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        <title>Christian Daily International | Health</title>
        <link>https://www.christiandaily.com/health</link>
        <description><![CDATA[Explore how faith intersects with health worldwide, from medical missions and Christian hospitals to mental health and spiritual care. Stay updated on global health challenges and the church’s role in healing and hope.]]></description>
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            <title>Christian Daily International | Health</title>
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        <copyright>Christian Daily International © 2026</copyright>
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        <lastBuildDate>Sat, 11 Jul 2026 03:10:24 -0400</lastBuildDate>
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                <title><![CDATA['A choice to die will become a duty to die': Churches challenge assisted dying plan for the Isle of Man]]></title>
                <link>https://www.christiandaily.com/news/a-choice-to-die-will-become-a-duty-to-die-churches-challenge-assisted-dying-plan-for-the-isle-of-man</link>
                <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.christiandaily.com/news/a-choice-to-die-will-become-a-duty-to-die-churches-challenge-assisted-dying-plan-for-the-isle-of-man</guid>
                                                            <dc:creator><![CDATA[Chris Eyte]]></dc:creator>
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                            <media:title><![CDATA[The House of Keys building in Douglas, seat of the Isle of Mans parliament.]]></media:title>
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                                    <![CDATA[ Wikimedia Commons ]]>
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                                    <![CDATA[ The House of Keys building in Douglas, seat of the Isle of Man's parliament. ]]>
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                                                                            <pubDate>Thu, 09 Jul 2026 14:16:00 -0400</pubDate>
                <description><![CDATA[Churches on the Isle of Man are urging members of parliament to reject an assisted dying bill they say is rushed and fails to protect vulnerable people.]]></description>
                <content:encoded><![CDATA[
Churches on the Isle of Man are urging members of parliament to reject an assisted dying bill they say is rushed and fails to protect vulnerable people.
Churches Alive in Mann represents the Church of England, Methodist Church, Catholic Church, United Reformed Church, Living Hope, Elim Onchan, Salvation Army, and Broadway Baptist.
The bill is not yet law. Royal Assent was declined once over human rights concerns raised by the U.K. Ministry of Justice, and following amendments in June, the bill has been re-submitted. If assent is not granted by Aug. 13 — when the Manx parliament, known as the House of Keys, dissolves for general elections — the bill would fall.
The Rev. Bill Leishman, minister of Broadway Baptist Church and assisted dying spokesman for Churches Alive in Mann, told Christian Daily International the bill was not "a done deal."
"In reality, there is still a slim chance that it will fall," said Leishman.
"Lots of Christians on this Island are praying for this," he said.
"As to concerns should the Bill pass, the biggest issue is the impact on vulnerable people."
Leishman said the churches had noted real evidence of coercion in contexts where assisted dying has been legalized, including in Canada, the Netherlands, and Belgium.
"Even without explicit and hard-to-spot coercion, there would be a subtle societal pressure," he added.
"In Oregon [U.S.], over the last few years, roughly half of people who have died through the Death With Dignity Act stated burden on family or loved ones as a reason to choose an assisted death," said Leishman.
Too many elderly or vulnerable people already feel a burden to their families, he said, without adding the pressure of assisted dying.
"We are also deeply concerned about the impact this has on suicide prevention. To say to one group of people 'Your life is worth living' while facilitating another group to end their lives is a mismatch of values."
Leishman said the death penalty had been abolished on the Isle of Man and in the U.K. decades ago because innocent people were killed — a punishment with no remedy. He drew a direct comparison with the bill's effect on vulnerable people and said, "it's the same."
"How many vulnerable people would be needlessly killed, or how many people might be coerced without detection?" he asked. "How many of those would make it worthwhile to give others a choice? We believe the risk is too great."
"Alongside our Christian calling to speak up for the voiceless and to protect the neediest in our society, the Churches on the Isle of Man are clear that life is sacred.
"We have consistently called to fund Hospice more adequately, as the only safe way to help people have an end of life choice and a good death."
Churches Alive in Mann issued a statement last month titled "Response to Assisted Dying Bill Amendments," raising concerns about the safety of the proposed law with particular focus on the most vulnerable members of Manx society.
The churches welcomed several protections in the proposed Tynwald Amendments regarding mental capacity, coercion and reporting, but said "deep concerns" remained. Key protections had been "very rushed" without the usual parliamentary scrutiny, they said.
The churches said the island's democratic processes had never seen such a quick turnaround — apart from minor procedural changes — certainly not on matters of life and death.
Calling for fuller scrutiny, the churches raised concerns about the impact on hospice and palliative care funding, alongside concerns from the Isle of Man Medical Society: that the bill would spark a healthcare recruitment crisis, leave vulnerable patients exposed to undetectable coercion, and force clinicians to make unreliable life-expectancy predictions.
Specific concerns remained about the requirement that an attending doctor in an assisted dying case need not have specific experience in diagnosing or managing terminal illness.
With only one medical professional required — and that person not required to be a doctor despite the risk of complications — the churches warned of a lack of transparency or protection against coercion. A doctor would also be free to ignore conclusions of safeguarding and psychiatric referrals in certain circumstances, and the churches said conscientious objectors could face unemployment if they refuse to participate.
"The very existence of this legislation will inevitably cause some of our elderly, disabled or vulnerable people to feel more of a burden," the churches said in their joint statement.
"More worrying still, we believe the proposed amendments don't go far enough in guarding against coercion.
"As churches, we are often there to support people experiencing pain and difficulty, and we speak up now out of deep concern and compassion for all who would be impacted by this legislation.
"For thousands of years, 'Do not kill' has been an ethical foundation for many civilisations. We believe that all human life is a sacred gift from God. The value of any member of our society is not determined by variable measures of the quality of life. The premature ending of individual lives will inevitably diminish the high value we place on all lives."
The churches called on Tynwald members to reject the rushed package of amendments.
Dr. Graham McAll, a retired family physician on the Isle of Man and a member of Manx Duty of Care — an informal group of healthcare workers, social care workers, and others opposed to the bill — told Christian Daily International that the U.K. Ministry of Justice, which advises King Charles III, determined the bill lacked basic human rights protections under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).
"Under ECHR, governments are required to protect the lives of their citizens, especially the vulnerable," said McAll. "This Bill failed on that count and had no independent review mechanism for deaths."
A short timescale before the election led to "some inadequate rushed corrections" being proposed, bypassing the usual process, he said. For that reason, Manx Duty of Care issued a warning of a possible legal challenge in the European Court before the amendments were voted through. Now that the bill is back with the Ministry of Justice, McAll expressed concern that any resulting law could lead to unnecessary deaths.
"We are very worried that this Bill could shorten people's lives unnecessarily, that doctors will make mistakes in their prognosis, that abuse victims will be coerced, that palliative care will be undermined and underfunded, and that, in the end, a choice to die will become for many a duty to die," said McAll.
"We, Manx Duty of Care, along with the charity Autism In Man, the Isle of Man Medical Society, and all the church denominations on the Island are firmly against this Bill. It is clear from Canada, Holland, and Belgium that once euthanasia is normalized, it spreads to those without terminal illness, and undue influence becomes common. And no drugs are licensed for this purpose anywhere in the world."
McAll called for competent Christians to stand for political election on the basis of the assisted dying issue and other relevant matters.
"All candidates in the upcoming election will need to be quizzed hard on their attitude to this complex issue. It could turn centuries of medical and social ethics upside down, and our government's suicide prevention strategy."]]></content:encoded>
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                <title><![CDATA[Jordan Peterson says recovery remains slow, but has resumed writing amid illness: 'Relieved']]></title>
                <link>https://www.christiandaily.com/news/jordan-peterson-says-recovery-remains-slow-but-has-resumed-writing-amid-illness-relieved</link>
                <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.christiandaily.com/news/jordan-peterson-says-recovery-remains-slow-but-has-resumed-writing-amid-illness-relieved</guid>
                                                            <dc:creator><![CDATA[The Christian Post]]></dc:creator>
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                            <media:title><![CDATA[Jordan Peterson says recovery remains slow, but has resumed writing amid illness: Relieved]]></media:title>
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                                    <![CDATA[ YouTube/Jubilee ]]>
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                                    <![CDATA[ Canadian psychologist and speaker Jordan Peterson appeared in a YouTube video published by the Jubilee channel on May 25, 2025. The video showed Peterson debating a group of atheists on God and Christianity. ]]>
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                                                                            <pubDate>Wed, 08 Jul 2026 16:20:00 -0400</pubDate>
                <description><![CDATA[Canadian psychologist and author Jordan Peterson has shared a health update, revealing his activities remain "very limited" as he continues recovering from a prolonged illness, but he has resumed writing and is "relieved" to "be doing something creative and useful."]]></description>
                <content:encoded><![CDATA[
Canadian psychologist and author Jordan Peterson has shared a health update, revealing his activities remain "very limited" as he continues recovering from a prolonged illness, but he has resumed writing and is "relieved" to "be doing something creative and useful."
In an Instagram post shared Tuesday, the 64-year-old 12 Rules for Life and Beyond Order author offered another glimpse into his recovery, saying his health still prevents him from returning to his normal schedule but that he has made enough progress to begin writing.
"My activities are still very limited at the moment. I have been doing some writing, however — thank God," Peterson wrote. "I'm so relieved to be once again doing something creative and useful."
The update comes just weeks after Peterson anno unced he would begin releasing one archived lecture each week while recovering from illness, though he’s unable to speak publicly. The famed psychologist also revealed he’s been spending time watching courses on Peterson Academy, the online education platform he co-founded with his daughter, Mikhaila Fuller.
In his latest update, he recommended historian Paul Kengor's course, The Dark Side of Marxism, praising the professor as "a truly engaging, creative and witty storyteller and lecturer."
Peterson used the post to criticize German philosopher Karl Marx, writing that Marx "was quite the satanic soul" due to the socialist author’s admiration for demonic themes in literature.
He also quoted a passage by Mephistopheles from Faust before asking whether New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, known for his socialist bent, was aware of the philosopher's intellectual influences.
The health update follows months of uncertainty surrounding Peterson's condition. In April, Fuller revealed that her father had suffered a recurrence of akathisia, a neurological disorder characterized by severe physical and psychological distress, after an old neurological injury was re-triggered.
She said Peterson had also battled pneumonia and sepsis during the health crisis, marking a year as "hell" for the family. Fuller said specialists eventually identified the underlying condition after months of misdiagnoses and expressed hope that Peterson could recover with time.
“Thank God for that. It’s just horrifying, and it’s so infuriating that these sensitivities, this damage that can cause severe symptoms like this, can last for so long after stopping psych meds and then, apparently, be re-triggered,” she said.
Though he doesn’t identify as a Christian, Peterson often discusses faith in his podcasts and lectures. His wife, Tammy, entered the Catholic Church in 2023, and Fuller has said she became a Christian two years earlier.
In a 2024 interview with The Christian Post, Peterson reflected on the benefits of Christianity, particularly when it comes to raising children in an increasingly secular culture.
“We are seeing a revival of church-going, especially of the more conservative type,” Peterson said. “And I suspect that’s probably also useful. Providing [children] with something like exposure to classic religious ideas is necessary.”
“By their fruits, you will know them,” he said, adding that it takes discernment to know who is truly living the Christian life.
“You have to pay attention to the fact that not everybody who says ‘Lord, Lord is going to enter the Kingdom of Heaven,’” he said.
Originally published by The Christian Post.]]></content:encoded>
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                <title><![CDATA[Secular charity challenges UK Government’s evidence for LGBT conversion therapy ban]]></title>
                <link>https://www.christiandaily.com/news/secular-charity-challenges-uk-governments-evidence-for-lgbt-conversion-therapy-ban</link>
                <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.christiandaily.com/news/secular-charity-challenges-uk-governments-evidence-for-lgbt-conversion-therapy-ban</guid>
                                                            <dc:creator><![CDATA[Chris Eyte]]></dc:creator>
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                            <media:title><![CDATA[LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 4: A parade-goer applies rainbow face paint ahead of the Pride In London 2026 parade on July 4, 2026 in London, England.]]></media:title>
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                                    <![CDATA[ Alishia Abodunde/Getty Images ]]>
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                                    <![CDATA[ LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 4: A parade-goer applies rainbow face paint ahead of the Pride In London 2026 parade on July 4, 2026 in London, England. ]]>
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                                                                            <pubDate>Wed, 08 Jul 2026 15:33:00 -0400</pubDate>
                <description><![CDATA[A secular sexual rights group challenged the reliability of evidence supporting UK Government plans for a ban on LGBT conversion practices, claiming the underlying data fails to justify the creation of a new criminal law.]]></description>
                <content:encoded><![CDATA[
A secular sexual rights group challenged the reliability of evidence supporting UK Government plans for a ban on LGBT conversion practices, claiming the underlying data fails to justify the creation of a new criminal law.
Parents and church pastors in the United Kingdom could face court trials, hefty fines, and prison time under the proposed ban on practices aimed at changing sexual orientation or identity, as previously reported by Christian Daily International. 
The Labour government published the Conversion Practices Draft Bill on June 25, aiming to criminalize abusive practices intended to  change or suppress sexual orientation or transgender identity. The legislation, which follows similar proposals introduced by the previous Conservative government, aims to introduce civil protection orders alongside criminal penalties to protect vulnerable individuals. 
Under the draft text, the law would apply to any conduct directed at people with the explicit intention of changing or suppressing their sexual orientation or gender identity.
Sex Matters, a U.K.-based human rights charity that campaigns for clarity on sex in law, policy, and language, challenged the evidence used by the government for the planned law.
"I am satisfied that, given the available evidence, it represents a reasonable view of the likely costs, benefits and impact of the leading options," Minister for Equalities Olivia Bailey said after signing the impact assessment.
Bailey also told the House of Commons that her decision relied on evidence regarding the prevalence and types of conversion practice abuse in the UK. She highlighted a new report titled "Still not Illegal: Evidence of modern-day conversion practices" by LGBT anti-violence charity Galop, which she said revealed hundreds of case studies alleging appalling abuse happening right now across the country.
However, Sex Matters pointed out that the report only contained a few dozen brief accounts.
"Most describe experiences that should not concern criminal law at all, such as family disagreements and 'misgendering,'" Sex Matters said in an online statement challenging the methodology of the research. "A handful concern assault and rape, which are already crimes. Overall it contains analysis of fewer than 200 cases, which are described in minimal detail."
The charity noted that both Bailey and Galop failed to mention that the evidence appeared to include the entirety of calls received by the government’s national conversion-therapy helpline. Galop received £360,000 ($479,966 USD) over three years to run the service, describing it at the time as a vital lifeline for the community. The funding followed a competitive bidding process managed by the Cabinet Office.
The Government Equalities Office (GEO) initially anticipated around 10,000 calls each year, based on a 2018 National LGBT Survey where 2% of respondents said they had undergone conversion therapy and 5% said they had been offered it.
"But the Galop report’s findings seem to suggest that only a handful of people – in single figures each year – called to report 'conversion therapy,'" Sex Matters said.
Sex Matters also stated that the Cabinet Office’s impact assessment made no mention of the three-year helpline data. When the charity requested performance and outcomes data from the GEO in 2023, the government office refused to disclose the details, claiming it would prejudice Galop’s commercial interests. 
According to Sex Matters, the figures in the Galop report indirectly reveal that only a handful of people ever called the helpline to report actual conversion practices. Instead of reflecting on the evidence from an almost silent helpline, the government doubled down on the idea that tens of thousands of people experience conversion therapy annually.
The group also challenged a survey commissioned by the LGBT rights charity Stonewall and conducted by Opinium Research in early 2024. The survey involved interviewing 2,000 adults online who identified as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender.
"It came up with a ludicrous figure of 10% for the proportion of LGBTQ+ people in the UK who have undergone an exorcism, and 2% for the proportion who had undergone an exorcism in the previous year alone," Sex Matters stated, questioning the demographic weighting of the study.
The charity referenced calculations by mathematician Dr. John Armstrong, who pointed out that this percentage would imply that clergymen in the UK perform approximately 24,600 gay exorcisms a year. For comparison, the total number of religious weddings in England and Wales in 2022 was 41,915, making the statistical claim highly improbable.
Furthermore, Sex Matters questioned the government’s interpretation of data from the Stonewall survey regarding allegations of conversion practice abuse.
"The government plucks from the Stonewall survey the number who said they had been told to ingest 'purifying' substances (11% ever and 2% in the past year) or who said they had been given 'pseudo-scientific counselling' to try to change their sexual orientation or gender identity (12% ever and 2% in the past year)," Sex Matters said. 
"It adds these figures and multiplies the sum by the number of LGB or T people found in the most recent census to conclude that 'approximately 75,000 to 93,000 people each year in England and Wales experience conversion practices based on their sexual orientation or gender identity.'"
Using those figures alongside an American study on depression risks, the government’s impact assessment calculated that a ban would prevent 28,486 to 35,268 cases of depression annually, saving the country around £700 million over 10 years. The government estimated the ban would cost £45 million ($60 million USD) to implement, including providing 45 minutes of education about the new law for public sector workers, including police officers, doctors, nurses, and social workers.
"These figures are fantastical," Sex Matters said.
The charity noted that Galop released its research report claiming to show the stark reality of modern-day conversion practices on the exact same day that the government published its draft bill. The Galop report, funded by UK Research and Innovation through Leeds University, examined records of 13,500 Galop clients between November 2022 and November 2025. This period coincided with the operation of the federally funded helpline, which also received a contribution of £30,000 per year from the Welsh government.
The principal investigator for the study, Professor Ilias Trispiotis, sits on the steering group of the Ban Conversion Practices coalition. 
Researchers found 371 potential cases among the client base, but judged only 195 to have sufficient depth and detail to use as evidence. Only 29 of those cases came through any of Galop's helplines, with most originating from official referrals for domestic abuse, housing, or hate crimes.
According to Sex Matters, 76% of the identified cases occurred within families, mostly involving actions by parents toward their often adult children. The charity noted that no examples of historical aversion therapy involving electric shocks or physical mistreatment appeared in the study.
"Cases such as 'intentional refusal to use a chosen name or pronouns' or suggesting that healing trauma could lead to a client no longer being transgender are not abuse at all, but are rather accounts of parents or therapists not accepting the idea of 'gender identity,'" Sex Matters said. 
"The Stonewall survey and the Galop cases are the best evidence the government has of conversion practices in the UK which merit a new criminal law. Even added together, they are remarkably weak."]]></content:encoded>
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                <title><![CDATA[Joni and Friends donates 250,000th wheelchair to Thai girl]]></title>
                <link>https://www.christiandaily.com/news/joni-and-friends-donates-250-000th-wheelchair-to-thai-girl</link>
                <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.christiandaily.com/news/joni-and-friends-donates-250-000th-wheelchair-to-thai-girl</guid>
                                                            <dc:creator><![CDATA[Chris Eyte]]></dc:creator>
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                            <media:title><![CDATA[The recipient, Nada]]></media:title>
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                                    <![CDATA[ Photo by Joni and Friends ]]>
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                                    <![CDATA[ The recipient, Nada, met ministry President Shawn Thornton in Thailand to receive the wheelchair. ]]>
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                                                                            <pubDate>Sat, 27 Jun 2026 13:25:00 -0400</pubDate>
                <description><![CDATA[Global disability ministry Joni and Friends marked the distribution of its 250,000th wheelchair by presenting it to an 11-year-old Thai girl who previously relied on her mother to carry her everywhere.]]></description>
                <content:encoded><![CDATA[
Global disability ministry Joni and Friends marked the distribution of its 250,000th wheelchair by presenting it to an 11-year-old Thai girl who previously relied on her mother to carry her everywhere.
The recipient, Nada, and her mother, Mim, met ministry President Shawn Thornton in Thailand to receive the wheelchair, which inmates participating in the Wheels for the World prison restoration program had painstakingly restored. The ministry also gave the family a Bible in their native language and a copy of disability advocate Joni Eareckson Tada’s Scripture-filled autobiography.
Nada had never used a wheelchair before, and Mim previously believed her daughter’s cerebral palsy was a curse brought on by "bad karma" from a past life under Buddhist beliefs.
“What Joni and Friends does is the whole gospel, it’s full gospel, because it’s word and deed, and Jesus never separated the two,” Thornton said.
“He preached the message of the gospel while he was at the same time picking up the children to bless them, while he was healing the blind man, while he was healing the 10 lepers. Jesus never separated the good news of the gospel apart from loving people. And there is a tendency sometimes to lean toward preaching the gospel, but not showing love, or showing love and not preaching the gospel.”
“I shared the gospel with Mim and Nada about 20 minutes after Mim said that she was under that judgment from a previous life," Thornton added. "That means I shared the gospel differently, because I first said, 'God loves you and your daughter. He made both of you special, and you were not born with something in your past that caused this disability.' Tailoring that message in the vessel of love and hope and care to the individual is the best gospel we could ever share.”
The trip marked Thornton’s first international outreach with the Wheels for the World ministry. He explained that Nada’s cerebral palsy primarily affects her physical development.
“She was contorted, so her right hand was able to reach the wheel of the wheelchair and turn it, but her left hand couldn’t do that,” Thornton told Christian Daily International. “So you just roll on one wheel, and you just go in circles. Her mother tried at one point to make it go forward, and I tried at one point just to help her go forward, but she wouldn’t have it. Nada would rather go in a circle with her controlling her own destiny of that circle than have someone pushing, and that was my answer to that question.”
Thornton noted that realizing her own mobility gave Nada a profound sense of empowerment and independence after 11 years of constant physical dependence on her mother.
“Her mother had always carried her,” Thornton said. “The way they got around town, they rode on a simple motorcycle. Her mother carried her at age 11 on the motorcycle while she drove from place to place, never apart from her. If they had to go to the grocery store, she took her and put her in a backpack.”
Thornton said the girl arrived at the outreach center without a wheelchair or a stroller. He recalled Mim’s reaction when a doctor first diagnosed Nada's lifelong condition years ago.
“We asked Mim what she thought when the doctor said her daughter has cerebral palsy and will never walk,” Thornton said. “Her response was so sad, because she said, ‘That’s when I realized, even though I don’t remember it, I must have done something evil or sinful in one of my past lives that God gave me this girl as a curse for what I did. But I love her, and my way to a better life and a future, and a better life for her in the next life, is that I show her love and undo the evil I’ve done by loving her.’”
Thornton reflected on how guilt-ridden and heavy the mother had become under this philosophy.
“How do you escape that kind of curse?” Thornton asked. “It only can be escaped if the next life is a little better than this one because you did better. You could just see that heaviness on her when she was saying this.”
Thornton praised the meticulous detail and care that volunteers dedicate to fitting each wheelchair during the Thailand outreach. Each interaction is highly personalized, demonstrating to families that they possess infinite dignity, mirroring the earthly ministry of Jesus.
“You should have seen the parents watching intently as our team made adjustments to their child’s wheelchair,” Thornton said, “and the joy in their eyes when the fit was just right, holding their loved one safe, secure and free like never before.”
Wheels for the World distributes custom-fitted wheelchairs restored at 15 U.S. prison-based refurbishment centers to recipients across 44 low-resource countries.
“Each wheelchair is lovingly and painstakingly custom-fit to each recipient to ensure that secondary issues like pressure sores and scoliosis do not arise,” Thornton said. “Each wheelchair is also given with a Bible and Joni’s story, and each recipient is connected with a local, disability-friendly church to combat the social isolation, stigma and loneliness that all too often comes with disability.”
Thornton heard much about the program before his trip but experiencing the outreach firsthand highlighted two powerful dynamics.
“One was I knew, but I didn’t really understand until I saw it, how personalized our care of the individuals is,” Thornton said. “We are not just haphazardly giving them out. We want to make sure the wheelchair helps the person, doesn’t hurt them, and is best for their well-being.”
Technicians spent eight hours adjusting one specific chair. Thornton saw a parallel between the New Testament accounts of Jesus, noting that while Christ fed 5,000 people at once, He chose to heal people individually.
“He seems to do all of his healings one-on-one with people,” Thornton said. “He could have just waved his hand over the multitude, but he connected with the people. I saw that personal approach on this outreach. That was my biggest takeaway.”
The second dynamic involved watching mothers observe their children sitting in the chairs while physical therapists and mechanics made adjustments.
“The children had arrived lying on their backs in strollers or held in their mothers' arms, and once in the chairs, the mothers kept their eyes glued on their child," Thornton said.
"If the physical therapist and the mechanic got in the way, the mothers would move around to keep eye contact. When their child smiled in the chair, the mothers would smile. They were smiling because the child was smiling. That caught me too—watching the mothers, their eyes, and their love, appreciation and gratitude.”
Thornton emphasized that reaching the 250,000-wheelchair milestone means far more than a numerical statistic.
“Every number has a name, every name has a story, and every story matters to God,” Thornton said. “It’s why I’m so grateful that we treat each wheelchair delivery as an opportunity to make an eternal impact on the recipient’s life by connecting them to a local church where they can grow in faith. So yes, let’s celebrate 250,000 wheelchairs delivered, but we can’t stop there. Join Joni and me in praising God for the love of Jesus reaching our precious recipients, their families and their communities.”
The roots of Wheels for the World date to 1989, when founder Joni Eareckson Tada witnessed a woman crawling unassisted along a dirt road in Thailand because she lacked a wheelchair.
“In that moment, the Holy Spirit moved Joni to do something for that woman and millions like her worldwide,” Thornton said. “While she worked to get that woman a wheelchair, God moved in her heart to expand that mission to the entire world.”
The ministry made its first official international wheelchair donation to a child in Ghana in 1994.
Looking toward the future, Thornton hopes to expand the reach of the program while maintaining its core focus on personal restoration.
“You can’t help everyone, but you can help the one, and Joni started with that one woman," Thornton said.
Thornton believes demographic shifts will offer new opportunities for the ministry to scale its operations through deeper community partnerships.
"As the average American grows older, there will be more wheelchairs available than ever," Thornton said. "To whom much is given, much is required, and there is an opportunity to scale up the programs and the volunteers as we partner not just with individuals, but with entire churches.”
"The wheelchairs aren’t the only thing being restored," Thornton added. "The prisoners working on the chairs are restored. The families who receive them are restored. The restoration touches every person who comes in contact with each chair."
For Thornton, this mission directly reflects the biblical character of God. He shares a deep personal connection to disability through his own family history.
"My grandfather was born without muscle in his hand, so he’s the man with the withered hand of the Bible. He also wore a brace on his leg," Thornton said. "In Mark 7, Jesus heals the man who is deaf and mute. He promises him, 'I’m here to help you.' The heart of God is very personal for people with disabilities."]]></content:encoded>
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                <title><![CDATA[Liberian church leaders divided over public health bill as abortion concerns overshadow Ebola reforms]]></title>
                <link>https://www.christiandaily.com/news/liberian-church-leaders-divided-over-public-health-bill-as-abortion-concerns-overshadow-ebola-reforms</link>
                <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.christiandaily.com/news/liberian-church-leaders-divided-over-public-health-bill-as-abortion-concerns-overshadow-ebola-reforms</guid>
                                                            <dc:creator><![CDATA[Vincent Matinde]]></dc:creator>
                                                                                                                            <media:content  url="https://www.christiandaily.com/media/original/img/0/48/4846.png">
                            <media:title><![CDATA[Ministry of Health Liberia]]></media:title>
                                                            <media:credit role="author" scheme="urn:ebu">
                                    <![CDATA[ WHO ]]>
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                                    <![CDATA[ Health officials and policy advocates have argued that the law no longer adequately addresses contemporary public health challenges, particularly after the 2014-2016 Ebola outbreak exposed weaknesses in the country's health system. ]]>
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                                                                            <pubDate>Fri, 26 Jun 2026 06:05:00 -0400</pubDate>
                <description><![CDATA[A proposed overhaul of Liberia's public health laws, originally designed to strengthen the country's preparedness for future disease outbreaks, has sparked divisions among Christian leaders over concerns that the legislation could expand access to abortion.]]></description>
                <content:encoded><![CDATA[
A proposed overhaul of Liberia's public health laws, originally designed to strengthen the country's preparedness for future disease outbreaks, has sparked divisions among Christian leaders over concerns that the legislation could expand access to abortion.
The debate intensified after the Inter-Religious Council of Liberia urged lawmakers to pass the revised Public Health Bill, describing it as a necessary step toward modernizing the country's health system and addressing gaps exposed during the devastating Ebola epidemic more than a decade ago.
In a statement delivered at a June 3 press conference in Monrovia, the council said the legislation would help improve emergency preparedness, disease surveillance and access to essential health services.
"However, what began as a discussion about public health preparedness has evolved into a contentious debate over abortion provisions contained in the legislation." 
“The passage of this bill would signify Liberia's commitment to safeguarding the health and well-being of all citizens while addressing pressing public health challenges facing the country,” the council said in a statement read by Rev. Christopher Wleh Toe, general secretary of the Liberia Council of Churches.
The bill seeks to replace portions of Liberia's existing public health framework, which dates back to 1976. Health officials and policy advocates have argued that the law no longer adequately addresses contemporary public health challenges, particularly after the 2014-2016 Ebola outbreak exposed weaknesses in the country's health system.
The Ebola epidemic killed thousands of people across West Africa and overwhelmed health systems in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea. In Liberia, the outbreak prompted calls for reforms to strengthen emergency response mechanisms, disease control measures and coordination among health agencies.
According to reports from Liberia's Ministry of Health, the review of the country's public health laws began in 2018 as part of broader post-Ebola reforms. A revised draft was completed the following year with technical support from the World Health Organization and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Supporters of the legislation say it would establish a stronger legal framework for infectious disease control, public health governance and emergency response.
“The proposed law would support access to essential health services, improve preparedness and expand protections for women, children, young people and other vulnerable groups,” the Inter-Religious Council said.
Opposition to the bill
The Catholic Bishops' Conference of Liberia has publicly distanced itself from the Inter-Religious Council's endorsement of the bill, saying it cannot support the legislation in its current form.
In a statement reported by Catholic media outlet ACI Africa, the bishops said they opposed provisions that they believe could permit “justified abortion.”
The bishops urged lawmakers to review and amend the legislation before approving it.
“We cannot support the passage of the Public Health Bill in its entirety,” the Catholic bishops said, arguing that sections of the bill raise serious moral and ethical concerns.
Their intervention has highlighted differing views among Christian leaders on how to balance public health priorities with religious and ethical considerations.
In response to growing controversy, the Inter-Religious Council later issued a clarification, emphasizing that its support for the bill should not be interpreted as support for unrestricted abortion.
According to local media reports, the council reaffirmed its opposition to abortion on demand while maintaining that the broader legislation contains important public health measures needed to strengthen Liberia's healthcare system.
The clarification underscored the delicate position facing faith leaders as they seek to advocate for health reforms while addressing concerns from religious communities.
The dispute could complicate legislative efforts to advance the bill, particularly if lawmakers face pressure from both public health advocates and religious constituencies.
For supporters of the legislation, the central issue remains Liberia's readiness to respond to future health emergencies.
The Inter-Religious Council has repeatedly pointed to lessons learned during the Ebola crisis, arguing that the country cannot afford to rely on outdated legal frameworks when confronting emerging health threats.
“The passage of this bill would signify Liberia's commitment to safeguarding the health and well-being of all citizens,” the council said, reiterating its belief that reform is necessary to protect future generations.
Public health advocates have similarly argued that stronger laws are needed to improve disease surveillance, emergency coordination and access to health services across the country.
Yet the abortion debate has shifted public attention away from those broader reforms and toward the bill's more controversial provisions.
The legislation now sits at the intersection of two powerful concerns: the need to strengthen Liberia's public health system after the lessons of Ebola and the desire among many religious leaders to ensure that healthcare reforms do not conflict with deeply held moral beliefs.]]></content:encoded>
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                <title><![CDATA[Moves to decriminalize abortion in Germany decried by evangelical alliance leader]]></title>
                <link>https://www.christiandaily.com/news/moves-to-decriminalize-abortion-in-germany-decried-by-evangelical-alliance-leader</link>
                <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.christiandaily.com/news/moves-to-decriminalize-abortion-in-germany-decried-by-evangelical-alliance-leader</guid>
                                                            <dc:creator><![CDATA[Chris Eyte]]></dc:creator>
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                            <media:title><![CDATA[Reichstag building in Berlin, seat of the Bundestag. ]]></media:title>
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                                    <![CDATA[ (Diego Delso, Creative Commons) ]]>
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                                    <![CDATA[ Reichstag building in Berlin, seat of the Bundestag. ]]>
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                                                                            <pubDate>Thu, 25 Jun 2026 07:13:00 -0400</pubDate>
                <description><![CDATA[Efforts to remove abortion from Germany’s criminal code could endanger protections for both mothers and unborn children, the leader of the country’s national evangelical alliance told Christian Daily International.]]></description>
                <content:encoded><![CDATA[
Efforts to remove abortion from Germany’s criminal code could endanger protections for both mothers and unborn children, the leader of the country’s national evangelical alliance told Christian Daily International.
Abortion remains illegal under Section 218 of Germany’s criminal code, although penalties are waived during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy if the mother receives state-approved counseling and observes a mandatory three-day waiting period.
Some policymakers in the Bundestag want to overhaul Section 218. A government-led commission recommended full decriminalization in 2024, but conservative and faith-led opposition has intensified in response to the proposal.
Reinhardt Schink, executive director of the Evangelical Alliance in Germany (Evangelische Allianz in Deutschland), said current political efforts to abolish or fundamentally weaken Section 218 in favor of a purely deregulated framework risk undermining the core objectives of protecting both mother and child.
“It would undermine the protection of unborn lives and it would furthermore put additional pressure on women,” said Schink in a statement titled "When We Remain Silent in the Face of Human Rights Violations."
“From the perspective of the Evangelical Alliance in Germany (EAD), such developments must be clearly rejected. A legal approach that relativizes the protection of unborn life ultimately undermines the very foundation of human dignity on which our constitutional order rests.”
Schink recalled a recent interview earlier this month on the German television program SAT.1 Breakfast Television featuring Prof. Mandy Mangler, one of Germany’s most well-known gynecologists, commenting on a Marburger Bund study on abuse of power and sexual harassment in hospitals.
The nationwide Marburger Bund study found that nearly half of all hospital physicians surveyed had personally experienced abuse of power, while 13% reported suffering sexual harassment at the hands of medical colleagues in the past year alone. Other long-term studies show similar patterns, with at least 70% of German physicians and nurses reporting they have experienced sexual harassment or violations of personal boundaries in the workplace.
Schink said the abuse described by Mangler was “alarming — but sadly not new.”
“Rather, it once again exposed a pattern of systemic failure: even in a society committed to human rights, the dignity of women and vulnerable persons is repeatedly violated,” said Schink.
Schink connected the discussion of abuse and women’s dignity to the broader debate over abortion law, arguing that both issues raise fundamental questions about the protection of vulnerable human life.
The prevailing question, according to Schink, is not only why these abuses still exist and how they can be prevented, but also whether society is willing to engage in deeper self-critical reflection on the cultural and societal developments that have contributed to them.
“This includes the question of whether our presumption that we can create a just society without a reference to Jesus Christ is a valid one,” said Schink.
Schink said many Germans believed they had been building a freer, more just society over recent decades.
“The sexual revolution and the widespread availability of contraception fundamentally reshaped relationships and social norms,” Schink said.
“Yet, one unintended consequence has been a distortion of responsibility. Too often, contraception was implicitly framed as a solely woman’s task, shifting not only the practical burden but also the physical and psychological consequences largely onto her.
“A sustainable and just vision of relationships, however, requires clarity at this point: responsibility for a partnership, including contraception, must be shared equally by both partners. Neither responsibility nor consequences can be unilaterally assigned. Only where mutual responsibility is acknowledged can genuine respect and protection of women emerge.”
In the midst of current debates about human rights, Schink said, a “most pressing blind spot” is the question of unborn life.
“Human dignity does not begin at birth, but clearly much earlier,” said Schink. “An unborn child is much more than just a collection of cells or a ‘cluster of cells.’ The latter is a concept that is repeatedly used as a framing device in the current public debate in Germany on reforming the legal framework governing abortion.
“Instead, every human being, from the very beginning of life, possesses inherent and inviolable dignity — independent of developmental stage, health condition or social acceptance.”
Schink said this conviction is reflected in the current legal framework of Section 218.
“While it provides for certain exemptions under defined conditions, it fundamentally affirms that the termination of pregnancy is not a morally neutral act but one that violates the protection of human life.”
That is why, Schink said, both perspectives are of the utmost importance: protecting the dignity of the mother and the life of the unborn child.
Schink expressed concern about any law that makes the protection of unborn life a relativist rather than absolute matter. The handling of pregnancies involving a child suspected of having a disability is of particular concern.
“When unborn life is increasingly evaluated according to criteria of health, functionality, or ‘fitness,’ society moves dangerously close to selective thinking that contradicts the principles of the U.N. Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities,” said Schink.
“A society committed to inclusion must not begin by excluding the most vulnerable before birth.”
At the same time, Schink acknowledged that purely punitive approaches have not sufficiently protected unborn life or adequately supported women facing crisis pregnancies.
“Many decisions for abortion are made under pressure — relational, social or economic,” he said.
“A credible commitment to the protection of life must therefore go beyond legal provisions. It must include a culture of support, responsibility and solidarity.”
Schink defined this commitment as strengthening practical support for women in difficult situations, addressing relational pressures, including those exerted by partners, and fostering a societal climate that affirms both motherhood and the value of every child.
“Protection of unborn life and strengthening women’s rights are not opposites — they belong together,” he said.
At the same time, the fight against sexualized violence and abuse must be pursued with determination, according to Schink.
“The revelations highlighted by Mandy Mangler show that power imbalances and exploitation persist even in highly regulated environments such as the medical profession,” said Schink.
“Particularly vulnerable are women in dependent situations, as well as persons with disabilities — many of whom experience abuse already in childhood.”
Breaking this cycle requires more than legal enforcement, Schink said. It requires a renewed ethical consensus that every human being, without exception, is worthy of protection.
“Our society stands at a crossroads,” said Schink.
“We can continue to fragment human dignity into competing interests — or we can reaffirm its indivisibility: for women, for men, for the vulnerable and for the unborn.
“Silence in the face of injustice is never neutral. It always favors the stronger one who acts unjustly.”
Schink urged fellow evangelicals to speak publicly about the welfare of mothers and unborn children.
“Therefore, let us raise our voices — clearly, responsibly and with compassion — for a culture that protects life at every stage.”]]></content:encoded>
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                <title><![CDATA[States launch UN declaration calling for global moratorium on surrogacy]]></title>
                <link>https://www.christiandaily.com/news/states-launch-un-declaration-calling-for-global-moratorium-on-surrogacy</link>
                <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.christiandaily.com/news/states-launch-un-declaration-calling-for-global-moratorium-on-surrogacy</guid>
                                                            <dc:creator><![CDATA[CDI Staff]]></dc:creator>
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                            <media:title><![CDATA[Pregnant woman silhouette]]></media:title>
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                                    <![CDATA[ Unsplash / Mulyadi ]]>
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                                                                            <pubDate>Wed, 24 Jun 2026 04:20:00 -0400</pubDate>
                <description><![CDATA[A coalition of governments formally launched a political declaration at the United Nations on June 22 calling for an international moratorium on surrogacy, framing the practice as incompatible with human rights protections for women and children.]]></description>
                <content:encoded><![CDATA[
A coalition of governments formally launched a political declaration at the United Nations on June 22 calling for an international moratorium on surrogacy, framing the practice as incompatible with human rights protections for women and children.
The declaration, reported by ADF International, was presented at a side event to the 62nd session of the UN Human Rights Council and co-hosted by Italy, Chile, Cameroon and the Holy See. It calls for a moratorium as an interim step toward a legally binding international instrument that would abolish surrogacy globally.
Italy and Chile spearheaded the initiative. The declaration describes surrogacy as involving the commodification of human life and women's reproductive capabilities, and raises concerns about the separation of children from the women who carried them.
"Surrogacy is no longer a matter confined to domestic legislation or individual choices," Italian Minister for Family, Natality and Equal Opportunities Eugenia Roccella said at the launch event. "It has become a global phenomenon, increasingly shaped by international markets, cross-border arrangements, and profound inequalities within and between societies."
The document warns that women and girls in surrogacy arrangements face medical risks, coercion, exploitation and loss of agency — harms it says fall disproportionately on vulnerable populations with limited access to legal remedies. It also raises concerns about psychological, emotional and identity-related impacts on children born through surrogacy, along with risks of abandonment, trafficking and statelessness.
Felipe Kipreos Palau, Director of Human Rights at Chile's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said divergent national laws are creating regulatory gaps that shift harm across borders. "These challenges call for an enhanced international cooperation, and for conversation grounded in the best interests of the child and the dignity of every person involved," he said.
The declaration was launched shortly before UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls Reem Alsalem presented a separate report to the Human Rights Council identifying surrogate mothers as being at particular risk of violence. Alsalem expressed support for the declaration, saying the signatory states recognize that concerns over surrogacy extend beyond commercial arrangements and that fragmented national approaches are facilitating a growing cross-border market.
"This declaration shows that policy action is possible," Alsalem said.
Giorgio Mazzoli, Director of UN Advocacy at ADF International, which moderated the launch event, called the declaration "an important step forward in building the international consensus needed to confront the grave human rights violations and abuses inherent in the practice."
The move follows an October 2025 UN report in which Alsalem concluded that surrogacy is characterized by exploitation and violence against women and children, and called on the international community to work toward eradicating it through a binding international instrument.
According to ADF International, the declaration also builds on growing legislative momentum at the national level. Italy in 2024 became the first country to ban surrogacy both domestically and extraterritorially. Slovakia adopted a constitutional amendment prohibiting the practice in September 2025. In January 2026, a Chilean congressional commission advanced legislation that would prohibit it there as well.
ADF International said it has been involved in surrogacy-related advocacy at the UN for several years, including organizing a civil society letter backed by more than 220 nongovernmental organizations from 40 countries calling for a coordinated international response.]]></content:encoded>
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                <title><![CDATA[Assisted-dying bill returns to UK Parliament amid renewed opposition]]></title>
                <link>https://www.christiandaily.com/news/assisted-dying-bill-returns-to-uk-parliament-amid-renewed-opposition</link>
                <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.christiandaily.com/news/assisted-dying-bill-returns-to-uk-parliament-amid-renewed-opposition</guid>
                                                            <dc:creator><![CDATA[Chris Eyte]]></dc:creator>
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                            <media:title><![CDATA[assisted dying]]></media:title>
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                                    <![CDATA[ Sabine van Erp from Pixabay ]]>
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                                                                            <pubDate>Wed, 24 Jun 2026 04:02:00 -0400</pubDate>
                <description><![CDATA[UK lawmakers will debate again whether to grant terminally ill adults a legal right to end their lives, following a fresh legislative push that has drawn fierce condemnation from Christian leaders and medical professionals.]]></description>
                <content:encoded><![CDATA[
U.K. lawmakers will debate again whether to grant terminally ill adults a legal right to end their lives, following a fresh legislative push that has drawn fierce condemnation from Christian leaders and medical professionals.
The previous Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill would have allowed terminally ill adults with six months or fewer to live to receive assisted suicide under specified safeguards. The legislation stalled after extensive amendments and procedural delays in the House of Lords prevented it from advancing before the parliamentary session ended May 13.
Labour MP Kim Leadbeater introduced that initial private member’s bill, which cleared the House of Commons in June 2025. Once it reached the Lords, the legislation faced hundreds of proposed amendments, sparking prolonged debate.
Lauren Edwards, the Labour MP for Rochester and Strood, confirmed in a statement on June 14 that she will reintroduce the identical bill. While Edwards stated she does not intend to invoke the Parliament Acts — a rare constitutional mechanism that allows the Commons to bypass the Lords — opponents argue she is using the possibility of the mechanism to pressure the upper chamber to approve the legislation.
Edwards called the progression of her private member's bill a “great privilege.”
“This long overdue change to the law was supported by MPs during the last session of Parliament and was prevented from passing only by the decision of a minority in the House of Lords to talk it out and stop it coming to a vote,” Edwards said.
Claiming it is a “fundamental democratic principle” that the elected House of Commons should decide British law, Edwards argued that lawmakers owe a final decision to terminally ill people and their families.
“And I believe it undermines public trust in our democracy more widely if we cannot deliver on a measure that is supported by a very large majority of voters in all parts of the country,” Edwards added that MPs across all parties weighed the evidence carefully. “They considered the evidence presented during the lengthy committee sessions, consulted their constituents and listened to those with personal experience of the injustice and cruelty in the law as it now stands.”
Edwards said MPs did not take the decision lightly, reminding the House of Lords that its constitutional role is to “revise legislation not to block it.”
“It was rightly described as the safest and most robust assisted dying law anywhere in the world,” Edwards said. “And it still is. If MPs pass it again, as I believe they will, it will go back to the Lords who will then be asked to finish the job they should have completed earlier this year.”
However, Christian organizations, healthcare alliances and disability advocates reacted swiftly to condemn the revived bill.
Gordon Macdonald, chief executive officer of Care Not Killing — a prominent alliance of church groups, healthcare professionals and disability rights organizations — expressed deep disappointment over what he termed an “illogical and ideological” decision.
“We are obviously disappointed by this decision to bring back a deeply flawed bill,” Macdonald said. “A bill that was so riddled with errors not a single doctors’ group or disabled group supported it. A bill that even before it went to committee in the Commons saw an important safeguard removed, namely the High Court overseeing each application.”
Macdonald warned that rushing such complex, technical legislation would force vulnerable people to "pay the price with their lives." He cited a Whitestone Insight poll showing that 60 percent of the public oppose cutting parliamentary scrutiny short to force the bill through via the Parliament Acts, including a majority of Edwards’ own constituents.
“Indeed, only 34 percent of the electorate voted for Labour at the last election, so the Labour MP would be wrong to suggest that the Labour government has a democratic mandate to support the bill being forced through,” Macdonald pointed out.
The Christian Institute also issued a statement opposing the new attempt, arguing that the high volume of amendments tabled by peers was necessary given the poor quality of the initial text.
“Despite activists’ claims, the House of Lords did not table countless amendments to Leadbeater’s Bill out of mere ‘delay tactics,’” said Angus Saul, head of communications for The Christian Institute. “Peers emphasised over and again that the Bill was ‘full of holes’ and had not received due diligence and proper pre-legislative scrutiny. Instead of bringing back this horrific Bill, MPs need to ensure that all can access high-quality palliative care.”
Meanwhile, Right To Life UK warned that forcing the bill through would spark a civil war within the ruling Labour Party. Alisdair Hungerford-Morgan, chief executive officer of Right To Life UK, urged Edwards to change course and introduce a less divisive piece of legislation.
“Using the Parliament Acts to force through a controversial Private Members’ Bill that was not in the government’s election manifesto would be unprecedented and unacceptable,” Hungerford-Morgan said.
“Given the slim majority with which Kim Leadbeater’s Bill passed the House of Commons last year, this opposition, combined with the many flaws in the Bill exposed by experts in the House of Lords, means the Bill would very likely fail even if it were revived.”]]></content:encoded>
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                <title><![CDATA['How do we prevent suicide among your teenage friends?' — A podcast on listening to the next generation]]></title>
                <link>https://www.christiandaily.com/news/how-do-we-prevent-suicide-among-your-teenage-friends-a-podcast-on-listening-to-the-next-generation</link>
                <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.christiandaily.com/news/how-do-we-prevent-suicide-among-your-teenage-friends-a-podcast-on-listening-to-the-next-generation</guid>
                                                            <dc:creator><![CDATA[CDI Staff]]></dc:creator>
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                            <media:title><![CDATA[Geordon Rendle]]></media:title>
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                                                                            <pubDate>Tue, 23 Jun 2026 08:51:00 -0400</pubDate>
                <description><![CDATA[“How do we prevent suicide among your teenage friends?” This powerful question sits at the heart of today's episode of Faith Without Frontiers, where host Gordon Showell-Rogers speaks with Geordon Rendle, Youth for Christ’s global youth advocate, about faith, mental health, grief, hope, and the urgent need to truly listen to today’s teenagers.]]></description>
                <content:encoded><![CDATA[
“How do we prevent suicide among your teenage friends?” This powerful question sits at the heart of today's episode of Faith Without Frontiers, where host Gordon Showell-Rogers speaks with Geordon Rendle, Youth for Christ’s global youth advocate, about faith, mental health, grief, hope, and the urgent need to truly listen to today’s teenagers.
Geordon Rendle has spent decades working with young people across different countries and cultures. His life story is one of global experience, deep compassion, and a lifelong commitment to seeing young people recognized not as a problem to be managed, but as people with purpose, gifts, and the ability to transform their communities.
Canadian by passport and deeply shaped by his years in Latin America, Geordon grew up in Colombia as the son of missionaries. From an early age, he witnessed both human brokenness and remarkable resilience. His experiences alongside vulnerable communities, including visiting prisons with his father as a child, shaped his conviction that every young person deserves to be seen, heard, and valued.
Throughout this episode, Gordon and Geordon explore the challenges facing a generation experiencing rising loneliness, anxiety, and questions about meaning and identity. One of the central themes is the importance of giving young people agency — creating opportunities for them to contribute, lead, and participate in meaningful ways.
Geordon challenges adults and churches to rethink how they view teenagers. Rather than seeing young people only as the future of the church, he argues that they are part of the church today. They have insights, creativity, and spiritual gifts that should be welcomed and trusted.
A key idea discussed in the podcast is what Geordon calls “upstream leadership.” Instead of only responding when young people are already in crisis, communities need to ask deeper questions: Why are young people struggling? What pressures are shaping their lives? What can be done before they reach a breaking point?
When discussing the issue of teenage suicide, Geordon emphasizes the importance of listening. Young people themselves often understand the struggles of their peers better than anyone else. By including them in conversations and solutions, families, churches, and communities can work together to restore hope.
Today's episode of Faith Without Frontiers is ultimately a conversation about relationships between generations. It asks what happens when adults stop assuming they already know the answers and begin listening to the voices of young people themselves.
With honesty and wisdom, Geordon Rendle offers a message that reaches far beyond youth ministry: there is always hope, and every young person deserves to know they are loved, valued, and called to make a difference.]]></content:encoded>
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                <title><![CDATA[FTC sues World Professional Association for Transgender Health for deceptive practices]]></title>
                <link>https://www.christiandaily.com/news/ftc-sues-world-professional-association-for-transgender-health-for-deceptive-practices</link>
                <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.christiandaily.com/news/ftc-sues-world-professional-association-for-transgender-health-for-deceptive-practices</guid>
                                                            <dc:creator><![CDATA[The Christian Post]]></dc:creator>
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                            <media:title><![CDATA[FTC sues World Professional Association for Transgender Health for deceptive practices]]></media:title>
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                                    <![CDATA[ ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP via Getty Images ]]>
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                                    <![CDATA[ The headquarters of the US Federal Trade Commission in Washington, D.C., November 18, 2024. ]]>
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                                                                            <pubDate>Fri, 19 Jun 2026 05:25:00 -0400</pubDate>
                <description><![CDATA[The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) joined four states in filing a lawsuit Wednesday against the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) for alleged deceptive practices regarding the treatment of children suffering from gender dysphoria.]]></description>
                <content:encoded><![CDATA[
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) joined four states in filing a lawsuit Wednesday against the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) for alleged deceptive practices regarding the treatment of children suffering from gender dysphoria.
The complaint, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas and joined by Alaska, Iowa, Nebraska and Texas, alleges that the world's leading association for transgender medicine made false and unsubstantiated claims to parents to sell pediatric medical transition services for their children, including drugs and surgery.
"When an entity makes a claim about a medical treatment, the claim must be truthful, evidence-based and not misleading," FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson said in a press release. "Children, but especially their parents, must have complete and truthful information when making decisions to purchase medical services. For decades, the FTC has taken action against entities that make deceptive and unsubstantiated health-related claims."
"The complaint filed today reflects that same long-standing mandate: when an entity makes a claim about a medical treatment, the claim must be truthful, evidence-based and not misleading," Ferguson added.
The complaint accuses WPATH, which the FTC described as "an association of clinicians who profit from pediatric medical transition services," of violating the FTC Act by misleading parents and their children about the medical consensus and necessity of transgender procedures, as well as their safety and effectiveness.
WPATH's Standards of Care, which advocate for an "affirmative" model of treatment for those experiencing gender dysphoria, have been used internationally, though several European nations and international health systems have shifted away from this paradigm to embrace a more cautious approach.
Joe Simonson, director of public affairs for the FTC, told reporters that WPATH intentionally "deceived parents and children of the medical and scientific basis for such services" to increase the likelihood that the interventions would be covered by insurance.
"WPATH professional members have profited immensely from the organization's work, but this profit has come at the expense of children and their parents," Simonson said. 
WPATH issued a statement Wednesday afternoon dismissing the lawsuit's claims as "baseless" while accusing the Trump administration of abusing its authority and the plaintiffs of "[enlisting] the administration's go-to, obedient state attorneys general to help do its unlawful bidding."
"The U.S. Federal Trade Commission is not a medical provider and has no place interfering with the process of individualized medical decision-making. The FTC also does not have any jurisdiction over WPATH and its noncommercial speech. The state claims have similar factual and legal flaws," WPATH said.
The lawsuit comes almost a year after the FTC held a day-long workshop last July that featured testimony from multiple panels of experts and detransitioners, some of whom were reduced to tears recounting what they described as the acute physical and psychological suffering they experienced from undergoing "gender-affirming care."
Last December, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services was taking steps to push back against what he described as "sex-rejecting" transgender procedures for minors.
Kennedy said the proposed HHS rules would bar hospitals participating in Medicare and Medicaid from performing transgender procedures on children, citing risks of irreversible harm such as infertility, impaired sexual function, bone density loss and altered brain development.
Originally published by The Christian Post.]]></content:encoded>
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                <title><![CDATA[Scotland records highest-ever abortion total as advocate calls for open dialogue]]></title>
                <link>https://www.christiandaily.com/news/scotland-records-highest-ever-abortion-total-as-advocate-calls-for-open-dialogue</link>
                <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.christiandaily.com/news/scotland-records-highest-ever-abortion-total-as-advocate-calls-for-open-dialogue</guid>
                                                            <dc:creator><![CDATA[Chris Eyte]]></dc:creator>
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                            <media:title><![CDATA[Demonstrators gather outside the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh on Sept. 24, 2024, to protest a law banning demonstrations within 200 meters of abortion clinics. New Public Health Scotland data shows the country recorded its highest-ever number of abort]]></media:title>
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                                    <![CDATA[ Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images ]]>
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                                    <![CDATA[ Demonstrators gather outside the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh on Sept. 24, 2024, to protest a law banning demonstrations within 200 meters of abortion clinics. New Public Health Scotland data shows the country recorded its highest-ever number of abortions in 2024. ]]>
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                                                                            <pubDate>Mon, 01 Jun 2026 01:24:00 -0400</pubDate>
                <description><![CDATA[Scotland recorded its highest-ever number of abortions in 2024, with nearly 18,800 terminations logged in the latest government figures — a development that has drawn a response from a prominent evangelical advocate who says honest, compassionate conversations are increasingly urgent.]]></description>
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Scotland recorded its highest-ever number of abortions in 2024, with nearly 18,800 terminations logged in the latest government figures — a development that has drawn a response from a prominent evangelical advocate who says honest, compassionate conversations are increasingly urgent.
Public Health Scotland released the data May 26, showing 18,783 abortions performed last year — a 55% rise in demand since 2016. The termination rate stood at 17.6 per 1,000 women aged 15 to 44. In NHS Lanarkshire alone, the number of terminations was 86% higher than a decade ago.
The report also documented a sharp disparity based on economic status. Women living in Scotland's most deprived areas terminated pregnancies at a rate of 23.7 per 1,000 — roughly double the rate recorded in the least deprived areas, according to the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation.
Among other findings: 60.8% of all abortions involved medication taken at home, 277 terminations were recorded as disability-selective, and 209 occurred after 18 weeks of pregnancy. Four in 10 women who had an abortion in the reporting period had undergone at least one previous termination.
Dawn McAvoy, who leads Both Lives, a United Kingdom-wide initiative calling for the protection of both mother and unborn child, said current healthcare systems across the U.K. present abortion as the primary option for pregnant women.
"Across Holyrood, Stormont and Westminster governments are failing to support women to choose life for them and their unborn babies," said McAvoy, who also works with the Evangelical Alliance UK.
She addressed so-called buffer zones — areas around abortion facilities where conversations with patients are legally restricted — arguing that such restrictions remove a critical, last-minute opportunity for women to access support and reconsider their decision.
"The opportunity to speak with a woman outside an abortion clinic — to offer support, compassion, and practical help — may be the last chance for her to choose life," she said. "That matters because we know that, even at that stage, some women have been supported to continue their pregnancies."
But McAvoy also told Christian Daily International that the need for open dialogue extends well beyond clinic doorsteps. "There has always been a need to think beyond those specific locations and to foster compassionate, thoughtful, and honest conversations long before a woman faces a pregnancy crisis or begins considering abortion," she said.
With the majority of U.K. abortions now carried out through self-administered medication at home, McAvoy said that earlier, community-based support has become more critical than ever. "Those earlier conversations and sources of support matter more than ever for many women," she said.]]></content:encoded>
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                <title><![CDATA[Global survey shows Christian institutions in Africa lead in medical training but trail other regions in clinical practice]]></title>
                <link>https://www.christiandaily.com/news/global-survey-shows-christian-institutions-in-africa-lead-in-medical-training-but-trail-other-regions-in-clinical-practi</link>
                <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.christiandaily.com/news/global-survey-shows-christian-institutions-in-africa-lead-in-medical-training-but-trail-other-regions-in-clinical-practi</guid>
                                                            <dc:creator><![CDATA[Vincent Matinde]]></dc:creator>
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                            <media:title><![CDATA[Neonatal clinical care]]></media:title>
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                                    <![CDATA[ CHAG ]]>
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                                    <![CDATA[ According to the survey findings, Africa has the largest number of Christian medical training institutions globally, but only 296 specialist programs. By contrast, South America, with fewer institutions, hosts 697 residency and fellowship programs. ]]>
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                                                                            <pubDate>Sat, 30 May 2026 00:46:00 -0400</pubDate>
                <description><![CDATA[Africa is emerging as a major center for Christian medical training in the developing world, but health leaders warn the continent still faces severe shortages of specialist doctors, rural physicians and residency programs needed to meet growing healthcare demands.]]></description>
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Africa is emerging as a major center for Christian medical training in the developing world, but health leaders warn the continent still faces severe shortages of specialist doctors, rural physicians and residency programs needed to meet growing healthcare demands.
New findings unveiled during a webinar hosted by Christian Connections for International Health (CCIH) revealed that Christian institutions across low- and middle-income countries currently operate 275 graduate medical education institutions offering 1,668 residency and fellowship programs.
The first-ever global census of Christian graduate medical education programs found Africa leading the world in the number of institutions, with 100 institutions spread across 27 countries. However, South America far outpaces Africa in the number of specialist programs, driven largely by Brazil’s extensive Christian hospital network.
The data paints a picture of both growth and inequality in Christian medical education globally.
“We felt a real burden when we saw this number,” said Dr. Ron Yee during the webinar. Yee, a CCIH Senior Technical Advisor, served as a clinician, medical doctor, and CEO of a community health center serving farm workers in California.
Yee stated that 80 low- and middle-income countries still have no identified Christian graduate medical education programs.
“There are no Christian graduate medical education programs identified yet in 80 LMICs,” Yee said. “This data reveals a challenge really for God’s global church and educators.”
The research was conducted by CCIH and the Christian Health Asset Mapping Consortium (CHAMC), which sought to document Christian residency and specialist training programs across developing countries.
According to the findings, Africa has the largest number of Christian medical training institutions globally, but only 296 specialist programs. By contrast, South America, with fewer institutions, hosts 697 residency and fellowship programs.
Brazil alone accounts for 354 programs across 40 institutions, making it the world’s largest hub of Christian graduate medical education identified in the study. India followed with 277 programs, while Argentina and Lebanon recorded some of the highest program concentrations per institution.
But one thing that stood out for Africa is its worsening shortage of doctors and specialists, especially in rural areas.
Brain drain 
That concern was sharply illustrated by Dr. James Duah, the deputy executive director of the Christian Health Association of Ghana (CHAG). He described how Ghana continues to struggle with doctor shortages despite significant investments in healthcare training.
“We have a severe shortage of doctors,” Duah said during the presentation. “We have less than one to 10,000 doctor-patient population in some of the regions. Actually, we have less than one to 17,000, which is really a big issue.”
Duah explained that while Ghana has expanded medical education over the years, many doctors continue to leave for wealthier countries including the United States, the United Kingdom and parts of Europe. “Some of them we have lost to the US, to the UK,” he said.
The trend reflects a wider continental problem. A World Health Organization policy brief on health workforce migration in Africa notes that many African countries continue losing trained healthcare workers because of low salaries, weak infrastructure, limited specialist opportunities and difficult working conditions.
At the same time, Christian health networks already play a major role in African healthcare delivery systems.
In Ghana, the Christian Health Association of Ghana (CHAG) operates 344 health facilities to date, and contributes an estimated 30 to 40 percent of national healthcare delivery, particularly in underserved rural communities, according to CHAG annual reports.
Duah said Christian institutions now believe they must move beyond healthcare delivery and directly invest in training the next generation of doctors.
The Christian Health Association of Ghana is currently working to establish a new Christian medical school built around rural service, ethics and faith-based medical formation.
The proposed school will be based at Holy Family Hospital in Berekum, one of Ghana’s oldest mission hospitals.
“We want to form physicians who are more sound, adequately informed, who will be focusing on rural areas where government-trained doctors will not be able to go,” Duah said.
The school plans to begin with small student cohorts, anatomy laboratories and simulation facilities while partnering with local universities and international institutions.
Duah argued that overcrowding in existing public medical schools has weakened hands-on training.
“During my time in medical school we were very few on one bedside,” he said. “Now we have sometimes 40 people, and if you are short you will not get the opportunity to have hands-on education.”
The initiative is also designed to counter the long-standing “brain drain” problem that has seen many African medical professionals emigrate after qualification.
Duah noted that Ghana previously experienced major losses of doctors seeking specialist training abroad, but conditions improved after the country expanded local residency programs.
“Before the year 2000, we used to have a lot of brain drain because we didn’t have opportunities for residency training and specialist training in Ghana,” he said.
“Then the government started residency training and formed a college of physicians and surgeons,” he added. “We saw a downward trend (in brain drain). In fact, there was a significant shift of people training locally.”
In April 2026, GFA World announced an ambitious healthcare initiative in Rwanda, aiming to train thousands of African medical workers and expand access to care across underserved communities.
The US-based Christian organisation said it plans to open a 300-bed specialist hospital by the end of 2026 as part of a broader effort to establish a medical university and research center that is expected to serve as a continental hub, training African doctors, nurses and researchers while supporting outreach programs in remote areas.
The study also emphasized that Christian medical training is no longer confined to small missionary clinics, but increasingly operates as part of large healthcare systems with specialist hospitals, nursing colleges and residency programs.
Bridging the gap 
The research identified nearly equal numbers of Catholic and Protestant institutions globally. Protestant organizations accounted for 139 institutions, while Catholic organizations operated 128 institutions. However, Catholic institutions hosted significantly more residency programs overall.
Speakers described the findings as a wake-up call for churches, medical educators and international Christian organizations.
Dr. Gary Cloud, CCIH Senior Technical Advisor, said the project revealed both the scale and fragmentation of Christian medical education globally.
“We’re trying to figure out what’s happening in God’s kingdom here with graduate medical education,” Cloud said.
The researchers acknowledged that the database remains incomplete and continues to be refined through collaboration with healthcare workers and institutions on the ground.
Still, the findings revealed major opportunities for expansion, particularly in mental health and behavioral healthcare specialties.
The webinar noted that psychiatry and behavioral health training remain relatively limited despite rising rates of depression, anxiety and substance abuse globally.
Yee suggested Christian medical institutions could play a larger role in responding to those growing needs.
“Is this an opportunity for psychiatry and the mental health related disciplines to really grow?” he asked.
Beyond statistics and institutional mapping, speakers framed the issue as both a healthcare challenge and a Christian mission concern.
“This should hurt,” Yee said. “Three and a half billion people who’ve not had a chance to hear the gospel and four and a half billion people who do not have adequate healthcare. This should hurt. And we should be doing something about it.”]]></content:encoded>
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                <title><![CDATA[Christian hospital performs free fistula surgeries for more than 2,000 Nigerian women annually]]></title>
                <link>https://www.christiandaily.com/news/christian-hospital-performs-free-fistula-surgeries-for-more-than-2-000-nigerian-women-annually</link>
                <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.christiandaily.com/news/christian-hospital-performs-free-fistula-surgeries-for-more-than-2-000-nigerian-women-annually</guid>
                                                            <dc:creator><![CDATA[Obed Minchakpu]]></dc:creator>
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                            <media:title><![CDATA[Bingham University Teaching Hospital in Jos posted a video series on its Facebook page to mark the International Day to End Obstetric Fistula on May 23, 2026, highlighting the causes, impact and treatment of the condition.]]></media:title>
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                                    <![CDATA[ Bingham University Teaching Hospital in Jos posted a video series on its Facebook page to mark the International Day to End Obstetric Fistula on May 23, 2026, highlighting the causes, impact and treatment of the condition. ]]>
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                                                                            <pubDate>Tue, 26 May 2026 01:35:00 -0400</pubDate>
                <description><![CDATA[More than 2,000 Nigerian women have received free fistula surgery at a Christian hospital in Jos that treats patients of all faiths, as the country's first lady calls for an end to child marriage, a leading cause of the condition.]]></description>
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More than 2,000 Nigerian women have received free fistula surgery at a Christian hospital in Jos that treats patients of all faiths, as the country's first lady calls for an end to child marriage, a leading cause of the condition.
Bingham University Teaching Hospital, the medical ministry of the Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA), made the disclosure May 23 during the International Day to End Obstetric Fistula and published a video series on its Facebook page featuring stories and testimonies. The hospital operates the Evangel VVF Center, which focuses on vesicovaginal fistula — an abnormal opening between the bladder and vagina that results from prolonged, obstructed labor without adequate medical care.
Nigeria has one of the world's highest rates of obstetric fistula, accounting for about 40% of global cases. The country records an estimated 13,000 new cases each year, and between 400,000 and 800,000 Nigerian women are currently living with unrepaired obstetric fistula awaiting surgery, according to UNICEF.
Child marriage is a direct driver of obstetric fistula. Girls who become pregnant before their bodies are fully developed face a heightened risk of the prolonged obstructed labor that causes the condition. According to UNFPA, girls who become pregnant before age 15 in low- and middle-income countries have double the risk of obstetric fistula compared with older women. 
Gwong Ayuba, a staff member at the Evangel VVF Center, said the hospital seeks to reach women across the country.
"The Evangel VVF Centre, Bingham University Teaching Hospital in Jos, which partners with Christian Blind Mission (CBM), a global Christian ministry, has successfully carried out surgeries and repairs of over two thousand women and girls suffering from abnormal or damaged connections from the bladder and vagina, medically known as Vesicovaginal Fistula, in all parts of Nigeria," Ayuba said.
This year's global observance carried the theme "Her Health Is A Right: Invest In Ending Fistula And Childbirth Injuries." Hundreds of women received treatment at the hospital and through outreach events across the country.
The International Day to End Obstetric Fistula is observed annually on May 23 to raise awareness about a childbirth injury that affects millions of women and girls worldwide.
Nigeria's first lady, Remi Tinubu, issued a statement for the occasion calling for an end to child marriage and obstetric fistula. She said no woman or girl should suffer from the condition, noting it is both preventable and treatable.
"Let us work together to build a future where every birth is safe and no woman loses her life in childbirth," Tinubu said.
Bingham University Teaching Hospital was founded in 1959 by missionaries with Sudan Interior Mission, now known as SIM, which is headquartered in the United States. At Nigeria's independence in 1960, SIM transferred its ministry activities to ECWA, its Nigerian partner. The hospital's stated mission is to "Preach the Gospel, Heal the Sick."]]></content:encoded>
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                <title><![CDATA[BMA backs down: Cass Review right that evidence for youth puberty blockers was weak]]></title>
                <link>https://www.christiandaily.com/news/bma-backs-down-cass-review-right-that-evidence-for-youth-puberty-blockers-was-weak</link>
                <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.christiandaily.com/news/bma-backs-down-cass-review-right-that-evidence-for-youth-puberty-blockers-was-weak</guid>
                                                            <dc:creator><![CDATA[Chris Eyte]]></dc:creator>
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                            <media:title><![CDATA[A general view of the NHSs Tavistock Centre in London, England, on June 23, 2023]]></media:title>
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                                    <![CDATA[ Dan Kitwood/Getty Images ]]>
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                                    <![CDATA[ A general view of the NHS's Tavistock Centre in London, England, on June 23, 2023. The Tavistock's Gender Identity Development Service was the only NHS-funded service in the UK working on gender issues in young people. Following an independent review led by retired pediatrician Dr. Hilary Cass and commissioned by NHS England, the clinic closed after its centralized service model was deemed unsustainable and lacking a safe, evidence-based foundation. ]]>
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                                                                            <pubDate>Mon, 25 May 2026 02:43:00 -0400</pubDate>
                <description><![CDATA[The British Medical Association has largely reversed its position on the Cass Review into puberty blockers for children — a landmark report the doctors' union had heavily criticized in 2024.]]></description>
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The British Medical Association has largely reversed its position on the Cass Review into puberty blockers for children — a landmark report the doctors' union had heavily criticized in 2024.
The BMA published its findings after a two-year internal evaluation in a paper titled "Cass Review: Evidence, Interpretation, and Implementation." Report co-author Professor David Strain told The Times the review's author "has been vindicated in the way she approached the data." When asked to name a single one of Hilary Cass's 32 recommendations that the BMA currently opposed, Strain said, "I can't," adding, "she approached an area of significant uncertainty with that prime rule of medicine, of 'first, do no harm.'"
The BMA's shift is significant because its council had, in July 2024, blasted Cass's recommendations as "unsubstantiated," called for a public critique and demanded the lifting of the puberty blocker ban — a move that triggered intense backlash from the BMA's own grassroots medical members. The council subsequently adopted a position of neutrality and launched the internal evaluation group that produced the new paper.
Writing for the Christian Medical Fellowship, Trevor Stammers — a former general practitioner, clinical teacher and past CMF chair — said the BMA's paper amounts to a concession that the evidence base in favor of puberty suppression and gender-affirming hormones for young people is "limited and uncertain."
"Whenever ideology prevails over evidence, people must eventually face up to reality," Stammers wrote. "It's very sad that now the BMA's efforts to discredit Cass' findings have turned out to broadly vindicate them, they still seek to criticise the necessary actions subsequently taken."
That ongoing criticism centers on the BMA's refusal to back a total ban on the treatments. The review group stopped short of endorsing the UK government's absolute statutory ban on the medication, calling it a political "overreach" that threatens the clinical autonomy of prescribing doctors — even as it acknowledged the "known and plausible harms" of puberty blockers.
The Cass Review was an independent analysis of the Gender Identity Development Service run by the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust in London. It was led by retired pediatrician Dr. Hilary Cass and commissioned by NHS England. Its findings ultimately led to the closure of the Tavistock clinic, whose centralized service model was deemed unsustainable and lacking a safe, evidence-based foundation.
The review found that clinical staff internationally reported that adolescents "seem to have more complex presentations" and present "with greater mental health and psychosocial needs, as well as additional diagnoses of ASD and/or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)." Data in the report showed that rates of depression, anxiety and eating disorders were significantly higher among those referred to the gender clinic than in the general population.
Baroness Cass also noted in the report that "it is widely accepted that exposure to sexuality is happening at a younger age," adding that the impact on young people's understanding of their sexuality or gender identity "is an area that warrants better exploration and understanding."
Stammers noted that the Cass Review had faced attacks from activists and some academics, including a non-peer-reviewed paper by McNamara et al. that claimed the review contained "serious methodological flaws." He cited the biblical proverb: "Do not testify against your neighbour without cause."
Official figures cited during the clinic's operational history show that 382 children aged up to 6 were referred to the service between 2010 and its clinical wind-down. About 70 were 3 or 4 years old.]]></content:encoded>
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