San Marino votes to legalize abortion, U.K. woman with Down syndrome loses pro-life court case (and other stories)

A roundup of abortion news from around the world.

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In the U.K., 26-year-old Heidi Crowter, a woman with Down syndrome suing the British government over a law allowing parents to abort children with Down syndrome until birth, lost her court challenge. She and two others had argued that the part of the Abortion Act permitting the in-utero killing of people like them was discriminatory and violated the European Convention on Human Rights because such abortions are permitted past the 24-week cutoff. As AP News put it:

Crowter, who lives independently and recently got married, has said that she found the legislation “offensive” and disrespectful. She said she wanted to change the law to challenge people’s perception of Down syndrome. Two senior judges dismissed the case Thursday after a two-day hearing, concluding that the legislation isn’t unlawful and that it aims to strike a balance between the rights of the unborn child and that of women.

Judges Rabinder Singh and Nathalie Lieven said the case gave rise to strong feelings and differences over ethical and religious views, but the court must not enter into such controversies and rule only in accordance with the law.

A triumph for ableism and a sad day for human rights. Crowter plans to appeal the ruling.

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The United Nations is attempting to interfere with the U.S. Supreme Court, with experts stating (falsely) that overturing Roe v. Wade—one of the most extreme abortion regimes in the Western world—would be a violation of international law. This is a gross attempt to prevent American states from protecting pre-born children in the womb.

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China’s decades-long genocide against children in the womb is ending as Beijing scrambles to shore up the Communist country’s plunging birthrate. The One Child Policy was abandoned several years ago; now, Beijing has announced that abortions for “non-medical purposes” will be restricted. Strict rules have already been implemented to curb the practice of sex-selective abortion, which has resulted in more than 100 million missing baby girls and a stark gender imbalance in China.

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Meanwhile, the abortion debate is raging in Japan, as well. According to The Guardian: “Women’s health campaigners have urged Japan’s government to amend a law that forces married women to seek consent from their husbands before they can have an abortion.” As always, a tiny minority of cases is used to make abortion more accessible and more common.

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Very sad news from San Marino:

Residents in the tiny republic of San Marino voted overwhelmingly Sunday to legalize abortion, rejecting a 150-year-old law that had criminalized it and becoming the latest majority Catholic state to approve the procedure under certain circumstances, according to nearly complete returns.

With 26 of 37 polling stations counted, some 76% of voters approved making abortion legal in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. It will also be legal beyond then if the woman’s life is in danger or if her physical or psychological health are at risk because of fetal anomalies or malformations, according to official returns broadcast on San Marino TV.

Turnout was 41% of voters of San Marino, a microstate of 33,000 people surrounded by Italy.

San Marino follows the Republic of Ireland in legalizing abortion by referendum.

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More soon.

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