The Netherlands
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European Union
How Europe has not learned; anti-Semitism still seems to blossom
The Israel-Gaza conflict has triggered a threatening animal in Europe. In all countries, anti-Semitic acts are rising. For many Jews, life is getting more difficult by the day. And nobody knows where this will end. When the National Holocaust Museum in Amsterdam opened in March, trouble was already brewing after…
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European Union
Obstructing banks cause “economic persecution” of NGOs
For decades, Mats Selander has advocated for the unborn in Sweden. Although he is used to getting jeered in the streets, he did not expect his bank to end his 30-year customer relationship. After starting the pro-life organisation Center for Bioethical Reform in Sweden (CBR-S for short) in 2005, Selander…
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European Union
Rainbow crossings prompt legal questions
All was quiet outside Norway's Russian embassy in Oslo until a pedestrian crossing was painted in rainbow colours. The rainbow crossing upped the ante in Norway's gay rights community and emboldened protests against Russia's “anti-gay” laws passed in 2013. Over ten years later, cities across the EU have continued the…
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Christian Life
How long will we pray for revival in our city?
Revival would come to the city! That was revealed to a man from Rotterdam, in Holland, over fifty years ago. The visions birthed a local prayer movement that spanned throughout the 1970s. All was quiet until decades later, when two area pastors prayed for change in the city. Meanwhile near…
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Western Europe
Dutch court: Child does not need a mother after birth
A Dutch court ruled that intended parents can have their child's birth certificate drawn up without the surrogate mother's name. “A woman is thus reduced to a womb.” Although the two men were “unable to realise their desire for children on their own”, according to the court in The Hague,…
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Western Europe
Dutch government plans to regulate surrogacy
The Dutch government wants to forbid women to bear children for profit. But altruistic surrogacy should be made easier. Women will also be allowed to offer themselves in advertisements. “Something is going to shift.” This said Minister Franc Weerwind of Legal Affairs (D66) on Friday afternoon. Any form of payment…
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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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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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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
Seven countries in Europe where end-of-life issues are at the top
In at least seven European countries, the right to die is moving to the top of the political agenda. An overview. ## The Netherlands: court case about assisted suicide death The Dutch Janine de Graaf-Klunder (60) went to court on Monday. Together with 29 other plaintiffs, she wants to lift…