From the Scotsman:

Conservative Member of Parliament Nadine Dorries is pushing for a measure that would specifically prohibit abortions for club foot and cleft palate.

The UK’s Abortion Act says that an abortion may be carried out if the child “would suffer from such physical or mental abnormalities as to be serious handicapped,” but does not define what a “serious handicap” is.

About 40 babies were aborted in the UK between 1996 and 2006 because they had either club foot or cleft palate, mostly after 24 weeks, according to a recent report.

“I don’t classify either cleft palate or club foot as serious disabilities when they are easily correctable,” said Dorries. “I think most members of the public would say aborting babies for these reasons late in pregnancy is wrong.”

She said she did not back the idea of extending such a ban to other disabilities, such as Down syndrome.

Associated Press report in the [UK] Guardian, Good Morning America (ABC):

Far from the presidential campaign, Cindy McCain traveled to the coastal town of Nha Trang, Vietnam, to visit with about 100 children who were awaiting surgery for cleft palates and cleft lips. The operations will be provided by the U.S. charity Operation Smile, and will take place on a U.S. Navy hospital ship.

Cindy McCain is a member of Operation Smile’s board of directors. She and her husband, presidential hopeful John McCain, adopted a daughter from Bangladesh who was born with a facial deformity.

“When you see a child anywhere, say a child that doesn’t have food or a child with a cleft palate who’s been kept in a back room because the family is embarrassed or whatever it may be, it takes you back to really what’s basic and what’s really important,” Cindy McCain said.

(AP photo)

From the Los Angeles Times:

A young woman walked into a restaurant last week and sat close enough to get a good look at Anne Hjelle’s face. A mountain lion had torn off the left side four years before, leaving it hanging by a flap of skin. Six surgeries hadn’t camouflaged the scars.

“She saw me and had a deer-in-the-headlights look,” said Hjelle, 35, of Mission Viejo. “She quickly got up and moved so she didn’t have to look at me.”

The stranger’s reaction didn’t hurt Hjelle’s feelings.

“I’ve had to learn the hard way that beauty comes from within,” she said.

… Soon after leaving the hospital, Hjelle — a personal trainer who had a model’s looks — put away the hats and sunglasses she used to hide her face. She started to put her hair in a ponytail. She wasn’t going to be ashamed.

“I could have curled up into a ball or gotten on with my life,” said Hjelle, a former Marine helicopter mechanic. “It’s not easy, but I wanted to conquer my fears — just like you do in mountain biking.”