World Family Policy Center Newsletter

—Alex Haley

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Today’s Contents:

A. Featured Articles

1. Africa: Next target in AIDS fight: sugar daddies

2. High court hears key abortion case

3. Britain's gay, lesbian couples soon can walk down the aisle

Related Article: Judge to Rule on Testimony from Gay Partners in Embezzlement Case

4. S. Korean Stem Cell Expert Apologizes for Ethical Breach

5. Violence against women is global

6. Conference Trains Gay Leaders

B. Coming Events:

• “Roots and Wings” Family Conference - Geneva, Switzerland

• World Congress of Families IV - Warsaw, Poland

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FEATURED ARTICLES

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1. Africa: Next target in AIDS fight: sugar daddies

By Abraham McLaughlin

The Christian Science Monitor

November 25, 2005

KAMPALA, UGANDA – It started with an innocent-enough invitation to a young beauty named Brenda: It was from a longtime family friend - a high-school teacher with a wife and children, who brought presents for everyone when he came to visit. He asked Brenda to go away with him, alone, on vacation to a lush national park.

At first, Brenda worried something bad would happen. But her favorite aunt encouraged her: "He's a good man," she said. "Go ahead."

Thus began the slow seduction of Brenda by a man 27 years her senior. And was it so bad? After all, her aunt approved - even if Brenda was too scared to tell her mom. Plus, he gave Brenda lots of goodies, making her friends envious. But before she knew it, Brenda became part of Africa's "sugar daddy" culture - a widespread but quiet fact of life on a continent where young women are often economically and socially vulnerable. Yet now the phenomenon is increasingly being tackled as a key social and moral factor in the spread of AIDS.

The consequences of the sugar-daddy phenomenon are significant - and mostly have to do with the limited view young women have of themselves, says Patience Namanyagulu, a university student and leader of "Go Getters," a program that persuades women to rebuff sugar daddies. "If we fail to see the potential in ourselves," she adds, "we face the consequences alone."

Indeed, 10.3 percent of Ugandan women aged 15-24 have HIV/AIDS, compared with 2.8 percent of men, according to a 2003 government report. Experts attribute the gap largely to sugar daddies. Also, a Columbia University study found that women aged 15-19 whose partners were 10 or more years older were at double the risk of contracting AIDS than those with partners 0 to 4 years older.

To read entire article:

http://www.thechristiansciencemonitor.com/2005/1125/p01s02-woaf.html

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2. High court hears key abortion case

Parental notification law seen as threat to Roe v. Wade

November 29, 2005

WorldNetDaily.com

The U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments tomorrow in a case that will determine whether a state can require parental notification before an abortion is performed on a minor, without providing a health exception.

Supporters of the law, which requires notification 48 hours before the procedure, argue the case is about parent rights, while abortion-rights advocates contend it could undermine key components of the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that nullified state laws banning abortion.

In Ayotte v. Planned Parenthood of Northern New England, New Hampshire's attorney general contends a health exception is not needed because the law allows a minor to go to a judge instead of a parent if her health is in danger.

Opponents say that requirement could lead to life-threatening delays and puts medical decisions in the hands of judges.

The 2003 law was struck down before it was to go into effect, because it didn't provide the health exception. Opponents argue a health exception can be so broadly interpreted that the law is rendered ineffective.

A backer of the law, Eileen Roberts, founder and president of Mothers and Advocates for Mothers Alone, says parents are "being excluded from their daughter's life and death decision and finding out after the fact that their daughter has undergone an abortion."

Ironically, says Roberts, if a minor suffers injury during an abortion, a parent is called to an emergency room to sign consent forms.

Practically, she says, children don't know their complete medical history, which is needed to perform any type of surgery.

"To add insult to injury, parents are totally responsible for any follow-up care from abortion malpractice," said Roberts, who had that experience herself, with a 14-year-old daughter.

To read entire article:

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=47622

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3. Britain's gay, lesbian couples soon can walk down the aisle

By Ellen Tumposky

USA TODAY

November 25, 2005

LONDON — Normally, a Wednesday in December would be a slow day for weddings at Brighton Town Hall.

But there will be lots of confetti and rice on Dec. 21. Debra Reynolds and her colleagues who conduct civil ceremonies for Brighton and Hove City Council are booked starting at 8 a.m. for 16 sets of vows — all gay or lesbian couples entering into civil partnerships under a law passed last November.

Beginning Dec. 5, same-sex couples older than 16 can give legal notice of their intention to form a partnership. Ceremonies can be held after a 15-day waiting period.

Hundreds of couples across Britain are expected to register as soon as the law comes into effect. Among them: singer Elton John, 58, and his longtime partner David Furnish, 43, a Canadian filmmaker. In an interview published Thursday, John told the magazine Attitude that he plans to wed Furnish; the magazine said the ceremony would take place Dec. 21. (Related: Elton John plans ceremony)

Britain joins a number of other European countries, including Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, France and Belgium, in recognizing same-sex unions either as civil partnerships or gay marriages. Despite opposition from some Christian groups, the issue is far less contentious here than in the USA, where only Massachusetts allows gay marriage, and Vermont and Connecticut permit civil unions.

The 1996 Defense of Marriage Act allows U.S. states to refuse to recognize gay marriages or civil unions of other states or countries.

"I'd welcome Americans with open arms," says Richard Jones, 33, whose company Modern Commitments specializes in planning partnership ceremonies. "But it doesn't mean anything back in the U.S."

Public generally tolerant of new law

British same-sex couples who enter into civil partnerships will have the same rights as married heterosexual couples, including inheritance and pension rights, bereavement benefits and next-of-kin standing.

"There's very little difference apart from the name," says Richard Hogwood, a London lawyer. Still, gay partnerships are not marriages. Pre-nuptial agreements will be known as pre-registration agreements. Split-ups will be called dissolutions; adultery cannot be cited. "A civil partnership is a non-sexual thing in a way, because there is no need to consummate it as there is with a marriage," Hogwood says.

To read entire article:

http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2005-11-24-britain-civil-partnerships_x.htm

Related Article: Judge to Rule on Testimony from Gay Partners in Embezzlement Case

Associated Press

Fox News

November 25, 2005

NEW YORK — A gay man charged with helping his lover loot a wealthy school district has asked a judge to rule that state law protecting spouses from having to testify against each other also applies to same-sex partners.

Stephen Signorelli, fighting charges that he stole at least $219,000 from the Roslyn, N.Y., school district, is seeking to bar testimony by his longtime companion, Frank Tassone, the district's former superintendent.

Auditors say that in all, $11.2 million was taken from the Long Island district, and state Comptroller Alan Hevesi has called the case "the largest, most remarkable, most extraordinary theft" from a school system in American history.

Tassone pleaded guilty this year to stealing $1 million between 1996 and 2002. As part of his plea bargain, he agreed to testify against other defendants in the case, which meant he might have to take the stand in Signorelli's trial.

In a motion filed before a judge in Nassau County, Signorelli sought to bar such an appearance, saying he and Tassone deserved the same protection as a heterosexual couple.

"Mr. Tassone and I have been loving partners for 33 years," Signorelli said in an affidavit, adding that the two had participated in "a solemn religious ceremony" conducted while they were on a Caribbean cruise, "to memorialize our relationship and love for one another."

The two also registered as domestic partners in New York City, where they live, in 2002.

"It's our position that the statute should be read gender-neutral," Signorelli's attorney, Kenneth Weinstein, told Newsday. "If a heterosexual couple can assert marital privilege, then a homosexual couple should be able to do the same."

Signorelli is charged with helping in the theft of at least $219,000 by submitting phony and padded invoices for the printing of school handbooks.

To read entire article:

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,176711,00.html

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4. S. Korean Stem Cell Expert Apologizes for Ethical Breach

By Anthony Faiola and Joohee Cho

Washington Post Foreign Service

Friday, November 25, 2005; Page A24

TOKYO, Hwang Woo Suk, the leading stem cell expert whose South Korean team cloned the first human embryo and created the first cloned dog, publicly apologized Thursday for ethical breaches at his lab and said he would resign from all his official posts.

Under mounting pressure from the international scientific community, Hwang, 52, admitted that his team had used ova samples extracted from two of his junior scientists during research that led to the team's historic cloning of a human embryo in 2003.

Hwang Woo Suk said he would resign from all his official posts. (Seokyong Lee - Bloomberg News)

Biotechnology

Researchers and regulators are reshaping the landscape of science, medicine and health, engendering hope -- and disquiet -- for the future of humanity.

Such practices are considered highly unethical in international scientific circles. The practice of obtaining eggs from female team members is widely viewed as off-limits because of the potential for subtle coercion, given the hierarchal structure of lab research -- something especially true in South Korea.

Choking back tears, Hwang said that he had not known about the women's donations until the magazine Nature began investigating the source of his team's ova specimens early last year.

To read entire article:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/24/AR2005112400591.html

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5. Violence against women is global

By Dan Vergano

USA TODAY

November 24, 2205

Wife beating and sexual violence against women are "common, widespread and far-reaching," says a World Health Organization report released Thursday.

The "WHO Multi-country Study on Women's Health and Domestic Violence Against Women" is based on a survey of 24,000 women in 10 nations It says the percentage of women reporting having been physically or sexually assaulted, or both, in their lifetime ranges from 15% in Japan to 71% in rural Ethiopia. The violence has severe health and economic consequences, the report says.

"Domestic violence, in particular, continues to be frighteningly common and to be accepted as 'normal' within too many societies," says the report, the first global look at these kinds of assaults. All of the women surveyed had had a male partner at some point.

Women in Bangladesh, Brazil, Ethiopia, Japan, Namibia, Peru, Samoa, Serbia and Montenegro, Thailand and Tanzania answered the survey.

In the USA, about 1.5 million women a year are assaulted by a husband or boyfriend; about one in six women have been sexually assaulted at some time in their life, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"It is a problem here, one that many communities face," says Diane Stuart, director of the Office on Violence Against Women at the Justice Department. "This is a crime committed behind closed doors." Stuart says the isolation reported by domestic violence victims in the WHO report is also experienced by American women.

Fewer than half of the violence victims in the WHO survey said they turned to law enforcement authorities for help.

To read entire article:

http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2005-11-24-violence-women-global_x.htm

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6. Conference Trains Gay Leaders

CitizenLink

November 21, 2005

A weekend conference in Seattle highlighted gays and lesbians serving in public office; topics included diversity, human rights and campaigning. Scheduled speakers included Washington Gov. Christine Gregoire, and openly gay U.S. Reps. Barney Frank, D-Mass., and Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis.

Sponsors of the Gay and Lesbian Leadership Conference declined to comment, but have been quoted as saying that "gays in public office put a human face on homosexuality."

Chuck Wolfe, president of the Gay & Lesbian Leadership Institute, said one goal was to encourage closeted officials to "come out" about their homosexuality.

"Our common bond is that we are (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) citizens of the country and the world who have decided to enter the arena of public life," he said. "By doing so there is a special obligation to bring forth resolutions for those who are silenced by inhumane laws and for those who fear voters will not accept the truths about their lives."

Joe Glover, president of the Family Policy Network, called it the same old dog-and-pony show. "When you look down the list the itinerary of speakers and participants, it's a who's who in gay activism for the last 15 to 20 years," he said.

Glover told Family News in Focus that shining a light on homosexuals in public office is all part of a grander plan.

To read entire article:

http://www.family.org/cforum/news/a0038669.cfm

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COMING EVENTS

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“Roots and Wings” Family Conference

l December 2005

CICG - International Conference Center of Geneva

Geneva, Switzerland

Speakers:

Karl Staffler: “In the Footsteps of My Ancestors”

Jim Tagg: “Discovering the Personalities of our Ancestors:

Dr. Stephen and Mrs. Margaret Nadauld: “Raising Children in Today’s Environment

Dr. Shirley Cox and Wendy Sheffield: “A Demonstrated International Tool for Strengthening Families of All Cultures”

For Advance Registration: 022-734-0979

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WORLD CONGRESS OF FAMILIES IV

Meeting in Rockford, Illinois (October 23-25), a planning committee of the World Congress of Families chose Warsaw, Poland as the site of the 4th World Congress. The Warsaw Congress will be held in May, 2007.

The Polish Federation of Pro-Life Movements, an organization with over 130 affiliates throughout the nation, will serve as the local host for WCF IV.

For more information: http://www.profam.org/press/thc.pr.051027.htm

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Note: The Featured Articles 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

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