News Roundup

STI Rates continue to soar

The latest figures from the HSE show that the rate of reported sexually transmitted diseases (STIs) in Ireland continues to soar.

Statutory Notifications of HIV and STIs reported in Ireland via the Computerised Infectious Disease Reporting (CIDR) system are compiled every week by the Health Protection Surveillance Centre. For the week ending Oct 26th, 2019, there have been 7438 cases of chlamydia already this year, an increase of 1063 on the same week last year. There have also been 2272 cases of Gonorrhoea, an increase of 408 on Oct 26th last year. Likewise, there have been 649 cases of syphilis, 253 more than this time last year.

Ireland is not alone in seeing continued rises in STIs. In October, the New York Times reported that cases of sexually transmitted disease in the US have risen to a “record high”.

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State to appeal decision on who qualifies as ‘parent of child’

The Supreme Court has agreed to hear an appeal by the State over whether the word “child” in the International Protection Act can, for family reunification purposes, means more than simply biological and adopted children.

It arises from a High Court decision in the case of a man – Mr X – who was granted family reunification with a 14-year-old boy and 13-year-old girl even though he did not establish genetic parentage of them.

In a judgment last May, Mr Justice Max Barrett said the term “child” is not defined in section 56.9 of the 2015 Act. Assuming these two children are the biological children of another man, although Mr X regards them as his, each of them can still properly be described as a child of Mr X, he said.

He added that there is a “wide diversity” of familial structures and the relationship of father/child is not confined by the 2015 Act to a biological father. It is “not unknown” for a child to grow up addressing and thinking of a man who is not their biological father as “Dad”.

A “cookie cutter” definition of children, as embracing only biological children, “would doubtless be easier for the State to police”, not least given the availability of DNA testing, “but it is not what the Act provides”, perhaps because of an understanding that, in a diverse society, defining who is a child of someone “is not always straightforward”.

The Supreme Court will now hear an appeal of that decision by the State.

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Doors of Newman’s University Church in Dublin spray painted by vandals

The famous University Church of St John Henry Newman has been vandalised.

On Wednesday morning graffiti was discovered on the main doors of the church in Stephen’s Green Dublin, with vandals having spray painted the word ‘Danger’ upon them along with an arrow pointing inside.

The church was designed and built by St Newman himself when he founded the Catholic University that would later become University College Dublin.

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Former New Zealand PM condemns proposed new rules for pro-life doctors

Former New Zealand Prime Minister Sir Bill English and his wife Mary have painted a graphic picture of abortion during a plea to law makers to not make extreme changes to abortion laws.

He criticised many of the proposed changes at a select committee hearing on Wednesday but also launched into a fierce defence of the right of medical professionals to conscientiously object to carrying out abortions if the changes were made.

“It will be legal to kill that child in the birth canal and the way they do that, if the abortion doesn’t work, is that they put a pin through the base of the skull into the brain,” he said,

“It is extreme violence that’s what it is, that’s the act.”

His wife Mary, a doctor, told the committee there could be a greater number of “gruesome” abortions after the legislation was passed.

“[These] require a lethal injection to an otherwise very alive unborn baby before inducing full labour so as to deliver a dead baby.”

The legislation would also require health care professionals who object to performing abortions to refer women to the Ministry of Health to obtain one.

Mr English said proposed rules around doctors who conscientiously object to abortions are “abhorrent”, “disgraceful” and “unfair”.

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U.S. again leads opposition to abortion at United Nations

The United States told the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday that it opposed references to sexual and reproductive health and to “safe” abortions, pitting Washington against Britain, France and many other Western Nations.

While the United States joined its 14 council counterparts to unanimously adopt a resolution on women, peace and security, U.S. Ambassador Kelly Craft raised objections to parts of the text: “We cannot accept references to ‘sexual and reproductive health,’ nor any references to ‘safe termination of pregnancy’ or language that would promote abortion or suggest a right to abortion,” she said after the vote.

“The U.N. should not put itself in a position of promoting or suggesting a right to abortion, whether it is humanitarian or development work,” said Craft, who took up her role in August.

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Scots face ‘baffling’ list of 21 sexualities in 2021 census

Scottish officials have drawn up a “baffling” list of 21 sexualities for Scots to choose from in the 2021 census.

Civil servants said terms including skoliosexual, gynephilic and demi­romantic will be understood.

However, the census chiefs faced ridicule after putting forward such a wide array of sexuality choices and Edinburgh University’s Dr Kath Murray said the huge list could “blur” data.

National Records of Scotland revealed in a letter to MSPs they planned to expand the four basic categories initially proposed — straight or heterosexual, gay or lesbian, bisexual and other.

The 21 “other” options for census respondents are mooted as androphilic, androsexual, asexual, bicurious, bisexual, demiromantic, demisexual, fluid, gay, gynephilic, gynesexual, homosexual, heterosexual, lesbian, pansexual, polysexual, queer, questioning, skoliosexual, straight and unsure.

Mocking the descriptions, a Tory spokesman said: “Most Scots will think it’s ridiculous to have 21 options under this question, when ‘other’ would have taken care of the vast majority. Clearly the general public wouldn’t even know where to begin with some of these descriptions. People will be baffled.”

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Free contraception scheme could cost €100m – and might not work

A Government scheme to provide contraception free of charge could cost €100m and might not work, according to a new report.

The report of a working group, set up earlier this year by Health Minister Simon Harris in the wake of the liberalisation of abortion laws, said the notion there is a “sizeable” affordability challenge across the population in terms of accessing contraception remains unproven.

Simply making contraception free for users would not necessarily reduce the number of crisis pregnancies or help promote the uptake of more effective contraceptive methods, the group warns. There is a “very real risk” that removing the cost barrier would simply displace private expenditure and represent an “ineffective use of scarce resources” without actually modifying behaviour or improving health benefits, it notes.

Nonetheless, even a “relatively marginal improvement in access and contraception use” would have some health advantages in terms of avoiding the negative consequences of crisis pregnancies, it argues.

The working group also found contraception use in Ireland is “high and stable” and difficulty accessing contraception is a challenge only “at the margins in overall population terms”.

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Star of Unplanned will attend pro-life conference this weekend

Ashley Bratcher, lead actress in the pro-life movie ‘Unplanned’, will be the keynote speaker at the Pro Life Campaign’s National Conference this weekend.

The conference will be held in the RDS, Dublin, this Saturday from 1 to 4:30pm and is free to all. The public have shown almost unprecedented interest with over 800 participants already registered. Unplanned has been showing in Irish cinemas in recent weeks.

The movie Unplanned told the true story of one woman’s journey from managing an abortion clinic to becoming one of America’s most effective pro-life voices.

Eilis Mulroy of the pro-Life Campaign said Unplanned is changing hearts and minds and getting people thinking. “We are thrilled that Ashley Bratcher will be the keynote speaker at our conference in the RDS on Saturday. There will also be a special screening of the movie at the conference with Ashley present,” she said.

“And there will be a Q&A session after the screening where attendees will have the opportunity to hear about Ashley’s own very personal story related to the abortion issue. ‘Unplanned’ addresses a side of the abortion debate that people certainly need to hear given all the changes that have recently taken place in Ireland regarding the issue.”

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Priest saves Dundalk church after late-night arson attack

A Dundalk Church had a lucky escape last week when a priest extinguished a fire set by arsonists.

According to a report in the Dundalk Democrat, a pot at the front door of Holy Redeemer church was set alight at 10:45pm last Wednesday.

Luckily however, a local priest spotted the blaze and extinguished it before it enveloped the church

Nonetheless, some damage was done to the front door, the walls and the overhanging roof.

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Priest denies communion to pro-abortion US presidential candidate

A priest in a South Carolina church has caused ripples by denying communion to the leading contender for the Democratic presidential nomination.

Former Vice-president and lifelong Catholic, Joe Biden, was campaigning in South Carolina on Sunday, and attended 9am mass at St. Anthony’s Church in Florence.

However, parish priest Fr. Robert Morey denied him communion because of his public support for abortion rights.

Fr Morey, who was a lawyer for 14 years before becoming a priest, said Holy Communion “signifies we are one with God, each other and the Church”.

“Our actions should reflect that. Any public figure who advocates for abortion places himself or herself outside of Church teaching,” the priest added.

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