Decades of fretting about over-population and encouraging contraception and abortion have succeeded. But the dream of zero population growth has become a nightmare, a new study published in The Lancet suggests. Instead of stabilizing, population numbers keep falling.
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In the United States, Australia, and Europe there can be no cause more popular, more humane, and more progressive than the abolition of female genital mutilation (FGM). Many countries have banned it; NGOs educate people about it. The United Nations has proclaimed an International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation.
But that consensus has broken down in The Gambia. The parliament of this Muslim-majority west African country has just voted overwhelmingly to reverse its 2015 ban on FGM. Many of the MPs say that FGM is needed to “uphold religious loyalty and safeguard cultural norms and values”. The bill will be reviewed by a parliamentary committee before a final vote.
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Governors Jim Justice of West Virginia, Spencer Cox of Utah, and Brad Little of Idaho — all Republicans — signed legislation in their states to enhance religious freedom protections.
The new West Virginia law establishes stronger religious freedom protections for student organizations at public universities. The Utah law allows residents to bring civil action against government entities if those entities violate their religious freedom. And the new Idaho legislation protects religious rights for faith-based adoption centers and foster care homes.
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The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) in Ohio is suing the state over its ban on trans procedures for minors and men in women’s sports, alleging the law is unconstitutional and harms trans-identifying children.
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Nicaragua has banned the Catholic Church’s public Holy Week celebrations for a second straight year amid other repressive measures that have included Protestant organizations.
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