News

Published: 28 October 2019

Paralympian Marieke Vervoort, who won Gold at the 2012 London Olympics, has been euthanised at just 40 years of age.

Vervoort suffered from a spinal condition which she had lived with since she was 21.

The talented athlete, who also won silver and bronze at the 2016 Rio Olympics, first signed Belgium euthanasia documents in 2008.

In Australia, euthanasia was legalised in Victoria this year and activists are pushing for it to be another part of “healthcare” in Western Australia and Queensland.

But there has been strong pushback against the legalisation moves, particularly from medical professionals and indigenous leaders.

FamilyVoice has previously reported that WA's most senior end-of-life care specialists are concerned that an alarming lack of palliative care resources has caused increased demand for euthanasia.

More recently, two Aboriginal politicians have criticised the WA legislation.

“I strongly believe that all life is sacrosanct and should be protected”, said Ken Wyatt.

While Pat Dodson said he was concerned by a lack of public commentary on Aboriginal self-determination surrounding the bill.

“The Western civil society has had an alleged need for this change to the sanctity of life. This sanctity of life understanding has much resonance with our perspectives and First Nations have respected it,” Mr Dodson said.

“Now, with little education or explanation we are confused as to why a change is necessary,” he added.

Meanwhile barrister and former MP Tim Hammond has featured in a number of videos with healthcare specialists.

“For me, when it comes to this notion of voluntary assisted dying, or euthanasia, or whatever label we want to put on it, quite frankly, it sort of comes back to the same thing,” Mr Hammond says in one of the videos.

“And that is, what does it actually mean, applying this notion of giving someone else the right to end the life of my family member, my wife if she gets a terminal illness, my mum, others.

“If this legislation passes, and I get it wrong, or we get it wrong in relation to a diagnosis, what number is a number that is acceptable for you for us to get this wrong, for us to make one mistake at the end of life and we'll never get that time back again.

Published: 14 October 2019

A Christian school governor has been suspended for daring to say that she would not want her children to read books with LGBT ideology.

Maureen Griffith, 73 years of age, was a governor at Alperton Community School in Brent, northwest London, for over 20 years before she was suspended.

Griffith had also worked for the National Health Service for more than 40 years.

According to The Times, she received a letter earlier this year informing her that she was being suspended due to two complaints alleging that she had made “homophobic comments at a public meeting”.

Discussing the meeting in question, Griffith said that she raised that the introduction of LGBT books and Pride month into the school had not been mentioned before at any previous meetings.

"I said that parents had not been consulted and that there would be parents with children from religious backgrounds who would object and not want their children to have this form of sex education. I urged them to consider those families, and added that as a parent myself, I would not have wanted my sons to be reading LGBT books or to be involved in an LGBT Pride month.

“As I said this, a member of staff stood up and left the room and the clerk of the school began to rage at me saying: ‘Look what you’ve gone and done, you’ve upset him.’ She then told me that I should be accepting of what was happening as it is law.

“I know there were members of staff present who were glad that I raised the issue as they felt unable to do so themselves. After this, my understanding is that two people present complained about what I had said.”

Griffith said when they told her she been ‘homophobic’ for scrutinising the introduction of LGBT Pride month, she had to go home and look up what it meant.

"I couldn’t believe it. It never occurred to me that I could be ‘homophobic’ or scared of something. These things don’t come into my head.

“But now with this LGBT agenda, not just in schools, but across society, there is no debate, no questioning and there is only a one-way democracy.

“I loved being part of education and planning what was happening at the school. I am, however, at peace over the whole situation. I am not annoyed; I am only saddened that this is happening in this country.

“My faith in Jesus is very important to me in good and bad times – it is my be all and end all. I can do nothing without His help, and he makes my burden lighter. This is how my mum brought me up.”

Published: 09 October 2019

Hundreds of young “transgender” people are seeking help to live as their biological sex.

That’s according to former “trans” man, 28-year-old UK woman Charlie Evans, who is setting up The Detransition Advocacy Network.

Charlie was born female but identified as male for nearly 10 years before returning to living as her real gender.

Sky News states that the number of young people seeking gender transition is at an all-time high and there is currently no data to reflect the number who may be unhappy in their new gender or who may opt to detransition to their biological sex.  Sky News reports that Charlie was stunned by the number of people who want to detransition like her:

“I’m in communication with 19 and 20-year-olds who have had full gender reassignment surgery who wish they hadn’t, and their dysphoria hasn’t been relieved, they don’t feel better for it,” she says.

“They don’t know what their options are now.”

Charlie says she has been contacted by “hundreds” of people seeking help - 30 people alone in her area of Newcastle.

“I think some of the common characteristics are that they tend to be around their mid-20s, they’re mostly female and mostly same-sex attracted, and often autistic as well.”

She recalls being approached by a young girl with a beard who hugged her after giving a public talk, who explained she was a destransitioned woman too.

“She said she felt shunned by the LGBT community for being a traitor. So I felt I had to do something.”

Sky News reported on the case of “Ruby”, a biological female who experienced trans regret.

Ruby had been taking testosterone and was about to have her breasts removed when she decided to detransition.

“I didn’t think any change was going to be enough in the end and I thought it was better to work on changing how I felt about myself, than changing my body,” said Ruby.

“I’ve seen similarities in the way I experience gender dysphoria, in the way I experience other body image issues.

“When I was at my gender clinic to get referred for hormones, we had a session where I went over my mental health issues and I told them about my eating disorder and they didn’t suggest that that could maybe connected with my gender dysphoria.

“For everyone who has gender dysphoria, whether they are trans or not, I want there to be more options for us because I think there is a system of saying, ‘okay here’s your hormones, here’s your surgery, off you go’. I don’t think that’s helpful for anyone,” Ruby added.

Published: 09 October 2019

Christian florist Barronelle Stutzman’s faces losing everything if the Supreme Court does not weigh into her religious freedom case.

That’s according to her lawyer Kristen Waggoner from Alliance Defending Freedom, who is representing Stutzman in a legal battle over her refusal to participate in a “same-sex” wedding.

Appearing alongside her client on “FOX & Friends” recently, Waggoner said that in Masterpiece Cakeshop, the U.S. Supreme Court said the government can’t express hostility toward people of faith.

“We now need it to weigh in on the broader principle to say it can’t force creative professionals to create art or to have to participate in religious ceremonies”, said Waggoner

“We have clients right now that are facing jail time. Jack Phillips [Christian baker] is in his third round of litigation and Baronelle is basically faced with losing all she owns unless the Supreme Court weighs in in this case.”

Stutzman, who owns a florist business in the US state of Washington, said she had served Robert Ingersoll for almost ten years.

“When he came in to talk to me about his [same-sex] wedding, I just simply put my hands on his and told him I could not do it because of my relationship with Jesus Christ,” Stutzman said.

“Without any complaint from Rob ... the attorney general from the state of Washington sued me personally and corporately simply because I have a different viewpoint on marriage”.

Writing in an op-ed earlier this year, Stutzman wrote that:

Our ideals run up against each other. We disagree. Sometimes we debate. Sometimes we end up avoiding each other, or smiling and gently steering around the more sensitive points of disagreement. That’s how we respect each other’s freedom. That’s how we get along.

But sadly, my home state of Washington has chosen not to get along with me. In June, my state Supreme Court reaffirmed what it said just over two years ago: that I must use my skills as a creative professional to express messages and to celebrate and participate in events that violate my faith.

And that’s why I’m appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court once again. As a floral artist, I am required by law to use my soul and imagination, as well as my mind and hands, to design original floral arrangements that celebrate events and ideas I don’t believe in.

Waggoner finished the interview saying that a win for Baronelle is a win for everyone.

“If you think about it, it protects an atheist musician from having to perform at an Easter service or a Democrat speech writer having to write for a Republican,” said Waggoner.

“It’s about tolerance being a two-way street,” she added.