NEWS SHORTS FOR THURSDAY

NEWS SHORTS FOR THURSDAY Heavy Security Planned for Planned Parenthood Anniversary Event      Extraordinary security measures will be in place Thursday evening to handle what is expected to be a large pro-life protest at the local Planned Parenthood's 30th anniversary event. The demonstrators will be on hand to protest the appearance of the evening's guest speaker -- Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America. No abortions are performed by Planned Parenthood of East Central Iowa, but the national organization is a strong pro-choice voice. Richards, the daughter of the late Texas Gov. Ann Richards, has been a strong advocate for electing pro-choice political candidates and is a frequent target of pro-life protesters. Click here for the entire article. TV Ad Tells Girls How To Kill Babies      A television advert giving advice on unplanned pregnancy and explaining how to get an abortion will be aired for the first time next week. (BBC) Channel 4 will show the commercial paid for by Marie Stopes next Monday, well past the watershed, at 10.10pm. The advertisement from the UK's leading provider of sexual health services outside the NHS is part of a campaign aimed at breaking one of society's last taboos. "Research indicates that 42% of adults have no idea where to go - apart from their GP - for specialist advice about an unplanned pregnancy, even though one in three women in the UK will have an abortion in their lifetime," the charity's Judy Douglas told Sky News Online.  Click here to view the video. Click here for the entire article. China Organ Trafficking Trial Exposes Grisly Trade      A Beijing court is prosecuting a man for illegal organ trafficking, local media reported, putting the spotlight on a grisly black market in body parts in a country where demand for transplants far outstrips supply. Half a liver can be bought for 45,000 yuan ($6,590), while an entire transplant including operation and recovery costs, can be completed for 150,000 yuan, according to a defendant from another organ trafficking trial prosecuted at the same court last month. China in 2007 banned organ transplants from living donors, except spouses, blood relatives and step or adopted family members, but only launched a national system to coordinate donation after death last year. Click here for the entire article. Proposed Montana Ballot Initiative to Define 'Person'      Here is a look at the proposed ballot measures still alive and eligible to be circulated for signatures. Some other ballot measures are not included if their sponsors have dropped them. The descriptions of the proposed ballot measures are taken from their ballot language. . . . Constitutional initiatives: Constitutional Initiative 102, sponsored by the Montana ProLife Coalition, would amend the state constitution to define "person" to include every human being from the beginning of a human being's biological development, effectively outlawing abortion. State signature tally: 5,073. Click here for the entire article. Scientists Take Step Toward Creating Artificial Life      Scientists announced a bold step Friday in the enduring quest to create artificial life. They've produced a living cell powered by manmade DNA.   While such work can invoke images of Frankenstein-like scientific tinkering, it also is exciting hopes that it could eventually lead to new fuels, better ways to clean polluted water, faster vaccine production and more.   Is it really an artificial life form? Click here for the entire article.