abc.au reports
Hong Kong has highest abortion rate in developed world: Hong Kong has the highest abortion rate in the developed world with almost a third of all pregnancies terminated, according to a media report citing official figures.

But officials warned however that the figure could be much higher as the data does not take into account illegal abortions carried out over the border in mainland China.

Hong Kong's hospitals carried out 20,235 abortions in 2001, the latest figures available, the South China Morning Post reported, citing Government data.

With 49,144 live births that year, the termination rate was 29.2 per cent.

Officials were not immediately available to confirm the report.

The data placed Hong Kong at the top of the world abortion ladder, ahead of the United States at 24.4 per cent, Canada at 24.3 per cent and Australia at 23.7 per cent, the report said.

Medical experts quoted by the report blamed the high rate on poor sex education in the southern Chinese territory's schools but warned that the stigma of abortion forced many women to seek illegal terminations in China's neighbouring Guangdong province.

"Some of the girls are so confused, worried and frustrated and the first thing that comes to their mind is abortion," Suvan Law Sui-wan, counsellor at teenage pregnancy support group Mother's Choice told the paper.

"They think it is safe, quick and effective. In Chinese culture it's shameful to be unmarried and pregnant."

--AFP

from Bishop Anthony Fisher last month:

Such suffering women need to know that they are not alone, not mad. They need the healing and hope that can only come after confronting the truth of abortion. Could this latest film help?
Some years ago I was part of another Channel 4 programme, a panel discussion about the new genetics. I was asked what I thought about prenatal tests which were fast becoming ‘search and destroy’ techniques against the handicapped. Before I could answer, another panellist – who was a notorious embryo experimenter – accused me of thinking all abortion is a sin.

"Of course it’s a sin," piped up a third panellist, Germain Greer. As someone who’d been through the abortion mill and subsequent infertility, she spoke with some authority and passion. She even dared to use the politically incorrect word ‘sin’. Every abortion, she thought, is a sin and women know it in their heart of hearts.

Our society is now so habituated to aborting its young that it has little else to offer women with unplanned pregnancies. We have become so callused by an annual abortion count of 75,000 to 100,000 that we close our eyes to the unborn children destroyed and the women left wounded. And our medical profession has been so corrupted by three decades of this practice that many women find themselves on a treadmill to termination as soon as they enter the consulting room.

When I was at school almost 30 years ago a prayer we learnt by heart was "May human life be defended and protected from its first beginnings". For some the impact of a human life in utero is just too difficult. Abortion remains a plague on society in all countries.

this is making news in Australia:{via Catholic Telecommunications}

Catholic women "more likely" to have abortion

Sydney's Catholic women are far more likely than women of other religions to have an abortion, according to figures published in today's Sydney Morning Herald.

The paper says the statistics were provided by Sydney's main abortion provider, Australian Birth Control Services.

Almost half of the clinic's 6000 patients last year identified their religion and of this group almost 40% said they were Catholic. A further 23% identified themselves as "Christian", while fewer than 5% said they were Protestant. Seven% were Muslim and 5% were Buddhist.

An analysis of women who have had more than one abortion at the clinic since it opened in the late 1980s found that Catholics account for almost 45% of those who identified their religion.

Clinic medical director Dr Geoffrey Brodie speculated that the figure may be even higher because Catholics may be more reluctant than other patients to divulge their religion.

But ethicist and director of the Melbourne-based John Paul II Institute for Marriage and Family Dr Warwick Neville said he would not have expected the number of Catholic women to be so high.

"The church's consistent teaching is that abortion in any circumstance is gravely wrong. [But] the church can never impose its teaching and nor does it seek to police it," he says.

"Where and how people are able to take [the church's teaching] on board and apply it to their lives, the church has no control over.

"But someone who says, 'look, I'm just going to go for an abortion', no one in the church either has any control over that or any understanding as to why they would do that."

SOURCE
A Catholic conundrum (Sydney Morning Herald 6/8/04 - requires payment)

LINKS
Economics as reason for abortion (Sydney Morning Herald 6/8/04)
Australian Birth Control Services
Abortion is science's grim story (Sydney Morning Herald 5/8/04)
Abortions cloaked in secrecy (The West Australian 4/8/04)
Public shift on abortion: Abbott (The Australian 2/8/04)
An abortion deception (The Age 3/8/04)
Abortion clinic fears pre-poll political assault (Sydney Morning Herald 6/8/04)
Why is my church so silent on abortion? (The Age 5/8/04)
Compass: My Foetus (The Age 5/8/04)


I note that over 40% of the Australian Population is Catholic, so the statistics make some sense; especially seeing that less than 18% of all Catholics attend Mass on Sunday, and have little moral understanding or willingness to follow the eternal proscription on abortion. Note the Compass story above earlier related news items: Reality TV going too far
and Abortion doco welcomed by right-to-lifer

BE ALERT NOT ALARMED, HAS THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION SHAKEN THE TREE OR JUST BEEN POLITICALLY EXPEDIENT IN RAISING THE FEAR FACTOR?
from skynews: TERROR INTEL 'OUTDATED'

The intelligence that led to yesterday's US terror alert was up to four years old, it has been reported. Intelligence officers told the New York Times and the Washington Post there was "no concrete evidence" of a terrorist plot or proof that terror surveillance operations were still being carried out.

US financial institutions were put on alert after the Bush administration raised the terror alarm to 'high'. Emails on an arrested al Qaeda suspect's computer gave details of attacks on America's financial institutions - and also mentioned London. But intelligence officers said much of the information may have been collected before the September 11 attacks.

"There is nothing right now that we're hearing that is new," one intelligence officer told the Washington Post.

Spare a thought for all those whose fear level went through the ceiling over the past couple days. Those with mental disorders, the emotionally sensitive, those who were directly impacted by 911...

The yellow crazy ant has been found in NSW. This is an amazing event to actually make the news in this time of escalating oil prices due to terror fears. Meanwhile the Vatican has recognised women in the workplace. Another useful interview here, the uk independent published this.

It's cold this time of the year in Canberra. People inhabiting Northern Hemisphere countries up towards Greenland, Iceland, Siberia and Alaska know a different sort of cold. They know extreme cold. Here it is cold.

Toes are cold, fingers are cold and the ice and frost on the car takes ages to get off, if you use water that freezes over as you motor on down the road.

Fortunately unlike northern climes the sun comes out and after 11am it is very nice to be out in the sun. Sadly, of course, that means no cloud, no cloud means no rain, no rain remains a huge worry. Drought is bad.

I have decided after visiting many blogs that the latest reincarnation of the one hand clapping zoan is comments (0)

well its been almost 12 months since i last did an online quiz so here I go:

"God will not suffer man to have the knowledge of things to come; for if he had prescience of his prosperity he would be careless; and understanding of his adversity he would be senseless."

You are Augustine! You love to study tough issues and don't mind it if you lose sleep over them. Everyone loves you and wants to talk to you and hear your views, you even get things like "nice debating with you." Yep, you are super smart, even if you are still trying to figure it all out. You're also very honest, something people admire, even when you do stupid things.

What theologian are you?

A creation of Henderson

Two gems from a pagan christian from the angels:

1)Accepting Jesus Christ as Your Personal Lord and Deconstructionist: Winners Never Win {thanks for the link pagan christian }

in his own rite:
2)and a look at USA religio-politico-analysis

And a hattip to a Canberra blogger: / who has added moi to his blogroll BLUSH

another lovely creek shot from my agonist friend way out west

approaching Mt Nameless

more photos from an agonist friend: looking towards Mt Nameless, way out west far far far from where I live!

wallabies and kookaburrah

wallabies, birds, including kookaburrah sitting on branch

see wallaby, see galah

Another shot from an Aussie agonist, later in the day: I am hoping to travel outback in a few years, meanwhile I am glad others can share their tranquil home environs with me! I'll be posting some south NSW coast wildlife photos soon. Canberra is to dried out to share!

A wonderful shot of a very special Australian spot, many miles from civilization.

Nincompoop latest google bomb for an election year.

Only one thing to comment on tonight:
 
JOHNHOWARDLIESDOTCOM

Refugees allowed to stay.

The power of polls and blogs! The Australian Government has announced that almost 10,000 refugees are closer to being allowed to stay in Australia after a pre-election softening of the Howard Government's asylum-seeker rules.

The story even made the Guardian in the UK.

Locally in Canberra support for Afghan refugees is superb, and in regional areas opportunities have been increased. I am well pleased!

Life goes on outside the wired world...

Out on Saturday night to a book party, the things one does to get three hours with spouse, after 5 1/2 days in the bookshop I go to a bookparty!!

Childrens birthday parties, removing old grout from bathroom tiles and applying white silicon - tubes are neat, much better than mixing up grout, please comment if you have any suggestions for partially used bags of grout mix! Walking to the local shops for Sunday Morning Coffee, NO video of bellydance forthcoming....the lads are still playing the computer games.

Spare a thought for those, though rich, that live in some degree of fear, I often remember Isa in my prayers...

Meanwhile AIDS is referenced by Mathieu and again and by moi aussi at agonist.scoop which is now beginning to real move.

And according to this a fellow blogger got the finger by ~POTUS~!