Politics
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European Union
European politicians fear changing tide in surrogacy debate
Surrogacy violates human rights and should therefore be banned, some European parliamentarians say. But that is easier said than done, experts warn. The experts and MEP gathered at a conference on surrogacy on Tuesday in the European Parliament in Brussels. According to the organisers, the European Union is taking initiatives…
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Western Europe
Surrogacy expert slams proposed Dutch regulation, predicting increased demand
Only one in 50 surrogate mothers has no financial interest. The other 49 women carry someone else’s child for commercial reasons. Yet, the Dutch government will draft legislation that allows altruistic surrogacy. “If you regulate the practice, it will spread massively.” The Dutch Reformed SGP party is “somewhat baffled” by…
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Eastern Europe
The Russian surrogacy industry is collapsing
The Russian surrogacy industry is “collapsing”. People working in the market fear an exodus to other countries in an attempt to get a child through cross-border surrogacy. New legislation in Russia and the war in Ukraine dealt a heavy blow to the Russian surrogacy industry. At some clinics, the number…
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Northern Europe
Räsänen seat shaky in Finnish elections
It is a stressful parliamentary election for Finnish Christian Democrat Päivi Räsänen. She might not be elected for the first time in 28 years. “Whatever may happen, it is in God's hands,” she says. Räsänen just came back from skiing. An election campaign is a busy time. After an intensive…
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Western Europe
Dutch MP asks government to block surrogacy
The Dutch government should come up with a reaction to the Casablanca declaration and reconsider its position on surrogacy. MP Kees van der Staaij of the Reformed SGP party in the Netherlands argues for this in parliamentary questions to the Minister of Legal Protection, Franc Weerwind. Photo S Van der…
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Central Europe
Christian pacifist under the gun for Western involvement in Ukraine
Germans followed a simple principle after World War II: Nie wieder (Never again). Many of them became pacifists and refused conscription. The war in Ukraine puts pressure on the Christian peace movement. “What is more important? Loving your enemies or standing in solidarity with Ukraine?”A few weeks before the Russian…
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Western Europe
The new Dutch ChristianUnion leader is a “pilgrim on the plush”
For the first time in history, the Dutch governing ChristianUnion has a female party leader. With Mirjam Bikker, the outgoing Gert-Jan Segers gets a solid lawyer with much political experience as a successor. On Tuesday, the 40-year-old Mirjam Bikker became the new party leader of the ChristenUnie, or ChristianUnion. She…
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European Union
European countries weaken blood donation policy for gays
From mid-2023, gay and bisexual men will be allowed to donate blood in Germany. The same rules will apply to everyone. Three questions and answers. *Why aren't they allowed to donate blood now?* According to blood banks, blood from homosexuals poses an increased public health risk because of an increased…
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Central Europe
Book review: Hungary keeps struggling with its history
Anyone who wants to understand Hungary and its Prime Minister must know the history of its capital. Victor Sebestyen's “Budapest: Between East and West” describes the history of a complex society that has struggled with its identity and position in Europe over the centuries. When Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán…
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Northern Europe
Secular Sweden as a blueprint for Europe
Sweden is one of the least religious countries on the planet. According to researcher Per Ewert, social democracy has had a major role in this. The consequences, he says, are clear: great loneliness and rising crime rates.God no longer has the leading role in Sweden, but the individual. Social democracy…