Education Before Abortion

THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT, Oct. 1 — Women who want to have an abortion in Virginia are now required to undergo counseling 24 hours in advance. The law took effect Oct. 1.

“This is not onerous,” said Fiona Givens, spokeswoman for the Virginia Society for Human Life. “There are very few people in contemporary society who would find education burdensome, especially in a decision such as abortion, which is irreversible.”

The bill was crafted to closely parallel a Pennsylvania law that was upheld as constitutional in 1992.

No Abortion in the Military

ASSOCIATED PRESS — In a story on the activities of various advocacy groups in the wake of Sept. 11, the wire service reports that an amendment to enable military women deployed overseas to pay for abortion services at military hospitals was defeated in the House of Representatives Oct. 2.

While decried by pro-abortion groups, the measure was welcomed by pro-life advocates, who have compared the loss of life in terrorist attacks to what takes place in an abortion.

“It's a tragedy that so many people have died in the World Trade Center,” said Thomas Minnery, vice president of public policy for the Christian ministry Focus on Family. “But we're mindful of the unborn babies that continue to die day in, day out, and people seem to be not as concerned about them. That is human life, too.”

Don't Confuse Gay and Civil Rights

TRAVERSE CITY RECORD EAGLE, Oct. 2 — There is “no valid analogy” between the civil rights battles of the 1960s and today's gay rights movement, the founder of Courage, a Catholic organization that helps homosexuals live according to Church teaching, told the governing commission of Traverse City, Mich.

The commission heard testimony Oct. 1 on Proposal 1, a ballot initiative that will go before city voters in November prohibiting the city from enacting any ordinance or policy that offers special protection to persons according to sexual orientation.

Father Harvey urged residents to vote yes on Proposal 1 to prevent city regulations from creating “unavoidable conflict” for persons trying to follow their faith.

Pro-Life Meeting in Russia

LIFESITE, Oct. 1 — The pro-life Web site reported that the Russian Orthodox Church has scheduled a pro-life conference in Moscow for Nov. 26 on “Family and Demography.” The conference is significant because abortion on demand was readily available in Russia throughout the Soviet era, and Russia is today experiencing rapid population decline.

Father Maxim Obukhov, a Russian Orthodox priest and director of a pro-life center in Moscow, said the conference will gather pro-life activists from Russia, other former Soviet republics and abroad.

Dr Jack Wilkie of International Right to Life and Ewa Kowalewsky, director of European bureau of Human Life International, are scheduled to speak at the conference, which will explore the spiritual roots of demographic depression in Russia and other European countries.