Amnesty International will officially launch its new pro-abortion stance on 11 August in Mexico City. Ms Kate Gilmore, deputy secretary-general, has said: "The Catholic Church, through a misrepresented account of our position on selective aspects of abortion, is placing in peril work on human rights." She went on to say that Amnesty would take action in Nigeria and Latin America which have restrictive abortion laws. She said "We're here to do what's right, whether it's unpopular or otherwise." [EWTN 30 July]
The first private abortion clinic has been opened in Portugal following the change in the law earlier this month to allow social abortion up to 10 weeks' gestation. Previously abortion had been allowed only for disability and other restricted reasons. Many Portuguese doctors are refusing to perform abortions and several public hospitals have said they will not be able to offer abortion, despite the legal obligation to do so, because they lacked doctors willing to do them. [Los Angeles Times 31 July]
The Princess Alexandra hospital in Essex, England, has agreed to pay £27,500 in an out-of-court settlement with Teresa Cooper, 40, a mother of three children, for aborting her fourth child against her will and ignoring her attempts to withdraw her consent. In the two days between signing the consent form and the day the abortion was scheduled, she watched a pro-life video which reinforced her doubts. Mr David Kerry, her lawyer, said: "It was as if she was on a conveyor belt which was impossible to stop." [Guardian 30 July]
A woman in Maryland has been charged with first degree murder, second degree murder and manslaughter of her unborn child. Police found a small body wrapped in a blanket at the apartment which Ms Christy Freeman, 37, shared with her boyfriend and her four other children. She being held at police headquarters pending a hearing on Monday morning. [Guardian 30 July]
A team from Duke University Medical Center in North Carolina has discovered that babies exposed within the womb to bisphenol A, a chemical used in the production of everyday plastics including food containers and water bottles, could have an increased risk of developing cancer, obesity, diabetes or other diseases. The team found that, when pregnant agouti mice were given folic acid, the influence of bisphenol A was counteracted. [Daily Telegraph 31 July]