A Swiss association which exists to provide 'escorts to those who wish to be given the means to commit suicide has produced a video about its work. The film, made by Exit ADMD, shows the escorts during their meetings, socialising and going about their work, which some of them referred to as their "vocation". One escort tells a woman to whom he gives a lethal drink, “Have a good journey… May the light guide you… May it lead you to peace.” [Catholic Herald, 17 November]
25th anniversary of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
On 20 November 1989 the United Nations (UN) General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The Convention states that: "The child, by reason of his physical and mental immaturity, needs special safeguards and care, including appropriate legal protection, before as well as after birth". John Smeaton, SPUC's chief executive, commented: "The Convention is often unjustly reinterpreted to limit its scope just to children who have been born ... SPUC, and in particular its international team - Peter C. Smith, Patrick Buckley and Maria Madise - are working tirelessly, at the UN and elsewhere, to defend the rights of unborn children, especially against the constant pressure of the pro-abortion lobby to enshrine abortion as a human right."
SPUC is disturbed by Belfast court ruling against respected pro-life campaignerSPUC is disturbed by a ruling by a Belfast court against a respected pro-life campaigner. Bernadette Smyth of Precious Life has been found guilty of harrassment against Dawn Purvis, the director of the Marie Stopes abortion centre in Belfast. Liam Gibson, SPUC's Northern Ireland development officer, said: "I find it very hard to believe that Bernadette Smyth, a highly-respected and long-serving pro-life leader, is guilty of criminal conduct. It would be quite wrong for her forthright opposition to abortion to be misconstrued as harrassment of women considering abortion or of abortion centre staff." [SPUC, 19 November]
Birth control injections for poor African women condemned by SPUC
A new device for giving birth control injections to poor African women has been condemned by SPUC, which has strong links to Africa. SPUC was responding to the news that Sayana Press, a self-injectable version of the Depo-Provera, is to be sold at US$1 per unit. [BBC, 16 November 2014] The media has described the device as a "contraceptive". Like most forms of hormonal birth-control, however, Sayana Press/Depo-Provera can induce early abortions by making the lining of the womb hostile to newly-conceived human embryos. A spokesperson for SPUC said: "Sayana Press is cheap and dangerous. Treating poor, black women like this is disgraceful." [SPUC, 18 November]
Abortion debate cancelled by Oxford college
A debate organised by Oxford University’s pro-life society on abortion has been cancelled by the host Christ Church college cited "physical and mental security" concerns. The debate was due to take place between Timothy Stanley, a pro-life Catholic writer and Brendan O'Neill, pro-abortion editor of Spiked Online. The debate was cancelled under pressure from Oxford University Student Union Women’s Campaign. [Buzzfeed, 18 November]
Two fathers die from infected kidneys
Two fathers from Wales have died after receiving kidneys from a diseased donor. The donor, a homeless alcoholic, had died of meningoencephalitis. His kidneys had been rejected by six other hospitals before they were accepted by University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff, who were unaware that the organs has been rejected by other hospitals. [Metro, 18 November] Rhoslyn Thomas, SPUC’s youth and education officer, born and raised in Wales, said: "This incident raises concerns about the ability of the organ transplant system in Wales to protect patients. Serious ethical and safety concerns were raised by SPUC during the passage of the Human Transplantation (Wales) bill last year."
Job vacancy for Despatch Officer at SPUC
SPUC wishes to recruit a full-time Despatch Officer (37½ hours p.w.), whose role will be to open daily post and prepare all outgoing post. The duties include:
- photocopying and collating campaign material to be packed with the help of volunteers.
- keeping records of all outgoing mailings, filing of sample copies
- merchandise stock-keeping, store room organisation
Other stories:
Abortion
- Husband and wife reject abortion to welcome quintuplets [LifeNews.com, 16 May]
- 'Courage International head says voice of chaste homosexuals was absent from family Synod [LifeSiteNews.com, 13 November]
- Cardinal Burke urges removal of controversial topics from 2015 family Synod [Catholic Herald, 18 November]
- 21 pro-life women elected to US Congress [Live Action, 16 November]
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