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By James Montgomery

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1706864/jay-z-great-gatsby-music-exclusive.jhtml

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Mississippi prepares new push on education

In this Feb. 15, 2013 photograph, Clarksdale High School students delve into the complexities of chemistry equations, in Clarksdale, Miss. Community leaders hope improved education will help stanch a hemorrhaging population. The city's nine public schools may also be the crossroads of Mississippi's education system as state lawmakers are considering a new route, one characterized by charter schools, teacher merit pay, a tougher statewide curriculum, state-paid preschool classes and an intensive focus on reading for young students. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

In this Feb. 15, 2013 photograph, Superintendent Dennis Dupree says he hopes the two big grants the district has won will improve its high school and one of its two middle schools, vaulting them among the state's education leaders, at his Clarksdale, Miss., office. City leaders hope improved education will help stanch a hemorrhaging population. The city's nine public schools may also be the crossroads of Mississippi's education system as state lawmakers are considering a new route, one characterized by charter schools, teacher merit pay, a tougher statewide curriculum, state-paid preschool classes and an intensive focus on reading for young students. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

In this Feb. 15, 2013 photograph, Clarksdale High School chemistry instructor Victoria Dawson encourages her class to solve their equations at the board in Clarksdale, Miss. City leaders hope improved education will help stanch a hemorrhaging population. The city's nine public schools may also be the crossroads of Mississippi's education system as state lawmakers are considering a new route, one characterized by charter schools, teacher merit pay, a tougher statewide curriculum, state-paid preschool classes and an intensive focus on reading for young students. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

In this Feb. 15, 2013 photograph, Clarksdale High School student Shamia Hopper works on a chemical equation at the dry marker board in her Clarksdale, Miss., classroom. City leaders hope improved education will help stanch a hemorrhaging population. The city's nine public schools may also be the crossroads of Mississippi's education system as state lawmakers are considering a new route, one characterized by charter schools, teacher merit pay, a tougher statewide curriculum, state-paid preschool classes and an intensive focus on reading for young students. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

CLARKSDALE, Miss. (AP) ? It's early on a Friday morning, and high school chemistry students in Victoria Dawson's class are working equations at the board.

Dawson is peppering the class of 11 girls and four boys with questions, trying to keep everyone focused as she helps correct mistakes.

When a student gets one of the dense equations right, Dawson and the class salute with finger-snapping in place of applause

"I want some A's on Tuesday," the teacher says, warning of an upcoming test.

In a state where Republican leaders are trying to put their stamp on long-running efforts to improve education, Clarksdale is emblematic of both the challenges the state faces and innovative ideas for boosting schools. Dawson's class is part of a program in the district to develop a more rigorous high-school curriculum.

Leaders of the city in the impoverished Delta region ? known as the crossroads of the blues where Robert Johnson once lived ? hope improved education will help stanch a hemorrhaging population that now stands at 18,000.

"Without a strong public school system, you have no growth in the community," said Lois Erwin, a former principal at a private school who's now coordinating a community development effort sponsored by a local bank. "You've got to have a strong public school system or you don't have economic development. That's just it."

Republicans' statewide solutions include making it easier to create charter schools and holding back third-graders who can't read. Other changes approved by lawmakers are state-funded prekindergarten and higher qualifications and merit pay for teachers.

"All those categories that we see that have an effect not only on quality of life, but on our society and workforce, go back to beginning with a failure in the educational system," said Republican Gov. Phil Bryant, who names education as key to improving Mississippi's weak economy. "There's nothing better that I could do than change what I think has been a fairly ineffective educational system."

The GOP-sponsored measures could mean more big changes for Clarksdale's nine public schools, which would be fine with local attorney and former Democratic gubernatorial candidate Bill Luckett.

"We need a cultural shift," said Luckett, who's now running for mayor of Clarksdale. "We need a big war; that's how I look at it."

Though Mississippi lags in education, it has made progress.

A Harvard University study found that Mississippi students posted greater gains on the National Assessment of Educational Progress than the average among the 41 states it measured. The state ranked 13th out of that group overall for improvement between 1992 and 2011.

In 1980, only 54.8 percent of Mississippi residents 25 and older had a high school diploma according to Census data, compared to 80.4 in 2010. Mississippi improved by 25.6 percentage points while the nation improved 13.9 points to 85.3 percent. The improvement was even steeper in Coahoma County, which includes Clarksdale. The share of adults with a high school diploma rose from 43.8 percent in 1980 to 75 percent in 2010.

But the Harvard study finds that while Mississippi has been able to boost many of its students up to basic achievement levels, most are not yet truly proficient. And while Mississippi has many more high school graduates than 30 years ago, American-born Mississippi adults are still the least likely of those in any state to have a high school diploma.

Improvements are toughest in areas such as Clarksdale, where per capita income is about 78 percent of the national average and the unemployment rate was 13 percent in March. Half of all county children live in poverty, and 90 percent of Clarksdale's 3,200 students qualify for free or reduced-price lunches. Most white children attend private schools, while 97 percent of students in the public system are black. Of children born in Coahoma County, 18.8 percent have a low birth weight. That critical predictor of future problems is more than twice the national rate of 8.1 percent.

Beth Fulmer, a rookie teacher at Oakhurst Middle School, says poverty is a destabilizing force that her students struggle with. "I think a lot of a child's success comes from their home lives," she said.

Superintendent Dennis Dupree's profile is rising as he tries to lift achievement levels in Clarksdale. Since Dupree was appointed in 2007, the district has won grants to improve its high school and one of its two middle schools. Clarksdale was one of the first three districts statewide to adopt a more rigorous high school curriculum. After piloting it with 40 students, Dupree plans to roll it out for all 9th graders next fall. He's also volunteered Clarksdale as one of four districts to experiment with paying teachers based on performance, a pilot program meant to help Mississippi develop a merit pay system for all teachers. And Dupree is one of a group of educators who designed a new scoring system to grade schools statewide.

Dupree says his ultimate goal is to vault Clarksdale into the top rank of Mississippi districts.

"We've been seeing improvement, Dupree said. "We know we've been seeing it."

Many say Dupree is at least chipping away at the schools' failings.

"I feel like they are doing a fairly good job," said Lamar Hicks, a Clarksdale High graduate and former assistant teacher who has a son in first grade. "They are doing exactly what they can do."

There's still a long way to go. The overall district and Clarksdale High School were exempted from Mississippi's A-to-F school grading system last year because of the high school curriculum pilot. Results from elementary and middle schools were mixed. Two of six elementary school got B grades. But two elementary schools and both middle schools were graded F.

One big change coming in Mississippi is a requirement to hold back children in grades K-3 who aren't reading at grade level. That's modeled on laws adopted in Florida and 13 other states.

Clarksdale's elementary schools are trying to improve student literacy. Valarie Davis, principal at Myrtle Hall IV Elementary, said the biggest reading challenge is lack of preparation at home, reflecting poverty and low parental education levels.

"The children don't have the background," Davis said. "Some of them have never been read to or read books at home."

Preschool preparation for kindergarten could ease that problem. Mississippi has been the only state in the South and one of only 11 nationwide with no state-funded preschool program. But lawmakers approved a plan for school districts, Head Start centers and private child care operators to jointly provide voluntary preschool for 4-year-olds. Clarksdale is already using federal money to run three 20-student preschool classes, putting it among the one-third of Mississippi districts doing so even without state aid.

Clarksdale could also be an early target for a charter school under a new law easing creation of the alternative public schools. The Knowledge is Power Program, a national group, operates a charter school in nearby Helena-West Helena, Ark. The group has expressed interest in Clarksdale and many Mississippi leaders have said the school is a model. Some Clarksdale residents, including Luckett and his mayoral rival, Democratic state Rep. Chuck Espy, also support charter schools.

Dupree says the public school system is striving to be so attractive that parents will choose public schools even if a charter school opens.

"When there's choice, we want to be the choice," he said.

___

Follow Jeff Amy at http://twitter.com/jeffamy

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-05-06-US-Mississippi's-Classroom-Struggle/id-2d69e136d6e642d18897fd8e80f56fea

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Elizabeth Colbert Busch Endorsed By Charleston Post And Courier

John Ensign

Then-Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.) was a proponent of the Federal Marriage Amendment, which would have banned states from recognizing same-sex marriage. "Marriage is the cornerstone on which our society was founded," he argued on the Senate floor in 2004. He also called on President Bill Clinton to resign over the Monica Lewinsky scandal, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/06/16/ensign-whacked-clinton-fo_n_216508.html">saying it had destroyed the president's credibility</a>. Yet in 2009, Ensign admitted that he had had an extramarital affair with a former campaign staffer who was also the wife of one of his top aides. An ethics investigation by the Senate Ethics Committee and the FBI followed, and<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/04/21/john-ensign-resigns-reports_n_852285.html"> Ensign resigned</a> in 2011.

Newt Gingrich

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) has a long and rich history of hypocrisy, including receiving a reported $1.6 million in consulting fees from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac before blaming the mortgage giants for the country's housing crisis and <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/newt-gingrich-endorses-obamacare-individual-mandate-audio-2012-1">endorsing President Barack Obama's health care plan</a> before the 2012 presidential primary campaign, during which he hammered Mitt Romney's Massachusetts plan for being similar to Obamacare. But his crowning hypocrisy was probably leading impeachment proceedings against President Bill Clinton in the 1990s over the Monica Lewinsky scandal while Gingrich himself was having an extramarital affair. His ex-wife Marianne recently claimed that while they were married, Newt <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/19/open-marriage-newt-gingrich-marianne-affair-_n_1217944.html">requested an "open marriage" </a>so that he could continue the affair with his now-wife, Callista.

Charlie Rangel

Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-N.Y.) stepped down as chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee after <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/12/02/charles-rangel-censured-censure_n_791289.html">he was congressionally censured</a> for failing to pay income taxes and filing misleading financial statements, among other misdeeds. But that didn't stop him from hammering Mitt Romney for his lack of transparency on tax returns. "Before he judges other people about paying federal income taxes, Governor Romney should come clean about the tax returns he's hiding from voters," Rangel said.

Paul Ryan

The failed vice presidential candidate has been an outspoken opponent of earmark spending, but that didn't stop Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) from <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/27/paul-ryan-emails-stimulus_n_2027975.html">arranging a $735,000 earmark</a> to construct a transit center in his hometown of Janesville, Wis. Likewise, after slamming President Barack Obama's stimulus package, Ryan sought stimulus funds for several projects in his district.

Michele Bachmann

Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) was the original sponsor of legislation to repeal the Affordable Care Act, but her war against "socialized medicine" hasn't stopped husband Marcus from <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-bachmann-20110626,0,7400031,print.story">applying for public funds</a> for his "pray away the gay" counseling practice. Bachmann, an outspoken opponent of big government, has also <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-bachmann-20110626,0,7400031,print.story">personally benefited from federal farm subsidies</a>. She recently described the Internal Revenue Service, which earlier in her career employed her to sue people in tax collection cases, as <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2011/07/11/264991/bachmann-tax-collector-irs/">"the most heartless organization anyone knows of." </a>

John Boehner

House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) has loudly congratulated himself for the GOP House jobs package -- even though economists say the package's 32 bills <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/24/republican-jobs-bills_n_1687647.html">will do little to create jobs</a> -- while working hard to block President Barack Obama?s $447 billion jobs plan. A longtime critic of wasteful government spending, Boehner (along with other House Republican leaders) <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/16/doma-house-republicans_n_1971666.html">spent $1.5 million</a> defending the Defense of Marriage Act.

Al Gore

He won an Oscar for "An Inconvenient Truth" and <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21262661/ns/us_news-environment/t/gore-un-climate-panel-win-nobel-peace-prize/#.UKqNy2mMF9Q">a Nobel Peace Prize</a> for his work on climate change, but Al Gore's own carbon footprint was once an inconvenient issue. His 20-room Nashville mansion and pool house in 2006 <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/GlobalWarming/story?id=2906888&page=1#.UKqO42mMF9Q">racked up $30,000 in utility bills</a>, consuming more than 20 times the national home average, according to a report by the Tennessee Center for Policy Research. A Gore spokesperson <a href="http://nashvillecitypaper.com/content/city-news/despite-home-upgrades-gore-still-%E2%80%98hypocrite%E2%80%99-energy-usage-group-says">disputed the conservative think tank's report</a> and said that renovations on the home cut its electricity and natural gas consumption about 40 percent by the next year.

Strom Thurmond

Sen. Strom Thurmond (R-S.C.), a famed segregationist, spent many of his 48 years in the U.S. Senate fighting racial integration and equality, punctuated by his 24-hour filibuster in a failed attempt to kill the Civil Rights Act of 1957. Six months after Thurmond's death in 2003, a biracial woman named Essie Mae Washington-Williams revealed that the late senator was her father. Her mother was 16 and working for Thurmond?s parents when she became pregnant.

Mitt Romney

From his opposition to President Barack Obama's health care reform, which was patterned after his own plan in Massachusetts, to his politically expedient shifts in positions on immigration, climate change and abortion, Mitt Romney has a record of hypocrisy too expansive and well documented for any Etch A Sketch to erase.

Mark Foley

During his time in office, former Rep. Mark Foley (R-Fla.) introduced a bill against child pornography, fought to expand federal sex offender laws, supported anti-gay legislation and chaired the House Caucus on Missing and Exploited Children. Then he was caught sending graphic sex messages to underage males working as congressional pages. He quickly resigned in 2006.

David Vitter

When Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) admitted his involvement in the "D.C. Madam" scandal in 2007, it didn?t end his career or lead to any criminal charges. It also didn't end his attempts to narrow prosecutorial discretion for others in vulnerable positions. At a hearing last year on the HALT Act, which would have suspended discretionary immigration protections, Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) <a href="http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2011/07/sen_david_vitter_called_hypocr.html">accused Vitter</a> of "hypocrisy to seek to limit the use of discretion when one has enjoyed the benefit himself." Vitter has also advocated for abstinence-only sex education and in 2004 ran on a "family values" platform that included opposition to same-sex marriage.

Sarah Palin

Sarah Palin has been an outspoken opponent of President Barack Obama's health care plan, but a more socialized system wasn't always so problematic for her. In 2010, she admitted to having taken <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/03/08/palin-crossed-border-for_n_490080.html"> trips across the Canadian border</a> to receive single-payer health care long before she brought "death panels" into the war against the Affordable Care Act.

Larry Craig

Former Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho) is best known for his 2007 airport bathroom trip that ended in a same-sex-sting arrest for lewd conduct after he allegedly solicited sex from an undercover officer. Craig blamed his wandering foot on his "wide stance" but soon announced his resignation, then decided to serve out the rest of his term. While in office, he had supported the anti-gay marriage Federal Marriage Amendment and voted against a measure to include anti-gay bias in hate crimes legislation. He received a rating of zero from the Human Rights Campaign for his votes on LGBT issues. <em><strong>CORRECTION</strong>: A previous version of this slide implied that Craig followed through on his threat to resign.</em>

Eliot Spitzer

While serving as the Democratic governor of New York, Eliot Spitzer was brought down by a federal wiretap that revealed he patronized a $1,000-an-hour prostitute named Ashley Dupre at a Washington, D.C., hotel. Further investigation uncovered the prostitution ring Emperors Club VIP, and numerous money transfers to the club were traced back to Client 9 -- the governor. As New York state attorney general, Spitzer <a href="http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2008/03/report_governor_spitzer_involv.html">prosecuted at least two prostitution rings</a>, and as governor he forced state comptroller Alan Hevesi out of office for the comparatively minor offense of using a state car and chauffeur for his sick wife.

Scott DesJarlais

Rep. Scott DesJarlais (R-Tenn.) just won a second term despite <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/15/scott-desjarlais-approved_n_2140171.html">recent revelations</a> that he had sex with a patient while working as a physician and later urged her to get an abortion. Yet DesJarlais' campaign platform opposed abortion. "All life should be cherished and protected. We are pro-life," his website stated. There?s more. According to transcripts from his 2001 divorce proceedings, released after the election, the congressman and his then-wife made a "mutual" decision for her to have two abortions while they were married.

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/05/elizabeth-colbert-busch-post-and-courier_n_3219804.html

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Study adds to evidence that cigarettes are gateway to marijuana

May 5, 2013 ? een smokers who rationalize their use of cigarettes by saying, "At least, I'm not doing drugs," may not always be able to use that line.

New research to be presented Sunday, May 5, at the Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) annual meeting in Washington, DC, supports the theory that cigarettes are a gateway drug to marijuana.

"Contrary to what we would expect, we also found that students who smoked both tobacco and marijuana were more likely to smoke more tobacco than those who smoked only tobacco," said study author Megan Moreno, MD, MSEd, MPH, FAAP, an investigator at Seattle Children's Research Institute and associate professor of pediatrics at the University of Washington.

Dr. Moreno and her colleagues randomly selected incoming college students from two universities -- one in the Northwest and one in the Midwest -- to participate in the longitudinal study. Students were interviewed prior to entering college and again at the end of their freshman year regarding their attitudes, intentions and experiences with substances.

Specifically, students were asked if they had used tobacco or marijuana ever in their lives and in the past 28 days. Researchers also assessed the quantity and frequency of marijuana and tobacco use in the past 28 days.

Results showed that prior to entering college, 33 percent of the 315 participants reported lifetime tobacco use, and 43 percent of lifetime users were current users. In addition, tobacco users were more likely to have used marijuana than those who did not use tobacco.

By the end of their freshman year, 66 percent of participants who reported tobacco use prior to entering college remained current users with an average of 34 tobacco episodes per month. Of these, 53 percent reported concurrent marijuana use. Overall, users of both substances averaged significantly more tobacco episodes per month than current users of tobacco only (42 vs. 24).

"These findings are significant because in the past year we have seen legislation passed that legalizes marijuana in two states," Dr. Moreno said. "While the impact of these laws on marijuana use is a critical issue, our findings suggest that we should also consider whether increased marijuana use will impact tobacco use among older adolescents."

Future work should involve designing educational campaigns highlighting the increased risks of using these substances together, Dr. Moreno concluded.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by American Academy of Pediatrics, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/~3/6zOfyzPin34/130505073742.htm

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Ackley hits grand slam, Mariners top Blue Jays 8-1

Seattle Mariners second baseman Dustin Ackley, center, celebrates his grand slam with teammates in the dugout during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Toronto Blue Jays in Toronto on Saturday, May 4, 2013. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Nathan Denette)

Seattle Mariners second baseman Dustin Ackley, right, rounds the bases past Toronto Blue Jays pitcher R.A. Dickey, left, after hitting a grand slam during the fourth inning of a baseball game in Toronto on Saturday, May 4, 2013. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Nathan Denette)

TORONTO (AP) ? Dustin Ackley hit his first career grand slam, Michael Saunders homered twice and the Seattle Mariners roughed up Cy Young knuckleballer R.A. Dickey, beating the struggling Toronto Blue Jays 8-1 on Saturday afternoon.

Seattle's offensive outburst was welcomed by right-hander Hisashi Iwakuma, who'd received just one run of support in his previous three outings. He pitched seven sharp innings to win for the first time in four starts.

Pitching on an extra day of rest as he attempted to overcome neck and back soreness, Dickey lost his third straight start. He allowed six hits, including a season-high three home runs. He walked two and struck out five.

Dickey (2-5) was booed by the crowd of 35,754 after Raul Ibanez hit a one-out triple to center in the sixth and scored on Kelly Shoppach's double. As the runs piled up, some fans responded with chants of "Go Leafs Go" for the NHL's Maple Leafs, currently in the playoffs against the Boston Bruins.

Iwakuma (3-1) allowed one run and five hits. He walked three and struck out five, lowering his ERA to 1.61. Yoervis Medina pitched the eighth and Oliver Perez worked the ninth for the Mariners, who have won seven of their past eight meetings with Toronto.

Saunders homered on Dickey's second pitch of the game, the second leadoff homer of his career, then added another solo shot in the fifth. It was the fourth multihomer game of his career and his first this season.

Saunders added an RBI double off Brett Cecil in the ninth and finished 3 for 5 with three RBIs.

Ackley connected on a 3-2 pitch in the fourth, immediately after Dickey (2-5) had loaded the bases with back-to-back walks to Ibanez and Shoppach. The blast to center was Ackley's first homer of the season.

Dickey lost consecutive starts only once during his NL Cy Young season with the New York Mets in 2012. His last three-start losing streak came in July and August of 2011.

It was a bad day all around for the Blue Jays, who even appeared to lose track of the number of outs and were slow to come off the field after Kendrys Morales struck out to end the fifth.

Toronto has lost four straight and has been outscored 25-3 since Tuesday's 9-7 comeback win over Boston. A season-worst 11 games below .500, the Blue Jays have lost 14 of 18 overall.

Blanked by Felix Hernandez on Friday, the Blue Jays struggled to get anything going against Iwakuma, finally snapping a 23-inning scoreless streak on Munenori Kawasaki's sacrifice fly in the seventh.

Toronto loaded the bases in the first thanks to a pop-up that Ackley lost in the sun, but Colby Rasmus struck out on three pitches and Rajai Davis fanned to end the threat.

Consecutive singles by Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion put runners on the corners with two outs in the third, but Rasmus flied out.

NOTES: Mariners manager Eric Wedge gave 1B Justin Smoak and OF Jason Bay the day off against Dickey. ... Seattle's Joe Saunders (2-3) faces Brandon Morrow (0-2) in Sunday's series finale. ... Dickey underwent an MRI on Wednesday that revealed mild inflammation in his neck and back. It's the same injury that forced him to leave after the sixth inning of an April 18 start against the Chicago White Sox. ... Dickey went 5-8 with a 5.21 ERA in 32 games for Seattle in 2008.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2013-05-04-BBA-Mariners-Blue-Jays/id-7fa621a2014f44c096662e1c2ce4987c

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Catholic bishops condemn Irish abortion bill

DUBLIN (AP) ? Ireland's Roman Catholic leaders appealed to the public Friday to lobby their lawmakers to reject a bill that would permit abortions deemed necessary to save the life of the pregnant woman, a measure long ordered by Irish and European courts.

In a joint statement, Ireland's bishops, archbishops and lone cardinal described the bill, unveiled this week after decades of debate, as "a dramatic and morally unacceptable change to Irish law."

They argued it would be most grievously wrong to give any woman an abortion to assuage her threats to commit suicide, as the bill allows.

"It is a tragic moment for Irish society when we regard the deliberate destruction of a completely innocent person as an acceptable response to the threat of the preventable death of another person," the bishops wrote.

Cardinal Sean Brady, leader of Ireland's 4 million Catholics, said in an interview that the bill made the right to life of the fetus subservient to the rights of the woman. "There are two lives involved here," he said.

The intervention of Ireland's dominant church in the abortion debate raises the political temperature at a moment when the 2-year-old government of Prime Minister Enda Kenny is already fraying over the merits of the bill. The government has been under international pressure to clarify the rights of doctors to perform life-saving abortions since October, when a miscarrying Indian woman died from blood poisoning in an Irish hospital after being denied a termination.

The smaller left-wing party in the coalition, Labour, supports the bill but Catholic conservatives in Kenny's own Fine Gael party are vowing to weaken or block it, chiefly over its suicide section. The bill faces weeks of parliamentary debate and likely amendments before reaching a vote expected in July.

If passed, the bill would permit a single doctor to authorize an abortion if the woman's life was in immediate danger from continued pregnancy; two doctors if the pregnancy posed a potentially lethal risk, such as by triggering the return of cancer in remission; and three doctors if the woman was threatening to kill herself.

Kenny, who has previously clashed with Brady and other Catholic leaders over their admitted involvement in child abuse cover-ups, declined to respond. But Deputy Foreign Minister Eamon Gilmore, the Labour leader, said the bishops had no influence on government policy.

"They're entitled to express their point of view. This is a democratic country. But the laws of this country are made by those of us who are elected by the people and are charged with that responsibility," Gilmore said. "And for 21 years now, legislators have failed to legislate for a Supreme Court decision which set down what was lawful and what wasn't lawful in circumstances where a pregnant woman's life is at risk. It is time that that legislation is dealt with."

In 1992, the Supreme Court ruled that an abortion in Ireland should be lawful only if doctors determined one was necessary to preserve the woman's life. Crucially, the judges found that this rule should apply to women making credible threats to kill themselves if denied a termination.

In 2010, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that Ireland's failure to back the Supreme Court judgment with laws and medical regulations meant Irish doctors were left in legal limbo and women were endangered in the process.

The Strasbourg, France-based court found that doctors sometimes told pregnant patients who needed abortions, particularly to keep their cancer in remission, to travel to England for the procedures. The court ordered Ireland to remedy the situation.

But the government still took no action until the death of Savita Halappanavar. She was 17 weeks pregnant when hospitalized in severe pain at the start of a protracted miscarriage.

Doctors refused her requests to terminate the pregnancy, arguing that the fetal heartbeat must stop first. During a three-day delay, a coroner's inquest found, Halappanavar contracted blood poisoning from ruptured uterine membranes and died of massive organ failure after the fetus' own death.

Ireland has the most severe restrictions on abortion in Europe. An 1861 law makes it a crime punishable by life in prison to procure or perform an abortion. The bill would reduce that maximum prison penalty to 14 years. Dozens of women in Irish maternity wards annually do receive abortions, but only for the most clear-cut medical emergencies.

Malta, the only other European Union member to outlaw abortions except for life-saving purposes, sets the maximum prison sentence at three years. And Poland, which outlaws abortion except in cases involving medical emergencies, incest, rape or serious genetic abnormalities, has no such criminal penalties.

The other 24 EU states all offer wider access to abortion, most notably neighboring Britain, the favored destination for Irish abortion-seekers since England legalized the practice in 1967.

More than 4,000 Irish women receive abortions there annually, while an increasing number induce their own miscarriages at home by using drugs ordered from foreign suppliers via the Internet.

___

Online:

Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill, http://bit.ly/17x26dq

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/catholic-bishops-condemn-irish-abortion-bill-125910235.html

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