Conscientious objection at the European Court of Human Rights – Comments on the Bayatyan v. Armenia judgment and some other pending cases.
Grégor Puppinck, Ph.D., Director of the ECLJ. On July 7, 2011, in the case Bayatyan v. Armenia (application no. 23459/03), the Grand Chamber of the ECHR issued a landmark ruling…
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Poland: A Complete Ban on Abortion Would Comply with International and European law.
Grégor Puppinck – Strasbourg, July 18th, 2011. In Poland, a nation-wide grassroots effort has lead to the proposal of bold, new legislation aimed at removing all exceptions to the country’s…
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Russia restricts abortion
The New York Times reports that Russian president Medvedev has just signed into law the first restrictions on abortion since the end of communism. Around the same time communism collapsed…
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SOME THOUGHTS ON THE CURRENT CRISIS OF THE CONCEPT OF “RELIGIOUS FREEDOM”
The concept of religious freedom, such as it has been developed in the second half of the twentieth century, is in crisis. Its validity as a universal principle is openly…
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Argentinians Protest Bill Legalizing Abortion
This week at a massive rally in Argentina, demonstrators protested a proposed bill that would legalize abortion in the country. According to news reports: The Consortium of Catholic Doctors said…
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New Report: RU-486 Quietly Killing Women
The US Food and Drug Administration, which approved mifeprex for medical abortions, has just quietly released a new report showing how deadly their decision has turned out to be. When…
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Irish Law Could Force Priests to Break Confessional Seal
From the Irish Catholic comes news that confirms just how far Ireland has fallen from its tradition of being the “land of saints and scholars”: The Taoiseach, the Minister for…
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Austria: the “privilege” for religious believers that wasn’t one
Self-described “Secularists” can get very excited when they hear about real or imaginary “privileges” for religious believers. Such is the case of Mr. Niko Alm, a brave but lonesome crusader…
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Youthful Fresh Air @UN
Starting next weekend, there will be a different narrative to the UN Youth story. In the past, the narrative has gone “the UN is up to radical, corrupting, negative youth…
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War on Baby Girls: AEI event
Mara Hvistendahl and Nicholas Eberstadt discussed Hvistendahl’s new book, Unnatural Selection, on sex-selective abortion at an American Enterprise Institute event on 16 June. Even for those who have followed the…
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“Empty Churches Equal Empty Hearts and Empty Cradles”
MercatorNet has an important speech by Don Feder that was delivered at the recent Moscow Demography Summit. While UN agencies continue to tell the world that the biggest problem is…
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ECHR: complaint against Switzerland’s constitutional ban on minarets is inadmissible
On 29 November 2009, Swizerland held a popular referendum on a draft constitutional provision that prohibits the construction of minarets. 57.5% of those voting supported the initiative. Since the results…
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Checking in on the MDGs
Yesterday, the UN released its 2011 report on the progress made in achieving the Millennium Development Goals. The report, generally optimistic about progress made, unsurprisingly recommends that the international community…
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Making a Wrong Turn at the Intersection
The Youth Coalition – a youth sexual rights advocacy group – is looking to use the High-Level Meeting on Youth for sex rights, and is looking to combine their advocacy…
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Safe Passages: A Pro-Life Response to the Tragedy of Maternal Deaths
I just came across this article published in May of this year in the Linacre Quarterly, which is part of a new initiative of the American Association of Pro Life…
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For the first time since 1945, Germany legalizes the “selection” of human beings
Well, to tell you the truth, the mass extermination of Jews in Auschwitz and other death camps had no legal basis – thus, even under the Nazi regime the “selection”…
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ECHR Polednová v. the Czech Republic and conscientious objection
The European Court of Human Rights just emphasised unanimously that “no one should show total, blind obedience to orders which so flagrantly infringed not only the principles of national legislation…
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RIP Otto von Habsburg
Yesterday, one of the most important figures of the 20th century, Archduke Otto von Habsburg, passed away. Otto von Habsburg was the last heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, a Crown…
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Promoting Life and Family: the Ultimate Solution to Eastern Europe’s Demographic and Economic Crisis
Stemming from low birth rates, high abortion rates, and a culture that generally eschews the traditional family, the impact of population shrinkage coupled with an aging European society is having…
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UN Youth Year: Sex, Drugs, Hobbies?
The official UN Youth Year Facebook page is asking for input on what youth would like to discuss most in a non-formal setting. Priority items are sex, drugs, friends, and…
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Council of Europe and UN start addressing sex-selective abortions
It took time for Europe to start addressing one of the saddest aspects of abortion: abortion for sexual selection. Finally, as a result of a motion for a resolution introduced…
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Mr. Ban is up for Another Round
Last week, the UN’s General Assembly approved Mr. Ban Ki-Moon for another term as president of the General Assembly. Mr. Ban’s priorities for action in his coming term include a…
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Are LGBT People Human?
The US Ambassador to the UN seems to think not. Speaking to a LGBT Pride Month reception at the US State Dept., Amb. Rice said that “for the first time…
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US UN Hypes Geneva LGBT Vote
Conservatives are making it known that the vote at the Human Rights Council on LGBT issues was no game changer. Looks like the Obama administration is taking note. To wit…
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New IPPF Sexual Rights propaganda
From the purveyors of “Happy, Healthy, and Hot” comes a new “declaration” grounded in International Planned Parenthood’s “core values” which promotes sexual license, homosexuality, and abortion without parental consent for…
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