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Social & Moral Issues |
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Social & Moral Issues |
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SUBJECT: WITHDRAWAL OF MRC STATEMENT ON HEALTHWORKERS AND ABORTION 15 Oct 2002
From:
"Philip Rosenthal" <philip@rosenthal.net>
Attention:
Ms Charleen Daries Dear Ms Daries I write to request the Medical Research Council (MRC) to withdraw the statement on healthworkers and abortion at the web link below: http://www.mrc.ac.za/pressreleases/2002/15pres2002.htm The statement is a political statement without scientific basis and outside the scope of the mandate of the MRC. It undermines the scientific credibility of the Medical Research Council and all their other legitimate research. 1. It claims unwanted pregnancy to be a health risk for women. A normal pregnancy is not a health risk simply because the baby is unwanted. It has never been seen as such. Abortion is a health risk. This is a political propaganda viewpoint with no scientific basis. 2. It presents abortion as a solution to family violence problems. Research has found the opposite, with abortion increasing other forms of child abuse due to disrespect for the human person. In our own country and in many others legalisation of abortion correlates with an increase rather than a decrease in child abandonment and abuse. 3. The claim that the constitution obliges health professionals to co-operate in providing abortion services. There is no legal basis for this claim and no legal authority is cited to substantiate it. On the contrary, the constitution strongly supports the right to conscientious objection. Thus the statement misleads people as to the constitution. The author is apparently a medical doctor and not a legal professional authority to interpret the constitution. 4. It assumes that access to abortion is an issue of justice desired by those with disadvantage. Firstly, it is soundly rejected by principles of Biblical justice. Secondly, it ignores research showing 9 out of 10 South Africans rejecting the current legalisation of abortion - particularly those from disadvantaged communities. Thus ignores scientific research showing poor communities don't want abortion legal. Thirdly it ignores the rights of the unborn. Abortion is injustice - not justice. Again, a politicial opinion without scientific backing. 5. It cites propaganda statistics from the World Health Organisation - an organisation strongly influenced by pro-abortion activists. Pro-abortionists regularly manufacture and repeat untrue statistics to make their cause seem worthwhile. In South Africa, they claimed over 200 000 illegal abortions per year - a number which after legalisation that state took five years to reach in total. This is a statistic for miscarriage - not induced abortion and the WHO figures are probably either entirely manufatured or also for miscarriage. Should you require further evidence of this, I will provide it, but I would assume your own researchers and the published research of the Department of Health should be able to verify this. 6. It promotes violation of the constitutional rights to conscientious objection by health professionals. 7. The statement contains no information from original research and thus is not fulfilling the purpose for which the MRC is instituted - i.e. a research centre rather than a political lobbying body. 8. It draws the Medical Research Council into a conflict with the Christian Community and with pro-life health professionals in particular.
Please could you: 1. Withdraw this statement via a correction media release. 2. Take steps to ensure that the MRC is not hijacked for similar political unscientific purposes. 3. Mandate some accurate research on illegal abortions in South Africa before and after legalisation to correct this and other scientifically inaccurate statements that have been fed to the media by the pro-abortion lobby.
Christianview
Network
Click here for a document that includes a confession of a pro-abortionist leader to propogating false statistics - similar to that done in the press release. To open the .pdf attachment, download a reader free at: www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html This popular internet format prints the same on any printer. _______________________________________________ Please read our disclaimer |
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