NEWS SHORTS FOR TUESDAY
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China's Population Policy Draws Wide Praise
Demographers and scholars worldwide have spoken highly of China's family-planning policy over the past 30 years and more, saying it has helped lower the world population growth. "We know that China, being the most populous country in the world, is especially important in the area of population," said Hania Zlotnik, director of the Population Division of the U.N. Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA). Whatever happens in China has a great impact on world population, and certainly on the population in the developing world, she explained.
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More from China...
Chinese Babies Stolen By Officials for Foreign Adoption
In some rural areas, instead of levying fines for violations of China's child policies, greedy officials took babies, which would each fetch $3,000 in adoption fees. ... Since the early 1990s, more than 80,000 Chinese children have been adopted abroad, the majority to the United States. The conventional wisdom is that the babies, mostly girls, were abandoned by their parents because of the traditional preference for boys and China's restrictions on family size. No doubt, that was the case for tens of thousands of the girls. But some parents are beginning to come forward to tell harrowing stories of babies who were taken away by coercion, fraud or kidnapping -- sometimes by government officials who covered their tracks by pretending that the babies had been abandoned.
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ACORN Sues Young Pro-Life Investigators $1M Each for Sting Operation
The liberal community-based organization ACORN, which was recently disgraced by a series of undercover videos showing illegal activity by the group's employees, is now suing the young pro-life duo who shot the videos. Defendant James O'Keefe, 25, who is being sued together with 20-year-old investigative partner Hannah Giles, is known among the pro-life community for conducting sting operations against Planned Parenthood in conjunction with Live Action Films. In one such investigation, O'Keefe caught a Planned Parenthood employee accepting a donation earmarked for the abortion of a black child.
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Man Charged with Double Murder for Shooting 8-Mo. Pregnant Girlfriend Who Refused Abortion
A Tennessee man is facing a double murder charge after his girlfriend and her unborn child were shot to death, in what police say was the conclusion to the couple's disagreement over getting an abortion.
Shelby County detectives say they believe Tarence Nelson, 26, shot schoolteacher Tonya Johnson, 35, as a result of an argument over whether Johnson should abort the child, who was at eight months' gestation. Johnson was found in her home by neighbors who said she had bullet wounds to the right abdomen, chest, and the back of her head.
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As IVF Debate Rages in Poland, Doctors Propose Ethical, Natural, More Effective Alternative
As the debate over in vitro fertilization (IVF) rages in the Polish parliament, hundreds of doctors and medical professionals have written an open letter to Polish Parliamentarians urging them to vote against legalizing IVF and opt instead for a more successful, safer, natural treatment for fertility problems.
Although IVF is not officially legal in Poland, it has nonetheless been practiced for years in the nation.
Several Parliamentary proposals have been brought forward to legalize the practice under the guise of regulating the already occurring procedures. The proposals range from taxpayer funding for all IVF treatments without restriction, including for lesbians, and another that would ban creation of human embryos outside the mother's body.
Parliamentarians have ignored a grassroots initiative proposing a complete ban on IVF signed by 160,000 citizens.
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'Morning-After' 'Abortion Pill' Available In Spain Without Prescription
The so-called "morning-after" abortion pill was available in Spain without prescription for the first time Monday, in a bid to limit the number of unwanted pregnancies, the health ministry said. "It's important to facilitate access to all women, irrespective of their place of residence, as it is important to take this pill in the 72 hours after sexual relations," said Health Minister Trinidad Jimenez. Pharmacies are now able to sell the morning-after pill to persons of any age. The contraceptive has hitherto been available only on prescription.
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