whose babies were found to have disabilities during pre-natal screening were being pressurised to have abortions. "No one should be surprised about this," said NLH co-ordinator Alison Davis. "This has been going on for many years. The policy under successive governments to seek out all disabled babies before they are born and destroy them, is intensifying."

Further evidence of the "seek and destroy" policy came with the announcement that government advisors are considering increasing pre-natal screening to reduce the number of babies born with Fragile X Syndrome. "These proposals are being made on the grounds that it would be 'cost-effective' to screen all pregnant women if the majority then aborted babies found to have a disability. This sends out a message that the Government regards disabled people as having not just no value but a negative value," said Alison Davis.

Judith Stevenson from the Council of Disabled People, a national group run and controlled by disabled people, told the Pro-Life Times, "This policy of annihilation is outrageous. Disabled people enrich society, yet we're considered an economic problem because we have an impairment."

Irish government under pressure over embryo research

Antonia Tully

The Irish Government is under pressure on its position over funding embryo research through the European Union. In September of this year an Irish government official stated that it would not oppose taxpayers' money being used by the EU to fund embryo research. The proposal for this funding comes under the Department of Enterprise Trade and Employment. Fortunately, after massive lobbying by pro-life groups throughout Europe, the crucial vote in the EU council of ministers was postponed.

Pressure on the Irish government increased in October when the European Parliament's legal affairs committee voted categorically against the use of EU funds for "the procurement or use of stem cells from human embryos."

The vote on funding has been rescheduled for early November. Pat Buckley of the Irish pro-life group Neart said, "Have we sunk so low that we now regard embryo research as legitimate 'Enterprise and Trade'? We will be sustaining our lobby as we know that the Irish government is concerned about public opinion."

Dana Rosemary Scallon, an Irish MEP said, "The Irish taxpayer must now question how and why the government continues to misuse their money in such a controversial, unethical and unconstitutional way."

Cherie Blair gives personal support to abortion group

Earlier this year Cherie Blair hosted a private reception at 10 Downing Street for the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF), the world's largest abortion promoters. The IPPF initiative, Lust for Life, hopes to raise £100,000 for the organisation. Nuala Scarisbrick of LIFE said, "There is no life in the IPPF's campaign, only death. She should know that. IPPF is behind China's one-child policy."