• Pro-life group saved 2,623 children in Israel in 2006
• Police ‘sorry’ for moral quizzing
• Scientists discover new source of stem cells
• China bans retail sale of abortion drugs
• Persecution harder among Muslims who convert to Christianity, but saved souls brings great joy to believers

* PRO-LIFE GROUP SAVED 2,623 CHILDREN IN ISRAEL IN 2006 - The Jerusalem based Efrat organization announced it prevented 2,623 abortions in Israel in 2006 by providing support to pregnant women. There are nearly 50,000 abortions in Israel every year, many of which are due to economic concerns.
The 30-year-old Efrat organization has saved over 20,000 Jewish children in Israel since 1977. Pregnant women who qualify for help receive free baby equipment and are matched with one of Efrat's 2,800 volunteers. (IsraelNationalNews.com, 1 Jan 2007) (to index)

* POLICE ‘SORRY’ FOR MORAL QUIZZING - A Christian couple from Lancashire have been awarded £10,000 in an out-of-court settlement after they were questioned by police about their moral beliefs.
Helen and Joe Roberts, from Fleetwood, complained about taxpayers' money being used for leaflets about gay rights and called homosexuality "immoral".
Wyre Borough Council informed Lancashire Constabulary. Officers then quizzed the couple for over an hour.
The council and police said they had now apologised to the Roberts.
Mr and Mrs Roberts had sued the police and council, claiming the incident last December had breached their rights to freedom of expression and freedom of religion.
A trial date had been set for January, according to the Christian Institute, which had backed the Roberts' case.
But in a joint statement, the police and council said they had come to an agreement regarding the claim and said they had apologised to the couple for "the way the incident was handled".
The institute said the incident began when the couple asked for Christian literature to be displayed alongside gay rights' literature and "were astonished when the council refused".
The institute said during her call to the council, Mrs Roberts expressed her religious belief that "homosexual practice is morally wrong".
The couple were shocked to receive a subsequent visit from two police officers who questioned them in their home.
Mr Roberts told the BBC he had told Wyre Borough Council he was willing to pay for Christian leaflets himself "but was told a definite no".
"Then it snowballed from there and that's why we had to take them to court," he said.
Mr Roberts added: "Morality is the foundation of democracy and when you do away with morality, your democracy goes down the Swannee and you end up with immorality and then anarchy."
"And all I was doing was just [to] challenge our council that all we wanted was the same rights as the gays and lesbians have."
The couple will donate the £10,000 settlement to a Christian charity. (BBCNews, 23 Dec 2006) (to index)

* SCIENTISTS DISCOVER NEW SOURCE OF STEM CELLS - Scientists have discovered a new source of stem cells and have used them to create muscle, bone, fat, blood vessel, nerve and liver cells in laboratory mice.
The findings, published in the journal Nature Biotechnology, could help advance efforts to repair tissue and engineer organs, the scientists say.
The results show scientists were able to successfully isolate potential stem cells from the amniotic fluid that surrounds developing embryos, a breakthrough they hope will advance efforts to repair tissue and engineer organs.
The cells have already been used in mice to grow neural cells in subjects with degenerative brain disease, to grow bony tissue and liver cells able to secrete urea, which the liver produces from ammonia.
So far, scientists have generated the three types of stem cells found in developing embryos, termed ectoderm, mesoderm and endoderm. And they haven't yet discovered the limit of what the AFS cells can do.
Many scientists believe stem cells hold the potential to replace damaged cells and tissue in conditions such as spinal cord injuries, diabetes, Alzheimer's disease and stroke. (CTV, 8 Jan 2007) (to index)

* CHINA BANS RETAIL SALE OF ABORTION DRUGS - Retailers in central China's Henan Province are banned to sell abortion drugs as of January 1, 2007, as part of the province's efforts to keep gender balance among newborns.
Those who violate the rule will have their illegal profits confiscated and will face fines ranging from 3,000 yuan (385 U.S. dollars) to 20,000 yuan (2,564 U.S. dollars). Any pregnant woman who has her baby aborted illegally will also face a fine of 2,000 yuan (256 U.S. dollars).
The move can be seen as a supportive measure for a set of regulations to ban fetal gender selection by abortion in the province, which took effect on January 1, local government sources said.
China's fifth population census in 2000 showed the ratio between newborn boys and girls in Henan, which has more than 100 million registered residents, was 118.46:100, considerably higher than the normal ratio of 103-107:100.
The direct cause of such imbalance was gender identification with "advanced technology" and abortions of female fetuses, according to Henan Population and Family Planning Commission.
The gender imbalance reflects a deep-rooted view among Chinese people, dating back thousands of years, that boys are more valued than girls, and the fact that most Chinese couples are allowed to have only one child. (ChinaDaily, 3 Jan 2007) (to index)

* PERSECUTION HARDER AMONG MUSLIMS WHO CONVERT TO CHRISTIANITY, BUT SAVED SOULS BRING GREAT JOY TO BELIEVERS - Persecuted Christians soon willingly forget hardships and forgive torture and beatings they have experienced when they see the unlimited number of lost souls who are coming to Christ and experiencing Salvation.
That was the thrust of a message by Pastor Paul Ciniraj Mohamed, the Director of the Salem Voice Ministries (SVM), based in Kerala, India, as he inaugurated a day of fasting and prayer for persecuted Christians at the annual conference of the SVM held in Malabar, India on Friday, January 12.
Ciniraj likened the experience of these believers to that of a woman forgetting the intense pain of labor during childbirth, and rejoicing when she sees the baby she has given birth to.
Ciniraj said Christian missionaries to the Muslim world and converts to Christianity from Islam are facing severe persecution around the globe.

"Many are murdered, shot dead, burned dead, beaten, kidnapped, lose their houses, lose their children and their families. But their blood is becoming the seed of the church and millions of Muslims are converting to Christianity day by day."

Salem Voice Ministries is involved in this great task to evangelize and establish the underground house churches in different nations, Ciniraj explaimed.
He continued: "There are about one billion and six hundred million Muslims all over the world. You may think is it possible to evangelize them? Yes! It is possible and within few years all of the Muslim nations will accept Jesus as Lord. Because our Lord 'is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance, ' " (2 Peter 3:9).
Ciniraj said that every believer must possess a missionary spirit to convey the Gospel of the sacrificial death and resurrection of Jesus Christ to the Muslims "without pride, prejudice and fear." (AssistNews, 12 Jan 2007) (to index)