World Family Policy Center Newsletter
*News relative to protecting the family worldwide*
Volume 8 Issue 184 – April 17, 2008
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Today’s Contents:
A. Featured Scholar: Benjamin Scafidi
B. Featured News Articles
1. Gay concern bans mum and dad in classroom
2. British Polls Show Conflicting Results on Hybrid
Human Cloning Research
3. For senior,
abortion a medium for art, political discourse
4. Renowned oncologist changes position on euthanasia
after contracting cancer
5. Marital Faithfulness Linked to Church
Attendance
6. Google to Help Curb Web Porn in Brazil
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FEATURED SCHOLAR
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Benjamin Scafidi
Economics Professor, Georgia College and
State University
Study: Cost of
divorce to taxpayers high
By Cheryl Wetzstein
Washington
Times
April 15, 2008
The breakdown of marriage in America costs at least $112 billion
a year, owing to costs of health care, criminal justice, welfare programs and
lost income-tax revenue, according to a study released today.
"This study documents for the first time that divorce and
unwed childbearing — besides being bad for children — are also costing
taxpayers a ton of money," says David Blankenhorn,
president of the Institute for American Values (IAV), one of four sponsors of
today's study.
Even a small improvement in marriage rates — for example, a 1
percent reduction in the rate of "fragmented families" — would save
more than $1 billion, Mr. Blankenhorn says.
The $112 billion — which is equivalent to the state budget for
New York — stems from "increased taxpayer expenditures" for
anti-poverty, criminal justice and education programs, and lower levels of
taxes paid by people whose "adult productivity has been negatively
affected by increased childhood poverty caused by family fragmentation,"
says Benjamin Scafidi, an economics professor at
Georgia College & State University and principal investigator of the
report.
Every year, for instance, the nation supports single-parent
families with about $28 billion in Medicaid and an additional $35 billion in
other welfare programs, says the report, "The Taxpayer Costs of Divorce
and Unwed Childbearing: First-Ever Estimates for the Nation and All 50
States."
An additional $9 billion is spent on child-welfare costs.
Single-parent families often struggle with joblessness and
involvement in criminal activity, so $23 billion is estimated in lost tax
revenues and $19 billion is estimated in maintenance of courts, police, prisons
and jails.
The report does not call for a reduction of welfare programs or
any other services to support single-parent families
Instead, it argues that divorce and unwed childbearing are grave
public concerns, and the nation would be wise, economically and socially, to
invest in strategies that strengthen marriages and families before they break
up.
"These numbers represent real people and real
suffering," says Randy Hicks, president of the Georgia Family Council,
which co-sponsored the study with IAV, the Institute for Marriage and Public
Policy (IMAPP) and Families Northwest.
Americans "fight problems like racism, poverty and domestic
violence because we understand that the stakes are high," says Mr. Hicks.
"And while we'll never eliminate divorce and unwed childbearing entirely,
we can certainly be doing more to help marriages and families succeed."
This morning, Mr. Blankenhorn, Mr. Scafidi, Mr. Hicks, IMAPP President Maggie Gallagher and
Families Northwest President Jeff Kemp will elaborate on the findings of their
study at a news conference in Washington.
To view the
above article online, please visit http://www.washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080415/NATION/967580377/1002/NATION&template=nextpage
To read the
report by Benjamin Scafidi, as well as the press
release, executive summary, etc. please visit http://www.americanvalues.org/html/coff_mediaadvisory.htm
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FEATURED NEWS
ARTICLES
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1. Gay concern bans mum and dad in classroom
The Daily Telegraph (New South Wales,
Australia)
April 17, 2008
Teachers are being urged to stop using terms such as
husband and wife when addressing students or families under a major
anti-homophobia push in schools.
The terms boyfriend, girlfriend
and spouse are also on the banned list - to be replaced by the generic
"partner" - in changes sought by the gay lobby aimed at reducing
discrimination in classrooms.
Schools are coming under pressure
to provide lessons for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender students and
stack their libraries with books and videos covering their issues.
Among the demands are the
outlawing of homophobic comments by teachers or students in the playground and
a requirement for teachers to receive "diversity training".
Education Director-General
Michael Coutts-Trotter emerged as a leader of the school anti-homophobia
campaign, opening a Government-backed conference on sexual diversity - That's
So Gay.
To view the entire article, visit
http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,23551033-5001021,00.html
Related Article
Schools boss denies 'dad' and 'mum' ban
News.com.au (New South Wales,
Australia)
April 17, 2008
SCHOOLS will not move to stop
using words like mum and dad, or girlfriend and boyfriend, the New South Wales
Education Department says, despite reports that public schools are under
pressure to provide gay-friendly environments.
Changes to terminology, such as using the word "partner" to cover
heterosexual relationships, are being sought by gay lobbyists bent on reducing
discrimination in a major anti-homophobia push in the state's schools, The Daily Telegraph reports.
But Department of Education and Training director-general Michael
Coutts-Trotter says there is no move to stop using terms such as boyfriend,
girlfriend, mum or dad in public school classrooms.
Media reports that there are moves to stop using these terms are "simply
wrong", Mr Coutts-Trotter said today.
To view the
entire article, visit http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,23551136-2,00.html#
Related Article
Gay couples having trouble obtaining
divorces
MSNBC.com
April 15, 2008
PROVIDENCE, Rhode Island - Gay couples had to
struggle mightily to win the right to marry or form civil unions in certain
states. Now, some are finding that breaking up is hard to do, too.
In Rhode Island, for example, the state's top
court ruled in December that gays married in neighboring Massachusetts — the
only state to allow the practice — cannot get divorced because state lawmakers
have never defined marriage as anything but a union between a man and woman…
Over the past four years, Massachusetts has been
the only state where gay marriage is legal, while nine other states allow gay
couples to enter into civil unions or domestic partnerships that offer many of
the rights and privileges of marriage. The vast majority of these unions
require court action to dissolve.
Gay couples who still live in the state where they
partnered can split up with little difficulty; the laws in those states include
divorce or dissolution procedures for same-sex couples. But gay couples who
have moved to another state are running into trouble.
To view the entire article, visit http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24132681/
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2. British Polls Show Conflicting Results on Hybrid Human Cloning
Research
LifeNews.com
April 13, 2008
London, England -- Polls of Britons show conflicting results on whether
they support hybrid human cloning research that involves the infusing of animal
and human DNA. A new London Times poll with suggests popular support for the
cloning process but a previous survey of Scotland residents finds strong
opposition.
The Times' poll, conducted by the Populus firm,
found 50 percent of British residents okaying the
research while 30 percent are opposed to it.
Members of the British Parliament could use the results in their bid to get
the Human Fertilization and Embryology Bill approved in the House of Commons
next month. The measure would provide scientists already engaged in the hybrid
human cloning practice with firm legal ground for their research.
However, the poll also found opposition from the British public for another
section of the bill that includes the removal of the requirement for a father
in fertility treatment.
To view the entire article, visit http://www.lifenews.com/bio2407.html
Related Article
Hybrid Human
Cloning is Scientific Manipulation of the Dignity of Man
LifeNews.com
March 29, 2008
Popular culture is blindly embracing science and ignoring legitimate moral
concerns. Human dignity is steadily being eroded in the pursuit of the
"advancement of science" and the quest for "cures."
Increasingly, we are losing our common understanding of what it means to be a
human being, and the idea that human beings are something "special"
is rapidly becoming an antiquated notion.
Science is unquestionably a worthwhile pursuit, but many have come to view
science as an end unto itself. The unbridled pursuit of science and technology
is glorified, and any who suggest constraining science within limits of
morality or propriety are condemned. Raising the simple question of whether
something should be done is considered taboo. Radical science advocates are
only interested in whether something can be done.
Central to the "science without limits" view is the notion that
man is merely an animal, the product of random chance. God is removed from the
creation equation and the notion of moral truth is abandoned. Notions of right
and wrong are relegated to the spheres of theology and philosophy and do not
constrain the consciences or actions of radical scientists.
The latest example of the results of radical science is the blending of
human DNA and animal cells in Britain. There scientists extracted the DNA from
a human embryonic cell and injected it into a
"emptied" cow egg. This process, it is argued, produces a 99.9% human
embryo from which scientists can harvest stem cells for further research and
analysis.
To view the entire article, visit http://www.lifenews.com/bio2405.html
Related Article
Second Bioethics
Watchdog Says New Human Cloning Technique is Hype
LifeNews.com
April 15, 2008
Washington, DC -- A second bioethics watchdog has told LifeNews.com that
claims the new announcement of a supposedly easier method of human cloning is
hogwash. Yesterday, mainstream media outlets in Britain and the U.S. trumpeted
a supposedly new method of making human or animal clones.
The media reports claim the new technique is safer than the one used with
Dolly the sheep, that resulted in hundreds of dead
embryos and its euthanasia.
Scientists made chimeras by injecting an iPS cell
into an existing mouse embryo to create a so-called "tetraploid"
embryo.
Two one-cell mouse embryos are fused together to make a single cell and
then the iPS cell is surrounded by "tetraploid" cells in a mixture that reforms an embryo
structure.
American-based Advanced Cell Technology representative Robert Lanza responded to the new technique saying it is
"unethical and unsafe" and making it appear there is a problem with
research using iPS cells.
To view the entire article, visit http://www.lifenews.com/bio2410.html
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3. For senior, abortion a medium for art, political discourse
Yale Daily News
April 17, 2008
Art major Aliza Shvarts ’08 wants to make a statement.
Beginning next Tuesday, Shvarts
will be displaying her senior art project, a documentation of a nine-month
process during which she artificially inseminated herself “as often as
possible” while periodically taking abortifacient
drugs to induce miscarriages. Her exhibition will feature video recordings of
these forced miscarriages as well as preserved collections of the blood from
the process.
The goal in creating the art exhibition, Shvarts said, was to spark conversation and debate on the
relationship between art and the human body.
But her project has already provoked more than
just debate, inciting, for instance, outcry at a forum for fellow senior art majors held last week. And when told about Shvarts’ project, students on both ends of the abortion
debate have expressed shock — saying the project does everything from violate
moral code to trivialize abortion.
But Shvarts insists her
concept was not designed for “shock value.”
“I hope it inspires some sort of discourse,” Shvarts said. “Sure, some people will be upset with the
message and will not agree with it, but it’s not the intention of the piece to
scandalize anyone.”
To view the entire article, visit http://www.yaledailynews.com/articles/view/24513
Related Article
Call for
Brazil abortion debate
BBC News
April 9, 2008
The newly-appointed minister of health in Brazil
has called for a wide-ranging debate on the issue of abortion.
Under present law, abortion is only permitted when
the life of the mother is at risk, or in the case of rape.
The minister, Jose Gomes Temporao,
said in a newspaper interview he wanted to move the issue on from religious and
moral contexts to a matter of health.
But his remarks are thought certain to prompt a
firm response from the Roman Catholic Church in Brazil.
Mr Temporao
says that around 200,000 women are treated for complications following
abortions every year, the vast majority of them believed to have taken place in
illegal clinics involving a high degree of risk for the women.
An opinion poll released at the weekend suggests
65% of Brazilians are against changing the existing law.
To view the entire article, visit http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6539831.stm
Related Article
Award-Winning
Pro-Life Movie Bella Opens in Theaters across Canada
LifeNews.com
April 11, 2008
Ottawa, Canada -- The award-winning pro-life movie
Bella will open in theaters across Canada today after taking home tremendous
per-theater numbers in the United States. The movie stars Eduardo Verastegui and Tammy Blanchard and features a compassionate
look at a crisis pregnancy.
The film finally heads to the great white north
after it was named the people's choice at the 2006 Toronto film festival.
The movie features an honest look at how to deal
with an unexpected pregnancy as Verastegui character
Jose helps his friend Nina, played by Blanchard.
"I can't even take care of myself. How am I gonna take care of a kid?" Nina says as she confronts
a problem young women deal with on a daily basis.
Directed by newcomer Alejandro Gomez Monteverde, Bella is a warm movie that is already earning
strong reviews from Canadian media.
The Toronto Sun called it the "feel good
movie of the week" and notes, "The filmmakers wanted to counter the
usual negative Latino stereotype that mainstream movies often provide and show
their Mexican culture in a positive light, and they succeed in that effort
100%."
To view the entire article, visit http://www.lifenews.com/int696.html
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4. Renowned
oncologist changes position on euthanasia after contracting cancer
Catholic News Agency
April 11, 2008
Madrid, Apr 11, 2008
/ 03:21 pm (CNA).-
The Spanish magazine Huellas has published an
interview with Sylvie Menard, one of the most renowned oncologists in Europe
who for many years was a supporter of euthanasia but several months ago changed
her views after she was diagnosed with bone cancer.
Menard told the
magazine that she always believed that each person should decide his own fate,
but ‘when I became ill, I changed my position radically.”
“When you get sick,
death ceases to be something virtual and becomes something that is with you
every day,” she said. “So you say to yourself: ‘I am going to do
everything possible to live as long as possible.”
Menard, who is
married and has one son, acknowledged, “Today anything that means a new chance
at life is valuable to me.”
To view the entire article, visit
http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=12314
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5. Marital Faithfulness
Linked to Church Attendance
CitizenLink
April 15, 2008
Attendance at religious services is tied to improved
rates of fidelity in marriage, according to research from Fuller Theological
Seminary.
Attending services perhaps means an individual is hearing
religious teaching on marital fidelity and the importance of marriage, the
researchers suggest. The assumption is they're more likely to practice what's
been preached, Fox News reported.
But the researchers also figure that attendance implies a
shared commitment by spouses and a strong network of social support.
"We think that sharing similar values, incorporating
values and practice into one's marriage and family, and being part of a
worshipping community all may be a part of this finding between religious
attendance and infidelity," researcher David C. Atkins of Fuller told LiveScience.
To view the entire article, visit http://www.citizenlink.org/content/A000007132.cfm
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6. Google to Help Curb Web Porn in Brazil
NewsMax
April 9, 2008
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil -- The head of Google in
Brazil said Wednesday the Internet giant will take actions to stop child
pornography and hate crimes on a social-networking Web site used here but he did not
offer to provide user information to officials.
Alexandre Hohagen's
declaration to a Brazilian Senate panel marked a step forward in efforts to
block offensive material from the popular Orkut Web
site.
Last August, federal prosecutors said Google
failed to comply with requests to provide information about users who allegedly
spread child pornography and hate speech against black people, Jews and
homosexuals on Orkut…
Hohagen said the company will
install filters to stop the spread of child pornography and retain six months
of records on users who access or spread illicit material, according to a
summary of his testimony presented on the Senate's Web site Wednesday. Google
now keeps those records for only 30 days.
To view the entire article, visit http://newsmax.com/science/brazil_google/2008/04/09/86787.html
Related Article
Dr. Dobson Signs Letter Asking Marriott
to Drop In-Room Porn
CitizenLink
April 11, 2008
Another letter has been sent to Marriott Hotels
asking that pornography be removed from its in-room televisions. This one
carries the signatures of almost 50 pro-family leaders, including Dr. James
Dobson, founder and chairman of Focus on the Family.
“We’re asking Marriott to discontinue showing the
in-room porn movies," said Don Wildmon, founder
of the American Family Association. "Very simple.
It’s not a big request.”
At least two other letters from pro-family leaders
have been sent, with similar messages.
Wildmon said the move would cost
Marriott millions of dollars in lost revenue, but the company can handle it.
"They’re not a company that’s hurting
financially," he said.
Daniel Weiss, senior analyst for media &
sexuality at Focus on the Family Action, said the letters keep the pressure on
the hotel chain.
To view the entire article, visit http://www.citizenlink.org/CLNews/A000007112.cfm
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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 Editor: Elena Starovoitova
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