World Family Policy Center Newsletter

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Today’s Contents:

A. Featured Scholar: Pamela Smock, Ph.D., University of Wisconsin:

The Wax and Wane of Marriage: Prospects for Marriage in the 21st Century

B. Featured News Articles

1. House Passes Embryonic Stem Cell Research Bill, but Lacks Votes to Override Bush Veto

2. Virginia Assembly To Tackle Abortion

3. British Christian Attorneys Protest U.K.'s Homosexual Rights Legislation

4. Wide Berth Allowed on Teaching About Homosexuality

5. First U.S. Uterus Transplant Planned

C. Coming Events:

• World Congress of Families IV - Warsaw, Poland

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FEATURED SCHOLAR

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Pamela Smock, Ph.D., University of Wisconsin,

Research Professor, Population Studies Center; Professor, Sociology Department; Professor, Women's Studies

Dr. Smock specializes in the study of family, gender, and social inequality. Of particular interest are gender inequality, changing family patterns, and the implications of each for the other. Her research has focused on the economic consequences of divorce and marriage, nonresident fatherhood, remarriage, single-mother families, child support, and unmarried cohabitation. Currently, she is examining racial, ethnic, and gender variation in the meaning and implications of cohabitation in the United States.

The Wax and Wane of Marriage: Prospects for Marriage in the 21st Century

Publication Abstract

The November 2004 issue of the Journal of Marriage and Family (JMF) is devoted to a symposium on the future of marriage. Smock's contribution to this special JMF issue is a commentary reflecting on the papers in the symposium. She discusses the "retreat from marriage" and its possible causes; the continued high value placed on legal marriage; the relationship between marriage and socioeconomic inequality; and the importance of social context for marriage stability. She then takes a retrospective look at how social scientists in the late 19th and early 20th centuries viewed similar issues for their times and draws some conclusions --- among them that similar sociodemographic factors have been used historically to explain very different demographic realities.

For article information:

http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/bpl/jomf/2004/00000066/00000004/art00010;jsessionid=72dcuccdeopft.victoria

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FEATURED NEWS ARTICLES

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1. House Passes Embryonic Stem Cell Research Bill, but Lacks Votes to Override Bush Veto

FoxNews

January 11, 2007

WASHINGTON — The Democratic-controlled House Thursday passed a bill bolstering embryonic stem cell research that advocates say shows promise for numerous medical cures.

But the 253-174 vote fell short of the two-thirds margin required to overturn President Bush's promised veto, despite gains made by supporters in the November elections. Bush vetoed identical legislation last year and the White House on Thursday promised he would veto it again.

The White House said the bill — the third bill of the Democrats' first 100 hours agenda to pass the House — "would use federal taxpayer dollars to support and encourage the destruction of human life for research."

At stake was whether research on cells taken from human embryos — considered by scientists to be the most promising approach to developing potential treatments or cures for dozens of diseases — should be underwritten with taxpayer funds.

The debate raises passions because the research typically involves the destruction of frozen embryos created for in vitro fertilization. It draws fierce opposition from anti-abortion lawmakers and like-minded constituents who believe their taxes should not fund such research. Proponents of the research said it is done on embryos that would otherwise be discarded from fertility clinics anyway.

"I support stem cell research with only one exception — research that requires killing human life," said Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio. "Taxpayer-funded stem cell research must be carried out in an ethical manner in a way that respects the sanctity of human life. Fortunately, ethical stem cell alternatives continue to flourish in the scientific community."

Democrats countered with Rep. James Langevin, D-R.I., an anti-abortion lawmaker who is paralyzed from the chest down from a handgun accident that occurred when he was a teenager. The research, Langevin said, offers "tremendous hope that not only stem cell research might lead one day to a cure for spinal cord injuries but one day a child with diabetes will no longer have to endure a lifetime of painful shots and tests."

Dr. Robert Lanza, a top stem cell researcher at Advanced Cell Technology, Inc., said that stem cell-based treatments could be just a few years away for eye and spinal cord injuries, but that a decade or more of research is needed before treatments might become available for diseases such as diabetes and Alzheimer's.

Polls show most Americans support embryonic stem cell research, and Democrats say the issue played a big role in the Nov. 7 elections that returned their party to the majority in the House and Senate.

But in the House, Democratic gains of 30 seats don't translate into anywhere near that number of new votes for the embryonic stem cell research bill, sponsored by Reps. Diana DeGette, D-Colo., and Mike Castle, R-Del. . . . .

If every House member votes, it takes 290 votes to override a veto, and both the House and Senate must override a veto for a bill to become law without a president's signature.

To read entire article:

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,243062,00.html

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2. Virginia Assembly To Tackle Abortion

By Tim Craig

Washington Post

January 15, 2007

RICHMOND -- Abortion rights advocates are gearing up to fight more than a dozen bills before the General Assembly this year, including a measure that would outlaw nearly all abortions in Virginia should the U.S. Supreme Court overturn Roe v. Wade.

The debate over abortion is a yearly ritual for the Republican-controlled General Assembly, but a pending Supreme Court decision on the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act and this fall's legislative races could heighten the discussion this year.

A bill by Del. Robert G. Marshall would have Virginia revert to pre-1973 abortion laws if Roe v. Wade were overturned.

"I have no doubt if the Supreme Court overturns Roe that Virginia would be one of the states that makes it illegal to have an abortion," said Ann O'Hanlon, executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia.

Many Supreme Court observers have said the court is one or two votes from reversing the 1973 decision that established a woman's right to an abortion.

Abortion has been a tumultuous political issue in Virginia, where polls show that about 40 percent of the electorate identify themselves as born-again Christians. The state is home to Pat Robertson's Christian Broadcasting Network as well as Jerry Falwell Ministries, both of which speak out against abortion.

A Washington Post poll taken during the 2005 governor's race found that 61 percent of Virginia residents think abortion should be legal in all or most cases; 38 percent said they want to outlaw the practice.

A bill by Del. Robert G. Marshall (R-Prince William) causes abortion-rights supporters the greatest concern. The bill proposes that Virginia revert to pre-1973 abortion laws if the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade. Under those laws, abortion would be illegal except if the life of the woman or fetus is endangered.

To read entire article:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/14/AR2007011401038.html

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3. British Christian Attorneys Protest U.K.'s Homosexual Rights Legislation

By Ed Thomas

AgapePress

January 11, 2007

A recent nighttime demonstration outside Great Britain's Parliament highlighted the types of grassroots efforts that British businessmen and Christians must now use to protest homosexual rights laws passed in the United Kingdom last year.

These laws, which include banning discrimination in selling goods and services to homosexuals, were implemented in Northern Ireland, Wales, and England in early 2006, despite heavy opposition. Religious leaders in the U.K. say the legislation is forcing them to act against their biblical beliefs.

According to Reuters news reports, a recent attempt to block the laws in Northern Ireland failed overwhelmingly by a vote in Parliament's House of Lords. Faith groups at the recent nighttime rally at Parliament also sent a petition protesting the legislation to England's Queen Elizabeth II.

Brian Fahling is senior trial attorney with the American Family Association Center for Law & Policy (AFA Law Center). He has read information from the British group, Lawyers Christian Fellowship, which organized the rally, and says the pro-homosexual laws in the U.K. are like "evil twins" of some of the sexual orientation discrimination laws that have been enacted in the U.S.

And if things continue in their current direction in the U.K., Fahling notes, Christians' freedom of conscience and free speech could be threatened. "It would be exceedingly problematic," he asserts, "even beyond what we've seen occur in this nation, if there is an effect in the law that would make it unlawful for a Christian to refuse to promote homosexual practice."

The AFA Law Center spokesman says the British advocacy group opposing these homosexual rights laws is made up of Christian lawyers whose concern is that the regulations will not only make it unlawful for believers to refuse to promote homosexual practice, but that even positive biblical teaching could be outlawed in the interest of pro-homosexual tolerance.

To read entire article:

http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/1/112007b.asp

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4. Wide Berth Allowed on Teaching About Homosexuality

By Daniel de Vise

Washington Post

January 16, 2007

Montgomery County's overhaul of its sex education curriculum, which has inspired a lawsuit, petition drives, national news coverage and the formation of fiercely polarized community groups, was itself inspired by two words buried deep within the regulatory code of Maryland, which advises school systems to teach "sexual variations."

The county school system invoked those regulations in defense of disputed new lessons that introduce students to sexual orientation and transgenderism in grades eight and 10.

Neither Maryland nor Virginia requires school systems to teach about sexual orientation, state officials said. Maryland's stipulation that schools teach sexual variations as one of several "areas of emphasis" in health classes is open to broad interpretation.

Montgomery's new curriculum, approved last week for field tests this spring, goes deeper into sexual and gender identity than most other Washington area school systems have dared, judging by an informal survey. Some Northern Virginia systems don't teach about sexual orientation, and Maryland systems generally broach the topic in less detail or at the request of a curious student. Information from D.C. schools was not available.

"Everyone's watching Montgomery right now, in no uncertain terms," to see whether the new curriculum survives an expected legal challenge, said Jean-Marie Navetta, spokeswoman for Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays, a national nonprofit organization. If the lessons emerge intact, they could be replicated.

The initiative to place Montgomery at the forefront of the explosive national debate about teaching sex in schools began with a citizens committee, which reviewed the county's family life and human development curriculum five years ago and recommended that the Board of Education lift its virtual ban on discussing homosexuality in class. Teachers could bring up the topic only in response to a student's query.

The old curriculum, which is still in place across the county, "was ignoring the reality of the world we live in," said school board member Patricia O'Neill (Bethesda-Chevy Chase). "Before this, we were silent."

The structure of state regulations about sex education speaks to the delicate balance between providing lessons to children about sexuality, discrimination and public health and respecting the religious and moral values of parents.

To read entire article:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/15/AR2007011501298.html

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5. First U.S. Uterus Transplant Planned

By Rob Stein

Washington Post

January 15, 2007

First came kidney, liver and heart transplants. Then a few doctors started transplanting hands. French surgeons even did a face.

Now, doctors are planning the first womb transplant in the United States.

A team based in Manhattan has begun screening women left barren by cancer, injuries or other problems who want a chance to bear their own children.

"The desire to have a child is a tremendous driving force for many women," said Giuseppe Del Priore of the New York Downtown Hospital, who is leading the team. "We think we could help many women fulfill this very basic desire."

But the planned operation, which Del Priore and his colleagues could attempt later this year, is stirring objections among some transplant experts, fertility specialists and medical ethicists. They question whether the procedure has been tested sufficiently on animals and whether the benefit of being able to carry a pregnancy outweighs the risks for the woman and fetus.

"This raises a set of very difficult medical and ethical questions," said Thomas H. Murray, who heads the Hastings Center, a bioethics think tank in Garrison, N.Y. "I think it's very questionable. This would be very hard to justify."

The operation marks a confluence of two medical specialties -- transplant surgery and reproductive medicine -- that frequently spark controversy.

"It is the convergence of two fields that are already embedded in large ethical disputes," said Lori B. Andrews, a bioethicist at the Chicago-Kent College of Law. "This represents the worst of both worlds."

Several experts said the plans highlight the unique status that childbearing holds in the United States and elsewhere, and the lengths to which some women will go to experience it, even with the availability of such options as adoption and surrogacy.

To read entire article:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/14/AR2007011401091.html

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COMING EVENTS

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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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