Belfast's first abortion clinic unleashes a flurry of campaigns

The opening of the first private abortion clinic in Northern Ireland, set for October 18, has unleashed a flurry of campaigns on both sides of the abortion divide and exposed the murky status of anti-abortion laws in the region.

Women - and men - trying to enter the Belfast offices of the Family Planning Association (FPA), a British sexual health charity, have been heckled and sometimes harassed by a raucous picket of anti-abortion activists wielding grisly photographs of apparently aborted foetuses.

The FPA motto is “Talking sense about sex”. But when it comes to abortion, sense often gives way to inflamed sensitivities in this largely self-governed region of the UK.

Read more about it at France24

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USA: Abortion, LGBT And Immigration Measures Set To Take Effect in 2012

[ via Huffington Post ] 29 Dec

Girls seeking abortions in New Hampshire must first tell their parents or a judge, employers in Alabama must verify new workers' U.S. residency, and California students will be the first in the country to receive mandatory lessons about the contributions of gays and lesbians under the set of state laws set to take effect at the start of 2012.

Many laws reflect the nation's concerns over immigration, the cost of government and the best way to protect and benefit young people, including regulations on sports concussions.

The laws have attracted mixed response from various segments of the society. For instance:

A California law will add gays and lesbians and people with disabilities to the list of social and ethnic groups whose contributions must be taught in history lessons in public schools. The law also bans teaching materials that reflect poorly on gays or particular religions.

Opponents have filed five potential initiatives to repeal the requirement outright or let parents remove their children while gays' contributions are being taught.

Read the full post by Huffington Post as the list of these laws, some very controversial, is too long to be mentioned here.

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