The World Health Organisation (WHO) issued new abortion guidelines on the 3rd of March 20221. The guidelines urge changes including no gestational age limits to an abortion, no requirement that doctors do abortions, no parental consent for minors, no waiting period and better access to medical abortion pills including through telemedicine. The WHO claims that easy and free access to abortion services is “lifesaving care” and that current abortion restrictions are resulting in women undergoing unsafe abortions which are resulting in preventable death and injury. The WHO states that abortions are “extremely safe” when carried out using their recommended methods. However, their recommendations are more likely to endanger women’s lives. A 2013 study from the University of California showed that abortions conducted by non-physicians (nurses, midwives, physician assistants) were twice as likely to result in complications compared to abortions conducted by physicians2.
LIFEAlerts
New UK ‘porn laws’ could be the vaccine passports of the internet (UK)
An online passport would not only fail to stop children from watching porn – it would be the most intrusive identity scheme of all. The UK Government’s announcement this week that children will be better protected from online porn has been warmly welcomed. The problem is, it’s incredibly hard to enforce such steps online because it creates serious privacy and fraud risks, and is unlikely to achieve the goal of protecting children. Commercial porn websites could indeed request credit card details to grant users access. But, there’s little to stop a child from using a parents’ or older sibling’s card details.
Law demands heavy penalties if porn sites do not verify the age of users (UK)
As part of a new internet safety bill, the UK government has announced all pornography websites will be legally required to verify that users are age 18 or older. Under the bill, porn sites must establish robust checks to protect children from accessing them and could use secure age verification technology to confirm a user has a credit card, or use a third-party service to confirm their age against government data. If sites fail to comply, they can be fined up to 10 percent of their annual global turnover, could also be blocked in the UK, and their officials could be held criminally liable, the government stated. The current online safety bill only covers commercial porn sites that allow user-generated content. The proposed update will regulate all commercial porn sites.
Integrated approach to online safety will bring down online predators (USA)
Two advocacy groups are calling for stronger measures to curb Online Sexual Abuse and Exploitation of Children, They plead for an integrated effort among various stakeholders – from the government, private sector, civil society, to the communities and families. The online streaming event was hosted by Globe in partnership with UNICEF, Internet Watch Foundation (IWF), CitizenWatch, and Bantay Konsyumer, Kalsada, and Kuryente (BK3). These organisations stated that to be truly digital means that online safety must be guaranteed. There are several existing laws but there is a gap in the implementation of these laws that allows for activities to thrive with impunity and victimise our children. They further pointed out that there are also laws that conflict with the implementation of the above legislation, and which make it difficult for the authorities to go after online predators.
Assisted suicide: psychiatric assessment should be systematically provided (France)
The public debate about the legalisation of euthanasia in France is raging. Some psychiatrists published a study that reviewed the role of psychiatrists in cases of requests for assisted suicide. The study was based on 127 articles, mostly sourced from Pubmed and Cairn, dating from 1997 to 2020, involving Switzerland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxemburg and Oregon. The study emphasised the importance of an in-depth consultation with a psychiatrist in all requests for assisted suicide. This decision was based on the findings that the most prevalent reasons for a request to die are “spirituality, attachment style, social isolation, despair, depression […]. It was also found that a doctor’s qualifications influence the evaluation of patients and can obscure the motivations that lead a person to request euthanasia.
French council of state rejects Dignitas’ appeal on a preliminary question of constitutionality (France)
Dignitas, a Swiss organisation that promotes “the right to die with dignity”, submitted a Preliminary Question of Constitution (PQC) to the French Council of State. The aim of the PQC was to counter the ban of the euthanasia drug, pentobarbital, in France. The French Council rejected the proposal and highlighted the risk of pentobarbital to public health. Dignitas is proud of its role in having assisted suicide recognised by the German and Austrian constitutional courts. They continue to try to achieve the same in France, however, thus far have failed. Their website explicitly criticises France for its suicide prevention policy indicating that Dignitas is striving to impose its deadly practices in foreign countries.
DIY abortion measures to be dropped (England)
The English government has announced that the DIY abortion scheme, introduced due to the coronavirus epidemic, will end in August 2022. Previous abortion measures will then be reinstated which involved an in-person consultation before taking the first pill. Since the approval of DIY abortion two years ago abortion rates have reached their highest rate with an estimated 200,000 women self-managing their medical abortion at home.
The Welsh assembly, despite coming under the same health laws as the English government, has made the DIY abortion measures permanent. The Welsh assembly claims they are supporting women and are providing safe benefits for women who wish to have an abortion. This directly contradicts the central health department who have made the decision to end the DIY abortion scheme because the safety and wellbeing of women is their foremost priority.
Catholic doctor to challenge abortion pill reversal ban at UK High Court (UK)
A consultant cardiologist and past president of the Catholic Medical Association (UK), Dr Kearney, is currently prohibited from providing abortion pill reversal (APR). A tribunal ruled that Dr Kearney is no longer allowed to provide treatment to women who regret taking medication to abort their unborn baby. This interim order was put in place on January 2022 and will be reviewed at the Royal Courts of Justice on 24 February 2022. Lawyers will argue that the prohibition should be reversed. Andrea Williams, chief executive of the Christian Legal Centre, states “we have seen many women immediately regret taking the first abortion pill. Dr. Kearney offers the possibility of saving the pregnancy when this happens. He should have the freedom to do it”.
Is decriminalised prostitution ANC government’s job creation plan? (South Africa)
Justice and Constitutional Development Deputy Minister, John Jeffery, released a statement indicating he has begun a series of consultative meetings to discuss the possible decriminalisation of prostitution. The statement says that the SA Law Reform Commission (SALRC) released its Report on Adult Prostitution in 2017 saying the topic needs to be further debated. However, Mr Jeffery failed to explain why Cabinet “felt the possible decriminalisation of [prostitution] should be further debated since nowhere in the SALRC Report is decriminalised [prostitution] recommended as decent or productive work”. Paragraph 46 of the SALRC Report states: “The Commission agrees with Doctors for Life that criminalisation of prostitution provides a legal mechanism to remove a prostitute from coercive circumstances and to provide her with an opportunity to enter rehabilitation, training and reintegration programmes”.
Punishment for child sex abuse and pornography toughened (Germany)
Germany’s Cabinet has approved draft legislation that will allow for tougher punishment of sexual abuse of children and the possession of child pornography. The government initiated the bill in the wake of prominent recent child abuse cases in Germany that feature large numbers of suspects.
Distributing child pornography will draw a sentence of 1 to 10 years, up from the current range of 3 months to 5 years. Possession and procurement of the material will be punished with 1 to 5 years in prison, up from the current maximum of 3 years. Perpetrators fear nothing more than being discovered, so Justice Minister Christine Lambrecht, pleaded for a massive increase in the pressure in tracking them.
The legislation requires parliamentary approval.