Unborn Child No Longer Defenseless in France
PARIS — French law was amended last month to introduce penalties for crimes perpetrated against the unborn. The amendment creates a new offense — involuntary termination of a pregnancy — and includes penalties and prison time for acts that, through negligence or recklessness, kill an unborn child.
Legislators say the amendment would have no consequence upon a woman's access to abortion. France legalized abortion in 1975.
Current law has no provision for the unborn, as the fetus is not considered a person. Those who through medical error or by accident kill an unborn child are thus not currently liable to penalty.
Prominent women's rights lawyer Gisele Halimi, when interviewed on France-Info radio on the topic, said “[the new law is] a measure that reflects the influence of extreme-right and fundamentalist thinking.”
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Abortion Legalized in St. Lucia Despite Petition Signed By 5% of Population
CASTRIES, St. Lucia — Only one week after St. Lucia Prime Minister Kenny Anthony cancelled parliamentary debate on his plan to partially liberalize the Caribbean island's abortion law, the legislature approved the new bill allowing abortion. The new law allows abortion in cases of rape, incest or if needed to protect the “health” of the mother.
Prior debate of the bill was cancelled by Anthony following the receipt of a 9,000-signature petition presented by Archbishop Kelvin Felix demanding that the legislation be shelved. St. Lucia is a country of 160,000 people, 90 percent of whom are Catholic.
The legislation was passed 13-1, the only dissident being pro-life cabinet Minister Sara Flood Beaubrun, who declared “[i]f we pass this measure here today, we are as guilty as they are,” referring to abortion-supporting colleagues as “child killers.” Prior to the bill being passed, Beaubrun joined a large demonstration of over 2500 against the proposed bill.
Read previous coverage from LifeSiteNews on this issue here:
Public Outcry Against Abortion Delays St. Lucia Law to Liberalize Abortion and
St. Lucia Cancels Abortion Debate, Postpones Legalization
Rampant Trade in Aborted Babies in Japanese Universities and Research Facilities
TOKYO — The Japanese Health Ministry revealed Monday that use of fetal tissues in university and other research laboratories in that country is commonplace. The article cites that at least 30 research labs and institutions had used cells taken from dead babies for research purposes. The actual number of institutions using fetal tissues is suspected to be much higher.
The fetal cells are being used primarily for research into treatment options for repairing damage to cranial nerves, the spinal cord, heart muscles and other parts of the body — despite evidence that fetal stem cells have yet to be proven effective in treating these and other disorders.
In Japan, as well as in the U.S. and Canada, tissues are harvested from aborted babies to be used for research into new vaccines, virus development and aging.
Read the coverage from the Japan Times
Read prior Lifesite News coverage:
U.S. Gov't Advertises Aborted Baby Parts for Research
South Africa Aims to Increase Abortion Access by Allowing Nurses to Abort
PRETORIA — South Africa, one of the only countries in the world with abortion access enshrined in its constitution, has moved to increase abortions by allowing nurses to carry out the procedure. The draft Choice on Termination of Pregnancy Amendment Bill, which has been tabled in Parliament, would also place approval of new abortuaries in provincial rather than federal jurisdiction.
While the legislation would make it an offense to carry out an abortion in a non-approved facility, it also would allow any health facility with a 24-hour maternity service, whether public or private, to carry out first trimester abortion.
(This update courtesy of LifeSiteNews.com.)
