Month: October 2013

France – The country’s Constitutional Council has ruled that mayors do not have a right to claim conscientious objection against performing gay marriage ceremonies. The ruling is a blow to a group of mayors which appealed to the council in the wake of threats by France’s Interior Ministry to imprison, for five years, those refusing…

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Dear Editor, Your columnist Mary Kenny’s report ‘Being neutral on abortion’ (IC 10/10/13) on the recent Irish Times article by Anthea McTiernan was both correct and insightful. Ms McTiernan is correctly quoted as writing that “abortion is normal” as Mary Kenny stated. Ms McTiernan further drew a comparison between women travelling to Britain for an…

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Dear Editor, How frustrating that when disgraceful shortcomings are pointed out in the State’s failure to protect and vindicate the rights of children that vested interests always blame a ‘lack of resources’. What resources were lacking when social workers, backed by the full authority of the Garda Síochána, removed two Roma children from their family…

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Dear Editor, The recent HIQA report surrounding the tragic death of Savita Halappanavar, as covered by the media, seems to lack coverage of circumstantial evidence surrounding medical management and supply and the corresponding success/failure rate in providing maternity care in other countries. What seems negligent, in a case which has ravaged the hearts of the…

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Iran – Four Christians have been sentenced to flogging after police discovered them consuming wine during a communion service at their house church. Behzad Taalipasand, Mehdi Reza Omidi, Mehdi Dadkhah and Amir Hatemi will receive 80 lashes each for the offence, despite the constitutional protections supposedly offered to non-Muslim worship in Iran. Commenting on the…

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