Fifty Babies Survive Abortions Yearly in Britain

THE SUNDAY TIMES Nov. 27 — Doctors in Britain, which allows abortion up to the 24th week of pregnancy, have reported that up to 50 babies survive abortions annually, according to the Sunday Times of London.

The Confidential Enquiry into Maternal and Child Health and the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, which regulates methods of abortion, mounted investigations. But rather than reevaluate the fact that abortion kills babies, however, the investigations come amid growing unease among abortion doctors that could see them being charged with murder.

Paul Clarke, a neonatal intensive care specialist in Norwich, has treated a boy born at 24 weeks after three failed abortion attempts. The mother decided to keep the child, who is now 2 years old but is suffering what doctors call “significant ongoing medical problems.”

The issue was highlighted by abortion survivor Gianna Jessen, 28, who spoke Dec. 6 at a parliamentary meeting organized by the Alive and Kicking campaign, which is lobbying for a reduction of the abortion limit to 18 weeks.

She said, “If people are going to talk about abortion, then it's important for them to know that these are babies that can be born alive and survive.”

Patriarchs’ Assembly Hopeful on Christians’ Future

ASIANEWS, Nov. 28 — The patriarchs of the seven Eastern Catholic Churches convened a meeting full of hope and confidence for the future of Christians in the Middle East, AsiaNews reported.

Latin Patriarch Michel Sabbah, Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir, Melkite Patriarch Gregorius III Lahham, Coptic Patriarch Stephanos Ghattas, Chaldean Patriarch Emmanuel Delly, Syriac Patriarch Ignace Pierre VIII Abdel Ahad and Armenian Patriarch Nerses Bedros XIX Tarmouni gathered in Amman, Jordan, for the “Justice and Peace” conference.

Cardinal Sfeir said the meeting comes at “a critical time not only for the Middle East” since there is much talk “about clashes between different cultures, especially between Christians and Muslims.”

Archbishop Ghattas said he hoped the assembly will go well since it involves a topic that profoundly touches everyone. “In the East we suffer from the lack, if not the absence of, justice and peace.”

Liechtenstein Rejects Anti-Abortion Measure

ASSOCIATED PRESS, Nov. 28 — Voters in the tiny, predominantly Catholic alpine principality of Liechtenstein soundly rejected an initiative would have prevented abortion, Associated Press reported.

Less than 20% of voters cast ballots in favor of a constitutional amendment, supported by the country's archbishop, seeking to protect human life from conception to natural death. Instead, nearly 80% ratified a government counterproposal, which legalized abortion. The country had previously permitted abortion only in limited cases such as when the mother's life is in danger.

Once a sovereign state of the Holy Roman Empire, Liechtenstein is about three-quarters Roman Catholic. Liechtenstein, a country nestled in the Alps between Switzerland and Austria, is the size of Washington, D.C., and has a population of 33,000. The national holiday is August 15, the Catholic feast of the Assumption.

Archbishop Wolfgang Haas called the legislation a “death melody.”