women's human rights: Canada & the world

At a time when religious extremists around the globe have repackaged their efforts to undermine reproductive rights within a call for greater protection for religious liberty, will the Salvadoran Supreme Court of Justice respect Beatriz’s freedom of conscience?

Nearly one month has passed since lawyers representing Beatriz, a 22-year-old pregnant woman suffering from lupus and renal deficiency, filed a petition to El Salvador’s Supreme Court of Justice requesting an exception to the country’s total ban on abortion. A positive ruling would allow Beatriz (not her real name), who has a young child, access to the procedure she needs to save her life. The Supreme Court has yet to make a decision on the case, despite the fact that doctors at El Salvador’s national maternity hospital determined that Beatriz’s pre-existing medical conditions mean that the threat to her life increases as her pregnancy continues.

The Salvadoran Minister of Health and the Human Rights Ombudsman both stated weeks ago that they support implementing the recommendations made by the doctors at the national maternity hospital to save Beatriz’s life. So, why the delay in the Supreme Court’s ruling? The Salvadoran constitution guarantees a secular state, yet the country’s policies on abortion reflect extremist religious views rather than best practices in public health. Not only is abortion prohibited by law in El Salvador, but women suspected of inducing an abortion (including those who miscarry naturally) may be tried for homicide and have been sentenced to as many as 30 years in prison. Doctors and other medical personnel suspected of assisting in an abortion procedure also face jail time if convicted.

There is growing concern that religious extremist and anti-choice forces within El Salvador are pressuring the court not to allow for a legal termination. In recent weeks these groups, including anti-choice NGOs and the Catholic bishops’ conference, have issued statements to the press and hit the airwaves. They claim that abortion is never medically necessary and that “the feminists” are using Beatriz’s case to decriminalize abortion across the board in El Salvador. Their callous, unfounded, and unscientific claims seek to undermine Beatriz’s case for a legal termination and to convince Salvadoran policymakers and Supreme Court justices that there is no need for an exception to the country’s absolute ban on abortion—in this case, or in any other.

It is perhaps not surprising that the Catholic bishops are influential in El Salvador, where approximately 60 percent of the population is Catholic and the Catholic Church is the only religion recognized by name in the country’s constitution. It would be a mistake, however, to assume that all Catholics in El Salvador agree with the hierarchy of their church when it comes to denying Beatriz’s request for a safe and legal abortion.

Católicas por el Derecho a Decidir en El Salvador (Catholics for the Right to Decide in El Salvador, or CDD El Salvador) believes that Beatriz, like all women, should be able to terminate a pregnancy legally, safely, and promptly. CDD El Salvador is an active part of the reproductive rights movement in its country, where the group defies the stereotype that Catholics cannot, or do not, support abortion rights. In fact, the group does so, not in spite of its supporters’ Catholic beliefs, but because of them. They profess a commitment to fighting for social justice and for the life, health, and well-being of women because of the many lessons learned from our faith—among them, to maintain a preferential option for the poor, to treat those who are sick and suffering with compassion, and to respect the right of all people to choose according to the dictates of their conscience.

n a recent statement, CDD El Salvador called on the Catholic hierarchy to adhere to its own teaching, which states, “Hence man’s dignity demands that he act according to a knowing and free choice that is personally motivated and prompted from within, not under blind internal impulse nor by mere external pressure.” To quote CDD El Salvador:

Beatriz has been informed regarding her state of health and that of the unviable fetus she is carrying. She has decided in good conscience to interrupt her pregnancy. She is choosing to save her life, a choice which is entirely valid according to the [Catholic] Code of Canon Law.

In a message likely to resonate with all Christians, CDD El Salvador urged its fellow citizens:

Let us remember what Jesus Christ said in the Gospels: the law was made for human beings; human beings are not made for the law. The law which penalizes abortion is cruel and inhuman, as it condemns many women to death and prison.

Since the petition was filed before the Supreme Court of Justice, Beatriz’s case has become known throughout the world. Amnesty International has sent a global appeal to human rights activists asking them to petition the Salvadoran government to permit the termination. United Nations officials have urged the Salvadoran government to take all necessary action to protect Beatriz’s health and life. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights issued emergency protective measures instructing the Salvadoran government to “adopt all necessary measures to implement the treatment recommended by the National Maternity Hospital in order to save the life, personal integrity and health” of Beatriz.

Beatriz may be Catholic, like most Salvadorans; she may be Evangelical Christian, like many others. She may be of another faith, or of no faith. Regardless of her religious beliefs, CDD El Salvador declares:

We demand respect for Beatriz’s freedom of conscience; she has freely decided to interrupt her pregnancy in order to save her life!

At a time when religious extremists around the globe have repackaged their efforts to undermine reproductive rights within a call for greater protection for religious liberty, will the Salvadoran Supreme Court of Justice respect Beatriz’s freedom of conscience? Will the justices protect her from the demands of religious extremists and affirm the secular nature of the Salvadoran state? As the days continue to tick by without a decision from the court, Beatriz’s life, which now hangs in the balance, moves closer and closer to a potentially tragic, and avoidable, end. I sincerely hope that the solidarity we are witnessing from around the world heralds the beginning of the end for all draconian anti-abortion laws.

Anti-abortion movement offers no evidence of sex-selection abortion.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper says he remains skeptical that a national inquiry would give answers to concerns about missing or murdered aboriginal women in Canada.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper says he remains skeptical that a national inquiry would give answers to concerns about missing or murdered aboriginal women in Canada.

Harper made the comment Thursday in New York City, where he was promoting Canada-U.S. trade and the Keystone XL pipeline to business leaders.

During a question-and-answer session hosted by the Council for Foreign Relations, Harper was asked by a member of Human Rights Watch about the prospects of a federal inquiry into missing and murdered aboriginal women.

“I remain very skeptical of commissions of inquiry generally. My experience has been they almost always run way over time, way over budget, and often the recommendations prove to be of limited utility,” he replied.

Harper said the issue has been studied extensively, and that “it is time to pass to action.”

The Conservative government, Harper said, has invested resources to establish prevention programs and to buttress the investigative powers of police, and has also worked to improve the status of aboriginal women living on reserves, including legislation to protect their property rights.

On Thursday, the civilian watchdog that oversees the RCMP announced it will investigate allegations that aboriginal women and girls were abused by police in northern British Columbia.

Human Rights Watch, the Assembly of First Nations and federal opposition parties have for months called for a national commission of inquiry looking at the issue of missing aboriginal women.

The Conservative government responded by offering up a special parliamentary committee to study the issue.

Three human-rights groups, including two from the United Nations, will be visiting Canada over the next year to look at living conditions in First Nations communities.

The groups will also probe whether government and law enforcement are doing enough to resolve the cases of missing or murdered aboriginal women, which number as high as 600 according to the Native Women’s Association of Canada.

In 2006, The Walt Disney Company bought the computer-animated feature film powerhouse Pixar.  This makes the lead of their most recent movie, Brave (2012), not just a princess, but a Disney Princess.  Merida is having a royal coronation at the Magic Kingdom this morning.

For her coronation, the princess has gotten a good ol’ Disney makeover. On the left is the new Merida (“after”) and on the right is the old Merida (“before”).  Notice any differences?

Here are the ones that I see:

• Sleeker, longer hair with more body
• Larger eyes and more arched eyebrows
• Plumper lips
• A thinner waist
• More obvious breasts
• An overall more adult and less adolescent appearance
• Lighter colored and more ornate gown
• A lower cut neckline that also shows more shoulder
• Perhaps most symbolically, her bow and arrows have disappeared in favor of a fashionable belt

More research into factors behind trend, effects on outcomes is needed, study author says

MONDAY, May 20 (HealthDay News) — A new Canadian study has uncovered an apparent gender bias in the hospital setting, with women less likely than men to get trauma center care following a severe injury.

“Gender-based disparities in access to health care services in general have been recognized for some time, and evidence is emerging that these disparities extend to the treatment of severe injuries in trauma centers,” study author Andrea Hill, a postdoctoral fellow at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and the University of Toronto, said in a news release.

“Our study,” she added, “confirms and expands on these earlier findings by evaluating the relationship between gender and trauma center care in a large cohort of patients from across Canada.”

Hill and her colleagues are scheduled to present their findings Monday at the American Thoracic Society annual meeting in Philadelphia. Research presented at medical meetings should be viewed as preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.

The team’s findings stem from an analysis involving nearly 99,000 adult patients throughout Canada. About a third were women, and all had sought hospital treatment following a severe injury.

Across all age groups, just less than half of the women received trauma center care, compared to more than 63 percent of men in the same situation.

Among patients aged 65 and older, roughly 38 percent of the women got trauma care, compared with nearly 50 percent of the men.

The trauma gap held even after accounting for a wide array of demographic and socioeconomic factors, the study authors said. A gap also was observed when looking solely at injuries involving either falls or motor vehicle accidents.

“Our study provides yet more evidence of important gender differences in access to trauma center care for people with severe injuries,” Hill said. “Future research should focus on the factors underlying these differences and on the effects of these disparities on patient outcomes.”