New Seat Belt for Moms

SOCIETY FOR THE PROTECTION OF THE UNBORN, Aug. 13 — Researchers at Loughborough University in England have been awarded £145,000 by the U.K.'s Engineering and Physical Science Research Council to design a car seat belt which is both comfortable and safe for use by pregnant women.

Many unborn children have died in car crashes, either because their mother was not wearing a seat belt or because pressure exerted by the seat belt itself caused internal injuries.

Warning: Pill Danger

MANCHESTER NEWS, Aug. 16 — Mary Stanley and her husband, Nigel, have decided to tell their story so other parents are aware of the potentially fatal effects of the birth-control pill.

Their 15-year-old daughter, Claire Stanley, fell ill and died seven days after she was prescribed the pill for painful periods. She suffered a fatal blood clot after three doctors failed to diagnose her symptoms.

Claire was taking Cilest, a second-generation, “safer” pill. Every day, up to 450,000 women take Cilest. Of those, some 120 will develop deep-vein thrombosis, which proves fatal in around one case per year.

Chinese Girl Seeks Asylum

ASSOCIATED PRESS, Aug. 14 — A 12-year-old Chinese girl who disappeared after arriving in San Francisco with a tour group and reappeared with relatives in Amherst, Calif., will seek asylum in the United States, her lawyer says.

Yukun Jia joined her father, who has been in this country since 2000.

Yukun's mother was unable to leave China as planned and is in hiding, lawyer Shen-Shin Lu said.

Yukun's mother, Hong Jia, and her husband hoped to seek asylum together on the grounds that Hong was forced to have two abortions under China's “one-child” population control policy, Lu said.

Zimbabwe Abortion Warning

THE DAILY NEWS, Aug. 9 — Gualupe Association of Zimbabwe, a nongovernmental organization involved in human rights awareness, has started a countrywide tour to educate people on the dangers of abortion.

The director of the association, Ela Chihambakwe, said abortion was harmful to women both mentally and physically.

The association offers post-abortion counseling. Chihambakwe said her organization was visiting women's centers and schools encouraging women to resist the temptation to abort.

The organization has started community projects such as knitting, sewing and training on housekeeping. The projects are aimed at alleviating depression and a sense of helplessness on the part of women who have undergone abortions.

Endorsing Candidates

AMERICAN LIFE LEAGUE, Aug. 14 — Georgia Right to Life is refusing to endorse political candidates who insist that abortion be allowed in cases of rape and incest.

According to news accounts, a number of candidates have embraced Georgia Right to Life's position, but others are accusing the state organization of making a “strategic mistake.”

“Taking a tough stand on behalf of the pre-born is never a mistake,” said Judie Brown, president of the American Life League.

Disciplined for Abortion Advice

THE WASHINGTON TIMES, Aug.13 — The D.C. inspector general is recommending “appropriate disciplinary action” against an emergency medical services supervisor whose advice prompted three rookies to get abortions last year.

The incident occurred during a two-week orientation class in March 2001 for emergency-medical techni.