Preventing Teen Pregnancy

BRITISH MEDICAL JOURNAL, Jan. 5 — In a letter to the British Medical Journal, Dr. Trevor Stammers argues that intact marriage of the parents is key to tackling the challenge of teen-age pregnancy rampant in England.

Professor Stammers, a tutor in General Practice at St. George's Hospital Medical School in London, quotes studies saying: “Young people aged 14-17 who live in a two-parent family are less likely to have ever had sexual intercourse than young people living in any other family arrangement.”

Ban on Fetal Tissue Research?

ASSOCIATED PRESS, Jan. 7 — A proposed ban on the use of fetal tissue from aborted babies in research at state institutions in Nebraska promises to cause rancor in the upcoming legislative session.

A pre-session survey of state senators shows that the bill sponsored by Sen. Dwite Pedersen of Elkhorn would likely pass — provided it gets to a vote. Of the 48 senators who responded, 28 were against the practice and three were leaning toward opposition. Five did not respond to the question.

Gov. Mike Johanns, a devout Catholic, has promised to sign the ban if it is passed by the Legislature.

Michigan End-of-Life Care

ASSOCIATED PRESS, Jan. 3 — Michigan Gov. John Engler signed legislation intended to help people as they approach death by improving pain management and offering hospice alternatives.

Pro-life groups hope the measure will help provide positive, life-affirming alternatives to assisted suicide. Much of the legislation is designed to encourage people to tell their families how they want to be treated as they near death.

Pregnancy Center's Surprise

SANFORD HERALD, Dec. 31 — The Reach Out Crisis Pregnancy Center recently received an unexpected gift when Donald Oldham, president of Sanford Contractors Inc., donated the property the center had been leasing.

The center offers assistance to women or couples who are pregnant or have just had a child.

The center has been in the same location for more than three years, but the nonprofit group had been leasing the property from Oldham and his company. When it came time to renew the lease this year, he decided to donate the property and building to the group.

Ban on ‘Morning-After Pill’

LIFESITE DAILY NEWS, Jan. 4 — The Bureau of Food and Drugs of the Philippines recently de-listed the so-called morning-after pill, Levonorgestrel (750 mcg.), from its registry of drug products and directed the recall of all existing stocks in the country after finding that it is an abortive drug.

The order, issued Dec. 7, also prohibited further importation of the drug.