Assisted suicide becomes ‘routine’ if legalised
A new review of a wide range of evidence on assisted suicide has been released ahead of a debate at Westminster when MPs will consider Rob Marris’s Bill on legalising assisted suicide on 11 September. This review has revealed that the practice becomes more widespread and more routine in places where the law has been changed. Produced by the Anscombe Bioethics Centre, the review links directly to official data from the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Oregon and Washington, as well as UK parliamentary reports and journal research. It says there are ‘common patterns’ emerging from places where assisted suicide has been legalised. In every jurisdiction numbers have increased over time and continue to do so; there has also been a shift from permitting assisted suicide for cancer victims to include other diseases. In Europe, this includes psychiatric conditions and problems related to old age, which are non-terminal. For helpful prayers into this subject, go to http://www.care.org.uk/our-causes/sanctity-life/assisted-suicide-euthanasia/what-you-can-do
Britain one of the world's least religious countries
A survey of nearly 64,000 people across the world finds Britain has one of the lowest numbers of people who declare themselves to be religious. Two-thirds of the population describe themselves as atheist or ‘not religious’. Only 30% of Britons interviewed by pollsters said they would describe themselves as religious, regardless of whether they attended a place of worship, compared with 53% who said they were ‘not religious’ and 13% who said they were a ‘convinced atheist’. The remainder were ‘don’t knows’. The study appeared to show that Christianity is on course to be a minority religion in the UK. Globally people aged under 34 tended to be more religious and the number of Muslim children in Britain doubled in a decade. The proportion of Muslims in Britain is predicted to be 11.3 per cent, or one in nine of the total population, by 2050. See also The Mill Gathering Statement at:
http://www.worldprayer.org.uk/news-wpc/itemlist/search?searchword=the+mill+gathering&categories=
British hostage freed as Al Qaeda gains ground in Yemen
Al Qaeda militants took control of a western district of Yemen's main port city of Aden on Saturday night, residents said, in another sign that the group is drawing strength from five months of civil war. The entrance of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula into Aden, once one of the world's busiest ports and the most secular and secure parts of an otherwise restive country, would be one of its biggest gains yet. Meanwhile United Arab Emirates forces based in Aden freed a British hostage who had been held by the group. The hostage, earlier identified by a Yemeni police source as an oil worker abducted in February last year, was taken to the Emirati capital Abu Dhabi on a military plane on Saturday night. Britain's Foreign Office confirmed that the hostage had been rescued in a military intelligence operation and was safe and well.
Gaza: Disabled children who live with the legacy of war
A journalist writes, ‘For six months, I have been recording stories for a two-year project documenting the long-term impact of conflict on communities and individuals around the world. There are few places that have seen more conflict in recent years than Gaza and the resulting psychological impact on the civilian population, especially on the young, has been well recorded. Less well covered, though, are the effects on the estimated 3,000 children with autism living in the region. There are also many others with learning disabilities and mental health issues. The war and ongoing embargo have affected support networks of schools and outreach programmes for these children. This has put extra strain not just on those living with disabilities, but also on their families and carers. I can never truly express the horrors of some people’s experiences – I’m not sure I even want to try.’
