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US: Women Urged to Be Active in Values Debate - AP

Women Urged to Be Active in Values Debate
By WILL LESTER, Associated Press Writer
Mon Jun 20, 5:33 PM ET

While the "moral values" debate has focused on abortion and gay marriage, many women involved with religious groups define moral issues to include economic justice and poverty, fairness and building strong communities, a study by a private group says.

Women should take a more active role in religious leadership and help define the issues in a debate that has been largely dominated by men, suggested the study Monday by the Institute for Women's Policy Research.

Women's roles in the church are growing, "but they have not taken on as big a role as men in outlining concerns about religion and moral values in politics," said Amy Caiazza, authored of the study.

Its findings were based on in-depth interviews with 75 religious activists, most of them women. It was supported by the Ford Foundation.

Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, a former Democratic Maryland lieutenant governor who is now a professor at Georgetown University, said the view of religion and moral values in the political debate needs to be broadened.

"We have seen the privatization of religion," Townsend said, "both from people on the left, who say get religion out of politics and from people on the right who only want to talk about private issues, not justice issues, not the economy, not the environment, not tax reform."

Townsend said people involved in the women's movement and activists on the political left should reclaim a share of turf that has been dominated in recent years by political conservatives. Social movements such as the civil rights movement used to have a strong religious background, she said.

"We've lost our progressive religious traditions," Townsend said. "This is an effort to reclaim the richness that was ours. We're going to take it back."

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On the Net:

Institute for Women's Policy Research: http://www.iwpr.org

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050620/ap_on_re_us/women_religion_1&printer=1

View: How Religion and Politics Can Blend - Christian Science Monitor

Commentary > The Monitor's View
from the June 17, 2005 edition
How Religion and Politics Can Blend
The Monitor's View - Christian Science Monitor

Abortion, stem-cell research, the war in Iraq, gay marriage, prayer in schools were and still are just some of the 2004 election campaign issues that brought out religious voices. Church activists played leading roles in making sure bans on same-sex marriages passed in 13 states. A Candidate's attendance or non-attendance at church in some cases became an issue. Even driving an SUV became a question to ask - "What would Jesus drive?" - for left-leaning churches.

When an electorate becomes as evenly divided as the US has been in the past two presidential elections, it can seem expedient for both major parties to look for sympathetic churches to boost their appeal - and vote count. Republicans targeted largely white evangelical churches, and Democrats appealed to black churches.

To counter this trend, more than 40 US denominations took part in a Convocation on Hunger last week. Members from the Southern Baptist Convention, Assemblies of God, and other evangelical churches prayed alongside Muslims, Buddhists, Sikhs, Roman Catholics, Greek Orthodox, mainline Protestants and Jews. They had found an issue they could agree on and which could be raised publicly. For a number of years, many denominations led the call for debt forgiveness in Africa recently agreed to by the developed nations.

Such unity shows that religious beliefs need not be captive to one partisan view. Yes, different religious beliefs may have different social implications. And yes, a civil democracy can often serve as a win-lose contest of opposing beliefs.

But democracies work best long-term only with a spirit of respect and compromise, and protection for minority views and interests. Reasoned argument and compassionate listening offer ample opportunity for religious beliefs to play a public role without ruining public discourse and the political equilibrium.

For religions and civil democracy to live together, what must be graciously accepted is that the political expression of one's religious faith does not have secular validity simply because individuals who hold these beliefs think they are divinely endorsed.

Secular government helps protect all religions in their diversity. And religions, by judiciously using their moral authority, as shown in last week's conference, can protect secular government in finding common ground for public action.

http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0617/p08s01-comv.html

尊厳死：死亡女性の検視結果を公表 米フロリダ州

尊厳死の女性に虐待の形跡なし、米検視官が発表
2005.06.16
Web posted at: 20:18 JST
- CNN

（ＣＮＮ）　米フロリダ州ピネラス郡の検視官事務所は１５日、心臓発作などが原因で１５年間にわたり植物状態が続き、今年３月１８日に栄養補給が止められ、同３１日に死亡したテリ・シャイボさん（当時４１）の解剖結果を発表し、植物状態にあり、虐待などを受けた形跡はない、と発表した。

シャイボさんの死亡は、尊厳死の是非をめぐり、連邦最高裁、連邦議会、ホワイトハウスなども巻き込む大きな論議を生んでいた。延命措置をめぐっては、尊厳死を望む夫マイケルさんと、延命を求める両親が対立、法廷闘争にもなっていた。

検視官事務所は、治療したとしてもシャイボさんの状態が改善するとは思えない、との見解も示し、治癒は可能としていた両親の主張を事実上、打ち消した。また、脳が年齢に見合う重さの半分しかなく、脳の損傷が元に戻る可能性はなかったとも指摘した。

シャイボさんの脳の損傷具合を確認するため、マイケルさんが解剖を求めていた。


尊厳死：死亡女性の検視結果を公表　米フロリダ州 (毎日 2005/06/16)

　【ワシントン吉田弘之】植物状態だった米フロリダ州の女性テレサ・シャイボさん（４１）が今年３月３１日、生命維持用の栄養チューブをはずされて尊厳死した問題で、地元ピネラス郡の検視官は１５日、シャイボさんの検視結果を公表した。それによると、シャイボさんの脳は広範囲に機能停止しており、回復不能な「永続的植物状態」だったことが確認された。

　シャイボさんをめぐっては、「妻は延命を望んでいない」と尊厳死を主張する夫と、「回復の余地がある」と栄養チューブの再挿入を求めるシャイボさんの両親が激しい法廷闘争を繰り広げた。また、シャイボさんの延命を支持するブッシュ大統領が連邦議会とともに政治介入を試みるなど、米国の生命倫理をめぐる論争を象徴するケースとして注目を集めた。

　記者会見した検視官によると、シャイボさんの脳は激しく萎縮（いしゅく）し、健康な成人の脳の２分の１ほどの重さしかなかった。視覚中枢部位が壊死（えし）しており、目が見えなかったとみられるという。シャイボさんが母親の呼びかけに笑っているようなビデオ映像が公表されたことがあるが、検視官は「自動反射であって、意識がある証拠ではない」と語った。直接の死因は、栄養チューブをはずしたことによる脱水症だった。

　シャイボさんの両親の弁護士は「両親は、シャイボさんが永続的植物状態だったとは今でも信じていない」とコメントした。

解剖結果も夫の主張支持＝米尊厳死女性で検視官事務所 (時事 2005/06/16)

　【ニューヨーク15日時事】米フロリダ州で今年3月、栄養補給チューブを外されて死亡した植物状態の女性テリ・シャイボさん＝当時（41）＝の尊厳死問題で、同州の検視官事務所は15日、シャイボさんの遺体解剖の結果を発表、延命を続けても、シャイボさんの回復の見込みはなかったと結論付けた。

　シャイボさんの両親らシンドラー一家は、シャイボさんがリハビリを続ければ、症状改善の可能性があるなどとして、延命を主張。尊厳死を求めた夫のマイケルさんとの間で、全米を巻き込む泥沼の法廷闘争が展開されたが、解剖結果で夫側の主張が裏付けられた形となった。

Yahoo! News FULL COVERAGE: Assisted Suicide & Euthanasia
http://news.yahoo.com/fc/us/assisted_suicide　

アメリカ人の宗教熱は、他のどの国よりも強い - AP

Last modified Friday, June 10, 2005 9:52 PM PDT
Poll finds religious zeal higher in U.S. than many other nations
By RACHEL ZOLL
AP religion writer
http://www.gazettetimes.com/articles/2005/06/12/news/religion/satrel04.txt

Fertility Law Divides Italians - LA Times （後）

Continued from http://blogs.yahoo.co.jp/alfayoko2002/4646520.html

The law bans the screening of fertilized eggs for genetic defects, even for couples with a history of disease. In vitro fertilization is allowed only for heterosexual couples who are in what the law refers to as "stable" relationships. Single women, women beyond childbearing age and gay couples are not allowed to use the procedure.

Surrogate motherhood and the donation of sperm and eggs are also banned.

Mika Hayama got pregnant through in vitro fertilization last year, just before the law took effect and after trying for 10 years. The harvesting phase is difficult, she said, because it requires bombarding the body with hormones to stimulate ovulation, usually requires time off from work and sends the mind through a roller coaster of emotions.

"It is very heavy on the body, physically and psychologically," said Hayama, 38, who gave birth to a boy, Zeno.

Francesca Pietra will probably go to Spain in her effort to become pregnant. At 44, she is no longer eligible for in vitro fertilization in Italy, and she needs a donated egg.

"It is absurd," she said. "Sure, in my case, I can afford to go abroad, but there are many who can't, and that makes me really angry." Pietra estimated the cost at just over $12,000, double the price of a year ago.

The Italian magazine Panorama, using anecdotal information, estimated that the number of Italian women going abroad for assisted reproduction had tripled under the law.

Dr. Niko Naumann, a gynecologist in Rome who specializes in fertility problems, said he frequently advised patients to go to other countries.

He said some sort of legislation was necessary because there was anarchy before the current law. Italy had become famous for its "granny births," for example, having produced some of the oldest new mothers in the world.

But the law that was enacted isn't very scientific, he said, and it makes it very difficult for some women to get pregnant.

The church's intervention in the referendum represents a growing movement to stem liberalization, especially in Europe, on so-called moral issues. Continuing a trend initiated under his predecessor, Pope John Paul II, Benedict also is fighting a Spanish law that allows gay marriage.

The last time the church instructed Italians on how to vote was in the 1970s and '80s, over efforts to make divorce and abortion illegal. Voters ignored their religious leaders in those cases.

But referendums generally fail to attract quorums in Italy, and this time the church is confident of victory.

Times staff writer Maria De Cristofaro contributed to this report.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-fertility11jun11.story