The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) has announced that it will in future admit biologically-born girls who self-identify as male. In the wake of a similar move by Britain’s Girlguiding organisation to admit on the grounds of gender identity, the BSA said that after 100 years of deferring to “the information on an individual’s birth certificate… that approach is no longer sufficient as communities and state laws are interpreting gender identity differently, and these laws vary widely from state to state”. The statement added that the BSA will strive to “remain true to our core values, outlined in the Scout Oath and Law”.
Hungary has said it wishes to become a hub for supporting persecuted Christians and called on others to offer tangible assistance to that community. During a conference in Budapest on the issue of Christian persecution, human resources State Secretary Bence Rétvári pointed out that more Christians are persecuted today than under the rule of the emperor Nero. Noting that religious leaders in the Middle East have repeatedly called on western democracies to provide humanitarian aid to Christians and to assist them in remaining in their home countries, Rétvári called on conference participants to work to meet that call. Meanwhile, Tamás Török of Hungary’s state secretariat for providing help to persecuted Christians told the conference that even as the European Union was affected by the violent fall-out of events in the Middle East, it had not developed a unified approach to combat persecution, prompting Hungary to act unilaterally in establishing the secretariat to coordinate Hungary’s own measures with the foreign ministry, churches, civil groups, the UN, the International Criminal Court and the European Parliament in this area.
Doctors in Britain have been instructed to stop referring to pregnant women as “expectant mothers” so as to avoid insulting transgender people. New guidance from the British Medical Association (BMA) says the word ‘mother’ should no longer be used staff should use the term “pregnant people” as a way to “celebrate diversity”. The advice is contained in a booklet called ‘A guide to effective communication: inclusive language in the workplace’ which states: “A large majority of people that have been pregnant or have given birth identify as women” and that “there are some intersex men and trans men who may get pregnant…We can include intersex men and trans men who may get pregnant by saying ‘pregnant people’ instead of ‘expectant mothers’.” Decrying the new guidelines, Deputy Director for Public Affairs at The Christian Institute, Simon Calvert, said: “It’s one thing for an individual to suffer from a delusion that they are trapped in the wrong body. That deserves compassion. But it’s quite another thing for the BMA to wilfully go along with it, and even worse for them to try to force others to go along with it.
US President Donald Trump has named a pro-life defender of religious freedom as his nomination for the Supreme Court. The man chosen to fill the vacant seat in the court is Neil Gorsuch, 49, a judge of the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals. During his tenure with that court, Gorsuch sided with the Christians owners of a crafts store that opposed being required by government to provide certain contraceptives through its health plan. In a similar case, he also sided with the Little Sisters of the Poor when they argued on conscience grounds that they would not supply contraception or abortifacients. Gorsuch is also the author of a 2009 book, The Future of Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia, in which he argued that human life has intrinsic value and “that intentional killing is always wrong”. In that book he also wrote of Roe v. Wade, that there is “no constitutional basis” for giving a mother more rights than her unborn child.
The Irish Bishops have welcomed an announcement by Minister for Education Richard Bruton that a system of surveys and consultations with parents and patrons will precede future divestment of faith schools. Under the new two-stage plan, Education and Training Boards will first work to identify areas where there is likely to be demand from families for diversity in schooling. Secondly, where such demand is demonstrated justifying transfer of at least one school from denominational status, a process will be set in train to realise this. “Where the need for a transfer to a multi-denominational patron is identified by surveys, the existing landowner, in cooperation with the local school community, will decide what multi-denominational patron to transfer to. The transfer will be by way of a live school transfer, with existing staff remaining in place, where this is the wish of the parties involved. In most cases the new patron will lease the building from the landowner,” Minister Bruton said. He added: “I believe that we should acknowledge the role of religious organisations in providing a system of national education for nearly two centuries. I also believe that a desire on behalf of many parents to have their children educated within their faith is welcome and should be respected.”
A Bill on children and the family currently before legislators in Ontario, Canada, could bar people from adopting if they are found to oppose gender ideology. The ‘Supporting Children, Youth and Families Act’ has been criticised for its potential to rule out anyone seeking to adopt on the grounds that failing to accept gender ideology means that they cannot provide a home “in the best interests of the child”. Jeff Gunnarson, Vice President of Campaign Life Coalition, said: “The premise that banning traditionally principled Canadians from becoming parents is in the children’s best interests is a lie that must be exposed. This Liberal government is actually telling Canadians who don’t believe in the theory of gender identity or the gay lifestyle: ‘You are unfit to be parents. You are second class citizens who must be banned from adopting children.’”
A doctor in The Netherlands has been cleared of any wrongdoing after she euthanised a dementia patient without permission. The unnamed doctor first drugged the coffee of the female patient before beginning to administer a lethal injection. However, the patient woke during this phase and began to fight the doctor so that it became necessary for family members to restrain her until the procedure was complete. It subsequently emerged in paperwork that the patient had stated beforehand on several occasions “I don’t want to die”. Despite all of these considerations, a review board ruled that the doctor had acted in good faith, accepting that she had not informed the patient of her plan so as to avoid causing distress. Jacob Kohnstamm, chair of the Regional euthanasia Review Committee, now wants the case brought to court to examine the future implicatuons of the case. He said he was in favour of a trial “Not to punish the doctor, who acted in good faith and did what she had to do, but to get judicial clarity over what powers a doctor has when it comes to the euthanasia of patients suffering from severe dementia.”
