Category: Reproductive Rights

In custody dispute, Va. judge orders breastfeeding mom to use bottle – The Washington Post

A Virginia mother’s plan to breastfeed — and her daughter’s food supply — ran into an obstacle that advocates say is common: a custody dispute.

Ramirez said she and her daughter’s father split shortly after the birth, and the father moved out of their Northern Virginia home. On Nov. 28, a Prince William County judge ordered that the father be permitted to visit the baby four days per week ahead of overnight visits slated to begin in February.

There was an additional condition. “Mother is to make every effort to place the child on a feeding schedule and use a bottle,” the order read.

Ramirez wasn’t sure what to do. Authorities agreed that “breast is best,” but her baby fed as much as once per hour, and the father complained that feeding times interfered with his visits. Ramirez tried to pump but, at least at first, could produce little milk that way — and the girl initially rejected bottles, a problem that may complicate overnight stays.

Still, this was a court order Ramirez couldn’t ignore. Even as she gathered evidence that she was in the right for another court hearing set for April — a letter from the baby’s pediatrician explaining that she is exclusively breastfed, the names of legal experts on breastfeeding — she couldn’t understand why the court was hurting her daughter. Even her own lawyer has advised her to stop breastfeeding to comply with the court order, she said.

“Why are they forcing me to stop breastfeeding?” she said. “Isn’t that her right? Isn’t that in her best interest?”

Ramirez had stumbled into a dilemma — breastfeeding vs. visitation — that advocates say is common. But because most custody disputes are handled in state courts and don’t surface consistently in public records, there’s little paper trail to show how common it is.

The idea that only women can care for young children — once known in courtrooms as the “tender years” doctrine — has been discredited because it may be considered sex discrimination by men seeking custody.

Some attorneys have embraced this reasoning. In Virginia Beach, for example, attorneys at a practice calling itself “The Firm for Men” represent men exclusively in custody battles. In its arguments and on its website, the firm takes aim at what it calls breastfeeding “ploys” for women seeking custody.

Source: In custody dispute, Va. judge orders breastfeeding mom to use bottle – The Washington Post

Maryland Catholic Hospital Liable for Refusing Transgender Hysterectomy | National Review

Two principles of Catholic health-care ethics forbid removing healthy organs and sterilizing a patient absent a necessity caused by a pathology, such as cancer. These principles are increasingly in conflict with the transgender movement that has the ACLU and others suing when Catholic hospitals refuse transgender surgeries based on these religiously based precepts.

Now, a district judge has awarded a summary judgment against a Maryland Catholic hospital for refusing to remove the healthy uterus of a patient who identifies as male.

Source: Maryland Catholic Hospital Liable for Refusing Transgender Hysterectomy | National Review

Hunter Biden paternity case: Child’s mother wants Ukraine money details

A woman who had a love child by Hunter Biden, son of Democratic presidential front-runner Joe Biden, is demanding that he formally divulge how much he earned from working for a Ukraine gas company that plays a key role in the ongoing impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump.

Roberts is seeking the admissions in connection with her application for child support payments from Hunter.

Roberts sued Hunter in May, less than a month after his latest marriage, claiming that she had his child in August 2018 — while Hunter was still seeing Hallie Biden.

Hunter initially denied having had sex with Roberts.

But in court papers filed in November, Roberts said that a paternity test established that Hunter was the father of her child. Roberts is asking for $11,057.80 in attorneys’ fees and costs related to conducting the test and traveling to Oklahoma for it.

Hunter’s attorneys in a subsequent filing wrote that he was “not contesting paternity.”

Source: Hunter Biden paternity case: Child’s mother wants Ukraine money details

Indigenous child faces extradition to allegedly abu… | NIT

A young First Nations woman is fighting to keep her daughter in Australia after a court ordered she be returned to her father, who the woman has previously accused of being abusive.

Advocate Janine Hendry, who was approached by the woman for help, told National Indigenous Times that the woman was subsequently returned to Europe.

“She was seven months pregnant when she went… She had the child in Europe and got her Australian citizenship and a passport.”

Ms Hendry said the man was allegedly violent and abusive before the mother and her child were able to leave for Australia in 2020.

The father then applied under the Hague Convention, an international law instrument designed to stop child abductions, to have the girl returned.

While the man is subject to a provisional Apprehended Domestic Violence Order, Ms Hendry said that under the Convention domestic violence is not recognised as a reason to not return a child to a parent.

“In the last two weeks the Attorney General (Mark Dreyfus) put in place laws in Australia that mean courts in Australia can, not must, consider domestic violence as a reason not to repatriate children, but it won’t be retrospective,” she said.

While the man is subject to a provisional Apprehended Domestic Violence Order, Ms Hendry said that under the Convention domestic violence is not recognised as a reason to not return a child to a parent.

“In the last two weeks the Attorney General (Mark Dreyfus) put in place laws in Australia that mean courts in Australia can, not must, consider domestic violence as a reason not to repatriate children, but it won’t be retrospective,” she said.

Source: Indigenous child faces extradition to allegedly abu… | NIT

Exclusive: Concept Unveiled for the World’s First Artificial Womb Facility

For nearly a century, fertility rates have been decreasing globally. The result is what scientists are describing as a “worldwide infertility crisis.” But there’s a solution looming on the horizon — artificial wombs.

In 2017, scientists created a “BioBag” that functioned as an artificial womb, and they used it to grow a baby lamb. Now, a new concept has been unveiled exclusively to Science and Stuff showing how the same could be done for humans. In recently released footage, Hashem Al-Ghaili shows what childbirth might look like tomorrow. Specifically, he created an artificial womb facility named EctoLife.

Its purpose? In an exclusive interview with Science and Stuff, Al-Ghaili says he thinks the EctoLife concept could one day supplant traditional birth. In so doing, he said society would finally be able to meet the needs of parents who are “tired of waiting for a response from an adoption agency” and those who are “worried about pregnancy complications.” But most importantly, he says EctoLife could allow us to confront the infertility crisis head-on.

Currently, the World Health Organization estimates that 15% of reproductive-aged couples worldwide are affected by infertility. Indeed, over the last 70 years, fertility rates worldwide have decreased by a staggering 50%. Reasons for this decline include (among other things) women’s increased education, increases in employment, the high cost of raising children, and a drop in global sperm count. 23 countries are already at risk, with Japan, Spain, Portugal, Thailand, and South Korea at the forefront of the crisis.

“It seems probable that we are only several years away from testing [aritfical wombs] on human subjects,” Social Ethics and Policy Academic Elizabeth Chloe Romanis wrote in the BMJ’s Journal Of Medical Ethics. Meanwhile, Dr. Carlo Bulletti, Associate Professor at Yale University’s Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Science Department, thinks that a fully functioning artificial womb could be realized within the next 10 years.

Ed: Please note that Al-Ghaili quoted in this article talking about the “concept” is a filmmaker and co-founder of this publication.

Source: Exclusive: Concept Unveiled for the World’s First Artificial Womb Facility

Abortion access lacking in Australia despite legal status, study finds

Even though abortion services and advice are legal in Australia, a new study has found that access is extremely limited.

The study’s findings were published in the Australian Journal of Primary Health and showed that GPs in public hospitals don’t currently have adequate information to refer women to abortion services.

The review from January-June 2022 extracted abortion service referral data from the 17 of 34 HealthPathways portals that consented to be included across all states and territories except Tasmania and South Australia.

Almost half (47 per cent) had no public services listed for surgical abortion, and 35 per cent had no public services for medical abortion.

Most (63 per cent for surgical abortion, 66 per cent for medical abortion) emphasised that public services should be a last resort, directing referrers away from their abortion services and towards private providers.

As a result of the study’s findings, Dr Srinivasa said: “There is an urgent need for transparency around public abortion service availability, clear guidelines to support referral pathways, and commitment from State and Federal governments to expand the availability of accessible, no-cost abortion in Australia.”

Source: Abortion access lacking in Australia despite legal status, study finds

Gender row blamed for Facebook breastfeeding page coup

The nation’s peak breastfeeding organisation has been locked out of its own social media page – with its name suddenly changing to the woke “Breastfeeding Parents Australia”.
The Australian Breastfeeding Association (ABA) was removed as an administrator from its private Facebook group – previously known as Breastfeeding ABA — last week.
Gender activists are being blamed for the coup.
Earlier this year the association was mired in controversy over a push to get rid of the word “mother” and introduce the term “chest-feeding”, with some counsellors being sacked over the issue.
Now the association is seeking “immediate remediation” after being locked out, and losing its 11,000 Facebook members.

Source: Dailytelegraph.com.au | Subscribe to The Daily Telegraph for exclusive stories

Menopause impacts career progression. What organisational changes are needed? – Lawyers Weekly

Menopause impacts all women at some point in life, typically between 44 and 55 years old, with the transition lasting up to a decade, and often arrives at a time when their aspiration to grow and develop their careers is at its highest.

Menopause continues to be a taboo life stage and something the majority of Australian businesses, communities and individuals are reluctant to engage with, explained Natalie Moore, consultant at Own Your Health Collective.

There are over 35 symptoms of menopause, including brain fog, confusion, and forgetfulness; trouble sleeping; anxiety and moodiness; and lack of self-confidence.

Currently, there is no legislation around women in menopause; however, in the UK, there have been several litigation cases brought by women who have been “performance managed out”, discriminated against, or harassed.

The new psychosocial regulations could provide a starting point to bring these topics to light, Ms Moore suggested, and there is a rise in menstrual and menopause policies, which give the opportunity for women to take days off work if they are feeling symptoms.

Yet, there is apprehension to introduce such policies, noted Ms Moore; businesses are concerned women will take advantage of the policies, or on the flip side, that women will not use them for fear of being singled out, especially if going through menopause.

Source: Menopause impacts career progression. What organisational changes are needed? – Lawyers Weekly

Foster care: NSW launches review of out-of-home care sector

The plight of two boys in out-of-home care in NSW has been detailed in a court case that has sparked an urgent government review of the multimillion-dollar sector.

The state government has ordered an immediate review of out-of-home care services for children in NSW, following claims two boys were left hungry and too cold to go to school this year while their care provider sought thousands of dollars a day to look after them.

In a devastating assessment of the sector, a children’s court magistrate has detailed the “unconscionable” treatment, “appalling neglect” and “failure” in care by providers, including Lifestyle Solutions, and the NSW Department of Communities and Justice.

Source: Foster care: NSW launches review of out-of-home care sector

Babies before bottom lines: A call for Australia to end exploitative marketing of commercial milk formula at home and abroad – The Lancet Regional Health – Western Pacific

Globally, 600,000 deaths among women and children each year are attributable to notbreastfeeding.Breastfeeding is often perceived as less important in high-incomecountries; however, it is no less critical for infant food security and normal health,growth, and development.Infants who are not breastfed are more vulnerable to death and disease, and this vulnerability has been highlighted during recent natural disasters,the pandemic, and the United States infant death and commercial milk formula shortage.

The Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes and subsequent World Health Assembly resolutions (the Code) is a set of recommendations adopted by the World Health Assembly (WHA) to curb the harmful marketing of commercial milk formula linked to morbidity and mortality among children.

The Code is not legally binding on its own, requiring national adoption into law and enforcement for it to be effective. A recent WHO report found that only 32 countries have legislation that substantially aligns with the Code. Australia was not among them.

Families worldwide have a right to make infant feeding decisions free from commercial influence. However, the commercial milk formula industry will not cede potential market share out of benevolence. To properly protect breastfeeding and prevent the unique vulnerability and food insecurity accompanying dependence on commercial milk formula, governments must impose legally enforceable limits on corporate marketing activity at all levels of policy and society. It has been over forty years since the WHA, including Australia, ratified the Code. Yet, Australia fails to enforce the Code at home and supports Australian companies in undermining Code legislation in neighbouring countries. It is time for Australia to correct historical inaction and end exploitative marketing at home and abroad.

Source: Babies before bottom lines: A call for Australia to end exploitative marketing of commercial milk formula at home and abroad – The Lancet Regional Health – Western Pacific