The highest number of abortions ever recorded in England and Wales occurred last year, according to the Department for Health and Social Care. This includes 859 terminations where a baby had Down’s syndrome, a huge increase of 23.95% from 2020.

The figures showed 214,869 abortions taking place, an increase of 4,009 from 2020.

The statistics also show a 71% increase in late-term abortions at 24 weeks gestation or over where the baby had Down’s syndrome, increasing from 14 in 2020 to 24 in 2021.

There was also a 9% increase in the overall number of abortions for babies with disabilities, also known as eugenics, increasing from 3,083 in 2020 to 3,370 in 2021. The number of late-term abortions at 24 weeks gestation or over where the baby has a disability increased by 20% from 229 to 274.

There was also an increase of 14% in the number of abortions where a baby had a cleft lip and palate, rising from 35 in 2020 to 40 in 2021. The number of late-term abortions at 24 weeks gestation or over where the baby had cleft lip and palate, increased by 100% from 3 to 6.

The US Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that the state of Maine may not exclude religious schools from a state tuition program.

The 6-3 ruling was the latest decision by the court that has increasingly favoured the role of religion in public life.

Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., writing for the majority, said the ruling did not require states to support religious education. But states that choose to subsidise private schools, he added, may not discriminate against religious ones.

Michael Bindas, a lawyer with the Institute for Justice, which represented the families challenging Maine’s program, said the court’s decision on Tuesday was a major step for religious schools to receive the same kind of government aid as other private schools.

“Today’s decision makes clear, once and for all, that the government may not bar parents from selecting religious schools within educational choice programs,” he said.

An Irish delegation is in Rome to attend the 10th World Meeting of Families which begins today on the theme, ‘Family love: a vocation and a path to holiness.’

The delegates include family members as well as Archbishop Eamon Martin of Armagh, and Bishop Denis Nulty of Kildare & Leighlin.

Ahead of his departure for Rome, Bishop Nulty said, ““We look forward to discussions and reflections from families on themes such as the role of grandparents, the pastoral care of the elderly, accompanying fatherhood and motherhood, vocations, accompanying forgiveness, preparing for marriage, the impact of digital media on family life and much more.

“As we pray and reflect together on the many joys and challenges facing family life today.  I am particularly conscious of the enormous difficulties being faced by families here in Ireland as a result of the rapid rise in the cost of living. I commend the work being done in dioceses and parishes across the country to reach out and support families in difficulty on a day to day basis.  As we depart for Rome we will take the prayers and intentions of Irish families with us”, Bishop Nulty said.

Only 2 percent of the British public think “the debate about transgender people” is one of the most important issues facing the country, according to a recent survey.

Based on polling of more than 5,000 people and 20 focus groups, the report by the think-tank, More in Common, finds that the divisive debate playing out in Westminster and social media is out of sync with the public’s approach to the issue.

Instead of angry differences of opinion and Twitter pile-ons, the reports’ authors say the public want a ‘live and let live’ approach to trans people and case-by-case solutions, not blanket policies. Most are aware of the issues involved, a quarter know someone who is transgender, and for most the starting points are compassion and common sense.

Among the findings, the report said only 31% of British people think children should be taught about trans issues in primary school. However, among “progressive activists” that figure rose to 61%.

Most respondents (57 per cent) think that biological males who identify as trans women should not be allowed to compete in women-only sporting events (with 19 per cent who think they should be allowed). Focus groups found that the public see this as an issue of a level-playing field and the physical advantages that men have in some sports, but also looked for opportunities for trans people to compete in sports.

A “demographic winter” facing Europe is a very serious concern, according to Pope Francis.

Speaking at a gathering of pro-family groups in Rome, the Pontiff said there is a close link between “regenerative poverty” and the loss of “a sense of the beauty of the family”. He added that “an aging Europe that is not giving birth is a Europe that cannot afford to talk about sustainability and finds it more and more difficult to act in solidarity”.

He also said the concept of an “environmental footprint” cannot be applied to children, since they are “an indispensable resource for the future”. Instead, he said, “consumerism and individualism should be addressed, looking at families as the best example of the optimization of resources involving large economies of scale”

He likewise cautioned against using surrogacy as a solution for the fertility crisis.

“The dignity of men and women is also threatened by the inhuman and increasingly widespread practice of ‘surrogacy’, in which women, almost always poor women, are exploited and children treated as commodities”.

 He concluded by affirming the crucial importance of the family founded on the marriage of one man, one woman. “It is the primary cell of our communities and must be recognized as such, in its unique and indispensable regenerative function”, he said.

https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/speeches/2022/june/documents/20220610-assoc-familiari.html

The number of abortions in the United States has increased, reversing what had been a three-decade decline, according to a new report.

The uptick began in 2017 and, as of 2020, one in five pregnancies, or 20.6 percent, ended in abortion, according to the report by the Guttmacher Institute, a research organization that supports abortion rights. In 2017, 18.4 percent of pregnancies ended in abortion.

Overall, the new report found, the abortion rate rose in 2020 to 14.4 per 1,000 women ages 15 to 44 from 13.5 abortions per 1,000 women of that age group in 2017, a 7 percent increase.

During this period, the report said, births nationwide declined by 6 percent, meaning that “fewer people were getting pregnant and, among those who did, a larger proportion chose to have an abortion.”

The report, which found that the number and rate of abortions increased in 33 states and the District of Columbia, said “there were no clear patterns” to explain each state’s trajectory. It suggested several reasons for the national increase, including trends that directly affected low-income people, the population most likely to seek abortions in recent years: Some states expanded Medicaid coverage for abortion, and funds that provide financial assistance to patients seeking abortions expanded.

President Michael D Higgins has rejected claims that he linked the massacre of 40 people at a Catholic Church in Nigeria to climate change.

“The President’s comments with regard to climate change related to the plight of pastoral peoples in the region and the President made no link in his statement between climate change and the attack itself,” a spokesman for Mr Higgins told The Irish Times.

In his statement last week in the immediate aftermath of the attack, President Higgins expressed “deepest condolences” to the families of the dead and injured.

He added: “That such an attack was made in a place of worship is a source of particular condemnation, as is any attempt to scapegoat pastoral peoples who are among the foremost victims of the consequences of climate change. The neglect of food security issues in Africa, for so long has brought us to a point of crisis that is now having internal and regional effects based on struggles, ways of life themselves.”

He concluded: “The solidarity of us all, as peoples of the world, is owed to all those impacted not only by this horrible event but in the struggle by the most vulnerable on whom the consequences of climate change have been inflicted.”

Ireland’s support for Ukrainians fleeing the Russian invasion has exposed an “uncomfortable” official prejudice towards “white Christian” children, a former minister for equality has suggested, even though the policy makes no mention of either.

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin, Labour’s education spokesman, said it was “demonstrably true” that a split has emerged in how the State treats children from Ukraine and refugee children who are neither white nor Christian.

Speaking before an Oireachtas committee on the needs of almost 7,000 Ukrainian children enrolled in Irish schools since the outbreak of Vladimir Putin’s war, Mr Ó Ríordáin insisted support should be universal.

“I wouldn’t want it to be said of the Irish system that we have one attitude for, let’s be blunt, white Christians on the edge of Europe and a different attitude for those who are not white Christians and not from the edge of Europe,” he said.

“That is an uncomfortable sentence to have to utter. But if that is the underlying suspicion within the Irish education system and among practitioners, then it is a very troubling one.”

A fourth of Japanese singles aged 30 to 39 have little interest in getting married, according to a white paper released by the Japanese government.

Respondents cited responsibilities such as childcare and housework as negatives they intend to avoid by staying single, as well as financial issues or job insecurities that make matrimony less feasible.

According to the government white paper, approximately 55% of men and 63% of women in their 30s are married. Among 30-somethings that have never tied the knot, approximately 27% of men and 25% of women currently plan to continue living single for the rest of their lives.

Respondents cited the financial burdens of childcare and homeownership, as well as the additional responsibilities that come with marriage and children. Job instability was a major consideration for men, while women frequently cited housework and domestic responsibilities as a turn-off from getting hitched.

The survey was conducted from December 2021 to January 2022. The poll was answered by approximately 20,000 people. Respondents ranged in age from 20 to 60.