Bioethics, culture of life, culture of death

"Majority stays pro-choice" Patricia Karvelas, The Australian, 29 December 2004
Bleak news for pro-lifers with their heightened challenge at least coming with a glimmer of hope. A Newspoll survey found that 89% favour access to abortion, 40% favoured termination where medical or psychological harm would be caused to the mother (despite the nebulous qualification), while 50% supported abortion on demand. Only 7% favoured an unconditional rejection of abortion. This follows a similar trend from a Newspoll survey in 1996. However, support for late-term abortion (once pregnancy has passed 20 weeks) is extremely low: 15%. Importantly the survey shows that Australians will listen to temperrate arguments against late termination. Younger women were significantly against abortion compared to older women.

"So what if the aborted baby cried" Melinda Tankard Reist, OnlineOpinion.com, 9 November 2004
The risks of terminating a pregnancy are well documented but women are kept in the dark, argues pro-life activist and author of "Giving Sorrow Words", Melinda Tankard Reist.

"Mother waits for baby that cannot survive" Teresa Streckfuss, The Sunday Mail, 20 June 2004
A saintly story to light up the sea of darkness that engulfs the abortion wars. Teresa Streckfuss's unborn child was diagnosed with a fatal condition that impairs brain development. Doctors gave the child only a few hours to live. Rather than abort the child, Teresa and husband Mark chose to have Charlotte Mary, and spend what little time they had reading and singing to her, joined by their other children, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. Extraordinarily, the couple has been through this before. Their previous child, Benedict Oliver, survived only one day, with the same condition. "She is not a mistake – Charlotte is a person made in the image and likeness of God," said Teresa. If you ever wondered what real feminism, or "new feminism" in the words of Pope John II (see "They said it" above), is, here it is.

"Why Carry a Dying Child? A Mother's Perspective" Teresa Streckfuss, Catholic Exchange, 6 January 2004
In Teresa Streckfuss own words, why she continued the pregnancy of her baby whom she was told would not live long after birth due to a fatal condition.

"Inflated Promise, Distorted Facts" Eric Cohen, National Online Review 25 May 2004
Unlike Australia and other parts of the world, US federal legislation (the Dickey Ammendment 1995) prevents government funding of research for cures using human embryos, without preventing private institutes from this undertaking . In August 2001, President Bush announced new guidelines which allowed use of human embryo stem (ES) cell lines that existed prior to the announcement, but not those created after. Bush argued that this did not sanction destructive use of embryos in the future. Recently, a number of US congressman wrote a letter to the president demanding increased federal funding for more ES cell lines. Eric Cohen, editor of bioethics and culture journal, The New Atlantis, analyses the arguments put forward shows how they distort the realities the scientific realities of cure, how much is available under the current provision, and the mass-scale of supply needed given the immunological constraints of using ES-stem cells. Must reading for those tracking the debate, particularly with next year's review of our own federal government's ES research provision. (Here's an excellent precis on the science behind stem cell research).

"Suing for the Right to Live" Wesley J. Smith, The Weekly Standard 11 May 2004
Weak and vulnerable patients in the United Kingdom are having a duty to die imposed upon them by medical ethicists and the courts' approval of Futile Care Theory. Guidelines which amount to "medical futility" or "inappropriate care" are levers for hospital bioethics committees pronounce judgements about whether lives are beyond saving, and worth saving. Coming soon to neighbourhood Australia.

Marriage

"Diversity and change in Australian families" Australian Institute of Family Studies, December 2004
A confirmation of  a familiar and worrying pattern in Australian demographics: the sheer variety of liberated lifestyle choices is leading to a delay in partnerships and a steep deline in propensity for fertility. Through his study on social, health and economic surveys, Professor David De Vaus has chronicled (in "Diversity and Change in Australian Families") the shrinking size of Australian households, ageing of our population and the rise of people living alone. By 2016, ABS statistics suggest that childless couples will be the dominant family model. Professor De Vaus found trends to be sympotamtic of rising risk aversion, with many people forgoing social committment altogether.

"Early word for a happier split" Bettina Arndt, The Australian, 20 July 2004
If Canberra wants to improve life for children after divorce, then lawyers should be avoided, suggests one time leftist celebrity Bettina Arndt.

"Motherhood as a meal ticket" Barry Maley and Peter Saunders, Centre for Independent Studies, 1 July 2004
Why has a conservative government suddenly decided to pay teenage girls to have babies, asks Barry Maley and Peter Saunders of the Centre for Independent Studies?

"Comparing the Lifestyles of Homosexual Couples to Married Couples" Timothy J. Dailey, Family Research Council, 21 June 2004
Are the lifestyles of homosexual couples conducive to responsibility of securely raising children, the traditional function of marriage? This article demonstrates how homosexual unions fare against traditional marriages on the following factors: relationship duration; monogamy versus promiscuity; relationship commitment; number of children raised; health risks; and rates of intimate partner violence. In case you're thinking, homophobia, consider that gays intellects like Camille Paglia and Andrew Sullivan (editor of The New Republic) openly acknowledge these.

Childless couples to rise dramatically in coming years:ABS" ABC Queensland, 18 June 2004
Childless couples are on the increase due to delays in marriage (and therefore decreased propensity for children), higher divorce and separation, and increased ageing population. As early as 2010, the number of childless couples could exceed those  with children.

"Attack on marriage goes well beyond Play School" Kevin Donnelly, The Australian, 8 June 2004
One working day after the amendment the Marriage Act 1961 was discussed in federal parliament, ABC Play School aired a segment in its show featuring a lesbian couple. In response to criticism from family groups, a manager from Play School defended the show as reflecting broader society, citing a concern that children from gay couples had suffered ridicule in schools. Education expert Kevin Donnelly warns that Play School is the latest in the trend of public education agents to get into the act of gay activism, pointing to sources of the drumbeat - teachers unions. 

"Before the Storm" NR editors, National Online Review, 17 May 2004
"Judges have the power, indeed the duty, to vindicate individual rights that the people, acting through legislatures and the formal amendment process, have decided the government should recognize. It cannot plausibly be said that the people ever decided that two persons of the same sex have a right to marry each other. That judges nonetheless are capable of reaching this result is a testament to the way we have become used to their seizing certain constitutional terms as a warrant for freewheeling political philosophizing. That kind of amendment from the bench now threatens to take another important subject from the people's jurisdiction. We should say no, and the only way to do that is by a constitutional amendment."

"No hatred in keeping marriage laws sacred" Janet Albrechtsen, The Australian, 12 May 2004
A dissenter among local media ranks, Albrechtsen allows the legal argument for marriage to speak; namely that marriage bonds because husband and wife to each other it implicates children. Drawing on Stanley Kurtz's insights from Scandinavia, Albrechtsen argues from empirical evidence that where accommodated, gay marriage will lead to break-down of marriage. 

"The case against gay marriage" George Pell, The Australian, 4 May 2004
The Howard Government's ammendments to the marriage act deserve bipartisan support, argues Cardinal George Pell.

"FAMILY: Fatherhood and marriage - a vital connection" Bill Muehlenberg, Newsweekly, 31 January 2004
Bill Muehlenberg, national Vice-President of the AFA and leading family apostle in Australia, discusses the evidence which shows that stable marriage encourages good parenting, and vice versa. His thesis is simple: "If you are concerned about the decline of fatherhood, you should be concerned about the decline of marriage. The two are closely related, and when we do damage to the one we do damage to the other. As sociologist David Popenoe succinctly puts it, 'The decline of marriage is a disaster for fatherhood.' Or as Karl Zinmeister simply but effectively says, 'no solid marriage, no good family man'."

"The Case Against Same-Sex Marriage" Tim Leslie, Crises magazine, 8 January 2004
A further antidote against the knee-jerk charge that to be against gay marriage and adoption is homophobia. The article surveys familiar arguments against traditional marriage proponents and offers insights from gays writers and activists, showing clearly that concerns are hardly anti-gay. For instance, studies shows, and gay writers themselves insist, that promiscuity is largely alien in gay relationships. Some gay writers suggest that marriage with its formalisation of commitment would thereby strengthen gay unions. With the clerical sexual abuse that hit the Catholic Church in mind, and with it high correlation with homosexual priests (90% of abuse cases in the US), Leslie warns against naive deference. Other gay writers like Andrew Sullivan say that gay inclusion into marriage itself will have to adapt for polygamous arrangements - indeed heterosexual marriage could draw confidence that marriage can endure and even accommodate infidelity. A unique statistic, and one which will be awkward for proponents for gay marriage/adoption, is the disproportionately high incidence of sexual abuse by gay parents of their children - 29%.

Parenting and child-care

Q&A with Mary Eberstadt Mary Eberstadt, National Online Review, 17 December 2004
Hoover Institutue scholar and author of recently published book, "Home-Alone America" Mary Eberstadt discusses the impacts of parental absenteeirsm on children: behavioural aggression, juvenille obesity, knee-jerk reliance on (teneous) psychiatric drugs like Ritalin for children and an epidemic scale of sexually transmitted diseases among teenagers.

"Former rocker Geldof says two parents ideal way to raise children" LifeSite, 7 October 2004
Third world campaigner and rock muscian Bob Geldof makes a passionate plea for children to be brought by two parents.

"Pity for for parents if Bill's flaws are ignored" Jane Fynes-Clinton, The Courier Mail, 17 June 2004
Federal Health Minister Tony Abbot's Parental Access to Information Bill2004,  to give parents the right to apply for access to their children's medical records up to the age of 16, was withdrawn after strong rejection from the backbench. Here is a considered if not flawless analysis of this delicate issue, in which parental responsibility is delicately balanced against teenagers enticed into seeking help through privacy. Fynes-Clinton says the bill is good for parents finding out if their child is thinking about suicide, but bad if they find out whether the morning-after pill has been sought.

"Child-focussed sexual abuse prevention programs: how effective are they in preventing child abuse" Crime and Misconduct Commission QLD, 5 June 2004
A study of the current approaches for child sexual abuse prevention, identifying the following flaws: inadequate sex education background compromising an adequate description of sex abuse; overemphasis of "stranger danger" and under emphasis of "familiar" adult as abusers; inadequate grooming against abusers, in particular resisting adult authority when it comes to harmful acts; inadequate discernment of sexual abuse, including the fact that all not all abuse involves physical acts; inadequate catering for boys. A useful study which is by not means the last word. Contact the CMC with any feedback.

"Teach but don't preach" Andrew Bolt, Herald Sun, 5 May 2004
Our education crises has been largely shaped by teachers and education curricula that extend the duty of teaching into social consciousness in which facts and legitimate debates take a backseat to feelings and bias. Said otherwise, teaching is becoming the podium for left-wing political indoctrination. To cultural Marxists in the new education game,  Andrew Bolt is poison. The acidic key of Bolt is to tell is as it is, and here he samples emails sent to him by school children, to tell it as it is. Must reading for parents.

"Father Knows Best" Gina R, Dalfonzo, National Online Review, 11 February 2004

Economics, tax and benefits

"They'll need less if we let them take home more" Peter Saunders, Centre for Independent Studies, 25 September 2004
Tax cuts, not credits, would work best for low earners, argues Peter Saunders of the Centre for Independent Studies.

"Nappy Families" Peter McDonald, The Courier Mail, March 2004
A reflection of the family stimulatory policy of Federal Budget 2004, which according the Australia's leading demographer, Professor Peter McDonald, will enhance the prospects of families to produce children.

Health / Medical

"Summit on grog abuse needed" Guy Barnett, The Australian, 31 December 2004
The federal Ministerial Council on Drug Strategy found that that our youngest drinkers drink more and more agressively compared with the previous generations, and costing $7.5 million a year in health. Liberal senator from Tasmania, Guy Barnett, argues for a national summit on grog to kick-start a cooperative strategy between the government, the alcohol industry and the medical/scientific communities to address this tear-away crises.

"Abbot wants to clamp down on morning-after pill" CathNews, 8 June 2004
Federal Health Minister Tony Abbot is considering measures to restrict access to the morning-after pill (Postinor-2) following reports that it has been sold to young teenage girls. Since January this year, the drug has been available over the counter. The Australian Medical Association welcomed Mr Abbot's move, having raised warnings about the safety of the drug. The AMA has said availability of the drug over the counter trivialises women's health.

"Surgical Sex" Paul McHugh, First Things, November 2004
An in-depth analysis on effective sexual identity changes through surgery on children exhibiting apparent gender ambiguity. The article looks at how individuals resorted to behavioural traits of their real genders.

Education

"We can't really count on calculators" Kevin Donnelly, The Australian, 23 November 2004
After the literacy war, the challenge of numeracy needs to be tackled argues Kevin Donnelly, citing from the Australian Mathematical Sciences Council:"Australia will not be able to compete with the rest of the world if its people are hobbled by half-baked and incompetent approaches to the teaching of mathematics."

Media / Internet

"Call for crackdown on net porn" Kate Legge, The Australian, 30 December 2004
A Newspoll survey once again confirms that Australians believe that reach to Internet porn to sexual predators is easier, and that tougher protection is required.

"Act won't slam the door on spam, but it will help" Edward Mantla, The Australian, 20 April 2004
The Spam Act was passed earlier this year. It forbids bulk email advertising, without a prior relationship between and an opt-out of receiving mail. Since most spam comes from overseas, and since most anti-spamming laws overseas have failed, the act is unlikely to have a major impact on most mail "inboxes." Here's some tips from the Australian Computer Society, mainly applying to business users, where the act will have impact. Alas, for parents and the community at large, pornographic spam will continue to be a problem.

Society and culture

"The Age of Egocasting" Christine Rosen, The New Atlantis, Winter 2004 issue (US)
An in-depth analysis on the cult of iPod style hand-helds.

"2004 on Film" Thomas Hibbs, National Online Review, 30 December 2004
NRO film guru analyses the best and the worst of films for 2004. No guesses his choice of the best is: The Passion.

"Nicole Kidman in controversial movie" Richard Egan, Australian Family Association, December 2004
AFA leader Richard Egan writes about Oscar winning actress Nicole Kidman's new movie where she shares a bath with a 10 year old boy, kissing him and talking about their future sex life.

"No danger of another stolen generation" Noel Pearson, The Australian, 5 November 2004
A good education at boarding school can help indigenous Australians go a long way in life, argues civilian leader of Aboriginal affairs, Noel Pearson.

"QLD 2020: A State for All Ages" QLD Department of Families, March 2004

"Amazing Grace and The Lord of the Rings" James G. Dixon III, Vision and Values Consise March 2004
J.R.R Tolkien, a devout Catholic, and a spiritual mentor to C. S. Lewis, insisted in a letter that “The Lord of the Rings is of course a fundamentally religious and Catholic work” but that he deliberately cut “all references to anything like religion.... For the religious element is absorbed into the story and the symbolism.”