World Family Policy Center Newsletter
* News relative to protecting the family worldwide *
Volume
3 Issue 30 - September 8, 2004
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Quote of the Day: “The world is a dangerous
place to live; not
because
of the people who are evil but because of the people
who
don’t do anything about it.”
— Albert Einstein
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Today’s Contents:
A.
Editorial Report: The European Family Dialogue, Geneva
B.
Featured Articles:
1. Industrialized World's Population to
Decline by 2050
2. Study Links Teen Sex to Racy TV
Programs
3, Unborn Child Pain Awareness Act
Related Article: Kenya: Activists March Against Abortion
Related Article: Abortion Boat Operators Defy Dutch Court
Order,
Sail
to Portugal
4. Does
the State Have a Right to Monitor Home Schooling?
C. Coming Events
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Editorial Report: The
European Family Dialogue
Geneva, Switzerland
The European Family Dialogue, held August 23-25, 2004
at the International Conference Center, Geneva, welcomed international scholars
who presented papers on issues concerning marriage and the family in
preparation for The Doha International Conference for the Family. Twenty-two scholars from Spain, United
Kingdom, Switzerland, Canada, Czech Republic, Sweden and the United States
presented papers addressing issues regarding Family, Marriage, Human Dignity,
Parents and Children, and Family Values.
For more information on subjects and speakers please visit www.worldfamilypolicycenter.org.
The conference began with greetings from World Family
Policy Center Director Richard Wilkins.
He introduced H.E. Mr. Abdullah Nasser M. Al-Khalifa, Secretary General,
Supreme Council for Family Affairs State of Qatar and H.E. Mr. Nassir Abdulaziz
Al-Nasser, Permanent Representative, Permanent Mission of the State of Qatar to
the United Nations USA who greeted the audience and discussed the Doha
International Conference for the Family, which will be held in Doha, Qatar
November 29 and 30, 2004.
Papers presented at the Geneva conference and the Asian/Pacific Dialogue in Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia October 11-13, 2004 will be
published and presented at the Doha International Conference for the Family,
providing a compilation of outstanding
scholarship in support of the central and vital role of the familyin the
. cultures of the world.
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FEATURED ARTICLES
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1. Industrialized world's population to
decline by 2050
CNN.com
August 18, 2004
WASHINGTON (AP) __ Japan, Germany and many other large
industrialized countries face long_term population slowdowns or declines as
more young adults have fewer children or delay child_rearing, demographers say.
While the world's population is expected to increase
by almost 50 percent by 2050, Japan could lose 20 percent of its population
over the next half_century, according to data released Tuesday by the private
Population Reference Bureau.
Russia's population is expected to decline by 17
percent, and Germany's by 9 percent.
The United States is the biggest exception among
industrialized countries, with its population expected to rise by 43 percent
from 293 million now to 420 million at mid_century.
http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/science/08/17/world.population.ap/index.html
................
2. Study links teen sex
to racy TV programs
Viewing habits strongly connected to sexual behavior
Sept. 7, 2004
CHICAGO _ Teenagers who watch a lot of television with
sexual content are twice as likely to engage in intercourse than those who
watch few such programs, according to a study published Tuesday.
advertisement
The study covered 1,792 adolescents aged 12 to 17 who
were quizzed on viewing habits and sexual activity and then surveyed again a
year later. Both regular and cable television were included.
“This is the strongest evidence yet that the sexual
content of television programs encourages adolescents to initiate sexual
intercourse and other sexual activities,” said Rebecca Collins, a psychologist
at the RAND Corp. who headed the study.
“The impact of television viewing is so large that
even a moderate shift in the sexual content of adolescent TV watching could
have a substantial effect on their sexual behavior,” she added.
To read entire article:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5930891/
3. UNBORN CHILD PAIN AWARENESS ACT
U.S. Senator Sam Brownback has introduced__with 23
cosponsors__the Unborn Child Pain Awareness Act (S.2466)
Unborn children can experience pain, and they can
certainly respond to touch from outside the womb. Any woman who has been blessed with carrying
a baby in the second trimester can tell you this.
I remember my own children kicking and squirming
inside of my wife's womb. And my wife
certainly remembers feeling their kicks.
That unborn child is very much alive.
All along, women have been able to feel the child inside of them, but
now, science is telling us what the child inside of his or her mother can feel.
Many are unaware of the scientific, medical fact that
unborn children can feel, but it is true.
Not only can they feel, but their ability to experience pain is
heightened. The highest density of pain
receptors per square inch of skin in human development occurs in utero from 20
to 30 weeks gestation.
To read Senator Brownback’s entire article:
http://brownback.senate.gov/liunbornchild.cfm
Related Article: Kenya: Activists March Against Abortion
Catholic Information Service for Africa (Nairobi)
August 17, 2004
Nairobi - Anti_abortion activists held silent marches
in Kenya's major towns to promote public awareness of the sanctity of all human
life. The third annual National Silent Pro_life Marches took place
simultaneously in Nairobi, Mombasa, Nakuru, Kisumu, Nyeri and Eldoret on
Saturday, August 14, 2004.
In Nairobi, Catholic Archbishop Raphael Ndingi Mwana
'a Nzeki, together with other mainstream and evangelical clerics led a brief
silent march at Uhuru Park, after learning too late that the government had
banned all processions in the capital.
The marchers, wearing red t_shirts and caps, carried
banners condemning abortion and calling all Kenyans to fight the vice.
http://allafrica.com/stories/200408170518.html
Related Article: Abortion Boat Operators Defy Dutch Court
Order,
Sail to Portugal
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
August 23, 2004
Amsterdam, Netherlands (LifeNews.com) __ Operators of
the Dutch abortion boat are willfully violating a judge's order to stay within
16 miles of Amsterdam in order to provide medical care for women who may suffer
from a botched abortion. The converted tugboat set sail for Portugal on Monday.
Abortion is only allowed as a last resort to save the
life of the mother in Portugal, a Catholic country in western Europe.
Women on Waves, the pro_abortion group that operates
the abortion ship Langenort must follow Dutch law and regulations when in
international waters and is prevented from performing surgical abortions
outside of the waters near Amsterdam.
To read entire article:
http://www.lifenews.com/nat744.html
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4. Does the State Have a Right to Monitor
Home Schooling?
By G. Jeffrey MacDonald
The Christian Science Monitor
August 31, 2004
Babette Hankin of Croyden, Pa., likes to show off her
home-schooling program. Not only do her seven children stay occupied all day,
but the five of school age seem to thrive in her regimented rotation covering
earth science, reading, math, and even piano practice.
Yet despite pride in the program, Mrs. Hankin is suing
the Bristol Township School District for requiring a yearly review. At dispute
is the age-old but not yet settled question of who owns the children, and who
therefore should oversee their education _ the parents, the state, or God?
"We have a religious obligation to not have
anything to do with the ungodly public school system," says Hankin, a
Christian with ties to the Free Presbyterian denomination. "These children
are not Caesar's. They belong to God ... My husband is the one God put in
charge of these children, and for him to have to surrender that authority ...
is wrong."
To read entire article:
http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0831/p14s02_legn.html
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COMING EVENTS
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October 11-13, 2004
The Asian/Pacific Dialogue
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
A gathering of invited scholars will present their
research on issues
concerning marriage and the family in preparation for
The Doha
International Conference for the Family.
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November 29_30, 2004
The Doha International Conference for the
Family
Doha, Qatar
The Doha International Conference for the Family
follows upon the
celebration of the International Year of the Family
and will be a
two-day conference in Doha, Qatar, under the patronage
of Her
Highness Sheikha Mouza Bint Nasser Al-Misnad., Consort
of His
Highness The Emir of Qatar and President of Supreme
Council for
Family Affairs, State of Qatar.
The conference represents an international assemblage,
bringing
together international VIPs, governmental and
non-governmental
organizations (NGOs), scholars, academicians, and
civil society
leaders who will be invited by the State of Qatar to
participate in
a family conference.
This conference will call upon all nations of
the world to restate the principles related to family
life embodied
in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and to
adhere to
values and endeavor to promote the role of the family
as it is the
natural and fundamental group unit of society and is
entitled to
protection by society and state.
Announcing Other Family Conferences Around
the World
Worldwide Organization for Women (WOW)
Friday, September 17, 2004
Salt Lake City, Utah
“Women and Their Influence for Good”
• Morning Keynote speakers:
1.Ambassador Ellen Sauerbrey, US Representative to the
UN Commission
on the Status of Women: “Women’s Role in Securing
Human Rights and
Fundamental Freedoms for Herself and Family Members”
2. Serena S. Wilson, a descendent of freed slaves, who
assisted in the
Underground Railroad through directions found hidden
in quilt blocks -
“Women’s Role in Securing Freedom and Family Unity for
African/American Slaves.” See display of 40 quilts.
3. Laurie Seron, a descendent of those providing Safe
Houses on the
Underground Railroad, member of WOW executive board. -
“Women’s
Role in Providing Safe Houses for Children and
Families Then and Now.”
• Afternoon Breakout Sessions featuring well-known speakers
on issues relating to women and families.
For more information and to register click here: http://www.wowinfo.org
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Note: The preceding article excerpts are highlights of
current events and
do not necessarily represent the views of the World
Family Policy Center
or Brigham Young University.
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Newsletter created and distributed by:
World Family Policy Center
J. Reuben Clark Law School
Brigham Young University
Managing Director:
Richard Wilkins
Executive Director:
A. Scott Loveless
Newsletter Editors: Joy S. Lundberg and Gary B.
Lundberg
If you have any articles, editorials, or papers you
would like
circulated through the WFPC News network, you may
submit them to
lundberg@lawgate.byu.edu
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