U.S. District Judge Fernando Aenlle-Rocha for the Central District of California ruled that California Senate Bill 380, which passed last year to amend the End of Life Option Act, that legalized assisted suicide in California violates the First Amendment rights of doctors by requiring them to participate in assisted suicide. SB 380 required a doctor who opposes assisted suicide to document a request for assisted suicide and that request was considered the first of two of the required requests. Therefore doctors who opposed assisted suicide were required to participate in the act. The case has not ended, but this decision is a great victory for conscience rights. Judge Aenlle-Rocha recognized that SB 380 violated the rights of physicians who oppose assisted suicide and he granted an injunction to prevent the egregious parts of the law from forcing physicians to participate in assisted suicide.
LIFEAlerts
Pornography to be studied in junior class (Ireland)
A new Junior Cert curriculum will see lessons about pornography given in the classroom for the first time in Ireland, following a major review of Relationships and Sexuality Education. This could prove to be very controversial for parents. The draft curriculum will tackle pornography, with reference to the online world, and the sharing of sexual images. It will then further deal with consent and matters such as gender stereotyping. The Department of Education concluded that the existing approach to such education in schools was “heavily concerned with the risks and dangers associated with relationships.” “Every school, irrespective of ethos, will have to deliver it.” The curriculum involves consent, safe use of the internet, pornography, gender identity and sexual orientation, healthy and positive relationships, and addiction issues. Senator O’Reilly said it is important to have an “education that is not tied to religious or other ethos”.
More underage schoolgirls join prostitution (South Africa)
A growing number of school pupils are engaging in prostitution. This is the view of delegates at a recent prostitution symposium that was organised by the KwaZulu-Natal legislature in Durban. There is a new trend where school learners who are underage work as prostitutes on weekends and go back to school on Monday. KwaZulu-Natal is estimated to have more than 30 000 sex workers with Durban accounting for the highest number of prostitutes. The Commission for Gender Equality also weighed in, saying the Chapter 9 institution backs calls to repel all laws against prostitution. The proposals deliberated will be tabled to the provincial legislature for MPLs to discuss before KwaZulu-Natal engages other provinces about the matter.
A man accused of attempted murder euthanized before his trial (Spain)
Tuesday, August 23, Marin Eugen Sabau was euthanized before being tried for shooting four people. This 46-year-old man was paralyzed during the shooting that injured several people in Tarragona, Spain He was then accused of five attempted murders and demanded euthanasia. “The victims have a feeling of frustration, underlined José Antonio Bitos, lawyer of two wounded police officers, one let a person decide when and how it finishes with the legal proceedings”. The police will obtain compensation from the public administration, having been injured in service. This is not the case for the other victims who “will have neither trial nor compensation”, points out the lawyer.
State failing to shield women prostitution (South Africa)
If the government is not implementing the wishes of the people, and it most certainly is not, whose agenda is it imposing on South Africans? Clearly, that of the politically correct international community, or the New World Order! Our government pays lip service to democracy and the will of the people. But survey after survey has shown that the majority reject abortion, pornography and support the death penalty. Human dignity is also devalued by the legalisation of pornography. Prostitution is not about glamour and freedom of career choice. It is about deception, enslavement, brutality and suffering. Prostitutes are ruthlessly exploited by pimps who enrich themselves from their earnings. In addition, young girls are being drawn into prostitution. The average age of children entering prostitution is 12! Most runaways are drawn into prostitution within 48 hours of arriving in Hillbrow. Prostitution, even legalised prostitution, is in conflict with a number of sections of SA’s constitution. Section 13 says: “No one may be subjected to slavery, servitude or forced labour.” Section 12 talks among others, the freedom from being treated in a degrading way, freedom from all forms of violence and torture, and that women have the right to control over their own bodies. But all these rights are violated! Unfortunately, just like in the case of gender-based violence, our women do not speak with one voice, or sing from the same hymn book!
Pornography: Who Uses It and How It Is Associated with Couple Outcomes (USA)
Porn used to be a mostly male behaviour but now it impacts females as well. A strong sexual desire promotes porn use. Individuals with strong ties to religion are less likely to report pornography use. Non-violent pornography leads to the acceptance of violent or aggressive behaviour towards women. There is also evidence that extramarital sex and participating in paid sex are associated with online pornography use.
Pornography Facts and Statistics (USA)
With the advent of the internet, pornography and pornography addiction has become more and more widely available.
Porn addiction can interfere with a healthy lifestyle and relationships.
Porn addiction affects about 5-8% of adults and they spend at least 11 to 12 hours per week viewing porn.
Around 35% of all internet downloads are pornographic.
About 84% of people between the ages of 18 and 49 had watched pornographic films.
Up to 65% of young adult men and 18% of young women report watching porn at least once a week.
The average age of first exposure to pornography is now only 14 years old. As many as 93.2% of boys and 62.1% of girls first see porn before they turn 18.
40 million US adults regularly visit internet pornography websites
10% of US adults admit to having an addiction to internet pornography
17% of all women struggle with porn addiction
20% of men and 13% of women admit to accessing porn while at work
70% of women admit to keep their cyber activities secret
Of porn users, 86% felt that porn hurt their relationships and 90% had seen an increase in relationship troubles due to porn use.
About 56% of divorce proceedings cite an “obsessive interest” in pornographic websites.
Conditions that frequently co-occur with pornography addiction include:
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Social anxiety
- Mood disorders
- Sex addiction
- Substance use disorders
Man applies for euthanasia because of ‘eco-anxiety’ (Canada)
Howard Breen, 68, who lives in Vancouver, is not terminally ill but is experiencing extreme mental suffering because of his concerns about climate change. In 2017, Breen’s doctor diagnosed him with clinical eco-anxiety and biosphere-related depression. Breen had his initial request for euthanasia turned down in February 2021 because one doctor in his euthanasia assessment did not consider eco-anxiety to be an “acceptable, permissible malady”. Eco-anxiety is not currently recognized as a mental illness by the American Psychiatric Association, whose diagnostic manual Canada uses. Breen however believes that his eco-anxiety is severe enough that he should be eligible for euthanasia now. In March 2023, euthanasia on the grounds of mental illness alone will be permitted.
Technology Helps Traffickers (South Africa)
Although we agree that technology helps traffickers find victims, we do believe that many recruitments in Africa are still being done in person. Africa does not have the same access to technology as the rest of the world and as such traffickers often do not reach rural areas via technology. They find their victims by either visiting the areas, using people in the area to recruit or find victims, or family members selling/using/renting/exploiting their own kin.
Pornography Addiction: 4 Treatments That Could Help (USA)
While pornography addiction is not currently a recognized medical condition, those who are excessively consuming pornography might experience powerful cravings, neglect their responsibilities, and engage in self-defeating behaviours in order to continue their porn use.
Ways to overcome porn addiction:
- Behaviour Modification/ Motivational Interviewing (MI): MI guides them to think about the pros and cons of their addiction and nudges them in the direction of change that is going to improve their lives
- Group Therapy: connecting with others and experiencing emotional intimacy is a powerful tool in helping a person with this type of addiction.
- Finding Alternatives: this means replacing poor habits with more adaptive ones.
- Medication: medication could help with some cases of excessive pornography use. “Pharmacologic interventions have focused on treating co-existing psychiatric disorders and targeting hypersexual or compulsive sexual behaviours with selective serotonin re-uptake inhibiters, normally prescribed for depression, increase the body’s serotonin, the neurotransmitter that sends emotion-regulating signals between brain cells.