World Family Policy Center Newsletter
*News relative to protecting the family worldwide*
Volume 7 Issue 148 - April 25, 2007
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Quote of the
Day: “Reason and experience both
forbid us to
expect that our national
morality can prevail in exclusion of
religious principle."
— George Washington, 1796
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Today’s Contents:
A. Featured Scholar: Dr. John
P. Bartkowski,
B. Featured News Articles
1. Mexico City Legalizes First-Trimester Abortions
Related Article: UK Abortion crisis as doctors refuse
to perform surgery
2. Governor to
Sign Bill Allowing Civil Unions in New Hampshire
3. Studies put
abstinence funds at risk
4. Texas Senate Overwhelmingly Opposes HPV Vaccine
Mandate
Related Article: HPV vaccine concerns give
legislatures pause
C. Coming Events
1. World Congress of
Families IV, Warsaw, Poland - May 11-13, 2007
2. Eighth World Family
Policy Forum, Provo, Utah - July 9 - 11,
2007
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FEATURED SCHOLAR
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Dr. John P. Bartkowski, Professor of Sociology, MSU,
Research Fellow/Scientist, SSRC, Ph.D., Sociology, University of Texas at
Austin
One stream of Dr. Bartkowski’s
research examines the influence of religious involvement on family
relationships and gender identities, while another explores the role of
religious institutions in American civil society. His most recent works include the books
Charitable Choices: Religion, Race, and Poverty in the Post-Welfare Era (New
York University Press, 2003, coauthored with Helen A. Regis) and The Promise
Keepers: Servants, Soldiers, and Godly Men (Rutgers University Press,
2004). Bartkowski’s published articles
have appeared in such journals as Social Forces, Sociological Quarterly,
Journal of Marriage and Family, Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion,
Journal of Family Issues, Gender & Society, Qualitative Sociology, The
Responsive Community, and Sociology of Religion.
Study: Religion
Is Good for Kids
By Melinda Wenner
FOXNEWS
April 24, 2007
Kids with religious parents
are better behaved and adjusted than other children, according to a new study
that is the first to look at the effects of religion on young child
development.
The conflict that arises when
parents regularly argue over their faith at home, however, has the opposite
effect.
John Bartkowski, a Mississippi
State University sociologist and his colleagues asked the parents and teachers
of more than 16,000 kids, most of them first-graders, to rate how much self
control they believed the kids had, how often they exhibited poor or unhappy
behavior and how well they respected and worked with their peers.
The researchers compared these
scores to how frequently the children’s parents said they attended worship
services, talked about religion with their child and argued abut religion in
the home.
The kids whose parents
regularly attended religious services — especially when both parents did so
frequently — and talked with their kids about religion were rated by both
parents and teachers as having better self-control, social skills and
approaches to learning than kids with non-religious parents.
But when parents argued
frequently about religion, the children were more likely to have problems. “Religion
can hurt if faith is a source of conflict or tension in the family,” Bartkowski
noted.
Why so good?
Bartkowski thinks religion can
be good for kids for three reasons. First, religious networks provide social
support to parents, he said, and this can improve their parenting skills.
Children who are brought into such networks and hear parental messages
reinforced by other adults may also “take more to heart the messages that they
get in the home,” he said.
Secondly, the types of values
and norms that circulate in religious congregations tend to be self-sacrificing
and pro-family, Bartkowski told LiveScience. These “could be very, very
important in shaping how parents relate to their kids, and then how children
develop in response,” he said.
Finally, religious
organizations imbue parenting with sacred meaning and significance, he said.
To read entire article:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,268081,00.html
For more information on Dr.
Bartkowski’s research email him at:
Bartkowski@Soc.MsState.Edu
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FEATURED NEWS
ARTICLES
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1. Mexico City Legalizes First-Trimester Abortions
FOXNews
April
24, 2007
MEXICO
CITY — Mexico City lawmakers voted to
legalize abortion Tuesday, a decision likely to influence policies and health
practices across Mexico and other parts of heavily Roman Catholic Latin
America.
The
proposal, approved 46-19, with one abstention, will take effect when the
leftist mayor signs it. Abortion opponents have already vowed to appeal the law
to the Supreme Court, a move likely to extend the bitter and emotional debate
in this predominantly Catholic nation.
"Decriminalizing
abortion is a historic triumph, a triumph of the left," said city
legislator Jorge Diaz Cuervo, a social democrat who voted for the bill.
"Today, there is a new atmosphere in this city. It is the atmosphere of
freedom."
Nationally,
Mexico allows abortion only in cases of rape, severe birth defects or if the
woman's life is at risk. Doctors sometimes refuse to perform the procedure even
under those circumstances.
The
new law will require city hospitals to provide the procedure in the first
trimester and opens the way for private abortion clinics. Girls under 18 would
have to get their parents' consent.
The
procedure will be almost free for poor or insured city residents, but is
unlikely to attract patients from the United States, where later-term abortion
is legal in many states. Under the Mexico City law, abortion after 12 weeks
would be punished by three to six months in jail.
To
read entire article:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,268207,00.html
Related Article: UK Abortion crisis as doctors refuse to perform
surgery
By
Jeremy Laurance, Health Editor
The
Independent
16 April 2007
Britain is facing an abortion crisis because an
unprecedented number of doctors are refusing to be involved in carrying out the
procedure. The exodus of doctors prepared to perform the task is a nationwide
phenomenon that threatens to plunge the abortion service into chaos, the Royal
College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) has warned.
More than 190,000 abortions are carried out each year
in England and Wales and the NHS is already struggling to cope. Four out of
five abortions are paid for by the NHS but almost half of those are carried out
in the private sector, paid for by the NHS.
The reluctance of NHS staff, both doctors and nurses,
to be involved has led to a doubling of abortions paid for by the NHS, which
are carried out in the private or charitable sector, from 20 per cent of the
total in 1997 to almost 40 per cent.
Distaste at performing terminations combined with
ethical and religious convictions has led to a big increase in
"conscientious objectors" who request exemption from the task, the
RCOG says. A key factor is what specialists call "the dinner party
test". Gynaecologists who specialise in fertility treatment creating
babies for childless couples are almost universally revered - but no one boasts
of being an abortionist.
To
read entire article:
http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/health_medical/article2452408.ece
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2. Governor to Sign Bill
Allowing Civil Unions in New Hampshire
FOXNEWS
April
19, 2007
CONCORD,
N.H. — Gov. John Lynch told The
Associated Press on Thursday he will sign legislation establishing civil unions
in New Hampshire.
New
Hampshire thus will become the fourth state to adopt civil unions and the first
to do so without first having a court fight over denying gays the right to
marry.
"I
believe it is a matter of conscience, fairness and preventing
discrimination," Lynch said in an interview.
Although
Lynch had said previously he supports expanding health benefits to same-sex
partners of state workers, he had declined to take a public position on civil
unions. He came under fire from both sides for not weighing in — especially
after the surprise delay last week of the Senate vote on the House-passed bill.
Some
legislators had worried the Democratic governor might part company on the bill
with Democrats who control the House and Senate for the first time in more than
a century.
He
said he announced his position on the bill after extensive discussions with
lawmakers, including most of the 24 state senators.
"I
wanted to see that healthy debate happen in the Statehouse," he said.
The
Senate votes on the bill next week, and Lynch said he is confident it will
pass. It would authorize civil unions beginning next year.
To
read entire article:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,267040,00.html
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3. Studies put abstinence funds at risk
By
Cheryl Wetzstein
The
Washington Times
April
23, 2007
After
a 10-year run, federally funded "abstinence-only" education faces a
reversal of fortunes this year.
Two
recent studies -- one that found federally funded abstinence programs do not
affect teenage sexual behavior and another that found that "almost
all" American adults have sex before marrying -- are adding momentum to
the argument that abstinence-only education is folly.
Advocates
for Youth and its allies in comprehensive sex education plan to urge Congress
to discredit abstinence-only education -- and its eight-point definition -- and
replace it with programs that teach "abstinence plus contraception."
The
federal study of four abstinence programs released last week "is where the
state evaluations and other research lead us, which is that the abstinence-only
approach doesn't work," said James Wagoner, the group's president. "I
think it's time for Congress to defund these [abstinence-only] programs, turn
away from this policy and support a policy that includes both abstinence and
contraception. I think that's where common sense and public health leads
us."
Mr.
Wagoner and his allies will be watching House Energy and Commerce Committee
Chairman John D. Dingell, Michigan Democrat, whose panel can decide not to
renew the $50-million-a-year Title V abstinence education program that expires
in June.
In
addition, House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Henry A.
Waxman, the California Democrat who authored a scathing critique of abstinence
programs in 2004, is expected to hold hearings on abstinence education this
spring.
Supporters
of abstinence education do not plan to lose any of the ground they have gained
since 1996, when the Title V program was created in the welfare reform law.
They
say America has tried contraceptive sex education, and teen pregnancy rates
rose as a result. They say that talking about sexual abstinence and birth
control in the same program sends mixed messages to teens, and the eight-point
definition of abstinence -- which was created in the Title V program and is a
core element of a larger abstinence funding stream -- is geared to make sure
abstinence funding is used for intended programs.
Abstinence
supporters have some champions in Congress, notably Sen. Tom Coburn, Oklahoma
Republican. But many of their original backers are now out of office, and they
are scurrying to find new allies. The National Abstinence Education Association
(NAEA), which opened a Washington office in February, has been created to look
after their members' interests.
To
read entire article:
http://www.washtimes.com/national/20070423-124133-8231r.htm
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4. Texas Senate Overwhelmingly Opposes HPV Vaccine Mandate
by
Jennifer Mesko
CitizenLink
April
24, 2007
On
Monday, the Texas Senate voted 30-1 to override Gov. Rick Perry's order that
would have required schoolgirls to be vaccinated against human papillomavirus
(HPV), a sexually transmitted infection that causes cervical cancer.
The
House passed the legislation last month. It now goes to the governor, who can
sign it, veto it or let it become law without his signature, which would happen
in 10 days. Both houses have enough votes to override his veto.
“I’m
hopeful he’ll be respectful of the vote of the people,” said Kelly Shackelford,
president of the Free Market Foundation, an organization associated with Focus
on the Family. “They don’t want the power of the Legislature usurped in this
way.”
In
February, Perry outraged the state and nation when he issued an executive order
to require the HPV vaccine for all girls entering the sixth grade.
Sen.
Glenn Hegar told The Associated Press that passing the legislation sets a
precedent that “we as a Legislature have a voice and we get to decide what
vaccines are mandated in the state of Texas and which vaccines are not.”
To
read entire article:
http://www.citizenlink.org/CLtopstories/A000004466.cfm
Related Article: HPV vaccine concerns give legislatures pause
By
Gregory Lopes
The
Washington Times
April
25, 2007
The
initial rush to require the inoculation of preteen girls with the new HPV
vaccine Gardasil fueled by Merck & Co.'s lobbying is meeting resistance as
state lawmakers nationwide begin to question its safety, long-term
effectiveness and cost.
California
legislators backed off mandating the vaccine for seventh-grade girls last week
and will consider becoming the first state to require a five-year waiting
period before adding it to the list of vaccines required for school enrollment.
New
Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson vetoed legislation to compel its use by sixth-grade
girls earlier this month, saying there is insufficient time to educate parents,
schools and health care providers about the vaccine that could help prevent
cervical cancer.
"It
is far too early for this vaccine to be mandatory. We don't know about its
long-term effectiveness or safety," said Lawrence Gostin, director of the
Center for Law and the Public's Health at Johns Hopkins and Georgetown
Universities.
"A
response to the rush to mandate could backfire on us with public
dissatisfaction and serve as a deterrent to all vaccinations."
Maryland
legislation was pulled earlier this year because of cost concerns. But Virginia
this month became the second state, after Texas, to make the vaccine mandatory
for girls, and D.C. lawmakers passed their own version last week. Both versions
have parental opt-out provisions.
To
read entire article:
http://www.washtimes.com/business/20070424-114157-2717r.htm
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COMING EVENTS
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The World Family Policy Center
encourages your attendance at:
WORLD CONGRESS OF
FAMILIES IV
Warsaw, Poland -
May 11-13, 2007
WORLD CONGRESS OF FAMILIES IV
WILL BE A TRULY INTERNATIONAL GATHERING
World Congress of Families IV,
which will convene in Warsaw in less than three weeks, will truly be an
international gathering. To date, almost
2,100 are registered for the Congress from over 60 countries.
“You would expect a Congress
in the heart of Europe to have a substantial European presence, and World
Congress of Families IV certainly does,” said WCF founder and International
Secretary Allan Carlson.
“But delegates to World
Congress of Families IV (May 11-13) also will be coming from as far away as
Japan, Thailand, Argentina, Mexico, Ghana, Nigeria, Sri Lanka, Togo, Australia,
New Zealand, Ethiopia, Liberia, Nepal, the Philippines and Taiwan.”
Thus far, the largest
delegations are from Poland (945), The United States (126), Mexico (73), Russia
(68) and the Ukraine (67), Ghana (26) and Belarus (24).
There will be simultaneous
translation of Congress sessions in Polish, English, German, French, Spanish
and Russian.
The Congress theme will be “The
Natural Family: Springtime for Europe and the World.” Sub-themes will include:
1. We Will Renew Cultures of Marriage
2. We Will Celebrate More Babies and Larger Families
3. We Will Nurture Free, Vital, and Productive Homes.
For more information: Error!
Hyperlink reference not valid.
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EIGHTH WORLD
FAMILY POLICY FORUM
July 9 - 11, 2007
Provo, Utah
Sponsored by the World Family
Policy Center, Brigham Young University.
The
theme for this year's Forum is
"Achieving Development without Losing Our Families." Participation and attendance at the Forum is
by invitation only. For further information,
contact Sarah Stewart 801-422-5192
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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 (www.worldfamilypolicy.org)
J. Reuben Clark Law School
Brigham Young University
Acting Managing 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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