Facts of Life Email: March 24, 2006

CURRENT LIFE ISSUES:

u The state of Oregon released its latest annual report on assisted suicides there and a pro-life doctors group is concerned that patients are not getting proper psychological treatment before doctors give them drugs to kill themselves. The Oregon Health Department reported 38 people took their lives under the assisted suicide law, which is about the same number of people who died under the law in previous years. The typical profile of a patient using the assisted suicide law is a white male about the age of 70 who is battling cancer. Patients cite depression and other emotional fears as their reasons for using the assisted suicide law. Physicians for Compassionate Care expressed its "profound grief for those vulnerable individuals frightened into committing assisted suicide...Suicidal ideation is a symptom of depression, and this raises concern that depressed patients are being medically killed in Oregon." Learn more about Oregon's law and the dangers of euthanasia in California!

u A Chinese scientist is planning research allowing parents to be able to choose the sex of their baby before conception takes place. In a nation where sex-selection abortions have produced a gender imbalance, observers are concerned this will exacerbate the problem. Lu Kehuan, president of Guangxi Animal Breeding Research Institute, promises the research "would only be used for treating genetic diseases." Lu told the Xinhua news agency that his company has conducted a similar gender selection test on a buffalo and it proved successful. "It won't be too difficult to do the human research," Lu explained. Because of the gender imbalance problems with sex-selection abortions, they have been banned in China. In addition, health workers who reveal the sex of an unborn child to parents without a legitimate medical reason for doing so risk jail. However, the ban does not apply to gender selection for medical purposes. Learn more about sex-selection and abortion.

u The Michigan legislature is considering a bill that would protect women from being pressured or coerced into having an abortion. If any kind of legislation has a chance of finding common ground in the abortion debate, that's a bill that should. However, Planned Parenthood opposes the measure because they say it treads upon their sacred abortion cow and could cause some women planning to fork over a few hundred dollars to have an abortion to reconsider their decision. The measure simply asks abortion practitioners to inquire whether a woman considering an abortion has been forced or pressured into having it. "We have heard from too many women and girls who had unwanted abortions due to threats of withholding financial and emotional support," Feminists For Life of America president Serrin Foster said. "There is nothing pro-choice about having no choice." Follow this story on our news page.

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WHAT'S HAPPENING AT CPLC:

u The 2006 CPLC Youth Oratory Contest State Finals are just around the corner! It's not too late to get involved, we need your help to make sure every pro-life student has the chance to speak! It's easier than you think! Visit www.californiaprolife.org/speak or contact our office for all the details!

JOIN THE ADVENTURE!
CPLC has a variety of educational resources for you to share with your community. Learn more about all the current issues and how to get involved!

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"Society's prohibition of intentional killing is the cornerstone of law and social relationships. It protects each of us impartially, 
embodying the belief that all are equal."
Luke Gormally

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