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Thursday April 19, 2001

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ROBERTSON'S DEFENCE OF CHINA'S "FAMILY PLANNING" PROGRAM IS LONG STANDING

WASHINGTON, Apr 19 (LSN.ca) - As conservative groups continue to reel in shock at the recent statements by Christian Coalition leader Pat Robertson defending China's notorious "family planning program," Lektrik.com has pointed out that his defence is long standing. Back in August 1994 Life Advocate reported that Pat Robertson had startled his television audience by voicing acquiescence to the Chinese government's forced abortion policy. The article was entitled "Pat Robertson: Personally Opposed But...?".

Judie Brown, President of American Life League commented on Robertson's quotes saying, "Of all people, Pat Robertson should have faith that God will find a way to provide for the Chinese people that doesn't require slaughtering millions of babies in the womb." Brown flatly rejected the notion that China is overpopulated. "The population of New Jersey is almost ten times as dense as China's," she said. "The problem in China is not that there are too many children. The problem is that the Communist regime will not extend resources and economic freedom to the people. If the Chinese government were to do so, there would be more than enough resources to go around. Babies are a blessing, not a curse." She added, "China's abortion campaign -- the forced killing of preborn children -- may well be the greatest crime against humanity in the history of the world."

Family Research Council President Ken Connor said Wednesday China's biggest problem is communism rather than population. Connor said of Robertson's statements, "these statements, and the clarification that failed to clarify, are misguided and just plain wrong."

For background see related coverage from LifeSite:
http://lsn.ca/ldn/2001/apr/010417.html#1
http://lsn.ca/ldn/2001/apr/010418.html#5

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FATHER OF DNA SCIENCE PROPOSES GENETIC MANIPULATION WITH HUMANS

NEW YORK, Apr 19, 2001 (LSN.ca) - Dr James Watson, one of the three Nobel Prize-winning scientists who unlocked the DNA code, has written an article in favour of genetic manipulation with humans. He proposes manipulation of the genes of embryos (called germ-line therapy) in an effort to remove supposed defects. Watson realizes that the process could lead to destruction of embryos but has no qualms with abortion or even infanticide to "banish genetic disability."

LifeSite reported in September 1997 that Watson promoted abortion for genetic disability saying that had he found out he would have chosen to abort his own autistic son if he had known of his condition before birth. The Society for the Protection of Unborn Children notes that Dr Watson is an advocate of eugenic abortion and infanticide. He wrote in 1973: "...most defects are not discovered until birth. If a child were not declared alive until three days after birth, then all parents could be allowed the choice... the doctor could allow the child to die if the parents so choose and save a lot of misery and suffering." [Children from the Laboratory, AMA Prism, ch.3, p.2, J.Watson, May 1973]

See Watson's article in the London Independent at:
http://argument.independent.co.uk/commentators/story.jsp?sto...

(with files from the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children http://www.spuc.org.uk)

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US HEALTH DEPT HEAD THOMPSON ENDORSES ABORTION DRUG RU 486

WASHINGTON, DC, Apr 19, 2001 (LSN.ca) - U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson, who was touted as "pro-life", has dismayed pro-lifers by his endorsement of the abortion drug RU-486. Speaking on The Edge with Paula Zahn on the Fox News Channel, Thompson said "nobody has said that RU-486 is unsafe." Thompson said, "Until somebody calls in and says that it's unsafe or that it's something that has caused problems -- for women, we will not be reviewing it, just like any other drug. It's the same as other drugs that have been approved. And it has been approved in America, and therefore, until it's proven or has any suggestion that it's unsafe, it will not be reviewed."

Judie Brown, president of American Life League (ALL), reacted to Thompson statements saying he "has denied the undeniable, and endorsed a chemical nightmare." ALL points out that Thompson's statement is a direct contradiction of his previous promises to investigate the health risks of the RU-486 abortion regimen.

"For the record, Mr. Thompson," said Brown, "RU-486 always kills a preborn person, and FDA documents indicate that the second chemical in the RU-486 abortion regimen has caused cardiac failure, coronary artery occlusion, uterine perforation, uterine rupture, and on and on." Brown said RU-486 is a chemical killer. "Mr. Thompson, don't pretend that you do not know this," she said. "It is killing innocent preborn children, and it can kill women. Distribution of RU-486 must be halted immediately."

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DUTCH HEALTH MINISTER PUSHES FOR SUICIDE PILL FOR NON-TERMINALLY ILL

AMSTERDAM, Apr 19, 2001 (LSN.ca) - Not satisfied with having become the first country in the world to legalize euthanasia for the terminally ill, the Dutch Health Minister has said she is open to allowing elderly persons who are "tired of life" to take a suicide pill. "I am not against it, as long as it can be carefully enough regulated so that it only concerns very old people who have had enough of living," Els Borst told the NRC Handelsblad newspaper on Saturday.

CNN reports that Borst said the subject was not a matter for the health minister, "but it could well be that a justice minister says: 'I want to allow people to end it all'." The Dutch Christian Democrat Party leader, Jaap de Hoop , reacted to Borst's comments saying, "It's only a couple of days since the euthanasia law was voted in, and already the minister wants to go a step further."

For more see the CNN coverage at:
http://www.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/europe/04/14/netherlands.suici...

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PRO-LIFE GROUP NOW REFUSING DONATIONS VIA AMERICAN EXPRESS - URGES BOYCOTT

WASHINGTON, Apr 19, 2001 (LSN.ca) - Women and Children First, has accepted the challenge issued by Douglas Scott of Life Decisions International and is supporting the boycott of American Express. It now refuses to accept donations via the credit card company which supports Planned Parenthood. "We're proud to announce that Women and Children First will not accept credit card donations made using the American Express credit card," explained WCF President Steven Ertelt. "American Express has been a longtime contributor to Planned Parenthood. Women and Children First will not indirectly support the largest abortion performer in the U.S. by accepting donations from American Express credit cards."

As LifeSite reported yesterday, Douglas R. Scott, president of Life Decisions International (LDI), challenged several pro-life groups to stop doing business with corporations that fund Planned Parenthood, the world's leading abortion advocacy organization. "We urge the National Right to Life Committee Inc., Steve Ertelt's 'Women & Children First,' and the Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute to stop accepting donations via the American Express card," Scott said. "These groups know that American Express has been a boycott target for more than a decade due to its financial support of Planned Parenthood. An excuse offered for being associated with American Express is just as invalid as an excuse for being associated with Planned Parenthood itself." Scott noted that American Life League, Pro-Life Action League, Human Life International, and many others do not accept American Express primarily - if not solely - due to its support of Planned Parenthood.

"We encourage all pro-life advocates to tear up their American Express credit cards, close their accounts and, most importantly, to send a letter to the corporation to explain the decision," Ertelt explained. WCF encourages all pro-life people to write to American Express and encourage them to stop funding Planned Parenthood. Write to: American Express Philanthropic Program, American Express Company, World Financial Center, New York, NY 10285-4803

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LIFESITE NEWSBYTES

The British government announced today that it will ban reproductive cloning in a new law. However human cloning for experimentation will still be permitted, contrary to media reports.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/health/newsid_1284000/12841...

A U.S. sponsored attempt to win international condemnation of China's human rights record failed Wednesday when the U.N. Human Rights Commission passed a motion from China that blocked consideration of the U.S. proposal.
http://www.nandotimes.com/noframes/story/0,2107,500474487-50...

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US NEWS ROUNDUP

American Medical Association (AMA) has revealed again its absolute pro-abortion agenda. It announced today it has filed an amicus curiae brief asking a federal court to reconsider its decision to throw out a case in which abortion supporters used the racketeering law to condemn pro-life protest. The amicus brief was filed in response to a March 28 decision rendered by a three-judge panel of the United States Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in the case of Planned Parenthood, et al. v. American Coalition of Life Activists.
http://www.nandotimes.com/newsroom/prn/archive/data/041901/p...

A record 1.3 million babies were born out of wedlock in 1999, marking the first time that a full one-third of all U.S. births were to unwed mothers, the federal government said yesterday.
http://www.washtimes.com/national/20010418-26517630.htm

ALL reports that President Bush has maintained an estimated $66 million in Title X funding. "Many of the so-called contraceptives Title X funds as 'family planning' often act to kill a human person before he or she can implant in his or her mother's womb. This is death by chemical and IUD, and through Title X, the American taxpayers are being forced to pay for such killings," said Ed Szymkowiak, national director of STOPP International, a division of American Life League.
http://www.ewtn.com/vnews/getstory.asp?number=14144

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