Better View of the Womb

BBC NEWS, July 6—A hi-tech scan of the baby within the womb is providing prospective parents with more clues about their child's appearance, reported BBC News.

The Voluson 730 scanner shows in minute and realistic details the activities and even the facial expressions of the baby within the womb.

The scan can be used from as early as the seventh week of pregnancy and is mainly for the interest of parents, but it can also be invaluable in picking up certain physical abnormalities.

Professor Stuart Campbell, head of obstetrics and gynecology at St. George's Hospital Medical School, who pioneered the new “4-D ultrasound,” said the technique allowed parents to make an early bond with their child.

He noted, “One mother said seeing her daughter in the womb had encouraged her to give up smoking.”

Pro-Life Video in Israel

HA'ARETZ, July 4—Controversy erupted in the Knesset (Israeli Parliament) Committee on the Status of Women when it discussed abortions in the wake of the distribution to some 350,000 Israeli households of a pro-life video by Efrat, a nonprofit pro-life group, reported Ha'aretz.

Health Minister Nissim Dahan stressed to irate members of Parliament that his ministry had nothing to do with the video's distribution, and that it would not include clips from the tape in the informational material the ministry itself distributes.

Nevertheless, he said, he found the tape instructive, reported Ha'aretz. “I received the impression that the social workers don't do their jobs faithfully and that the abortion committees (medical committees that by law must approve all abortions) approve terminations of pregnancy without sufficient thought.”

Money Over Morals

FOCUS ON THE FAMILY, July 5—Alan Crockett, of the Zogby International polling firm, said his group found that economics, not pro-abortion convictions, influence minorities to support pro-abortion candidates, reported Focus on the Family.

Crockett said, “In our culture polls, where we specifically survey six major U.S. ethnic groups, we found that there was a distinct difference between how many of the specific ethnic groups perceive abortion,” reported Focus on the Family.

Hispanics were the most pro-life minority in the sample, followed by African-Americans and Arab-Americans.

John McHenry, a pollster and political analyst, said that if minority groups see slower economic growth they may be more apt to vote for pro-abortion candidates who promise economic freedom. He also said that nearly all voters put money over morals when they believe times are tough.