The Catholic Bishops of Nigeria have criticised proposals to legislate for abortion in the country. Responding to plans by Minister of Health Isaac Adewole to offer contraception and abortion to citizens, the Bishops issued a statement in which they “condemned the recent move by the Minister of Health, Prof Adewole in collaboration with the foreign agencies to commit the federal government to increasing the culture of contraception and subsequently, abortion among our people”. Issuing the statement, Bishop Felix Ajakaye added: “Our youth and women need better power supply, potable water, good roads, better health and educational institutions more than these contraceptives. Our country must reject this relentless offer of anti-life incentives under the guise of foreign aid in order not to destroy our beautiful culture.”

Campaigners against a new screening process for Down Syndrome in Britain have said their warnings of increased abortions are being ignored by the government. The group, Don’t Screen Us Out, says that Non-Invasive Prenatal Testing (NIPT) will see ever more abortions as parents receive a diagnosis for Down Syndrome. Already in England and Wales, at least 92% of babies receiving this diagnosis are aborted. Don’t Screen Us Out want to delay the introduction of the test until there is a full ethical review to ensure that NIPT complies with human rights obligations. The British government is reportedly on the cusp of approving the new screening.

Colombia has ended plans for the introduction of transgender programmes in schools following massive nationwide protests. President Juan Manuel Santos announced that “neither the Ministry of Education nor the national government has implemented, has promoted, or will promote so-called gender ideology”. In an apparent attempt to limit the political fallout of the transgender programme, the President added that the booklet at the centre of the programme – produced in cooperation with the United Nations Population Fund and UNICEF – was not an official document, despite bearing the name of Colombia’s education minister, Gina Parody, and the logo of the Ministry of Education.

Legal arguments have begun in a multi-state case against the Obama administration’s transgender toilet policy for schools. In a case led by Texas state Governor Ken Paxton, 13 states are asking a court to rule against the policy. The case opened before District Court judge Reed O’Connor in Forth Worth, Texas, on August 12, with Governor Paxton arguing that the administration was forcing “radical change” on America with the toilet policy.

India’s Supreme Court has ordered authorities to reopen investigations into alleged perpetrators behind a major anti-Christian pogrom in 2008. Ruling that the original acquittals “were not justified”, the court ordered a re-examination of some 827 cases linked to the outbreak of violence which saw 100 Christians killed in addition to the destruction of hundreds of churches and 6,000 homes belonging to Christians in the state of Orissa (now renamed Odisha). The court further ruled that compensation paid to Christian victims had been woefully inadequate and ordered increased payments to families of those killed in the pogrom.

The rate of religious freedom violations around the world is growing, according to the US State Department’s annual report for 2015. Unveiling the document, David Saperstein, US Ambassdor-at-Large for Religious Freedom said that the use of blasphemy laws was one major factor affecting religious communities. “More than one in 10 [countries] have laws or policies penalising apostasy, and the existence of these laws has been used by governments in too many cases to intimidate [and] repress religious minorities, and governments have too often failed to take appropriate steps to prevent societal violence sparked by accusations of blasphemy and apostasy,” he said. The report also includes the ongoing abuse committed by non-state actors such as so-called Islamic State in the growing persecution of religious minorities.