Women aged over 40 can now sue Britain's National Health Service (NHS) if they are denied IVF treatment, under a new law against age discrimination.

Norman Lamb, a newly-appointed health minister, said: "It gives legal force that people have to be treated as individuals, and not written off because of an arbitrary age limit."

Mr Lamb also said that such women "would have to show that the upper age limit was not objectively justified" in their case. [Mail, 1 October]

Anthony Ozimic of SPUC commented: "It is neither good medicine nor in the best interests of families for natural biological limits to childbearing to be violated by the unnatural process of IVF."

Other stories:

• Abortion drug RU486 marks 12 years in US: 14 dead, 1,200 injured [LifeNews.com, 28 September]
• Argentine capital passes law allowing abortion [France24, 28 September]
• Interview with son of UK man in euthanasia court battle [Independent, 1 October]
• Irish assisted suicide campaigner launches court case [Sun, 30 September]
• Switzerland rejects moves to clamp down on assisted deaths as suicide tourism is becoming less popular [Mail, 28 September]
• Japan: The grey planet's ticking timebomb [Independent, 1 October]
• Mayor of Brussels condemns large families [Flanders News, 1 October]
• Ireland's Catholic Bishops declare 'Choose Life' month [Irish Times, 1 October]