NEWS SHORTS FOR MONDAY

NEWS SHORTS FOR MONDAY
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New Aurora Clinic Cited in Illinois Abortion Jump



The number of abortions performed in Illinois reached a 10-year high in 2008, newly compiled state records show. The uptick could be due to the state's flagging economy and to the first full year of operation of a new clinic offering abortion services in Aurora, abortion-rights advocates and opponents alike say. In 2008, the most recent year for which data is available, figures from the Illinois Department of Public Health show that 47,717 abortions were performed statewide. That total represents a 5 percent increase from 2007. And it's the largest number of abortions in Illinois in a year since 1998, when 49,403 women were reported to have had abortions.
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Japan Has Fewer Babies but More Deaths



Japan's population decline accelerated in 2009, with the number of births falling 2% from the previous year. Preliminary health ministry statistics showed 22,000 fewer Japanese babies were born last year for a total of 1.069 million births. The decline follows a slight increase in 2008. Meanwhile, the number of deaths climbed for the ninth year in a row to 1.144 million - the highest figure since the government began recording this data in 1947. "The trend of increasing population decline is expected to continue in the future as the number of deaths increases due to the ageing of the population, while the number of women who are of childbearing age is decreasing," a ministry official said.
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Montana Court: State Law Allows Doctor-Assisted 'Murder'



HELENA, Mont. - The Montana Supreme Court said Thursday that nothing in state law prevents patients from seeking physician-assisted suicide, paving the way for the procedure. A year ago, a state District Court judge ruled that the state's constitutional rights to privacy and dignity protect the right of terminally ill Montanans to get the drugs needed to kill themselves. But the advocates have said a decision from the state Supreme Court was needed before physician-assisted suicide would be embraced by the medical community.
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