THE BABY IN THE WOMB

Photos and information from various sources

The 39 Major ProChoice Arguments and Their Refutations

PART ONE: Arguments concerning LIFE, HUMANITY, & PERSONHOOD
PART TWO: Arguments concerning RIGHTS AND FAIRNESS
PART THREE: Arguments concerning SOCIAL ISSUES
PART FOUR: Arguments concerning HEALTH AND SAFETY
PART FIVE: Arguments concerning THE HARD CASES
PART SIX: Arguments concerning THE CHARACTER OF PROLIFERS

Life at 4 Cells Old - Fr. John Flynn, LC - Catholic Archdioceses of Melbourne - April 2008

Stem cell research using material taken from human embryos continues to be hotly debated. Advocates of using embryos maintain that at such early stages, the cells cannot be considered a human person. However, a recent book by two philosophers argues the contrary.

Robert P George, who is also a member of the President's Council on Bioethics, and Christopher Tollefsen, avoid religious-based arguments and lay out a series of scientific and philosophical principles in favor of the human status of the embryo. In "Embryo: A Defense of Human Life" (Doubleday), they maintain that the status of a human being commences at the moment of conception.

The book starts by recounting the history of a boy named Noah, born in January 2007. He was rescued, along with other frozen embryos, from the disaster that struck New Orleans in 2005. It was Noah's life -- a human life -- that was saved, George and Tollefsen point out, the same life that was later implanted in a womb and was subsequently born. A human embryo, they continue, is a living member of the human species even at the earliest stage of development. It is not some type of other animal organism, or some kind of a clump of cells that later undergoes a radical transformation.

The Foetus as a Personality - Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry (1972) Vol 6: 99

Sir William Liley was one of the fathers of fetal therapy and paradoxically one of the greatest early influences acting to retard the development of fetal surgery - For many centuries interest in foetal life was restricted to anatomical studies by embryologists.., legacies of this era are well known - particularly the attitude that, apart from some aimless kicking which began in the fifth month,. the foetus was a placid, dependent, fragile vegetable who developed quietly in preparation for a life which started at birth.

... Far from being an inert passenger in a pregnant mother, the foetus is very much in command of the pregnancy. It is the foetus who guarantees the endocrine success of pregnancy and induces all manner of changes in maternal physiology to make her a suitable host ... It is the foetus who determines the duration of pregnancy. It is the foetus who decides which way he will lie in pregnancy and which way he will present in labour. Even in labour the foetus is not entirely passive - neither the toothpaste in the tube nor the cork in the champagne bottle, as required by the old hydraulic theories of the mechanics of labour. Much of the behaviour of the neonate and infant can now be observed in utero and, by corollary, a better understanding of the foetus and his environment puts the behaviour and problems of the neonate in better perspective.

TYPES OF ABORTION

A Victory for Babies (and Humanity) - Bill Muehlenberg - April 2007

... I reprint here part of a testimony given on March 21, 1996 by a registered nurse, Brenda Pratt Shafer. She was speaking before a U.S. House of Representatives hearing on The Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act (HR 1833). Her words are so powerful and compelling that they deserve little or no commentary. Here is part of what the nurse said:

I am a registered nurse, licensed in the State of Ohio, with 14 years of experience. In 1993, I was employed by Kimberly Quality Care, a nursing agency in Dayton, Ohio. In September, 1993, Kimberly Quality Care asked me to accept assignment at the Women’s Medical Center, which is operated by Dr. Martin Haskell. I readily accepted the assignment because I was at that time very pro-choice. I had even told my teenage daughters that if one of them ever got pregnant at a young age, I would make them get an abortion.

Late-term abortion a life and death debate - Dr. David Van Gend,( family doctor and university lecturer)

THE claim that late-term abortion is done only in cases of lethal abnormality or to save the mother's life is demonstrably false.

The truth is that most late abortions, which are 20 weeks of pregnancy, are done to entirely healthy babies of entirely healthy mothers, and by a method so cruel I am reluctant to describe it.

In many cases these are babies older than those in our hospital nurseries, who might have been born alive and adopted to loving parents, but were instead "terminated".

Partial Birth Abortion:

Five doctors and a dead baby

Endeavour Forum - November 2007 | In an article, “A child is unborn” (Herald Sun, November 20, 2006), former head of ultrasound at Melbourne’s Royal Women’s Hospital, Dr Lachlan de Crespigny, appeared to endorse Victoria’s Steve Bracks Labor Government, which is reportedly committed to decriminalisation of abortion. (The Bracks Government was re-elected on November 25 for another four-year term).

CHRISTIANITY & ABORTION

Worldviews and Baby Killing - Bill Muehlenberg - March 2008

Abortion: The Innocent Blood of Our Sons and Daughter - by John Piper

Flying over Psalm106 and all its horrors and failures that are so relevant for our modern age, is the banner of Jesus Christ as the final Savior of the world who has died for sins and conquered guilt and condemnation and death and hell—for everyone who cries out from the heart, “Save me, O Lord my God.”

Flying over this message about abortion is the banner of the cross of Christ. Its color is crimson. Because the blood of Christ takes away the sin of abortion and the sin of not caring about it. So I don’t just end today with the call for repentance and the offer of forgiveness. I begin with it. I want it to hover over your head while I walk you through this text. .

Abortion in the Bible and Church History - by Randy Alcorn

There is a small but influential circle of prochoice advocates who claim to base their beliefs on the Bible. They maintain that "nowhere does the Bible prohibit abortion." [1] Yet the Bible clearly prohibits the killing of innocent people (Exodus 20:13). All that is necessary to prove a biblical prohibition of abortion is to demonstrate that the Bible considers the unborn to be human beings.

Abortion-relevant References from Scripture and Church History - Compiled by Randy Alcorn

"Your hands shaped me and made me. Will you now turn and destroy me? Remember that you molded me like clay. Will you now turn me to dust again? Did you not pour me out like milk and curdle me like cheese, clothe me with skin and flesh and knit me together with bones and sinews? You gave me life and showed me kindness, and in your providence watched over my spirit." (Job 10:8-12)

"Did not he who made me in the womb make them? Did not the same one form us both within our mothers?" (Job 31:15)

Love Thy Unborn Neighbour - John Piper

The parable of the Good Samaritan, among other things, presses us from the global to the local. So let’s take a step closer to home. Since 1973 in our state, Minnesota, the lives of 490,000 unborn children have been ended by abortion. In 2004 there were 13,788 abortions in this state. (As tragic and as horrifying as that is, there is an encouraging side because this is the lowest number since 1975.)

But the parable of the Good Samaritan would press us still closer to home. Almost all the abortions in Minnesota are done here in the Twin Cities in five local clinics. I want to give you a glimpse into these clinics and then turn to the parable of the Good Samaritan and then come back to them at the end with a dream.

GENETIC SCREENING

Cosmetic Abortion - Christian Medical Doctors & Dentists Association, USA (CMDA) - June 2007

In England, it now seems, a baby can be aborted for not being pretty enough. Maybe this was inevitable as genetic screening and techniques such as ultrasound advanced. The London Daily Telegraph Web site reports that the Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has licensed a fertility clinic to screen embryos for a genetic defect that causes a severe squint. A squint? ... We now seem to have invented cosmetic abortion. As medical genetics advances, it will become possible to predict more and more characteristics of an unborn child -- hair color, height, likelihood of obesity, perhaps intelligence. Presumably, it will then be possible to try again and again until you get your ideal baby. Selective abortion might be called passive genetic engineering. Though it is further in the future, design from scratch by genetic manipulation looks possible in principle.

ETHICS STATEMENTS

Abortion - reproduced with the permission of the Christian Medical & Dental Associations, USA

1. We oppose the practice of abortion and urge the active development and employment of alternatives.

2. The practice of abortion is contrary to: · The revealed, written Word of God. · Respect for the sanctity of human life. · Traditional, historical, and Judeo-Christian medical ethics.

3. We believe that biblical Christianity affirms certain basic principles which dictate against interruption of human gestation; namely: · The ultimate sovereignty of a loving God, the Creator of all life. · The great value of human life transcending that of the quality of life. · The moral responsibility of human sexuality.

Effects on Women

Abortion does not bring the relief hoped for ...

13/04 Cardinal George Pell - Archbishop of Sydney | Women were told that abortion would bring them relief, but often found only depression and grief, whose causes they did not recognize.  Often the woman’s loss is secret, preventing help from family and friends and, in any case, society generally does not want to know.

For some years now there has been evidence published in top level journals, such as the British Medical Journal, about post-abortion traumas in the U.S.A., Britain and Finland.  This complements the research from Professor Fergusson in New Zealand about increased suicide risks, more depressive psychoses, nightmares, flashbacks and emotional numbness.

In 1989 a panel from the American Psychological Association concluded unanimously that legal abortion “does not create psychological hazards for most women undergoing the procedure”.

Such a claim is no longer valid.

RISKS OF ABORTION

Parent sues Planned Parenthood

01/06 One News Now | Washington, DC-area resident Emma Jean Butler and her daughter are suing a local Planned Parenthood clinic. The girl became pregnant due to a rape at age 13, and had an abortion at the facility after she turned 14.The next day, she was rushed to an emergency room where doctors had to repair damage from severe abdominal bleeding, severe injury to the cervix, significant uterine perforation, and a small bowel tear. In addition, parts of the baby were found in the girl's abdomen.

It was tragedy on top of tragedy, says Kristan Hawkins of Students for Life of America, in what she describes as a "poster case for abortion." "This is what the pro-abortion movement has demanded, that we have legalized abortion in all nine months," notes Hawkins. " ... [T]his is a poster case, and they almost killed this young girl." The victim will never be able to have children. She and her mother are asking for $50 million in damages.

British Woman Committed Suicide After Abortion of Twins Over Extreme Grief

24/2 LifeNews.com | News of the suicide comes weeks after a new study published in the journal BMC Psychiatry which found that women who have abortions typically experience high levels of post-traumatic stress disorder. The study appeared in the July 2007 issue of the professional psychological publication but it only received publicity recently. The research involved 155 women from South Africa who had abortions and were evaluated one month and three months afterwards. Approximately 20 percent of the women had post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms just one month later. The results led the authors to note that "high rates of PTSD characterize women who have undergone voluntary pregnancy termination. Looking at the women three months after the abortion, the number of women experiencing the PTSD symptoms increased 61 percent

Abortion Risk to Women - Charles Francis

Physical and mental harm done to women by abortionists should be the real concern of our MPs. In my experience as a lawyer who acted for some of these women, most abortionists take no adequate medical history from their patients, nor do they give them adequate counselling or warning of the many risks of abortion

Abortion does not bring the relief hoped for ...

13/04 Cardinal George Pell - Archbishop of Sydney | Women were told that abortion would bring them relief, but often found only depression and grief, whose causes they did not recognize.  Often the woman’s loss is secret, preventing help from family and friends and, in any case, society generally does not want to know.

For some years now there has been evidence published in top level journals, such as the British Medical Journal, about post-abortion traumas in the U.S.A., Britain and Finland.  This complements the research from Professor Fergusson in New Zealand about increased suicide risks, more depressive psychoses, nightmares, flashbacks and emotional numbness.

In 1989 a panel from the American Psychological Association concluded unanimously that legal abortion “does not create psychological hazards for most women undergoing the procedure”.

Such a claim is no longer valid.

PUSHING THE BOUNDARIES OF SCIENCE

A century from now, we will be appalled that we allowed abortions at all

21/05 Rod Liddle for The Spectator, UK | Rod Liddle says the Commons vote securing the 24-week limit is no more than a craven politician’s fudge, designed to postpone the day when the law of the land finally catches up with the indisputable findings of science

An awful lot of people we know are being laid off at the moment, or finding their incomes substantially decreased. This is the credit crunch, the cusp of a recession and its impact was felt first and most onerously upon those hard-working and resourceful young men in the City’s banking institutions. Many are looking to ship out and find jobs elsewhere; some, suddenly stricken with the need to feel socially useful, are downsizing into strange occupations such as teaching. But others just want to carry on making money and are looking for an industry which is unlikely to be affected by the current financial crisis. But what, exactly, should it be?

The clear answer is that they should all retrain as abortionists, the abrupt termination of pregnancies being one of Britain’s most vibrant growth industries. There were a total of 193,737 abortions carried out in Britain in 2006, the latest year for which figures are available. That’s a tenfold increase on the number carried out in 1968, the first full year for which abortions were deemed legal by the state. Lately the yearly rate of increase has hovered at around 4 per cent, comfortably above the rate of inflation. It is likely to rise still more sharply in future years as Britain’s women fully embrace the notion that an unconfined number of sexual partners is the desirable norm

(this article was highlighted in the Action Australia column on May 2008 - International section)

UK: Human dignity in the balance

01/04 Father John Flynn, LC | A proposed new law regulating in-vitro fertilization in the United Kingdom is under fire from the Church and bioethics groups, who are concerned over the loosening of regulations regarding the procedure. The Human Fertilization and Embryology Bill has finished its passage through the House of Lords and will be debated in the Commons in the near future.

In his message the archbishop of Westminster noted that among the changes contemplated in the bill is the extension of scientific experiments using human embryos, and even the creation of animal-human hybrid embryos for research. It also removes a clause from the existing law, which requires the child’s need for a father to be taken into consideration when clinics receive requests for IVF treatment.

In addition to drawing attention to these dangers, Cardinal Murphy-O’Connor asked that members of Parliament should be granted a free vote on the bill, so they can follow their conscience.

ITALY : An Act of Barbarity

01/04 Father John Flynn, LC | The quest for a perfect child is leading to the increasing use of techniques to discover possible health problems in the unborn. Normally this is not done with a view to healing, and results in the deaths of embryos considered imperfect.

It Italy court decisions are in effect undoing a legal prohibition against the use of such screening programs, known as preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD). A 2004 national law vetoes screening embryos before they are implanted in the mothers' womb.
Nevertheless, a court in the Lazio region of Italy last week declared this restriction as being "illegitimate," reported the Italian daily newspaper, Corriere della Sera on 24 January.

.. Eliminating embryos who suffer from malformations or hereditary illness, is a violation of the unborn child's right to life and as an abuse of the rights ....

CONCERNING FETAL PAIN

Love Thy Unborn Neighbour - John Piper

Steve Calvin, who works in the neonatal unit at Abbott hospital wrote in the Minneapolis StarTribune

Recently, I performed an amniocentesis on a patient at 21 weeks gestation because of a possible infection. On ultrasound, the fetus pulled away from the needle when it grazed her arm. It is clear to me that this fetus felt discomfort, and that she would feel horrible pain if she were dismembered in the exercise of an unjust constitutional right.2

The dismembering of a human being routinely in 30 minutes on an outpatient bases—or any other way—is barbaric. Four blocks from our church all year long—like churches within smelling distance of Auschwitz or Dachau or Buchenwald.

Whales In, Babies Out - Bill Muehlenberg - January 2008

Consider the article by Singer. He says that in a submission on the subject he “argued that whales were social mammals with big brains, capable of enjoying life and of feeling pain, and not only physical pain but very likely also distress at the loss of one of their group.” While the last claim is certainly a moot point, much of his article centres on this idea of whales feeling pain. He says, “Causing suffering to innocent beings without an extremely weighty reason for doing so is wrong.” Now Singer is well known as not only an animal liberationist, but a vocal proponent of abortion, euthanasia and infanticide. Does anyone else besides me see some hypocrisy here, some double-standards?

Take abortion for example. We know perfectly well that unborn babies at a rather early age can experience pain. And we know quite clearly that abortion methods are extremely painful to the unborn baby, whether being burned to death by a saline solution, or being cut into small pieces by a curette.

Fetal Pain Bill Defeated - December 2006 - reproduced with the permission of the Christian Medical & Dental Associations, USA

House Republicans opposed to abortion rights failed Wednesday in their bid to pass a controversial measure that would have required women seeking abortions to be informed that some fetuses feel pain ... The bill would have required that the women be offered the choice of having anesthesia administered to the fetus.

... "In expert testimony provided to the Northern District of the US District Court in California during the partial birth abortion trials, Dr. Sunny Anand, Director of the Pain Neurobiology Lab at Arkansas Children's Hospital Research Institute said, ‘the human fetus possesses the ability to experience pain from 20 weeks of gestation, if not earlier, and the pain perceived by a fetus is possibly more intense than that perceived by term newborn's or older children’.

Premature Babies Feel Pain - April 2006 - reproduced with the permission of the Christian Medical & Dental Associations, USA

Premature babies can actually feel pain and are not just displaying a reflex reaction to a stimulus, a team of doctors and scientists said. Using brain scans of tiny babies born as early as 24 weeks after conception they found that during routine procedures such as obtaining a blood sample from a heel they feel pain.

Experts Set the Record Straight on Abortion Pain - Nov 2005 - reproduced with the permission of the Christian Medical & Dental Associations, USA

In an often testy hearing in the U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday, science squared off against abortion ideology, as experts testified that babies within the womb may feel pain as early as 20 weeks into their development.

Much of the expert testimony supported the principles in the Unborn Child Pain Awareness Act (HR 356), introduced by Rep. Chris Smith (R-4th-NJ) to "ensure that women seeking an abortion are fully informed regarding the pain experienced by their unborn child."

THE DECRIMINALISATION OF ABORTION

07/09/2008 Bill Muehlenberg | ... the 2000 or so people who took part in the Freedom to be Born march on Saturday was certainly the biggest pro-life march for ages. Many young people and doctors were there, and the 100 pro-death protestors who sought to disrupt the march were pitiful by comparison. (Many thanks to Peter Stokes of Saltshakers for the photo) ... more articles on this topic in our Action Australia pages

PETITION - to disallow Medicare funding for second trimester and late abortions

(August 2008) To the Honourable the President and Members of the Senate in Parliament assembled: Whereas,

• item 16525 of the Health Insurance (General Medical Service Table) Regulations 2007 provides for the payment of Medicare funds for the performance of second trimester abortions, that is, abortions as late as 26 weeks of pregnancy;

• Medicare funds have, since 1994 paid $1.7 million for 10,000 second trimester abortions;

• babies as young as 21 weeks gestation have been born alive and subsequently flourished;

• Medicare funds may be used to abort babies through the partial birth abortion method and also for abortion procedures in which the baby is born alive but then deliberately left to die; and therefore we, the undersigned petitioners, pray that the Senate will disallow item 16525 of the Health Insurance (General Medical Service Table) Regulations 2007 and thereby stop the funding of second trimester and late abortions

Click here to download the Petition

Post to Senator Guy Barnett,

33 George Street, Launceston TAS 7250 by 1 September 2008

Please do not use the back of forms – For additional forms contact 03 6334 1755

Victorian Law Reform Commission Report on Abortion tabled in Victorian Parliament TODAY

29/05/2008 Saltshakers | As expected, the VLRC has recommended that abortion be 'decriminalised' - removed from the Crimes Act. This really means making it LEGAL.

An exception to the Act

10/04/2008 Bishop Christopher Prowse | CURRENTLY abortion is defined in the Crimes Act as an offence, but the law allows exceptions for the sake of the woman's health or life. In practice, abortion is allowed virtually without restriction

The Victorian Government wishes to remove the offence altogether, to "decriminalise abortion" and regulate it as an "ordinary medical procedure". The church is often criticised for having a say on matters such as abortion. It is argued church and state should be separate and government is not the business of the church.

The reality is that the constitutional separation of church and state is to protect the church from interference by the state and to ensure that government treats religions equally.

The Australian Constitution protects religious freedom, including the freedom to speak on issues of importance.

In Australia, a very aggressive exlusionist form of secularism has developed that views religious belief and practice with arrogant intolerance and dismissiveness and which is characterised by attempts to exclude contributions to public discussion by persons who are religious.

QUEENSLAND: DECRIMINALISING ABORTION VS HUMAN LIFE - Queensland Right to Life

What does 'Decriminalisation of Abortion Mean'?

It is the removal of all reference to abortion from the Queensland Criminal Code, allowing abortion to be performed on any unborn child for "any" or "no" reason up until the child is born. In this situation there would be no legal safeguards in place to protect the lives of the unborn child or the pregnant mother.

What Would be the Impact for Queensland?

The real impact of the decriminalisation of abortion would be the removal of all legal protection for the nine months of life in the womb.

Archbishop Hart's VLRC abortion law review submission - Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne

In union with the Catholic Church world-wide, I support the continuing Christian tradition of recognizing the intrinsic value and moral respect due to the life of the child awaiting birth given by over 2,000 Catholic bishops at the Second Vatican Council in 1965 and quoted by Pope John Paul II in The Gospel of Life, 1995, N.62: "Life must be protected with the utmost care from the moment of conception: abortion and infanticide are unspeakable crimes." He continued: "I declare that direct abortion, that is, abortion willed as an end or as a means, always constitutes a grave moral disorder since it is the deliberate killing of an innocent human being." [N.62]. Again Pope John Paul II wrote "Laws which legitimize the direct killing of human beings through abortion or euthanasia are in complete opposition to the inviolable right of life proper to every individual; they thus deny the equality of everyone before the law." [Gospel of Life, N.72]

ABORTION LAW - AUSTRALIA

10th anniversary of legalised abortion in Western Australia

26/05 Coalition for the Defence of Human Life | As the 10th anniversary of legalised abortion in Western Australia (26 May 2008) draws near it is timely to reflect on the over 80,000 children who have now been killed under this grievous law. Who can tell what contribution each of them may have made to our community? We will never know.

(this event was highlighted in the Action Australia column on May 2008)

What is the QUEENSLAND LAW ON ABORTION

The Queensland law is contained in Sections 224 and 282 of the Criminal Code, a statutory codification of the Common Law which had adopted the Hippocratic medical ethics of 25 centuries ago. The law prohibits abortion unless a mother's life is in immediate danger from the continuation of the pregnancy. This law has been obfuscated by Judges in this and a number of other countries over the last 60 years, and therefore has become unenforceable. However, the High Court of Australia has now been offered the opportunity to sweep aside a maze of minor court decisions and to authoritatively interpret the law and it is to be hoped that they will not let this opportunity pass. No Court of Appeal in Australia has yet considered when an abortion is lawful - in recent times they have repeatedly avoided doing so. One of Australia's leading lawyers,the late John Trail Q.C., described the situation with regard to abortion thus: "Without review, the law remains misruled, misstated, uncertain and unsatisfactory" (in The Petition of Harrigan, Privy Council, 1983.)

No Need to Change Abortion Law - Donna Purcell (Toowoomba GP)

WITH State Parliament resuming yesterday, it seems the member for Aspley, Bonny Barry, is still hell-bent on introducing a Private
Member’s Bill to decriminalise abortion in Queensland. Decriminalisation means abortion would be legal for any or no reason until the day of birth, a position only extremist ideologues would endorse. .... As a parliamentarian now in a much more responsible position than a junior nurse, can she not see that freely available, no questions asked abortion is simply an open opportunity for incest and other types of sexual assault to go unpunished and unnoticed?

Does it not simply perpetuate the attitude among some sections of society that women must be always available to men, and that if pregnancy occurs, they can just get an abortion? However, as always, the “hard cases” like incest are really just a smokescreen for the real reason for Barry’s Bill on abortion. She believes abortion is “a fundamental human right” and that keeping abortion in the Criminal Code “burdens (women) with criminal intent”. In other words, she wants legal abortion on demand with the woman being the sole arbiter of what happens.

This is actually official ALP policy, but one would have hoped that some of Barry’s training might have informed her political position.

ABORTION & POLITICS IN AUSTRALIA

NO OVERSEAS DEMAND FOR AUSAID ABORTION PLAN

04/06/2008 QLD Senator Ron Boswell | "Department officials confirmed in Estimates today that Australia has not been approached by overseas countries to fund abortion related activities," said The Nationals' Senator Ron Boswell today.

"I asked whether overseas countries had come to us and asked us for help in funding abortion services. The Department responded that they were not aware of any particular requests to fund abortion related activities."

"Why is the Rudd government even considering funding abortion in its overseas aid programs when Australia has never done so in the past and has not been approached by other countries to do so?"

Aid, not abortion needed for world’s poor

23/05/2008 An Australian Christian Lobby Campaign | ACL has become aware of renewed efforts behind the political scenes to divert Australia’s limited overseas aid money to funding abortions. In a misguided attempt to address maternal health, the cross party Parliamentary Group on Population & Development wants to overturn a ban on aid money going to abortion put in place by former Senator Brian Harradine. The group’s timing is ironic and insensitive in the wake of the cyclone disaster in Burma. The sneaky thing about this is that it can be done without the issue going before Parliament, as the change can be made by changing regulation.

(these proposals were highlighted in the Action Australia column on May 2008)

The Australian Labor Party & Abortion

This page provides links & quotes, from 1997 onwards, outlining the Labor Party's position on Abortion ... liberalising abortion law in WA ... removed abortion from the criminal statute books altogether in the ACT ... Emily's List helps Pro-Choice ALP women into Parliament ... Victorian ALP to decriminalise ALL abortions ... QLD ALP to decriminalise ALL abortions ... Candy Broad introduces Decriminalisation of Abortion bill in 2007 which was put on hold till after Federal Election ...

Maxine McKew (on Partial Birth Abortion) - "numerically they're not significant" [for a Private Members Bill]

The Liberal Party and Abortion

This page provides links outlining the Liberal Party's position on abortion, both in the States and Federally ....

The National Party & Abortion

This page provides links outling the National Party's position on abortion

The Christian Democrat Party & Abortion

The CDP's position on abortion

Family First & Abortion

Family First's position on abortion

How Green was their Folly - Endeavour Forum Newsletter - January 2008

Many of the seats won by the Australian Labor Party in the recent Federal elections were won on Green preferences, so Green ideology warrants a closer look. In November last year the London Daily Mail reported on two women environmentalists who take their carbon footprint very seriously indeed. One of the women, Toni Vernelli, aborted a pregnancy and had herself sterilized by age 27 to "save the planet".

ABORTION IN UK

QUOTE: Freedom from the Excessive Tyranny of Fertility

To the four essential freedoms identified by Franklin D Roosevelt in his address to the nation at the time of World War II, - freedom of speech and expression , freedom from fear and freedom for every person to worship God in his own way - Dugald Baird from Aberdeen added a fifth freedom, freedom from the excessive tyranny of fertility (Baird 1965)

Baird, D. (1965) A fifth freedom? British Medical Journal 2,1141-1148. Balda, M., Aggleton, P. & Slutkin, G. ( 1993)

Sir Dugald Baird (1899-1986) graduated in medicine from Glasgow University in 1922. His early experiences attending births in the Glasgow slums and in the city's Royal Maternity Hospital shaped his interest in the social and economic influences on the health of women, their babies, and across generations. He was awarded Fellowship of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists in 1935. It is also believed that he was a member of the Eugenics society [citation needed].

He moved to Aberdeen in 1937 as Regius Professor of Midwifery at the University of Aberdeen. During the next three decades, his main interests were in the areas of clinical practice, service provision and health policy in reproductive health, perinatal and maternal mortality, social obstetrics, sterilisation, induced abortion, and cervical screening. With his wife Lady Baird, Sir Dugald also established the first free family planning clinic in Aberdeen....Sir Dugald formally retired in 1965, and the Freedom of the City of Aberdeen was conferred on him and Lady Baird for their contribution to medical science and health in the City and beyond

Source: Wikipedia

UK: More twelve-year-olds are having abortions

02/05 Christian Institute | The number of twelve-year-old girls becoming pregnant and having abortions is increasing, and "society just has to come to terms with that", a leading abortion provider says. In 2004 there were 15 girls aged twelve who had abortions, up from 10 in 2003, according to figures obtained from the Department of Health by The Sunday Times using freedom of information laws.

Among 13-year-olds, 142 girls had abortions in 2004, increasing from 138 in the previous year. Ann Furedi, of the British Pregnancy Advisory Service, a nationwide abortion provider, told The Sunday Times: "This is a tiny number of girls. Children grow up very quickly in our society.

(this article was highlighted in the Action Australia column on May 2008 - International section)

UK: Creator of Abortion Law wants Abortion on Request

02/05 Christian Institute | An architect of Britain's abortion law, Lord Steel, wants to scrap the need for two doctors to give permission for early abortions.

Under the existing law, introduced by Lord Steel when he was an MP in the 60s, two doctors must agree to a termination. Abortions are allowed for 'social reasons' up to 24 weeks of pregnancy. .

(this article was highlighted in the Action Australia column on May 2008 - International section)

ABORTION IN THE USA

Court allows partial-birth abortion in VA

23/05 One News Now | A federal court has struck down Virginia's ban on partial-birth abortions a second time, even after the legislature amended the law to comply with the first negative decision. A three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decided Tuesday that Virginia's ban – which is nearly identical to the federal ban upheld by the Supreme Court – is unconstitutional. Victoria Cobb, president of the Family Foundation of Virginia, says the reasoning of the two judges who voted to overturn the law is baffling.

.... The two Clinton appointees said they overturned the law because there is no exception to protect an abortionist who accidentally delivers an unborn child up to his or her neck and then punctures the child's brain to end its life. "There is no question in the minds of most people who look at this issue objectively that one cannot 'accidentally' have a partial-birth abortion," Cobb contends.

USA: Pray for the Third Wave - By John Piper

The end of abortion as a business is in sight when the prolife movement is not only joined by, but led by, the African-American and Latino Christian Community. I call it the Third Wave. ... The First Wave of the modern prolife movement was the Catholic Church. In the late 60’s, as abortion “rights” were argued for in New York and California, many Catholic doctors, ethicists, and laypeople understood the horrifying truth of abortion and began to organize.

... In the late 70’s, the Second Wave arose. The Evangelical Church joined the Cause. One rushing tributary formed when Francis Scheaffer and C. Everet Koop produced a book and film called Whatever Happened to the Human Race? Evangelical pastors and lay people were awakened to the biblical and historical call to cherish and defend innocent human life.

A Victory for Babies (and Humanity) - Bill Muehlenberg - April 2007

Last week the US Supreme Court voted by a 5-4 majority to uphold a ban on late-term abortions. On April 18 the Court decided to uphold the 2003 Partial-Birth Abortion Ban. Also known as D & X abortions, this method of abortion is as close as you can get to actual infanticide. ... I reprint here part of a testimony given on March 21, 1996 by a registered nurse, Brenda Pratt Shafer. She was speaking before a U.S. House of Representatives hearing on The Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act (HR 1833). Her words are so powerful and compelling that they deserve little or no commentary. Here is part of what the nurse said:

I am a registered nurse, licensed in the State of Ohio, with 14 years of experience. In 1993, I was employed by Kimberly Quality Care, a nursing agency in Dayton, Ohio. In September, 1993, Kimberly Quality Care asked me to accept assignment at the Women’s Medical Center, which is operated by Dr. Martin Haskell. I readily accepted the assignment because I was at that time very pro-choice. I had even told my teenage daughters that if one of them ever got pregnant at a young age, I would make them get an abortion.

Supreme Court Votes to Protect Babies from Painful Abortion - April 2007

Concerned Women for America (CWA) applauds the Supreme Court decision today to uphold the federal ban on partial-birth abortion. The court has voted in favor of protecting the most vulnerable members of society from inhumane and extremely painful death. This is a crucial step in protecting innocent children in the womb against all forms of killing, not just the most excruciating.

Wendy Wright, President of CWA, said, “In this landmark decision, the Supreme Court concurred with the majority of Americans that partial-birth abortions are gruesome, inhumane and never medically necessary.

Statement of President Bush Regarding the Supreme Court's Decision in Gonzales v. Carhart    4/18/2007

I am pleased that the Supreme Court upheld a law that prohibits the abhorrent procedure of partial-birth abortion. Today's decision affirms that the Constitution does not stand in the way of the people's representatives enacting laws reflecting the compassion and humanity of America. The partial-birth abortion ban, which an overwhelming bipartisan majority in Congress passed and I signed into law, represents a commitment to building a culture of life in America.

The Supreme Court's decision is an affirmation of the progress we have made over the past six years in protecting human dignity and upholding the sanctity of life. We will continue to work for the day when every child is welcomed in life and protected in law.

Source: http://www.cwfa.org/articles/12820/CWA/life/index.htm (Concerned Women for America Website)

SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES - Syllabus - GONZALES, ATTORNEY GENERAL v. CARHART ET AL.

... First, Congress found that unlike this Court in Stenberg, it was not required to accept the District Court’s factual findings, and that that there was a moral, medical, and ethical consensus that partial-birth abortion is a gruesome and inhumane procedure that is never medically necessary and should be prohibited.

Second, the Act’s language differs from that of the Nebraska statute struck down in Stenberg. Among other things, the Act prohibits “knowingly perform[ing] a partial-birth abortion . . . that is [not] necessary to save the life of a mother,” 18 U. S. C. §1531(a). It defines “partial-birth abortion,” §1531(b)(1), as a procedure in which the doctor: “(A) deliberately and intentionally vaginally delivers a living fetus until, in the case of a head-first presentation, the entire fetal head is outside the [mother’s] body . . . , or, in the case of breech presentation, any part of the fetal trunk past the navel is outside the [mother’s] body . . . , for the purpose of performing an
overt act that the person knows will kill the partially delivered living fetus”; and “(B) performs the overt act, other than completion of delivery, that kills the fetus.”

Full findings:

Statement of Mrs. Beverly LaHaye Regarding the Victory on Partial-Birth Abortion     18 April 2007

“The Supreme Court vote today in the partial birth abortion case was a victory for all Americans. The Court ruled to uphold the Constitution to protect every citizen in the United States. This is a day everyone should celebrate. It is a tribute to the hard work for many years of many pro-life groups like Concerned Women for America (CWA) whose mission has been to protect the most innocent in our society. It is also an example of President Bush’s good judgment in appointing judges that exercise judicial restraint and do not create laws out of thin air. Although this decision is a triumph for America, life and the pro-life cause, there is much more work to be done. In this decision, the Court recognized the ‘State’s interest in respect for life’ and has provided a basis in law for restoring humanity to unborn children. Life has won in this battle, but the fight is not over. We must continue and renew our efforts to speak on behalf of those who cannot speak for themselves.”

Source: http://www.cwfa.org/articles/12824/CWA/life/index.htm (Concerned Women for America Website)

Rights of Conscience - Exactly Whose Conscience Wins? - Nov 2005 - reproduced with the permission of the Christian Medical & Dental Associations, USA

"... in April of last year, Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich implemented an emergency rule. For what dire emergency you might ask? He ordered all Illinois pharmacies that carry contraception to have all pharmacists provide it to all patients presenting prescriptions, including the emergency contraction (the so-called “morning after” pill). Many pharmacists refused to fill these prescriptions because they believe that many oral contraceptives (in particular the “morning after” pill) are an abortifacient, and instead of preventing conception, these hormonal treatments can actually cause an early abortion after a woman is pregnant..."

"... there was a concerted effort a few years to ago to make abortion training mandatory within all physician obstetrical-gynecological training programs. The reason? The number of physicians willing to do abortions has been dropping dramatically over the past 10 years. This was a thinly veiled attempt to prop up the number of Planned Parenthood clinics who do abortions with a fresh crop of newly abortion-trained physicians. Who cared what the doctors in training really thought or felt about the procedure? So, let’s make it mandatory..."

ABORTION IN GERMANY

German Anti-Abortionist Sentenced to Jail - By Wolfgang Polzer - June 2007

A German theologian has been sentenced to one year in jail for drawing a comparison between abortion and the Holocaust. A court in Erlangen near Nuremberg found Johannes Lerle, 55, guilty of "incitement of the people" by denying the Holocaust. Lerle has launched an appeal against the verdict.

The Lutheran theologian and anti-abortionist claims that the "infanticide" in the womb is comparable to the Nazis' systematic mass murder of Jews in concentration camps, for instance Auschwitz.

ABORTION IN EGYPT

EGYPT: Rape victims 'must have abortions'

1/01 World News Australia | Sunni Islam's highest seat of learning has ruled that any woman who becomes pregnant as a result of rape must undergo an abortion.

The Islamic Research Council of Cairo-based Al-Azhar has declared immediate terminations are essential to maintain "social stability".

... The independent Egyptian Centre for Women's Rights says an average of two women are raped every hour in Egypt. Experts say many factors contribute to high levels of rape and sexual harassment, including rising unemployment, the huge cost of marriage and the fact that sex outside marriage is forbidden.

EXTERNAL LINKS:

Google sued for banning religious pro-life ad

11/04 Catholic Diocese of Melbourne | A Christian group in the United Kingdom is suing Google, claiming the dominant search engine company engaged in religious discrimination by refusing to take its pro-life advertisements ... The group was trying to publicise its articles against abortion before a controversial vote in the House of Commons that could place restrictions on abortion.

The Christian Institute, which describes itself as a "non-denominational Christian charity," wanted to purchase an advertisement that would be displayed whenever the word "abortion" was typed into the search engine.

Google's Dublin-based advertising office said that their refusal was based off of a company policy.  "At this time, Google policy does not permit the advertisement of websites that contain 'abortion and religion-related content'," the office said ... However, Google does accept advertisements for abortion clinics, secular pro-abortion sites, and secularist sites which attack religion.

The advertisement was part of the Christian Institute's efforts to promote its on-line articles on abortion before legislation regulating the practice arrived in the House of Commons.

USA: Embryo Adoption

The Office of Population Affairs (OPA), within the Office of Public Health and Science (OPHS) is responsible for administering the embryo adoption public awareness campaign grants and cooperative agreements, which have the shared goal of increasing public awareness of embryo donation and/or adoption.

The increasing success of assisted reproductive technologies (ART) has resulted in a situation in which an infertile couple typically creates several embryos through in-vitro fertilization (IVF). There are an estimated 400,000 frozen embryos in the United States. During IVF treatments, couples may produce many embryos for attempt at becoming pregnant with several being cryopreserved (frozen) for future use. If a couple becomes pregnant without using all of the stored embryos, they may choose to release the remaining unused embryos for donation and adoption allowing other infertile couples the experience of pregnancy and birth.

Embryo donation and/or adoption is a relatively new process in which individuals who have extra frozen embryos agree to release the embryos for transfer to the uterus of another woman, either known or anonymous to the donor(s) for the purpose of the recipient(s) attempting to bear a child and be that child's parent. The purpose of the grant program is to increase awareness of embryo donation/adoption as a family building option.

Refutation of Claim of Abortion Increase Under Bush

Myth Exploded!

The Annenberg Center's Factcheck.org says Senator Clinton, Senator Kerry, and Howard Dean were dead wrong to claim that abortions have increased under the Bush Administration -- the truth is, abortions are going down.  To read Factcheck's hard-hitting critique, "Biography of a Bad Statistic,"

The Consequences of Roe v. Wade
48,589,993
Total Abortions since 1973

After reaching a high of over 1.6 million in 1990, the number of abortions annually performed in the U.S. has dropped back to levels not seen since the late 1970s. The AGI figures for 2001 -2003 are estimates based on abortion reports from over 40 states ...
External site link (2008)