Recent press reports have buoyed the spirits of men and women who believe in the primacy of human dignity and human happiness. An SBS television report claimed that since 1981 there has been a 30% reduction in the number of abortions performed in the USA. The other ground breaking news was that Japanese and American researchers have induced pluripotent stem cells from somatic skin cells, which should permanently render unnecessary the destruction of embryoes to access the same pluripotent stem cells.

The NSW Parliament has passed legislation regarding assisted reproductive technology. In the new Act are provisions for a central donor registry for donors of gametes and embryos, with the prohibition of commercial surrogacy agreements.

Furthermore, single donors cannot be used that will result in children being born to more than five women. The NSW Anti-Discrimination Act and Health Tissue Act will no longer apply to donor procedures, making it possible for donors to specify characteristics of recipients of the gametes including ethnicity and marital status.

The Fertility Society of Australia’s most recent annual scientific meeting was informed by Conference Chairman, Dr Bill Watkins, that many Australians were delaying starting a family well into their 30s because of career and lifestyle choices. Dr Watkins was concerned that there is a poor understanding among Australian women that their fertility rapidly declines after the age of 35.

Here is an interesting comparison of the slavery debate with the abortion debate. A coincidence maybe? 

What are the different positions between the pro-life and pro-choice views? Here is a summary of these two positions.

The morning-after pill consists of a short course of special high-dose hormone pills, which can be a combined hormone tablet with both oestrogen and progesterone or progesterone only. They are taken to reduce the chance of pregnancy after unprotected sex or contraception failure.

Abortion is not without risk or after effects. Any medical procedure bears risks and consequences. 

Abortion is most commonly performed between the 6th and 12th week of pregnancy, counted from the first day of the woman's last menstrual period, ie: 4-10 weeks after conception. Prior to 6 weeks, most abortions are performed chemically. Abortion may also be performed after the 12th week and up to the 20th week of pregnancy.

Abortion procedures are included in two items on the Medicare Benefits Schedule - Items 35643 and 16525.

Here is a brief set of statistics about abortion from Australia and the world.