Protection of Conscience Project News
Service, not Servitude
BioEdge
A bitter divorce case in Texas involving the custody of seven-year-old twin boys has turned toxic after the parents began disputing whether one of them is transgender. It has become a test case for the legitimacy of transgender medicine for children.
The father, Jeff Younger, argues that his son, James, identifies with his biological sex. The mother, Anne Georgulas, a paediatrician, argues that James is really a girl and demands that he be called Luna. . . [Full text]
BioEdge
A trans man in the United Kingdom has lost his bid to be deemed a father on his child’s birth certificate – even though he conceived it, gestated it, and gave birth to it.
Astonishingly, it appears to be the first time that English common law has defined the word “mother”.
The would-be father, a natal female multimedia journalist at The Guardian named Freddie McConnell, was deeply disappointed by the decision and said that he plans to appeal. He complained:
“It has serious implications for non-traditional family structures. It upholds the view that only the most traditional forms of family are properly recognised or treated equally. It’s just not fair.”
New York Post
Lisa, a mom desperate to give her son a little brother, is looking to trade embryos with another mom. Doing so, she’s wading into legal territory colored in shades of gray, experts say.
Just this week, Lisa’s son spotted a pair of young brothers on the street near their home in Bushwick. He turned to his mom with pleading eyes.
“When am I going to get a brother?” asked Daniel. . . [Full text]
Belfast Newsletter
A Northern Ireland-based peer is championing a bill which aims to protect the freedom of conscience for medical professionals.
The Conscientious Objection (Medical Activities) Bill is designed to grant protection to healthcare workers – including doctors, midwives, nurses, and pharmacists – who object on grounds of conscience to being asked to participate in end-of-life treatment.
In practice, this could see medics opting out of any involvement in abortion services.
Professionals could be excused from taking part in the withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment, and could also refuse to participate in any aspect of IVF treatment. . . [Full text]
The Conscientious Objection (Medical Activities) Bill [HL] 2017-19, introduced by Baroness Nuala O’Loan, will be debated during second reading in the British House of Lords on 26 January, 2018. The proposal is a procedure-specific bill limited to activities associated with abortion, artificial reproduction and withdrawing life sustaining treatment.