US rejects pharmacists' religious rights appeal over contraceptives

The US Supreme Court has said it won't hear an appeal from Washington state pharmacists with religious objections to dispensing emergency contraceptives. It leaves in place rules first adopted nearly a decade ago.

Deutsche Welle, 29 June 2016

Tuesday's ruling leaves in place regulations adopted in 2007, following reports several women were denied access to emergency contraceptives. The rules stipulate that pharmacies must fill lawful prescriptions, but individual pharmacists with moral objections can refer patients to another pharmacist in the same store.

The case

Stormans - owners of Ralph's Thriftway in Olympia, a Washington state grocery store and pharmacy, sued, as did two pharmacists who said the rules required them to breach their religious beliefs.

"The state needs to not make a value judgment that a religiously-motivated referral is not permissible when other referrals are," Kristen Waggoner, the lead attorney for Stormans in the case said. She added that another lawsuit could happen if the state doesn't enforce the rules "in an even-handed manner."

Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson praised the high court's decision to not hear the case.

"Patients should know that when they need medication, they won't be refused based on the personal views of a particular pharmacy owner," Ferguson added. "The appeals court ruling upheld today protects that principle."

Splits in the high court

Meanwhile, Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas said they would have heard the appeal. Alito wrote a 15-page dissent for the three dissenting justices: "If this is a sign of how religious liberty claims will be treated in the years ahead, those who value religious freedom have cause for great concern."

Plan B

Sold as Plan B, emergency contraception is a high dose of the drug found in many regular birth-control pills. It can lower the risk of pregnancy by as much as 89 percent if taken within 72 hours of unprotected sex.

jbh/jr (AP, Voice of America)

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Supreme Court delivers major victory for US abortion rights

Dutch health minister presses on with abortion pill plans, despite Christian opposition

Supreme Court delivers major victory for US abortion rights

Yahoo – AFP, Sébastien Blanc, 27 June 2016

The US Supreme Court has struck down a Texas law placing a raft of restrictions
on abortion clinics (AFP Photo/Pete Marovich)

Washington (AFP) - The US Supreme Court on Monday struck down a Texas law placing a raft of restrictions on abortion clinics, handing a major victory to the "pro-choice" camp in the country's most important ruling on the divisive issue in a generation.

Crowds of passionate activists from both sides of the debate shed tears of joy and dismay outside the court over the closely-watched decision, which has far-reaching implications for millions of women across the United States.

The black-robed justices ruled by 5-3 to strike down Texas measures which activists say have forced more than half of abortion clinics to close in the second most-populous US state, with the conservative Anthony Kennedy siding with his four liberal colleagues on the bench.

President Barack Obama joined civil rights activists and women's health providers in hailing a milestone for abortion rights, with the issue now set to be thrust center stage in the White House race.

"Every woman has a constitutional right to make her own reproductive choices. I'm pleased to see the Supreme Court reaffirm that fact today," Obama tweeted.

Outside the court, pro-choice activists rallied under placards reading "The burden is undue," while opponents of abortion massed under the slogan: "I am the pro-life generation."

"I'm all about life and love and babies," said Nita Amar, a 63-year-old labor and delivery nurse who breathed a sigh of relief at the ruling.

"But if women lose access to abortion rights, they're going to go back to the alleys and use coat hangers again."

Abortion rights activists cheer after the US Supreme Court struck down a Texas law 

placing restrictions on abortion clinics, outside of the Supreme Court on June 27, 

2016 in Washington, DC (AFP Photo/Mandel Ngan)

But others were distraught.

"I'm devastated. I just cried," said 25-year-old "pro-life" activist Sarah Manning, who came with husband Jonathan and their seven-month-old baby Joshua. "How many more people will die because of this ruling?"

Under the Texas legislation, doctors who perform abortions were required to have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals and their clinics needed to meet the standards of an ambulatory surgical center.

Justice Stephen Breyer, writing for the majority, said "we conclude that neither of these provisions offers medical benefits sufficient to justify the burdens upon access that each imposes."

The court ruled that both provisions placed "a substantial obstacle in the path of women seeking a previability abortion" that "each constitutes an undue burden on abortion access" and "each violates the Federal Constitution."

'Disappointed'

Defenders of the 2013 Texas law claimed that it aimed to protect women's health, but opponents saw it as part of a nationwide drive to restrict abortion access.

The rules meant that hundreds of thousands of women were or would be forced to seek abortion services far from their homes and faced a weeks-long wait while clinics struggle with strict requirements and costly upgrades.

Activists had sounded the alarm over moves to enact similar laws in other states, that would have received a major boost from a ruling in Texas's favor.

Leading figures in the Republican Party -- whose presumptive nominee for president Donald Trump has said women should be "punished" for having an abortion -- expressed dismay.

"I'm disappointed in the court's decision. But our fight to protect women's health & promote life will not stop here," tweeted House Speaker Paul Ryan.

But Democratic White House hopeful Hillary Clinton hailed a victory for American women -- while warning the fight was far from over with abortion "under attack" across the United States.

Lead plaintiff Amy Hagstrom-Miller, (L), president and CEO of Whole Woman's 

Health and Nancy Northup, president and chief executive of the Center for

 Reproductive Rights, wave in celebration to supporters as they walk down the 

steps of the U.S. Supreme Court after the court handed a victory to abortion rights

 advocates, striking down a Texas law imposing strict regulations on abortion

doctors and facilities in Washington June 27, 2016. Reuters/Kevin Lamarque

"In the first three months of 2016, states introduced more than 400 measures restricting access to abortion," Clinton said in a statement. "Today's decision is a reminder of how much is at stake in this election."

Planned Parenthood, the women's health provider, tweeted: "This is a win for Texans & women across the country who need access to abortion," while the American Civil Liberties Union tweeted: "Supreme Court decides that a right without access is not a right."

Swing vote

With the death of stalwart conservative Antonin Scalia, the Supreme Court is evenly split between conservatives and liberals -- and the eight justices had appeared sharply divided during hearings on the case.

The decision ultimately hinged on Kennedy's swing vote.

Kennedy helped draft a ruling 24 years ago that struck down state restrictions imposing an "undue burden" on a women seeking an abortion.

During hearings on the Texas case, Kennedy had raised a number of concerns about the law -- noting that its restrictions and associated delays were increasing the number of surgical abortions and decreasing those induced by medication.

The ruling noted that: "When directly asked at oral argument whether Texas knew of a single instance in which the new requirement would have helped even one woman obtain better treatment, Texas admitted that there was no evidence in the record of such a case."

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Dutch health minister presses on with abortion pill plans, despite Christian opposition - New

US Supreme Court leaves state assault weapons bans in place

Health minister presses on with abortion pill plans, despite Christian opposition

DutchNews, June 27, 2016   

 Photo: Regering.nl 

A pill which triggers miscarriage in the very early stages of pregnancy should be available via family doctors, health minister Edith Schippers has told parliament. 

The minister plans to introduce legislation which will allow GPs to prescribe the pill at the end of the year, according to the Volkskrant on Monday. The pill, named Sunmedabon, is currently only available in hospitals and abortion clinics. 

Women are often more comfortable approaching their own doctor so this will make it easier for them to request the pill early, Schippers said in her briefing to parliament. ‘In addition, family doctors play an important role in prescribing contraception, so preventing further unwanted pregnancies after an abortion,’ she said. 

The pill should have been made available via family doctors last year but MPs from the small Christian parties have so far refused to back the measure and their support is crucial in the upper house of parliament. The anti-immigration PVV, the Socialist Party and the Christian Democrats also have their doubts about the plan, the Volkskrant said. 

Limits

Although the pill can be used up to nine weeks into a pregnancy, experts say doctors should be able limited to prescribing the pill up to six weeks and two days – or when women are two weeks late with their period. 

Doctors will have to report all prescriptions to the health ministry inspectorate. 

There are some 30,300 abortions in the Netherlands a year, and over half took place in the first seven weeks of pregnancy. The Netherlands has one of the lowest abortion rates in the world, at 8.5 per 1,000 women.

Minister raises fine for drugs firms which create shortages 20-fold

DutchNews, June 23, 2016

Photo: Depositphotos.com

Dutch health minister Edith Schippers said on Thursday she plans to increase the fine payable by pharmaceutical companies which deliberately cause shortages of medicine to €820,000. 

Currently, the maximum fine for drugs firms which create shortages is €45,000. Drugs firms with a trading licence can be fined if they fail to ensure sufficient supplies and report potential shortages on time. 

The decision follows last year’s crisis over the drug Thyrax which disappeared from pharmacy shelves after production was shifted from Oss in the Netherlands to Germany. 

Tens of thousands of people who take the drug were forced to use an alternative while stocks were replenished.

Ban sugary drinks in primary school, says food advice body

DutchNews, June 21, 2016

Photo: Despositphotos.com 

The government-backed food advisory centre Voedingscentrum has welcomed the decision by dozens of primary schools to ban sugary drinks on their premises, saying the measure will help cut obesity among children. 

The organisation says pupils in primary schools should be restricted to water and milk with their packed lunches in an effort to boost healthy eating. 

One school in Dordrecht, where one in three children is overweight, has already taken the ‘drastic step’, the AD says on Tuesday.

‘We are doing nearly all we can to keep a healthy school,’ director Mark van der Sluijs told the AD. ‘Children get fruit and milk during the morning break… but bring sugary drinks for lunch. Not everyone realises it, but those packets of drink are very unhealthy and full of sugar.’ 

Voedingscentrum spokeswoman Danielle Wolvers said in a statement that if all schools took such a step it would send out an important signal. ‘Children influence each other, so such a rule helps to stimulate healthy behaviour,’ she said.

So far, 94 of the country’s 6,700 primary schools have signed up to the Voedingscentrum’s ‘healthy school’ programme, the AD says.

Muslim Organization NU Partners With State Health Insurance BPJS

Jakarta Globe, Anselmus Bata, June 16, 2016

A resident of Banda Aceh holds up the Indonesia Health Card, or KIS.
(Antara Photo/Irwansyah Putra)

Jakarta. State health insurance BPJS Kesehatan and the national board of Nahdlatul Ulama—Indonesia's largest Muslim organization—signed a memorandum of understanding to optimize implementation of the national health insurance plan, a senior official said on Wednesday (15/06).

"Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) is one of the country's largest social and religious organizations with extensive network throughout Indonesia. NU can definitely attract more people to join BPJS," BPJS director Fachmi Idris said in Jakarta.

The BPJS Kesehatan-NU partnership's ultimate goal is to increase coverage of the national health insurance plan, or JKN, and the Indonesia Health Card, or KIS.

NU will help BPJS promote JKN and KIS and collect fees from JKN-KIS members.

All Indonesian residents must sign up for the mandatory universal healthcare program by Jan. 1, 2019. Around 167 million Indonesians had already done so by the second week of June this year.

Orlando: When words fail, dogs can ease the pain

Yahoo – AFP, Thomas Urbain, June 16, 2016

A group of young women pet a therapy dog near a memorial for the victims of the
Pulse Nightclub shooting, June 15, 2016 in Orlando, Florida (AFP Photo/Drew Angerer)

Orlando (AFP) - When mourners filed in to a prayer vigil in Orlando this week, they hit a friendly roadblock: a team of golden retrievers sent to help soothe a community in shock with their calm, reassuring presence.

As people knelt down to pet and nuzzle the gentle creatures, burying their hands in their soft yellow coat -- many breathed more easily, taking a moment to forget the horror gripping their city.

In the wake of the Pulse club massacre that left 49 dead and 53 injured, a pack of therapy dogs were flown from Illinois to the Florida city to offer comfort to traumatized victims and their families.

On Wednesday night the dozen golden retrievers were stationed outside Trinity Downtown church.

Shelby Gerber, a bubbly young girl who attended the vigil, lives right near the crime scene.

"My anxiety level is pretty high right now," she said. "Sometimes you are too overwhelmed to say anything."

"I didn't realize how much it really was nice to sit after service and just pet them for an endless amount of time. It just alleviates the pressure off your chest."

For nearly a decade -- ever since a February 2008 shooting stunned Northern Illinois University -- so-called "comfort dogs" have become a familiar sight in the aftermath of major tragedies throughout the United States.

The Illinois team have become famous on social media for the therapy they provide: Phoebe, for one, has her own Twitter account.

'Scared to leave house'

In Orlando the dogs, accompanied by 20 volunteer handlers, were visiting three hospitals treating patients wounded in the Pulse attack.

As well as visiting survivors the dogs have consoled emergency caregivers, paramedics and doctors, as well as many families of victims and Pulse staff members.

"People will talk to us and ask if we can visit a family," said Tim Hetzner, president of Lutheran Church Charities, the group that sponsors the dogs' work.

Melissa Soto cuddles with a therapy dog near a memorial for the victims of the 

Pulse Nightclub shooting, at the Dr. Phillips Center for Performing Arts, June 14, 

2016 in Orlando, Florida (AFP Photo/Drew Angerer)

"There's some individuals that lost somebody and they're just scared to go out of their house. So we're going to bring comfort dogs to them."

"Dogs show unconditional love," Hetzner said. "They don't take notes or keep track of wrongs."

The "comfort dogs" owned by the Lutheran Church are distinct from those managed by the Therapy Dogs International program, which brings together about 25,000 dogs volunteered by their owners to provide therapy without special training.

Hetzner's dogs belong to the parish and are subject to training with multiple handlers that sometimes lasts over a year.

He said the training includes teaching the golden retrievers -- a breed known as gentle and affectionate -- not to bite, lick or bark while providing therapy.

'Comfort rugs'

Jennifer Blackwood, who also came to the Orlando vigil, was comforted to see her three daughters fussing over the dogs outside.

"There's a lot that has happened over the last week," she said. I have three kids so that's been a lot of discussion. Hard growing up talks."

Hetzner explains the dogs are taught to lie down like "comfort rugs."

It may seem trivial, but for the traumatized, the simple gesture of petting them can have surprising benefits.

"People feel more relaxed when they have a comfortable dog they can pet," he said. "They calm down, their heart rate goes down, actually, and they're more willing to talk."

Hetzner originally conceived of the idea after a mission to New Orleans in the disastrous aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

As he worked on the search-and-rescue effort, he noticed the "tremendous bond" those his team rescued had with their pets.

"People would die rather than part with their pet."

The Lutheran church program funds itself with donations, and owns about 120 Golden Retrievers in 23 states.

Three dogs from the organization still reside at Sandy Hook elementary school in Connecticut, where a gunman killed 20 young children and six staff in December 2012.

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Matthew message (Channelled by Suzanne Ward, March 20, 2016)

Kryon Q&A

Question: Dear Kryon: I live in Spain. I am sorry if I will ask you a question you might have already answered, but the translations of your books are very slow and I might not have gathered all information you have already given. I am quite concerned about abandoned animals. It seems that many people buy animals for their children and as soon as they grow, they set them out somewhere. Recently I had the occasion to see a small kitten in the middle of the street. I did not immediately react, since I could have stopped and taken it, without getting out of the car. So, I went on and at the first occasion I could turn, I went back to see if I could take the kitten, but it was to late, somebody had already killed it. This happened some month ago, but I still feel very sorry for that kitten. I just would like to know, what kind of entity are these animals and how does this fit in our world. Are these entities which choose this kind of life, like we do choose our kind of Human life? I see so many abandoned animals and every time I see one, my heart aches... I would like to know more about them.

Answer: Dear one, indeed the answer has been given, but let us give it again so you all understand. Animals are here on earth for three (3) reasons.

(1) The balance of biological life. . . the circle of energy that is needed for you to exist in what you call "nature."

(2) To be harvested. Yes, it's true. Many exist for your sustenance, and this is appropriate. It is a harmony between Human and animal, and always has. Remember the buffalo that willingly came into the indigenous tribes to be sacrificed when called? These are stories that you should examine again. The inappropriateness of today's culture is how these precious creatures are treated. Did you know that if there was an honoring ceremony at their death, they would nourish you better? Did you know that there is ceremony that could benefit all of humanity in this way. Perhaps it's time you saw it.

(3) To be loved and to love. For many cultures, animals serve as surrogate children, loved and taken care of. It gives Humans a chance to show compassion when they need it, and to have unconditional love when they need it. This is extremely important to many, and provides balance and centering for many.

Do animals know all this? At a basic level, they do. Not in the way you "know," but in a cellular awareness they understand that they are here in service to planet earth. If you honor them in all three instances, then balance will be the result. Your feelings about their treatment is important. Temper your reactions with the spiritual logic of their appropriateness and their service to humanity. Honor them in all three cases.

Dutch court tears up cannabis cafe conviction; says supplies essential to do business Business

DutchNews, June 3, 2016

Photo: wollertz 

Appeal court judges in The Hague have torn up a community service sentence handed down to a cannabis cafe owner, saying officials should have been aware he had marijuana stored in a nearby building. 

The owner of the Leiden cafe and one member of staff were both found guilty of breaking drugs laws in 2014. 

The appeal court judges said the men were right to assume that officials not only turned a blind eye to the coffee shop but to the fact they needed a supply of the drug in order to do business. 

The cafe, which booked annual sales of €900,000, did not have more than the regulation 500 grammes of marijuana on the premises. The main stash – 7.5 kilos at the time of the arrests – was kept nearby so the cafe could be regularly restocked. 

Stocks

The court ruled that in turning a blind eye to such a large operation, officials must have been aware that it would need a considerable supply of marijuana, otherwise it could not function.

This, the court said, limited the options open to the public prosecution department to take legal action against the cafe owner. 

Friday’s ruling is the latest in a string of rulings in which judges have questioned the current policy of licencing coffee shops but refusing to legalise the supply side.

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Global drugs conference delegates urge UN to publish leaked paper backing drug legalisation https://t.co/yRIB43Q73w pic.twitter.com/dPbi9l0sKR

— Agence France-Presse (@AFP) October 21, 2015

Denmark to declassify being transgender as mental disorder

Yahoo – AFP, May 31, 2016

Denmark's parliament will declassify "being transgender" as a mental
illness (AFP Photo/Casper Christoffersen)

Copenhagen (AFP) - Denmark will next year declassify "being transgender" as a mental illness, lawmakers from the parliament health committee decided on Tuesday.

"It is completely inappropriate to call it a sickness," the committee's deputy chairman Flemming Moller Mortensen told AFP.

"There is a longstanding wish from the trans community in Denmark to have it removed" from the health ministry's clinical guidelines on illnesses, he added.

The move, which would come into force on January 1, is also intended to put pressure on the World Health Organization (WHO), which has yet to remove transsexualism from its list of mental disorders.

Denmark has "no more patience" with the WHO, which will discuss the issue later this year, Mortensen said.

Amnesty International hailed the Danish decision, saying it made Denmark "a role model for transgendered people's rights".

"Amnesty would also like to commend the government for its effort in the WHO, where it has worked to have the disease classification system changed," the group's Denmark chief Trine Christensen said in a statement.

Rights group LGBT Denmark also welcomed the move.

"To remove transgender from the section of mental disorders means removing an institutionalised stigmatisation of trans people," spokeswoman Linda Thor Pedersen said.

Related Article:

"The Akashic Circle" – Jul 17, 2011 (Kryon channelled by Lee Carroll) - (Subjects: Religion, The Humanization of God, Benevolent Design, DNA, Akashic Circle, (Old) Souls, Gaia, Indigenous People, Talents, Reincarnation, Genders, Gender Switches, In “between” Gender Change, Gender Confusion, Shift of Human Consciousness, Global Unity,..... etc.)  - (Text version)

“… Gender Switching

Old souls, let me tell you something. If you are old enough, and many of you are, you have been everything. Do you hear me? All of you. You have been both genders. All of you have been what I will call between genders, and that means that all of you have had gender switches. Do you know what happens when it's time for you to switch a gender? We have discussed it before. You'll have dozens of lifetimes as the same gender. You're used to it. It's comfortable. You cannot conceive of being anything else, yet now it's time to change. It takes approximately three lifetimes for you to get used to it, and in those three lifetimes, you will have what I call "gender confusion."

New Zealand, Norway back plain packets for cigarettes

Yahoo – AFP, Pierre-Henry Deshayes with Nina Larson in Geneva, May 31, 2016

Plain packaging laws came into effect earlier this month in England and France,
requiring cigarette boxes to be unbranded and carry health warnings (AFP
Photo/Thomas Samson)

Oslo (AFP) - New Zealand and Norway became on Tuesday the latest countries to announce they will remove branding from cigarette packets, in a move hailed by the WHO as an effective way to cut smoking rates.

The news came the same day as WHO unveiled a report saying the drab packets plastered with warnings and gruesome pictures helped shrink the number of smokers in Australia, the first nation to impose such measures.

"Plans by New Zealand and Norway to introduce plain packaging to reduce demand for tobacco send a powerful signal that this initiative works," Oleg Chestnov, the World Health Organization Assistant Director-General for noncommunicable diseases told AFP in an email.

Plain packaging, which removes what is seen as a powerful tool used to get young people hooked on tobacco, "will save lives," he insisted.

According to WHO, one person dies from tobacco-caused disease every six seconds, amounting to nearly six million people each year -- a number expected to rise to more than eight million by 2030.

In New Zealand, associate Health Minister Sam Lotu-Iiga pointed out that "12 New Zealanders die prematurely every day from smoking-related illnesses.

"Each of these deaths is preventable," he stressed.

New Zealand will introduce plain packaging on tobacco products, 

selling them in drab boxes plastered with health warnings and 

gruesome pictures of smoking-related disease (AFP Photo/Marty Melville)

'Going global'

In the new report, the WHO said data from Australia, which introduced the so-called plain packaging four years ago, showed the measure had a clear impact on the number of habitual smokers in the country.

With similar laws taking effect earlier this month in Britain and France, and a range of other countries discussing following suit, WHO voiced hope the push to remove logos and distinctive colours from cigarette packs is "going global", despite strong opposition from the tobacco industry.

"Plain packaging reduces the attractiveness of tobacco products," WHO chief Margaret Chan said in a statement.

Imposing neutral cigarette packs, she said, "kills the glamour, which is appropriate for a product that kills people."

Smoking in Australia has been steadily declining for years, but WHO said 0.55 points out of a total 2.0-percentage point drop in the three years after the law was introduced in December 2012 could be directly attributed to the neutral packaging.

That equates to more than 108,000 people quitting, not relapsing or not starting to smoke during the period, said the report, citing Australian statistics.

WHO said it hoped the data would help inspire more countries to climb aboard.

New Zealand Associate Health Minister Sam Lotu-Iiga (R), Wellington mayor 

Celia Wade-Brown (C) and Maori Party co-leader Marama Fox hold a mock-up

of the new plain cigarette packaging in Wellington (AFP Photo/Marty Melville)

The new packs sold in Australia, and being phased in Britain and France are intentionally ugly, covered with graphic health warnings, with no promotional information allowed and brand and product names displayed in standard colour and font size.

"We must protect children and teens from the temptation of tobacco," Norwegian Health Minister Bent Hoie said at the launch of the WHO report in Oslo Tuesday.

He later told Norwegian channel TV2 that he plans to have plain packets in place by 2017.

Big Tobacco

The tobacco industry fought particularly hard to block the introduction of plain packets, and has mounted numerous legal challenges against countries seeking to impose them.

New Zealand first proposed plain packaging in 2013, but it was put on hold pending the outcome of tobacco giant Philip Morris' legal action against the Australian government's introduction of the packets a year earlier.

That lawsuit failed last December, and tobacco giants Philip Morris International, British American Tobacco, Imperial Tobacco and Japan Tobacco International (JTI) also failed earlier this month to block the British legislation.

Chinese women perform in front of anti-smoking banners displayed on the Bird's 

Nest stadium to mark the World No Tobacco Day in Beijing, Tuesday, May 31, 

2016. Beijing celebrated the World No Tobacco Day on Tuesday, one year since

 the Chinese capital imposed a smoking ban in all indoor public places. With 

about 315 million smokers, China is the world's biggest producer and consumer 

of tobacco products. And roughly 700 million people are routinely exposed to

 second-hand smoke, according to the WHO. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

New Zealand Prime Minister John Key admitted Tuesday the fact that so many countries were adopting the packaging had emboldened his government to ignore the threat of legal action from Big Tobacco.

"They may well take a case against the government, but the advice we have been getting over time now has been that the risks of them being successful... is reducing," he told reporters.

"The industry fights hardest against the measures that are most effective," Douglas Bettcher, who heads WHO's non-communicable disease prevention unit, told reporters in Geneva ahead of the report launch.

Plain packaging, he said, is so effective because it "very clearly labels tobacco for what it is: the only legally available product worldwide that when used as intended, kills up to half of its users," he said.

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