Rowan Williams, the former Archbishop of Canterbury and Archbishop of Wales, has strongly denounced assisted suicide just days after his predecessor reiterated his support for the controversial practice.

In a statement submitted to the British Medical Journal, Lord Williams warned medics that a change in the law would lead to “overstrained families” and “overstretched medical resources” exerting pressure on many patients to take their lives by assisted suicide.

He questioned whether the progress and provision of palliative care in the UK could survive “overburdened budgets” when enabling the suicides of people who required nursing and hospice care became the cheaper option.

Meanwhile, a former chair of the Danish Council of Ethics has published a stinging attack on legalised euthanasia in the British Medical Journal.

While euthanasia is often described as the ultimate expression of autonomy Ole Hartling is deeply sceptical as, he says, the wish to die arises against a backdrop of desperation, a feeling of hopelessness, possibly a feeling of being superfluous.

“Thus, it is under these circumstances that the right to self-determination is exercised and the decision is made. Such a situation is a fragile basis for autonomy and an even more fragile basis for decision making. The choice regarding your own death is therefore completely different from most other choices usually associated with the concept of autonomy”.

The start of construction on the new €500 million National Maternity Hospital (NMH) has been delayed after HSE board members rejected its proposed governance structure for fear it will give control of the facility to St Vincent’s Healthcare Group (SVHG).

It is thought that the latest impasse over corporate governance is not related to religious ethos. There is no evidence that the Sisters of Charity, who founded St Vincent’s, will have any influence over the proposed NMH.

The board’s audit and risk committee has repeatedly refused in the past six months to accept the formula for appointing directors to the board of a company called National Maternity Hospital at Elm Park DAC, which will operate the new facility on St Vincent’s campus in Dublin. The project cannot go ahead without the HSE board’s approval.

The committee, chaired by Brendan Lenihan, a former president of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland, has argued that the Hospital board’s composition, as planned, would not adequately protect the public interest and would give SVHG effective control.

Because of the standoff over governance, a motion for approval of the project has not yet been put to the main board. Its next meeting is scheduled for September 24.

Assisted suicide would “skew the meaning of medicine”, according to an English bishop in charge of pro-life issues.

Baroness Molly Meacher’s private member’s Assisted Dying Bill is set to get its second reading – where it will be debated in the House of Lords – on October 22.

The proposed legislation would allow terminally ill patients in their last six months of life to avail of assisted suicide with the permission of two doctors and a judge.

“Those in favour of the bill are making good use of language to confuse the issue and call it a compassionate and caring approach to redefine the question and obscure the actual reality and consequences of such legislation,” said Bishop John Sherrington, an auxiliary for the Diocese of Westminster.

“Catholic teaching opposes assisting suicide, since life is a gift to be cared for and preserved until its natural death. The Church is clear that we cannot directly choose to take the life of another, even if they request it,” the bishop wrote in an open letter.

Only about one in eight Scots agree with Scottish First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, that changing the law to let people change their legal gender based only on their own say-so should be an urgent priority, according to a poll. Legally changing your gender based only on your own opinion is already the law in Ireland.

The First Minister confirmed last week in her Programme for Government that she would press ahead with gender recognition legislation, which is expected to allow people from the age of 16 to switch to a new gender if they have been living in it for three months.

But a Panelbase poll of 2,003 voters in Scotland for The Sunday Times suggests that just 13 per cent see it as something that the SNP-Green government should address as a pressing matter. By contrast, 68 per cent think economic growth should be an urgent priority.

Doctors at a hospital in Birmingham aborted a healthy baby instead of his sickly twin.

The incident occurred at Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Foundation and has come to light via a Freedom of Information request by The Independent.

The anonymous mother decided to abort one of her children because the baby was diagnosed with restrictive growth, with one of the twins having a problem with his placenta and failing to receive enough nourishment, causing his growth to be stunted.

However, during the abortion, doctors ended the life of the ‘wrong’ twin.

Chief medical officer at Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Trust, Dr Fiona Reynolds, said: “A full and comprehensive investigation was carried out swiftly after this tragic case and the findings were shared with the family, along with our sincere apologies and condolences”.

“The outcome of that thorough review has led to a new protocol being developed to decrease the likelihood of such an incident happening again.”

A feminist group has raised fears that ‘pledge packs’ for schools may lead to the imposition of gender ideology on children. Gender ideology teaches that a person’s self-declared gender, including that of children, can be totally independent of their biological sex.

The packs will initially be sent to 22 secondary schools by Dublin Comhairle na nÓg — Dublin city council’s youth council — and contain a pledge inviting staff and students to “provide a safe space for LGBTQIA+ students to communicate their issues”.

Laoise Uí Aodha de Brun, founder of ‘The Countess’, said that although taking the pledge would be optional for each school and individual student, the introduction of the packs would create a “coercive” atmosphere in which conforming to “gender ideology” would become the norm.

“Even back in the days of the Pioneer Pledge, when children took their confirmation at school, that was not mandatory. But I remember well the social pressure to stand up and to pledge. And, in fact, everyone did because it was the ‘done thing’. Just because this is being dressed up as progressive, it’s not progressive when anyone who is awake and thinking critically can see that gender identity ideology is very harmful to women, children, and same-sex attracted people,” she said.

The new pledge asks students and staff to participate in “training in queer sexual health”, and “understanding LGBTQIA+ issues”. It also requests that schools review their anti-bullying policies, and add a section on gay and trans students.

The packs will be sent to the schools in the week beginning September 20. Twenty-six schools were asked to be involved, but four declined.

Mexico’s Supreme Court has unanimously voted to decriminalise abortion.

The ten judges declared unconstitutional a law in Coahuila, a northern state, that imposes up to three years behind bars on women who undergo an abortion and the doctors who perform it. The ruling applies across the country. “Here ends the unjust criminalisation of women,” declared Arturo Zaldívar, the Chief Justice.

The loosening of abortion restrictions is the culmination of a small but growing wave of piecemeal liberalisation in Mexico, where almost all of the 32 states have outright bans, with narrow exceptions such as rape, fetal malformation or risk to the mother’s health. In 2007 Mexico City, the capital, passed a law allowing women to terminate their pregnancies on any grounds during the first 12 weeks. Since 2019 three other states have followed suit.

The National Action Party reiterated its opposition to abortion. “We are in favor of the defense of life from conception and until natural death,” the party said in a statement. It asked that conscientious objection be protected “for ethical, moral, or religious motives.”

Amidst the unfolding religious freedom crisis in Afghanistan, the position of “Special Envoy for the promotion of freedom of religion or belief outside the EU” has, again, been left vacant. Christos Stylianides has accepted a different position after less than five months in the role.

“Nobody should be persecuted because of their faith. The current plight of Christians, Shia Muslims, and other religious minorities in Afghanistan highlights the need for a Special Envoy to quickly get to work, focusing on the needs of the most persecuted worldwide. A swift reappointment is crucial in showing real commitment to improving the precarious situations religious minorities are facing worldwide,” said Adina Portaru, Senior Counsel for ADF International in Brussels.

The European Commission had appointed Stylianides this May after the position had been left vacant for two years. Human rights experts had raised concern over the poor resourcing and staffing provided to carry out the mandate.

Sunday Masses remain suspended in some dioceses in New Zealand by order of their Bishops after Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern threw a “curveball” by announcing that indoor gatherings would be limited to 50 people as one of the measures for a new “Delta” alert level 2. Other parts of the country, such as Auckland, are under a level four alert.

Hamilton Bishop Stephen Lowe, at a livestreamed Mass on September 7, said this revised restriction created “an issue for our celebration of the Eucharist”.

“This was a real curveball. We were all set up for our parishes for the previous restriction for level 2. We thought there will be some changes, but the number of restrictions caught us unaware. To that end, I’ve made the difficult decision that Masses in the diocese of Hamilton will remain suspended, with the exception of funerals and those weddings that are already booked in,” the bishop announced towards the end of the livestreamed Mass.

He said this decision will be reviewed next week as he called on people to watch out for further announcements on the diocesan website.

An abortion referendum will take place in the small Republic of San Marino on the 26th of September, one of the few States in Europe that still protects pre-born life.

The plebiscite will ask citizens if they want to make abortion legal up to 12 weeks – and beyond this term “in case of risks for the life of the woman or if there are serious malformations of the foetus” No quorum is required for the validity of the referendum, and due to the local rules, campaigning can only start 15 days before the date of the vote (on the 10th of September).

Nicola Speranza, Secretary General of the pro-family group FAFCE said the result is very uncertain. “I’m not informed on any survey available, but the atmosphere is very negative, as you can imagine. All political parties are in favour of the change, besides the biggest ruling party, the Sammarinese Christian Democratic Party” he said.