Pro-Life Briefs: Pro-Abortion Candidates, Abortion in Finland, New Jersey, Oklahoma 
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by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
October 13, 2005
African Cardinal: No Reason to Vote for Pro-Abortion Candidates
The Vatican (LifeNews.com) — African Cardinal Francis Arinze said Thursday at the close of a press conference at an international meeting of Catholic bishops that there is never a reason to vote for a pro-abortion candidate for elected office. "There is no call for voting for those who would murder unborn children," Arinze, considered a possible papal candidate after Pope John Paul II’s death, said. "The prefect from the Congregation of the Doctrine of faith is right: there is no call for voting for politicians who support laws against life and the family."
New Jersey’s Corzine Brags He’s More Pro-Abortion Than Forrester
Trenton, NJ (LifeNews.com) — Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jon S. Corzine on Wednesday bragged at a Planned Parenthood press conference that he is more pro-abrotion than Republican candidate Doug Forrester. Corzine has a 0% pro-life voting record from the National Right to Life Committee as a member of the Senate. Meanwhile, Forrester, while he backs legal abortion, supports some measures that would limit abortions — such as a ban on partial-birth abortions, parental notification, and not spending taxpayer funds on abortion. Forrester also opposes using state money to pay for embryonic stem cell research, which Corzine favors. "There is a difference (between) saying you are pro-choice and fighting for privacy," Corzine said. He indicated he would champion Roe v. Wade as governor. Forrester has been cutting into Corzine’s lead in the polls.
Finland Abortion Numbers Fall, Down 4% From Last Year
Helsinki, Finland (LifeNews.com) — Following a trend in the United States showing abortions on the decline in the last few years, the number of abortions in Finland fell 4% from the first six months of 2004 to the first six of 2005. A total of 5,431 abortions were done in Finland this year by the end of June. That’s 200 less than the first six months of last year. If the same pace continues, Finland is likely to have 10,650 abortions during 2005. Senior advisor Mika Gissler from the National Research and Development Centre says the number of abortions last year was a record high and he’s not surprised they’re headed back down. Abortions were down in every age category except those on women between 40 and 44. The biggest decrease, of 10 percent, was among women aged 35 to 39. More than 90% of Finnish women cited socioeconomic reasons for their abortions rather than health issues. Just .4 percent of women said abortions were necessary to protect their health.
Mississippi Girl Gets Adult Stem Cell Research Treatment in Mexico
Pass Christian, MS (LifeNews.com) — Because the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not approved the use of stem cells in treating neurological diseases, a Mississippi girl has traveled to Mexico to receive an experimental stem cell procedure. The injections of the adult stem cells are designed to save 4 year-old Jordan Logan’s life. Once a healthy newborn, Jordan is now blind, on a feeding tube and bathed by a team of nurses because she has a rare genetic disorder caused by an enzyme deficiency. Jordan has received the umbilical cord treatments twice and they seem to be helping. When Jordan was diagnosed before her second birthday, doctors say she wouldn’t survive the winter. Now she has had some sight restored and is progressing.
New Zealand Court Will Allow Abortion Case to Continue
Wellington, New Zealand (LifeNews.com) — A New Zealand court will allow a case against the Abortion Supervisory Committee filed by the country’s pro-life group to continue. A Wellington High Court judge says parts of the case can move on but dismissed other parts of it. New Zealand Right to Life wants the courts to force the committee to challenge abortion practitioners when they perform abortions for supposedly mental health reasons. Right to Life says some abortion practitioners are falsely saying some abortions are necessary on those grounds. Attorneys for New Zealand say the case misinterprets the country’s abortion laws. The judge wants Right to Life to redraft the case to include only the parts he allowed.
Oklahoma University Won’t Offer Dangerous RU 486 Abortion Drug
Oklahoma City, OK (LifeNews.com) — The Goddard Health Center at the University of Oklahoma won’t offer the RU 486 abortion drug to students because it does not have the ultrasound capability needed to determine if women should not be using it. Mark McCraw, Goddard clinic manager told the Oklahoma Daily student newspaper, "We do not have the facilities that would allow us to carry this pill. We do not have certain equipment to perform ultrasounds to determine if a patient meets the requirements for the abortion pill." The facility would need to first know what stage of pregnancy a woman is in before giving her the abortion drugs because outside of the seventh to ninth weeks of pregnancy, it is dangerous for women. Even during those times it is dangerous and has resulted in the deaths of five women in the United States alone and others elsewhere.
