SYS_HYPERTEXT;

—Margaret Mead

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Today’s Contents:

A. Featured Articles

1. South Dakota Senate passes abortion ban bill

Related Article: Abortion Study Causes Stir in New Zealand

2. Marriage activists headed for Colorado showdown

3. Child pornography has expanded into a business so profitable it is no longer limited to pedophiles.

4. Plan B Battles Embroil States

5. Second Annual Day of Truth Hailed as Celebration of Free Expression

6. UK: Majority of births will soon be out of wedlock

7. Family, Gender, and Educational Attainment in Britain: A Longitudinal Study

B. Coming Events:

• World Congress of Families IV - Warsaw, Poland

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FEATURED ARTICLES

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1. South Dakota Senate passes abortion ban bill

CNN

February 23, 2006

PIERRE, South Dakota (AP) -- Legislation meant to prompt a national legal battle targeting Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion, was approved Wednesday by the South Dakota Senate, moving the bill a step closer to final passage.

The measure, which would ban nearly all abortions in the state, now returns to the House, which passed a different version earlier. The House must decide whether to accept changes made by the Senate, which passed its version 23-12.

"It is the time for the South Dakota Legislature to deal with this issue and protect the lives and rights of unborn children," said Democratic Sen. Julie Bartling, the bill's main sponsor.

The bill, carrying a penalty of up to five years in prison, would make it a felony for doctors or others to perform abortions.

To read entire article:

http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/02/22/dakota.abortion.ap/

Related Article: Abortion Study Causes Stir in New Zealand

By Mary Rettig

March 1, 2006

(AgapePress) - The director of the Elliot Institute says a New Zealand study could have a big effect on abortion around the globe. The study reports that women who have abortions have a higher rate of subsequent mental problems that couldn't be explained by any pre-abortion mental issues.

Dr. David Reardon, a pro-life researcher from Illinois, has published reports in the U.S. on the effects of abortion on women. He says the lead researcher of the New Zealand study, Professor David Fergusson -- an abortion supporter -- had a difficult time trying to publish his findings. Reardon explains why that occurred.

"He ran into [something] we've long known about, which is that there's a bias against any research that questions that abortion is the greatest thing since sliced bread," Reardon says. "He had three rejections before he was finally accepted."

According to Reardon, under unbiased conditions the study's results would have been given quick approval for publishing. "Because of the unique status of the Christchurch study -- this major longitudinal study from birth through over 25 years of age now -- normally [researchers] get their studies published the first time everywhere they submit because it's a very important data set."

But that did not happen in Reardon's native country. He explains that in New Zealand abortions are allowed to protect women's physical and mental health.

"In New Zealand, the law requires that abortion can only be performed when doctors agree that it's likely to benefit the mental health or physical health of women -- and [Fergusson's] study shows that it's likely to hurt rather than help women," he says. "And therefore the doctors who are saying that abortion is probably going to produce mental health benefits don't have a leg to stand on anymore."

To read entire article:

http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/3/12006b.asp

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2. Marriage activists headed for Colorado showdown

By Valerie Richardson

The Washington Times

February 27, 2006

DENVER -- Two of the West's most influential power brokers are headed for a turf war in November over Colorado's proposed constitutional amendment affirming traditional marriage.

On the left is Tim Gill, the homosexual software multimillionaire and Democratic activist who is dedicating his fortune earned as founder of Quark Inc., to advancing homosexual rights.

On the right is James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family in Colorado Springs and the go-to guy for religious conservatives on issues ranging from stem-cell research to Supreme Court nominees.

Mr. Dobson was an early leader of the movement to place the constitutional amendment on the state ballot in November. Ordinarily, the proposal would be a political no-brainer -- Colorado voters trend to the right, having backed President Bush in 2004, and no state ever has defeated a traditional-marriage initiative.

Then again, no state had to contend with Mr. Gill and his bank account. In August, he started the Gill Action Fund, a political nonprofit that reportedly plans to spend as much as $30 million to defeat traditional-marriage amendments nationwide.

His first big test comes in Colorado.

"This is the back yard of Focus on the Family, but it's also the back yard of Tim Gill, who's in favor of progress and equality," said Ted Trimpa, Mr. Gill's political adviser.

Mr. Trimpa declined to give a dollar amount regarding how much Mr. Gill is planning to spend in Colorado, saying only that he would "invest significant resources."

Whatever the amount, the other side is paying attention.

To read entire article:

http://www.washtimes.com/national/20060227-124635-3594r.htm

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3. Child pornography has expanded into a business so profitable it is no longer limited to pedophiles.

Let’s Fight This Terrible Crime Against Our Children

By Andrew Vachss

Parade Magazine

February 19, 2006

Statistics show that child pornography is the fastest-growing of all Internet businesses, estimated to bring in several billion dollars a year. But while such information may enrage or frighten us, it changes nothing. Our knowledge of cold statistics will not alter the conduct of those who take pleasure or profit in the exploitation of children. Instead, if we are to wage war, we must know our enemy. We need to know more about those who create this unspeakable “product,” why they do it and the various ways it is used.

The term “pornography” may give rise to discussions about what constitutes art. It may invoke issues of free speech or censorship. But no matter how you feel about pornography in general, child pornography does not belong in that debate. No child is capable, emotionally or legally, of consenting to being photographed for sexual purposes. Thus, every image of a sexually displayed child—be it a photograph, a tape or a DVD—records both the rape of the child and an act against humanity.

Child pornography has become a business so profitable that it is no longer limited to pedophiles. Demand exceeds supply and always will. (Some pedophiles, if they had the resources, would acquire a copy of every single piece of child pornography ever produced.) The risk/gain ratio is extremely favorable. And the return on investment is extraordinary. What crime syndicate would pass up such an opportunity? . . .

We justify draconian sentences for drug trafficking because it “hurts our children.” And it does. But no mere words could ever truly describe the daily torture of victims who were forced to participate in child pornography years ago and now, as adults, see images of themselves “performing” on the Internet. Do I believe that those who “merely collect the images” would stop if they heard that same pain? No. All pedophiles—even the ones who describe their predatory conduct as “love”—lack empathy. The pain of others is immaterial to the pursuit of their own pleasures. And for the overt sadists, such pain would only increase the value of their “collections.”

That is why we must begin to treat so-called “simple possession” of child pornography as the heinous crime it is. Every purchase of child pornography encourages further growth of this evil business: from “custom” child pornography—the sale of images of child rape created to order for the consumer—to “real-time” child pornography, where subscribers pay to watch the streamed online rape of children as it occurs. Still another market exists in recorded images of children being physically abused, even tortured. Some of these are marketed outright for the sexual gratification of the viewers, while others are camouflaged as “instructional materials for disciplinarians.”

To read entire article:

http://www.parade.com/articles/editions/2006/edition_02-19-2006/Andrew_Vachss

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4. Morning-after Pill Battles Embroil States

By Marc Kaufman

Washington Post

February 27, 2006

Filling a void left by the Food and Drug Administration's inability to decide whether to make the "morning-after" pill available without a prescription, nearly every state is or soon will be wrestling with legislation that would expand or restrict access to the drug.

More than 60 bills have been filed in state legislatures already this year, and that follows an already busy 2005 session on emergency contraception. The resulting tug of war is creating an availability map for the pill that looks increasingly similar to the map of "red states" and "blue states" in the past two presidential elections -- with increased access in the blue states and greater restrictions in the red ones.

Many of the state bills intended to expand access give specially trained pharmacists in states including Maryland, New York, Kentucky and Illinois the right to dispense emergency contraception without a prescription. Other bills require pharmacies to stock and distribute the drug, and to ensure that the pill is made available to women who come into emergency rooms after a sexual assault.

But some bills would make it more difficult for many women to get emergency contraception, which is effective for only 72 hours after a woman experiences a contraceptive failure or unprotected sex. Legislation in New Hampshire, for instance, would require parental notification before the drug is dispensed, and more than 20 other states will consider bills that give pharmacies the right not to stock the drug and pharmacists the right not to dispense it, even to women with valid prescriptions.

"The FDA made this a major issue for state legislatures," said Sharon Camp, president of the Guttmacher Institute, a women's health research organization. "For the first seven years Plan B was on the market, this largely didn't happen."

"Basically, every state now has an effort going to either make Plan B more easily available or to slow it down or make sure that pharmacists don't have to dispense if they oppose it," said Edward R. Martin, a lawyer and lobbyist with Americans United for Life, who has helped put together some of the proposed "conscience" clauses.

To read entire article:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/26/AR2006022601380.html

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5. Second Annual Day of Truth Hailed as Celebration of Free Expression

By Jim Brown

February 27, 2006

(AgapePress) - Christian students are being encouraged to counter the promotion of the homosexual agenda in public schools by celebrating the second annual "Day of Truth."

The Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) established the observance in response to the national "Day of Silence," an event sponsored by the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) to protest discrimination and harassment experienced by homosexuals.

Students will be observing the Day of Truth on Thursday, April 27, by wearing T-shirts and passing out cards expressing an opposing viewpoint on homosexuality. ADF Senior Counsel Gary McCaleb says the event is "an opportunity for students to exercise their First Amendment rights in an appropriate way and get the message out about a Christian view of truth." . . . .

"We lawyers can do a lot to change the law," the ADF spokesman continues, "but if Christians don't come out and speak and engage society, then all the lawyers in the world are kind of useless. You need the folks to get out there and speak and engage the culture."

To read entire article:

http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/2/272006c.asp

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6. UK: Majority of births will soon be out of wedlock

By Jonathan Petre,

Telegraph.co.uk

21/02/2006

Half of all babies will be born to unmarried mothers by 2012 if present trends continue, says new research that suggests the rapid erosion of moral and religious taboos.

Moreover, fewer than half of families will consist of married couples and up to a third could be lone parents, said Dr Peter Brierley, a former Government statistician now specialising in religious trends.

Dr Brierley's projections followed the publication of official figures yesterday showing that the number of births outside marriage has almost quadrupled in recent decades.

The Office for National Statistics' Social Trends report, an annual snapshot of Britain, said that the figure rose to 42.3 per cent last year.

In 1994, the figure was 32 per cent and in the early 1970s it was less than 10 per cent.

The number of births outside wedlock exceeds 50 per cent in some parts, including Wales. In the North East, it was 54.1 per cent last year.

In London, where a higher proportion of young mothers are Muslims who adhere to more conservative family values, a third of children were born outside marriage.

The report said Britain now had the fourth highest level of births outside marriage in Europe, after Sweden, Denmark and France.

Much of the rise comes from a sharp increase in people living together. But the number of one-parent families is also increasing.

The figures have alarmed family campaigners, who say the collapse of marriage could have a serious impact on social structures.

To read entire article:

http://www.portal.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/02/21/ntrend21.xml&sSheet=/portal/2006/02/21/ixportal.html

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7. Family, Gender, and Educational Attainment in Britain: A Longitudinal Study

by Jacqueline Scott

University of Cambridge

The family is also blamed for youth underachievement. Lone mothers and working mothers have been particularly singled out for scrutiny. Results from a small scale study of 540 teenagers in East London was reported by the BBC current affairs programme Panorama as showing that children of mothers who worked full-time did less well at school (O’Brien and Jones,1999; Franks, children of mothers who worked full-time did less well at school (O’Brien and Jones,1999; Franks, reopened debates about whether women who juggle full-time jobs and motherhood are being

‘selfish’. (This excerpt found on page 4 of report)

To read entire report:

http://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&lr=&q=cache:OcDCFXdQGMAJ:www.genet.ac.uk/publications/JScottJul2003.pdf+Jacqueline+Scott,+%22Family,+Gender,+and+Educational+Attainment+in+Britain:+A+Longitudinal+Study,%22+Journal+of+Comparative+Fam

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COMING EVENTS

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WORLD CONGRESS OF FAMILIES IV

Warsaw, Poland - 2007

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

Acting Director: A. Scott Loveless

Newsletter Editors: Joy S. Lundberg and Gary B. Lundberg

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