Oregon papers are reporting that all-Portland area hospitals are prohibiting elective inductions and c-sections prior to 39 weeks gestation. “[R]esearch has shown that there is significant brain development going on right through 38 weeks. Babies born before 39 weeks of pregnancy are two to three times more likely to be admitted to intensive care as […]
Month: August 2011
Walter Hoye, a California pastor and sidewalk counselor, filed a federal constitutional challenge to the City of Oakland’s “Mother May I” ordinance restricting speech outside abortion clinics after having been arrested twice for approaching women seeking to enter abortion clinics. The case is Hoye v. Oakland. Evidence in the case established the Pastor Hoye attempted […]
I am delighted to report that Dr. William E. May has agreed to be a plenary speaker at the 2012 University Faculty for Life Conference to be held June 1-2, 2012 at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. Mark you calendars to attend our annual meeting now. Dr. May is emeritus Michael J. McGivney Professor […]
The Miami Law Review has published a symposium issue containing papers and talks given at the 2011 conference involving advocates and scholars from 20 countries in North and South America to explore Gender Justice in the Americas: A Transnational Dialogue on Violence, Sexuality, Reproduction, and Human Rights. The introduction to the symposium issue is now […]
Jeremy Waldron has posted a paper arguing that the idea of every human being having “equal moral status” is useful only if we distinguish between “sortal” and “condition” status. He notes that the paper was originally prepared for the 2004 Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association. He explains “sortal” and “condition” status this […]
In 1974 Austria removed all criminal penalties for abortions in the first three months of pregancy. While most people interpret this action as making abortion legal, some public authorities argue that the change merely removed any penalty for conduct that remains illegal (or at least publiclly disfavored). The change was challenged on the basis that […]
The NYT reports that parents of infants in China are claiming that government officials are abducting their children and selling them on the black market. The story is here. Congressman Chris Smith (NJ), a staunch prolifer, has worked for years to awaken the American people and government to the evils of China’s one child policy. […]
The new (Summer 2011) issue of their National Catholic Bioethics Quarterly arrived in my mailbox the other day. A few things of note from the contents: The “Colloquy” section includes an exchange of letters regarding an article in a previous NCBQ critical of philospher Fr. Martin Rhonheimer’s recent Vital Conflicts in Medical Ethics: A Virtue Approach to […]
You might want to have a look at this National Catholic Bioethics Center statement, including its explanation of the importance of the HHS “call for comment,” lasting through September, regarding the definition of “religious employer.”
The FDA has issued an a warning to consumers regarding Evital, an unapproved emergancy contraception pill. The warning can be found here. Commentators have noted that Plan B One Step and Next Choice are the only FDA approved emergency contraception drugs. The American Association of Prolife Obstetricians and Gynecologists have a webpage containing information on […]