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rJThe recentLaw ReformCommissionReporton AdvancedCareDirectiveshas mplicationsor legalprotection f the righfto-lifeof the ill and elderly.HealthMinister,MaryHarneyhas reiterated er ntention o regulate VFin l inewith he governmentppointed ommissionn AssistedHumanReproduction hichvoted24 to 1 in favourof destructive esearch nlivinghumanembryos.Recommendationseducing rotectionor human ife n tsvulnerablemoments, t l i fe'sbeginning r ending,mustbe resolutelypposed.Concern,and even outrage, mongpro-life upporters t certaingovernmentecisionss understandable.rustrationnd mpatiencemust not,however, ecomepartof the problem.Insteadwe mustengage egislatorsn l i fe ssues,with respect,well- informedomment nd easible l ternatives.f we committo thisapproacht wil lgreatlymprove ur chances.There s alsoan onuson poli t iciansot o shirk heir esponsibi l i tynthesevitalmatters. here s no truedemocracywhenever he right-to-lifeis threatened.Democracy ependson t rust betweenpoliticians ndpeople.Polls how hat ife ssues eflect eople's eepest alues.The successfulnterventionf Gay MitchellMEP and others npreservinghe pro-life thosof the EuropeanPeople'sParty EPP) s acommendablexample f genuine ffort n the partof somepoli t icians.The very positivepublic esponse o the Pro-LifeCampaign'sYourVoteMattersnitiative, uring he recentEuropean/locallections,ndicatesgrowingawareness mong he electorate f the importance f onlyvoting

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C Gase woman regrets her abortionTheyoungwomanat the centre heC Case ecently rokeher silence n thehorrific ircumstancessurroundingercase. n 1997, ged13,hercasesparked ontroversyhenshebecame regnantas a result f rapeand he henEastern ealthBoard ought courtordergrantingeave o takeherto Englandor an abortion gainstheexpressed ishes f herparents.ln an emotionalnterviewecently n RTE'sTodaywithPatKennyshe alkedaboutherharrowingordeal ndhowshewas completelynaware f whathaving n abortion ntailed t the imeandhowshe deeply egretted avingt.The determinationf thesocialworkerso securean abortion uggestsheyweremore ocussedntrying o change ur abortionaws han n the ongtermwelfare f theyoungwoman ndherunbornbaby.The HSEshould onduct full-scaleeview f howsimilar ases rehandled. he azypresumptionthatabortions theanswern difficult ituationsunscontraryo the medical vidence,ncludingheFinnish tudyl,which howshatwomen remuchmore ikely o commit uicide fteran abortionthancontinuing ith he pregnancy.'The European oumalof PublicHealth2005 15 (5):459-463, niurydeaths, ui cides nd homicides ssociated ith pregnancy,Finland by Mika Gissler,Cynthia Berg, Marie HeleneBouvier-Colleand Piene Buekens.

CPA reveals its bias againTheCrisisPregnancy gency'satestadvertisingnitiativeargetswhat tcalls rogue risis regnancyervices." owever,hebillboardampaignis focussed xclusivelyn attacking gencies pposedo abortion.A responsibleublicdebate n what constitutes estpracticen pregnancycounselling ouldbe welcome.Butwasting axpayers'money imply odemonise ndcaricaturehe entirepro-lifemovements an unacceptableway or anyStateagency o behave.TheCrisisPregnancy gency hould tick o its remitandadopta balancedapproach.t shouldalsochallengehe way n which pro-choice'counsellingagencies efuse o makewomenawareof the latestpeerreviewed tudiesshowinghe negativeong-term sychologicalffects f abortion.

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Q Pro Womsn-f Pro Life l@ More Americans 3iPro-Lifettthan fi'Pro-Ghoicett for first timeA newGallup ol lshows hat hemajority fAmericanself-identifys pro-life n he ssue fabortionor he irst imesinceGallup egan skinghequestionn 1995. heGallup urveyshowshepercentagefAmericansayingheyarepro-life t its highest oint n ifteen earsand hose ayingheyare pro-choice"t their owest,

TheGallup urveyinds51%of Americansallinghemselvesro-life ith42o/osaying heyare pro-choice"ndsupportegalabortion.Thedayafter he nfamous 973Roev. Wade ecision, hich egalisedbortion,heNewYorkTimes eclaredhe ssue settled."hifi-sixyearson he ssues still arAbuionLffiffi :::*il li:[:::,1* ,ffifT':#;,ff:','go peako heLiving wills or euthanaslahy the backdoor?

ln September,he LawReformCommissionssued reporton AdvancedCareDirectivesrecommendinghangeso the aw hatwouldallowpatientso refusereatmentso sustainor prolongifeunder ertain ircumstances.Controversially,he report uggestslassifyingutrition ndhydrations treatment'ratherthanas basic are, n situations herepatients reseverelyncapacitated.f implemented,thiscould ead o people,n effect, eing tarvedo death, s witnessedn some ecent ighprofilenternationalases.The ragiccaseof KerrieWooltortonn theUK s a verystark eminder f howadvanced aredirectives/livingillscanwork npractice.fterattemptinguicide,Ms Wooltortonalled nambulancendon arrivaln hospital andedmedical taffa letter tatingheywerenot o tryto saveher ife.The doctors aid hat althoughtwas a "horriblehing",under he 2005MentalCapacity ct,theyhad noalternative ut o accedeo herrequest nd et her die.Anyproposedegislationn advancedaredirectivesn lreland ouldhave o bevigorouslyopposed nlesst fullyhonourshe principle f protectingumanife.

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ffiPublishedy he ProLife ampaign,104Lower aggot treet, ublin .Td:01-6629275 axr 1-6629302Email: rolif@indigo.ieWebsite: .proliftrarpaign.ie

Hmorary resident esHanafinChairper$n: rJoeMccarollDeputy hairps$n:CoraShedockLegal dvisq:Profe$orWilliam indty[4edical dviser: r Berry(elyLegalCon$ltantCaroline imonsSecretily: ohnO'ReillyEducalion ffctrs:Geraldine artinDr RuthCullen

Latest ethical stem cell breakthroughScientistsavedeveloped new echniquehat s 200 imesmoreefficientnd wiceas astas conventionalmethodsor ransformingdulthuman ells nto nduced luripotenttemcells iPS].The atest indings erepublishednOctobern the ournalNaturcMethods.The esearchedby scientistsromTheScrippsResearchnstituteUSA)makes reat tridesn addressinga majorpracticalhallengen thedevelopmentf stem-cell-basededicine.Crucially,t doesnot nvolvehe useof human mbryonictemcells.Embryoesearchnvolveshedestructionf humanifeat tsearliest tages f development.Thehopeof most esearchersn he ield s hatoneday t willbepossibleo usestemcells whichpossessheabilityo developntomanyotherdistinct ell ypes, uchas nerve, eart, r ungcellsto repair amagedissue romany number f diseases.

Assisting the Pro Life GampaignTheProLifuCampaigneeds ll he supportt canget o bring ts messageo thewider ommunity.Perhapsouarewillingo devoteome fyourreeimeo inding ewways f bringinghepro-lifemessageoyour ommunity?Perhapsouarewillingomake smallinancialommitmento securehe mplementationf heProLifeCampaignrogrammeoverhenexthreeears?erhapsouhaveour wndeasnhow ou an est elphe ampaign?Regardlessfhow ouwishohelp, leaseakehe imeocall s oday ndwewill endoumore etails.

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Making a subscriptionlf youwish o make financial ontributiono the ProLifeCampaign,leaseill n hecoupon nd eturnt to headdressisted elow thank oul':

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