Life Links 12/12/08

The Washington Post links to and writes about a new statement from the Vactian entitled Dignitas Personae which focuses on various bio-ethical issues including embryonic stem cell research and human cloning. Glenn McGee has a truly odd quote on the second page of the article wondering where all the Catholics who comment on bio-ethics have gone.


Planned Parenthood of Indiana has fired the nurse who was caught on video encouraging an undercover prolifer posing as a teenager looking for an abortion to lie about the age of her boyfriend.


It's amazing the things some pro-choice representatives will say. Here's Nita Lowey claiming the Mexico City policy (aka the Global Gag Rule) would be "patently unconstitutional" if it was applied in the U.S. Lowey's knowledge of the Constitution is apparently so scarce she thinks it would be an unconstitutional violation of free speech for the U.S. government to make decisions on which organizations it provides taxpayer funding based on whether they perform or promote abortion. What she doesn't seem to understand is that if the Mexico City policy was applied for domestic funding, it wouldn't prevent organizations like Planned Parenthood from talking about and promoting abortion, it would merely prevent them from receiving government funds. There's a big difference between the right to free speech and the privilege to receive government funding.


Catholic Online has reprinted a Public Discourse essay by Robert George regarding the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists paper on the conscience rights of physician who are opposed to performing abortions.

Those responsible for the report purport to be speaking as physicians and medical professionals. The special authority the report is supposed to have derives from their standing and expertise as physicians and medical professionals, yet at every point that matters, the judgments offered reflect their philosophical, ethical, and political judgments, not any expertise they have by virtue of their training and experience in science and medicine.

The Belfast Telegraph has an op-ed by Laurence White entitled "Why assisted suicide should not be an option in our society."

Remember that when the Abortion Act was introduced it was for well-defined exceptional cases, but over the years has become so debased that terminations are now often contraception for the forgetful.