NEWS SHORTS FOR THURSDAY

Self Magazine Survey Examines Reasons Behind Unintended Pregnancies Among Young Adults

Self magazine this month examined unintended pregnancies among women in their 20s, who account for the majority of abortions and unintended pregnancies in the U.S., according to the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy. Birth rates among unmarried women in their 20s are increasing after years of little variation during the 1990s, Self reports. According to the magazine, although "[w]e want to believe that unwed mothers are teenagers who have been careless or clueless," about 1.1 million unmarried women in their 20s become pregnant each year, four in 10 of whom have at least some college education. To examine reasons behind the statistics, Self partnered with the National Campaign to conduct a survey of 2,282 unmarried women and men ages 18 to 29 on their views of contraception, sex and relationships. The magazine also held focus groups to talk to young people about the issues.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/143379.php 


Documentary Provides Hope for Those Hurt by Abortion
 
A new documentary titled "Beyond the Dark Valley" features compelling testimonies of women and men who have been devastated by abortion.

It is produced by Operation Outcry, a project of The Justice Foundation that is dedicated to spreading the truth that abortion hurts women and the message of hope for those hurting from abortion.
Click here to watch the trailer or the documentary online
http://www.citizenlink.org/CLNews/A000009667.cfm


Abortion Clinics could be Advertised on TV in UK

Abortion advice could be advertised on television and radio for the first time under a major shake-up of rules, it has been revealed. The Advertising Standards Authority will today begin a three-month consultation on whether abortion clinics should be allowed to see their promotions broadcast in prime-time evening slots. The move, which is proposed by groups of advertising companies and broadcasters, would also allow adverts for condoms to be shown before the watershed. Supporters of the proposals say current advertising restrictions should be relaxed in an effort to curb the high rates of teen pregnancy.
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/5/20090326/tuk-abortion-clinics-could-be-advertised-45dbed5.html


Pharma Company Seeks FDA Approval for HPB Vaccine For Boys

When a vaccine designed to protect girls against a sexually transmitted virus arrived three years ago, the debate centered on one question: Would the shots make young girls more likely to have sex? Now the vaccine's maker is trying to get approval to sell the vaccine for boys, and the debate is focusing on something else entirely: Is it worth the money, and is it safe and effective enough? For males, the vaccine is aimed at protecting against genital warts and less common malignancies that HPV can cause, such as penile and anal cancer, as well as cancer of the mouth and throat. The virus causes at least 250,000 new cases of genital warts and an estimated 7,500 cancers in males each year, causing perhaps about 1,000 deaths. Vaccinating boys and men would also help prevent the spread of the virus to their sexual partners.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/25/AR2009032503682.html?wprss=rss_nation


Supreme Court May Trim McCain-Feingold Campaign Advertising Law

The Supreme Court yesterday appeared ready once again to trim the reach of the McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform act. After a rollicking one-hour argument, it seemed that the question was whether a majority of the court wanted to use an ax or a scalpel to whittle the law, Congress's embattled attempt to limit the electoral influence of corporations, unions and special interest groups. It is known formally as the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002. The act says such groups cannot use money from their general treasuries for "any broadcast, cable or satellite communications" that refer to a candidate for federal office within a certain time frame before an election.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/24/AR2009032400137.html?wprss=rss_politics


Abortion Industry Needs "Pride" Movement: Brown University Bioethicist and Author

The abortion industry needs a "pride" movement, similar to that of the immensely successful homosexualist movement, a prominent US bioethicist says. Jacob M. Appel, an author, professor at Brown University and graduate of Harvard Law, wrote on the website "Opposing Views," that "the moment is ripe - more than ripe - for an Abortion Pride Movement."

Appel says that "one is bombarded" in the "conservative" press with stories of women who overcome obstacles to bring to term "fetuses" with severe disabilities. "The implication," he wrote, "is that while bearing a child when one is ready is a blessing, bearing a child when one is not prepared garners one extra moral credit in the cosmos." This praise of women carrying difficult pregnancies to term, he submits, constitutes an "anti-abortion" pride movement.

But for those Americans who believe "that life begins after conception," such stories are "not at all a cause for pride." "It more is akin to deciding that the world is flat and then boasting of not falling off the edge."
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/mar/09032602.html