JOHN SMEATON, DIRECTOR OF SPUC: Must-read pro-life news-stories, Thu 14 Nov

Thursday, 14 November 2013

Must-read pro-life news-stories, Thu 14 Nov

Top story:

Want to donate to The Philippines? Consider Caritas Manila

SPUC has received enquiries in recent days from pro-lifers wanting to donate to help the people of The Philippines following the typhoon there. Readers may consider supporting Caritas Manila - donation details can be found at: http://www.caritas.org.ph/Call-To-Action/about.html
Please note that the donation process uses amounts in Philippines pesos (PhP), so you may wish to check the exchange rate/use a currency-converter to know what your donation will be in British pounds. Unfortunately many of the member-charities of the popular Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) provide and/or and promote abortion and/or contraception etc. In contrast, Caritas Manila has a webpage from its chairman, Cardinal Luis Tagle, lamenting the passage of the population control bill through the national legislature. [John Smeaton, 14 November]

Other stories:

Abortion

US Catholic bishops resolve unanimously to continue to oppose Obama's anti-life healthcare mandate [USCCB, 13 November]
US Catholic bishops create new post to aid post-abortion healing [National Catholic Register, 13 November]
English mother wants £500k in 'wrongful birth' case [Mail, 12 November]
Babies saved after women refused abortions after fetal death misdiagnosis [Mail, 10 November]
Women who had UK abortions to bring case against Ireland to the United Nations [Pat Buckley, 9 November]
"Abortion is a threat to the very existence of the nation," says Angola's Catholic bishops [Aleteia, 8 November]

Embryology

Lesbian couple sue NHS after hospital prevented them from accessing IVF [Pink News, 14 November]

Sexual ethics

Australian state of New South Wales votes against same-sex marriage [Pink News, 14 November]
Sunday Mass sheets feature excellent Gospel reflection on true and false marriage [John Smeaton, 12 November]

General

Maternity units cut spending as births increase [Times, 14 November]
Review of "Do No Harm", a novel by SPUC's Fiorella de Maria Nash [Pat Buckley, 13 November]

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About Me

I became involved in SPUC after graduating, when I established a branch in south London in 1974. I have worked full-time for SPUC for 42 years. I became chief executive of SPUC in the UK in 1996, having been general secretary since 1978. I was elected vice-president of International Right to Life Federation in 2005. At UN conferences in Cairo, Copenhagen, Beijing, Istanbul and Rome, I helped coordinate more than 150 pro-life/pro-family groups resulting in pro-life victories in Cairo, Istanbul and Rome. I was educated at Salesian College, London, before going to Oxford where I graduated in English Language and Literature. I qualified as a teacher, becoming head of English at a secondary school. I am married to Josephine. We have a grown-up family and we live in north London.