World Family Policy Center Newsletter

*News relative to protecting the family worldwide*

Volume 8 Issue 206 – December 19, 2008

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Quote of the Day: "The joy of brightening other lives, bearing each others' burdens, easing other's loads and supplanting empty hearts and lives with generous gifts becomes for us the magic of Christmas."

~ W.C. Jones

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Professor Richard G. Wilkins, Managing Director of the World Family Policy Center, would like to announce the recent decision by the Brigham Young University to close the Center. Professor Wilkins and Acting Managing Director Dr. A. Scott Loveless express their profound thanks to everyone who offered service to the World Family Policy Center. Brief statements from Professor Wilkins and Dr. Loveless will be included in the final edition of the Center's newsletter, which will be sent in late November or early December of this year.

The World Family Policy Center is closing, and with it our weekly newsletter. We are certain, however, that our readers will wish to stay informed on issues worldwide affecting the family. To that end we recommend two other newsletters which will keep you informed. Please consider subscribing to the newsletters from the following organizations:

Doha Institute for Family Studies and Development http://www.fsd.org.qa/doha/wfns/wfns.asp?pagenum=9&

Howard Center for Family, Religion and Society http://www.worldcongress.org/WCFUpdate/sub/wcf_update_sub.htm

By subscribing to one or both of these newsletters you will stay updated on the latest family news and events from around the globe. We recommend both of these services to our loyal readers.

Today’s Contents:

A. Featured Study: Boy or Girl? It’s in the Father's Genes

B. Featured News Articles

1. Indian Woman Gives Birth at Age of 70

2. Birth Certificates to Reflect NY Gay-Marriage Move

3. Married Parents, Church Attendance Spell Success for Kids

4. They're Having Babies. Are We Helping?

5. Mystery Illness Paralyses Girl Given Cervical Cancer Jab

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FEATURED STUDY

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Boy or Girl? It’s in the Father's Genes

Trends in Population Sex Ratios May be Explained by Changes in the Frequencies of Polymorphic Alleles of a Sex Ratio Gene

Press Release

A Newcastle University study involving thousands of families is helping prospective parents work out whether they are likely to have sons or daughters.

The work by Corry Gellatly, a research scientist at the university, has shown that men inherit a tendency to have more sons or more daughters from their parents. This means that a man with many brothers is more likely to have sons, while a man with many sisters is more likely to have daughters.

The research, published online today by the journal Evolutionary Biology, involved a study of 927 family trees containing information on 556,387 people from North America and Europe going back to 1600.

"The family tree study showed that whether you’re likely to have a boy or a girl is inherited. We now know that men are more likely to have sons if they have more brothers but are more likely to have daughters if they have more sisters. However, in women, you just can’t predict it," Mr Gellatly explains.

Men determine the sex of a baby depending on whether their sperm is carrying an X or Y chromosome. An X chromosome combines with the mother’s X chromosome to make a baby girl (XX) and a Y chromosome will combine with the mother’s to make a boy (XY).

The study suggests that an as-yet undiscovered gene controls whether a man’s sperm contains more X or more Y chromosomes, which affects the sex of his children. On a larger scale, the number of men with more X sperm compared to the number of men with more Y sperm affects the sex ratio of children born each year.

To view the entire press release, visit http://www.ncl.ac.uk/press.office/press.release/item/boy-or-girl-it-s-in-the-father-s-genes

To view the entire paper, visit http://www.springerlink.com/content/d87k212rx7l7211g/

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FEATURED NEWS ARTICLES

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Editor’s Note: The following excerpts are taken from the week’s news around the world all relating to family and family policy. By clicking on the following links, you may read the entire article from its source. Our intent is to help our readers remain current on the state of the family in the world today. The positions taken and choice of wording and advocacy belong to the authors of the articles; inclusion here does not imply endorsement by the World Family Policy Center.

1. Indian Woman Gives Birth at Age of 70

Telegraph (United Kingdom)

December 8, 2008

An Indian woman has given birth to her first child at the age of 70 after receiving fertility treatment.

Rajo Devi, who married 50 years ago, gave birth to a baby girl on November 28, and is now thought to be the world's oldest new mother.

Dr Anurag Bishnoi, a doctor at the Hisar fertility centre in Haryana state, said: "Rajo Devi and (her husband) Bala Ram approached the centre for treatment and the embryo transfer was done on April 19.

"Both the mother and child are in good health."

A 67-year-old Spanish woman who had twins in 2006 was thought to have been the previous oldest mother.

Devi's husband, aged 72, had also wed his wife's sister after 10 years of his first marriage did not result in children. His second wife also failed to become pregnant.

It was not clear whose egg and sperm were used in the successful treatment.

Dr Bishnoi, who helped the couple realise their dream, said both the mother and child were in good health.

To view the entire article, visit http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/india/3683289/Indian-woman-gives-birth-at-age-of-70.html

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2. Birth Certificates to Reflect NY Gay-Marriage Move

Associated Press

December 13, 2008

NEW YORK (AP) — State officials will now let married same-sex couples list both their names on their children's birth certificates in a policy shift deeply important to many gays and lesbians.

The decision, which echoes similar provisions in states that allow gay marriages or civil unions, is one of many changes since Gov. David Paterson ordered state agencies in May to respect out-of-state gay marriages.

The state Health Department said Friday it had agreed to the change, which came after a lesbian couple who are expecting a baby filed a lawsuit. The change would apply statewide except in New York City, which is considering revamping its own birth certificate forms to accommodate same-sex couples.

Under state law, a woman's husband is automatically deemed a parent of a child the pair conceives through artificial insemination, whether or not he is the genetic father. Gay couples have complained about having to jump through legal hoops to secure equivalent parental rights.

Carolyn Trzeciak and Nina Sheldon Trzeciak of Ulster County, who got married in Canada in 2006, sued last month. Nina Sheldon Trzeciak is carrying their first child, conceived through in vitro fertilization.

The couple argued they both should be designated as parents under Paterson's directive. The governor told state agencies to make sure policies and regulations treat married same-sex couples equally, saying a recent court ruling suggests they would otherwise risk discrimination claims.

Gay couples may be able to secure a second parent's rights through adoption. But having their names on a child's birth certificate immediately gives both spouses such rights as nursery visits and information on the child's medical condition, the lawsuit said.

"That gives them equal treatment," said the Trzeciaks' lawyer, Melissa B. Brisman of Park Ridge, N.J.

To view the entire article, visit http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gORfS5oaIWrBzfIZwBvhJsPr35iwD951IHM00

US Balks at Backing Condemnation of Anti-Gay Laws

Yahoo News

December 18, 2008

UNITED NATIONS – Alone among major Western nations, the United States has refused to sign a declaration presented Thursday at the United Nations calling for worldwide decriminalization of homosexuality.

In all, 66 of the U.N.'s 192 member countries signed the nonbinding declaration — which backers called a historic step to push the General Assembly to deal more forthrightly with anti-gay discrimination. More than 70 U.N. members outlaw homosexuality, and in several of them homosexual acts can be punished by execution.

Co-sponsored by France and the Netherlands, the declaration was signed by all 27 European Union members, as well as Japan, Australia, Mexico and three dozen other countries. There was broad opposition from Muslim nations, and the United States refused to sign, indicating that some parts of the declaration raised legal questions that needed further review.

"It's disappointing," said Rama Yade, France's human rights minister, of the U.S. position — which she described as in contradiction with America's long tradition as a defender of human rights.

According to some of the declaration's backers, U.S. officials expressed concern in private talks that some parts of the declaration might be problematic in committing the federal government on matters that fall under state jurisdiction. In numerous states, landlords and private employers are allowed to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation; on the federal level, gays are not allowed to serve openly in the military.

Carolyn Vadino, a spokeswoman for the U.S. mission to the U.N., stressed that the United States — despite its unwillingness to sign — condemned any human rights violations related to sexual orientation.

Gay rights activists nonetheless were angered by the U.S. position.

To view the entire article, visit http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081218/ap_on_re_us/un_gay_rights;_ylt=AqskRixSF3lCJOXANaL4nhVI2ocA

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3. Married Parents, Church Attendance Spell Success for Kids

CitizenLink

December 16, 2008

Children have fewer problems at school and home when they live with their biological parents and frequently attend religious services, according to a study released today by the Family Research Council's Mapping America Project.

Drs. Nicholas Zill and Philip Fletcher analyzed data from the National Survey of Children's Health and found the benefits hold up even after controlling for family income and poverty, low parent education levels, and race and ethnicity.

Among their findings: children in this group are five times less likely to repeat a grade, less likely to have behavior problems at home and school, and are more likely to be cooperative and understanding of others' feelings. Parents of these children report less stress, healthier parent-child relationships and fewer concerns about their children's achievement.

"Social-science data continue to demonstrate overwhelmingly that the intact married family that worships weekly is the greatest generator of human goods and social benefits and is the core strength of the United States," said Dr. Pat Fagan, senior fellow and director of FRC's Center for Family and Religion.

"Policymakers should strongly consider whether their policy proposals give support to such a family structure. Children are not the only beneficiaries but also their parents, families, communities and all of society."

To view the entire article, visit http://www.citizenlink.org/content/A000008898.cfm

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4. They're Having Babies. Are We Helping?

Washington Post

December 14, 2008

The girls gather in small groups outside Alexandria's T.C. Williams High School most mornings, standing with their babies on their hips, talking and giggling like sorority sisters. Sometimes their mothers drop the kids (and their kids) off with a carefree smile and a wave. As I watch the girls carry their children into the Tiny Titans day-care center in our new $100 million building, I can't help wondering what Sister Mary Avelina, my 11th-grade English teacher, would have thought.

Okay, I'm an old guy from the 1950s, an era light-years from today. But even in these less censorious times, I'm amazed -- and concerned -- by the apparently nonchalant attitude both these girls and their mothers exhibit in front of teachers, administrators and hundreds of students each day. Last I heard, teen pregnancy is still a major concern in this country -- teenage mothers are less likely to finish school and more likely to live in poverty; their children are more likely to have difficulties in school and with the law; and on and on.

But none of that seems to register with these young women. In fact, "some girls seem to be really into it," says T.C. senior Mary Ball. "They are embracing their pregnancies." Nor is the sight of a pregnant classmate much of a surprise to the students at T.C. anymore. "When I was in middle school, I'd be shocked to see a pregnant eighth-grader," says Ball. "Now it seems so ordinary that we don't even talk about it."

Teenage pregnancy has been bright on American radar screens for the past year: TV teen starlet Jamie Lynn Spears's pregnancy caused a minor media storm last December. The pregnant-teen movie "Juno" won Oscar nods. And there was Bristol Palin, daughter of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, bringing the issue front and center during the recent presidential campaign. But I've been observing the phenomenon up close for a couple of years now, and the picture I see is more troubling than any of those high-profile pregnancies make it seem.

To view the entire article, visit http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/12/AR2008121203507.html

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5. Mystery Illness Paralyses Girl Given Cervical Cancer Jab

Times Online (United Kingdom)

December 14, 2008

A 12-year-old schoolgirl has been left paralysed from the waist down by a mystery illness that came on 30 minutes after she was given the new anticervical cancer jab.

Ashleigh Cave suffered dizziness and headaches soon after the vaccination at her school and then deteriorated rapidly, collapsing several times over the following days.

A week later she was admitted to hospital after losing all strength in her legs and, two months on, there has been no improvement.

Her mother Cheryl, 37, from Aintree, Merseyside, is blaming her daughter’s condition on the human papillomavirus (HPV) jab, which was introduced in Britain in September as part of a government-funded vaccination

programme.

All girls aged 12 and 13 are being offered vaccinations with Cervarix, a drug that stimulates the body to defend itself against HPV, to protect against the later onset of cervical cancer which is linked to the virus.

In America, where an immunisation programme using a similar product, Gardasil, began more than a year earlier, there have been dozens of serious “adverse events” reported in which a link to the vaccinations is suspected.

They included 30 deaths in addition to cases of Guillain-Barré syndrome, an auto-immune disease that can cause paralysis. The American authorities have said, however, that there is no evidence the HPV jabs caused these reactions.

To view the entire article, visit http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/health/article5337885.ece