World Family Policy Center Newsletter

A. News report of presentation by Dr. Moore, February 8, 2009 at Brigham Young University: View of families called distorted

Lecturer says many in U.S. get negative ideas from media

By Rosalie Westenskow

Deseret Morning News

Negative portrayals of children and families have led most Americans to adopt an inaccurate view of family relationships, said Kristin Anderson Moore at a lecture Thursday night.

Moore presented "Child and Family Well Being: A New Look" at Brigham Young University for the third annual Marjorie Pay Hinckley Endowed Chair Lecture. The program area director of Child Trends, a nonprofit research organization, emphasized the need for research that focuses on positive child and family outcomes to counterbalance the prevailingly negative focus on families.

"The public is concerned, skeptical and sometimes quite negative about American children and families," said Moore, a social psychologist, to an audience that included general authorities of the LDS Church. "(But) the reality is that major improvements in well-being have occurred in the past several decades."

Among those improvements, Moore cited a decrease in infant mortality rates, an increase in life expectancy and an increase in the average level of education.

Despite these gains, most Americans believe the state of the family to be in dire straits and many overestimate problems, she said.

In one study performed by Child Trends, two-thirds of respondents estimated 30 percent of children in the U.S. live in poverty. The actual statistic is closer to 10 percent, Moore said.

"Americans tend to think things are worse than they are," she said.

A variety of factors have caused this unbalanced interest in the negative, Moore said, including the necessity for government agencies to determine what's wrong before they can fix it.

The media also play a role in the cynical attitude toward families by selecting gloomy topics for the most coverage.

Moore pointed to two studies, released at the same time, to illustrate her point. One discussed when and where teens first have sex while the other focused on the positive relationships adolescents have with their parents.

"Guess which one got more coverage?" she asked the audience before relaying the nationwide coverage the former received and the almost complete lack of mention of the positive study.

Such tendencies not only lead to bad attitudes toward families and children but harmful behaviors as well.

To read entire article: http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,660194050,00.html

B. Remarks by Dr. Moore on goals of Child Trend in protecting children and families: Plenary Session Panel 64^th Annual Conference National Council on Family Relations, November 22, 2002, Houston, Texas

At Child Trends, we like to say that our mission is to improve the lives of children and their families — and that we do this by conducting research and providing science-based information to the public and decision-makers. Before I get into the heart of my brief remarks, I want to reflect a bit about two broad concepts — change and creativity — within the context of this mission.

What are the sources of creativity and the engines of change in the United States when it comes to enhancing children’s developing and well-being? Many people, particularly in this audience, would think of academe. Others would probably think of the federal government. And that is understandable. But citing just these two really ignores some other very important sources of creativity and change. The foundation community, for one. State and local government, for another. And community organizations, to give a third example. As we seek to better the prospects of children and families, we can bring together knowledge derived from these various places to generate some new understandings. And that’s a very exciting thing to do.

To read entire speech: http://www.childtrends.org/Files/NCFRspeech02.pdf

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FEATURED NEWS ARTICLES

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1. Values Play Into Treatment Recommendations, Study Finds

By Rob Stein

Washington Post

February 8, 2007

Many doctors believe they have the right not to tell patients about treatments that they object to on moral or religious grounds and to refuse to refer patients elsewhere for the care, according to the first study to examine physicians' views on such situations.

In the survey of 1,144 doctors nationwide, 8 percent said they had no obligation to present all possible options to patients, and 18 percent said they did not have to tell patients about other doctors who provide care they found objectionable.

Based on the findings, the researchers estimate that more than 40 million Americans may be seeing physicians who do not believe that they are obligated to disclose information about legal treatments the doctor objects to, and 100 million have doctors who do not feel the need to refer patients to another provider.

"They are a minority of doctors, but it's fairly substantial minority," said Farr A. Curlin, a bioethicist at the University of Chicago who led the study, published in today's issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

The survey was prompted by an intense debate over medical workers who refuse to deliver care that runs contrary to their moral or religious beliefs, asserting a "right of conscience" or "right of refusal." Some pharmacists, for example, refuse to fill prescriptions for birth control and emergency contraceptive "morning-after" pills. Some doctors and nurses refuse to participate in abortions, prescribe birth control pills or withdraw or withhold care from dying patients.

The refusals have led to bitter clashes between medical workers and patients around the country. Dozens of states have considered legislation that would either require medical workers to deliver all legal forms of care or protect those who refuse. The issue is expected to intensify as medicine continues to move into controversial areas, such as therapies based on embryonic stem cells.

Curlin and his colleagues mailed 12-page questionnaires to 2,000 physicians from all specialties in 2003 asking them if they had objections to three controversial practices -- sedating dying patients to the point of unconsciousness; prescribing birth control to teenagers without parental consent; and performing abortions after failed contraception.

Of the 1,144 who responded, 17 percent objected to "terminal sedation," 42 percent objected to providing birth control to teens without parents' consent and 52 percent objected to abortion after failed contraception.

To read entire article:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/07/AR2007020702078.html

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2. Few vote on Portugal abortion law

CNN

February 11, 2007

LISBON, Portugal (AP) -- A national referendum to scrap Portugal's strict abortion law appeared headed to defeat Sunday by low turnout, though a majority of voters cast ballots in its favor.

Debate over the law, one of the most restrictive in the European Union, pitted the Socialist government against conservative parties and the Catholic Church, which claims more than 90 percent of Portuguese as followers.

Under current law, the procedure is allowed only in cases of rape, fetal malformation or if a mother's health is in danger, and only in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy.

The center-left Socialist government wants to grant women the right to opt for abortion during the first 10 weeks of pregnancy.

Between 57-61 percent voted in favor of allowing women to ask for abortions up to the 10th week, compared with 39-43 percent who opposed the change, according to a poll by public broadcaster Radiotelevisao Portuguesa. However, the poll said turnout was around 34-40 percent, lower than the more than 50 percent required to make the ballot valid.

Portugal's legislation places it in a minority in the bloc with Poland, Ireland and Malta. In 23 other EU nations, abortion is permitted within much broader limits. Women can ask for abortions up to the 24th week of pregnancy in Britain and up to the 12th week in Germany, France and Italy.

The government has portrayed the ballot as a measure of Portugal's willingness to adopt more modern attitudes.

Its effort to change the law, though, has run into emphatic opposition from the influential Roman Catholic Church, which wants to keep the restrictions in place.

. . . . Anticipating a repeat of that result, Prime Minister Jose Socrates has said that if the turnout is too low to make the ballot binding but the "yes" camp collects most of the votes cast he will use his party's majority in Parliament to push through legislation allowing abortion.

Socrates, a longtime campaigner for abortion rights, has called the current law "backward" and "a national disgrace."

. . . . The Catholic Church has not budged from its opposition to abortion, saying it goes against teachings on the sanctity of life.

Even if voters back the change, it could be several months before women can choose to terminate their pregnancies.

A bill would have to be voted on in Parliament and then go to the president for approval. It would come into force only when the new legislation is published in the public records -- a procedure which usually takes months.

To read entire article:

http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/europe/02/10/portugal.abortion.ap/index.html

Related Article: Abortion debate gains volume in Europe

By Jeffrey Stinson

USA TODAY

February 7, 2007

•Thousands of women marched in Paris last month to demand a ban on abortions, which have been legal in France since 1974. The march drew participants from Belgium, Germany, Ireland and Italy.

•Poland will decide this spring whether to amend its constitution to ban abortion. A similar proposal is pending in Slovakia.

•Italy placed import restrictions last year on the RU-486 "morning after" pill. Abortion became an issue in the general election, when the Vatican urged voters to cast their ballots for candidates opposed to abortion.

"You wouldn't have seen this six years ago," says Christina Zampas, European legal adviser in Stockholm for the Center for Reproductive Rights. "The power of the anti-choice movement is not as strong here (as in the USA), but it is growing."

To read entire article:

http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2007-02-07-euroabortion_x.htm

Related Article: Utah abortion-restriction bill called a losing judicial bet

By Brock Vergakis

Associated Press

February 5, 2007

With two new President Bush-appointed justices on the U.S. Supreme Court, Utah is preparing to spend up to $4 million to defend a proposed law banning abortions that it hopes will lead to the overturn of Roe v. Wade. Karrie Galloway, director of Planned Parenthood Association of Utah, is angered that state legislators are tackling the abortion issue but aren't helping to prevent unintended pregnancies.

It's a gamble that some constitutional law scholars say is a losing bet because the prevailing court case on abortion isn't the 1973 decision on Roe v. Wade, which made abortion legalized nationwide. It's the 1992 opinion in a case called Casey v. Planned Parenthood.

That case allowed states to place some restrictions on abortion. But it also reaffirmed a woman's right to an abortion established under Roe v. Wade and said states couldn't place an "undue burden" on women seeking an abortion.

Even if both Bush-appointed justices John Roberts and Samuel Alito "were hellbent on overturning it, they don't have a fifth vote," said Pam Karlan, a constitutional law professor at Stanford University. "Right now, on the Supreme Court there are not five votes to overturn Planned Parenthood versus Casey. ... It's absolutely clear that the current court would not permit a state to ban all abortions."

Karlan and others say it's highly unlikely the Supreme Court would even hear the case.

"If all the lower courts agree that this is unconstitutional, then the Supreme Court would probably react cautiously and not take it," said Robert Bennett, a constitutional law scholar at Northwestern University.

But Utah lawmakers seem intent on giving it a try. The state House may vote as early as this week on a bill to ban abortions except in cases of rape, incest or if the health of the mother is threatened.

To read entire article:

http://www.deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,660193035,00.html

Related Article: Strict abortion bill revisited in S.D.

By Joe Kafka

Associated Press

Feb 11, 2007

PIERRE, S.D. - Lawmakers who watched as a near-total ban on abortions failed in South Dakota voting booths last year have revived the legislation with changes that may make the difference in public acceptance. But the bill's success is far from assured.

None of the Legislature's leaders, notably some sponsors of last year's bill, are joining the effort this year because waging last year's fight was so exhausting.

"It's far too soon to put our state through something of such a difficult nature again," said Democratic Sen. Julie Bartling, a prime sponsor of last year's abortion bill.

"The state needs to heal, and I just don't feel that we need to take this up in this legislative session again," she added. "The people have spoken."

The bill introduced in January includes exceptions for victims of rape or incest and if continuing the pregnancy would harm the woman's health significantly.

Last year's ban exempted only abortions needed to save a woman's life, and the lack of more exceptions was cited when voters repealed the ban in November. Public opinion polls have shown that a ban with rape and incest exceptions would pass muster with South Dakotans.

A chief sponsor of the current bill, Republican Rep. Gordon Howie, said legislators must not lose their momentum and noted that the repeal passed with only 56 percent of the vote.

"What the voters told us was that they were uncomfortable with the rape and incest circumstances. And so this bill is one that was specifically designed for the majority of South Dakotans or with them in mind," Howie said.

The bill would allow rape victims to get abortions if they report the rapes to police within 50 days. Doctors would have to confirm those reports with police; doctors also would have to give blood from aborted fetuses to police for DNA testing in rape and incest cases.

In the case of incest, a doctor and the woman would have to report the identity of the alleged perpetrator to police before an abortion could be done.

Abortions could be done only until the 17th week of pregnancy in cases of incest and rape.

To read entire article:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070212/ap_on_re_us/sdakota_abortion;_ylt=Ai8O2vicn_2ncUjPKvIXMahI2ocA

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3. Chinese Government to Publicly Shame Celebrities Trying to Skirt One-Child Policy

FoxNews

February 08, 2007

BEIJING — Officials in eastern China plan to name and shame rich families who ignore the country's strict one-child policy and simply pay the fine for having a second or third baby, state media said.

Zhang Wenbiao, head of the family planning commission in Zhejiang province, announced Wednesday that his agency plans to expose a few such cases in the near future, the official Xinhua News Agency said.

"The public is very much aware that some celebrities simply pay money to have two or more children," Zhang was quoted as saying, without mentioning any names. "This kind of behavior must be stopped."

Xinhua said the province also has raised the amount of the fines for violators. In some cases, families will have to pay more than $130,000 for violating the policy, it said without giving details.

Different Chinese provinces and cities have their own methods of punishing family planning violators, including fines and work demotions. Fines are sometimes calculated based on a family's income.

China's family planning policy — implemented in the late 1970's — limits urban couples to one child and rural families to two to control the population and conserve natural resources.

To read entire article:

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,250813,00.html

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4. Alumni urge reversal on cross

By Natasha Altamirano

The Washington Times

February 7, 2007

College of William & Mary alumni are sending a simple message to the school's governing body: No cross, no cash.

They are encouraging the Board of Visitors (BOV), which meets tomorrow and Friday, to overrule college President Gene Nichol's October decision to remove a cross from the 313-year-old public college's Wren Chapel.

Karen Hall, a 1978 alumna, has decided not to renew her membership to William & Mary's Fourth Century Club, a fundraising group.

"I felt like the best voice I had was my checkbook," said Ms. Hall, a member of a student, alumni and faculty group called Save the Wren Cross Coalition. "If they're going to become famous as the school that took the cross out of the chapel ... I can't in good conscience write them checks."

The issue has drawn national attention to the 7,500-student college.

"It's something we want [the BOV] to look seriously at," said Dennis Di Mauro, a 1986 graduate and a member of the Save the Wren Cross group. "Now people are saying, 'Do we really want to contribute to a college that has become an embarrassment to us?' "

Alumni Andrew and Connie Roberts sent a letter to administrators in December urging them to rethink Mr. Nichol's decision.

"We are sorry to take this step, but until President Nichol reverses this ill-considered Wren Cross policy and returns to the policy that worked well for many years, we will no longer support the college financially," they wrote. "We hope that this action will get the attention of those who may have influence in this matter, and our financial support may begin again soon."

To read entire article:

http://www.washtimes.com/metro/20070206-115809-5586r.htm

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5. Swiss Court opens the door to euthanizing the mentally ill

By Jim Brown

OneNewsNow.com

February 7, 2007

A Christian group that seeks to promote biblical morality in Europe says a recent ruling in Switzerland could lead to the forced euthanasia of mentally-ill patients. Euthanasia for terminally-ill patients is already legal in that country.

A Christian group that seeks to promote biblical morality in Europe says a ruling Friday by Switzerland's highest court opens the door for people with serious mental illnesses to be euthanized against their will.

The Federal Tribunal's decision puts mental illnesses on the same level as physical ones in a country that already allows physician-assisted suicide for terminally-ill patients. In its ruling, the tribunal said "If the death wish is based on an autonomous decision which takes all circumstances into account, then a mentally ill person can be prescribed sodium-pentobarbital and thereby be assisted in suicide." . . . .

Phil Magnan is executive director of Biblical Family Advocates, a pro-family organization based in Budapest, Hungary. He says the ruling sends the disturbing message that suicide is a "viable, rational" option.

According to Magnan, “ . . . . this [idea of expanding who can be legally euthanized] is not necessarily even a new thought," he comments. "Belgium has been exploring the avenues of whether ... teenagers [should be allowed] to have themselves euthanized if they have a terminal disease or if they don't feel that life is worth living."

To read entire article:

http://www.onenewsnow.com/2007/02/swiss_court_oks_euthanizing_th.php

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6. Biggest curriculum overhaul at Harvard in 30 years

CNN

February 7, 2007

BOSTON, Massachusetts (Reuters) -- Harvard University announced Wednesday its biggest curriculum overhaul in three decades, putting new emphasis on sensitive religious and cultural issues, the sciences and overcoming U.S. "parochialism."

The curriculum at the oldest U.S. university has been criticized as focusing too narrowly on academic topics instead of real-life issues, or for being antagonistic to organized religion. Revisions have been in the works for three years.

One of the eight new required subject areas -- "societies of the world" -- aims to help students overcome U.S. "parochialism" by "acquainting them with the values, customs and institutions that differ from their own," said a 34-page Harvard report on the changes.

An earlier proposal would have made Harvard unique among its elite Ivy League peers by requiring undergraduates to study religion as a distinct subject, but that was dropped in December.

The changes to the general-education requirements, imposed on students outside their major, still address religious beliefs and practices. Study of those issues, however, would be folded into a broader subject of "culture and belief."

The "culture and belief" requirement will "introduce students to ideas, art and religion in the context of the social, political, religious, economic and cross-cultural conditions" that shape them, Harvard said.

The university's Faculty of Arts and Sciences is expected to vote on the report in March, but Harvard officials said it was expected to be implemented. The university is also expected to soon announce a new president to steer the changes.

Founded to train Puritan ministers 371 years ago, Harvard has been criticized by some conservatives in recent decades as a liberal bastion unfriendly toward religion.

A task force of six professors and two students which drafted the new curriculum said religion should be addressed, but only as one of several cultural influences.

"Harvard is a secular institution but religion is an important part of our students' lives," it said. It noted that 94 percent of Harvard's incoming students report that they discuss religion "frequently" or "occasionally," and 71 percent say that they attend religious services.

To read entire article:

http://www.cnn.com/2007/EDUCATION/02/07/harvard.reut/index.html

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7. Global child porn ring shattered

Jim Brown

OneNewsNow.com

February 8, 2007

Austrian investigators have uncovered a major international child pornography ring involving thousands of suspects from dozens of countries, including Germany, Algeria, Russia, and the United States.

Law enforcement officials in Austria say they have uncovered a major international child pornography ring that purchased videos made in Eastern Europe. According to an Associated Press report, federal police are touting the case as "a strike against child pornography unprecedented in Austrian criminal history."

Austrian authorities say the child porn ring involved more than 2,300 suspects from 77 countries, including hundreds in the United States, who paid to view videos depicting infants and young children being sexually abused. The Federal Bureau Investigation (FBI) was reportedly investigating about 600 of the U.S. suspects.

To read entire report:

http://www.onenewsnow.com/2007/02/global_child_porn_ring_shatter.php

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COMING EVENTS

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U.N. COMMISSION ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN (fifty-first session)

26 February to 9 March 2007

New York

The fifty-first session of the Commission on the Status of Women will consider “The elimination of all forms of discrimination and violence against the girl child” as its priority theme.

The Commission on the Status of Women is a functional commission of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), dedicated exclusively to gender equality and advancement of women. It is the principal global policy-making body. Every year, representatives of Member States gather at United Nations Headquarters in New York to evaluate progress on gender equality, identify challenges, set global standards and formulate concrete policies to promote gender equality and advancement of women worldwide.

For more information:

http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/csw/

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WORLD CONGRESS OF FAMILIES IV

Warsaw, Poland - May 11-13, 2007

Meeting in Rockford, Illinois (October 23-25, 2005), 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 May 11-13, 2007 in the Palace of Culture and Science.

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.

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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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

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