Free Republic

Government seeks secrecy on cleft palate abortions The Government has launched a High Court bid to maintain secrecy over the abortion of babies with cleft palate and club feet. Published: 7:00AM GMT 13 Nov 2009 In an extraordinary move, the Department of Health is taking the Government's own Information Tribunal to court to overturn a landmark Freedom of Information Act ruling. The case, which is set to cost the taxpayer thousands, aims to prevent the publication of controversial statistics including late terminations for disabled babies, which are legal under Ground E of the Abortion Act, right up to birth. Last...

Mother sues hospital for £1.5million for 'missing' baby's severe disability Last updated at 10:09 AM on 16th July 2009 The mother of a five-year-old boy facing a lifetime of severe disability is seeking a £1.5million payout in a unique 'wrongful birth' case. Rupert Parsons, who met Prince Harry at a Child of Courage presentation, has to breathe and eat through tubes and will need a lifetime of round-the-clock care. The youngster was born at Musgrove Park Hospital in his Taunton home town in September 2003 suffering from 'severe, profound and multiple disabilties', including congenital heart defects, a single kidney, a...

<p>The documentary's Academy Award win puts it on the cable giant's radar.</p> <p>Sometimes winning an Oscar means more than bigger bucks for your next flick.</p> <p>Once in a while, it can even make the world a better place.</p> <p>That's the case with Megan Mylan, who won the Academy Award in February for her short documentary "Smile Pinki," which follows a young Indian girl and boy, Pinki Sonkar and Ghutaru Chauhan, as Pinki's cleft lip and Ghutaru's cleft palate are repaired. The film was commissioned and funded by the American charity Smile Train, a group that pays local doctors in 75 developing countries to perform the simple surgery that parents of such children rarely know is possible.</p>

[...]Days after the 1976 presidential election, Lederer dashed off a note dispensing -- what else? -- advice to the newly elected president, "Jimmy," as she addressed him, about who should be his secretary of state. "Cy Vance ... He is head and shoulders above anyone else whose name has been mentioned."[...]"I'm nervous about the upcoming election," Lederer wrote to her sister on the eve of the 2000 election. "I can't bear the thought of looking at George Bush's smirk for the next four years--maybe eight. ... The next president will make three, maybe four appointments and I can see Roe...