Doctors and nurses who have conscientious objections to providing the morning-after pill and other forms of so-called “emergency contraception” are being barred from specialist professional qualifications in the UK under offical guidelines. According to the Daily Telegraph, doctors who object to “any form of contraception” including a new variant of the morning-after pill that can...
The Northern Ireland Assembly has rejected a motion calling for the introduction of same-sex marriage legislation by 51 votes to 43. No nationalist MLAs voted against the Sinn Fein motion, although six SDLP members abstained including two, Pat Ramsey and Karen McKevitt, who had previously voted for the proposal despite party policy being in favour of same-sex...
Ireland has the fourth highest number of childless women over 45 out of all the OECD countries, with nearly one in five Irish women past their childbearing years having no children. The Irish Independent reports that according to a new OECD study, Italy has the highest rate of childlessness at 24%, Austria is second with 21.1%, and...
British Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg, an agnostic, is ‘nonplussed’ by the angry response from prominent atheists to the claim by Prime Minister, David Cameron, that Britain is a Christian country, according to the Times. Mr Clegg said: “I’m not a practising man of faith, but I don’t find it an issue to say we...
Catholic schools are already inclusive a Church spokesman has told Education Minister Ruairi Quinn after he attacked the Church for not providing him with examples of schools that are models of inclusivity. Speaking at the annual congress of the INTO, Mr Quinn complained that the Catholic Church has not yet provided the Department of Education...
A Christian nursery worker in the UK is suing her former employers, claiming that she was fired for her beliefs after refusing to read stories about gay couples to children. According to The Daily Telegraph, Sarah Mbuyi says she was dismissed due to anti-Christian discrimination, having also been accused of “harassing” a lesbian colleague. The...
Dr Eamon Martin, the Coadjutor Archbishop of Armagh, has said he “would dearly love to see a greater public debate [on same-sex marriage] in a calm and reasonable manner which respects the voices of people on both sides of the debate.” Commenting on the same-sex marriage debate to date, Archbishop Martin told The Irish Independent...
The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (IHREC) has rejected calls for the deletion of Section 37 (1) of the Employment Equality Act, which allows religious employers to hire staff in accordance with their ethos. They instead recommended that Section 37 be amended. In a submission made to Justice Minister Alan Shatter, the IHREC (which...
The Italian constitutional court has overturned a ban on egg and sperm donation. However, it continues to be the case that only married couples can use donor eggs and sperm. Elements of Italy’s “Law 40” banning donor egg and sperm were declared unconstitutional with immediate effect. But the law still restricts IVF treatments to married...
The Italian constitutional court has overturned a ban on egg and sperm donation. However, it continues to be the case that only married couples can use donor eggs and sperm. Elements of Italy’s “Law 40” banning donor egg and sperm were declared unconstitutional with immediate effect. But the law still restricts IVF treatments to married...
