Babies Born From In-Vitro Fertilization Have Higher Risk of Death, Study Shows
London, England (LifeNews.com) -- Babies conceived through IVF are much more likely to die at birth than those conceived naturally, the results of a new study show. IVF children are also at an increased risk of being born prematurely and of weighing less at birth, scientists found. Researchers looked at more than 2,500 women who had conceived both naturally and through IVF and compared the results to more than one million natural conceptions. They found that babies who had been conceived through IVF were 31 percent more likely to die in the period before and after their birth. IVF conceived children also tended to weigh an average of 0.9 ounces (25g) less at birth, the findings, published online in the Lancet medical journal show. The babies also tended to be born earlier, by an average of two days, and were 26 per cent more likely to be small for their age. Dr Liv Bente Romundstad, from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim, who led the study, believes that the high death rate among IVF babies could be linked to the underlying reasons why their mother sought infertility treatment in the first place. Her results also show that among women who conceived with fertility treatment but also had another child naturally, the spontaneously conceived baby was three times more likely to die than its IVF sibling. American bioethicist Wesley J. Smith commented on the results: "We have been told repeatedly over the years that IVF babies are just as healthy as those conceived naturally. Well, it looks like things are not going as well as we were led to believe."

New Book Probes Sex-Selection Abortions and Infanticides in India
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Are India's female unborn children and babies vanishing at an alarming rate? Ten years after a law was passed in India, banning doctors from discussing the gender of an unborn child with the parents following an ultrasound test, a handful of Indian doctors not only continue to break that law, but even perform abortions if the parents decide to get rid of a female fetus. Now, Indian-American author, Shobhan Bantwal, takes us into a world where the corrupt and covert practice of gender-selective abortion still thrives, in her second novel, The Forbidden Daughter, scheduled for release by Kensington Publishing on August 26. The Forbidden Daughter tells the story of Isha, a young mother who refuses to abort her second child, another girl, despite her in-laws' dictate to have the abortion. When her husband suddenly becomes the victim of a mysterious murder, she is convinced that her rebellious decision has something to do with it. When Isha leaves her in-laws to raise her daughters on her own, she is faced with the most dangerous battle of her life. To quote Bantwal about what inspired the book, "'After being raised with love and care in India, amidst a family of five girls, it was difficult for me to comprehend that female children are disdained in my country of birth, so much so that female fetuses are aborted without regard for the law, moral values, or the delicate balance of nature. I felt compelled to write an interesting tale about what could happen if an idealistic woman refused to abort a female child. But I also wanted the story to be one of hope and triumph and the resilience of the human spirit.' However, Bantwal maintains that gender-based abortion is not widespread. 'The instances are quite rare when juxtaposed against India's vast population, but the fact remains that gender-based abortions continue to occur.'"

British Teenager Had Four Abortions Before Turning 16 Years-Old, No Regrets
London, England (LifeNews.com) -- A British teenager says she had four abortions by the time she was 16 years-old because she didn't realize she was too immature to have sexual relations and didn't respond to pleas from her mother. The London Daily Mail profiled the teenager this past week: "Lucy Lanelly was just 12 years old when she had her first abortion. She's blanked out most of the memories, but what she does recall are her mother Shelley's tears of shame as they arrived at the private clinic, and the disapproving looks of the medical staff when they discovered Lucy's age. She does not remember feeling frightened at the prospect of the operation, only a strange, emotional numbness and feeling of guilt at having upset her mother. Her chief emotion when she came round from the general anaesthetic was one of relief; that she could forget she'd ever been pregnant and get back to school. 'I didn't understand what was going on,' she says. 'My mum organized the termination and I went along with it, but it was the right thing to do. 'There was no question of keeping the baby. I didn't want it. I was too young to have a baby. It was a mistake.' A traumatic experience for one so young, yet by the time she was 16, Lucy had made three more 'mistakes'. The second termination, aged 13, was again organized by her mother - a mental health nurse - who was this time furious with her wayward daughter for ignoring her lectures, and sat by her side in stony silence at the clinic. When Lucy fell pregnant again, aged 15, she was too frightened to tell her mother, so it was her grandmother who took her to the clinic, unaware of the previous two abortions. Lucy organized her fourth termination, aged 16, without telling anyone. She insists each time it was the right decision and that her four abortions have left no lasting emotional damage."

South Dakota Abortion Advocates Prepare Opposition to Next Abortion Ban
Rapid City, SD (LifeNews.com) -- Abortion advocates are preparing their opposition to the second attempt to get South Dakota voters to approve a ban on most abortions. The pro-abortion group that defeated the ban two years ago is back again and is opening an office in Rapid City to fight it. The South Dakota Campaign for Healthy Families opened the new office on Tuesday. “South Dakota’s families don’t need big Government telling them what they can and can’t do,” Republican and former State Representative Jan Nicolay, co-chairwoman of the Campaign for Healthy Families, said in a news release. “Families know their own circumstances best, but this ban would strip families of a private, moral decision. And a woman would be forced to carry a pregnancy to term even in the fetus couldn’t survive on its own after delivery.” The pro-abortion group is opposite VoteYesForLife, which submitted the required number of signatures to qualify the abortion ban for the ballot. The previous ban, rejected by 56 percent of voters in 2006, would have prohibited all abortions except those to save the life of the mother. This ban includes exceptions for rape and incest and a very narrowly drawn health exception that is not the expansive health exception pro-life groups typically oppose. Not all pro-life groups are behind the ban, with South Dakota Right to Life saying it supports an abortion ban but not one with the exceptions included in this revised version.

Austrian Unborn Child Subject of Lawsuit to Overturn Wrongful Life Decision
Vienna, Australia (LifeNews.com) -- The family of an unborn child in Austria with an incompletely-formed spinal cord has initiated legal action against the state in order to confirm the dignity of his life, Austrian media reported Friday. The suit is in the name of Emil, who is expected to be born next week with spina bifida or split spine, a developmental defect that leads to an open spinal tube. Emil's parents Sabine and Andreas Karg are seeking to overturn a Supreme Court ruling from March, which awarded damages to a mother whose child was born with spina bifida after doctors failed to detect the abnormality before birth. "We just wanted to draw attention to the fact that a child cannot be a damage," Andreas Karg said at a press conference recently. The couple from Lochau in western Austria said they initiated the lawsuit against the Austrian state for infringement of Emil's honor and dignity. The Kargs stressed that they are not suing the state to stop the abortion of disabled babies. But, they would like parents whose unborn babies are diagnosed with similar conditions to seek counseling and think carefully before taking any action.

 

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