Canada
In an interview with LifeSiteNews.com, London Bishop Ronald Fabro said that when it comes to voting, Catholics should give abortion and euthanasia a priority over issues such as war and the death penalty … By-elections will be held in Repentigny (Quebec) and London North Centre (Ontario) on Nov. 27. Possible contenders in the London North Centre election include Diane Haskett, the former London mayor who was censured by the Ontario Human Rights Commission for refusing to proclaim gay pride in the city, who is seeking the Tory nominatin, and former Liberal Party president Mike Eizenga, who has referred to same-sex “marriage” as a “Canadian value.” Green Party leader Elizabeth May might also run … Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty has named openly lesbian Kathleen Wynne as the new minister of education, while the minister of health, the openly gay George Smitherman, becomes deputy premier … Gerry Phillips, minister of government services in Ontario, announces that he will introduce measures to limit the advertisement of gambling websites … The Globe and Mail reports that Canada has a labour shortage, a result of a growing economy but stagnant population growth, and that immigration is insufficient to deal with the problem … CTV reports that British Columbia is suffering from labour shortages, leading one submarine sandwich restaurant owner to offer a rent-free apartment on top of a $9 hourly wage … Dr. Robert Walley, founder of the pro-life maternal health organization MaterCare International, and a Newfoundland doctor told the organization’s conference in Rome that doctors who refuse to do abortion are bein pressured to quit obstetrics.
United States
It is estimated that at 7.56 a.m. on Oct. 17, the United States population passed the 300 million mark. Many media outlets noted that America is unique among Western democracies in that its population is actually growing. Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez said a growing population is good for the economy … Abortion supporter and 2004 Democratic presidential nominee Senator John Kerry is mulling a bid to seek the presidency again in 2008 … A study by Dr. Steven C. Martino of the Rand Institute finds that teens 12-17 who listen to “music with degrading lyrics” are more likely to engage in sexual intercourse, although the research, published in the journal Pediatrics, does not find a correlation between non-degrading sexual lyrics and sexual activity. Martino told Reuters: “If I’m a 13-year-old boy and I keep hearing that women are sex objects and men are players, then I might to start to think that’s a reasonable way for me to be” … USA Today reports that there are an estimated “100 openly gay judges, most of them in California, New York and Chicago,” among the approximately 30,000 federal, state and local judges in the country.
International
The Association of Christian Doctors in Catalonia Spain tells Catalonia’s Consultative Bioethics Committee euthanasia falls outside the proper purview of medicine and they “do not want to be executioners.” Ferran García-Fària says a person’s dignity always has an “absolute intrinsic value” … Heidi Klum has gotten media attention for declaring that her and husband singer Seal “want to have a lot of children.” The German supermodel, who is expecting, already has two children, aged two years and 10 months … The BBC reports that some pregnant teenagers smoke to reduce their baby’s birth weight and reduce labour pains … Angeli Whitehead, 28, is sentenced to two years community service for leaving her newborn baby, Ann Louise, in a dumpster in a pub near Whitehaven, England last November. It is unclear whether or not the baby died prior to being dumped in the garbage bin … The Sunday Telegraph reports that U.K.’s Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority has approved an increasing number of IVF treatments for single women, including a fourfold increase in the number of lesbians provided artificial reproductive assistance since 2001 … The Independent reports that women undergoing IVF treatment are at increased risk for health problems, because of the overuse of unregulated drugs that are used to stimulate egg production and the steroids used to aid implantation of embryos … In violation of Japan’s anti-surrogate mother medical guidelines, it is announced that last year, a woman in her 50s gave birth to her granddaughter after carrying the child of her daughter and son- in-law, whose egg and sperm were used for the IVF treatment. Yahiro Netsu, director of the Suwa Maternity Clinic, told the Japan Times he broke the law to begin a debate on the issue of surrogacy … The National Examination Board in India is about to introduce a school curriculum that includes sex education to children as young as five … Beijing may no longer turn a blind eye to violations of its one-child policy in rural China, although it may not be as ruthless in its enforcement as it is in the cities. The BBC reports that the communist government will offer a monthly pension of $75 – about one-fifth the typical rural family’s monthly income – to parents who have just one son or two daughters … The Nicaraguan parliament is considering extending the country’s ban on abortion to include cases where the mother’s life is at risk. The ban is supported by Daniel Ortega, presidential candidate and former communist president of the country.