Canada
On April 1, NDP MP Charlie Angus’ motion M-456, seconded by Conservative pro-life MP Maurice Vellacott and seven other MPs, to create a national palliative care strategy had its first hour of debate in Parliament. “Support for human dignity and quality of life, with investments in pain management and other palliative tools, is where the Canadian conversation should go,” Vellacott told the National Post … Members of the Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario are being asked to vote on a pro-euthanasia resolution at the organization’s annual general meeting from May 1-3 in Toronto. The resolution calls on the RNAO to “urge the provincial and federal governments to engage in formal public dialogue on end of life issues and dying with dignity,” including assisted suicide and euthanasia … The British Columbia Health Ministry admitted in an email to B.C. Catholic that the remains of aborted babies from B.C. are incinerated in an Oregon waste-to-energy plant. The “biomedical waste,” which also includes cancerous tissue and amputated limbs, is likely burned at the Covanta Marion waste-to-energy facility. Once the story broke, the Marion County Board of Commissioners said they wanted the practice ended, issuing a statement: “We are outraged and disgusted that this [fetal] material could be included in medical waste received at the facility” and “we are taking immediate action and initiating discussions with Covanta Marion to make certain this type of medical waste is not accepted in the future” … On April 15, Justice Ian MacDonnell of the Superior Court of Justice rejected the bid by the Toronto Morgentaler abortion centre to act as intervenor in two of Linda Gibbons’ appeals of criminal convictions she received for demonstrating outside the abortion facility … In preparation for the National March for Life in Ottawa, the Catholic Organization for Life and Family, an organization co-sponsored by the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops and the Supreme Council of the Knights of Columbus, issued a statement on decrying the “lie” about abortion: “How many women need to die, to be maimed, or to find themselves haunted by the ill-informed decisions of their youth …before the abortion lie is revealed for what it is?”
United States
On April 18, the Supreme Court of Alabama ruled 8-1 that children in the womb have the same legal standing as other children. The Court upheld Court of Criminal Appeals conviction of Sarah Janie Hicks for “chemical endangerment of her child” when she exposed unborn baby “JD” to cocaine. Justice Tom Parker wrote in the majority decision: “Because an unborn child has an inalienable right to life from its earliest stages of development, it is entitled not only to a life free from the harmful effects of chemicals at all stages of development but also to life itself at all stages of development. Treating an unborn child as a separate and distinct person in only select respects defies logic and our deepest sense of morality” … On April 15, Arizona Governor Jan Brewer (R) signed HB 2284 into law, which allows state inspectors to investigate abortion facilities if there are concerns about the treatment provided there and makes it a misdemeanor to assist a minor in avoiding parental consent laws. It also mandates that facilities report babies born alive and what actions the staff took to save the child’s life … On April 22, Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin (R) signed a bill into law that tightens restrictions on the use of the abortion drug RU-486 by requiring abortionists to follow Food and Drug Administration guidelines including limiting its use to 49 days of pregnancy and mandating the dosage of mifepristone; currently many abortionists use RU-486 up to nine weeks gestation and lower the mifepristone dose to save money.
International
The United Kingdom’s Channel 4’s Dispatches investigative news program discovered that the remains of over 15,500 aborted and miscarried babies were incinerated as “clinical waste,” with some used to provide energy for hospitals. The Department of Health immediately ordered that the practice be stopped and Health Minister Dr. Dan Poulter deemed it “totally unacceptable” … Model Josie Cunningham, 23, had an abortion at 18 weeks because she was a candidate to appear on the British reality TV show Big Brother. Cunningham said “I’m finally on the verge of becoming famous and I’m not going to ruin it now … an abortion will further my career” … Japan’s population has declined for the third year in a row as deaths exceeded births, and 25.1 per cent of inhabitants are 65 or older, according to government data issued on April 15 … The Supreme Court of the Philippines declared the Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Act of 2012 “not unconstitutional,” but struck down some provisions that violated conscience rights and the country’s ban on abortifacients. According to the law, government health facilities must provide free contraceptives, public health workers have to be trained in birth control, and sex education must be taught in schools.