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Morning-after pill officially made available to girls under 16
A brand of the morning-after pill has been officially licensed for use by girls under the age of sixteen. The license for 'EllaOne' has been changed by the European medicines agency, and now this anti-birth drug is "available for use by any women of reproductive age in Europe." [Guardian, 15 June] 'EllaOne' will be available from any pharmacist that stocks it. 'EllaOne' is effective five days after intercourse and the recommended retail price is £34.95. Girls wanting to buy 'EllaOne' will be asked questions assessing whether they are 'Gillick competent', meaning that they understand the consequences of taking the morning after pill. SPUC has released an official statement, which can be read here.
Judicial review into Northern Ireland's abortion laws in Belfast
Calls have been made for abortion to be legalised in Northern Ireland. A judicial review began on Monday 15th June 2015, with the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission seeking to legalise abortions "in cases of rape, incest or serious foetal malformation." [BBC, 15 June] Liam Gibson, the Society's Northern Ireland Development Officer, commented: "This case has become a dispute between a state-funded quango and a government department. Both the Commission and the Department of Justice wish to have the current law liberalised and neither is interested in the human rights of the children potentially affected by the outcome of this dispute."
Report reveals Belgian GPs are killing patients who have not requested death
A professor at Hull university has written a report which revealed "around one in every 60 deaths of a patient under GP care involves someone who has not requested euthanasia." Authored by Professor Raphael Cohen-Almagor of Hull university and published by the Journal of Medical Ethics, the report brings into question the existing euthanasia laws in Belgium. Cohen-Almagor states: "The decision as to which life is no longer worth living is not in the hands of the patient but in the hands of the doctor." [Daily Mail, 12 June]
Doctor and two nurses charged following death of woman after abortion
A doctor and two nurses have been charged with manslaughter following the death of an Irish mother who travelled to England to abort her baby. She had been denied an abortion at a maternity hospital in Dublin. The mother travelled at 20 weeks gestation to Marie Stopes abortion centre in Ealing, West London and died some hours after the abortion. She was pronounced dead after suffering a heart attack and “intensive internal bleeding”. [Telegraph, 5 June] SPUC’s General Secretary Paul Tully commented on the case: “Pro-abortionists are making the nonsense claim that more women will die if access to terminations is not allowed in Ireland. This woman died precisely because she could access abortion in England, not because abortion was unavailable in Ireland.”
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