World Family Policy Center News
6/17/02
Volume 1, Issue 10
The following excerpts are highlights of current events and do not
necessarily represent the views of the World Family Policy Center or Brigham
Young University.
FROM THE WORLD FAMILY POLICY CENTER
WORLD COURT A RISK, CRITIC (click to link to Sunday Herald
Sun)
16 JUN 2002, Page 028
By GERARD McMANUS
Sunday
Herald Sun
The soon-to-be established World Court
could be used to prosecute nations who discriminated against women, homosexuals
and minority groups, an international critic of the court has warned.
American academic and a leading critic of the court since its formation,
Professor Richard Wilkins, says Australia would be wise to follow America's
lead in refusing to participate in the court, or risk serious consequences in
years to come.
Professor Wilkins said the definitions of what constituted a ``crime'' by the
International Criminal Court were open to almost any definition.
For example, Australian Democrats Senator Brian Grieg recently told
Federal Parliament that victims of genocide in Australia included not only
Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders, but ``people with disabilities, the gay
and lesbian community and many others''.
Attorney-General Daryl Williams has consistently argued that the World Court would only prosecute grave crimes
against humanity which could not be achieved by national courts, but the
international feminist group, the Women's Caucus for Gender Justice, has
already begun preparing the way for cases of ``crimes against women''.
IN THE NEWS
ABORTION: A MORAL QUAGMIRE (click
to read the full article)
Fox
News
Tuesday,
June 11, 2002
By Wendy McElroy
Abortion. The word alone causes civil conversation to flee the
room. This is largely because the pro-choice and pro-life positions are
being defined by their extremes, by those who scream accusations in lieu of
arguments. More reasonable voices and concerns, on both sides of the
fence, are given short shrift.
I don't know if good will is possible on this highly charged and divisive
issue. Both sides may find themselves able to work together on measures that
improve the situation, for example, by making adoption far easier. What I do
know is that the extremes cannot be allowed to dominate debate. The stakes in
abortion are too high.
HOMOSEXUALITY
AND CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE (click to read full article)
Family Research Council, Timothy J. Dailey Ph.D.
Scandals
involving the sexual abuse of under-age boys by homosexual priests have rocked
the Roman Catholic Church. At the same time, defenders of homosexuality argue
that youth organizations such as the Boy Scouts should be forced to include
homosexuals among their adult leaders. Similarly, the Gay Lesbian and Straight
Education Network (GLSEN), a homosexual activist organization that targets
schools, has spearheaded the formation of "Gay-Straight Alliances"
among students. GLSEN encourages homosexual teachers -- even in the youngest
grades -- to be open about their sexuality, as a way of providing role models
to "gay" students. In addition, laws or policies banning employment
discrimination based on "sexual orientation" usually make no exception
for those who work with children or youth.
Many parents
have become concerned that children may be molested, encouraged to become
sexually active, or even "recruited" into adopting a homosexual
identity and lifestyle. Gay activists dismiss such concerns -- in part, by
strenuously insisting that there is no connection between homosexuality and the
sexual abuse of children.
However,
despite efforts by homosexual activists to distance the gay lifestyle from
pedophilia, there remains a disturbing connection between the two. This is
because, by definition, male homosexuals are sexually attracted to other males.
While many homosexuals may not seek young sexual partners, the evidence
indicates that disproportionate numbers of gay men seek adolescent males or
boys as sexual partners. In this paper we will consider the following evidence
linking homosexuality to pedophilia.
AT
THE UN
ABORTION: U.N. RELEASES REVIEW OF
COUNTRIES' POLICIES (click to read full news
brief)
The United
Nations announced Friday that its Population Division has issued an updated
country-by-country review
of national abortion policies around the world. The publication includes
analysis of the social and political contexts of abortion law and the ways in
which laws have evolved over time.
According to
the review, abortion is legal to save the life of the woman in 98 percent of
the world's countries. The procedure is legal to preserve the woman's
health in 63 percent of countries, to preserve mental health in 62
percent, in case of rape or incest in 43 percent, in case of fetal impairment
in 39 percent and for economic or social reasons in 33
percent. Abortion is legal upon request in 27 percent of all
countries, 65 percent of developed countries and 14 percent of developing
countries.
The review also indicates 40 percent of the 50 million abortions
performed each year are done illegally (U.N. release,
June 14).
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