NEWS SHORTS FOR WEDNESDAY

NEWS SHORTS FOR WEDNESDAY 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. Lawyers launch effort to overturn legalization of abortion in Mexico City The College of Catholic Lawyers of Mexico has filed a complaint before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights against Mexico for legalizing abortion up to the twelfth week in Mexico City.   In their complaint the College blames the Mexico City Legislature, Government Chief Marcelo Ebrard and the Supreme Court for the decision to make the procedure legal.   The group of Catholic lawyers argues that passage of the measure legalizing abortion, which occurred on April 24, 2007, violates Article 1 of the American Declaration on the Rights and Duties of Man.   They also argue that the legalization of abortion in Mexico City "violates the human rights of the unborn and disassociates from them the term death, which seems to erase their status as human beings and does not recognize that their lives are being ended." Click here for the full article. Movie review: '4 Months' an impressive take on a repressive state A gloomy sense of impending, implacable doom hangs over "4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days," an abortion drama set in the authoritarian Romania of 1987 that won the grand prize at this year's Cannes Film Festival. The film opens with opaque small talk in the drab college dormitory shared by Gabita (Laura Vasiliu) and Otilia (Anamaria Marinca). They pack a valise with soap, cigarettes, money and other necessities for some outing. Gabita is vulnerable, nervous, withdrawn; it's up to the pragmatic Otilia to barter and haggle for the supplies. Gradually it becomes clear that the young women aren't packing for a weekend getaway, but for a clandestine rendezvous with an abortionist, an illegal act in a nation where women were called upon to breed as their patriotic duty. The finale, a silent, squirm-inducing face-off between two shellshocked characters over a dinner of organ meat, is more eloquent than any overt prolife/prochoice debate could hope to be. It's a fitting end to a brilliant and discomfiting film. Click here for the full article. Oklahoma Judge Tosses Abortion Law Requiring Ultrasound An Oklahoma judge on Tuesday overturned a state law that required women seeking an abortion to receive an ultrasound and a doctor's description of the fetus.   Oklahoma County District Judge Vicki Robertson said the law violated constitutional requirements that legislative measures deal only with one subject. He did not rule on the validity of the ultrasound provisions.   Special Assistant Attorney General Teresa Collett said she will meet with state officials to discuss whether to appeal. The law was passed in 2008, but legal action has prevented it from going into effect.   Nova Health Systems, the parent group of Reproductive Services in Tulsa, filed a lawsuit in October, arguing that the law was unconstitutionally vague and it was not clear what the doctor should tell women undergoing the ultrasound. Click here for the full article. Woman Repeatedly Stabbed After Refusing Abortion A Southbridge teen who police said wanted his ex-girlfriend to abort their baby, repeatedly stabbed the woman Friday, leaving her seriously wounded, police said. Alex Santana, 18, later said to police that he told his ex-girlfriend "she was going to abort the pregnancy 'one way or the other.'" Leah Diver, 28, was found by police lying in a pool of blood in the hallway of her apartment at 78 Pine St. just after 2:30 a.m. According to a police report in Dudley District Court, the woman told police she and Mr. Santana had an argument during which he grabbed a knife and stabbed her several times. Click here for the full article. Vermont Case On Legal Recognition Of Fetuses Could Reignite Debate Over Abortion The case of a Vermont woman -- who is seeking legal recognition of her six-month-old twin fetuses that died in a car accident -- could reignite a debate over abortions in the state. Some baby killers have expressed concerns that revising state law to give legal recognition to fetuses could conflict with the Supreme Court ruling in Roe v. Wade. The woman involved in the case, Patricia Blair, said, "They're babies. It just makes no sense to me how anyone can say 'they're not babies, they're a fetus,'" adding, "We need to speak for them. Click here for the full article. 100 Scottish Children as Young as 12 Have Had Abortions Abortions are being carried out on dozens of girls aged just 12 and 13 in Scotland. Figures obtained by the Record under Freedom of Information show eight 12-year-olds and 87 13-year-olds have had abortions in the last nine years. Hundreds of girls aged 14 and 15 have also had abortions during the same period. The Catholic Church in Scotland last night described the figures as "appalling and distressing". Click here for the full article. State: Planned Parenthood defying appeals court Lawyers for the state of South Dakota say Planned Parenthood is defying an appeals court and is not entitled to a restraining order for a law requiring doctors to tell women that abortion ends a human life. Planned Parenthood requested the order from a judge last week after receiving a letter from the state Department of Health listing deficiencies at its Sioux Falls clinic, the only one in the state that offers abortions. The state gave the clinic until Saturday to submit a correction plan, which could trigger an administrative process that ultimately includes suspending or revoking its license to perform abortions. Click here for the full article.