Canada
The Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada and the Canadian Association of Radiologists both said an updated policy statement on ultrasounds is necessary with an eye to stop using the technology to determine the gender of the unborn child or for non-medical purposes. “This technology should not be used for the sole purpose of determining fetal gender without a medical indication for that scan,” the Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Canada concluded in a statement representing the Society … The Toronto Star ran a series in which they asked community leaders for their “Big Idea” to improve the city. Andrea Houston, a lesbian journalist for the homosexualist Xtra! newspaper, said every government building and civic centre in Toronto should “proudly (fly) the rainbow flag all year round.” She said, “the simple act of flying the rainbow flag would send a powerful message to the queer community and allies that Toronto is an inclusive city where everyone deserves to feel accepted and welcome” … Manitoba’s NDP government resisted calls to fund all-day kindergarten. Education Minister James Allum said, “I think it’s fair to say that the jury is still out on the entire value of full-day kindergarten, either from an academic stance, an emotional stance or a social stance.” Seven provinces and territories have full-day kindergarten … A report from the Macdonald-Laurier Institute, an Ottawa-based think tank, endorsed the “Nordic model” to tackle prostitution. Author Benjamin Perrin said even if the Supreme Court did not overthrow the restrictions on prostitution in December, Canada needed a new law to deal with the problem of the sex trade. Saying “prostitution is inherently harmful” the report concluded that targeting the demand (johns) rather than supply (prostitutes) is the best way to “to advance the goal of abolishing prostitution” that would be “constitutionally valid.”
United States
The Guttmacher Institute, a pro-abortion research outfit, reported that in 2011, the last year for which statistics are available, there were less than 17 abortions per 1000 women, the lowest rate in the United States since 1973, the year of the Roe v. Wade decision and 13 per cent lower than 2008. The report’s authors say that the decline might be due to an increase in contraception usage. Lead researcher Rachel K. Jones noted that the growing wave of state-level restrictions that came into effect in 2012-2013 could drive down the abortion rate further when statistics for those years are available … The Guttmacher Institute’s annual “state policy review” found that 39 states enacted 141 laws affecting “reproductive health” (abortion and contraception) last year, with about an equal number of provisions restricting and expanding abortion and contraception services. Between 2001 and 2010 there were 189 provisions restricting abortion at the state level but from 2011 and 2013, 205 restrictions were enacted … The South Dakota Health and Human Services committee of the state House of Representatives voted 11-1 to kill a bill that would have prevented abortion procedures that dismember children in the womb. State Rep. Isaac Latterell’s bill would have imposed a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison and a $50,000 fine for “disconnecting any bones at their joint, completely severing any bones, or removing any organs or limbs, including the spinal cord, arms, legs, and internal organs,” and life imprisonment when a physician severs the skull from the spine … Vicki Cowart, president of Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains, told NBC News: “All women need to have the right to decide for themselves when life begins.”
International
Edith Schippers, the Dutch Minister of Health, reported that there were 45 psychiatric euthanasia deaths in 2013 up from 14 in 2012. Alex Schadenberg, international chair of the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition said, “the Netherlands euthanasia law must be stopped” … A UN Commission of Inquiry on human rights in North Korea has found that the regime of dictator Kim Jong-un has committed “unspeakable atrocities” against its citizens. Commissioner Michael Kirby’s 372-page report noted that “persons who are forcibly repatriated from China are commonly subjected to torture, arbitrary detention, summary execution, forced abortion and other forms of sexual violence.” He said forced abortion is a “denial of reproductive rights” … The Population Research Institute reports that Tamil women in Sri Lanka are coerced into using contraception. PRI noted that last August, more than 50 women getting routine medical care and check-ups at a district hospital in Kilinochchi were told that “unless they accepted a hormonal contraceptive insert, they would not be allowed any future treatments at the hospital,” and that their husbands would be brought in for forced vasectomies. One woman, Manjula Satheeskumar, 26, died from an infection in November after having her contraceptive implant removed. PRI president Steve Mosher said: “Forced contraception and sterilization are nothing short of acts of genocide.”