Pregnant Students Stay

THE (HARARE) DAILY NEWS, July 31 – The Zimbabwe Supreme Court has ruled that female students and the men who impregnate them cannot be expelled from college for getting pregnant.

The court ruled on the case of a married student at a Christian teachers' training college at which students had been asked to sign a contract stating that, if they became pregnant, they would be expelled. Male students had been asked to sign a contract agreeing to expulsion for getting a woman pregnant. The policy was intended to discourage promiscuity among students, but did not make exceptions for married students.

The new ruling applies to unmarried as well as married couples who become pregnant.

Adult Stem-Cell Success

ASSOCIATED PRESS, July 29 – Stem cells taken from bone marrow can grow new blood vessels in the eyes of mice, a development researchers say raises the chance of treating some diseases that often lead to blindness in humans.

In tests in mice, injected stem cells became incorporated into the eye's structure and formed new blood vessels.

If the process turns out to work in humans, the scientists hope to use it to treat eye diseases affecting the blood vessels in the retina. They include diabetic retinopathy and age-related macular degeneration.

Right-to-Know Progress

CHARLESTON DAILY MAIL July 26 – West Virginia pro-lifers say they have nearly enough supporters in that state's House and Senate to call a special session to reconsider a pro-life bill vetoed by pro-abortion Gov. Bob Wise.

The House and Senate overwhelmingly approved a bill during this winter's regular session of the Legislature that would have required abortion practitioners to give women certain information 24 hours before an abortion.

A pro-life spokesperson said the issue needs to be dealt with now, not in the regular session beginning in January because, “You have women and girls right now – today – being denied basic medical information that could affect decisions that could affect the rest of their lives.”

Teen Sues Clinic

HOUSTON CHRONICLE, August 2 – A girl who used a fake ID card to obtain an abortion is suing the abortion clinic for not following the state's parental-notification law. Aaron Family Planning Clinic in Houston accepted the ID, which stated “This is not a government document,” on it, from the then-17-year-old girl. The girl's lawyer said she regrets not telling her family about the pregnancy, which she would have been asked to do if the abortion business had followed Texas' parental notification law.

A pro-life group that lobbied for the law says the abortion facility is flagrantly abusing it.