There is no depth so low that a fundamentalist Christian cannot be found to plumb it

“Yesterday (Monday 9th February 2009) the front page of the Herald Sun newspaper reported ‘the darkest hour’ for Victoria. A few months ago the news media should have reported the darkest hour for the unborn, but unfortunately the decriminalisation of abortion bill went through parliament and was passed, thus making many people call Victoria the baby-killing state of Australia…In my dream I saw fire everywhere, with flames burning very high and uncontrollably. With this I woke up from my dream with the interpretation as the following words came to me in a flash from the spirit of God. That his conditional protection has been removed from the nation of Australia, in particular Victoria, for approving the slaughter of innocent children in the womb…Can we stop the fires? Yes we can! But it will take God’s children to rally together and repent and cry unto him as in 2 Chronicles 7:14 (The Holy Bible).” -Danny Nallah, Catch the Fire Ministries, February 10, 2009

Catholics tackle the abortion issue

Roman Catholics form a large proportion of voters in the United States, around 25 per cent.  They’ve seldom been considered a particularly monolithic voting block, however.  A report in the Washington Post on October 8, 2008, highlights a new poll that examines the attitudes of older and younger Catholics to traditional Catholic hot buttons associated with the so-called “culture wars”,

The teaching of the Roman Catholic church on contraception and abortion is particularly draconian: they are both forbidden, and in this election the American church hierarchy has gone out of its way to discourage any Catholic from voting Democrat because of the Democrat “pro-choice” policies on abortion.

But attitudes towards abortion in the Catholic church are changing, if the opinions of younger Catholics in a poll from Public Religion Research is correct.  Half of all Catholics disagree with their church and say that abortion should be legal in all or most cases.  In younger Catholics (18-34) this rises to 60 per cent.

This comes at a time when, according to a report released by Pew Forums, most Americans are becoming wary of church involvement in politics.

Another factor of interest is the recent intellectual dissent within conservative Catholicism itself, when Douglas Kmiec, a well respected conservative legal scholar, endorsed Obama for the Presidency. Elsewhere, Kmiec argues that the battle to ban abortion has been lost, but Obama’s health policies will lead to a reduction in abortions. This hasn’t made him popular with the Catholic clergy, but there is clear evidence that the laity have become practised at such nuanced judgements for some time, despite the single-issue exhortations of the bishops.

Away from the soundbites and the headlines and the simplistic “child-murder” slogans of the anti-abortionist core, Catholics continue to exercise their judgement in balancing issues of faith with more practical matters of how the world’s most powerful republic is to be governed.  Each new generation is more liberal than the last.

Sri Lanka to legalize abortion for rape victims

The Columbo Page reports today, October 1, 2008, that the Ministry of Child Development and Women’s Welfare is beginning consultations with a view to legalizing abortion in the case of rape.  The paper cites media reports that 12 percent of underaged schoolgirls become pregnant annually in Monaragala and Kurunegala districts.

New Ecuador constitution may open another chink in anti-abortion South America

Associated Press reports that a vote on the new constitution has passed by a strong margin in the South American republic of Ecuador, despite opposition from the Roman Catholic church.  While the constitution defines life as beginning from conception, it contains wording that opens up very wide chinks in Catholic traditionalism.  The family is recognized  “in its diverse types” and the new constitution guarantees “the right to freely make responsible and informed decisions about one’s health and reproductive life.”

Yes, it has opened the door to abortion and same-sex marriage a little wider.

About bloody time too.

India considering extending abortion cut-off from 20 weeks to 24

The Times of India reports that the government of India is to consider extending the cut-off for abortions under the country’s abortion laws.  Currently abortions are legal up to 20 weeks but they are considering extending it to 24 weeks.  The Health Minister cites a recent case involving a heavily pregnant woman, Nikita Mehta, who was refused an abortion by the High Court in Bombay.  She had only recently been informed by doctors that the fetus in her womb had a congenital heart block and the child would probably suffer from severe congenital deformities. She later had a miscarriage.

Women boo McCain over Roe v. Wade

Republican Presidential candidate John McCain was booed by a mainly female audience, who had cheered some of his earlier statements, on ABC’s The View, September 11, 2008.

In response to a question on abortion from conservative panelist, Elisabeth Hasselbeck, McCain had said “I believe Roe v. Wade was a very bad decision, it was a bad decision.”  In polls by different organizations over some years now, the 1973 Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision declaring most laws against abortion unconstitutional has usually been found to have nearly 2:1 support among Americans, but it remains controversial.

• McCain is Grilled on The View –Wall Street Journal “Washington Wire”, September 12, 2008
• McCain faces tough questions on abortion on US TV -Reuters, September 12, 2008

Zapatero set to deliver on promise to fix Spain’s anomalous abortion laws.

The Associated Press reported last week that Spain’s Socialist government is set to reform the country’s anomalous abortion laws.  While abortion is legal in Spain and 100,000 abortions take place each year, the restrictive 1985 law is interpreted differently by different regions, so access to abortion is uneven.

The equality minister announced the appointment of an expert advisory panel, and says she expects new legislation to be introduced before July, 2009.   Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero‘s first government in 2004 introduced same-sex marriages but failed to deliver on a campaign promise of abortion law reform.  Since his re-election in March this year, Zapatero has been talking of finally tackling abortion.

The current law was introduced by Spain’s popular Socialist leader, Felipe González, in the first majority government after Spain’s transition from Francoism to a modern democracy.

Victorian bill to decriminalize abortion

In Victoria, John Brumby‘s Labor government last month introduced the Abortion Law Reform Bill, which aims to decriminalize abortions in the state.  Currently abortions are only available in Victoria for women who can show they are at risk of harm.  The law would decriminalize all abortions up to 24 weeks, and permit abortions after that subject to the agreement of two doctors.

The parties are allowing their members to vote on their conscience.  The bill is expected to pass in the lower house, but may face considerable resistance in the upper house.

• Top scientist says ‘no’ to abortion bill -The Age, September 2, 2008
• Women’s hospital staff back more liberal abortion law -The Age, September 3, 2008
• Opinion: abortion law reform promises better health care -The Age, September 3, 2008

BC appeal court approves “no-go” zones around abortion clinics, rejects appeal by protestors

British Columbia’s court of appeal has rejected an appeal by two anti-abortion protesters against a conviction that affirmed the constitutionality of British Columbia’s Access to Abortion Services Act which, in 1995, created an “access zone” or “bubble” around abortion providers in which interference of any kind with those seeking service was prohibited.

The Attorney General, Wally Opal, has welcomed the decision: “We’re pleased with the result. The Crown conceded that this legislation is an infringement of freedom of expression but it’s justifiable, it serves a legitimate purpose in a free and democratic society,”

The law was introduced after a series of unruly protests and the shooting of a doctor, Garson Romalis.  The protestors, Donald Spratt and Gordon Watson, were each appealing a conviction under the provisions of the Act, in a 1998 protest in east Vancouver in which they set out to test it.  They argued that the law unreasonably abridged their rights of free expression.

Nancy Pelosi is right on the history of Catholic thinking on when human life begins

There’s a lot of rewriting of history going on.  Nancy Pelosi isn’t the one doing it.