The death of euthanasia

It is time to discard the word euthanasia because it mixes ideas and values that confuses the debate about dying, states an editorial in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.

The term, euthanasia, is from the Greek and was coined in 1646. It was intended to mean a gentle and easy death. A nuance was introduced, by 1742, referring to the means of bringing about such a death and, in 1859, to the action of inducing such a death. Modern dictionaries have a variety of definitions, but they all imply the same meaning, an intentional action to bring about death in someone who is suffering."

Euthanasia's broad meaning has inadvertently enveloped a set of actions that also involve the relief of symptoms in dying people," write the authors. "For example giving enough narcotic to relieve pain in cancer patients and adding enough sedation to enable comfort and minimize agitation is appropriate and compassionate care, even when the amounts required increase the probability of death. It can be argued that, in such circumstances, death becomes an acceptable side-effect of effective palliation. But, in our view, it is not euthanasia."

Physicians can help by not using "euthanasia" to refer to actions taken to assist dying patients and instead, can clearly name and define each action as well as its possible repercussions. PhysOrg

Pro-Life Democrats Who Switched Vote for Health Bill Request Billions in Earmarks

The 11 House Democrats led by Rep. Bart Stupak who dropped their opposition to health care reform mere hours before the final vote have requested $3.4 billion in earmarks -- and one watchdog group wants to know whether the money represents business as usual, or a political payoff. FoxNews

Terminating Korea’s abortion culture

A Korean gynaecologist explains why he abandoned a lucrative procedure and is campaigning to reduce abortions. South Korea has one of the highest rates of abortion in the world, even though abortion is technically illegal there except in a few rare circumstances. According to official government figures, there are 340,000 abortions each year, although there may be as many as 1.5 million. At the same time, Korea's birth rate is the second-lowest in the world – 1.19 births per woman -- and some Koreans fear that their very survival as a nation is in doubt. MercatorNet

Related: Korean pro-life doctors group

Give sons a "pep talk"

Regarding sex (and so much more) men and women really are wonderfully different. And we don't really need a study to tell us so. JWR

People for the Ethical Treatment of Humans

Medical ethics is a growth industry, with doctors and nurses making difficult judgment calls every day that would hardly have been an issue a generation ago. There's the burn victim whose family and doctors disagree on whether treatment should be continued. There's the mentally retarded man with a possible lung tumor who may or may not be competent to make his own decisions about his treatment. As medical technology allows scientists to nudge the boundaries between life and death, this uncomfortable field becomes increasingly important. Chicago Reader

'Junk' DNA makes us unique

A recent study has lent more weight to the view that 'Junk DNA' may be anything but junk. A joint effort by the European Molecular Biology Laboratory in Heidelberg, Germany and Stanford University, California, US, has uncovered large differences between the non-coding DNA of different individuals, which may be associated with differing levels of disease risk and other traits too. BioNews

Going solo: fertility treatment options and the law for women starting a family on their own

It is perhaps not surprising that increasing numbers of women are making the decision to start a family independently. 'Solo' mothers (as distinct from single mothers) are those who make a positive decision to go it alone and to conceive without a partner. In addition to the social and financial implications of this choice, there are a number of legal implications as well. Bionews

Related: UK law change allows same-sex couples to become legal parents, Top US students offered higher egg prices, Canada may be first North American country to offer free IVF

Get to Know: Thoughts on Abortion

ThoughtsOnAbortion.com is a brand-new multi-lingual online community that promotes dialogue on abortion and related issues and provides a global social network through online debate and discussion forums. ThoughtsOnAbortion.com drives public discussion on pro-choice views, giving pro-life and pro-choice adherents the opportunity to respond to the most common arguments presented in favour of abortion. Drawing inspiration from the legendary “Thoughts Upon Slavery” written by John Wesley, this tool invites everyone to a discussion on abortion and thereby fosters informed learning through meaningful dialogue.

Executive Order provided cover for "pro-life" Democrats

Wednesday's executive order represents is something for pro-life Democrats who voted in favor of healthcare reform to use as cover when they run for re-election. Of their decision, Susan B. Anthony List spokeswoman Marjorie Dannenfelser says they "chose a last-minute fig leaf rather than standing up for the pro-life American majority." And in response, she vows that her organization will labor to elect in their place pro-life representatives "who will not crack under pressure." OneNewsNow

Related: Podcast from Life Training Institute
In the interest of balance: Pro-life Democrat offers pro-life bill in Louisiana and Lone pro-life Democrat who split with Stupak

TV medical dramas 'rife' with bioethical issues and breaches of professional conduct

A medical student and faculty directors from the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics analyzed depictions of bioethical issues and professionalism over a full season of two popular medical dramas—"Grey's Anatomy" and "House, M.D."—and found that the shows were "rife" with ethical dilemmas and actions that often ran afoul of professional codes of conduct. EurekaAlert

Pioneer Reflects on Future of Reproductive Medicine

Dr. Howard W. Jones Jr., the surgeon who, along with his wife, Dr. Georgeanna Seegar Jones, helped to create the first test tube baby born in the United States, turned 99 in December. He is still opinionated, humble and charming, and he has a lot to say about the past and future of the baby-making business.

Arthur Caplan, a professor of bioethics and philosophy at the University of Pennsylvania, credits Dr. Jones’s “conservative demeanor” as paving the way for acceptance of reproductive technology. “He had the virtues that cleared the path. He was a good parent, happily married.” NY Times

Stupak accuses Catholic bishops and pro-life groups of hypocrisy

Rep. Bart Stupak, whose support for President Obama’s health bill ensured it was passed into law Sunday, \accused the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and pro-life groups of “hypocrisy” for condemning the executive order that sealed the deal. “The [National] Right to Life and the bishops, in 2007 when George Bush signed the executive order on embryonic stem cell research, they all applauded the executive order. So now President Obama’s going to sign an executive order protecting life and everyone’s condemning it. The hypocrisy is great.”

Not so fast. Pro-life groups said their criticism had to do specifically with Obama’s executive order, which they say can do nothing to override provisions in the health bill. “We haven’t said anything to suggest we think executive orders are never of value,” said Douglas Johnson, NRLC’s legislative director. Bush’s 2007 executive order, which followed his veto of legislation that would have expanded embryonic stem cell research, did not contravene existing law, but instead supported it, making it more “airtight.” In addition, Bush’s 2001 executive order banning the use of most embryonic stem cell research simply undid authorization that had been put in place by federal regulations, not legislative action. The problem with Obama’s executive order is “it basically just recites what’s in the Senate bill.” Daily Caller

Stupak's original sin

After the Sunday vote, a group of Democrats, including Stupak, gathered in a pub to celebrate. In a biblical moment, New York Rep. Anthony Weiner was spotted planting a big kiss on Stupak's cheek. To a Catholic man well versed in the Gospel, this is not a comforting gesture. JWR

Related: Stupak defends Planned Parenthood

Elderly Irish Encouraged to ‘Plan Now for Suicide’

Speaking in Dublin, euthanasia campaigner Dr. Philip Nitschke encouraged his audience to confirm their plans to commit suicide before they become too infirm. “Don’t wait until it’s too late, plan ahead and put in place an end-of-life strategy."

A major focus of his appearance was to help overturn Ireland’s blasphemy laws that make it “almost impossible” to talk about assisted suicide for fear of opposition from religious groups. “As an atheist I am often asked to debate the ethical issues involved in providing a person with information that will allow them to end their life peacefully and reliably at a time of their choosing. I am constantly up against this idea that somehow life belongs to God. I disagree strongly with that assertion.” LifeSiteNews

2,536 reasons to have hope

In the past week, 40 Days for Life reached a milestone. In this, the sixth coordinated, simultaneous 40-day campaign of prayer and fasting, constant vigil and community outreach, we now know of more than 2,500 babies saved from abortion during these campaigns. The exact total is currently 2,536. Not only have so many babies been spared from abortion, but so have many mothers and many fathers! So that’s roughly 7,500 lives directly impacted by your prayers and the mercy of Almighty God!

Stem-Cell Health Care Must Put the Patients First

As spiraling health care costs increase and public debate over health care collide in the headlines, it’s time to question the value that Americans have received for their tax dollar investment in some medical research. Specifically, how are health dollars being allocated regarding actual promising treatments for patients versus speculative, controversial research? Roll Call

What's the best proof of creation?

If Christians really understood that all facts are actually interpreted on the basis of certain presuppositions, we wouldn’t be in the least bit intimidated by the evolutionists’ supposed “evidence.” We should instead be looking at the evolutionists’ (or old-earthers’) interpretation of the evidence, and how the same evidence could be interpreted within a biblical framework and confirmed by testable and repeatable science.

If more creationists did this, they would be less likely to jump at flaky evidence that seems startling but in reality has been interpreted incorrectly in their rush to find the knockdown, drag-out convincing “evidence” against evolution that they think they desperately need. AiG

Healthcare reform roundup

• Roll-call vote
• Text: White House on abortion-related executive order
• Why did Stupak hold out for a meaningless executive order?
• NOW 'incensed' over anti-abortion executive order
• Schlafly: Health Care Vote Exposes the Myth of the 'Pro-Life Democrat'

I fear for the sanity of those who grieve for their pets as much as their granny

If this research is to be believed, more than half of British pet lovers say they find the loss of a four-legged friend as traumatic as the death of an aunt, an uncle or a grandparent. A third go even further, comparing it with the death of a parent, sibling or spouse. I find this profoundly disturbing. DailyMail

A woman reveals why she regrets having IVF

When Melanie Prescott conceived her twins through IVF on Mother's Day last year, she thought she was the luckiest woman in the world. At 39, she finally had what she wanted. But, ever since her babies were born ten weeks prematurely, Melanie has been on an emotional roller-coaster. Not only is she struggling with sleep deprivation and the punishing routine that comes with twins, but hardest of all to bear has been coming to terms with the fact that her daughter has Down syndrome. DailyMail

Mother who murdered six newborns sentenced to 15 years in jail

A ‘serial killer’ mother has been jailed for 15 years for murdering six of her newborn children in as many years and hiding their tiny corpses in a cellar. In one of the worst infanticide cases in history, 38-year-old Frenchwoman Celine Lesage strangled two of her children with a cord and choked four others by placing her finger in their mouths. Prosecutors – who described her as a ‘serial killer’ - had sought a 16-year prison sentence for Lesage with no early release before half the term was served, but accepted 15. DailyMail

Stem Cell Cures Any Closer?

Twelve years after the discovery of the human embryonic stem cell, research is finally picking up steam. Over the past 7 years, the National Institutes of Health have almost tripled its investment in stem cell research to more than $1 billion. CBS News reports the number of embryonic stem cell lines funded by the government has doubled - from 21 to 44 today. More than 200 U.S. companies are researching stem cells. So the report card on stem cell research is promising -- but incomplete.

Stem cell hope for hip replacements

Hip replacement patients could have their own bone stem cells used in surgery instead of bone from donors if a new treatment proves successful. A team from the universities of Southampton and Nottingham believe that introducing a patient's own skeletal stem cells into the hip joint during bone grafting would encourage more successful regrowth and repair. UKPA

Asking for 'Christian' names offends

Police have been told not to ask for "Christian" names, to avoid offending people of other faiths. The call has been met with dismay, with one experienced officer calling it politically correct “nonsense.” And the Plain English Campaign questioned whether there really was anyone from other faiths who would be offended. Christian Institute

Former Co-Chair of House Pro-Life Caucus to Back Pro-Abortion Bill

Minnesota Rep. James Oberstar, a longtime pro-life advocate who was the co-chairman of the House Pro-Life Caucus before Rep. Bart Stupak, says he will vote for the pro-abortion health care bill. Meanwhile, undecided Rep. Marcy Kaptur is still leaning no and talked about a recent Catholic endorsement. LifeNews

Philosophical abortion essay

Just think, if scientists found an unborn child just after conception -- a "cluster of cells" -- on the planet Mars or on Antarctica, the next day world headlines would read: "Scientists Have Found Life on Mars" and our president would be making a special televised address to the nation to announce these "spectacular" findings that scientists have found life. We would then be spending billions of dollars to probe Mars in search of a little water and nutrients because they know, that with a little nourishing, life can flourish.

When those were the headlines in the summer of 1997, all that was found was the fossil of a cell on a rock believed to be from Mars -- just look at all the fuss that is made. Yet, when certain scientists find the same "glob of tissues" in a woman's womb which actually contains the full genetic code of a brand new human being, they claim they don't really know what it is or that "it's not life."

Can you imagine what the controversy and resulting punishment would be if someone were to destroy the fossil of a cell on the rock believed to be from Mars? This is a sad commentary. Rebecca Kiessling, Conceived in rape, pro-life speaker

Abortion rights group touts it's own black leaders

As a senior pastor in the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, Rev. Dr. William Jarvis Johnson counseled many young women struggling with unintended pregnancies. Some had abortions, while other continued their pregnancies. All of them opened his eyes to "decisions that are painful, yet a fact of life." In November 2009, Jarvis joined the Center for Reproductive Rights as its outreach manager, a new position created to deepen our relationships with grassroots and social justice groups, including clergy. Jarvis is pastor of a Baptist church in Washington, DC.

Helping Parents Navigate the Vampire Phenomenon

Author Kimberly Powers and Prof. Beth Felker Jones discuss the popularity of the Twilight books and movies, especially among teen girls. Our guests describe the occult themes and problematic messages of the vampire series, and its potentially negative influence on young people. Focus on the Family

What would you do to save your dying child?

To save her son Henry, Laurie Strongin received 353 IVF injections, but couldn’t conceive a genetic match. Today, she supports controversial stem-cell technology. Globe & Mail

Cells in amniotic fluid become stem cells

Scientists say they've found skin cells in human amniotic fluid can become embryonic-like stem cells. When compared to cultured adult skin cells, the amniotic fluid skin cells formed stem cell colonies in about half the time and yielded nearly a 200 percent increase in number. "There remains today a need in stem cell research for an easily reprogrammable cell type. Our study shows that reprogramming of cultured, terminally differentiated amniotic fluid cells results in pluripotent stem cells that are identical to human embryonic stem cells, and that it is much easier, faster and more efficient than reprogramming neonatal and adult cells." UPI

The medicalization of life

The most fundamental life events -- birth and death -- increasingly involve more and more medical care. Why should you care? Because it exemplifies the medicalization of life. Everyday experiences get turned into diseases, the definitions of what (and who) is normal get narrowed, and our ability to affect the course of normal aging get exaggerated. And we doctors feel increasingly compelled to look hard for things to be wrong in those who feel well.

Medicalization is the process of turning more people into patients. It encourages more of us to be anxious about our health and undermines our confidence in our own bodies. It leads people to have too much treatment -- and some of them are harmed by it. And it's big part of the reason why medical care costs so much. LA Times

The Human Egg Trade

In the spring of 2006, Heather Cox got an unexpected phone call from a Toronto fertility clinic. Three years earlier, she had donated eggs anonymously to a gay couple through the clinic. Now the same couple wanted a full sibling for their child. Would she consider providing eggs again? She hesitated. The Walrus

Just Cloning Around?

Reps. Diana DeGette (D-CO) and Michael Castle (R-DL) filed new legislation, HR 4808, that would give scientists the green light to make all the human clones they want for experimentation, so long they as kill them when they're through. The members claim this legislation "bans human cloning," when HR 4808's official definition blatantly redefines the cloning process! (For a technical explanation of what cloning is and how these members are hiding their real agenda, check out this post by Dr. David Prentice.) While the duo calls it a stem cell research bill, there's no sugar-coating the fact that Americans would be pay ing for a process that creates embryos with the express purpose of killing them.

Why we cry

As far as scientists can tell, no other creature cries emotional tears the way we humans do, despite scattered reports of an elephant or gorilla not just vocalizing in distress but actually shedding tears. LA Times

Infant Salvation

What happens to infants and small children when they die? What about unborn babies killed by abortion? Here's a sermon on the topic from C.H. Spurgeon. Agree? Disagree?

TrueU: Does God Exist?

Can we prove the existence of God, or are we left to grapple in the dark and take blind leaps of faith about what we believe? Can you defend your beliefs when peers and professors are challenging your worldview? In TrueU: Does God Exist? Dr. Stephen Meyer plays a “philosophical survival game” pitting four worldviews against one another in the quest to decide which one gives the best answers. Dr. Meyer helps you examine the evidence and provides the tools needed to defend your faith and make it your own. Included is a 64-page full-color booklet with discussion questions and ten 30-minute lessons. Stand to Reason

More than Sparrows, Less than Angels

Respect for intrinsic human dignity encompasses an acknowledgment that while we human beings are of inestimable value, we are not of infinite value. We are worth more than sparrows but less than the angels. We are made in the image of God, but we are not gods. As the psalmist says, we are made “a little lower than God.” Thus, while there might be an absolute prohibition on killing, the duty to maintain life is finite. PBS

British fertility clinic raffling human egg

A British fertility clinic said Sunday it was raffling off a human egg this week to promote its "baby profiling" service, which it insists is legal under UK law. The winner can select the egg donor by education, upbringing and racial background. The London Bridge Fertility, Gynaecology and Genetics Centre said the treatment actually takes place in the United States. AFP

Project to get transplant organs from ER patients raises ethics questions

In the hope of expanding a controversial form of organ donation into emergency rooms around the United States, a federally funded project has begun trying to obtain kidneys, livers and possibly other body parts from car-accident victims, heart-attack fatalities and other urgent-care patients.
Using a $321,000 grant from the Department of Health and Human Services, the emergency departments at two Pittsburgh hospitals have started rapidly identifying donors among patients whom doctors are unable to save and taking steps to preserve their organs so a transplant team can rush to try to retrieve them.

Obtaining organs from emergency room patients has long been considered off-limits in the United States because of ethical and logistical concerns. This pilot project aims to investigate whether it is feasible and, if so, to encourage other hospitals nationwide to follow. So far, neither hospital has yet gotten any usable organs. Critics say the program represents a troubling attempt to bring a questionable form of organ procurement into an even more ethically dicey situation: the tumultuous environment of an ER, where more than ever it raises the specter of doctors preying on dying patients for their organs. Washington Post

Embryonic stem cell research stalled despite Obama's try at lifting restrictions

One year after President Obama announced he was lifting his predecessor's controversial restrictions on federal funding for human embryonic stem cell research, some scientists are complaining that so far the new policy is -- ironically -- more of a burden than a boon to their work. Obama's attempt to loosen restrictions on federal funding was complicated by a thicket of ethical issues. Last summer, the National Institutes of Health issued detailed guidelines aimed at addressing those concerns.

The guidelines included stringent requirements that any lines being studied with federal funding meet strict new ethical criteria, including making sure couples who donated the embryos for the lines' creation were fully informed of other options. The problem is that it remains unclear how many of the original 21 lines, which researchers have spent millions of dollars and nearly a decade studying, were derived at a time when ethical requirements were less specific, leaving in doubt how many would pass muster under the tough new guidelines. Washington Post

U.S. Young Adults More Pro-Life: Gallup

The percentage of young adults in the U.S. favouring legalized abortion has undergone a significant drop, falling below all other age groups except seniors, according to a Gallup poll released Friday. The poll results also indicate that young adults are now the group most likely (23%) to favor making abortion illegal in all circumstances. LifeSiteNews

Defectors Say Church of Scientology Hides Abuse

. . . including forced abortions. NY Times

'We're All Theologians'

Only time will tell whether these are the best or worst of times for doctrine. On the one hand, many church leaders seem to sense that evangelicals must become reacquainted with Scripture as understood and taught throughout history. On the other hand, surveys indicate that they may struggle to convince younger believers that God's Word trumps experience and prevailing cultural norms. But new efforts to promote doctrinal formation in evangelical churches are trying to overcome Western culture's aversion to theological precision and exclusivity. Christianity Today

Millionaire ex-con sells all to look after Ugandan orphans

Jon Pedley, who by his own admission has in the past pursued money above everything else, has decided to sell his businesses, his home and all of his furniture to pay for his charity ambitions. Mr Pedley’s charity, Uganda Vision, will support local Ugandan children who have been orphaned by Aids and poverty. “I’ve always put the pursuit of money in front of everything else. I'm now teetotal and I try to live my life in a way that pleases God.” Christian Institute

Girls: 'we want parents to protect us from sex'

Many teenage girls are being forced by their boyfriends to engage in sexual acts taken from pornographic films which can be easily accessed through the internet and mobile phones. “I wish my parents would say I’m not allowed to be home alone with a boy,” said one 16-year-old girl. “I wish they’d say boys aren’t allowed in my bedroom. They make this big deal about ‘trusting us’, but that’s not helping me. They have no idea what goes on, and I’m too embarrassed to tell them.” The teenagers explained the notion of a ‘third wheel,’ the modern equivalent of a chaperone, a friend who girls take with them to keep them safe from sexual advances. Christian Institute

Homosexuality 'Totally Destructive of Christian Teachings'

The head of the Traditional Anglican Communion, Archbishop John Hepworth, said it is “ludicrous” to suggest that God is present with same-sex couples in the same way as he is with husband and wife, and urged clear teaching on the true nature of human sexuality. “Homosexual sexuality played out in a same-sex relationship is, in fact, totally destructive of the heart of Christian teaching because it's destructive of God as Creator, it's destructive of God as Teacher, and it's destructive of God as Redeemer. There is no space in Christianity for brute force condemnation, hate, and all that,” but, he said, “there is space within Christianity for absolutely, clearly teaching what Christ teaches. And if there's one thing the New Testament and the Old Testament are clear on, it's homosexuality.” LifeSiteNews

What we've said all along: Evolution has no explanation for new species

Everywhere you look in nature, you can see evidence of natural selection at work in the adaptation of species to their environment. Surprisingly though, natural selection may have little role to play in one of the key steps of evolution - the origin of new species. Instead it would appear that speciation is merely an accident of fate. New Scientist

Biological explanation for compassion?

We all wince at a brutal foul on the football (soccer) field and feel compassion for someone experiencing grief. Many studies have suggested that our capacity for empathy arises from a specific group of neurons, labelled mirror neurons. First discovered in macaque monkeys, they are situated in and around the premotor cortex and parietal lobe - regions that span the top of the brain near the middle of the head. These neurons fire both when you perform an action and when you see someone else perform that action. New Scientist

Today is the National Appreciation Day for Abortion Providers

What can you do about it? Pray for them.

Is health care a right?

True rights, such as those in our Constitution, or those considered to be natural or human rights, exist simultaneously among people. That means exercise of a right by one person does not diminish those held by another. JWR

Where feminists get it right

As a general rule, men will only be as civilized as female expectations and demands will allow. "Liberate" men from those expectations, and "Lord of the Flies" logic kicks in. Liberate women from this barbarism, and male decency will soon follow. JWR

A drive to fight abortion

Dave Wilkinson, an evangelical pastor, runs three Ventura County pregnancy clinics that encourage women to choose alternatives to the procedure. He believes the prevalence of abortion is the biggest test Christians face. . . . He said God answered his prayers with a directive to "go where the battle is." So last September, he brought his work to Watts. Every Tuesday since then, Wilkinson and a handful of like-minded Christians have driven into the city in a donated motor home equipped with an ultrasound machine and parked it near the Imperial Courts housing project.

They come here because Watts is one of the city's poorest neighborhoods, and abortion rates tend to be higher in low-income areas, according to the nonprofit Guttmacher Institute, a leading authority on sexual health issues. For four hours, Wilkinson's group offers free pregnancy tests, using the ultrasound to show women images of their fetuses and leading prayer-filled counseling sessions in which they urge the women to keep their unborn babies. . . . Frequently, the encounter becomes a religious experience, Wilkinson said."It can be a real catalyst for people finding God, or refinding God," he said. "Because of the crisis they're in, they're more open -- and that's when we introduce God." LA Times

ObamaCare: Making Life Difficult

President Obama is leading the effort to pass the most pro-abortion health care plan in U.S. history. With billions set aside for groups like Planned Parenthood, the President's latest bill would trick Americans into funding a procedure that victimizes women and robs them of the physical and mental well-being this legislation promised to advance. Even today, as the abortion industry makes room for a massive influx of federal dollars, the Left's leadership still refuses to admit that such a deal exists. As it has in the past, FRC Action compiled a list of eight new reasons why abortion is included in President's plan.

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Senate Health Care Bill Funds & Promotes Abortions Despite Protest

The so-called abortion limits that are in the Senate bill are all very narrow, riddled with loopholes, or booby-trapped to expire. Some of them were drafted more with the intent of misleading superficial analysts (which unfortunately includes some media "factcheckers") than actually effectuating a pro-life policy. When all of the pro-abortion provisions are considered in total, the Senate bill is the most pro-abortion single piece of legislation that has ever come to the House floor for a vote, since Roe v. Wade. LifeNews

Cohabitation Linked to Exponential Increase in Relationship Failure Risk

Dr. Pamela J. Smock has published a study in the Journal of Marriage and Family of data gathered on cohabitation in the United States and the implications of cohabitation on relationship stability. She found that the proportion of women in their late 30s who had ever cohabited had doubled in the last 15 years, from 30 to 61 percent, and that about half of couples who cohabit marry within three years. The study also revealed, however, that children born to cohabiting versus married parents have over five times the risk of experiencing their parents' separation, showing an exponential increase in relationship failure for couples currently or ever cohabiting. LifeSiteNews, NPR

Last week Europe’s leading reproductive health medical journal, Human Reproduction, published a study demonstrating that women who become pregnant with a single child (as opposed to multiples) following IVF or intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) have an increased risk of stillbirth.
The study was massive, involving over 20,000 pregnancies between 1989 and 2006.

After adjusting for all relative factors—such as age, smoking habits, alcohol and coffee intake, and others—it was revealed that women who conceived using IVF or ICSI had a significant four-fold increased risk of stillbirth. Researchers found that this increased risk is not likely due to the underlying infertility issues that drove women to IVF in the first place; rather it is likely due to other factors, such as the technology involved in IVF. This stunning conclusion begs the question: Do women undergoing IVF know of such risks? LifeNews

A Different Dream for My Child - Meditations for Parents of Critically or Chronically Ill Children

In A Different Dream for My Child, Jolene Philo shares frank, heartfelt meditations to build your faith and hope. You won't find trite, easy words. You will find rare understanding, refreshing honesty, and a wise spiritual companion to walk with you through the highs and lows that only the parents of chronically ill children can know. Discovery House

UK faith schools may be forced to water down teachings

The UK Schools Secretary, Ed Balls, says that amendments to the bill regulating the teaching of sex and relationships in schools will mean that children will be more able "to make informed choices. . . . [T]here is no watering down [of the pro-contraception and pro-homosexuality message] and also there is no opt out for any faith school from teaching the full, broad, balanced curriculum on sex relationship education." He said that the bill would oblige all schools to "give both sides of the argument" on topics like contraception, same-sex marriage and abortion. BBC News, SPUC

Suicide pill

The Pill could never contribute to reproductive suicide without a tidal shift in values. . . . Religion had to be mocked. Marriage had to become like divorce, just another piece of paper. Children had to become disposable. They had to become optional. They had to become inconvenient. They had to be thought of as human waste. Political Mavens

Preparing for engagement

Christians are not always prudent. Armed with the courage of their
convictions and confidence in the Holy Spirit, some believers wade into the conflict with talented academics in public without taking their opponents’ skills or ideas seriously, only to have their heads handed to them with the world watching. STR

“Good women choose abortion"

“We do sacred work that honors women and the cycle of life and death. When you come here bring only love,” reads the sign on the wall when you enter the child killing centers of Northland Family Planning Clinic. According to their new You Tube video, “Good women choose abortion. . . . There is not one way of being good. . . . You are a good woman." This 4:38 video attempts to de-stigmatize the act of killing a pre-born baby. Bryan Kemper

Did Humans Really Evolve from Apelike Creatures?

From Genesis 1:26–28 it is clear that there is no animal that is man’s equal, and certainly none his ancestor. When God paraded the animals by Adam for him to name, He observed that “for Adam there was not found an help meet for him” (Genesis 2:20). Jesus confirmed this uniqueness of men and women when He declared that marriage is to be between a man and a woman because “from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female” (Mark 10:6). This leaves no room for prehumans or for billions of years of cosmic evolution prior to man’s appearance on the earth. Adam chose the very name “Eve” for his wife because he recognized she would be “the mother of all living” (Genesis 3:20). The apostle Paul stated clearly that man is not an animal: “All flesh is not the same flesh: but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds” (1 Corinthians 15:39). Answers in Genesis

Learning From the Sin of Sodom

For most of the last century, save-the-worlders were primarily Democrats and liberals. In contrast, many Republicans and religious conservatives denounced government aid programs. . . . Over the last decade, however, that divide has dissolved, in ways that many Americans haven’t noticed or appreciated. Evangelicals have become the new internationalists, pushing successfully for new American programs against AIDS and malaria, and doing superb work on issues from human trafficking in India to mass rape in Congo. . . . A growing number of conservative Christians are explicitly and self-critically acknowledging that to be “pro-life” must mean more than opposing abortion. NYTimes

Parents should be allowed to choose future children’s sex

A bioethics expert argues that unless there is a serious sex imbalance in the population (e.g. many more boys than girls) or the decision is motivated by sexist attitudes or beliefs, parents should be allowed to decide the sex of a future child. Keele University Press

Editor: Since both conditions exist, I guess we shouldn't allow it.