World Family Policy Center Newsletter
*News relative to
protecting the family worldwide*
Volume 7 Issue 145 - March
29, 2007
* * * * * * * *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * * * * * * *
Quote of the
Day:
“The family meal is a formality that cultivates
in us... a capacity for
sharing, generosity, thoughtfulness, a talent
for civilized conversation.”
—Francine Du Plessix Gray, author
* * * * * * * *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * * * *
* * *
Today’s Contents:
A. Featured Scholar: Craig H. Hart
B. Featured News Articles
1. A new cause at
Harvard: Opposing casual sex
2. Coach Dungy Defends Family Values
3. Episcopalians Reject
Conciliation Proposal: Denomination refuses to back down from support of
homosexuality
4. Polish Demonstrators March to
Demand Complete Abortion Ban
Related Article: Mississippi Passes What-If Abortion Bill
Related Article: Abortion ultrasound-viewing advances in S.C.
Related Article: The Lost Girls: Sex-selective abortions
C. Coming Events
* * * *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
FEATURED
SCHOLAR
* * * *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Craig
H. Hart, Professor of Marriage, Family, and Human Development, School of Family
Life, Brigham Young University.
Why
Are Parents Important? Linking Parenting to Childhood Social Skills in
Australia, China, Japan, Russia, and the United States.
Recent research
findings suggest that children’s success or failure in life can often be traced
to childhood social skill development, and that parents can provide the
foundation for how well children adjust to their peer groups in ways that no
one else can (Hart, Newell, & Olsen, 2003: Ruben, Bukowski & Parker
2006). Despite scientific evidence
supporting these claims, some scholars argue that parents are only minimally
essential for children’s development (Harris, 2002: Rowe, 2002: Silverstein
& Auerback, 1999). In this view,
fathers and mothers are thought to be interchangeable, and the presence of any
caring adult is adequate for optimal human development. This thinking runs contrary to long-standing
and successful cultural practices that have promoted stable, caring family
units in which children are nurtured and protected by a mother and a
father. The purpose of this chapter is
to confront the minimalist view of parenting by countering some of the
criticisms of parenting research and presenting recent findings that illustrate
why parents are important in diverse cultural contexts. Cross-cultural findings stem from research we
have conducted in Australia, China, Japan, Russia, and the Untied States. These studies illustrate important linkages
between maternal and paternal parenting skills (or the lack thereof) and young
children’s adaptive and maladaptive peer group behavior. Complementary features of maternal and
paternal parent-child interaction styles as associated with child peer group
behavior will also be emphasized later in this chapter.
(This chapter can
be found in the book The Family in the New Millennium, Volume 1, p. 227,
Praeger Perspectives. Westport, Connecticut, and London, 2007)
* * * *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
FEATURED
NEWS ARTICLES
* * * *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
1. A new cause at Harvard: Opposing casual
sex
Campus group urges abstinence, saying too many act
mindlessly
By Jesse Harlan Alderman
Houston Chronicle
March 22, 2007
CAMBRIDGE, MASS. — Sometime between the founding of a
student-run porn magazine and the day the campus health center advertised "Free
Lube," Harvard University seniors Sarah Kinsella and Justin Murray decided
to fight back against what they see as too much mindless sex at the Ivy League
school.
They founded a student group called True Love
Revolution to promote abstinence on campus. The group was created earlier this
school year, has more than 90 members on its Facebook.com page and drew about
half that many to an ice cream social.
Harvard treats sex — or "hooking up" — so
casually that "sometimes I wonder if sex is even a remotely serious
thing," said Kinsella, who is dating Murray.
Other schools around the country have small groups
devoted to abstinence. On most campuses, they are religious organizations.
Princeton and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have Anscombe
Societies, secular organizations named after an English philosopher and Roman
Catholic. True Love Revolution is secular as well.
Some feminists, in particular, have criticized True
Love Revolution's message.
Harvard student Rebecca Singh said she was offended by
a valentine the group sent to the dormitory mailboxes of all freshmen. It read:
"Why wait? Because you're worth it."
"I think they thought that we might not be
'ruined' yet," Singh said. "It's a symptom of that culture we have
that values a woman on her purity. It's a relic."
Others on campus have mocked the group. Murray said
his friends take pleasure in loudly, and graphically, discussing their sex
lives just to taunt him.
"On campus there is such a strong attitude of
pluralism and acceptance, but then it doesn't extend to this," Kinsella
said.
In the student paper, The Harvard Crimson, columnist
Jessica C. Coggins praised the group's low-key approach and scolded Harvard
students for their "laughter at the virgin." She said students on the
campus, which has 6,700 undergraduates, should "find a different
confidence booster than making fun of celibate peers."
To read entire article:
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/nation/4654642.html
..........................
2.
Coach Dungy Defends Family Values
by Steve Jordahl,
Family News in Focus
March 21, 2007
“We’re not trying to downgrade anyone else, hate
anyone else,” he tells supporters of an Indiana marriage amendment.
Coach Tony Dungy of the Indianapolis Colts spoke
strongly Tuesday night in favor of traditional marriage. Family advocates
applauded his statement, homosexual groups expressed disappointment and the
National Football League has remained silent.
Dungy made his remarks after receiving a Friend of the
Family award from the Indiana Family Institute (IFI).
“We’re not trying to downgrade anyone else, hate
anyone else, but we’re trying to promote the family, family values the Lord’s
way,” Dungy said.
IFI President Curt Smith was pleased.
“Coach Dungy said, ‘I’m with God and I believe IFI has
taken the biblical, godly position on marriage and so I’m pleased to stand with
it.’”
The Indiana Legislature is considering language
defining marriage as between one man and one woman. Smith said Dungy’s
appearance was not timed to coincide with legislative action.
Dr. James Dobson, founder and chairman of Focus on the
Family Action, said Dungy “is a good and brave man. To defend God’s truth so
simply and strongly on what marriage ought to mean is to invite a blitz of
hateful attacks from homosexual activists and others on the Left.”
Cyd Zeigler of Outsports.com, a pro-gay group, didn’t
criticize Dungy for speaking out, but he insists that Dungy has created a
“hostile” work environment in the Colts organization.
“I’m afraid that he would not allow a gay player on
his team because he did not follow the Lord’s way.”
Smith dismissed that thinking.
“It’s crazy,” he said, “to think that when someone
takes a biblical position on a public-policy question, that it creates any kind
of a hostile workforce at all.”
To read entire article:
http://www.citizenlink.org/CLtopstories/A000004178.cfm
......................
3. Episcopalians Reject Conciliation
Proposal: Denomination refuses to back down from support of homosexuality.
CitizenLink
March 23, 2007
The Episcopal Church has rejected a demand from the
worldwide Anglican Communion that they provide conservative leaders for
parishes that disagree with the U.S. church's liberal stance on homosexuality.
Episcopal priest Don Armstrong of Colorado Springs
told Family News in Focus a denominational split is inevitable.
"The national leadership and the House of Bishops
just have no more patience for classic Christianity," Armstrong said,
"and are determined to drive it out sooner rather than later."
Conservative parishes are feeling the heat from the
Episcopal Church. The Rev. Geoff Chapman of St. Stephens Parish in Sewickley,
Pa., said there is a strain on their finances, their facilities and their
ability to call ministers of their own choosing.
"We do feel the pressure," Chapman said.
"They say they're not trying to force us out, but their actions speak a
different kind of attitude towards us."
To read entire article:
http://www.citizenlink.org/CLNews/A000004193.cfm
........................
4. Polish Demonstrators March to Demand Complete Abortion
Ban
FoxNews
Wednesday, March
28, 2007
WARSAW, Poland
— Thousands of Poles took to Warsaw's
streets Wednesday to demand a complete ban on abortion, including in cases of
rape or incest.
Two separate
marches merged into a demonstration of 4,000 people in front of parliament,
where lawmakers were debating amending the constitution to tighten Poland's
anti-abortion law, already among the most restrictive in the EU.
"I am for
life," said Miroslawa Kledzinska, 64. "God gives life and only he has
the right to take life away."
Poland's abortion
law allows termination of a pregnancy until the 12th week if the mother's life
is in danger, the fetus is irreparably damaged or the pregnancy is the result
of rape or incest.
President Lech
Kaczynski has put forward one of three separate proposals to amend the
constitution to prohibit abortion completely.
However, none has a
chance of being adopted while the main opposition Civic Platform party remains
opposed. A two-thirds majority is needed in the 460-member lower house to
change the constitution.
To read entire
article:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,262104,00.html
Related Article: Mississippi Passes
What-If Abortion Bill
Las Vegas Sun
March 22, 2007
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - The governor signed a bill
Thursday that would criminalize abortion in the event that the U.S. Supreme
Court overturns the 1973 decision that legalized the procedure.
The measure, signed by Gov. Haley Barbour, would ban
nearly all abortions in the state if the court were to overturn Roe v. Wade. In
that event, anyone performing an illegal abortion in Mississippi would face one
to 10 years in prison.
The bill also tightens consent laws for minors and
requires abortion providers to perform a sonogram and give the pregnant woman
an opportunity to listen to a fetal heartbeat.
The only exceptions to the state ban would be in cases
of rape or if the pregnancy threatened the woman's life. The bill has no
exception for pregnancies caused by incest.
Proponents of the bill say the ultimate goal is to one
day challenge Roe v. Wade. Anti-abortion activists and some lawmakers believe
that with the recent appointments of new, conservative justices on the U.S.
Supreme Court, Roe v. Wade could be overturned.
To read entire article:
http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/nat-gen/2007/mar/22/032207270.html
Related Article: Abortion
ultrasound-viewing advances in S.C.
MSNBC
March 22, 2007
COLUMBIA, S.C. - With calls of emotional blackmail
from opponents, a measure requiring women seeking abortions to first review
ultrasound images of their fetuses advanced Wednesday in the South Carolina
Legislature.
The legislation, supported by Republican Gov. Mark
Sanford, passed 91-23 after lawmakers defeated amendments exempting rape or
incest. The House must approve the bill again in a routine vote before it goes
to the Senate, where its sponsor expects it to pass with those exemptions.
Some states make ultrasound images available to women
before an abortion, but South Carolina would be alone in requiring women to
view the pictures.
Critics consider the proposal a tool to intimidate
women who already have made an agonizing decision.
"You love them in the womb, but once they get
here, it's a different story," said Rep. Gilda Cobb-Hunter, a Democrat and
a social worker. "You're sitting here passing judgment? Who gave you the
right?"
Proponents hope women will change their minds after
seeing an ultrasound.
Rep. Alan Clemmons, choking back tears as he talked
about his two adopted children, recalled a prayer given by his 11-year-old
daughter.
"She thanked her God, her father in heaven for
her birth mother for loving her enough to give her life," said Clemmons, a
Republican. "I thank my God for those young mothers who chose to give them
life."
The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Greg Delleney, a Republican,
said the measure would save lives and a lifetime of regret for some women.
To read entire article:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17741934/
Related Article: The Lost Girls:
Sex-selective abortions
by Douglas A. Sylva
Weekly Standard
March 21, 2007
It is a wonderful case of man-bites-dog, but don't expect
to see this headline in any newspaper: "Bush administration's efforts to
protect women through United Nations action thwarted by European Union."
Yet that is exactly what happened at the recently
concluded Commission on the Status of Women, where the United States' intention
to help women (in this case, girls) ran afoul of dominant feminist orthodoxy.
The Bush administration introduced a resolution condemning the killing of
girls, because they are girls. Such acts include old-fashioned infanticide, the
kind of cultural practice the British tried to stamp out in the bygone days of
colonial India, as well as the evermore popular use of modern sonogram
technology in order to identify and eliminate girls before they are born--what
is called sex-selective abortion.
And this is where the United States met the opposition
of the European Union and its allies: abortion-on-demand orthodoxy seems to
mean women's total freedom to choose, even if that choice eliminates the next
generation of women, for the very reason that they are women.
The Bush administration's concern about infanticide
and sex-selective abortion is not exaggerated; although numbers are difficult
to establish, most demographers believe that millions of girls are now killed
in this manner every year. The British medical journal Lancet recently surmised
that there were perhaps 100 million "missing" girls in the world,
girls not allowed to grow into women. China is the largest offender; in many
regions, some as large and as highly populated as average-sized countries,
there are now 130 boys born for every 100 girls (the normal ratio is 104 boys
to 100 girls). Beyond the individual injustices involved, this creates a
potential demographic calamity. . . .
India is the second largest offender, proving that the
problem transcends any particular culture. In fact, the practice of
sex-selective abortion is spreading throughout nearly every region on earth.
There are four cultural factors that must be present for sex-selective abortion
to arise: a traditional preference for sons, reduced fertility and family size,
availability of sonogram technology, and cultural acceptance of abortion. It is
these four factors, and the resulting sex-imbalance now so apparent in
countless maternity wards, playgrounds and classrooms, that link such disparate
nations as Libya and Luxembourg, Egypt and El Salvador.
To read entire article:
http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/013/415gcfae.asp
..................................
* * * *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
COMING
EVENTS
* * * *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
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.
* * * *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
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.
* * * *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
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
lundberg@lawgate.byu.edu
If you do not wish
to receive a copy of WFPC News you may unsubscribe
by sending an email
to listserv@listserv.byu.edu. The subject should be
left blank and the
body should read, "unsubscribe wfpc-news".