Undiagnosed Depression Leads to High Suicide Rate Among Elderly
by Dan Kennedy, President of Human Life of Washington
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- A report this month by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that America's senior population continues to have the highest suicide rate in the country and an expert at the UMDNJ-School of Osteopathic Medicine says the cause may be a common condition that's undiagnosed and under-treated. Suicide is frequently linked to depression, but among the elderly, depression is often overlooked, said Dr. Thomas Cavalieri, interim dean of the UMDNJ-School of Osteopathic Medicine and the founding director of the New Jersey Institute for Successful Aging. Too many people including health professionals think that depression is almost a normal part of aging, but that is a myth. Depression is a treatable condition, and that treatment can be the difference between life and death. The CDC report covered the 16 states, including New Jersey, that provided full-year data for 2005. Among the reports findings: The highest suicide rate was among those between the ages of 75 and 84; More than 15 percent of suicides were by men and women older than 65, a group that represents just 12.4 percent of the population; Older men, who comprise just 10.5 percent of the overall male population, account for 16.6 percent of male suicides.

Another Black Pro-Life Leader Says "Abortion Man" Video Upsetting
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Dr. Alveda King, Pastoral Associate of Priests for Life and niece of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., today decried the WayoutTV.com video, “Abortion Man,” now being broadcast on the Internet. The video, an apparent attempt at dark humor, portrays a caped, flying “Abortion Man” who attacks a young pregnant woman until she loses her child, all at the behest of the baby’s father. “Abortion Man just comes off as horrifying in its treatment of the innocent and degrading in its treatment of blacks,” said Dr. King. “As callous and unconcerned as Abortion Man is for women and babies, though, I found him little different from the abortion industry itself. If any man wants his pregnant girlfriend to abort, an abortion business will be there to help him get rid of his child. Basically, the abortion industry is Abortion Man without the cape and with less overtly offensive methods.” “I understand that there’s a fine line between dark comedy and plain old offensive material,” added Dr. King, “but wherever that line is, it’s somewhere way in the distance of Abortion Man’s rear view mirror. I’m convinced, though, that if the makers of this video had heard the stories I’ve heard of women coerced into abortions, they never would have tried to find humor in such gruesome situations. If the Abortion Man producers ever want to stimulate dialogue and find solutions for the horrors of abortion against the human race, I would welcome the opportunity to speak with them.”

West Virginia Pro-Life Group Endorses Governor Joe Manchin for Re-Election
Charleston, WV (LifeNews.com) -- The West Virginians for Life Political Action Committee has announced its endorsement of Gov. Joe Manchin for re-election. Manchin is one of the few pro-life Democrats who have been elected to top statewide offices nationwide. Shirley Stanton WVFL President, stated, "We commend Governor Joe Manchin for support for protecting the unborn." WVL PAC is the internal PAC for West Virginians for Life (WVFL), the state pro-life organization. The group has also supported Sheirl Fletcher, a Democrat, and Jay Wolfe, a Republican, for the U.S. Senate. The organization also endorsed two incumbent pro-life Democratic candidates for Congress, Alan Mollohan in the 1st district and Nick Rahall in the 3rd district. Other endorsed candidates for the primary include: gubernatorial candidate Russ Weeks, Secretary of State candidates Billy Wayne Bailey and Charles Minimah, Auditor candidate Glen Gainer, Treasurer candidate John Perdue, Attorney General candidate Dan Greear, and WV Supreme Court candidates Elliott “Spike” Maynard and Beth Walker. WVFL is affiliated with the National Right to Life Committee and through both education and legislation is working to build a society where all human life is respected, from conception until natural death. The primary election is Tuesday, May 13.

Indiana Judicial Candidates Can Tell Right to Life Their Views About Abortion
Indianapolis, IN (LifeNews.com) -- Last week, an Indiana federal court granted an injunction against rules preventing judicial candidates from answering a candidate questionnaire. The parties to the suit include Torrey Bauer and Judge David Certo, judicial candidates in the upcoming election, and Indiana Right to Life, who sent judicial candidates questionnaires asking them to voice their opinion on various issues. Judge Springmann held that Plaintiffs are likely to succeed in their challenge to the constitutionality of Indiana’s judicial canons that forbid judicial candidates from making “pledges or promises” of conduct in office or statements that “commit or appear to commit” candidates on issues likely to come before. Plaintiffs claim that these canons violate the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution because they prohibited candidates from simply announcing their views on issues. The court's ruling prevents Indiana's Commission on Judicial Qualifications from enforcing these provisions against judicial candidates who answer the IRTL questionnaire. Indiana Right to Life had sent a questionnaire to candidates for judicial office prior to the May 6, 2008, primary requesting that they state their views on policies and court decisions related to such matters as assisted-suicide and abortion. According to James Bopp, Jr., lead counsel for the plaintiffs, the Indiana judicial canons “contradict the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision and subsequent federal court ruling that recognize that judicial candidates have a right to respond to questionnaires like this and that voters have a right to hear what they have to say.”