Faith-Based 'Just Say No'

CNN, July 10 — The Bush administration is enlisting church-based youth groups in its anti-drug programs, the latest initiative to expand the role of religious organizations in government services.

The Office of National Drug Control Policy began offering guides, brochures and Web sites to help leaders of religious youth groups teach their members to avoid marijuana and other drugs.

A study published in March by the American Psychological Association found that teen-agers were less likely to use marijuana when they thought religion was important to their lives.

Abortion Bill Vetoed

REUTERS, July 23 — Slovak President Rudolf Schuster has vetoed an abortion bill that was fueling a dispute between ruling liberals and conservatives, reported Reuters.

Slovakia's official state news agency TASR quoted presidential spokesman Jan Fule as saying Schuster had sent the bill, designed to permit abortions up to the 24th week of pregnancy in cases of genetic defects, back to Parliament to be debated again in September.

No Go, Pro-Abort Pols

LIFENEWS.COM, July 30 — In what is becoming a more common practice in the United States, a Catholic diocese in Oregon is refusing to let a pro-abortion elected official use one of its churches to practice politics.

The Diocese of Baker, Ore., has refused to allow pro-abortion Gov. Ted Kulongoski to use a church for a private political speech because of his position on abortion.

“His beliefs don't square with Catholic teaching and certainly made an appearance at a Catholic church very problematic,” Father James Logan, chancellor of the Diocese of Baker, told the Bend Bulletin.

New Zealand vs. Death

ONE NEWS, July 30 — Controversial legislation to legalize voluntary euthanasia has been thrown out of Parliament by a narrow vote.

The so-called “Death with Dignity Bill,” which would have allowed assisted suicide for the terminally ill under certain criteria, was defeated by 60 votes to 57 with one abstainer.

Norway Gains on Abortion

AFTENPOSTEN, July 29 — Fewer Norwegian teen-agers had abortions last year, down to 2,200 from 2,450 in 2001, the Norwegian news service reported. Norway's current abortion rate is the lowest since abortion was legalized in 1979.

The state Central Bureau of Statistics reported the number of abortions performed on teenagers last year amounted to 16.9 per 1,000 females aged 15-19 nationwide.