Tears and standing ovation at tribute for the late Alison Davis

Dr Colin Harte

At SPUC's national conference 2014 last weekend, Dr. Colin Harte paid tribute to the legacy of the late Alison Davis in his presentation "Suffering for what we value". Colin was Alison's carer for a quarter of a century until her death last year. Colin's presentation received a standing ovation, with some delegates moved to tears.

Alison was the co-ordinator of No Less Human, a group within SPUC which defends disabled people. Below are some keys points from Colin's address.

Alison was an extraordinary person. She was willing to suffer for the pro-life movement.

The killing of Louise, a baby with spina bifida was a turning point in Alison's life from pro-abortion to pro-life. Her first letter on pro-life issues (2 March 1981, on sedating and starving newborn babies to death, following reports of such killings by Dr Donald Garrow) was another turning point. She started work for SPUC's Handicap Division in 1983, now know as No Less Human.

Abortion of disabled babies in Northern Ireland was a cause of concern to Alison. David Alton's abortion bill - and the support of many people in the pro-life movement for the bill - was another cause of concern and suffering to Alison. The bill excluded disabled unborn children from the protection given to those who were not disabled. Alison said:

"I felt I was alone in thinking it was like robbing the poorest. Having so little, they would not miss what was taken from them."

Ann Widdecombe, the former MP, said, who supported the Alton Bill, said: "We are bargaining, saying if we agree you can kill them [disabled unborn children and others] will you support us in trying to save a few thousand other lives?" (The Times, 25 October 1989) Colin found this shocking.

Alison's response to the suggestion that by supporting incremental legislation pro-lifers could, as it were, achieve a reverse of the slippery slope process, was: "It shouldn't take much imagination to realise that attempts to ascend a slippery slope are going to be not only frustrating but self-defeating."

Alison felt isolated within SPUC at that time. Respect and gratitude is due to John Smeaton and SPUC in the last decade for moving away from a position that excludes the disabled.

Alison believed in the infinite value of every human person. Some people argue that a value cannot be ascribed to human beings, because value refers to the utility of objects, and is therefore contrary to human dignity. But Pope St John Paul II taught that humans do have value: they are priceless. Alison was first struck by the infinite value of human beings when she heard the late Lord Jakobovits, the-then Chief Rabbi, speak at Essex University. The tragedy is not that millions of babies are killed, but the judgement that one human life is expendable. This is because each individual life has infinite value.

At the end of her life Alison received excellent care from her hospital, her doctors, and her nurses. She refused pain relief to gain more to offer to God in her last moments of life. She chose to die in pain. Alison believed that the greatest privilege in the world is to suffer.

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SPUC banned on spurious grounds by Dundee University Students' Association

SPUC has been banned on spurious grounds by Dundee University Students' Association (DUSA) from its Freshers' Fayre.

DUSA claims that SPUC's campaigns are contrary to DUSA's Constitution, and that SPUC has engaged in extreme behaviour at past Freshers' Fayres. DUSA has, however, failed to provide any evidence to back up their claims.

Rachel Kidd of SPUC Scotland said:

"DUSA has quoted several sections of its Constitution against SPUC, but none of those sections contains anything opposed by SPUC. Also, DUSA has been asked to back up with evidence its claim of extreme behaviour by SPUC at Freshers' Fayres, but has failed to provide any evidence.

From 2005 onwards, SPUC held a stall at Freshers’ Fayre for eight consecutive years without any problems. The stall simply offered factual information on the development of the unborn child and real help to women who may find themselves in a crisis pregnancy situation.

DUSA makes a great deal of noise about being fair and unprejudiced towards groups with differing views. SPUC's effectiveness in communicating the pro-life message on campus seems to have provoked DUSA to treat SPUC in an unfair and biased way."

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Interview with Bishop Philip Egan on marriage and family life

Bishop Philip Egan agreed kindly to be interviewed after his address last Saturday to SPUC's 2014 national conference. In the interview Bishop Egan spoke about the "Catholic vision of sexuality, marriage, and family life." He was interviewed by Maria Madise, SPUC's newly-appointed International, UN and Research Officer. You can watch the interview below or on SPUC's YouTube channel.



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Full text of Bishop Philip Egan's address to SPUC conference

Bishop Philip Egan (right)

I am glad to be able to share the full text of Bishop Philip Egan's address to SPUC's national conference, entitled: "The forthcoming Synods on the Family and the sensus fidei".

After Bishop Egan delivered his address, I blogged many of its key points. One further and important point I would like to highlight is that Bishop Egan is

"urging married couples not to use the word “partner” when talking of their spouses, but proudly to speak of “My husband” and “My wife”."

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The challenges which face young people joining the pro-life battle

Jim Hughes

Delegates at SPUC's national conference 2014 were energized by the inspiration and great humour of Jim Hughes, national president of Campaign Life Coalition in Canada and vice-president of the International Right To Life Federation. Here are some of the key points from Jim's address on "The challenges which face young people joining the pro-life battle"

The backbone of the pro-life movement is the person who looks out at you from the mirror every morning. Be joyful that God has called us to this work. We are the chosen. Many people had the opportunity to be here this weekend; you said yes. You have the knowledge and have to pass it on.

Jim said that he comes from humble origins. The late Blessed Mother Teresa said that the beautiful thing about the pro-life movement is that it's ordinary people doing extraordinary things. Jim started in the pro-life movement when his wife Ginny took him to a meeting of Ontario Right To Life. He said to myself: I'll give God two years of service in the pro-life movement. God laughed - Jim has now been in the pro-life movement for several decades.

The situation in Canada is dire. Many people, including clergy, are ignorant about the situation. Jim encourages pro-lifers to 'adopt-a-clergyman' to educate him. Listen to what individuals tell you, because we're going to win people over, not in groups, but one-by-one.

Young people are not the future of the pro-life movement; they are the present. The late Fr Richard Neuhaus said that the old have to mentor the youth. We need to build them up. The head of Priests for Life in Canada is one of Jim's former interns. Jim met John-Henry Westen when he was a seven year-old in shorts. John-Henry is now the head of LifeSiteNews.com, the world's largest pro-life news-agency. Pro-life organisations need to:

• educate the summer interns
• send young people to the United Nations
• put young people in charge of something
• watch them grow
• give them responsibility.

Jim said that Campaign Life Coalition established the Parliamentary Pro-Life Caucus in the Canadian parliament. CLC also started Business for Life.

Jim warned of the dangers of unprincipled legislative attempts to change the law on abortion in a ostensibly pro-life direction. He also warned about abortion committees in hospitals - including both Catholic and Evangelical hospitals.

Jim, a veteran pro-life leader, concluded with these words of wisdom:

• Look at the Sacrifice of the Cross - we can put up with a little bit of suffering - look at Alison Davis's story which we heard yesterday
• Justice Clarence Thomas has said: In the end, it will not be the words of our enemies but the silence of our friends that can defeat us
• Recognise that the people who don't share our views are human beings too, and equally loved by God
• Deal with what's at your feet.

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Jim Dobbin RIP: SPUC conference delegates saddened to hear of MP's death

Jim Dobbin

Delegates today at the national conference of the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC) www.spuc.org.uk were saddened to hear of the death of Jim Dobbin MP, who had been a long-serving chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Pro-Life Group (APPPLG). The news was received as many of the delegates were attending Catholic Sunday Mass in the conference centre chapel. The Mass was followed immediately by prayers for the repose of the soul of Mr Dobbin, who was prominent in Catholic public life, followed by Pope St John Paul II's pro-life prayer "O Mary, Bright Dawn".

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Bishop Philip Egan addresses SPUC's national conference

Bishop Philip Egan

This morning SPUC's national conference 2014 was privileged to be addressed by the Rt. Rev. Philip Egan, the Catholic bishop of Portsmouth, on the forthcoming Synod on the Family and the Sensus Fidei. Here are the main points from Bishop Egan's address.

What is a Synod?
An "Ecumenical Council" means a 'gathering of all', in order to discuss and decide about important matters. Ecumenical Councils are rare. A synod is a smaller gathering of bishops, such as bishops across a region or a province.

In preparation for a synod, the synod's secretariat sends out a scoping document for dioceses. The responses are sent back to Rome; and from those responses the secretariat draws up an Instrumentum Laboris, a 'working document'.

A synod is an advisory body. The Pope participates in the synod, and following the synod he issues an Apostolic Exhortation in response to the synod.

The synod on the family to be held in Rome in October is an Extraordinary Synod. The last Extraordinary Synod was in 1987 on the Catechism of the Catholic Church. This year's Extraordinary Synod is also unusual, in two ways:
1) it will be followed by an Ordinary Synod next year. The Apostolic Exhortation will be the Instrumentum Laboris for the next year’s synod
2) The 39 pre-synod questions were circulated widely throughout the Church so as to put forward concerns.

Why the family?
Pope Francis announced the synod on the family at the 2013 World Youth Day in Rio. The Pope said that today many young people do not want to get married. Also, people get married lacking maturity. This is where pastoral care needs to comes in. The pastoral care of the family is very complicated, including issues such as annulments, divorce, and access to Holy Communion. Pope Francis said the family is in crisis worldwide. The topic needs two synods to give an adequate treatment.

Instrumentum Laboris
Instrumentum Laboris, to me, is a remarkable document. It unambiguously restates Catholic teaching on the main family issues. At the same time, it emphasises God’s mercy and the need to spread it; highlights the lack of faith and lack of sufficient catechesis. The beginning deals with the Gospel of the Family, which is the term I especially like. The crisis of faith leads to a crisis of relationships and families. The Instrumentum Laboris ends with the prayer of the Holy Family.

In summary the Instrumentum Laboris deals with:

• how to communicate Church’s teaching more effectively?
• how to support those in need more mercifully?
• how to support families in teaching about openness to life?

Crisis of faith
In Britain the crisis of the family is bound to the crisis of the faith. Secularism separates Church and State. The result is moral relativism. Nothing is solid.

It is no secret that many progressive Catholics look forward to changes in Church’s teaching and doctrine from the Synod. In contrast, Blessed John Henry Newman taught that Christian teaching tends to develop organically, like an acorn, with continuity. Doctrine develops rather than changes. Developments in doctrine must be consistent.

In history the Church has experienced major controversies. Today’s issue is the anthropology of a human being: what it means to created, fallen and then redeemed. The Sensus Fidei is the belief that the Holy Spirit endows each member of the Church, each baptised Christian, with an instinct to live in truth. Some members of the Church do not understand the Church’s teaching on marriage and family. Should the doctrine then be changed?

Bl. John Henry Newman taught observed that it has been the ordinary faithful who have passed on the Church's doctrine. Like others in the Church, the faithful should be consulted, not in a democratic way, but rather as a thermometer to check the weather. It is the doctrine that Christ wills for His Church. The doctrine is not always the balanced view, but it is the truth.

My personal hopes for the Synod:
1) A fresh, attractive, easy-to-understand idea of the Gospel of the Family. I would wish that the Synod requests from the Pope a presentation of the Christian understanding of birth, sex, death, male, and female. This would greatly assist religious education in our schools. I am actively considering appointing a couple in every parish as a ministry for marriage.
2) That the Synod will find a better way how to spread mercy for those in difficulties and irregular situations. Pope Benedict suggested we need a further study on the relation of faith and the Sacrament of Matrimony. Many people fall away from the Catholic Church because they fail to form a personal relationship with Christ.

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Sex education: the destruction of childhood

Antonia Tully

The first address of day II of SPUC's national conference 2014 was given this morning by Antonia Tully, national coordinator of SPUC's Safe at School campaign, on the theme "Sex education: the destruction of childhood". Antonia spoke mostly about primary schools (ages five to eleven). This is what Safe at School is focusing on, because that is where the current battle on sex education is located. 

Reality of sex education in primary schools today:
Graphic materials are used in primary school sex education, "giving children the impression that sex is part of their lives". Same-sex issues are promoted and parents are excluded.

Living and Growing
Living and Growing is the most widely-used sex education programme. It sets a sort of 'gold standard' for the sex education lobby. Living and Growing:

• makes young children aware of their sexual organs
• introduces them to sexual intercourse.
• normalises sex for young children.

Andrea Leadsom, the Conservative MP, said about Living and Growing:

“Until you have seen this, you can’t believe, how awful this programme is.”

Others who have seen it have said: there is nothing as horrible in our countries (US, in Europe)
Living and Growing has nothing to do with childhood
It features the voice-over of a young child accompanying the clip of sexual intercourse:

“They do look happy, don’t they?”

Sexual intercourse is thus presented as a game.

A recent letter from a parent in The Times revealed the great emotional agony children are experiencing as a result of sex education classes. Parents call Antonia saying:

"My child thinks now that she should be doing it."

A Journey of Love is a so-called “Catholic” approach somewhat similar to Living and Growing. It contains a teacher’s note that masturbation is a normal part of growing up.

Children and schools pitted against parents:
Modern sex education programmes have nothing to do with parents. Schools are deemed to be the experts. Parents are held at arm's length.
Children are encouraged to:

• train your parents
• talk to them as adults
• show them that you can be sensible and very often they learn to be sensible too.

The idea that parents need to be trained is now getting into teachers’ heads. But the parents are the experts!

Child protection:
Ofsted has raised the question about the state of sex education in schools. The push is to equip children with tools to defend themselves, protect themselves. What really protects a child? Knowing that their parents are their protectors. Sex education lobby shifts the responsibility of protecting the child to the child himself. The Sex Education Forum has claimed that children will be vulnerable unless they get sex education in schools. Yet there is no evidence to support the claim that children need sex education to stop sexual abuse/exploitation. Calls to NSPCC and Lucy Faithful Foundation reveal that neither organisation was able to give any studies that his claim was based on.

Why sex education is destruction of childhood:
Children need a natural childhood in order to reach mature adult age.
It undermines the parents, and weakens the families.
In our over-sexualised culture, children need their parents to give them strength to cope with it.
If families are destroyed, lives are destroyed. This is why SPUC is working so hard on this.
No evidence that sex education is contributing to fall in teenage pregnancy. There has, however, been a fall in teenage pregnancies since 2008. Some possible reasons, suggested by Professor David Paton of Nottingham University, are:

• more and more widespread use of long-acting contraception
• immigration
• fewer people leaving school with no qualifications.
• less drinking.

Guidelines for school from the sex education lobby:

• Parents now removed from the guidelines
• Ask young people what they want to be talk about
• Bring in experts
• Treat sex as normal and pleasurable part of life

Safe at School approach:

• Parents are at the head of what Safe at School is fighting for. Children need their parents to protect them. Young people are defenceless against anti-life propaganda. They have reduced resistance to the pressure of casual sex and abortion.
• Parents are the experts in educating their own children about sexual matters, supported by schools. Parents teach their family's values to their children not schools. The role of parents is at the heart of the campaign against compulsory sex education. Keeping sex education non-compulsory is an acknowledgement that parents are responsible for their children, not the state.
• No matter who wins the General Election 2015 there will be moves to introduce compulsory sex education. All three parties are heading toward the direction of the compulsory sex education.
• We must prepare for a major battle to uphold the rights of parents as the primary educators and protectors of their children.We must get parents reaffirmed to be in the centre of their children’s lives. We cannot hope to defeat abortion, if the families are destroyed this way.

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SPUC's national conference 2014 opens with an African flavour

Bob Edwards

SPUC's national conference 2014 kicked off last night in Swanwick, Derbyshire. Follow our Twitter feed @spucprolife for updates throughout this weekend.

The conference was opened by Bob Edwards, SPUC's Honorary Treasurer, who has had a long and distinguished career in finance and in the charity sector. He was sure that many warm friendships would be established among the delegates this weekend.

Rhoslyn Thomas

Next we heard from Rhoslyn Thomas, 25, SPUC's new Youth and Education Officer and the manager of SPUC's internship scheme. She introduced Eyo Esua, one of four of this year's interns. Eyo is a law student at Portsmouth University. He explained the many interesting and varied activities during this internship, such as researching charities, educational leafleting, and a protest outside the Polish embasssy. He discovered that many members of the public are generally against abortion. He charmed the audience by talk: "I'm Eyo, I'm 19, and I'm pro-life."

Eyo Esua

The keynote address of the evening was given by Obianuju "Uju" Ekeocha, who runs Culture of Life Africa (COLA), an internet-based resource which monitors and publicises the attacks on the culture of life in her home continent of Africa. Uju organised the first ever pro-life conference in her native Nigeria in June 2013. She is outspoken against first world countries deluging the world’s poorest countries, most of them in Africa, with contraception and abortion. Here are the key points from her address:

Uju and SPUC:

Obianuju "Uju" Ekeocha

Uju, who is a biomedical scientist, said that she grew up in Nigeria and has lived in the UK for 9 years. She thanked SPUC, saying she was impressed by the depth of SPUC's dedication. Not many pro-life organisations take a great interest in Africa. Uju has developed a very special pro-life friendship with Antonia Tully of SPUC.

Uju, Melinda Gates, Culture of Life Africa (COLA):
There is a clash of culture between the West and Africa
Melinda Gates, wife of Microsoft billionnaire Bill Gates, organised the London Summit on Family Planning, London. David Cameron spoke at the summit.
Melinda Gates' campaign may have to some good intentions but is going to:

• start a contraceptive culture in Africa, when the current rate of contraceptive usage is simply not on a par with the Western world
• distort the understanding of human sexuality
• depreciate the value of motherhood, when in fact motherhood is celebrated in African culture
• de-emphasise marriage, when in fact Africans aspire to marriage
• spread ideology of radical feminism and culture of abortion - claimed not supporting abortion but contraceptive campaign will involve abortion as 'safety net'

On 5 August 2012, Uju wrote an open letter online to Melinda Gates. The open letter went viral, and sparked argument. Uju had to defend her position online and therefore had to do lots of research. She decided to launch Culture of Life Africa in February 2013, starting with a blog.

Current situation in Africa:

• Abortion on demand is legal in only four African countries. 80% of African countries protect unborn children
• Pro-abortion advocates hard at work - pro-abortion advocates don't sleep! In some countries (e.g. Kenya, Ghana) they're playing word games

Plot to pass pro-abortion law foiled in Nigeria!:
Recently a short, sweeping pro-abortion bill was inserted into the law in one Nigeria state. The bill looked like something from a Planned Parenthood guidebook. Uju said: "This has nothing to do with my country!" The bill was signed into law by the state's Governor but kept secret, with the text of the law locked away in a state government office. The tribal prince of Uju's town sent someone to sneak into the office and photocopy the bill - something he could have been killed for doing. The prince made the text public, which led to widespread outrage. The local Catholic archbishop organised opposition to the bill. In response, the governor not only repealed the law but publicly apologised for what had happened. So Africa can be kept pro-life!

Reality of abortion in Africa:
Where abortion is legal in Africa, there is coercion, post-abortion trauma (PAS), sexual violence, medical malpractice, marriage and family weakened, and suppression of conscientious objectors.

Where there is suppression by pro-abortion authorities in Africa, there is a lot of suppression - in South Africa, even religious sisters are not exempt from having to do abortion training and must therefore withdraw from health care! The rape culture in South Africa has actually worsened since legal abortion was liberalised in 1994. One million unborn babies have died through abortion in South Africa since then.

Man will decide if woman has abortion. Abortion clinic workers are poorly paid. There is inadequate crisis pregnancy care. Legal restrictions are not enforced because of corruption. Doctors are performing illegal abortions - though this is exaggerated by pro-abortion advocates in order to paint a false picture. Doctors, OB/GYNs: these people, the ones who are doing abortions, are in fact the ones who should be protecting life.

African medical systems are heavily influenced by the West huge pressure from West:

• the UK's DFID (Department for International Development) - used to promote general education, now all they care about is sex education
• IPPF (International Planned Parenthood Federation) - funded by the US et al.
• MSI (Marie Stopes International) - has produced a video made to spread the pro-abortion message to young people
• Amnesty International
• Ipas - from North Carolina, trains lobbyists

A Safe Abortion Action Fund (SAAF) has been established. It exists only to lobby. It's a terrible thing and the UK is paying for it. This is cultural imperialism by Western politicians, and against African values, which includes valuing life.

The pro-abortion strategies in Africa include:

• reframe the issue by calls to 'public health'
• lobbying African leaders
• campaigns at UN, EU, etc
• media campaign
• sex education - funded by United States et al.
• questionable statistics

The anti-life lobby claim that there are large numbers of  'unplanned' pregnacies; yet the concept of 'unplanned' doesn't exist as an expression in African dialects! Where are they getting figures from? They have launched a project to condomise Africa, flooding the continent with condoms. For example, 118,800 condoms were shared at one event.

What Africa really needs is H.E.L.P.:

• Health
• Education
• Life
• Peace

The pro-life response:
There has been a powerful witness by SPUC in Nigeria. John Smeaton's talk to the Nigerian bishops has had huge fruits: the Bishops' Conference is inspired and ready to champion the pro-life cause; more pro-life outreach; and more international recognition of African pro-life spirit. So there is a way forward for a pro-life Africa:

• frame the issue
• lobby African leaders
• humanise the subject
• campaign at UN, EU, etc., especially get more Africans lobbying for life at UN
• conduct media campaigns
• educate the African public on life issues.

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Protest held outside Polish embassy in defence of pro-life doctor

A demonstration has been held outside the Polish embassy in London to protest against the dismissal of Professor Bogdan Chazan from his post at Holy Family Children’s Hospital in Warsaw. The protest was organised by SPUC.


Professor Chazan was dismissed by the mayor of Warsaw after refusing to grant an abortion to, or refer for an abortion, a woman who was carrying a child with a disability. The child was born and has since died naturally.

Following Professor Chazan’s dismissal, Donald Tusk, Prime Minister of Poland, made a statement saying: "Regardless of what his conscience is telling him, [a doctor] must carry out the law", according to Polskie Radio.

Regarding the Prime Minister’s comment, Magdalena Ozimic (age 31), one of the protesters and originally from Szczecin (north-west Poland), said:

"It is very important for me to be a witness here as a Pole. We live in terrible anti-life times when even in Poland, where a huge majority declare themselves Catholic, the Prime Minister stands for killing the innocent. As a young adult I wanted to become a doctor, believing I would be saving people's lives. Unfortunately nowadays, young people who want to save lives may have to think carefully before embarking on a medical career. I hope Dr Chazan will get more support in Catholic Poland and we can do our best here to show our support as pro-lifers."

The event was attended mostly by young people, particularly from the Polish community. The aim of the demonstration was to call for the reinstatement of Professor Chazan to his post at Holy Family Children’s Hospital and to highlight the injustice of the dismissal. Unfortunately, the demonstration drew no visible reaction from the embassy itself; when enquiries were made, protestors were told that the ambassador was absent.

One Polish demonstrator, Slawek Wrobel, age 36, a historian, said:

"I cannot believe that, 10 years after the reign of John Paul II, our Polish pro-life pope, someone who cares about life can be dismissed from their job. I am also astonished that the Mayor of Warsaw, who has put herself forward as a good Catholic, has sacked Dr Chazan."

Particpants handed out leaflets to passers-by detailing the case of Professor Chazan’s dismissal and the situation surrounding Professor Chazan’s refusal to participate in the abortion.

Katarzyna Jabrocka, age 34, said:

"I came here to support the belief that Dr Chazan shouldn't be dismissed because he supported life. He should be enabled to continue his work as a doctor, and we are here today to support him."

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Immoral not to abort unborn children with Down's Syndrome, says Richard Dawkins

Richard Dawkins

Top stories:

Immoral not to abort unborn children with Down's Syndrome, says Richard Dawkins
Professor Richard Dawkins, the prominent atheist scientist, has said that it is "immoral" not to abort unborn children with Down's Syndrome. He made the comments in a discussion on Twitter. The professor argued that foetuses should not be given the same legal rights as older human beings. Anthony Ozimic, SPUC's communications manager, told the BBC: "All unborn children, whether disabled or not, are equal members of the human family, and therefore have an equal right to life with the rest of humanity. As a scientist, Dawkins should know better than to deny that human life begins at conception. As a former foetus, I am against abortion in all circumstances." [BBC, 21 August]

Book now for SPUC's national conference, 5-7 September
SPUC's national conference takes place once again at the Hayes Conference Centre, Swanwick, Derbyshire, from 5-7 September. This will be a fantastic opportunity to hear international speakers on a range of pro-life topics, and get up to date with all SPUC’s campaigns. It is a must for all SPUC branches. We are delighted that our speakers this year will include Bishop Philip Egan, Roman Catholic bishop of Portsmouth. See the conference programme To book, download the booking form and return it to SPUC with the conference fee. If you have any questions about the conference, please contact Katherine Hampton, the conference organiser, by email to conference@spuc.org.uk or by telephone on 020 7820 3137. [SPUC]

Other stories:

Abortion

• Once I would have agreed with Dawkins. Then my daughter was born with Down's Syndrome [Independent, 21 August]
• Mother says she has 'no regrets' at choosing not to abort her disabled son [Mail, 21 August]
• France scraps ‘distress’ requirement for abortion: now has abortion on demand [LifeSiteNews.com, 20 August]
• New Zealand abortion group targets pro-life doctors, nurses with new website [LifeSiteNews.com, 19 August]
• Couple who abandoned surrogate baby with Down’s: we wanted refund, abortion [LifeSiteNews.com, 11 August]
• In Korea, Pope Francis to visit cemetery for aborted babies [CNA, 10 August]

Embryology

• The fraught world of UK surrogacy [BBC, 21 August]
• The 500 sperm donors who have 6,200 children between them [Telegraph, 20 August]
• Will my disabled daughter have a place in this genetic wonderland? [Guardian, 7 August]

Euthanasia

• UK citizens are second largest contributors to suicide tourism in Switzerland [IBT via Yahoo, 22 August]
• The bleak new reality in care homes for the elderly [LifeSiteNews.com, 21 August] Anthony Ozimic, SPUC's communications manager, commented: "This is utilitarian tick-box medicine,  in which hospital managers put a selfish desire to evade challenging work above the right to life and their duty of care to their patients. In a society in which human life is regarded as disposable, it is inevitable that bureaucracies will put pressure on ordinary people to agree to terminate lives deemed wasteful. The Mental Capacity Act and the Liverpool Care Pathway have worked to entrench this mentality in the National Health Service."
• Head of the Church of England speaks out against assisted suicide [NRLC, 8 August]

Pregnancy

• Mother has four babies in 9 months after triplets were conceived weeks after son's birth [Mail, 11 August]

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Letter from Teresa Lynch of SPUC's Nurses Opposed to Euthanasia in this weekend's Catholic Herald

This weekend's Catholic Herald features a letter from Teresa Lynch, who heads Nurses Opposed to Euthanasia, a group within SPUC. The full text of her letter is below. Well done Teresa on your clear and bold witness to the sanctity of human life!

If you want to know more about the debate on assisted suicide and euthanasia, book now for SPUC's conference, 5 - 7 September, Hayes Conference Centre, Swanwick, Derbyshire. Dr Colin Harte will speak on "Suffering for what we value: the legacy of Alison Davis". Paul Tully will speak on "Learning the lessons from the Liverpool Care Pathway". There will also be a workshop on "Assisted Dying - how to convince people you don't want it".

Many nurses would refuse to abide by the assisted suicide law

SIR – Max Wind-Cowie (July 25) rightly provides an unequivocal challenge to the reasonable approach to understand and even accommodate the views of those in favour of assisted suicide (a more honest term for the currently entitled “Assisted Dying” of the Falconer Bill). Such an attitude, he correctly suggests, can appear as if the vital argument is already lost. Repetition of the long held prohibition “thou shall not kill” is vital in resisting the perennial and dangerous calls for a change in British law. Jesus said “let your yes be yes and your no be no”.

Medicine and nursing in the 21st Century ever seeks to increase the percentage of patients achieving a pain-free existence in the terminal phase of illness. Patients with end stage disease are a constant challenge to the vocational skills of their caring team, whose culture is vital to inspire confidence in vulnerable patients. In my professional experience, patients look to their carers to affirm their lives, not offer them death as a defeatist, cheap and easy option.

No one, of any age or degree of illness, is granted a pain-free existence. To suffer is part of the human condition. We see practical love operating frequently in times of natural disaster, to make bearable the suffering of those having experienced loss, trauma, persecution, injustice or bereavement, in other words, in all forms of suffering, whether mental or physical. What makes suffering bearable is the constant, invaluable support by family and friends, and of course, the carers in their loving concern, support, and practical care for pain, wounds and misery.

No one should be unaware that rather than pain, “fear of being a burden: underlies many people’s request for assisted suicide, where it is legally-sanctioned. What an incredibly sad premise for this proposed law.

The worst pain, then, experienced by dying people is the fear of abandonment by their carers. Do we now compound this fear by offering the abolishment of the burden of suffering together with patients’ lives in the increasing numbers now seen in other European countries?

Nurses will be the ones expected to fulfil the requirements of this Bill. I know many of religious conviction and none, who will refuse to implement any such law. Such a stand would, no doubt, lead to their persecution for a so-called lack of “compassion”.

Yours faithfully, TERESA LYNCH RGN, MSc

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Check out the great selection of workshops at next month's SPUC conference

There is a great selection of workshops on offer at next month's SPUC conference, 5 - 7 September, Hayes Conference Centre, Swanwick, Derbyshire:

• Gaining new grass roots support from your local churches
• Assisted Dying – how to convince people YOU don't want it!
• How can we involve more young people in pro-life activism?
• The silent epidemic of Post-abortion Trauma
• How to reach Evangelicals
• Promoting a culture of life at the United Nations
• Project Truth – taking the pro-life message to the streets
• Answering the tough pro-life questions
• Building SPUC’s anti-abortion campaign

Workshops can be signed up for on arrival at the conference. The workshops are in addition to the equally great list of plenary talks - see the updated conference programme.

To book your place at the conference, download the booking form and return it to SPUC with the conference fee. If you have any questions about the conference, please contact Katherine Hampton, the conference organiser, by email to conference@spuc.org.uk or by telephone on 020 7820 3137. 

Want to promote SPUC's conference in your local area, church or university? Order copies of our flyer by email or by telephone to 020 7091 7091.

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Listen to SPUC's Pat Buckley on the pro-life battle at the United Nations

Patrick Buckley, one of SPUC's representatives at the United Nations, was interviewed recently [link to MP3] by Kathy Sinnott for her radio programme on EWTN, Celtic Connections. Pat gave a very clear and informative overview of the pro-life battle at the United Nations. The interview lasts 20 mins and is relevant to everyone with pro-life and pro-family concerns.

For those not already familar with Pat, he blogs at European Life Network . As well as representing SPUC at international institutions and in the Republic of Ireland, he is a member of the Holy See Forum and a past president of the National Association of Catholic Families (NACF) in the UK. He is a retired architect and has many other accomplishments, mentioned on his blog.

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Mothers glad they rejected abortion of sick children

Samuel Davies

Mothers glad they rejected abortion of sick children
Two mothers who rejected abortion has spoken of their gladness. Vicky Davies’s son Samuel was born with his stomach and intestines developing in his chest. Jacky Robson's daughter Faith was diagnosed with part of an artery missing. Vicky Davies said she "couldn’t even imagine" having an abortion, while Jackie Robson explained that "No matter what, she was our baby and we were keeping her." [Christian Institute, 8 August]

Other stories:

Abortion

• Aborted quadruplet babies died with their arms around each other [LifeNews.com, 7 August]
• Peruvian abortion law prompts call for prayer, fasting [CNA, 6 August]
• Abortionist may lose licence after running shockingly filthy clinic [LifeNews.com, 5 August]
• Teen gives birth, hides baby under sink; feared mother would force her to have abortion [LifeNews.com, 5 August]

Embryology

• Thailand wants to ban commercial surrogate maternity [Associated Press via Epoch Times, 7 August]
• IVF madhouse strikes again. Another tragic baby mix-up [Conservative Woman, 6 August]
• Vatican newspaper decries surrogacy [Catholic Culture, 5 August]
• Britain's already got far too many fatherless families without the NHS deliberately creating more [Mail, 4 August]
• Earlier pregnancy screening move for genetic problems [BBC, 4 August]
• UK national sperm bank to be opened in Birmingham [BBC, 3 August]

Euthanasia

• UK bishop warns of ‘inhuman ideology’ behind euthanasia on WWI anniversary [LifeSiteNews.com, 1 August]

Population

• Claim that China's one-child policy has been modified [LifeNews.com, 7 August]
• The dark side of giving childless couples babies in China [Epoch Times, 2 August]

Sexual ethics

• Australian Parliament to vote on same-sex marriage again this year [Gay Star News, 4 August]
• Catholic bishops of east Africa warn of threats to the family [Agenzia Fides, 4 August]

General

• Woman gains degree by blinking after stroke leaves her unable to walk and talk [Telegraph, 4 August]

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Philippines welcomes its 100 millionth citizen

baby Chonalyn

Top story:

Philippines welcomes its 100 millionth citizen
The Philippines has welcomed the birth of its 100 millionth citizen. The baby girl, named Chonalyn, was born in a hospital in Manila, the capital. Over half of the country's population is under 25. [Mail, 27 July]

Other stories:

Abortion

• I was pro-choice to the core and then everything changed… I had an abortion [LifeSiteNews.com, 22 July]

Embryology

• Woman bears late husband's child two years after his death [Express, 27 July]
• Single women should not get free IVF, say ethics experts [Telegraph, 25 July]

Euthanasia

• Euthanasia could be option for poor, says Lithuanian health minister [BioEdge, 26 July]
• Family in shock as grandmother dies ‘without dignity’ [Milton Keynes Citizen, 23 July]

Sexual ethics

• New Stonewall CEO in logic fail: claims to be "practising Catholic" [John Smeaton, 30 July]
• Ban on same-sex marriages protects children, say Texas attorney-general [Guardian, 29 July] Arizona also deploys same argument in court case [Gay Star News, 28 July]
• New education secretary appoints Stonewall adviser [TES, 28 July]
• European court rules nations free to reject same-sex marriage [Catholic Culture, 28 July]

General

• New manual of Catholic medical ethics published [Connor Court Publishing, 28 July]

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New Stonewall CEO in logic fail: claims to be "practising Catholic"

I had to smile when I read that Ruth Hunt, the new chief executive of Stonewall, the homosexual lobby-group, claims to be a "practising Catholic". Perhaps she is also a meat-eating vegetarian? A liberal conservative? A champagne socialist? Or all of the above?

Of course, I will immediately stop smiling if she begins to be taken seriously as a "practising Catholic" by Catholic officials. Needless to say, the policies of Stonewall are radically opposed to the infallible doctrines of the Catholic Church on sexual ethics, to the natural moral law and the common good.

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Morning-after pill should be handed out in maternity wards – BPAS

Ann Furedi of BPAS

Morning-after pill should be handed out in maternity wards – BPAS [Telegraph, 23 July]

Book now for SPUC's national conference, 5-7 September
SPUC's national conference takes place once again at the Hayes Conference Centre, Swanwick, Derbyshire, from 5-7 September. This will be a fantastic opportunity to hear international speakers on a range of pro-life topics, and get up to date with all SPUC’s campaigns. It is a must for all SPUC branches. We are delighted that our speakers this year will include Bishop Philip Egan, Roman Catholic bishop of Portsmouth. See the conference programme To book, download the booking form and return it to SPUC with the conference fee. If you have any questions about the conference, please contact Katherine Hampton, the conference organiser, by email to conference@spuc.org.uk or by telephone on 020 7820 3137. [SPUC, 16 July]

Re-advertised post: Personal Secretary to the Chief Executive
SPUC is looking to recruit a Personal Secretary to the Chief Executive based at its London HQ. The post is part-time (15-25 hours per week, negotiable). Salary details available on request. The deadline for applications is 15 August. This is a re-advertised post. [SPUC, 23 July]

Abortion

• The wife who's aborted two babies - because she's too selfish to share her husband [Mail, 24 July]

Embryology

• Three parent babies banned from knowing 'second mothers' [Telegraph, 23 July]
• NHS managers proposed strict limits on IVF provision [Telegraph, 21 July]
• Number of women travelling to America to choose sex of child rises 20% [Telegraph, 21 July]

Euthanasia

• Nitschke's website linked to UK suicide death [Euthanasia Prevention Coalition, 23 July]
• Australia's Dr Death, Philip Nitschke, to lose medical licence [Euthanasia Prevention Coalition, 23 July]
• Country music legend supports life [John Smeaton, 22 July]
• Fears for safety of vulnerable people as assisted suicide is debated in House of Lords [SPUC, 18 July]
• A moving account why Lord Falconer's assisted suicide bill is wrong [John Smeaton, 18 July]

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Re-advertised post: Personal Secretary to the Chief Executive

SPUC is looking to recruit a Personal Secretary to the Chief Executive (myself) based at our London HQ. The post is part-time (15-25 hours per week, negotiable). Salary details available on request. The deadline for applications is 15 August. This is a re-advertised post. A key role in building grassroots support for the pro-life movement in the UK.

Duties will include:

• drafting letters
• taking dictation
• maintaining a filing system
• assisting in making travel arrangements
• photocopying and printing.

Applicants must have:

• an absolute commitment to the pro-life cause
• experience working at director/board level
• the ability to cope with a wide range of secretarial responsibilities
• good level of word-processing skill
• the ability to take dictation (shorthand skills are highly desirable)
• excellent communication and organisational skills

Applicants must enjoy working under pressure.

For more information or to receive an application form please contact:
Patrick Kingman
020 7091 7091
patrickkingman@spuc.org.uk

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Country music legend supports life

Dr Tom Rogers, immediate past national vice-chairman of SPUC, wrote to me today as follows:

In case you haven’t heard it before (it first appeared in 2011) just thought I’d share with you this very beautiful song with a pro-life theme by country singer Collin Raye. See the video above.

Raye wrote it about his experience with his young granddaughter who suffered and eventually died from a rare neurological disorder. He released it in support of the Terry Schiavo Live & Hope Network, and in response to the whole pro-euthanasia agenda. A heart-warming antidote to much of what we were hearing last week anyway. You can read more about the song here:

http://cnsnews.com/news/article/country-music-star-collin-raye-strikes-chord-life-and-hope

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