News Roundup

European Court of Human Rights to hear Covid-19 worship ban challenges

The European Court of Human Rights will hear legal challenges against governments that completely banning public worship in the name of protecting public health.

A case is due to come before the court regarding bans which were imposed in Greece and Croatia during 2020. Ireland had the longest ban on public worship in the whole of Europe, although no case is being taken in respect of Ireland.

Robert Clarke, Deputy Director (Advocacy) for ADF International says freedom of religion and belief is a human right that must be afforded the highest protection.

“This right is protected in European law, yet throughout the pandemic, we saw multiple governments across Europe impose disproportionate bans on opening places of worship. There is no reason why authorities could not find solutions that protect both public health and communal worship. For people of faith, worshipping together can be as important as receiving food and water. We hope that the European Court will uphold the rights of all people to live out their faith, as has been seen in Scotland, Switzerland and elsewhere,” he said.

A challenge taken by Declan Ganley against the ban here is currently pending before the courts in Ireland. Leaving one’s home to attend a worship service could have incurred a potential penalty of a fine, or up to six months in prison.

Read more...

Doctors and staff refusing to do abortions in multiple Italian hospitals

Partial data from a new study shows that in at least 15 Italian hospitals it’s not possible to have an abortion because all gynaecologists, anaesthetists and non-medical staff are conscientious objectors.

The 1978 law legalising the procedure in Italy allows doctors to conscientiously object. It also states that hospitals are required to ensure the possibility for a woman to have an abortion on their grounds in any case – meaning that the objection can concern individual doctors, but it can’t be applied to entire structures.

The data is being collected by professor Chiara Lalli and journalist Sonia Montegiove, who are mapping out the actual state-of-play of access to abortion in Italy.

According to the law, the regions must monitor the situation in order to guarantee the implementation of a so-called right to abortion, and the government publishes data on the state of abortion rights every year. The latest data shows that 67% of all gynaecologists, 43.5% of anaesthetists and 37.6% of non-medical personnel in the country are conscientious objectors, with wide regional variations.

According to the researchers, though, the currently available datasets are unreliable and ultimately useless. “We are asking for open, disaggregated data”, Lalli said. “Aggregating it by region does not provide a clear picture. We want data on every single structure, ideally every six months”.

Read more...

Militants destroy pro-life stand at Oxford University freshers’ fair

Oxford University has condemned the destruction of a pro-life stand at a freshers’ fair last week.

A group of students threw the contents of the Oxford Students for Life (OSFL) stall into a bin bag, before being confronted by security guards patrolling the fair.

When Irish Times columnist and Iona Institute patron, Breda O’Brien, tried to give a pro-life talk at St John’s College, Oxford, four years ago, pro-choice protestors disrupted it. Around the same time, the pro-life head of the Students’ Union at UCD, Katie Ascough, was driven from her position.

The militants this time refused to leave until they were assured that the stall would not be reinstated, and threatened to tear it down if it was put back up.

Photos of the event show the protesters tussling with members of the pro-life society, the Oxford Student reported.

OSFL has described itself as a “non-sectarian, student-run society” that seeks to promote a culture of life at the university and in the wider community, advocating the protection of human life and dignity from conception to natural death”.

Oxford University has condemned the protesters’ actions, saying the academic institution has a strong history of free speech.

The protests came after an anti-abortion society at Exeter University was forced to call the police when members received death threats from students.
Read more...

Texas ‘heartbeat’ abortion law reinstated by Appeals Court

A US federal court on Friday evening issued a ruling allowing a Texas state law, which restricts abortions after a fetal heartbeat can be detected, to take effect again amid an ongoing court fight.

A three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued its ruling, reversing an October 6 decision by a lower court. At least six Texas abortion clinics had resumed performing abortions after the October 6 ruling, the New York Times reported, drawing strong criticism from pro-life groups.

Texas’ law, which is designed to be enforced through private lawsuits, prohibits abortions after a foetal heartbeat can be detected—around six weeks gestation— except in medical emergencies.

The law, which first took effect last month, allows for awards of at least $10,000 for successful lawsuits against those who perform or “aid and abet” illegal abortions; women seeking abortions cannot be sued under the law.

Read more...

Court blocks Texas pro-life law

A court has temporarily blocked a new pro-life law in Texas that bans abortion after the 6th week of pregnancy other than in exceptional cases.

The District Court blocked the law following a request from the Biden Administration. The legislation is to be considered by the US Supreme Court which had previously refused to block the law pending a closer examination of the legal issues at stake.

Read more...

Northern Ireland ‘not obliged’ to introduce liberal abortion law

The Stormont Assembly is not required to introduce the liberal abortion law the House of Commons voted in favour of last year with the intention of overriding Northern Ireland’s current restrictive regime.

The Northern Ireland Secretary of State, Brandon Lewis, has said the region must introduce the law, but the Society for the Protection for Unborn Children (SPUC) is legally challenging the law before the High Court. The case began yesterday.

Acting for SPUC, Northern Ireland’s former attorney general John Larkin QC told the High Court today that there is an “absence of any duty on any person to comply with the directions”.

Read more...

Hospice Foundation remains opposed to assisted suicide

The Irish Hospice Foundation has reiterated its opposition to assisted suicide ahead of its biennial conference, starting tomorrow and running over two days.

The chief executive of the IHF, Sharon Foley, told The Irish Times: “I can’t see it [assisted suicide] happening in Irish hospices, no. The palliative care movement has come from a movement of dignity and comforting people at the end of life. So it is anathema to them to be any way cutting across that.”

She said she wanted an “informed debate” about the matter and certain questions need to be asked.

She listed examples: “Have we got sufficient facilities for people to die at home? What facilities are there in nursing homes and hospitals? How are schools supported to help children through grief? What impact does complicated grief, where people may not be able to go back to work, have on the economy?”

Read more...

Religious faith an advantage for poorer people says new study

Having a religious faith helps to ease the burden of poverty and inequality according to a major new study. The research examines people suffering from low Socio-Economic Status (SES) in poor and rich countries, and finds that socially disadvantaged people in developing countries cope with their situation better.

Levels of religious practice are generally lower in developed countries than in developing ones, and the study claims that the lack of religious practice among poorer people in the developed world means they have worse coping mechanisms than those in poorer parts of the planet.

The researchers say: “This finding suggests that, as national religiosity continues to decline, lower SES will become increasingly harmful for well-being—a societal change that is socially consequential and demands political attention.”

The study draws on data sets consisting of several million people.

 

Read more...

Spanish move to list pro-life doctors ‘an attack on conscience rights’

The Spanish Government is moving to compile a list of conscientious objectors to abortion in order to ensure terminations can be readily accessed in public hospitals. Critics say the move may lead to pro-life doctors and nurses not being hired in the first place and is therefore an attack on conscience rights.

“That would certainly be an attack on the freedom of the person,” the Archbishop of Santiago de Compostela, Julian Barrio, told Europa Press this week.

He says: “there should not be” a registry of doctors who do not want to perform abortions, “because freedom of conscience is something that must always be respected”.

Similarly, the Archbishop of Pamplona, Francisco Perez, argued that “conscientious objection is a right and a sign of freedom.”

Read more...

China takes steps to reduce abortion rate

After a one-child policy lasting 40 years that often included forced abortion, China is now introducing measures to reduce its abortion rate as the country’s population ages rapidly.

The Chinese Government has announced that it wants to slash the number of abortions taking place for non-medical reasons and to encourage fathers to take more responsibility for their children so women don’t feel as much pressure to resort to terminations.

China has also introduced measures to stop gender-selective abortions because the one-child policy was resulting in far more boys than girls being born.

Read more...