Christian News

15 June 2000

* HEALTH WORKERS' FREEDOM OF CONSCIENCE THREATENED - The Department of Health's message at the conclusion of the parliamentary hearings on the implementation of the Choice on Termination of Pregnancy Act, is reflected in the words of Dr Eddie Mhlanga (the department's chief director of maternal and child health) who said "It is important that people do what they are employed to do, that they carry out the policies of government" and that it was "sad" that there appeared to be doctors and midwives who ...vowed not to allow termination of pregnancy services to be provided at public facilities." United Christian Action has pointed out that the South African Constitution guarantees health workers the freedom of conscience, whether they work for the state or not. Forcing doctors and nurses to assist in aborting pre-born children or to refer for abortion is a violation of that freedom as well as of the Hippocratic Oath.. Ms Tshabalala-Msimang has been sternly telling doctors to put aside their moral beliefs and just let the baby die of suffocation. UCA has applauded those doctors and nurses who uphold the sanctity of and who refuse to be accessories in the murder of pre-born babies.

`Doctors for Life' also made representation before the parliamentary committee and said "Over the past four years DFL has received complaints from doctors working in Government hospitals, who find themselves duty bound to participate against their will in the termination of pregnancies." Together with Dr A van Eeden (chairman of DFL) was Dr J.D. de V. Alant who testified how he and "and many of my colleagues, being objectors toward any facilitation of the termination of pregnancy process, were on many occasions forced to violate our conscience in order to ensure proper care for these mothers." (for the full DFL report send an email to mail@dfl.org.za with "SEND ABORTION SUBMISSION" in the subject line.)

(The Citizen, 9 June; The Mercury, 9 June; UCA)

* SA ABORTION MAY BECOME MEDICAL SUBJECT - Various bodies who made submissions during the parliamentary hearings on the Termination of Pregnancy Act suggested that training on abortion should form part of the curriculum for medical and nursing students, so as to de-stigmatise the service. Presenters pointed to the bad attitude of some doctors and health care workers towards abortions as being a major problem experienced in providing the service. Although the Act was passed in 1996, more than half the 269 hospitals and clinics in SA licensed to do abortions were unable to do so because of lack of co-operation by staff. (The Mercury, 7 June)

* VIRGINITY TESTING CRITICISED - Throughout South Africa, children who prove their virginity are being rewarded with certificates and praise for remaining chaste. The chastity tests are becoming part of the growing fight against HIV, but not without their problems or critics. The Commission on Gender and Equality (CGE) has criticised the practice. Joyce Piliso-Seroke, chairperson of the commission, says the practice undermines the dignity of young women, and women in general. The CGE is to discuss various issues concerning the practice, including virginity testing on boys, during a three-day workshop at Richards Bay in KwaZulu-Natal. Those who believe in reviving the custom argue that it will help reduce teenage pregnancy and the spread of sexually transmitted diseases. While chastity tests previously were used only for Zulu brides, the growing number of AIDS cases has led Zulu leaders to change the prenuptial exam into an HIV prevention programme. But some believe that the practice goes against the grain of the new constitution and argue that girls are tested against their will. Parents believe the tests help promote abstinence, but some feminists, AIDS activists, and medical experts note that the tests are, at least temporarily, creating a culture of fear, and that boys and girls should be taught about condoms, HIV, and other sexually transmitted diseases. (To give a comment to this story go to: http://www.wozainternet.co.za/chat/iclinic/aaacomment.htm) (SABC News, 13 June; CDC, 6 June)

* CHRISTIAN MISSION CONTINUES TO BE BOMBED IN SUDAN - Reports have just been received of renewed bombing of the Christian Liberty High School and Frontline Fellowship mission base in Sudan. The government of Sudan air force has repeatedly targeted the settlement at Mundri in this intensified bombing campaign. The main focus of the National Islamic Front government bombardments seems to be the two mission agencies with permanent bases in the region. Samaritans Purse, which runs the Hospital at Lui, and Frontline Fellowship, which is establishing the Christian Liberty High School in Mundri, have been repeatedly bombed throughout March and April. Now, in May, the NIP government seems to have especially targeted Frontline Fellowship's mission base and school in Mundri.

The report just received concludes: "The only way to explain some 47 bombs being dropped on Mundri and no one being seriously hurt... is that God has been merciful and has protected," (FF)

* ENGLAND MOVES AWAY FROM OFFICIAL CHRISTENDOM - The thorny issue of whether Britain should remain an officially Protestant country has been raised by a new government report commissioned to study religious discrimination, including the effect of state religious ceremonies on other faiths. The report - welcomed by Muslims - argues that the special role reserved for the established Church of England puts other faiths at a disadvantage. It makes the case for severing the connection between the state, the monarchy and the Church. According to Dr. George their "sense of national identity would be weakened more grievously than many people realize if the rich fabric in which religion and society are woven together in so much of our national life were to be unraveled." The gradual shift toward disestablishment of the Church of England is taking place as the government and the Church wrestle with the reality of a multi-cultural society and the uncertain future of the monarchy. Moves have been made to incorporate the European Convention on Human Rights into English law, offering protection against religious discrimination. According to the recent independent English Church Attendance Survey, fewer than one in 12 people now attends Sunday services, a figure that is expected to plummet to one in 50 by 2020. In the last decade church attendance fell 22 percent. There are now fewer than a million regular Church of England churchgoers, compared with 1.2 million Roman Catholics, whose numbers also are falling rapidly. Baptists' numbers increased - 2 percent - and those attending new churches - 38 percent. Only 31 percent say they believe in a personal God, and more than a quarter consider themselves to be atheists. Across the U.K. there are now 1.5 million Muslims, 500,000 Sikhs, 500,000 Hindus, and 300,000 Jews.

(Newsroom.org)

* `DAWSON S CREEK' PROMOTES HOMOSEXUALITY TO TEENS - A coalition of national and statewide pro-family groups have expressed their outrage at Warner Brothers (WB) and their local affiliates for specifically targeting teenagers with programs like Dawson's Creek that promote homosexual behavior. Spokesman Mike Gabbard, president/founder of Alliance for Traditional Marriage and Values said, "The Warner Brothers (WB) network, which directs its programming at teenagers, has made it absolutely clear that they are determined to convince the young people of America that homosexual behavior is a good and natural thing. Dawson's Creek, which is aimed primarily at high school kids and younger, has been featuring a homosexual love affair between two 16-year old boys that culminated with TV's first male to male lustful kissing scene in the show's final episode.

* CHINA'S SEX WORKERS' TREATY BACKED - The Clinton administration will push for Senate approval of a United Nations treaty used to promote legal prostitution in China, Health and Human Services Secretary Donna E. Shalala said yesterday. A U.N. committee recently ordered China to allow women to sell their bodies as "sex workers", calling prostitution a "reproductive right" over one's body. The treaty has 165 signatories -including China - with the United States the sole Western Hemisphere holdout. When asked whether the treaty can force China to legalize prostitution, Linda Tarr-Whelan, U.S. ambassador to the U.N. Commission on the Status of Women, said, "It has no power to do so." "The country has the right to reject a U.N. order to legalize prostitution." Anita K. Blair, president of the Independent Women's Forum, a conservative group that opposes treaty - known as CEDAW - said the U.N. and World Bank consistently strong-arm poor countries to adopt social policies contrary to their own traditions as a price for global monetary aid. "This is a form of cultural imperialism to require other countries to adopt the failed social policies of the developed world in order to finance their own development," she said. "If they are going to get roads, bridges, schools and hospitals, they need capital from the developed world. It is used as a kind of blackmail." (Washington Times, 1 June)

* U-TURN ON BLOOD TRANSFUSIONS BY JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES - Jehovah's Witnesses are to be allowed to accept blood transfusions after an extraordinary U-turn by leaders of the controversial religion. Elders have decreed that Jehovah's Witnesses who accept blood transfusions under life-or-death conditions will no longer face excommunication from their religion. The move represents the biggest climbdown in the movement since the predicted Armageddon failed to materialise as forecast in 1975. Under the change to WatchTower practice, blood transfusions have officially been relegated to a "non-disfellowshipping event". The decision, arrived at by a secret meeting of the 12-member world governing body at the movement's headquarters in New York, was dismissed as a "slight adjustment" by the religion's leaders. It follows decades of adverse publicity about adults and children who have died or come close to death because of their faith. Only last week, a Jehovah's Witness, Brent Bond, from Nottingham, who lost five pints of blood in a machete attack, renounced his faith just seconds before he lost consciousness so that he could have a lifesaving blood transfusion. Realising that his mother would never grant consent for a transfusion, he told paramedics: "I'm no longer a Jehovah's Witness. I give my consent to a transfusion." Letters have already been sent to elders throughout Britain, where there are about 130,000 Jehovah's Witnesses, explaining that they should no longer expel members who accept blood, as well as to the elders of the six million adherents worldwide. (London Times)

* CHAPLAIN ATTACKED BY DEATH ROW INMATE - HUNTSVILLE, Texas - Doctors say a 78-year-old Texas prison chaplain is in fair condition after being attacked by an inmate on death row. Authorities say Juan Soria pulled the arm of Chaplain William Westbrook through the bars of his cell Friday and began hacking away at it with two razors. Guards had to fire gas into Soria's cell before he released the volunteer chaplain. Westbrook underwent surgery to repair two deep cuts to his wrist. The 33-year-old Soria is facing execution next month for a 1985 robbery-slaying in Fort Worth. (AP, 11 June)

* ROBBERS RELIEVE PRAYING VICTIMS OF PHONES, CASH - Nine people were robbed during a prayer meeting of the St Matthews Anglican Church at a Johannesburg scout hall. Two men entered the hall and made the sign of the cross. A short while later the two stood up and started talking, but the pastor continued with the service. Three gunmen then entered and said that it was a robbery. The five took purses, cellphones and jewelry worth R10 000, while their victims continued to pray. (The Natal Witness, 5 June)