CDC Task Force Promoting Sex Ed Over Abstinence Won't Release Report Details
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- An independent task force gathered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that recently issued a report favoring sex education over abstinence is not publicly releasing the data used to generate its conclusion. According to a new CNS News report, a list of the studies the task force examined is available on the CDC web site but the analysis of the studies is not. Irene Ericksen, a member of the review team and researcher with the Institute for Research and Evaluation who issued her own minority report disagreeing with the task force, told the news web site the analysis should be made public. “The Task Force has made public its recommendation statements without also making available to the public the full set of study findings upon which the recommendations are based – both supporting and otherwise,” she said. “This prevents the public from scrutinizing the body of evidence underlying the CDC Task Force Recommendations in the same time frame in which the CDC recommendations will influence the decisions of policymakers and public health professionals." They reviewed an analysis of 83 studies of sexual education programs run between 1980 and 2007 and, according to CDC official Randy Elder, determined there "was insufficient evidence" about whether abstinence programs work. Two members of the panel of consultants for the analysis reported that the abstinence education programs in the study produced a statistically significant reduction in teen sexual activity for periods averaging about one year. They produced a minority report saying the majority of the panel dismissed these studies showing positive results for abstinence education.

National Night of Prayer for Life Will See Pro-Life Advocates Offer Abortion Prayers
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Thousands of people in hundreds of locations throughout the nation will unite in prayers for life on December 8 as part of the National Night of Prayer for Life, an effort that is marking its 20th year. Through these pro-life prayers, participants hope to help bring about a conversion of hearts from a pro-abortion to a pro-life mindset. Larry Walsh, a member of the spiritual life committee at Trinity Heights Catholic Church in Sioux City, Iowa, is one of the local coordinators of the event. “The prayers are needed this year more than ever,” said Walsh, who cited the call of the U.S. bishops to remove abortion funding and mandates from all health care reform plans. “As our bishops say, ‘Abortion is murder. Abortion is not healthcare.’ We are not only joining our bishops in their call to end abortion, especially in our healthcare bill, but we are joining with convents, monasteries and parishes – over 700 across the United States - in prayers for life.” Walsh continued: “Aborting a child in the womb is wrong. It’s murder. We are praying for a change in this culture of death that exists in this nation of ours. Our nation has abundance and prosperity like none other and with that prosperity we have an obligation to help those who cannot help themselves. Who has less of a voice than a child within the womb? I believe the only way we can truly help these innocent, pre-born children is through prayer."

Mexico Sees Another State Protect Human Life, Wants National Abortion Ban
Veracruz, Mexico (LifeNews.com) -- Another Mexican state has adopted language to protect unborn human life as a response to the Mexico City legislature approving legal abortions in the nation's capital city. Veracruz, Mexico, on Wednesday became the 17th of the country's 32 states to enact a law defining human life beginning at conception. States began adopting such laws -- most of which make abortion a crime -- in 2008 after Mexico City enacted a law legalizing abortion in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. Veracruz lawmakers also adopted a proposal requiring the Mexican Congress to consider a constitutional amendment to prohibit abortion that could trump the Mexico City federal district law. Mexico allows any of its states' legislatures to propose a constitutional amendment. If the bicameral Congress and a majority of states support the measure, the amendment is added to the national constitution. Abortion supporters said Wednesday that the amendment stands a good chance of passing because both the majority National Action Party and the Institutional Revolutionary Party supported the state law. The Roman Catholic Church is expected to lobby heavily for the amendment. Noemi Ramirez, director of the Mexican Academy of Human Rights, said that "it is quite probable" that Congress will support the measure. The Veracruz law includes a clause that allows alternative sentencing options, such as mandatory "education programs" rather than jail time, for women convicted of violating the abortion ban.

European Pro-Life Group Submits Legal Papers Supporting Ireland Abortion Ban
Strasbourg, France (LifeNews.com) -- The European Centre for Law and Justice (ECLJ) is providing a legal analysis defending the sanctity of human life as the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights prepares to hold a hearing on December 9th in a very closely-watched case (A.B.C. v. Ireland). In this case, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) will have to decide whether the Irish Constitutional ban of abortion respects the provisions of the European Convention on Human Rights. Beyond this issue, the Court will have to decide whether an “easy” and “legal” access to abortion can be considered as a "human right" in the Council of Europe's 47 Member States. The ECLJ, which is a third party in this case, filed an amicus brief in November 2008 along with two other pro-life organizations. In October 2009, the ECLJ published a new legal analysis urging the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) to protect the rights of the unborn. In this new analysis, the ECLJ insists on the primacy of the right to life within human rights and on the need of respect for national sovereignty. The analysis demonstrates that member States have the sovereign authority to prohibit abortion as a competency stemming from their original responsibility to protect the right to life. The ECLJ contends that it is the natural purpose and duty of the State to protect the life of its people; the people, consequently, hold the right to have their lives protected by the State. Finally, the ECLJ analysis invites the ECHR to consider the protection of the life of the unborn under the fundamental and objective "right to life" perspective, and not within a subjective and varying concept of "privacy."

South Korea Will Begin Enforcing Abortion Ban in Response to Population Decline
Seoul, South Korea (LifeNews.com) -- South Korean officials may begin to enforce the nation's ban on abortions thanks to a significant population decline taking place there and in other Asian nations like Japan. A demographic implosion now threatens the country's economic stability and is producing worker shortages and concerns that elderly Koreans will not be able to be supported. On Wednesday, the Presidential Council for Future and Vision announced new efforts to increase births "We have been a society that promoted abortion," Kwak Seung-jun of the Presidential Council said. "There are few people who realize abortion is illegal. We must work to create a mood where abortion is discouraged." The government plans to encourage fathers to take child care leave, campaigning against abortion and providing incentives to families with three or more children. The council is focusing on reducing child-rearing expenses, broadening society’s acceptance of working and single mothers and increasing the number of people who can become Korean citizens. Korea posted the second-lowest fertility rate in the world, according to the 2009 report by the United Nations Population Fund. The rate was 1.22, just behind Bosnia and Herzegovina’s 1.21. Health Minister Jeon Jae-hee talked about the educational campaign that may be undertaken against abortion. “As a minister in charge of the matter, we will sternly crack down on illegal abortions after a grace period," the official said.

Uruguay Could Elect Jose Mujica President, Would Open Door for Legal Abortions
Montevideo, Uruguay (LifeNews.com) -- The people of the South American nation of Uruguay are heading to the polling booths on Sunday to elect a new president and polls show that former radical Jose Mujica is the leading candidate. That's bad news for pro-life advocates in this Catholic nation because Mujica has promised not to veto legislation in Congress that would legalize abortions. The situation is so desperate for pro-life campaigners there that Uruguayan affiliates of Human Life International are asking for prayers before the election and support for his rival Luis A. Lacalle, a former president with the center-right National Party who has been unable to convince voters of the problem. The country's current center-left president, Tabare Vazquez, pleased pro-life advocates by vetoing a bill that would have legalized abortions. Vázquez defied the votes of his party in the Uruguay Congress to expand the nation's abortion law, which currently only allows abortions in cases of protecting the mother's life, rape or extreme poverty. Shortly after his election in 2005, the president said he would veto a bill to legalize abortion despite the fact that members of his own party are the ones behind it. The Senate initially tied on a 15-15 vote in approving the bill but eventually approved it on an 18-13 vote. HLI sent LifeNews.com the following earlier this week, "If the people vote for the Frente Amplio or Broad Front candidate for president, he has promised to legalize abortion-on-demand in Uruguay and will have the votes to do it. If the National Party candidate wins, abortion will be blocked. It is a thousand times easier to prevent legal abortion than it is to reverse it once it has taken root."

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