Japan's sterilised 'eugenics' victims to get payout

Yahoo – AFP, April 24, 2019

Victims of Japan's 'eugenics' programme complain the compensation offered
is not enough (AFP Photo/Toshifumi KITAMURA)

Thousands of Japanese people -- some as young as nine -- forcibly sterilised under now-defunct eugenics laws, will receive government compensation after lawmakers passed historic legislation on Wednesday.

Following the unanimous vote, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe voiced "sincere regret" and said the government "apologised wholeheartedly" over the notorious policy.

Some 16,500 mentally disabled people were sterilised without their consent under the law that remained in force until 1996, according to health ministry data.

Each victim will receive 3.2 million yen ($29,000) under the measures passed on Wednesday -- an amount derided by campaigners as "failing to meet the seriousness" of the damage suffered.

The issue hit the headlines last year after a Japanese woman, now in her 60s, sued the government over a sterilisation operation carried out in 1972 after she was diagnosed with a mental disability.

Lawyers and campaigners have long criticised the government and parliament for failing to compensate victims long after the eugenics law was abandoned in 1996.

About 20 victims have so far filed lawsuits across the country seeking compensation of up to 38 million yen.

The first verdict over the issue will be announced on May 28, and plaintiffs' lawyers have vowed to seek compensation they say matches the gravity of the harm suffered.

"It is understandable that lawmakers have been hurrying to enact the law to pay one-off compensation to ageing victims," lawyers said in a statement before the legislation was passed.

But without sufficient compensation, it is not a "true solution to the issue," they charged.

Tokyo has pledged to pay the compensation "swiftly" but the government will likely continue to battle in court against victims claiming more.

Germany and Sweden had similar eugenics laws and governments there have also apologised and paid compensation to the victims.

Under Japan's law, some leprosy patients were also forced into abortions under policies that forbade them from having children.

In 2005, a Japanese court for the first time ordered the state to pay damages to a former leprosy sufferer affected by this law.

Meditation helps conflict veterans with PTSD: study

Yahoo – AFP, Patrick GALEY, November 16, 2018

An estimated 14 percent of US veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan
suffer from PTSD (AFP Photo/Javier GALEANO)

Paris (AFP) - Transcendental meditation -- the practice of effortless thinking -- may be as effective at treating PTSD in conflict veterans as traditional therapy, US researchers said Friday, in findings that could help tens of thousands deal with their trauma.

Post traumatic stress disorder, a debilitating condition that can lead to psychosis, bipolar disorder or suicidal and homicidal thoughts, affects an estimated 14 percent of US veterans who serve in Iraq or Afghanistan.

The most common treatment for PTSD is a process known as prolonged exposure psychotherapy, which forces sufferers to re-experience traumatic events by confronting their memories of the conflict.

Researchers from three US universities decided to look into whether more everyday techniques, which help civilians lower their stress levels and increase focus and productivity, would work on traumatised veterans.

They trialed 203 former servicemen and women with PTSD, most of whom were receiving medication for their symptoms, and randomly assigned them courses of transcendental meditation, prolonged exposure therapy or a specialised PTSD health education class.

They found that 60 percent of veterans who did 20 minutes of quiet meditation every day showed significant improvement in their symptoms, and more completed the study than those given exposure therapy.

"Over the past 50 years, PTSD has expanded to become a significant public health problem," Sanford Nidich, of the Maharishi University of Management Research Institute, told AFP.

"Due to the increasing need to address the PTSD public health care problem in the US, UK and worldwide, there is a compelling need to implement governmental policy to include alternative therapies such as transcendental meditation as an option for treating veterans with PTSD."

Transcendental meditation involves effortlessly thinking of an idea or mantra to produce a settled, calmer state of mind -- scientists call it "restful alertness".

Unlike exposure therapy, meditation can be practised at home, takes up relatively little time, and researchers say it would be significantly cheaper than current treatment techniques.

It also avoids forcing combat veterans to relive their trauma in a bid to get better.

"Transcendental meditation is self-empowering, and can be practised just about anywhere at any time, without the need for specialised equipment or ongoing personnel support," said Nidich, who was the lead author of the study published in The Lancet Psychiatry journal.

'Gave me my life back'

The main problem with existing PTSD treatment, according to Nidich, is that forcing veterans to relive their trauma means many never finish the courses.

Exposure therapy, although officially approved as a treatment by the US Veterans' Association, is ineffective in up to 50 percent of patients and drop-out rates range from 30-45 percent.

"New treatments, including options not involving exposure to the traumatic experience, are needed for veterans who do not respond to treatment or drop-out due to discomfort," said Nidich.

One study participant, a 32-year-old navy veteran whom authors identified only as Ms. K, said learning the meditation technique had "given me my life back."

After being diagnosed as having suffered sexual trauma while on military service, her symptoms worsened until she drank to excess every night and sought to avoid human interaction.

After the transcendental meditation course, "I began to come out of my nightmares and face the battle I had ahead," she said.

She added she had since applied for a job in a hospital.

Researchers said further studies were needed to see if meditation could be a long-term aid for PTSD sufferers.

British troops suffer higher rates of PTSD: study

Yahoo – AFP, October 8, 2018

Rates of probable post-traumatic stress disorder among current and former serving
British military personnel reached six percent in 2014/16, up from four percent in
2004/2006, a new study found (AFP Photo/BEN SKLAR)

London (AFP) - Members of the British armed forces are suffering increased rates of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), principally among those who served in Afghanistan and Iraq, new research revealed Monday.

Rates of probable PTSD among current and former serving military personnel reached six percent in 2014/16, up from four percent in 2004/2006, the King's College London study said.

The results of a major cohort study, published in the British Journal of Psychiatry, showed frontline soldiers were most affected, but so too were those who have since left the military.

Some 17 percent of ex-military personnel who had combat roles in Iraq or Afghanistan reported symptoms suggesting probable PTSD, compared to six percent of those who were deployed in support roles, such as logistics.

The overall rate of probable PTSD for veterans of the Iraq and Afghan wars was nine percent, compared to five percent of those who did not deploy to those conflicts.

Meanwhile the rate of probable PTSD among currently serving personnel was five percent, close to the rate among the general population.

"For the first time we have identified that the risk of PTSD for veterans deployed in conflicts was substantially higher than the risk for those still serving," said Dr Sharon Stevelink from King's Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience (IoPPN).

Professor Nicola Fear, also from the IoPPN, said: "One possible reason PTSD is more common among veterans may be that personnel who are mentally unwell are more likely to leave the armed forces."

The study, funded by the defence ministry, was carried out by the King's Centre for Military Health Research.

It began in 2003 and this phase included 8,093 participants, 62 percent of whom had been in Iraq, where British troops were deployed 2003-2011 or Afghanistan (2001-2014).

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 "Recalibration of Free Choice"–  Mar 3, 2012 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Caroll) - (Subjects: (Old) Souls, Midpoint on 21-12-2012, Shift of Human Consciousness, Black & White vs. Color, 1 - Spirituality (Religions) shifting, Loose a Pope “soon”, 2 - Humans will change react to drama, 3 - Civilizations/Population on Earth,  4 - Alternate energy sources (Geothermal, Tidal (Paddle wheels), Wind), 5 – Financials Institutes/concepts will change (Integrity – Ethical) , 6 - News/Media/TV to change, 7 – Big Pharmaceutical company will collapse “soon”, (Keep people sick), (Integrity – Ethical)  8 – Wars will be over on Earth, Global Unity, … etc.) - (Text version)

“…  8 - The End of War

The last one is the best. For thousands of years on this planet, Human Beings have warred with each other. If you take a look at the reasons they warred with each other, you will quickly see there aren't any good ones - land, resources, greed. Those are not reasons. That is a description of old energy. Those are not reasons. Reasons would be perhaps defense against an aggressor. But what if there is no longer the consciousness of the aggressor?

When I appeared in my partner's life more than 20 years ago, I said to him privately that the first messages we're going to give will be unbelievable. There would be laughter. We told him that Human nature and consciousness itself would change, and that the seeds of peace would be planted and there would come a time where there is no more war. Indeed, the laughter was great because humans look at history and they see patterns based on an absolute energy called Human Nature. "Impossible! There always has to be war. There always has been. Therefore, there always will be." This is you, in a box, in a black and white potential, where you can only see the black and white of what is and the black and white of what has been. You have no idea the shades of color that are there in your consciousness and the beauty of the love of God.

North Korea is on the edge of change, as we told you it might be. What did this require? The death of the old energy, and I want you to watch this take place. The advisors of the young leader are going to do their best to pull him back into an old energy. This free choice of his will be far different than his father, for he sees some color. Watch for these things. They'll take longer than you want, but it is the beginning of the beginning.

You'll see a fresh unification of South America sooner than not, for what is going to take place potentially this year in Venezuela. You'll see Iran changing. We have no clock. These are the potentials. These can change with free choice. These are not prophecies. This is a reality shift, dear ones, so number eight becomes the propensity not to war again. This is what Humans are going to want. This is what governments are going to want. There is a wisdom factor that will begin to happen on the planet that is grander than what you think is possible. For when you look at government, what do you think about? You see dysfunction, and there is an axiom that says the more people that try to do something together, the worse it gets. It all settles to the lowest common denominator. I'm telling you even those things are going to become old energy concepts. Instead, you're going to watch wisdom become the top potential.

I have no clock. I cannot tell you when. I can just tell you it is in the works, and there will be the seeds of it for you to observe soon - right now, in every single of the eight categories I showed you.

There are those who will say, "Well, Kryon, you're doing a lot more predictions than you used to." I want to tell you what's going on, dear one. I am not predicting anything. I am just telling you what's already there in the potential soup of your reality. That's what Humans are doing on this planet, and for those who believe this communication, you should breathe a sigh of relief and say, "It's about time." ….”

"The Recalibration of Awareness – Apr 20/21, 2012 (Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: Old Energy, Recalibration Lectures, God / Creator, Religions/Spiritual systems  (Catholic Church, Priests/Nun’s, Worship, John Paul Pope, Women in the Church otherwise church will go, Current Pope won’t do it),  Middle East, Jews, Governments will change (Internet, Media, Democracies, Dictators, North Korea, Nations voted at once), Integrity (Businesses, Tobacco Companies, Bankers/ Financial Institutes, Pharmaceutical company to collapse),  Illuminati (Started in Greece, with Shipping, Financial markets, Stock markets, Pharmaceutical money (fund to build Africa, to develop)), Shift of Human Consciousness, (Old) Souls, Women, Masters to/already come back, Global Unity.... etc.) - (Text version)

“… "Wow, Kryon, how long is that going to take?"

The Humans in the room control that and those listening later and reading. When you leave this room, what are you going to do? Go home, report this, rub your hands together, and wait for it to happen? It won't. For the Humans in the room and the old souls hearing and reading have got work to do, and I've told you this before. You've got work to do.

There's an alliance that you're going to have to create with one another and with another group - the young people of Earth. The youth of this earth are changing the way things work. Can you see it? You're not supposed to sit around and watch them either, because they need you, old soul.

It's time for you to align with the indigos and the concepts of the youth of the planet. Do not think for a moment that their age shows their wisdom. These two attributes are not commensurate with one another; they're not linear. These young people may be older souls than you are! Don't think that because they've got technology that you don't understand that you can't be one with them. Their technology is social networking, the very thing we are talking about, where everyone can talk to everyone. The new consciousness on the planet starts in two areas - the children and the old souls.

Conclusion

This is the message of the day. The recalibration of awareness is going to change systems, education, government and finance. Those who don't choose to be spiritual at all will still move with a new awareness, for they will be aware of something that they are not aware of now - a softer way of living.

We close with a trite statement that we've given before, but that many have stated in jest: "If women ran the world, they would never send their sons to be killed on a battlefield."

Many laugh. How trite, how simple minded. Indeed, there have been women leaders who have put wars together; they had to. They sent their sons, so that's not really a correct statement. However, it's more right than you may think, dear ones.

So now I will make the statement I have made over and over in these recalibrated channellings: "When recalibrated Humans run the world, there will come a day when they will never send their sons into the battlefield." You see, awareness will change all of that. They will eventually see the wisdom of unification, new ways to settle issues, and the intuitive attribute of putting things together instead of tearing them apart.

There will be a time when government armies will not need to be large, and weapons will not be as powerful. Slowly, government won't need them. Slowly, slower than you want, these things will happen as the old soul carries his light and looks at the masters of the planet and emulates them.

You've all heard it: There will come a time when the masters will come back to Earth, and there are many who are waiting for this. However, it has already happened! They couldn't come back until the alignment was right and now it is right. This is what you are feeling in 2012 and beyond. It's starting to happen, and they're back. But they're not back as corporeal Human Beings. They're back as the energy of recalibrating of the awareness of God.

I wouldn't say these things unless they were true. Watch for these things, dear ones. Remember where you heard them first and when some of them start to occur in your news. And when you see the earth working in this fashion, dear one, maybe you'll realize that what I have given today is real.

Be circumspect. There is no perfect timing. Humans will create all this at their own pace. Do not be in fear of the things that might follow, for I say it yet again that the old energy will show itself soon in survival mode and it won't be pretty.

In this beginning of new energy, stand tall and turn on your light. Darkness will shirk before you. That is the truth of the day.

I am Kryon, in love with humanity.

And so it is.

KRYON

US farm belt tries to head off another surge in suicides

Yahoo – AFP, Juliette MICHEL,  10 June 2018

Ranch hands drive cattle to a new pasture against the backdrop of hills covered
in wildflowers in April 2017 in Taft, California; the farming industry is bolstering
outreach efforts amid a surge in suicides across the US

Responding to signs of rising despair in rural America over a farming downturn exacerbated by the current trade war fears, agricultural leaders are mobilizing to try to prevent another suicide crisis.

Two high profile deaths in the past week, of celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain and fashion designer Kate Spade, have shined a spotlight on the issue of depression and suicide in the United States, where the latest data show rates are rising, especially in rural states.

Farm industry officials are bolstering outreach and counseling programs throughout the American farm belt and calling for more action from Washington.

"Things are tough in the countryside," said John Sorbello, a vegetable and nursery farmer in upstate New York and a director of the state's farm bureau, an affiliate of the nation's biggest farm group.

Dairy farmers are facing especially tough times, he said.

"There's nothing to do over the pricing of milk, they are worried about NAFTA, about the surplus in dairy products all over the world," Sorbello said.

"It seems you have no control over it and it's stressful."

Earlier this year, one of the large dairy cooperatives took the drastic step of including suicide prevention information with the monthly check.

"Some people thought it was too extreme," Sorbello said. "But it got everybody's attention."

The outreach push comes amid a big surge in suicides throughout the United States. The suicide rate rose nearly 30 percent between 1999 and 2016 -- and in many states by more than that -- according to a report this week from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The report did not break out individual industries, but 2016 CDC data showed US farmers have five times the rate of suicide as the broader population.

The US farm belt also has bad memories of the 1980s when a bruising industry downturn saw an explosion of agricultural workers taking their own lives.

Crisis

"Farmers and ranchers already have the highest suicide rates of any occupation," said Matt Perdue, of the National Farmers Union.

Those who work in rural areas point to myriad factors, including commodity price volatility, more extreme weather and worsening isolation as more young people leave for the cities.

And making matters worse, "About 60% of rural residents live in areas that suffer from a mental health professional shortage," Perdue said.

The CDC study also pointed to research that suggests chronic exposure to pesticides "might affect the neurologic system and contribute to depressive symptoms."

Financial stress is one factor that can lead to suicide and farm incomes have fallen around 50 percent since 2013 and revenues are expected in 2018 to come in at the lowest level since 2006.

The National Farmers Union, at the urging of members who see growing numbers of growers fearful of losing the family farm, urged the US Department of Agriculture to "proactively address the farm suicide crisis."

Lawmakers voted in 2008 to bolster mental health services in agricultural communities as part of an omnibus farm bill, but no funds have been allocated to the effort.

There is a chance Congress could provide support in a bill now being considered, but "it's too early to make a prediction one way or the other," Perdue said.

The troubles facing farmers extend well beyond the United States.

France in early 2018 boosted its funding for anti-suicide programs following a rise in the number of calls for help.

And India has also suffered a wave of farm suicides after many in the sector became mired in debt.

'Not an occupation'

NY FarmNet at Cornell University, which was founded in 1986 amid a rash of suicides, provides free aide to farmers in need.

"We send one financial consultant and one farm family consultant to each case, as we have found that even if the case presents itself as purely a financial matter, there are almost always underlying personal or communication issues that need attention," said Hal McCabe, outreach director at NY FarmNet.

Hearing of rising concern in rural communities, the group has conducted suicide prevention workshops aimed mainly at agricultural services workers, such as bankers, suppliers or farm maintenance staff.

"While we cannot speak to suicides, as that data is very hard to ever come by, the types of calls we are getting are far more dire than in the past five-10 years," McCabe said.

Dutch army brings in yoga teacher to help soldiers de-stress

DutchNews, October 19, 2016

Photo: American Forces Press Service 

The Dutch armed forces have brought in a yoga teacher to see if yoga exercises can help soldiers process stress and traumatic experiences, according to the AD. 

Johan Noordloos will focus primarily on teaching army sports instructors to incorporate yoga into their programmes, the paper said. 

Noordloos told the AD that yoga and being trained to kill are not incompatible. 

Dutch soldiers do kill, but they do that to protect others, he said. ‘This is the world we live in,’ he said. ‘But I can help people who have been trained to deal with war to experience peace.’ 

The lessons will be voluntary and no soldier will be forced to take up yoga, although officials say they do believe the practice will be useful. 

‘Being in the army puts soldiers in stressful situations,’ spokesman Jeroen de Vries told the paper. ‘Yoga can help restore the balance in their lives. We want to find out if it helps them deal with difficult situations more easily.’ 

Jean Debie, head of the VBM military union, has welcomed the move. ‘Why not learn the technique if it helps your relax and beat stress,’ Debie said. 

According to the AD, yoga is already used in by the British and US armed forces.

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"The Recalibration of Awareness – Apr 20/21, 2012 (Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: Old Energy, Recalibration Lectures, God / Creator, Religions/Spiritual systems  (Catholic Church, Priests/Nun’s, Worship, John Paul Pope, Women in the Church otherwise church will go, Current Pope won’t do it),  Middle East, Jews, Governments will change (Internet, Media, Democracies, Dictators, North Korea, Nations voted at once), Integrity (Businesses, Tobacco Companies, Bankers/ Financial Institutes, Pharmaceutical company to collapse),  Illuminati (Started in Greece, with Shipping, Financial markets, Stock markets, Pharmaceutical money (fund to build Africa, to develop)), Shift of Human Consciousness, (Old) Souls, Women, Masters to/already come back, Global Unity.... etc.) - (Text version)

“… "Wow, Kryon, how long is that going to take?"

The Humans in the room control that and those listening later and reading. When you leave this room, what are you going to do? Go home, report this, rub your hands together, and wait for it to happen? It won't. For the Humans in the room and the old souls hearing and reading have got work to do, and I've told you this before. You've got work to do.

There's an alliance that you're going to have to create with one another and with another group - the young people of Earth. The youth of this earth are changing the way things work. Can you see it? You're not supposed to sit around and watch them either, because they need you, old soul.

It's time for you to align with the indigos and the concepts of the youth of the planet. Do not think for a moment that their age shows their wisdom. These two attributes are not commensurate with one another; they're not linear. These young people may be older souls than you are! Don't think that because they've got technology that you don't understand that you can't be one with them. Their technology is social networking, the very thing we are talking about, where everyone can talk to everyone. The new consciousness on the planet starts in two areas - the children and the old souls.

Conclusion

This is the message of the day. The recalibration of awareness is going to change systems, education, government and finance. Those who don't choose to be spiritual at all will still move with a new awareness, for they will be aware of something that they are not aware of now - a softer way of living.

We close with a trite statement that we've given before, but that many have stated in jest: "If women ran the world, they would never send their sons to be killed on a battlefield."

Many laugh. How trite, how simple minded. Indeed, there have been women leaders who have put wars together; they had to. They sent their sons, so that's not really a correct statement. However, it's more right than you may think, dear ones.

So now I will make the statement I have made over and over in these recalibrated channellings: "When recalibrated Humans run the world, there will come a day when they will never send their sons into the battlefield." You see, awareness will change all of that. They will eventually see the wisdom of unification, new ways to settle issues, and the intuitive attribute of putting things together instead of tearing them apart.

There will be a time when government armies will not need to be large, and weapons will not be as powerful. Slowly, government won't need them. Slowly, slower than you want, these things will happen as the old soul carries his light and looks at the masters of the planet and emulates them.

You've all heard it: There will come a time when the masters will come back to Earth, and there are many who are waiting for this. However, it has already happened! They couldn't come back until the alignment was right and now it is right. This is what you are feeling in 2012 and beyond. It's starting to happen, and they're back. But they're not back as corporeal Human Beings. They're back as the energy of recalibrating of the awareness of God.

I wouldn't say these things unless they were true. Watch for these things, dear ones. Remember where you heard them first and when some of them start to occur in your news. And when you see the earth working in this fashion, dear one, maybe you'll realize that what I have given today is real.

Be circumspect. There is no perfect timing. Humans will create all this at their own pace. Do not be in fear of the things that might follow, for I say it yet again that the old energy will show itself soon in survival mode and it won't be pretty.

In this beginning of new energy, stand tall and turn on your light. Darkness will shirk before you. That is the truth of the day.

I am Kryon, in love with humanity.

And so it is.

KRYON

Transgender identity should no longer be classified as mental disorder: study

Yahoo – AFP, July 28, 2016

Pakistani transgenders carry signs at a rally in Karachi on November 30, 2013
(AFP Photo/Asif Hassan)

Mexico City (AFP) - Transgender identity should no longer be classified as a mental disorder in a World Health Organization list of diseases, according to a study presented in Mexico on Thursday.

Violence and social rejection are the cause of mental distress and impairment among transgender people, not their gender identity, according to the research published in the journal The Lancet Psychiatry.

"If it's not a disease now, then it never was. This should be clear," Eduardo Madrigal, president of the Mexican Association of Psychiatry, said at a news conference.

The field study was conducted between April and August 2014 among 250 transgender adults who were receiving health care services at the Condesa Specialized Clinic in Mexico City.

The group went through an interview which found that 83 percent had experienced distress over their gender identity during adolescence.

It is the first in a series of similar studies that will be conducted in Brazil, France, India, Lebanon and South Africa.

The results will be presented at the 11th revision in 2018 of the WHO's International Classification of Diseases, a diagnostic tool for health care providers around the world.

"This reclassification will not only promote discussions for new health policies for the trans community to have better access to health services, but it will also help to reduce the stigma and rejection that they are victims of," said Ana Fresan, one of the study's authors.

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."

It isn't confusion at all. It's absolutely normal, yet society often will see it as abnormal. I'm sitting here telling you you've all been through it. All of you. That's what old souls do. It's part of the system. …”

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."

Denied abortion, 11-year-old Paraguay rape victim gives birth

Yahoo – AFP,  Hugo Olazar, 13 Aug 2015

The entrance of the Red Cross Hospital where a young girl who was raped and 

became pregnant stayed, in Asuncion on May 8, 2015 (AFP Photo/Norberto Duarte)

Asuncion (AFP) - An 11-year-old Paraguayan girl who was raped by her mother's boyfriend gave birth Thursday, rekindling the uproar over authorities' refusal to let her have an abortion.

The child, who was 10 when she was raped, gave birth by C-section to a girl that weighed 3.5 kilos (eight pounds), said Dolores Castellanos, the doctor that monitored the pregnancy.

The girl has named the baby Milagros, which is Spanish for miracles.

The pregnancy came to light when the girl went to the doctor with stomach pains in April. Doctors initially believed she had parasites, but discovered on examining her that she was five months pregnant.

The authorities' handling of the case sparked outrage in this predominantly Catholic country, where abortion is illegal except when the mother's life is deemed to be at risk.

Officials ruled the pregnancy could proceed.

The girl, who turned 11 in May, was 37 weeks pregnant when she gave birth.

She stands just 1.39 meters (four feet six inches) tall and weighed just 34 kilos before her pregnancy.

She will remain under observation for 72 hours, said Castellanos, head of child and adolescent medicine at the Asuncion hospital where the baby was born.

Mario Villalba, director of the Red Cross hospital, said the delivery "was like any other Cesarean, without complications, the difference being the age."

Asked if the child will be able to nurse the baby, Villalba said, "we'll see how she does as a mother."

The baby's father, Gilberto Martinez Zarate, age 42, was taken into custody in May and is awaiting trial on rape charges. He could get between 12 and 15 years if convicted.

The girl's mother was also arrested for neglect but allowed to visit her daughter during the pregnancy.

The lead prosecutor on the case, Monalisa Munoz, said the girl was systematically abused by her mother's boyfriend.

"She was always at his mercy because the mother worked. The rapist even went to the girl's parent-teacher conferences," she told AFP.

'Extremely risky'

The case reverberated far outside Paraguay, with UN experts criticizing the Paraguayan government for refusing to consider an abortion.

Amnesty International called on Paraguay's government to repeal its strict anti-abortion law, saying the girl was lucky to be alive.

Erika Guevara, the rights group's director for the Americas, said the fact that the child survived "does not excuse the human rights violations she suffered at the hands of the Paraguayan authorities."

Officials in the South American country "decided to gamble with her health, life and integrity despite overwhelming evidence that this pregnancy was extremely risky and despite the fact that she was a rape victim and a child," she said.

Castellanos, the attending physician, insisted the girl's life was never at risk.

UNICEF has accused Paraguay of failing to protect girls from sexual predators.

Every day, two girls aged between 10 and 14 give birth here, it says.

At the hospital where the 11-year-old girl gave birth Thursday, three other girls, all aged 12, are due to give birth in the coming weeks.