FREE
lifenews Summer 2014 Issue 68
www.lifecharity.org.uk
Registered Charity No. 1128355 (England & Wales) and SCO41329 (Scotland)
Welcome!
Cover story p3 www.lifecharity.org.uk lifenews 1
In this issue
lifenews
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fundraising: pamper, run and sing – ways to support LIFE.
page 12
shops: new shops, ebay, and recycling banks.
page 7
Double Take: new social media campaign launching soon.
page 14
education: update, could you volunteer and LIFE Media
page 16
New LIFE regional conferences kick off in Liverpool and Tiffany’s story.
page 18
The Abortion Industry see how it prospers
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Editor Mary Lubrano Copyright © LIFE, 2014 Design & Print www.yeomansmarketing.co.uk
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housing: new house for vulnerable mothers.
page 10
care: an ‘excellent’ service
page 11
LIFE FertilityCare Programme: The Course of True Love does run smooth
Further copies available from: admin@lifecharity.org.uk or phone 01926 312272
Chairman’s message What a muddle our society is in. On the one hand, we trumpet our commitment to human rights and have no hesitation in rebuking regimes that trample on them (provided this is not bad for trade). On the other, here at home we deny the most fundamental of rights – the right to life – to a whole section of the human family, the unborn. We denounce all forms of discrimination on grounds of gender, race, age, colour, sexual orientation, etc – but discriminate ruthlessly against human beings during the first 40 weeks of life. We can’t have it both ways. A society cannot live with this double standard. Something has to give. One day it will. We just have to hang on in there.
the law ought to be tightened up. Ultimately the only reason for this is that, even if they don’t realise it, people instinctively know that abortion kills human beings. We simply have to help them ‘discover’ what they already know intuitively. Some surprising people are beginning to get there. Ann Furedi, the forceful spokesperson for the abortionprovider Bpas, now says it like it is: either what is in the womb is a human being or it isn’t. It can’t be a ‘sort of’ or potential human. Spot on, Ann. That’s why abortionism must one day be seen to be incompatible with justice and a civilised society.
And note: the great majority of people, we are Prof Jack Scarisbrick told, now think that abortion is too easy and National Chairman 2 lifenews www.lifecharity.org.uk
New LIFE Communications department Following three rather hectic months I am now more established in the new position as the Head of Communications. It is so rewarding to be heading up such an enthusiastic and motivated team for LIFE, a charity which profoundly transforms the lives of so many people. At LIFE we engage with people in a real and personal way, striving towards our common goal to live in a world where human life is afforded the utmost respect from fertilisation; where the unacceptable is challenged; where pregnant women
LIFE in Sri Lanka
are supported; and young people are equipped to think (often against the current trends in society which devalue human life).
The scope of our work is far-reaching and its impact huge. In addition to more thought-provoking campaigns and slicker websites we are now well placed to promote the vision and work of LIFE to as wide an audience as possible through many other communications channels. Although a real challenge, we are relishing this new opportunity, so please join the conversation online – www.lifecharity.org.uk/blog Stuart Cowie, Head of Communications
On the cover: Good things come in threes!
Sister Kathleen heads up LIFE Sri Lanka and is seen here giving a LIFE talk to some sixth-formers. LIFE UK is proud of the support we have been able to give to this ‘sister’ organisation – which is always in need of financial assistance. Donations can be made via LIFE Head Office by writing ‘Sri Lanka’ on the back of your cheque. Thank you.
Single mother Karen* from Nottingham gave birth to triplets – three bouncing baby boys – on 22 June. Dexter Cole (4lb 6oz), Angelo (3lb 9oz) and Romeo (3lb 12.5oz) all arrived safe and sound. Karen, from Nottingham, approached the Rugby LIFE group for help with baby equipment and wants to thank them for three much-needed special spacesaving cots. Congratulations! *not client’s real name www.lifecharity.org.uk lifenews 3
fundraising Pamper Evenings Galore Two LIFE Pamper Evenings have recently been held across the UK; one in Bishop Auckland in the North East and the other in Basingstoke. Both evenings were great successes with the North East raising an incredible £1,020.32 on the 21st May, which will generate a further £500 through the Lloyds TSB Match Funding scheme, and Basingstoke securing £510 of profit from their evening held the following day on 22nd May. Huge thanks to all involved in the organisation of both evenings, which ensured everyone had a wonderful time. A special mention goes to Bernadette Rogers whose dedicated commitment to the North East evening resulted in such a great profit. Thank you.
teers Jenny Filkins (centre), with two volun ing even e gstok Basin the ing enjoy
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Yummy cupcakes for sale at Bishops
Showcasing the skills of the hairdresse rs in
Auckland
the North East
Heartbeats: A music and arts event 20 September To raise funds for a new Care Centre and Shop in Balham there will be a showcase of contemporary arts and music on 20 September. Beginning at 7pm, the evening will feature art prints from the acclaimed cartoonist and author Simone Lia and artist Harriet Muller, with performance poetry from Sarah de Nordwall. There will also be music from
Justin Harmer, Charley Pinfold and members of the Soul Sanctuary Gospel Choir, plus more acts to be announced! Entry tickets are £15 (£12.50 for OAPs and students) and include a glass of wine on arrival and a selection of canapés. To order simply visit www.skiddle.com/e/12227020/ or call Jane Higgs on 07709 642 521. See you there!
You can never have enough mud… On 26th April LIFE staff members Tom Gower, Ira Winter and Tom’s fiancée Anna, competed in the renowned Wolf Run – a challenging 10 kilometre run through woods, lakes and thick mud. Between the team they were able to raise £326 for LIFE and £867.51 for LIFE FertilityCare – making the muddy clothes all worthwhile! In fact, Tom has even promised to take part show your support of Tom’s in another Wolf Run this dedication to the Wolf Run autumn to raise even simply visit his Just Giving more funds for LIFE page to spur him through and more than likely Ira the mud. Thank you. and Tom , Anna r: l to clog up his washing machine with mud once again! If you’d like to www.justgiving.com/thomas-gower
Empowering young people THANK YOU to everyone who has kindly donated to LIFE’s latest appeal, with funds going towards our Education department helping LIFE empower young people to value themselves. So far we’ve raised £30,245 – thank you. www.lifecharity.org.uk lifenews 5
Bupa 10K Run Jerry Bugden competed in his third and final Bupa 10 kilometre run for LIFE in London on 27th May alongside Damian Gibbs and Alan Bowles. With finishing times of 1 hour 19 minutes for Jerry, 1 hour 5 minutes for Alan and 1 hour 1 minute for Damian the three runners had ample reason to be proud of their efforts and succeeded in raising over £850 between them. Jerry Bugden and Alan Bowles after completing the run
Expansion in Bristol Bristol LIFE group are thrilled to have been awarded sponsorship from Clifton Cathedral for the next three years. The income of around £6,500 p/a will be channelled into developing and expanding Care and Education programmes in the area and will provide a positive and stable future for LIFE in Bristol.
London 10 Bridges Walk 47 people took part in the London 10 Bridges Walk on 11th May, including two babies from the Haywards Heath LIFE house and the tenants. Everyone had great fun exploring London and getting to know one another along the route. Tom Davis from the Wimbledon LIFE group annotated completion certificates for everyone at the end of the walk, where a waiting cuppa was gratefully received. The majority of the funds raised have now been collected and counted, amounting to an incredible £4,400. When the gift aid claims have been processed it is expected that the total amount will exceed £5,000. Huge
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Tenants from Haywards Heath LIFE Hous
es
thanks to all involved, especially Therese Walker who organised the walk and Teresa Bredl who helped the event go smoothly on the day.
Double Take – Challenge the Unacceptable LIFE will soon be launching its latest social media campaign – Double Take – building on the success of the Finding Hope campaign in spring. Head of Communications Stuart Cowie explains: “Campaigning is a vital part of our Communications strategy. It’s important that we tackle the issues proactively and raise the charity’s profile with challenging, innovative and thought-provoking campaigns.
“Double Take is a campaign about discrimination. As prolifers we find it hard to believe that people can’t see what is going on all around them - the ending of millions of lives under the Abortion Act. “What concerns us even further is the cloak of acceptability which shrouds these practices; it is, for example, not only acceptable to abort a disabled baby, it is becoming the ‘responsible’ thing to do. “As a society, we allow these atrocities to go on and somehow find a way to live with ourselves. How do we do this? The answer lies, as we know, in the dehumanisation of certain sectors of society. By making certain groups appear less human we are free to treat them as we wish.
“What is acceptable at any given time varies from era to era. It used to be acceptable to discriminate against people on the grounds of race and gender – now it is acceptable to discriminate against unborn people.” Campaign lead Mary Lubrano adds: “The campaign is designed to draw people into a debate on ‘acceptability’, to lead people on a journey where at the end they share our incredulity that society sanctions abortionism. “Double Take will feature vintage material chosen to highlight a particular ‘norm’ of its era that we today find shocking, such as slavery or the idea that cigarettes were good for you. “Alongside each vintage image we will produce a similar image about a prolife issue and draw comparisons. These images will highlight how in the future, society may well find current, pro-abortion values unacceptable. “Double Take will be a longer-term, rolling campaign. The images will feature on our websites and across social media with promotional material in LIFE shops and an interactive blog. “We anticipate a strong response and hope that people will be challenged to think these issues through afresh and engage with the campaign. We’re launching soon – so please, get involved.” www.lifecharity.org.uk lifenews 7
housing New house to help vulnerable young mothers in Northampton appeals for support A new LIFE house to help young women made homeless through pregnancy in Northampton opened on 7 July. “There is a real need for this type of support in Northampton,” said Regional Manager Sue Beades. “The house can accommodate up to three women and their babies and it’s in a great location. “Pregnancy and motherhood can be a very difficult time for some women, especially in the 16-25 age group. Women come to us who are fleeing domestic violence, if their relationship breaks down, if their families won’t or can’t support them or simply because they have nowhere else to turn. “LIFE Housing can help to turn their lives around. Tenants have their own en-suite bedrooms and share communal
facilities and a Support Worker is on site every weekday to provide tailored support; tenants have an individual support plan to help them reach their goals. “All tenants participate in the Life Skills Programme which helps them to develop the necessary skills to move on to independent living – we cover budgeting, education, careers, nutrition and also provide support to deal with the demands of parenthood and relationships. “We’ve already had some incredible help from local charities, agencies and businesses, including the Northampton Guildhall. We’re now looking for sponsors to provide income so we can further improve the lives of these young families – we would love to give our garden a childfriendly makeover for instance.”
Thank you Elaine! Regional Manager Elaine Hall marked 20 years of working for LIFE with a celebration and presentation organised by the local LIFE group at the Bracknell LIFE house on 27 June. “Elaine was the first paid part-time manager of the Bracknell house, now in its 35th year, and from the start has done wonders,” said Dominica Roberts from the local LIFE group. Margaret Coward, Head of Housing, added: “It’s great that Elaine’s hard work and commitment can be recognised in this way. She always goes the extra mile and is a brilliant ambassador for LIFE.” Tenants and Support Workers prepared the food for the presentation, which was also attended by their very supportive local MP Dr Phillip Lee, who presented Elaine with her cards and gifts, thanking her and the local LIFE group for their commitment. 8 lifenews www.lifecharity.org.uk
Oxford house gets a fresh new look Local volunteer church group, Besom, arrived at the Oxford LIFE house on Saturday 21 June, ready to give the house a bit of a re-vamp.
and did a great job and the tenants are so happy with the outcome.
Support Worker Maria Eveleigh, said: “We had a group of girls here to paint the hall, landing and stairs and a group of boys to help tidy the back garden. They were all fantastic
“Thanks to all those girls and boys who gave their time so generously to help support the tenants here.”
All hands on deck!
“The tenants are delighted with the results and we’ve since created a flowerbed and bought new plants and benches with some of their donation. We are so grateful for their support.”
On 14 May, a volunteer community project run by Lloyds Bank in Haywards Heath sent a team of fifteen volunteers for the day to their local LIFE house to transform the garden there. Support Worker Anne Willis explains: “Lloyds also donated £250 to buy equipment to improve our garden and make it more childfriendly. They laid a patio to extend the play area, repositioned the vegetable patch and erected a fence to prevent toddlers from going behind the house and shed and out of eyesight.
Young Parenthood Dartford house Support Workers Joy Scudder and Bally Majhail recently ran a 12-week ‘Young Parenthood Programme’ in Surrey, a training programme set by London-based organisation UK Youth. “The course enables learners to review the pressures, difficulties, benefits and opportunities that go along with being a young parent and enabled them to look at long- and short-term goals,” explains Bally. “Three tenants from the Woking house - Abigail Costello, Elizabeth Masters and Paula Fuller – passed with flying colours and were awarded Level 1 QCF qualifications. What’s more, UK
Youth were so impressed with their work they asked to use their folders for future training.”
Elizabeth Masters (left)
and Abigail Costello “We were overwhelmed by the commitment of the learners,” continues Joy. “Paula gave birth to her son, Tyler, not long after starting the course and returned to training within a couple of weeks! We also awarded the women with ‘Love to Shop’ vouchers for completing the training so successfully.” www.lifecharity.org.uk lifenews 9
care First Aid Training Six employees from LIFE’s Care and Development departments recently trained to become proficient in delivering First Aid. “The idea is to be able to upskill our clients should they wish,” explains Liz Lloyd. “It can help with parents’ confidence to know that, should a medical emergency arise with their children, they know how to handle it. “We will also be outsourcing First Aid courses to other organisations and businesses to help with fundraising.” For further information contact Liz Lloyd lizlloyd@lifecharity.org.uk or Elly Petrucci ellypetrucci@lifecharity.org.uk
An ‘excellent’ service LIFE Care has recently introduced a client satisfaction form to monitor the service’s impact on clients. “It’s vital that we assess how effective the service is,” explains Liz Lloyd, LIFE’s Head of Care. “We need to know what we’re doing well and where there may be room for improvement. Only then can we respond appropriately to each community’s needs. “The response so far has been overwhelmingly positive, with 99% of clients reporting the service as ‘excellent’. “We’re hoping the data gathered from these forms can also be used to help support grant applications to expand our Care service into more areas in the UK.”
National Helpline appeal To extend opening hours and strengthen our current Helpline team we are desperately in need of more Helpline volunteers. If you are a Skilled Listener Level 2 or above and can spare three consecutive hours a week please contact Liz Lloyd or Elly Petrucci for more information.
‘Baseless’ Care Work The fact that LIFE in Nottingham has no Care Centre hasn’t stopped the Care team delivering its vital support services in the area! Care work is taking place through partnerships that have been developed with local Children’s Centres. We are able to provide practical support, crisis pregnancy counselling and skilled listening /counselling for young families. “As there is no local LIFE group to support this project we’re looking for supporters from the Nottingham area who could support the project through fundraising. If anyone can help please contact lizlloyd@lifecharity.org.uk 10 lifenews www.lifecharity.org.uk
LIFE FertilityCare Programme The Course of True Love does run smooth LIFE FertilityCare hosted a major international conference at the Holiday Inn in Stratford-upon-Avon on 9-12 July. The 33rd Annual Meeting of the American Academy of FertilityCare professionals was attended by delegates from America, the UK and all over Europe, and the distinguished panel of speakers covered every aspect of human sexuality - spiritual, physical, social and medical. National FertilityCare Coordinator Ira Winter says: “The Course of True Love conference brought together nurses, physicians and other healthcare professionals to enhance their knowledge and understanding of the Creighton Model FertilityCare system and NaProTechnology. These methods of fertility management have assisted thousands of couples worldwide to have the families they thought would be impossible without resorting to IVF. “Couples come to FertilityCare clinics from many backgrounds,” continues Ira. “The first essential is accurate diagnosis, including charting the woman’s cycle. This is often overlooked in other medical establishments where couples move from a cursory exploration of their infertility to being offered IVF. Failed attempts at IVF bring some to NaproTechnology: even using the most stringent analysis its record of success is the more impressive. “NaproTechnology wins couples for another
reason: it strengthens their relationships. This was witnessed by all the couples who joined the conference to tell of their experiences at the LIFE FertilityCare Clinic. One woman had not conceived but she said that NaproTechnology had still won because it had helped them to feel better, physically and also spiritually. She said it meant a lot having it explained to them why they were not conceiving, and added: ‘The love and care shown by the staff was second to none. They treated us like real people and I can’t thank them enough.’” For more information about LIFE FertilityCare – an alternative to IVF – visit www.lifefertilitycare.co.uk
Delegates gather at the Conference The founder of NaProTechnology Dr Tom Hilgers, meeting baby James Brown, the third child born to the Brown family with support from LIFE FertilityCare. www.lifecharity.org.uk lifenews 11
shops
New Shops ■ Wolverhampton’s LIFE shop opened in
November and is managed by Catherine Ward, a merchandising trainer. ■ Doncaster opened its shop in March and
has started steadily; the sizeable premises have a modern, fresh look and four floors to accommodate the active Care Centre.
L to r: Wolverhampton Life group Chair Veronica Mulvehill, Rosalie Watkins, trustees Nuala and Jack Scarisbrick and Shop Manager Catherine Ward at the shop opening.
■ Derby opened a second shop in June in
the Westfields Shopping Centre; it is a temporary shop which is not only making a considerable amount of money but is raising awareness of LIFE, as is the main Derby shop in Green Lane. ■ We are looking to open other temporary
shops in the new year in towns where shops have a lot of stock and volunteers.
Recycling Banks: LIFE’s recycling partner, Recyclatex, has agreed to provide us with free recycling banks, which will also be emptied by the company. We are looking to locate the recycling banks in areas where the charity is most active i.e. near LIFE houses, active Care Centres and shops. The most obvious places to locate these recycling banks are parishes. If you have good links with parishes which might house a recycling bank please contact eireannjanssens@lifecharity.org.uk.
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Shops in the Pipelines In Eastleigh, Hampshire, we are very close to signing a lease for a shop on the busiest street in the town. The group supporting the shop, which hail from Winchester and Eastleigh, also hope to use the premises for community projects and a Care Centre. Bristol, London (Clapham/Balham) and Sheffield are also actively looking for premises and are being aided by a property company, TSP, with whom LIFE has recently forged a partnership. David Amior, from TSP, is able to locate premises which have low rents and is not only helping LIFE locate good value premises for new shops but is helping us update our existing portfolio.
eBay If you have any items which you would like to sell on eBay for LIFE, or if you would like to know more about how to support LIFE through eBay please contact Tom Gower: thomasgower@ lifecharity.org.uk
LIFE Shop Conference The shop managers met at LIFE Head office on 9 & 10 July for retail training. In addition to the shop managers, the conference was attended by Matt Campbell, the director of SVP retail, and Michael MacDonald from Antique Vaults, who provide online valuations. Much of the conference was dedicated to online selling. Andrew Campbell from Kite Books trained the managers on how to use his software to sell books on Amazon through a simple scanning method. Greg
Holman, the manager of the Leicester shop, has been piloting the project and has made around ÂŁ40 a week since he started. LIFE shops receive a lot of books and currently the most the shops can make is 2p per kilo on recycled books. If you live near a LIFE shop, please donate your unwanted books. The books that are most likely to sell on Amazon are self help books, history books, and travel guides. The shop managers also had training on how to sell on eBay and how to get online valuations. www.lifecharity.org.uk lifenews 13
education Education Update By Anne Scanlan
Head of Education & Media I was delighted to be appointed as Head of Education and Media in April and I wish my predecessor, Stuart Cowie, every success in his new role in Communications. Although the Education team is small we have spoken to over 26,000 students this year. Getting into schools remains one of our biggest challenges so I am very pleased that we have managed to gain entry to 27 new schools. Personal contact remains the single most effective way of getting into schools so please get in touch with me annescanlan@ lifecharity.org.uk if you are in a position to introduce us to any new schools, colleges or universities. Our talks are well received and we get some great feedback - recent comments from teachers include:
“Very dynamic presentation and passionate speaker who was not afraid to tackle challenging questions and comments” and “It took the students out of their comfort zone.” I think it is true to say that the majority of students identify themselves as ‘pro-choice’
Gooch, Maria LIFE’s Education team: Back l to r: Niall to r: Michaela l t Fron in. wand Bhag Convey, Mark ns. Aston, Anne Scanlan and Elizabeth Parso
but this often stems from a belief that no one has the right to tell others how to conduct their lives. Experience has shown that when you give young people the opportunity to examine what that ‘choice’ actually involves they are then much less certain about their position. Students say things like:
“Some of my own personal views of abortion have been challenged, if not changed, as the issue was made ‘real’” and “Very wellargued points and interesting arguments. I have reconsidered and questioned my own viewpoint.”
Could you be a volunteer LIFE Speaker? Budget constraints have resulted in a much smaller Education Team and we now only have the equivalent of five full-time members of staff covering the UK. Although the team do a fantastic job we need your help if we are going to turn the tide of public opinion and inspire the next generation to embrace a new ‘culture of life’. Anyone who speaks on behalf of LIFE must be trained and approved as a speaker. Maybe you have spoken on behalf of LIFE before and 14 lifenews www.lifecharity.org.uk
would like the opportunity to become an approved LIFE speaker. Maybe you have never considered the idea of speaking but you are articulate and passionate about the pro-life cause. We would love to hear from you. If you would like further information please contact annescanlan@lifecharity.org.uk. The prospect of standing in front of a group of students may seem daunting but I promise you there is nothing more rewarding than leaving a school knowing that you have made a difference.
LIFE Media LIFE has raised its profile in the media in the last two years, proactively identifying issues and publicising them via national and regional press and across social media. We have carried out numerous radio and TV interviews in recent months, appearing on ITV News, Sky News, 5 News, BBC 1, BBC 3 Counties Radio, LBC Radio and Radio 5 Live to name but a few, making 33 print and broadcast appearances, over a broad range of media, in the last seven months alone.
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In June, Baroness Jenny Tonge moved an amendment to the Abortion Act to try to reduce the number of doctors required to approve an abortion from two to one. The bill is yet to be debated. LIFE said: “The Abortion Act does need reform, but reform which will promote respect and compassion for women and their unborn children, not more liberalisation which would further entrench our culture of abortion on demand.”
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The Department of Health released its guidance on abortion stating that abortion on the ground of gender and the pre-signing of abortion forms are illegal. However, before it could release its guidance, the largest abortion provider in the UK, BPAS, distributed a leaflet, which is still in circulation, saying abortion for gender was not illegal. LIFE said in a statement that abortion providers should not feel they are a law unto themselves and called upon the DoH to take steps to ensure BPAS withdraws the leaflet.
Our regularly updated public statements can be read at www.lifecharity.org.uk/press-releases
We also write responses to government consultations and have recently responded to The Department of Health’s consultation on the draft guidelines for Mitochondrial Donation and The Commons Education Select Committee inquiry on PHSE and SRE for schools. Here are some more recent highlights:
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LIFE welcomed a new poll by COMRES showing that there is enormous public opposition to liberalisation of the abortion law. The poll revealed that 9 out of 10 women believe women seeking an abortion should always be seen by a qualified doctor. 80% of respondents felt that women’s health would be put at risk if women seeking abortions are not seen by two doctors. 80% said that doctors who lie about having seen patients should be prosecuted – and well over half believed that the two doctor requirement should be more rigorously policed in private clinics. 90% of women believe that abortion for gender should be explicitly banned in UK law.
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The 67 doctors who were identified in an investigation by the Care Quality Commission as having illegally signed blank abortion forms, escaped prosecution. All 67 were referred to the General Medical Council but a Freedom of Information request by the media established that none of them will be brought before a fitness to practice hearing, where they could be disciplined, suspended, or struck off. The GMC has also refused to pass the names to the police, even though the offence can carry a jail sentence. www.lifecharity.org.uk lifenews 15
The National Chairman and Liz Lloyd, Midlands Regional Development Officer, at the first Supra-Regional Conference, held in the lovely surroundings of the LIFE Health Centre in Liverpool. It was an extremely fruitful event. ‘Inspiring’ and ‘a triumph’ were some of the verdicts. We dearly hope that the subsequent Conferences (South and Midlands) are as successful.
New LIFE regional conferences The first of the three 2014 Supra-Regional LIFE Conferences – for Groups in the NE, NW and Yorkshire (North) Regions - took place in Liverpool on 5/6 July last. The remaining Conferences will be as follows: 27 September: London and South (St Wilfrid’s Hall, The Oratory, Brompton Road, London, SW7 2RP): for Surrey/Sussex, Southern, Western, Thames Valley (South) and London Groups. 11 October: Midlands (LIFE HQ and neighbouring conference centre): for Midlands, East Anglia, Yorkshire (South) and Thames Valley (North) Groups. Both Conferences will run from 10.15am to 6pm, with (optional) evening meal and socialising. They are open to all LIFE supporters, whether or not they belong to LIFE Groups.
Programme National Chairman: Our political objectives The Communications Team: Our Campaign Programme The Education Team: What are the Issues and how we change hearts and minds The Care Team: The Future of our Care Service – what and how LIFE Housing: a Presentation - and how we can all help Fundraising and Development: Yes we will! - plus Workshops and an Action Pack Guest Speakers: Alexandra Pope (London), LIFE Trustee Dr John Ling (Midlands) To book your place please contact Jo Morris at LIFE Head Office on 01926 312272 or email joannemorris@lifecharity.org.uk
SEE YOU THERE!
Prolifers – get ready for the General Election We are less than ten months from a General Election, and 7 May 2015 will come round quicker than we think! It now seems increasingly likely that – regardless of which Party forms the next government – there will be significant new legislation on abortion. This means that prolifers must do all we can to make sure that as many pro-life MPs as possible are elected, regardless of party. The best way to do this is to ask all the candidates standing in your constituency for their specific views on life issues, especially abortion, and to obtain firm paper commitments regarding their future actions. For sitting MPs, it may be worth comparing their answers with their actual voting record on sites such as www.theyworkforyou.com 16 lifenews www.lifecharity.org.uk
Tiffany’s story Telford LIFE house resident, Tiffany Patterson, 25, attended the recent LIFE Regional Conference in Liverpool, and moved everyone with her story. Here she tells LIFE News just what LIFE Housing means to her. “I was six months pregnant and desperate when I was referred to the Telford LIFE house. The relationship with my baby’s dad had broken down and I couldn’t live with my sister any more, so I found myself at the local Council with my bags, homeless. The council provided me with emergency accommodation at a women’s refuge but I didn’t know what I was going to do longer term. When my support worker said she’d secured a place for me at a LIFE house I had no idea what to expect. When I moved in I was so nervous and had no confidence. But gradually with the help of the LIFE Support Workers things started coming together. They helped me to sort out my benefits and arranged some food parcels for me. It was winter and I had no coat that would fit around my ever-expanding baby bump, so they gave me some gift vouchers so I could buy a winter jacket. It was hard but I was supported through it all.
My little boy, Mackenzie, arrived 9 days late and the labour took 54 hours. I was exhausted but it was such a relief when he was born; his shoulders got caught during the delivery and his heartrate dropped. It was scary but amazing at the same time. Now I wouldn’t change a thing in the world. When I first brought Mackenzie back to the LIFE house I was scared. I had this fear that I wouldn’t wake up in the night when he needed feeding. But the Support Worker and the other girls in the house helped me to settle into it and there was always good advice on hand when I was struggling in certain areas. Mackenzie is 12-weeks-old now and he’s doing great – we both are. I’m so glad I found a place here.”
The Life Skills sessions have been so helpful and I’ve learnt how to manage my money and budget, how to cook nutritious meals and other basic but vital skills.
Assisted Dying Bill Lord Falconer presented his Assisted Dying Bill on July 18th seeking to make it legal for doctors to prescribe medicines to end the life of patients with a terminal illness with a life expectation of six months or less. The Bill was debated in the House of Lords and lasted 10 hours with 65 Peers speaking in favour of it and 62 against. The bill, having been read for a second time, will now proceed
to committee stage where it will be examined in detail before coming back to the House. LIFE opposed the bill saying: “While we have great sympathy with all those who are suffering, we must balance this with consideration of the likely consequences of legalised assisted suicide. Once we have admitted into law the principle that some patients can be intentionally killed, it will be very difficult to control the spread of assisted suicide.” www.lifecharity.org.uk lifenews 17
The Abortion Industry - see how it prospers Latest figures (2012-13) for BPAS (British Pregnancy Advisory Service): • 60,000 abortions performed in their eight clinics and day-care units • 11 new day-care units opened in the year bringing the total to 30 • Income: £27 million (provided by UK taxpayers) • Staff: 697 – mainly part-time (354 full-time equivalents) • Ten staff members earned between £60k and £100k, with the highest at £140k Meanwhile, Marie Stopes International reports an annual income of £175 million (£21 million of British taxpayers’ money paid via the Department of Overseas Development, with the rest from the EU, Denmark, Netherlands, USA, etc – and from Bill Gates). Salaries: £54 million. 33 earned between £60k and £100k, with the highest at £300,000. Marie Stopes International runs clinics throughout Africa and Asia and increasingly in South America – often in defiance of local law codes that forbid abortion.
Book Review:
John R. Ling, Bioethical Issues Day One Publications, ISBN 978-1-84625-427-7. £10 Do you want a masterly, highly readable, bang up-to-date introduction to all the latest bioethical issues that confront us – three-parent IVF, ‘saviour’ siblings, stem cell research, etc – and a lucid overview of the abortion and euthanasia scenes? Do you want to understand what all this means to society, why the pro-life movement is so important and why we pro-lifers are really ‘tomorrow’s’ people, the radicals? Do you want all this set vividly in its Biblical context? If so, this book by LIFE trustee Dr John Ling is the one for you. It’s a ‘must’ - and a snip at £10.* JJS
*available from LIFE Head Office. Please make cheques payable to ‘LIFE’: £10 plus £2.50 p&p
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