With the introduction of medical abortion and fewer restrictions on who can provide them, it is now simpler and easier for New Zealanders to receive an abortion. On Saturday, Labour’s Associate Minister of Health Dr Ayesha Verrall announced the medications can now be prescribed by primary care practitioners, including GPs, midwives, and nurse practitioners. She Read more
When a Colorado woman found out her hospital wouldn’t approve her kidney transplant surgery until she got the COVID-19 vaccine, she was left with a difficult decision pitting her health needs against her religious beliefs. Leilani Lutali, a born-again Christian, went with her faith. Even though she has stage 5 kidney disease that puts her Read more
Judge Coral Shaw, Friday released a statement expressing her sadness of the sexual abuse with the Catholic Church in France She notes, “with immense sadness, the vast scale of abuse against children by clergy in the French Catholic Church since 1950, which was revealed by an independent inquiry in France. “It is deeply unsettling to Read more
Church leaders are urging everyone to get vaccinated after the death of one of their members, a “loving father of five”. The 55-year-old man died in Middlemore Hospital on Wednesday morning from Covid-19. He was part of The Assembly of God Church of Samoa in south Auckland. Rebekah Toleafoa, the church minister’s wife, said on Read more
Martha Sepúlveda Campo, 51, was ready to die on Sunday. Days before, she had been all smiles while joking with her son and having a beer to celebrate what would have been her death by euthanasia. Sepúlveda would have been the first patient without an immediate terminal prognosis — those expected to live for six Read more
New research conducted by the Vatican-owned Bambino Gesù children’s hospital in Rome has found anti-COVID vaccines to be effective in building immunity in young, immunocompromised patients, who are now being advised to get booster shots. An Oct. 4 hospital news bulletin offered fresh data on the efficacy of anti-COVID vaccines on young patients, particularly those Read more
A former educator himself, Pope Francis and other religious leaders helped celebrate World Teachers’ Day by promoting a global alliance aimed at creating an “open and inclusive” education for everyone. The representatives of different religions thanked the world’s teachers “for your dedication and sacrifice as you carry out the noble mission of educating young people. Read more
Build relationships, not programmes, are the words of wisdom from one man behind the success of assisting homelessness in Hastings. Hastings Church lead pastor Warren Heke said addressing a homeless community with a one-size-fits-all approach would never work. He became involved with the homeless community five years ago after a Sunday service, and hasn’t stopped Read more
Sri Lankan prosecutors have indicted the alleged mastermind of the 2019 Easter Sunday suicide bombings along with 24 men they say are co-conspirators in the island’s worst single “terror” attack. Nearly 300 people including dozens of foreign nationals were killed in the April 21 attacks on three churches and three luxury hotels, in a wave Read more
A global report investigating the mental health of children and teenagers is calling for urgent funding to help children, and New Zealand is not immune. The UN’s child protection agency is warning the pandemic will be the latest challenge piled onto an issue that health services are already struggling to match. The report, which Unicef Read more