Religion & Ethics Australia Digest

A weekly public affairs review from the Centre for Christian Ethics, Morling College

No. 042, 22-28 July 2005  ² edited by Rod Benson

News & opinion

Abortion

Girls under 14 can have abortions and go on the contraceptive pill without parental consent, doctors said yesterday. Medical ethics dictate doctors must abide by their young patients’ request for confidentiality if they are mature enough to make such decisions. Herald Sun 22 Jul 05

The recent debate over the late-term abortion of a woman with a foetus suffering from dwarfism raises issues that go to the heart of values held dear by our society. While ethicists from both sides have been arguing their cases, no one has asked the opinion of those who have suffered as a consequence of coming into the world handicapped. The Age 25 Jul 05

Abuse – sexual

It was a destructive process, but in the end the legal system did what it was supposed to do and jailed four brothers guilty of a series of gang rapes in 2002. The brothers’ habit of videotaping their attacks as souvenirs damned them. SMH 23 Jul 05

Aid & development

East Timor is in danger of imploding into civil conflict, with corruption likely to erode the benefits of the billions of dollars that will flow to the fledgling nation from the development of gas fields in the Timor Sea. Aust 26 Jul 05

Bioethics – assisted reproduction

Sperm donors would not be permitted to initiate contact with their biological children, and same-sex couples would have the right to adopt children under sweeping changes recommended by the Victorian Law Reform Commission. The Age 23 Jul 05

Bioethics – stem cells

The Catholic Church will fund a $100,000 grant for research on stem cells, further signalling its guarded support for some experimentation with some types of human cells. More…

Bioethics – withdrawal of treatment

Maria Korp, the Melbourne mother-of-two who was throttled by her husband’s lover before being dumped in a car boot, will die within a fortnight after her legal guardian decided yesterday to remove her feeding tube. Aust 27 Jul 05

The decision to effectively end Maria Korp’s life by removing her feeding tube has been slammed by ethicists and advocacy groups. The Age 27 Jul 05

Catholic ethicist Dr Nicholas Tonti-Filippini has condemned a decision to withdraw the feeding tube of Melbourne comatose patient Maria Korp. CathNews 27 Jul 05
The decision by Public Advocate Julian Gardner to authorise a halt to the artificial feeding of Maria Korp raises a number of difficult moral issues, writes Peter Koghlan. The Age 28 Jul 05

Censorship

Art that is not tempered by some sense of propriety is no longer art but instead art’s dark companion, pornography, writes Simon Caterson. Aust 23 Jul 05 [not online]

Courtship

There’s been a seismic shift in the sexual landscape, writes Brigid Delaney.
SMH 27 Jul 05

Credit cards

Australia’s 12 million credit card holders put a record $14,000 each on plastic over the past year, but consumer advocates warn that a jump in cash advances shows some families are under financial pressure. SMH 25 Jul 05

Australians will soon see the unpleasant effect of the demise of saving, writes Ross Gittins. SMH 27 Jul 05

Criminal justice

The system allowed gang rapists to traumatise their prey, again and again, writes Paul Sheehan. SMH 25 Jul 05

Employment

Australian mothers have one of the lowest employment rates in the developed world, encouraged to stay at home through generous welfare payments and community expectations, says an international expert. SMH 22 Jul 05

Australia’s children are victims of the new economy that has turned increasing numbers of men into casual or part-time workers, a leading economist has warned.
SMH 23 Jul 05

Euthanasia

Voluntary euthanasia activist Rodney Syme yesterday revealed he had supplied information to Steve Guest, a former state government media adviser, who has appealed for the right to die with dignity. Aust 22 Jul 05

A terminally ill man who inspired radio listeners two weeks ago with an impassioned plea for his right to die has taken his life. The Age 28 Jul 05

Foreign affairs

Australia has won a historic seat at the inaugural ASEAN East Asia Economic Summit in December after a last-minute diplomatic effort by Foreign Minister Alexander Downer. Aust 27 Jul 05

Gaming

may be banned from sale in Australia after a hidden sex scene was found in the software.
SMH 22 Jul 05

Andreas for her 14-year-old grandson without knowing it contained hidden, sexually explicit scenes has sued the manufacturer on behalf of consumers nationwide. SMH 28 Jul 05

Homosexual rights

Gay and lesbian couples would have the same adoption rights as heterosexual couples in plans being considered by the State Government. Changes recommended by the Law Reform Commission also include legal protection for same-sex couples who act as parents and better access to donor information for those conceived by IVF. Herald Sun 23 Jul 05 Also…

Homosexuality

Catholics are among the least homophobic people in Australia, despite the church’s leaders railing against gay rights, a new study has found. The Australia Institute study, Mapping Homophobia in Australia, shows two-thirds of Baptists and evangelical Christians believe homosexuality to be immoral. The Age 26 Jul 05

Hunger

About 3.6 million people face starvation in the West African state of Niger unless the world responds urgently to the food crisis there, Oxfam says. SMH 22 Jul 05

Illness – mental

Dangerous psychiatric patients are being released without adequate treatment because of the failed policy of closing down mental asylums. Aust 28 Jul 05

Multiculturalism

Australia’s old cultural cringe had a certain market rationality; the new multicultural cringe is pure nihilism, writes Mark Steyn. Aust 25 Jul 05

It is terrorism that is dangerous, not tolerance, writes Petro Giorgiou.
The Age 26 Jul 05

The horrific events of 7/7 in London have ushered in an overdue debate about the civic obligations of Muslims in multicultural societies. Aust 27 Jul 05 [scroll down]

Occupational health & safety

A 16-year-old boy who fell through the roof on a building site on his third day on the job was not wearing a safety harness and had not been given any training, an inquest into his death has heard. SMH 26 Jul 05

Politics – US

George W. Bush has nominated conservative judge John G. Roberts for the US Supreme Court, in a move that could tilt to the Right an institution that has long been divided on issues such as abortion and affirmative action. Aust 22 Jul 05

Pollution

Women living in areas of Sydney with high levels of traffic pollution give birth to babies that are smaller than those born to women who breathe fewer fumes. SMH 28 Jul 05

Privacy

We need an intelligent debate on the ID card, writes John Hewson. AFR 22 Jul 05

Unprecedented volumes of personal information on millions of ordinary Australians are being shared between federal government departments under dramatic extensions of a little-known “data matching” scheme, privacy advocates have warned. Aust 23 Jul 05

Closed-circuit television surveillance is expected to be boosted as part of tighter security arrangements to combat terrorism. The Prime Minister, John Howard, was so impressed by the CCTV capacity used to identify four men believed responsible for 56 deaths on London transport that he wants Australian systems enhanced. SMH 25 Jul 05

Racism

Academics at Sydney’s Macquarie University have defended the right of controversial public law associate professor Andrew Fraser to express views branded as racist by refugee advocates. Aust 22 Jul 05

Refugees & asylum-seekers

More than 1000 asylum-seekers facing deportation may be able to stay in Australia after a groundbreaking Federal Court judgment yesterday undermined a key plank of the Howard Government’s visa protection system. Aust 28 Jul 05

Roman Catholic Church

The cornerstone of Benedict XVI’s papacy is shaping up to be a spirited campaign against what he regards as the pervasive presence in Western culture of moral relativism. More…

Sex

Far from being the domain of the spurned or loveless, celibacy has been embraced by a pantheon of greats. SMH 23 Jul 05

Social security

A new paper confirms we have the most progressive welfare system in the West, says Tim Colebatch. The Age 26 Jul 05

Tax reform

There is an emerging consensus among some of federal parliament’s best and brightest – on both sides of politics – that the tax reform project in Australia has to be put into overdrive. Aust 26 Jul 05 [scroll down]

Technology

Starting from space, zoom in for a bird’s eye view of your neighbourhood. Enter a request – to find a pizzeria, say – and the satellite photograph becomes an interactive map showing choices nearby. Find out online what your friends thought of a restaurant. Look at today’s menu and find the easiest way to drive there. Click to confirm the reservation. The internet is going local. Aust 28 Jul 05

Terrorism

Australia will consider adopting elements of Britain’s new anti-terrorism regime following the London bombings, including stripping people of bad character of their citizenship. SMH 22 Jul 05

The nation’s most radical Muslim cleric, Sheik Mohammed Omran, last night accused John Howard of being “inflammatory” as a war of words erupted between the religious leader and the Prime Minister over the responsibility of Muslim leaders to denounce terrorism. Aust 25 Jul 05

The roll-call of terror’s victims lengthened at the weekend, with at least 88 people killed in a series of blasts at the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. But make no mistake: Jean Charles de Menezes, the Brazilian man shot dead by police on the London Underground on Friday, was no less a victim of the Islamist fanatics. Aust 25 Jul 05

Britain is coming under international pressure to put its “own house in order” by tackling the radical clerics and dissident Islamic groups of “Londonistan”. Aust 25 Jul 05

The five shots with which a policeman killed a terrorist suspect in London last week echoed around the world. From the US to Australia and Asia, the killing made headlines and marked the crossing of a boundary.
Aust 26 Jul 05

State premiers have called for an urgent meeting with John Howard to discuss tougher terror laws and a strategy to combat extremist Islamic teaching. Aust 27 Jul 05

What do Islamist terrorists want? The answer should be obvious, but it is not. A generation ago, terrorists did make their wishes very clear. Aust 27 Jul 05

Blaming multiculturalism for the radical Muslim attacks on the London Underground was predictable and is understandable. It is also misguided, argues Geoffrey Brahm Levey. Aust 28 Jul 05

Vilification – religious

The Uniting Church is arguing against moves by north-west Victorian independent MP Russell Savage to repeal the state’s racial and religious vilification laws. More…

War

At times of war, Anglo-Celtic societies tend to support their leaders, writes Gerard Henderson. SMH 26 Jul 05

The US yesterday reassured North Korea it viewed the country as a sovereign nation that it would not attack, as a new round of talks began to address Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons programs. Aust 27 Jul 05

Some eminent pundits and top government officials have become brazen about praising war as a good investment. More…

Water

The future of a multi-million-dollar blueprint to safeguard Adelaide’s drinking water supply for the next 20 years will depend on federal funding through the National Water Initiative. Aust 22 Jul 05

Sydneysiders were not prepared to drink recycled sewage, even if it was treated to drinking water standard and safe, the Utilities Minister, Frank Sartor said yesterday as he defended plans for a desalination plant.
SMH 22 Jul 05

Western Australia’s much-touted desalination plant will be powered by a $180million wind farm of 48 giant turbines. Aust 27 Jul 05

Weapons

Senior diplomats from six countries have converged in the Chinese capital for what strategists think may be the last chance to persuade North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons before America and its allies move to apply sanctions. SMH 26 Jul 05

Other items of interest

Science and religion are best left to travel on parallel paths, writes Rachael Kohn. More…

Christopher Pearson paints an unflattering portrait of Sir Ronald Wilson. More…

Mike Nahan, a senior fellow at the Institute of Public Affairs, argues that Bob Carr had great potential and had remarkable political stamina. But, unlike Jeff Kennett, he failed on the issues that count. More…

Bob Carr was, in contrast to his predecessor and my former employer John Fahey, a bookish and intellectually arrogant premier, writes Greg Barns. More…

Martin Jacques reviews John Ralston Saul’s new book, The Collapse of Globalism. More…

A freedom of information case before the Federal Court has big implications for journalism in Australia. More…

What does a 16th century mystic have to say to 21st century peacemakers? More…

Mass media aliens are sucking out your kids’ brains, writes David Batstone. More… [scroll down]

Who killed church discipline, asks Marlin Jeschke. More…

The Victorian Law Reform Commission released its Assisted Reproduction and Adoption Paper Two: Parentage on 22 July. More…

Religion & Ethics Australia Digest is published by the Centre for Christian Ethics, Morling College, 120 Herring Rd, Eastwood NSW 2122 AUSTRALIA. Telephone (02) 9878 0201. Back issues are available at http://www.baptistsocialissues.org.au/review.htm. Views expressed in articles do not necessarily represent the views of the Centre for Christian Ethics, Morling College or the Baptist Churches of NSW & ACT. To view the original article or transcript, click on the blue underlined text at the end of the summary. Abbreviations: AFR=The Australian Financial Review; Aust=The Australian; SMH=The Sydney Morning Herald. For a free copy of READ by email each week, email and type “subscribe to READ” in the subject line.