NY state to consider assisted suicide law

05062016p07phAdvocates for physician-assisted suicide are on a roll as they hope to parlay their West Coast momentum to the Empire State.

Bills introduced in the New York State Legislature this session would allow terminally ill patients — those who have been given a diagnosis of six months or less to live — to request a lethal dose of drugs from two physicians. They must prove themselves mentally capable and have two witnesses to their request.

Physician-assisted suicide, also known as aid in dying, is legal in Oregon and Washington, and will soon be in California, as a newly passed bill there becomes law. Vermont and Montana also allow for the practice. It has been legal in Oregon for 18 years, longer than any other state.

Among its opponents are the New York state Catholic bishops, who, as in other states, argue that allowing physicians to kill dying patients violates medical ethics and will be used against the poor, the lonely and the forgotten.  Source

The bill’s supporters “see this as a bellwether state,” Kathleen Gallagher, director of pro-life activities for the New York State Catholic Conference, told NCR.

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Study: Suicide is 12th leading cause of death in Mississippi

10459644_gAccording to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, suicide is the 12th leading cause of death in Mississippi.

WDAM 7 reported that a suicide took place at Purvis High School last week and in April a man took his life in Jasper County after a traffic accident.

Psychologist Mallory Malkin from Pine Grove said it is important to reach out to loved ones that are showing signs of depression like anger, shame, hopelessness or withdrawal.

“It’s one of those things that you really can’t dance around. It’s better to address it straight forward instead of being afraid to offend someone or hurt their feelings,” Malkin said.

In Mississippi, suicide is the third leading cause of death for people between the ages of 15 to 24 and Malkin said this is not surprising.  Source

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Francis rails against child sexual abuse, saying abusers must be ‘severely’ punished

Pope Francis Visits SardiniaPope Francis railed against the sexual abuse of children in a weekly address in St. Peter’s Square Sunday, calling any such abuse a “tragedy” and saying the church cannot tolerate the matter and “must severely punish the abusers.”

Greeting members of an Italian association that has worked to raise awareness against pedophilia and to report sexual abuse crimes, who were present in the Square for the recitation of the Regina Coeli prayer, the pontiff thanked them for their work before departing from his prepared text.

“This is a tragedy,” said Francis off the cuff, his voice raised and his arm extended from the window of the Vatican’s apostolic palace above the Square. “We must not tolerate the abuse of minors. We must defend minors. And we must severely punish the abusers.”

The Catholic church around the world has been embroiled in scandals over its handling of sexually abusive clergy for decades, with survivors, advocates, law enforcement agencies, and some local jurisdictions saying members of the hierarchy covered up crimes in order to protect the institution at the risk of children’s well-being.  Source

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U.S. Reports First Zika Virus Death in Puerto Rico

Image: Aedes aegypti mosquitos in various stages of development A man infected with Zika virus in Puerto Rico has died from complications of the infection, health officials said Friday.

The man, in his 70s, died from internal bleeding caused by a rare immune reaction to the virus, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.

It’s the first death in the United States from Zika virus. Source

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‘All Belgians to get iodine pills’ in case of nuclear accident

1707129BRUSSELS – Belgium is to provide iodine pills to its entire population of around 11 million people to protect against radioactivity in case of a nuclear accident, the health minister was quoted as saying Thursday.

The move comes as Belgium faces growing pressure from neighbouring Germany to shutter two ageing nuclear power plants near their border due to concerns over their safety.

Iodine pills, which help reduce radiation build-up in the thyroid gland, had previously only been given to people living within 20 kilometres (14 miles) of the Tihange and Doel nuclear plants. Source

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Senate Democrats push climate change bond bill

climatechange02102015gettyTwo Senate Democrats have introduced a bill to create a new climate change adaptation fund to be paid for through new federal bonds.

The bond program — from Sens. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) — would provide up to $200 million annually for a Commerce Department grant program to fund climate change adaptation work around the country.

Introducing the bill on Wednesday, Boxer and Durbin compared the climate change bond program to the war bonds sold by the federal government during the World Wars. Source

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Christians to flock to massive atheist rally in D.C.

lincoln-memorialCall it resistance with love. A massive gathering of atheists that takes place every year in Washington, D.C., will now face some concerted counterpointing, thanks to the rally call of one church in California for those of Christian faith to travel to the freethinkers’ scene to try and change hearts.

The Living Waters Church, out of Pasadena, California, and founded by Ray Comfort, has scheduled to film its next episode of its televised “The Way of the Master” program in the nation’s capital – and it’s coincidentally on the same June 4 day as the “Reason Rally.” The annual event is basically a “mega atheist gathering” and this year will include “big-name speakers such as Bill Nye, Penn Jillette, Lawrence Krauss and actor Johnny Depp,” the church said in a statement on its website. Source

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Parents who constantly check mobile phones will raise children with short attention spans, study suggests

96505624_mobile-phone-news-large_trans2vx1u98yphn7kc8mgpwavstr-ssctfk1ocf38oigsg0Parents who look at their phones or get distracted when playing with their children may raise youngsters with short attention spans, research suggests.

Psychologists said they have found the first direct connection between how long a parent pays attention to a toy and the impact this has on their child’s concentration.

The study, published in the journal Current Biology, has implications for how a child goes on to perform at school, they added.  Source

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New poll finds fewer people keep the Sabbath than in the 70’s, but many people still value it

2bc3557695The Sabbath may be losing its religious significance in the eyes of many Americans, but a majority still believe taking a day of rest benefits society, according to a new survey on Sabbath observance by the Deseret News.

Half of U.S. adults today (50 percent) say the Sabbath has personal spiritual meaning for them, down from 74 percent in 1978. However, 62 percent of people agree that it’s important for society to have one day a week set aside for spiritual rest, the survey reported — and only 11 percent disagree with that proposition.

The Deseret News poll was conducted by Y2 Analytics and YouGov among 1,691 Americans, including an oversample of Mormons and Jews, two groups known for their Sabbath observance. It finds that members of some religious groups, such as Mormons and evangelicals, continue to focus their Sunday activities around church attendance and Bible study, while others spend their time on less spiritual pursuits. Source

!!! Please note: The Sabbath being reported here is actually Sunday and not Saturday (the seventh day of the week).  The Catholic Church admitted that the change from Saturday to Sunday is not biblical but only from the her tradition. 

“Nothing is said in the Bible about the change of the Lord’s day from Saturday to Sunday. We know of the change only from the tradition of the Church–a fact handed down to us from earliest times by the living voice of the Church. That is why we find so illogical the attitude of many non-Catholics, who say that they yet will believe nothing unless they can find it in the Bible and yet will continue to keep Sunday as the Lord’s day on the say-so of the Catholic Church.” The Faith Explained, by Leo J. Trese, page 246. Nihil Obstat by Louis J. Putz, C.S.C., Univ. of Notre Dame. Imprimatur by Leo A. Pursley, D.D. Bishop of Fort Wayne, Indiana.

 

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Why Thousands Of Pagans Are Standing Up For The Environment

571935391600002a0031c5e7In the months leading up to last year’s Earth Day, a group of roughly 50 pagans gathered in a closed Facebook group to draft a collective call to action. On April 22, 2015, they published the “Pagan Community Statement on the Environment,” which framed climate change as a global moral dilemma to which pagans and other people of faith must respond…

“There are Witches, Wiccans, Druids, Shamans, Goddess Worshipers, Pantheists, Animists, Humanistic Pagans, Atheistic Pagans, Heathens, Polytheists, Reconstctionists, Buddho-Pagans, Christo-Pagans, Quaker Pagans, Unitarian Universalist Pagans, and many more,” Halstead told The Huffington Post…

“Speaking in harmony does not mean everyone being of one mind or agreeing on every point,” Halstead said. “It means temporarily setting aside our egos and prioritizing our individual disagreements when a collective voice is urgently needed, as it is now.”

“I hope that this helps demonstrate to the interfaith activist community that Pagans are serious and worthy partners in the fight to turn the tide of global climate change.  Source

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