The proposed amendment to the Serious Crimes Bill in the UK to make sex-selective abortion unquestionably illegal failed its first reading by 290 votes to 201. The Labour Party’s front bench had intervened to advise Labour MPs to vote against it (a move that was criticised for a conscience-related vote) but 32 Labour MPs still voted in favour. The Conservative Minister for Women and Equalities, Nicky Morgan, voted against it, as did Ed Milliband; David Cameron and Nick Clegg did not vote.
Sarah Mbuyi, a Christian nursery nurse from London who is claiming unfair dismissal after being dismissed for discussing her Christian views with a work colleague, has heard her employer’s lawyer state that her Christian views may be held in private but have no place being expressed in the workplace. The controversy was (as usual) about homosexuality; the colleague had stated that she would only consider Christianity when she and her lesbian partner could get married in church, and Ms Mbuyi described the Biblical view that homosexuality is a sin. As a consequence, Ms Mbuyi was dismissed for “gross misconduct.” One witness for the employer, in response to a question, said that Ms Mbuyi’s Christian views breached the employer’s equal opportunities policy; another said that “She was not able to do her job, to represent the diversity of the nursery. This indicated other beliefs that would make her unable to fulfil her duties” – a statement which is almost Orwellian in its use of the word “diversity” to mean “uniformity”, and its suggestion that employees must adopt the beliefs of their employer. Andrea Minichello Williams of the Christian Legal Centre said, “This trial demonstrates very clearly the state of our courts and Christian illiteracy in our country – there has been no attempt to cover up blatant hostility and disregard of Christian views.”
An unusual legal case has been launched in India. The Central Bureau of Investigation has brought a case against Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, known as the “Guru of Bling”, on the grounds of causing grievous bodily harm to 400 men by convincing them that having their testicles removed would bring them closer to God. The procedures were apparently carried out 15 years ago in a hospital owned by Singh, but have only come to light now. Singh heads up a socio-spiritual organisation called Dera Sacha Sauda and has an estimated net worth of 40 million dollars; he also stars in films in which he appears to perform miracles.
In Ohio, a bill is being proposed to ban abortion after a foetus’ heart starts beating (which occurs at around 6 weeks’ gestation). The Bill is of legal interest since it marks the first attempt by lawmakers to apply a legal definition of the beginning of life that matches the legal definition of when life ends (which, until recent medical advances, was the moment when the heart stops beating).
A State court in Alabama has ordered a halt to same-sex marriages in the state. Such marriages were banned following a referendum on the issue, but the ban was overturned by a federal court on the grounds that it was discriminatory. The State court’s current argument is that traditional marriage is not discriminatory, since the same restrictions apply to everyone; that love (or the lack of it) has no status in law; and that offering marriage to same-sex couples is not actually an extension of marriage, but a re-definition of it. The status of existing same-sex marriages in the state is currently unclear, but the issue is unlikely to be fully settled until the Supreme Court rules on whether bans on same-sex marriage breach the U.S. constitution.
Pope Francis is to send out 200 families and 31 priests as “missio ad gentes” – better known as church planters. The aim is to establish Christian communities, with one priest and 3 or 4 families, in areas across the world where the Catholic church currently does not exist or cannot reach people. The families will be supported financially and relationally by the church communities that they have come from.
A UK judge has given permission for an unmarried couple to take legal action against the Government to force them to provide civil partnerships for heterosexual couples. The couple say they reject marriage because of the “sexist trappings” of weddings. The Coalition for Marriage has spoken out against the idea because civil partnerships do not carry the implication of lifelong commitment that marriage does. The Government ran a consultation on whether to allow heterosexual civil partnerships last year, but more than three quarters of respondents were against it.
In sport, Billy Clarke of Bradford City is facing a possible dilemma. Bradford have unexpectedly qualified for the quarter-finals of the FA Cup, and will play Reading on Saturday. But if Bradford should reach the final, the game will be played the day before Clarke’s forthcoming wedding. Clarke said, “I’ve told my fiancée that if I’m late, she’ll know where I am.”
In technology news, malicious computer hacking, stalking and other activity has become so high-profile that a US TV series has been dedicated to it. “CSI: Cyber” premieres next week, and will follow a (semi-fictional) agency tasked with solving Internet-related murders; cyber-theft; hacking; sex offences; and blackmail.
And finally, the Finnish entry for this year’s Eurovision Song Contest is not only highly unusual, it is also currently the 3rd favourite to win the competition with bookmakers. PKN are a punk band composed of four middle aged men with autism or Down’s Syndrome. Their song is about the frustrations of everyday life, such as eating healthily or doing the washing up. They claim that they are “just normal guys with a mental handicap” who want to raise awareness of people with learning disabilities and also “have a f***ing good time.”
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