Quick News Roundup 05/14/10

World Abortion Laws – CBC News has a great interactive map which discusses the legal status of induced abortion across the globe. Just scroll over your nation of choice and you can see a listing of when abortions are legal in that nation. It’s an excellent source of information.

International News – In Brazil a move to legalize abortions has recently been shutdown. The decriminalization of abortion had recently been proposed, but in the heavily Roman Catholic nation during an election year, the topic has been avoided by most major politicians. The topic appears to be toxic amongst voters. As the government of Kenya continues to consider a new Constitution which specifically calls out specific abortion “rights,” Catholic groups in Kenya have been actively fighting against it. The Catholic Bishops of Kenya recently released a long public statement on the topic, which can be found here. The bottom line? Reject the Constitution due to this language because a Constitution which defends ones right to murder the unborn, isn’t a valid Constitution at all. In the buildup to the G8 Summit, attempts to fund abortions as part of their maternal health initiatives has already drawn scorn from international pro-life groups. The summit will be held in Canada which recently had cut off their international funding to family planning groups which support abortion.

Laura Bush’s Book – One of the revelations in First Lady Laura Bush‘s book is that she was both pro-choice and supportive of legalizing same-sex marriage. An interesting viewpoint for the wife of a President who appointed two pro-life Justices to the Supreme Court and who openly supported a Federal Marriage Amendment. Her views on marriage actually mirror those of Vice President Cheney who’s daughter, Mary Cheney, is gay.

Arizona – A recent change in Arizona state law will require that public funding not be spent on any health care policy which funds abortions. The law, which goes into effect July 29th, will prohibit not only state agencies, but local communities which offer insurance that provides abortion funding. The cities of Phoenix and Chandler currently offer insurance policies to their employees which allow for elective abortions. Under the new law, they will be required to change those policies.