The Dutch are known for their liberal attitudes toward sex and drugs: while not officially legal, marijuana use and sale in “coffee shops” is tolerated in The Netherlands, as is prostitution, most notoriously in the street …
abortion
Report: fetus cannot feel pain before 24 weeks
A new report from the U.K.’s Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) concludes that, before 24 weeks, nerve endings in the brains of fetuses aren’t sufficiently developed to experience pain. The findings, based on a review of recent studies examining fetal development and capacity for pain, undermine the argument for a
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Emergency contraception — up to 5 days later?
Later this week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is scheduled to convene an advisory committee on reproductive health drugs to determine whether a new emergency contraception pill — that can work up to 5 days after intercourse — should be approved for the U.S. market. Yet the new drug, ulipristal acetate, which is manufactured
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Paying pregnant women not to have abortions
The governor of the Lombardy province of northern Italy introduced a policy that would offer pregnant women $5,500 (€4,500) not to end their pregnancies, the BBC reports. Under the policy, established by governor Roberto Formigoni, only pregnant women facing severe economic hardship would be eligible for the payment.
Abortion ad sparks controversy in the U.K.
Marie Stopes International, a sexual health group akin to the U.S.’s Planned Parenthood that provides abortions and other services at clinics throughout the U.K., has purchased a time slot for a 30-second commercial scheduled to air Monday night, the Telegraph reports. The ad — which does not mention the word abortion, but directs
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