Canada
At the July 11 Family Planning Summit in London, UK, Canada’s Minister of International Development Marie-Claude Bibeau announced $18 million for abortion and contraception programs in Mozambique. Bibeau told the Globe and Mail, “we chose an area that’s not easy. It’s still a taboo in many regions, so some donors choose to invest in other areas. But even if it’s difficult, we have to do it. Canadians are well-placed to champion this issue – we are welcomed everywhere” … Edmonton Pro-life was granted approval to set up a pro-life display after initially being denied one by the organizers of the K-Day exhibition at the city’s Northlands Park, Racetrack, and Casino. Edmonton Pro-life was originally prohibited from having a display due to Northlands’ new policy “restricting ‘political’ and ‘religious’ organizations.” According to Edmonton Pro-Life, “we stand by our work and in no way is our work ‘hateful,’ ‘graphic,’ ‘aggressive,’ ‘spiteful,’ ‘terrorizing’” … Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall announced he was stepping down as premier and leader of the Saskatchewan Party effective as soon as the party could choose a replacement. The Regina Leader-Post reported that federal pro-life MP Brad Trost (Conservative) is considering running for Saskatchewan Party leader. He said the “logistics would be pretty easy to set up” considering he just finished fourth in the federal CPC leadership race.
United States
On July 26, President Donald Trump announced in a tweet that individuals who identify as transgender would not longer be able to serve in the U.S military. He tweeted: “Our military must be focused on decisive and overwhelming victory and cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail.” A month later, he clarified that individuals who identify as transgender that are currently enrolled in the military may be allowed to continue serving dependent on a policy developed by Defense Secretary Jim Mattis … Nearly $200,000 of taxpayer money went towards a new rainbow crosswalk in Atlanta, Georgia to promote LGBT pride … Transgender celebrity Bruce (“Caitlyn’) Jenner said he may run for California senator as a Republican with the explicit goal of promoting the LGBT agenda. Jenner told radio show host John Catsimatidis, “I work very closely with a group called the American Unity Fund whose mission statement is to get the Republican Party to do a better job when it comes to all LGBT issues. That’s my issue”… The Rainbow Day Camp in El Cerrito, California is making headlines for their gender fluidity based day camp program. The Associated Press reported “each day campers make a name tag with their pronoun of choice. Some opt for ‘she’ or ‘he.’ Or a combination of ‘she/he.’ Or ‘they,’ or no pronoun at all. Some change their name or pronouns daily, to see what feels right.” The day camp is aimed towards children from the ages of 4-12. The same organization has another called “Camp Kick-in’ It” for children ages 13-17 with the same gender experiment based program … Phillip Picardi, an openly homosexual editor at Teen Vogue magazine, has called out critics of his magazine’s online article, “Anal Sex: What You Need to Know: How to do it the RIGHT way.” Picardi says any reproach of the article “homophobia,” despite the fact that the article was not exclusively about homosexual anal sex.
International
On August 21, Chile’s Constitutional Tribunal ruled that a law passed by the Chilean legislature permitting abortion when the life of the mother was at risk, in cases of pregnancy resulting from rape or incest, and when there are prenatal diagnoses of fetal anomalies, was indeed constitutional. Amnesty International Americas director Erika Guevera-Rosas said in statement: “Chile has finally moved one step closer to protecting the human rights of women and girls,” adding her group wants to see the law enforced and broadened to permit abortion-on-demand. Chile had been one of eight countries to prohibit abortion under any circumstances … The Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) announced that they will withdraw funding from all organizations that have agreed to the Mexico City Policy, the U.S. policy that prohibits their foreign aid going to organizations that commit or promote abortion. Save the Children, a charity that normally supports abortion is losing funding from Sweden because they abided with the Mexico City Policy … India’s Supreme Court declared privacy a fundamental right to invalidate section 377 of the country’s criminal code dealing with unnatural sex, including homosexual acts. Justice DY Chandrachud wrote in the decision, “right of privacy cannot be denied even if a miniscule fraction of population is affected.” Indian gay-rights groups say the decision could help legalize same-sex “marriage”… A report issued by the New Zealand Health Committee of the House of Representatives tasked with ascertaining public opinion on the issue of euthanasia found 80 per cent of citizen submissions opposed to permitting so-called medical aid in dying. More than 21,000 written submissions and 900 oral presentations were made. Most opposition was based on protecting the vulnerable, concerns about rapid expansion of the euthanasia license, and recognizing the innate value of human life. Euthanasia-Free NZ applauded the report for confirming “majority opposition to changing the law”