Canada

A Leger Marketing poll has found that the gender gap on the question of opposition to abortion is small: 35 per cent of men and 33 per cent of women say abortion is immoral …Sue Wilkinsonand Celia Kitzinger, a lesbian couple in England who married in Canada in 2003, want the British government to recognize their marriage.  Britain High Court has yet to rule … The city of Ottawa has refused to fund the Ottawa-Gatineau Pride Week, but has forgiven $30,000 in debts for police and paramedic services at past celebrations … Former British Columbia NDP leader Joy McPhail, wife of television producer James Shavick, has bought OUTtv, the Toronto-based homosexual specialty channel. The Vancouver Sun reports she is developing new shows to grow the channel current 300,000 audience to one million … Liberal leadership hopeful Stephane Dion, a minister in Jean Chretien cabinet, says he is committed to gender parity in Canada Parliament and, as an initial step to that goal, is vowing to ensure one-third of Liberal nominations go to women. He is not clear on how that goal will be achieved … The London Free Press reported a transport truck carrying condoms spilled 250 kilograms of prophylactics onto Highway 401 near Ingersoll, Ont. after it jack-knifed and rolled over.

United States

For the fourth time, the Michigan Parole Board has rejected a request from Jack Kevorkian to be paroled. The euthanasia doctor was convicted in April 1999 of second-degree murder after helping Thomas Youk commit suicide … The New York Court of Appeals has upheld a state ban on same-sex marriage. The majority decision recognized that the definition of marriage is a question to be addressed by the legislature … After South Dakota banned abortion in almost all circumstances, Cecelia Fire Thunder proposed the establishment of an abortuary on the Sioux reservation. She is now being ousted as president of the Oglala Sioux Tribal Council for this abortion advocacy. Will Peters, the council member who filed a complaint against her, said, The Lakota people were adamantly opposed to abortion on our homeland. A U.S. District Court has ruled that a Supreme Court decision last year, which compelled the state of Missouri to allow a prison inmate to undergo an abortion and to provide transport to an abortion site, applies to all female prisoners in the state. Republican Governor Matt Blunt said, This ruling violates our traditional Missouri values and is an affront to everyone (who) values the sanctity of human life … A Los Angeles woman, who had triplets in 2003 following IVF treatment, gave birth to quadruplets, while no longer receiving fertility treatments, on July 7 at the White Medical Centre in East Los Angeles.

World

The United Kingdom health ministry has released its 2005 abortion statistics for England and Wales, revealing that the number of abortions in 2005 was 186,400, compared with 185,700 in 2004, a slight rise of 0.4 per cent … The Maltese government claims it cannot prevent Spanish abortionist Josep Carbonell from advertising his Valencia abortuary in its country. Carbonell is offering free abortions, because Malta does not permit abortion … Austria is the latest European nation to offer incentives to raise its dismal fertility rate. The government will provide two full years of pension allowance per child for mothers, a monthly benefit of $192 and tax credits … Condom manufacturer Durex has begun selling condoms made specifically for 13-16 year olds in Germany and will begin selling them in the United Kingdom in 2007. FPA (the Family Planning Association) is applauding Durex, but Matthew Gorman of LIFE says marketing condoms to young teens is “sick and irresponsible. The Daily Mail reports that over the past 20 years, at least 10 million unborn females have been illegally aborted in India because of the cultural preferences for sons … Li Shimei, a Chinese woman seven months pregnant, fell to her death at a hospital in Shuguang while trying to flee an attempt by local officials to force her to abort her unborn twins. She already had one child and thus was in violation of China one-child-per-family policy with the new pregnancy … Jinfend Zhu, a Chinese woman living in New Zealand who made $28,000 in new Zealand funds by selling illegal abortion pills, has been jailed for 20 months. She imported RU-486 illegally from China, had her parents send them to her and sold the pills to fellow students through a Chinese-language website . The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime™ 2006 World Drug Report says marijuana use is out of control, in part because it is erroneously thought to be a light drug.