A panel of 13 ‘experts’ chaired by Mr. Justice Seán Ryan of the High Court of Ireland is to study a European Court of Human Rights ruling on abortion and advise the government what should be done in response [News release; Irish Times]. Four members of the panel – Mary O’Toole, Dr. Peter Boylan, Dr. Deirdre Madden, and Ailish Ní Riain – have been identified by anti-abortion groups in the country as having previously indicated that they favour legalizing abortion or reducing restrictions on it. [Life Institute 16 Jan 2012, 20 Jan 2012]
Category: Procedures & Services
Midwives in Scotland go to court over forced facilitation of abortion
Scotland’s largest health board, the National Health Service Greater Glasgow and Clyde, ordered two Catholic midwives to schedule and supervise other health care workers providing abortion. The organization rejected a grievance from the midwives, claiming that the protection of conscience provision in the Abortion Act exempts objectors only from active and direct participation in an abortion. It insists that it can lawfully order objectors to perform other duties necessary for the provision of abortions. The two midwives have gone to the Court of Session in Edinburgh seeking an order overturning the employer’s decision. [BBC; The Telegraph]
Population control and abortion in Pakistan
Sindh, the second largest province in Pakistan, is setting up a Population Council for the purpose of implementing a population control programme. Among the concerns voiced by supporters of the plan is that most people are reluctant to adopt contraception, and that many medical professionals object to abortion for religious reasons. The Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Pakistan (SOGP) organized a seminar on abortion, during which a spokesman for the Society stated that abortion is “purely a health issue and must not be confused with religion and culture.” The assertion was inconsistent with a statement made at the conference that Islamic scholars permit abortion during the first 16 weeks of pregnancy. This at least implies some religious opposition to abortion after 16 weeks, and that the procedure is not “purely” a health issue. [Indo-Asian News Service; Pakistan Today]
British government asserts that legalization of assisted suicide must be decided by parliament, not by government policy
In response to a question about the recommendation of a private commission chaired by Lord Falconer, the British Secretary of State for Justice has stated that assisted suicide should not be legalized by policy, but by a decision of Parliament enacted in legislation. [Hansard]
Assisted suicide to be debated in British House of Commons
The Commons Backbench Business Committee has decided that the House of Commons in the United Kingdom will debate the assisted suicide guidelines published by the Director of Public Prosecutions in 2010. The guidelines had the effect of leaving the regulation of assisted suicide in the hands of police and Crown Counsel, though the practice remained a criminal offence. Conservative MP Richard Ottawa will ask the Commons to approve or reject the guidelines, and there is a chance that the debate could lead to legalization of the procedure in those cases excluded from prosecution by the guidelines. [BBC]