Slovakia’s parliament on Thursday narrowly rejected proposed legislation that would have tightened access to abortion in the European Union country. The bill was rejected by one vote, as 67 of the 134 lawmakers present in the 150-seat house voted in favor of it. A similar proposal to restrict abortion was rejected a year ago, also by one vote.
The growing pro-life movement in Slovakia—tens of thousands of people have joined the March for Life there—is just getting started.
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Some good news from Israel—the abortion rate, which has been steadily declining for 30 years, has continued to go down, even during COVID:
Health Ministry released data on Tuesday showed that 17,548 women applied to terminate their pregnancy and 16,430 abortions were approved. The figures represent a 6.7 percent drop from 18,816 applications in 2019 and a 5.3 percent fall in the number of approvals from 17,355 in 2019. Last year’s decrease was in line with a steady decline in abortions over the last 30 years in Israel, albeit an unusually steep one.
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America Magazine has an interesting article about the growing pro-life movement in Europe (which I wrote about for a recent print edition at The European Conservative, as well). An excerpt:
According to Mr. Meaney, abortion has not yet become the divisive political issue in Europe that it is in the United States. Europeans do not identify as “pro-life” or “pro-choice,” so there is no corresponding identity politics, he said. In Europe abortion is generally treated as one issue among many that needs the attention of the church regarding the dignity of the human person.
Mr. Meaney and Ms. del Pino both cite the intellectual aspect of Europe’s pro-life movement as its strength. According to Mr. Meaney, there are pro-life intellectuals and politicians who are well-respected within the halls of the European politics and bureaucracy.
Ms. del Pino explains that the One of Us Federation hopes to inform political activism and leverage the European intellectual tradition in defense of a culture of life. It maintains a cultural platform where academics offer webinars and seminars and publish analysis, as well as a platform for popular political activism most visible in its marches for life.
“We have the activists,” she said, “and we have the think tank that helps us think about the anthropological and cultural foundation.”
Everyone should take a moment to read this gorgeous article written by my friend Niamh Uí Bhriain on her father’s struggle with dementia.
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Joe Biden has restored abortion, a cruel human rights violation, to U.S. State Department reports on human rights. Biden’s transformation into a full-blown abortion activists is now complete.
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Dan Hitchens has a compelling essay over at The American Conservative on whether or not China is guilty of genocide against the Uygher Muslims.
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At First Things, Scott Yenor has a great piece titled “Lose the Family, Lose the Culture.”
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Heather Heying makes the case against permitting children to transition. The number of liberal voices joining the chorus of conservative ones has been very encouraging.
