news in brief
Netherlands: new trans law imminent?
The Dutch Parliament is debating a new draft transgender law which would allow anyone over 16 to change the gender on their birth certificates via a civil officer – without a statement from a physician or psychologist, as is now the case.
The court would decide cases involving children aged under 16, where the opinions of their parents/guardians about the change would not be decisive.
news in brief
Mexico: evangelical
leader sentenced
Naasón
Joaquín García,
the
leader
of
Mexico’s largest evangelical church, has been
sentenced to nearly 17 years in prison for
sexually assaulting three teenaged girls from
his church. He will also be required to register
as a sex offender for life.
The 53-year-old
led
the
congregation
La Luz Del Mundo based in Guadalajara,
Jalisco, Mexico, which
runs churches
in
several
locations
throughout
the United States and Mexico.
news in brief
Samaritans Purse opens
emergency field hospital
International Christian relief organisation
Samaritan’s Purse is opening an emergency
field hospital in Ukraine. Disaster response
specialists have already been
in Poland,
Romania and Moldova conducting rapid
needs assessments and preparing a strategic
response.
The
hospital,
together with
doctors,
nurses,
and
support
staff,
is providing
specialised trauma care to people impacted
by the conflict. This unit has the capacity to
treat more than 100 patients each day, and
comprises 30 beds, an operating theatre and
an Intensive Care Unit. Two medical clinics
will also be deployed to meet minor trauma
needs and provide general medical care for
200 patients.
Australia: contentious Bill in the balance
Iain Taylor
Date posted: 1 Mar 2022
As Evangelicals Now went to press, political manoeuvring in Australia’s lower house has meant that the passage of Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s contentious legislation to outlaw religious discrimination was looking increasingly uncertain, with elections looming this May.
Morrison’s government claims that ‘The Religious Discrimination Bill, and associated legislation, will ensure Australians are protected from discrimination on the basis of religious belief or activity – just as they are protected from discrimination on the basis of age, sex, race and disability’. Mounting opposition from some of his own Liberal MPs, and uncertainty as to whether the Labor opposition and some senior senators will back the Bill – with or without a number of amendments – have led to intense debate on the issue, both inside and outside Australia’s Parliament.