Pressure is being put on the government to abolish parents' right to withdraw their children from sex education. Simon Blake, chief executive of Brook, an abortion referral agency, said: "Our belief is you cannot reconcile children's rights to high-quality sex and relationships education with the parental right of withdrawal. The right of withdrawal needs to be removed." [Telegraph, 16 July] http://is.gd/1Kzb2 Parents will be given barely any say in the content of sex education under government plans to make the subject compulsory from primary school onwards, according to a new report. Norman Wells of the Family Education Trust, the report's author, said that the move "would make schools less accountable to parents" and "would limit the discretion of individual schools". [Telegraph, 22 July] http://is.gd/1HjCx
Other stories:
Catholic nurse forced to participate in an abortion under the threat of disciplinary action [ProLifeBlogs.com, 22 July] http://is.gd/1IyCz
Pro-life commentary debunking claim that legalising abortion protects women's health [SPUC director's blog, 21 July] http://is.gd/1IzHq
Claim that skin-like tissue has been developed from human embryonic stem cells [Medical News Today, 22 July] http://is.gd/1IySJ
A slow embryo heart rate could mean that mothers who have undergone in vitro fertilization are at increased risk for miscarriage [Reuters, 22 July] http://is.gd/1Izm5
Op-ed from anti-life Guardian columnis: "Our ageing world isn't a catastrophe. It's a triumph" [Guardian, 22 July] http://is.gd/1IxNC
New magazine launches assault on our nation's children [SPUC director's blog, 22 July] http://is.gd/1Iylo
Muslim group to oppose compulsory sex ed for primary school children [Independent, 23 July] http://is.gd/1IxWY
Mexican government promotes "morning after pill," condom use, to ten-year-olds [LifeSiteNews.com, 22 July] http://is.gd/1Iyr5
Mothers' health in the days and weeks prior to becoming pregnant may determine the health of offspring much later in life [Medical News Today, 22 July] http://is.gd/1IzhV
New research has suggested that pregnant women with low levels of the hormone progesterone may be more likely to have a premature birth [Nursing in Practice, 22 July] http://is.gd/1IyGv
A former employee of Swiss suicide facility Dignitas has spoken out after the recent double suicide of a British couple. In reality the Dignitas 'clinic' is "just one person who has found a way to make a lot of money out of death and the fear of it", said Soraya Wernli [Christian Institute, 22 July] http://is.gd/1Ize2
Female medical student murdered two elderly women so she could study death [Daily Mail, 22 July] http://is.gd/1IyeW
Father, 60, writes about being an older parent [Times, 23 July] http://is.gd/1IyaM