Tired of Life? Group Calls for Assisted Suicide
A group of older Dutch academics and politicians have launched a petition in support of assisted suicide for the over-70s. They hope to attract over 40,000 signatures, enough to get the issue debated in parliament under citizens' initiative legislation. Under Dutch law, euthanasia can only be practised if the patient is suffering 'unbearable pain'. The doctor must be convinced the patient is making an informed choice and a second doctor must also give his or her opinion. But the new lobby group say people aged over 70 who are tired of life should also have the right to professional help in ending it.
Click here for the entire article from the Dutch News.
Mississippi Personhood Initiative Could End Up In Court
An anti-abortion group that wants life defined in Mississippi as beginning at fertilization said it intends file a federal lawsuit today to protect a yearlong effort to get the measure on a statewide ballot. Volunteers for Personhood Mississippi have been gathering signatures on petitions to try to get a constitutional amendment on the ballot that would define "personhood" as beginning at the "moment of fertilization, cloning or the functional equivalent thereof." Under Mississippi law, a person or group has one year to gather the required number of valid signatures -- about 89,000 in this case -- to get a constitutional amendment on the ballot. Personhood Mississippi's deadline is Feb. 13. The group says it has more than 80,000 signatures and is on track to meet the requirement.
Click here for the entire article from the Hattiesburg American.
Costa Rica Elects "Pro-Life" President
The nation of Costa Rica has elected a new president who has successfully positioned herself as the "pro-life" candidate in the elections. But some are questioning if the president-elect really meets the the pro-life standard.
Laura Chinchilla, who is a Catholic, is famously opposed to relaxing the nation's abortion laws. She also rejects the creation of homosexual "marriage."
However, Chinchilla has made it clear that she supports the current laws of Costa Rica, which permit women to procure an abortion in cases of rape, and says she also supports "therapeutic" abortions in cases in which the mothers life is at risk.
Click here for the entire article from LifeSiteNews.com.
Planned Parenthood is sole pregnancy resource in Catholic college’s ‘Youth to College’ handbook
The “resource toolkit” of a handbook published by a Catholic college in California includes only one pregnancy-related resource: the Planned Parenthood Kearny Mesa Clinic in San Diego. According to the University of San Diego, “The ‘Youth to College’ program is designed to address the important issue of students from underrepresented groups who do not know that higher education can be a viable option for them.” Click here to view the handbook.
Click here for the entire article from Catholic World News.
Australian man faces charges in assisted-suicide case
An Australian man faces criminal charges in connection with an assisted suicide. Merin Neilsen was arrested and charged with importing a controlled drug to help Frank Ward end his own life last October. The arrest comes after an investigation that included a police search of the offices of Exit International, a group that promotes assisted suicide. Dr. Phililp Nitschke, a leading Australian spokesman for the "right to die" movement, had disclosed that Ward spoke with members of Exit International shortly before his death.
Click here for the entire article from Catholic World News.
Republicans Seek to ‘Start Over’ on Health Care Legislation
While a bipartisan meeting on health care is scheduled for Feb. 25, it appears that Republican leaders and President Barack Obama have already hit a snag: whether to start over with entirely new legislation.
Standing in front of the White House on Tuesday, congressional Republican leaders called for scrapping the partisan bills that passed the House and Senate last year and replacing them with new, bipartisan legislation to reform health care.
“We need to start over,” said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), shortly after he and House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) met with President Obama in the White House.
Click here for the entire article from CNSNews.
