19 July 2018 - NPWJ News Digest on LGBTI Rights

Articles

Surrogacy bill excluding LGBT couples passes into law
by Moran Azulay, Amir Alon, Ynet, 19 Jul 2018

The Knesset passed into law the surrogacy bill on Wednesday, prompting the ire of the LGBT community after same-sex couples were excluded from it. The surrogacy law allows single mothers and heterosexual couples who cannot have children use the services of a surrogate mother to become parents. However, it excludes homosexual couples, preventing them from becoming parents through the surrogacy process.
 
 
 

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Is There a Religious Right to Discriminate Against LGBT Foster and Adoptive Parents? A Federal Court Says No.
by James Esseks, 18 Jul 2018

Nearly 118,000 children are awaiting adoption in the United States, and yet some religious conservatives are insisting that they have a right to put their own religious beliefs ahead of the best interests of children in the state’s care. This issue is being debated from the halls of Congress to state legislatures to courtrooms across the country. But last Friday, a federal court in Philadelphia said there is no such right. 
 

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How a Landmark Ruling Could Pave the Way for Hong Kong to be 'the Best in Asia' on LGBTQ Rights
by Casey Quackenbush, Time, 17 Jul 2018

Hong Kong’s top court recently delivered a landmark decision to allow a spousal visa for a British lesbian woman, in what was seen by many in the city as a significant victory for the LGBTQ community.
 

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IN MAHATHIR’S MALAYSIA, NO GAY RIGHTS AND NO FREE SPEECH
by Bhavan Jaipragas, South China Morning Post, 14 Jul 2018

As Malaysia’s new government prepares for Monday’s parliament sitting – the first since the historic May 9 election – Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad and his reform-oriented allies are facing sharp questions about whether they will renege on vows to improve the country’s dismal human rights record.
Even before the start of the first legislative session, rights activists say the Pakatan Harapan bloc Mahathir leads is showing signs it won’t honour pledges to boost universal rights – including those in the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) community.
 
 

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