| Amendment against sex-selective abortion defeated in Parliament | |
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Amendment against sex-selective abortion defeated in Parliament
House of Lords passes of three-parent embryo regulations The House of Lords has passed regulations to allow the creation of three-parent embryos. Peers rejected a motion against the regulations by 280 votes to 48. The regulations will now become law, making the UK the first country to allow the technique. [BBC, 24 February] Paul Tully, SPUC's general secretary, said: "Legislators have been consistently misled in the past about the prospects of success and the future intentions of those who want to use the tiniest humans - human embryos - for experiments." [SPUC, 24 February] Finland legalises gender-neutral marriage The President of Finland has signed legislation to legalise gender-neutral marriage. Sauli Niinistö confirmed the new law which will come into effect on March 1, 2017. The law has been described as historic because it is the first law to be brought to the Finnish parliament as a citizen’s initiative, signed by 167,000 Finnish voters. [Yie, 20 February] Irish PM pledges support for same-sex ‘marriage’ Enda Kenny, Ireland's prime minister, has declared his support for same-sex 'marriage', despite previously being opposed to it. Mr Kenny made the declaration in a speech to Fine Gael supporters. A referendum on same-sex ‘marriage’ will be held in Ireland in May 2015. [Journal, 23 February] |