Priests Go ‘NGO'

LIFENEWS, Aug. 11 — Pro-life advocates who lobby at the United Nations have reason to rejoice: Priests for Life has applied for — and received — special status as a nongovernmental organization, officially recognized by the United Nations.

With the new status, Priests for Life can designate official representatives to the United Nations at both its New York headquarters and its satellite offices in Geneva and Vienna.

Father Frank Pavone, national director of Priests for Life, said the organization plans to have a strong presence at U.N. conferences, speak at U.N. subsidiary meetings and vigorously propose items to be considered for the agenda of the Economic and Social Council.

Human Cloning Condemned

MAYO CLINIC PROCEEDINGS, Aug. 12 — One of the leading authorities in American medicine, the Mayo Clinic, has published an article in its journal Proceedings that argues for medicine to support a comprehensive ban on human cloning — both for reproductive and “therapeutic” purposes.

The article, “Why Medicine Should Reject Human Cloning,” was signed by a long list of distinguished clinicians and researchers, some affiliated with the Center for Bioethics and Human Dignity, as well as former Surgeon General C. Everett Koop.

Baltimore Abstinence Ads

WASHINGTON TIMES, Aug. 10 — A nonprofit abstinence-education group based in Baltimore, Campaign for Our Children, has begun a $3 million public education program that targets boys and girls separately, according to the Kaiser Network's daily Reproductive Health Report.

The ad aimed at boys is titled “Wait” and features 200 teen-age boys saying, “We will wait. … We will be smart. We will be strong. We will respect ourselves.”

The commercial for girls is titled “Pink” and includes teen-age girls performing a rap song with the lyrics, “My hour, my power to wait / This is the vow I take to bring about my fate. / No time to waste / Only dreams to chase / Virginity can't be replaced.”

The ads can be viewed online at www.cfoc.org.

Abortion Business Rejected

LIFENEWS, Aug. 19 — The Board of Supervisors in Upper Merion, Pa., has rejected a settlement with abortion practitioner Stephen Brigham that would have allowed him to reopen an abortion facility there.

A county court forced Brigham to close his abortion facility in March because he had violated the city's zoning laws.

Had the board approved the settlement, Brigham, who has had his medical license revoked in other states because of botched abortions, would have had eight months to find a suitable space to open shop.