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| Frank Van Den Bleeken |
Belgian murderer to be euthanised over prison suffering
Frank Van Den Bleeken, a serial murderer and rapist in Bruges, Belgium, has been granted permission to commit suicide with the assistance of doctors. According to his lawyer, Mr Van Den Bleeken has expressed that he can "no longer accept the pain". According to Belgian law, those who wish to commit suicide in this manner must repeatedly express a "voluntary and well-considered" wish to die. Earlier this year, Belgium also legalised assisted suicide for children. [Mail, 16 September]
Schools under fire for offering STD tests during lessons
Parents of children in Brighton and Hove have complained after their 15- and 16-year-old teenagers were asked to take a chlamydia test in class. All secondary state schools in the area, except for one Catholic school, have signed up to the scheme. Brighton and Hove Council, who are running the scheme, said that it was in keeping with national guidelines and is designed to "demystify the test". [Telegraph, 21 September]
Non-embryonic stem cells used to use treat failing sight
A Japanese woman is the first person to be successfully treated for age-related macular degeneration (AMD) with pluripotent cells taken from adult tissue samples. The condition which was treated affects millions of elderly people and can result in blindness. A similar treatment is being developed which does involve the destruction of human embryos but is still being trialled. [New Scientist, 16 September]
Other stories:
- Parents threaten to kill boy born with deformities, but is adopted by Christian couple [LifeSiteNews.com, 25 September]
- Baby girl survived abortion at 26 weeks; 10 years later, she and mother celebrate her birthday [Metro, 22 September]
- Brazilian judge allows three parents to be listed on child’s birth certificate [Gay Star News, 16 September]
- Betting shop working with lobby group to normalise homosexuality [Paddy Power, 5 September]
- European Court of Human Rights rules that European countries need not legislate for same-sex marriage [Washington Times, 1 September]
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