The Canadian state of Ontario is considering legislation that will set aside the terms ‘mother’ and ‘father’ while extending the number of legal parents in a family unit to four. Under Bill 28 – the All Families are Equal Act – a mothers is referred to as a ‘birth parent’, while a father is termed ‘parent’. The four-person element has been included to facilitate the adoption of children by gay couples who have no biological ties to a child. The language, described by supporters as “inclusive”, has been roundly condemned by opponents who view the bill (primarily aimed at the issue of surrogacy) as nothing short of a drive by activists to erase mothers’ and fathers’ official recognition. The bill passed its second reading at Committee stage in late October.

A bus-stop ad campaign by Carphone Warehouse which says, ‘We’re Pro-Choice’ has caused uproar on social media. The slogan appears to take the pro-choice side in the abortion debate. The campaign also asks, “What makes a family?” with the tick-box choices of ‘Mum and Mum’, ‘Mum and Dad’ or ‘Dad and Dad’. Carphone Warehouse has attempted to downplay the issue by stating that the ads “highlight the huge choice and selection on offer at Carphone Warehouse”.

Cases of euthanasia in Belgium hit a record high in 2015, latest figures show. Contained in a report from the Euthanasia Control Commission, there were 2,022 such deaths in 2015, the highest number on record and a hundredfold increase on the 24 cases recorded in the first year of legalised euthanasia in Belgium in 2002. Reacting to the numbers, the human rights groups, Alliance Defending Freedom said: “The seventh report on euthanasia in Belgium shows that once we open the doors to intentional killing, there is no logical stopping point. The slippery slope that Belgium embarked on in 2002 is becoming more and more visible. Today, euthanasia for a person who is perfectly healthy in a physical sense, but suffers from psychological illnesses, is accepted in Belgium.” To date, 12,762 people have been officially euthanised in Belgium.

Surrogacy should be banned in Ireland to protect children from ‘commodification’ and women from exploitation, a prominent campaigner has said. Speaking before an event organised by The Iona Institute in Dublin, Jennifer Lahl, of the California-based Centre Bioethics and Culture and the Stop Surrogacy Now campaign said that as well as making children into mere commodities, surrogacy exploits women and is damaging to their mental health. Many couples and individuals are “desperate” to have children, but she said, surrogacy is “not good medicine” and there should be “limits” on what people are allowed to buy and what risks vulnerable women are allowed to take. Surrogacy is not illegal in Ireland and is largely unregulated. The Government has indicated it intends to legislate on assisted human reproduction issues.

The latest Dáil debate on abortion descended into an abusive shouting match as another attempt was made to have the constitutional protection for the unborn repealed. As the chamber sought to deal with the motion for repeal brought by the Anti-Austerity Alliance/People Before Profit, accusations were cast on all sides, and one TD, Bríd Smith, produced what she said was an abortion pill and taunted opponents to have her arrested for its possession. Independent TDs who had previously campaigned for the repeal of the Eighth Amendment but now held to the Government line in opposing this were called ‘sell outs’ while reference was made also to the ‘Catholic Taliban’ lying behind Ireland’s protection of the unborn.

Social workers in Britain have accused a couple of neglect for failing to let their biological daughter live as a boy. The girl’s case first came to light when she moved from home-schooling to a local public school and began to wear boys’ clothing and insisting that she be called Gary. Now, having run away once and coming to the attention of social services, the girl’s parents fear she will be removed from their care to allow for her gender reassignment. In a statement via the Christian Legal Centre, the girl’s mother said: “Our daughter is mentally unwell. We believe that her present gender identity problems are part of her mental health problems. She should receive the appropriate help that she needs, rather than being forced into taking on a false identity. Our daughter is too young to make these decisions.” The family has a scheduled meeting with social workers in November, with social workers concerned that the parents’ ‘neglect’ of their child’s wishes will cause her to commit suicide.

The Christian Institute has led calls for a change to “oppressive” equality laws after Ashers Bakery in Northern Ireland lost its appeal against a discrimination finding in a case involving a pro-same-sex marriage cake. “Equality laws have been turned into an ‘oppressive weapon’ used to curb dissent,” the organisation said in a statement after the original discrimination finding was upheld by the Appeals Court in Belfast appeals court. “Equality laws are there to protect people from discrimination, not to force people to associate themselves with a cause they oppose. But those same laws have become a weapon in the hands of those who want to oppress anyone who dissents from the politically-correct norms of the moment. The law needs to change before more damage is done.” Ashers’ General Manager Daniel McArthur, a devout Christian, said: “If equality law means people can be punished for politely refusing to support other people’s causes, then equality law needs to change. This ruling undermines democratic freedom. It undermines religious freedom. It undermines free speech.”

The right to life is a “fundamental issue for the Church” and “is not going to change”, Archbishop Diarmuid Martin has said. Speaking after the launch of the World Meeting of Families in Dublin, and ahead of the latest attempt in the Dáil to have the constitutional protection for the unborn repealed, the Archbishop stressed the Church’s unwavering position and its right in a democratic society to express itself on the issue. His words have been echoed by Archbishop Eamon Martin of Armagh who said that on the right to life, the Church will “try to speak about that in a tender and loving and compassionate way and also reach out to those who are in great pain – perhaps even in crisis over this issue.”

A bill aimed at removing disability as a ground for abortion has had its second reading in Britain’s House of Lords. The Abortion (Disability Equality) Act received broad backing from peers, who also heard from Lord Shinkwin, the disabled peer who introduced the bill. In his address to the House, Lord Shinkwin said that the greatest hurdle for people with disabilities is the attitudes of others, many of whom simply assume that a disabled person is “better off dead”. He added that the Department of Health’s “eugenic screening programme” reinforced this notion, meaning that he, as a disabled person, despite his personal achievements in politics would also be “better off dead”.