Check back every Thursday for the latest news concerning the family and society. This week there was some good news for our unborn children: researchers have been able to isolate embryo quality stem cells from adult blood, a major breakthrough in stem cell research. Pro-life Republicans in Congress are seeking federal support for non-destructive stem cell research (Broken link, active June 30, 2005) rather than the bill making its way through the House and Senate that President Bush has vowed to veto.
On the legal battlefront, Albertson’s has agreed to respect pharmicists’ right of conscience (Broken link, active June 30, 2005) by not requiring them to fill prescriptions for the “morning after” pill, while pro-life medical groups seek to defend healthcare professionals’ right of conscience (Broken link, active June 30, 2005) in California. Tomorrow a new law goes into effect in Florida (Broken link, active June 30, 2005), requiring doctors to notify the parents of girls ages 17 and under before performing abortions. And in December, President Bush signed federal regulations that would assess harsh financial penalties on states that discriminate against doctors who refuse to provide abortions. California sued the administration seeking to overturn these regulations (Californians for discrimination!) and a federal judge has ruled that constitutionally, California’s lawsuit can proceed (Broken link, active June 30, 2005).
And on the legislative battlefront, efforts to protect the unborn have proliferated at the state level, most recently through laws that establish the personhood of a fetus. Since a new study shows that a reversal of Roe would only affect 10% of the country, these state laws are necessary (hat tip: Glenn Beck). Now if only the courts will let the state laws stand: a Virginia partial birth abortion ban was just struck down by our judicial masters public servants (Broken link, active June 30, 2005). Now the bad news, the National Catholic Register asks if the GOP is planning to drop (Broken link, active June 30, 2005) its pro-life platform.
Now for the really bad news: World Magazine reports on new evidence that some abortion clinics are violating federal law by killing children who survive abortions. And while the new ultrasound technology is saving the lives of the unborn here in the U.S., in China they are being used to kill girls under that country’s one child law.
“And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.”
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