“Prenatal testing must respect the right to life of the unborn child. At the same time we have to consider the pressure parents are under” says Mr Kleinsman. In 2008 the Bioethics Council (now disbanded) carried out extensive consultation with New Zealanders on the question of prenatal testing. Among the findings released in its report to Read more
“Millions of men and women have experienced abortion loss across the world,” says Vicki Thorn. “When they are ready to heal the wound, the Church needs to be there.” “The faith community needs to be a “prophetic voice” heralding the sanctity of life, as well as a source of comfort for those affected by the Read more
The Court of Appeal has upheld a High Court judge’s ruling that unborn children do not have a right to life. It also dismissed comments made by the judge about many abortions being granted “on request” Right to Life sued the Abortion Supervisory Committee for allegedly failing to review whether certifying consultants were lawfully granting women Read more
Aborting female foetuses in India means there are 7.1 million fewer girls than boys aged up to six. The gender-gap has widened by a million in the last 10 years. Selective sex selection Indian families where the first child has been a girl, more and more parents with access to prenatal ultrasound testing are sex-selecting Read more
A political and social commitment is needed to change the abortion situation, say the New Zealand Catholic Bishops. They think the recent example of a 16 year old girl having an abortion without parental knowledge or consent is a disturbing example of the law letting down our young people and undermining family values. The New Read more
Amnesty International has marked its 50th Anniversary by criticising the Vatican for the first time on its handling of child protection. The 2011 report, “The State of the World’s Human Rights,” examines human rights in 157 countries, and Amnesty International criticises the Vatican for failing to honour its obligations under the United nations Charter on the Read more
When Barack Obama won 54 percent of the Catholic vote in the 2008 presidential election, commentators barely noticed that John McCain won a majority of the religiously-active Catholic vote (51 percent to 49 percent). This was a small margin, to be sure, but it doesn’t bode well for the 2012 presidential race, after all the Read more
Peter Callander is a professional counselor and therapist from Australia. He helped run Tasmania’s first Rachel’s Vineyard retreat in 2005 and was also the therapist at Singapore’s inaugural retreat in March 2010. He has been involved in the work here ever since. Callander has had extensive training in various forms of therapy and has worked Read more