Pro-Life News: Underpopulation in Europe, UN Bullies on Abortion 
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by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
August 5, 2007
British Media Outlet Admits Europe Experiencing Underpopulation Crisis
London, England (LifeNews.com) — Pro-life advocates have been trying to make it clear to the world that many industrialized nations are not experiencing overpopulation but, rather, a birth dearth. Especially in Europe, population levels are dangerously low and under the figures needed to sustain the population. On Saturday, the BBC admitted that pro-life advocates are right and that abortion has presented problems, especially for nations in eastern Europe where it has been considered a method of birth control for so long that the population is ravaged. "Population levels across many parts of the developed world are declining, but this is particularly noticeable in former Eastern Bloc states where the number of children being born has plummeted within a generation,’ the BBC admitted in an article. The news outlet quoted Boris Vano, from the Slovak Demographic Research Centre, who said about the nation of Slovakia, "In 1974, 100,000 babies were born in Slovakia – now barely 50,000 a year." The BBC admitted that nations like Poland are experiencing worker shortages as too few people are alive to maintain the economy.
Pro-Life Group Upset United Nations Bullies Nicaragua on Abortion
New York, NY (LifeNews.com) — Pro-life groups are outraged by recent attempts of the United Nations Committee on the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) to intimidate nations that protect the unborn. At its meeting in New York this week, CEDAW Committee members browbeat diplomats from pro-life countries. Honduras, which has a right-to-life provision in its constitution, was practically ordered to legalize abortion. Committee member Heisoo Shin told the Honduran delegation that their government must "create a momentum, a social force that stops the crime that allows a woman to die, to risk unsafe abortion and not to have self-determination." When the Hondurans responded that their government emphasizes preventing early and unwanted pregnancies, Silvia Pimentel, a committee member from Brazil, insisted: "Women have their reasons to seek an abortion, which should be respected." Larry Jacobs, global coordinator of the World Congress of Families, called this hectoring "intolerable." "The CEDAW Treaty – adopted by the General Assembly in 1979 – doesn’t even mention the word ‘abortion,’" Jacobs noted. "These pressure tactics are based on the personal agendas of committee members. As such, they do not carry the weight of international law." He added: ""Nations that acknowledge the humanity of the unborn child and offer it legal protection should not be subjected to these obscene pressure tactics."
Pro-Life Champion Henry Hyde Recovers From Heart Surgery
Chicago, IL (LifeNews.com) — Congressman Henry Hyde of Illinois is well-known within the pro-life movement for his role in leading the fight for life on Capitol Hill for decades. A skilled orator who has received countless awards, Hyde is best known for his work on the annual budget bills to make sure that federal taxpayer dollars aren’t used to pay for abortions. He is credited with stopping perhaps hundreds of thousands of abortions since first proposing the Hyde amendment in 1977. The Supreme Court later upheld it as constitutional. Hyde served in Congress for 32 years before retiring last year and now the statesman is recovering from heart surgery. He is reportedly doing fine but is several weeks away from returning home, according to his wife. "He’s still on a respirator, and he probably will be for a while yet, trying to get the lungs cleared out,” said his wife, Judy. "He’s conscious but very uncomfortable with that tube." However, she added, "He’s always giving a thumbs up when you’re talking with him. We’re all anxious to get him back home again.” Hyde will likely spend time at a rehab facility before returning home. Doctors operated after blockages in Hyde’s arteries were discovered.
Thousands of Human Eggs Could be Missing From Fertility Clinics
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) — A new investigation reveals thousands of human eggs stored for customers at fertility clinics may be missing. According to the Orange County Register newspaper, more than 100 fertility doctors in dozens of states may have brokered unauthorized transfers of human eggs, according to the bankruptcy court filing of a local company and its former records supervisor. Options National Fertility Registry was forced out of business in 2003. One egg donor later learned that the doctor gave some of her eggs to a second couple without her knowledge, permission or consent, the bankruptcy documents say. Other documents show that 596 embryos, and 2,189 eggs, unaccounted for. Gene Rudd, MD, the senior vice president of the Christian Medical and Dental Association commented on the case. "Could it be true? Possibly, but we need to remember this is one accuser, perhaps with an axe to grind. By her own admission, she does not know how to interpret the reports. Perhaps the reports did not require the reporting of eggs that failed to survive," he explained. "Nevertheless, this is fertile ground for fraud. Once you commodify human gametes (or embryos), they become like any other investment, ripe for abuse. Such abuse is more likely when the activity is mysterious and hidden from view."
