World Family Policy Center Newsletter

1. Tug of war over sex education in schools

By Jon Ward

The Washington Times

May 16, 2005

The Montgomery County public school system plans to revise its sex-education course, but it first must face the daunting task of reconciling the groups that support and oppose it.

Supporters say they are trying to offer a factual and scientific presentation of human sexuality, including homosexuality, while fending off the repressive impulses of conservative Christians.

Opponents say they are trying to separate fact from opinion in the course and provide the traditional moral views about sexuality that the curriculum ignores or dismisses as being wrong.

Negotiations on the curriculum over the next seven months will determine how children in one of the country's leading school systems are taught about sexuality for years to come.

To read entire article:

http://www.washtimes.com/metro/20050516-124945-6237r.htm

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2. Abortion-breast cancer link covered up by scientists?

Researcher says 'pro-choice' bias has hidden deadly risks to women

May 16, 2005

WorldNetDaily.com

A pioneer researcher into the connection between abortion and breast cancer says an overwhelming amount of evidence collected in nearly 50 years of studies demonstrating a conclusive link has been systematically covered up by biased scientists, government agencies and the news media using fraudulent data to deceive women about potentially life-and-death decisions.

Joel Brind, a Ph.D. and professor of human biology and endocrinology at Baruch College, City University of New York and president of the Breast Cancer Prevention Institute, has authored a paper for the National Catholic Bioethics Quarterly refuting several recent studies downplaying the abortion-breast cancer link.

In particular, Brind cites a widely noticed paper published by Valerie Beral and four other Oxford University scientists in The Lancet in 2004 and statements of the National Cancer Institute in 2003.

The Beral study finding was unequivocal: "Pregnancies that end as a spontaneous or induced abortion do not increase a woman's risk of developing breast cancer." The NCI has stated on its website since 2003 "having an abortion or miscarriage does not increase a woman's subsequent risk of developing breast cancer."

"The trouble is, to accept this conclusion, one needs to dismiss almost half a century's worth of data which do show a significant link between abortion and an increased risk of breast cancer," writes Brind.

To read entire article:

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=44282

Related Article: Georgia Governor Signs Abortion Information Bill Helping Women

by Steven Ertelt

LifeNews.com Editor

May 10, 2005

Atlanta, GA (LifeNews.com) -- Women considering an abortion will be entitled to information about its risks and alternatives thanks to legislation signed into law Tuesday by Gov. Sonny Perdue. The new law is the first major abortion measure in the state since the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion.

Perdue said that women deserve to have all of the information they need before deciding to have an abortion and he called the bill "a common-sense approach to a sensitive issue."

Sadie Fields of the Georgia Christian Coalition said the signing was a "victory for women in Georgia."

Under the information component of the bill, women thinking about an abortion would receive a brochure showing the development of the unborn child 24 hours ahead of the abortion. The brochure details medical risks, and discusses adoption.

"If you are truly pro-choice you should be for women getting all the information [about abortion]," Fields said.

To read entire article:

http://www.lifenews.com/state1033.html

Related Article: Conservative Group Files Brief in Support of Pro-Life Tennessee License Plate

By Melanie Hunter

CNSNews.com

May 11, 2005

A conservative legal group is filing a friend-of-the-court brief with the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in support of a pro-life license plate in Tennessee.

In the ACLU of Tennessee v. Bredesen, a federal district court ruled the "Choose Life" specialty license plate unconstitutional. But Liberty Union argued in its brief with the appeals court that opponents of the license plate have no standing to sue because they never applied for their own specialty plate.

"Abortion proponents never cease to amaze me by their incredulous audacity. These abortion advocates essentially argue a principle that would prohibit any private parade in a public forum simply because a heckler disagrees with the message presented," said Mathew Staver, president and general counsel of Liberty Counsel, in a statement.

"Abortion advocates are seeking to hijack the 'Choose Life' specialty plate. When individuals present a private message in a public forum or when the state presents its own message, the Constitution does not give a heckler the right to play ventriloquist espousing a contrary message," said Staver.

To read entire article:

http://www.cnsnews.com//ViewPolitics.asp?Page=\Politics\archive\200505\POL20050511b.html

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3. Bibles banned on playgrounds

May 12, 2005

WorldNetDaily.com

An elemenatary school principal who barred students from reading the Bible during recess after a complaint from parents is violating the Constitution, according to a public-interest law firm challenging his actions.

In a letter to the Knox County School District in Tennesee, the Alliance Defense Fund declared the principal of Karns Elementary School is on "shaky constitutional ground."

"The Constitution does not prohibit Bibles during recess; it prohibits the wholesale banning of Bibles during recess," said Charles Pope, the ADF-allied attorney who wrote the letter to the district.

"A school official cannot tell a student that he can't bring his Bible to school or study it with friends during non-classroom time," Pope stated.

To read entire article:

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=44223

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5. Skimpy Clothes Banned; What Will Students Wear?

May 11, 2005

MODESTO, Calif. -- Midriff-baring shirts, low-rise pants, pajamas and slippers will all be off limits this fall for thousands of student in Modesto. So, what will students wear?

Several students that KCRA-TV in Sacramento talked with said they don't know what they will wear when the new dress code rules go into effect because almost everything in their closet does not comply with the dress code. Violating the dress code can draw a suspension.

"I think it is ridiculous. Everywhere you shop, there is nothing to get," said student Ashley Taylor.

Student Alexis Thompson said the new school rules will wipe out her current wardrobe.

"I will probably have to buy all new clothing for next year. It is going to be hard because pretty much all the stores sell lingerie," Thompson said.

And it's not just the girls who will have to dress more conservative. Mike Tershler, a senior at Davis High School, said he likes to show off his boxers, which peak over his pants -- a look that is banned for next year.

"I think I look good, pretty sexy. The ladies like it," Tershler said.

Principal Jeff Albritton is prepared to enforce the dress code in the fall. He said it is a matter of prioritizing education.

"The focus of school has to be business. And this is a distraction that keeps kids minds on what they are here for," Albritton said.

To read entire article:

http://www.thekcrachannel.com/education/4476901/detail.html

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6. Nebraska Same-Sex Wed Ban Nixed

CBSNews.com

Lincoln, Neb.,

May 12, 2005

(AP) A federal judge Thursday struck down Nebraska's ban on gay marriage, saying the measure interferes not only with the rights of gay couples but also with those of foster parents, adopted children and people in a host of other living arrangements.

The constitutional amendment, which defined marriage as a union between a man and a woman, was passed overwhelmingly by the voters in November 2000.

U.S. District Judge Joseph Bataillon said the ban "imposes significant burdens on both the expressive and intimate associational rights" of gays "and creates a significant barrier to the plaintiffs' right to petition or to participate in the political process."

Bataillon said the ban beyond "goes far beyond merely defining marriage as between a man and a woman."

The judge said the "broad proscriptions could also interfere with or prevent arrangements between potential adoptive or foster parents and children, related persons living together, and people sharing custody of children as well as gay individuals."

To read entire article:

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/05/12/national/main694930.shtml

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7. Therapies Shown to Cure Breast Cancer

by Rob Stein

Washington Post

Friday, May 13

Chemotherapy and hormone treatment have dramatically reduced the death rate from early breast cancer, according to a major international analysis that indicates the often arduous regimens do cure many women.

The latest data from an extensive ongoing project involving 145,000 women with early breast cancer found that chemotherapy and hormone treatment continue to protect many women from dying from the disease for at least 15 years. The protection often gets stronger over time, increasing the likelihood that the therapy is truly eradicating cancer from their bodies.

Mortality rates were significantly lower over 15 years for breast cancer patients who received chemotherapy or hormone therapy, compared with those who received no therapy, a new study says.

The findings provide the most convincing support yet for using aggressive strategies against the most common malignancy to strike women, and they help explain why the death rate from breast cancer has been dropping in many countries, including the United States and Britain, experts said.

To read entire article:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/05/12/AR2005051201581.html

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COMING EVENTS

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Sixth World Family Policy Forum

July 11 - 13, 2005

Provo, Utah

Sponsored by the World Family Policy Center, Brigham Young University. The theme for this year’s Forum is “Building on Doha: Marriage and Parenting in the Third Millennium.” Participation and attendance at the Forum is by invitation only. For further information, contact Emily Parks 801-422-8549 or e-mail parkse@lawgate.byu.edu.

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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

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