From http://lifenews.com/int662.html
Spain's Socialist Government Adopts New Policies in Face of Underpopulation
Email this article Printer friendly page RSS Newsfeed
by Carlos Beltramo
March 18, 2008
LifeNews.com Note: Carlos Beltramo is a pro-life advocate in Spain who originally wrote this editorial for the Population Research Institute, a pro-life organization that monitors global population trends.
The socialist government of Spain has surprised everyone by adopting a pro-natal policy. Each newborn will receive a check for Euro 2,500 (about 3,938 dollars). If the newborn is born into a family with three or more children, the amount is increased to Euro 3,500.
In announcing the policy, President Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said to the Parliament that "In order to continue progressing Spain needs more families with more children. And families need more aid to have more babies and more resources for their upbringing".
Even a blind man could see that this is so. In only 30 years, the average size of the Spanish family has dropped from 3.8 members to 2.9. Today, two and a half million Spanish people live alone. There are now only about 1.7 million large Spanish families--that is, families with three or more children--and the number is steadily falling.
Along with Italy and Greece, Spain has one of the lowest fertility rates in the EU. Spain's population is again rapidly, and is on the cusp of absolute population decline. In 1996 Spain added only 11,177 people to its population. Since that year, the numbers have gone up, but only because immigrants from Latin America and North Africa are having children. Even with these births, however, in 2005 births only exceeded deaths by 78,597. Experts calls this the "desnatalidad," which translated means the "un-birth rate".
So President Zapatero is right in trying to ramp up the birth rate, but will he succeed? It's hard to be optimistic, for several reasons.
Given that it costs over 100,000 Euro to raise a child to adulthood, the 2,500 payment may not be enough to encourage more childbearing. Juan Moreno, the head of the Consumers Association of Spain, has called the amount "insignificant." Moreover, according to 2004 Eurostat data, Spain spends less on family and childhood programs than any other country in the EU. such programs account for only 0.7 percent of Spain's GNP, while Europe as a whole averages 2.1 percent. And Spain taxes back some of this money since, along with Greece, it includes public family aid as taxable income. What the government gives with the right hand, it takes away, in part, with the left.
Abortion is also eating away at the Spanish population. Abortion is supposedly legal in Spain only for cases of rape, "fetal defect," and danger to the mother's physical or psychological health. In the case of rape and fetal defect the law allows abortions between 12 and 22 first weeks of pregnancy. For the "health" exception, however, there are no time limits.
At present, one in every six pregnancies ends in abortion. Every day, 252 abortions are performed in Spain, for an average of 11 each hour.
Spanish police recently closed several abortion clinics in Barcelona after they found medical abuses beyond description. The closures were the result of investigations carried out by an association called "E-Christians" (www.e-cristians.net), and an undercover TV investigation by the Danish press. Many abortionists were jailed, and Spanish society as a whole was horrified.
One would think that Spain, in light of the current scandal, and facing a population crisis, would want to put additional limits on abortion. In fact, there are groups in the Spanish Parliament clamoring for a revision of the current law, but they want to make it more permissive, not less.
This is both immoral and nonsensical, given that Spain needs more children, so much so that it is even willing to pay for then.
We at PRI do not believe that the current policy will succeed in reversing Spain's population decline. The evidence shows that one-time baby bonuses, however large, are unlikely to cause more than a blip in the birth rate.
Spain needs to shelter parents with children from taxes altogether. Were Spain to embark upon a generous program of tax credits for children, the birth rate would rebound. Only this can stave off demographic decline.
_____________________
Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty Appoints Pro-Life Advocate to Head Supreme Court
Email this article Printer friendly page
RSS Newsfeed
by Steven ErteltLifeNews.com Editor
March 17, 2008
St. Paul, MN (LifeNews.com) -- Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty is drawing praise from pro-life advocates for his appointment of Eric Magnuson as the next chief justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court. The state's high court has been a thorn in the side of pro-life groups for years for a 1995 decision requiring the state to pay for abortions with tax dollars.
Magnuson replaces Russell Anderson who announced last week he would retire from the court in June.
Over a decade ago the Minnesota Supreme Court issued a decision in Doe v. Gomez which ruled the privacy clause in the state constitution should be misused to protect a so-called right to abortion.
It also forced the state to spend taxpayer funds paying for abortions even though the Supreme Court has upheld the right to Congress and other states to reject that.
Magnuson wrote an amicus brief for Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life in the case arguing that taxpayers shouldn't be forced to fund abortions with their tax money.
Scott Fischbach, the head of the pro-life group, told LifeNews.com on Monday he was delighted with Pawlenty's decision of Magnuson for the high court.
"This is the fourth appointment to the Minnesota Supreme Court by pro-life Governor Tim Pawlenty and we are pleased with his appointments," Fischbach said. "Governor Pawlenty has been a strong pro-life Governor signing into law our Woman's Right to Know law as well as our Positive Alternatives law that provides grants to pregnancy care centers."
The case would need to be overturned if Minnesota wants to prohibit abortions if Roe is ever reversed.
Fischbach previously talked about the Gomez case with LifeNews.com."What they did in Doe v. Gomez was found an absolute right to abortion in the Minnesota Constitution, and that needs to be addressed," he said.
Minnesota judges don't require legislative confirmation so Magnuson will not have to go before the state legislature for a confirmation vote.Karen Smigielski, a spokeswoman for the Human Services Department, told the Associated Press that the state paid for 3,950 abortions in 2004 and spent $1.2 million paying for abortions in 2003.Related web sites:Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life - http://www.mccl.org
No comments:
Post a Comment