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1. China's population control leader wants jail for gender abortions
Yu Xuejun, who oversees law and policy issues at China's National Population and Family Planning Commission, complains to the Financial Times that the Chinese government is not doing enough to fight gender-based abortion. "I believe this is a kind of crime," he told the paper. The country's law code agrees in theory and includes fines and license revocations for doctors who perform sex-selective abortion. (It is forbidden, for example, to use an ultrasound to determine the gender of a baby before birth.) But Yu complains to the British paper that National People's Congress refuses to jail such doctors. This paragraph is particularly interesting:

"All policies have risks," he said in reference to the problems of gathering evidence of illegal abortions and the threat of the practice being driven underground. "We cannot be deterred because there are risks."

The news comes less than a month after Chinese officials admitted they arrested Chen Guangcheng, one of the country's leading opponents of its one-child policy.

In related news, Britain's health minister said the government will introduce a "clear and specific ban" on sex selection, which could apply to IVF implantation decisions as well as abortion.

In the U.S., aborting an unborn child because the parents don't like his or her gender is legal.

2. Jakes, Gray, and Shaw quit Katrina Fund panel
Black megachurch pastors T.D. Jakes and William H. Gray III, co-chairs of Interfaith Advisory Committee of the Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund, have resigned in protest, The Washington Post reports today. National Baptist Convention head William Shaw has also quit. The Post's Darryl Frears writes:

Gray said board directors and staff members of the Katrina Fund —established by former presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton— would agree with the committee's recommendations in meetings and then do the opposite. He said that he, Jakes and Shaw resigned when the staff sent $35,000 to a church without their knowledge, then refused to explain why. That particular church had not been inspected to determine its need, Gray said. … Gray said that he and Jakes feared their reputations might be stained if the fund delivered money to churches that did not deserve it.

The Post was unable to confirm Gray's claim that as many as eight of the nine committee members resigned, but notes that "Jakes, Gray and Shaw were the committee's marquee names."

3. Episcopal Church to "address anti-Jewish prejudice" in Scripture and liturgy
Religion News Service finds potentially explosive news from the Episcopal Church's General Convention that has nothing to do with homosexuality. Here's one of the resolutions passed by the church:

Resolved, That the 75th General Convention direct the Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music to collect and develop materials to assist members of the Church to address anti-Jewish prejudice expressed in and stirred by portions of Christian scriptures and liturgical texts, with suggestions for preaching, congregational education, and lectionary use, and to report to the 76th General Convention.

The resolution has been discussed quite a bit on orthodox Anglican sites, especially the TitusOneNine blog of Kendall Harmon, who spoke against the resolution and introduced an amendment to remove criticism of "Christian scriptures." (thread 1 | 2 | 3). Religion News Service quotes from Harmon and from supporters of the resolution:

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July (Web-only) 2006, Vol. 50