ENDEAVOUR FORUM NEWSLETTER No. 112, NOVEMBER 2003
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LIFE AND TAXES
In our last issue we informed readers that Norma McCorvey, the "Roe" of the infamous Roe v Wade abortion case in the US had appealed for a reversal of the Supreme Court decision. Now Sandra Cano, the "Doe" in the companion Doe v Bolton case has also applied to have the decision in her case reversed. The Court defined "health" to include "all factors - physical, emotional, psychological, familial, and the woman's age" that may lead a woman to seek an abortion. Sandra Cano is relying on a Rule 60 motion that allows original parties in a lawsuit to ask a court to overturn a decision. She is represented by the Texas-based Justice Foundation. Her motion is based on changes in factual and legal conditions that make the Court's ruling no longer just. She says her 1973 case was based on lies and deception. She sought legal aid - not for an abortion - but to obtain a divorce from a convicted child molester, and to regain custody of her two children who were in foster care. Her pro-abortion attorneys misrepresented her case and instead sought to overturn Georgia's laws requiring three doctors to certify that an abortion was medically necessary. "The truth is that I did not seek or want an abortion. I was young, uninformed, and in a difficult situation. Not once in the process was I given an opportunity to speak, and no judge or attorney asked me how I felt about abortion". Sandra Cano's case highlights how vulnerable women are exploited by the abortion industry. If abortion providers were honestly concerned about the problems of pregnant women, they would offer their services for free, as do pregnancy support services. Instead abortionists pocket a Medicare payment as well as fees from their hapless clients. The Justice Foundation has provided over 1,000 sworn statements from women showing how physically dangerous and emotionally devastating an abortion can be. * * * * * To mark the 25th anniversary of the pontificate of Pope John Paul II who has borne such outstanding witness to the sanctity of life, we have invited Fr. Mark Withoos to speak on "The Culture of Life". Governments which are indifferent to the slaughter of unborn babies might well ponder the economic implications, for example, for Japan's health care system now faced with a severe financial squeeze. In "Asia-Pacific Perspectives", September 2003, Yuka Ogura writes: "The reality is that overall medical costs are increasing by around one trillion yen each year. The reason is the rapid aging of the Japanese population. In 200l, medical costs of those aged 70 years and over acounted for 40% of the total and this figure is rising by almost 1% per annum. Every year since 1983 medical costs for those 70 or older have been five times higher than those for people under 70. At the same time the economy is in recession, the growth in national medical costs far exceeds the growth in national income and income from insurance premiums is failing to increase:....." One reason the Japanese economy is in recession is because of the low birth rate. No country can afford to eliminate its most valuable asset - babies - and expect economic prosperity. There are now not enough young Japanese taxpayers to pay the health costs of the elderly. * * * * * As a women's organisation we are aware that the contribution women make and the difficulties they face in having children and raising them is not given adequate acknowledgement. Only "career" work in paid employment is recognized, particularly in the taxation system. Therefore it is heartening to have Federal MP Sophie Panopoulos promoting income splitting - this policy is important not only for taxation justice but also to recognize the status of wives as equal partners in marriage.
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Member Organisation, World Council for Life and Family NGO in Special Consultative Status with ECOSOC of the UN
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