NEWS SHORTS FOR FRIDAY Disclaimer: The linked items below or the websites at which they are located do not necessarily represent the views of The Illinois Federation for Right to Life. They are presented only for your information. After Successful Results, Gardasil Could Be Marketed to Boys Too Study: HPV Vaccine Prevents Genital Warts in Males For the first time, an expensive vaccine aimed at preventing cervical cancer in women has proven successful at preventing a disease in men, according to a new study. The disease? It's genital warts, a sexually-transmitted problem that is embarrassing and uncomfortable but not life-threatening. Still, the results are expected to bolster a likely bid by the vaccine's manufacturer - Merck & Co. Inc. - to begin marketing the vaccine to boys, experts said. Merck plans to ask the government for that approval later this year. http://www.cnsnews.com/public/content/article.aspx?RsrcID=39312 Parents Rush to Abandoned Children Before Neb. Places Age Limit on Child Dumping Law The mother was running out of more than patience when she abandoned her 18-year-old daughter at a hospital over the weekend under Nebraska's safe-haven (child dumping) law. She was also running out of time: She knew that state lawmakers would soon meet in a special session to amend the law so that "child dumping" would apply to newborns only. "Where am I going to get help if they change the law?" said the mother, who lives in Lincoln and asked to not be identified by name to protect her adopted child. To the state's surprise and embarrassment, more than half of the 33 children legally abandoned under the safe-haven law since it took effect in mid-July have been teenagers. http://apnews.myway.com/article/20081114/D94EEA1G0.html Admiral Opens Pregnancy Counseling Center After earning several honors and awards during an extensive career in the U.S. Navy, retired Rear Admiral Al Kelln can soon add a new accomplishment to his list: opening a pregnancy counseling center. To many, it seemed an unusual choice for the man who has worked in several positions in Naval headquarters, founded the Naval Submarine League and provided his submarine and intelligence expertise to Washington, D.C., clients. "I really don't like anyone telling me 'no' or 'it can't be done,'" he said. "There isn't anything that can't be done if you pray and believe." International Planned Parenthood Pushes 'Sexual Rights' at UN The International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) has issued a new document that declares that governments are obligated to guarantee a sweeping definition of "sexual rights," including abortion, "sexual freedom" and "comprehensive sexuality education," as an integral component of human rights. The IPPF declaration defines sexual rights as "an evolving concept that encompasses sexual activity, gender identities, sexual orientation, eroticism, pleasure, intimacy and reproduction." IPPF differentiates "sexual rights" from "reproductive rights," a term that it equates with abortion, specifying that "sexual rights encompass more than entitlements related to health" and that "many expressions of sexuality are non-reproductive." http://www.catholic.org/national/national_story.php?id=30542 Priest: No Communion for Obama Supporters A South Carolina Roman Catholic priest has told his parishioners that they should refrain from receiving Holy Communion if they voted for Barack Obama because the Democratic president-elect supports abortion, and supporting him "constitutes material cooperation with intrinsic evil." The Rev. Jay Scott Newman said in a letter distributed Sunday to parishioners at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Greenville that they are putting their souls at risk if they take Holy Communion before doing penance for their vote. "Our nation has chosen for its chief executive the most radical pro-abortion politician ever to serve in the United States Senate or to run for president," Newman wrote, referring to Obama by his full name, including his middle name of Hussein. http://apnews.myway.com/article/20081113/D94EBKDO0.html Merck Now Pushing HPV Vaccine for Men A vaccine designed to protect women and girls from cervical cancer caused by a wart virus may protect men, too, maker Merck and Co reported on Thursday. The Gardasil vaccine was 90 percent effective in preventing lesions, mostly sexually transmitted warts, caused by the virus in men, Anna Giuliano of the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute in Tampa, Florida, and colleagues found. It was about 45 percent effective in preventing infection with the four strains of HPV that it targets. |
November 14, 2008
NEWS SHORTS FOR FRIDAY
