Canada
The Québec Federation of Planned Parenthood and Dr. Audrey Gonin of the University of Québec in Montreal are attacking the province’s pregnancy help centres, attempting to locate those who visited one to share information about being dissuaded “from considering the option of abortion” by contacting them. Gonin said the centres give out “biased” information, namely that abortion may cause breast cancer and “post-abortion syndrome” … The rate of stillbirth (the death of a child after 20 weeks pregnancy or weighing over 500 grams) seems to be increasing in Canada and researchers say it is connected to the fact more babies are being aborted due to birth defects according to a study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal … The Supreme Court of Canada declined to reconsider its Feb. 27 ruling against Christian activist Bill Whatcott, which found him guilty of “hate speech” against homosexuals. Whatcott’s lawyer Tom Schuck said a re-hearing was requested because the Court’s decision hinged on the idea his client called homosexuals pedophiles, which Whatcott disputes, saying his pamphlets made no such claim.
United States
On April 25, President Barack Obama was scheduled to deliver the keynote address at the annual Planned Parenthood Federation of America gala dinner in Washington D.C.; this year’s theme is “Time for Care” … Obama’s new budget increases abortion funding by $30 million, which will increase financing for Planned Parenthood and abortions for Peace Corps volunteers, prison inmates, immigration detainees, and military personnel … Governor Jack Dalrymple (R) has signed a bill into law making North Dakota the fifth state to ban sex-selective abortion and the first to prohibit abortion for genetic abnormalities … Laura Curry, professor of media studies at the University of Buffalo, was arrested for disorderly conduct after she engaged in a lengthy obscene rant at Students for Life members on campus after they put up a graphic display of an aborted child next to images of other mass killings … Cynthia Solano from Arizona has sued the Bayer drug company after she suffered life-threatening injuries owing to the Mirena IUD, which currently has over 40 lawsuits against it. “Contrary to Bayer’s representations about a host of benefits of using Mirena, the product is not safe and simple,” said the lawsuit … Federal Judge Edward Korman of the Eastern District of New York ordered the sale of the Plan B morning-after pill without a prescription to girls 16 and under. Charmaine Yoest, president of Americans United for Life, said the decision “allows the abortion industry to gamble with young girls’ health” … The Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, the chief cancer centre in the state of Washington, reported on the implementation of its assisted suicide program in the New England Journal of Medicine. From 2009 to 2011, 40 patients were prescribed the lethal medications and 24 died after taking them … Hawaii’s HB 606, a bill legalizing Oregon-style assisted suicide for those 50 years or older, is pending a hearing by the House Health, Judiciary, and Finance Committees, although it is unlikely it will be heard this session.
International
There have been 336 million abortions in Red China since 1971 according to a Financial Times article based on data from the Chinese health ministry. “By comparison, at present there are 315 million people living in the United States,” Pat Buckley of the European Life Network pointed out on his blog … 42-year-old Shen Hongxia, a mother of two from Hubei Province in China, died after a forced sterilization by local family planning officers despite a doctor’s warning … A review in the Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry found that abortion is linked to “small to moderate increases” in the risk of anxiety, alcohol abuse, illicit drug abuse, and suicidal behaviour … Figures from Japan’s Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry show that the country’s population has undergone the biggest drop in history, falling by 284,000 from 2011 to 2012. People aged 65 or over make up 24 per cent of the population, while children 14 and under are only 13 per cent … New Zealand has become the thirteenth country to legalize same-sex “marriage” after a 77 to 44 vote in parliament. Prime Minister John Key of the governing New Zealand National Party, who has in the past opposed civil unions for homosexuals, supported SSM …Uruguay’s Chamber of Deputies has approved homosexual “marriage,” receiving support from 71 out of 92 members, many from the Broad Front, a coalition of left-wing parties comprises 50 members of the chamber … Uruguay has already legalized homosexual civil unions and adoptions, as well as abortion on demand … There has been a 4,620 per cent increase in euthanasia cases in Belgium from 2002 to 2012; 69 per cent of patients killed over the past two years were from 40 to 79 years old and 75 per cent suffered from cancer … Belgian legislators are considering whether to extend euthanasia to children with advocates of the change saying this is already happening without a legal framework.