June 9 will see the first physician-assisted suicide in the US state of California. The ‘End of Life Option Act’ was forced through the state legislature following a move by supporters to launch a special session to bypass opposing committees after the proposed legislation failed to garner enough support in regular sessions. The state now joins Oregon, Washington, Montana, and Vermont in legislating for assisted suicide.
South Dakota has become the 13th state in the United States to ban abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy following the signing into law of new legislation by Governor Dennis Daugaard. The Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act has been warmly welcomed by pro-life advocates in the state.
A magistrate in Britain has been sacked from his post for voicing opposition to adoption by same-sex couples. Richard Page had been under investigation by the Judicial Conduct Investigations Office following a 2015 interview in which he asserted that children do better when adopted into a family comprising a man and a woman.
A working group of the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Community (COMECE) has published an opinion on palliative care. Cognisant of Europe’s ageing population, the Bishops look to the introduction of euthanasia and assisted suicide in some nations and insist that “euthanasia does not form any part of palliative care”.
