Richard Dawkins says the world is better off without Down syndrome people (and other stories)

A roundup of news from around the interwebs.

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Atheist and evolutionary scientist Richard Dawkins has stated, again, that parents should avoid having children with Down syndrome. In 2014, he infamously suggested that parents “abort it and try again.” Dawkins admits he has no evidence that aborting these children would make the world a happier place and is apparently unaware that a huge majority of those with Down syndrome report being happy with their lives.

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Euthanasia deaths in Ontario are up; there have been at least 24,000 deaths since legalization in 2015.

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Al Jazeera reports that women in Mexico are using mobile apps to procure dangerous, at-home abortions. Abortion is illegal in thirty Mexican states, but with the arrival of the abortion pill, methods of killing your baby are now more easily available.

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The Christian Post reports on an “existential threat” to faith-based higher education:

A leading association of over 180 Protestant colleges and universities is coming to the defense of Christian colleges amid a lawsuit filed by former and current LGBT students who seek to revoke religious schools’ exemptions to Title IX discrimination law. 

The Council for Christian Colleges and Universities filed a motion to intervene in a legal challenge against the U.S. Department of Education seeking to strip federal financial aid from college students who attend faith-based institutions that espouse biblical beliefs on marriage, gender and sexuality. 

The lawsuit was filed in March by an advocacy organization called Religious Exemption Accountability Project on behalf of 33 LGBT former and current students who felt discriminated against on 25 faith-based campuses across the country.  

Read the whole thing—there’s a lot hanging on the outcome of this case.

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Singer Demi Lovato, who has been leapfrogging around the LGBT spectrum for some time, has now come out as “non-binary,” which means she identifies as neither male nor female. Of course, the media outlets reporting on this immediately fell all over themselves to use her “preferred pronouns,” “they/them.” Exhibit A:

Singer Demi Lovato revealed on Wednesday they identify as nonbinary and are changing their pronouns, telling fans the decision came after “self-reflective work.”

“Today is a day I’m so happy to share more of my life with you all – I am proud to let you know that I identify as non-binary,” Lovato announced on Twitter and in an accompanying video, adding they will “officially be changing my pronouns to they/them moving forward.”

Lovato said they picked gender-neutral pronouns as “this best represents the fluidity I feel in my gender expression.” They added, “I’m doing this for those out there that haven’t been able to share who they truly are with their loved ones.”

As Douglas Murray noted: I’m going to need someone to explain the difference between saying “I’m non-binary” and “look at me! Look at me!”

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Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed a six-week “heartbeat” ban this week, part of an ongoing wave of anti-abortion legislation across the country.

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In case you’re wondering how non-binary folks were going to make the pandemic about them, here’s this guy—whose story was reported faithfully by Canada’s state broadcaster:

When Kai Solomon printed out their consent form to get a COVID-19 vaccine, their eyes focused on the portion of the form that asked for their sex.

And their heart sank.

Solomon found Manitoba’s form had four boxes they could pick from when designating sex: male, female, intersex and unknown. Solomon, who is non-binary and uses they and them pronouns, didn’t see themself reflected in any of those options.

“I felt very invalid. It was very defeating. It just felt like we didn’t fit … like we didn’t deserve the vaccine because we’re not on the form,” Solomon said.

A tiny tragedy amidst the tragedies, you might say. What a joke.

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More soon.

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