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Defending life, family, and freedom across the world

victory
Let ST's story be heard: End reporting restrictions

Update – 22 Sep 2023: 
Thanks to your support and the excellent work of the Christian Legal Centre, the family of ‘ST’ has today won the right to name her and share her story!

Today, the Family Division of the High Court has ruled that Sudiksha's parents and her brother can be named and are free to tell the courageous 19-year-old's story and share the ordeal they have been through.

Again, your support has helped achieve this victory.


Original text:
I write to you today with a heavy heart and deep sadness about the death of ST.

Her heart-wrenching story underscores the urgent need for change in our healthcare system.

The brave teenager and her family have spent the majority of 2023 locked in a legal fight with doctors who wanted to withdraw her life-preserving treatment. These same doctors also blocked ST from seeking alternative life-saving treatment in Canada through a controversial court mechanism called a "Transparency Order".

The order imposes draconian restrictions on reporting any information that might lead to the identification of ST, members of her family, or the hospital. This prevented ST and her parents from giving any media interviews or raising funds for her care. Even now, in the hour of their grief, ST’s parents are still banned from sharing her story. 

ST’s story deserves to be heard! Join us in demanding the UK Health Secretary lift the reporting restrictions on her case so we can hear it. 

In a healthcare system funded by the public, transparency and accountability are paramount. However, Transparency Orders, as seen in ST's case, obstruct transparency and prevent public scrutiny of critical medical decisions. This lack of transparency challenges the NHS's accountability to the very taxpayers who support it.

We cannot let cases like STs continue without change. Sign our petition calling for an urgent review on the NHS’ use of "Transparency Orders" and their anti-life consequences.

Every individual, irrespective of their medical condition, should have the right to make informed decisions about their healthcare. Transparency Orders often silence patients like ST and their families, undermining autonomy, and dignity.

In situations where life and death hang in the balance, transparency is not a luxury but an essential element of justice. Justice that ST was denied.

Your support has always been invaluable to us, and we now implore you to stand with us in this critical moment. We need your voice to advocate for change to ensure that no other family faces the torment that ST's family endured.

Act now and help prevent further tragic cases. Sign our petition to demand transparency and justice.


Learn more:
'We seek justice for Sudiksha today': https://christianconcern.com/news/we-seek-justice-for-sudiksha-today/

Family of ill teen say they were 'brutally silenced' by courts: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-66893040

The parents of Sudiksha Thirumalesh - only known as 'ST' until today - reveal their anger and grief after their daughter's death which saw them dragged through the courts after trying to raise money for her medical treatment overseas: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12551033/Parents-Sudiksha-Thirumalesh-ST-anger-grief-daughters-death-courts-raise-money-medical-treatment-overseas.html


Stop anti-Christian hatred and reinstate King Lawal

Update (27 Oct 2023):

King Lawal has been reinstated as a Conservative councillor!

The Christian councillor was suspended from the Conservative Party for expressing the Christian and biblical position on LGBT pride events and his concerns about illegal activity at such events. 

Supported by the Christian Legal Centre, Cllr Lawal instructed lawyers to prepare legal action alleging multiple violations of his rights to freedom of speech and freedom of religion.

However, at a full council meeting last night (26 October) in Corby, Northamptonshire, Cllr Lawal was reinstated by Leader of the Council, Jason Smithers, and then invited to make a statement. He said:

"On June 29th I posted a tweet which I understand some people were offended by. The tweet was an expression of my Christian faith by quoting passages from the Bible. This was an exercise in free speech. As a councillor, I act equally for the residents of the areas in which I am elected in all areas of debate and discussion. I represent all members of my constituency without fear or favour and undertake my role as a councillor with impartiality and without bias. My intention in posting the tweet was not to cause harassment, alarm or distress to any person or persons"

Thank you for your support.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 

Christians are being cancelled for holding Christian views! 

King Lawal is the latest to have his life torn apart. 

The Christian councillor was suspended from the Conservative Party and cancelled by six organisations for expressing the Christian and biblical position on LGBT pride events and his concerns about illegal activity at such events. 

A local authority demanded that he resign from his own business or risk losing a substantial council contract. 

Lawal, who is being supported by the Christian Legal Centre, joins the ranks of an increasing number of Christians who have faced severe repercussions for expressing their views:  

  • Felix Ngole achieved a significant legal victory against Sheffield University when he was unjustly expelled from his course for expressing his views on same-sex 'marriage.' However, despite this landmark win, Felix continued to face discrimination. His "dream job" offer was rescinded by potential employers upon learning about the successful outcome of his case. This shocking turn of events underscores the persistent challenges individuals like Felix endure in exercising their freedom of speech and the far-reaching consequences that unjust treatment can have on their career prospects.
  • Dr David Mackereth, a Christian doctor with 26 years of experience, was unjustly dismissed from his job for expressing the belief that gender is determined by biology, not self-identification and stating, as a result of this belief, he would not use transgender pronouns.
  • Maureen Martin, a Christian mayoral candidate, lost her job at a housing association for expressing her Christian beliefs on marriage on her election manifesto. Her employer, rather than argue in court for the right to discriminate against her, agreed to settle her case.
  • Rev. Dr Bernard Randall was sacked as school chaplain for preaching a Christian sermon in a Christian act of worship in a Christian chapel in a Christian school. Adding to the absurdity of his dismissal, Bernard was reported to the terrorist watchdog, Prevent, and blacklisted by the Church of England as a safeguarding risk to children. 

Tragically, there are many more cases like these

By signing our petition, you can stand with us to protect freedom of speech and Christian expression.  

Together, we can send a powerful message that Christian beliefs should be respected and upheld. 

Join us in our fight for justice and equality for all by signing and sharing the petition.

 

--

This petition is written by Christian Concern (CGPE230718).

If you choose the option 'Keep me informed about this and other campaigns from Christian Concern' we will email you about this and other news updates. You can unsubscribe from these emails at any time.

You can find our privacy policy on our main website christianconcern.com/privacy

Block Scotland's gender reform

Despite polling demonstrating that the majority of Scottish residents are opposed to their government’s proposals to make the process of self-identification easier and to lower the age at which people can identify as the opposite gender, Scotland’s government has gone ahead and voted in favour of these measures.

The Gender Recognition Reform Act was passed in the Scottish Parliament on 22 December 2022 by 86 votes to 39 due to a coalition between the Scottish National Party and the Green Party.

Recent polls for YouGov on behalf of the Times reveal that these reforms are opposed by two-thirds of the Scottish population.

The bill is an absolute disaster for the safety and well-being of women and children in Scotland. It allows anyone who says they are a woman to be legally recognised as one, meaning that people in possession of a gender recognition certificate can access spaces and programmes that were originally allocated for biological women.

Under this new regime, endorsed by Nicola Sturgeon’s Scottish National Party, no medical diagnosis will be required to obtain a gender recognition certificate and the age at which one can be obtained has also been lowered to 16. 

The bill, if implemented, creates a disparity between the law in Scotland and in the rest of the United Kingdom, whereby the Equality Act treats gender reassignment and biological sex as separate categories.

The bill also raises the possibility of gender tourism in Scotland, whereby men could travel to Scotland to have their gender legally changed and then use their new official status to access female-only spaces in other nations.

The bill has the potential to impact the NHS, the education system and the criminal justice across the whole of the United Kingdom and not just Scotland. It could make it difficult to guarantee same-sex care in the United Kingdom single-sex schools. It could also allow biologically male Scottish prisons to be placed in women’s prisons.

The government has the legal powers to block this bill, under section 35 of the Scotland Act and Scottish secretary Alistair Jack has indicated his willingness to do so. Sign the petition to urge him to turn his speech into action and stop this disastrous bill from being implemented and affecting the rights and safety of women and children across the United Kingdom.


More information:

Nicola Sturgeon’s New Trans law could put women at risk in English schools, hospitals and prisons (Daily Mail)

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11611469/Nicola-Sturgeons-trans-law-reform-undermine-womens-rights-amid-gender-tourism-concerns.html

Time is tight, write to your MP to protect Scottish women and UK law (Graham Linehan)

https://grahamlinehan.substack.com/p/write-to-your-mp-to-protect-scottish

Why Scotland’s self-ID bill should be referred to the Supreme Court (Sex Matters)

https://sex-matters.org/posts/updates/why-scotlands-self-id-bill-should-be-referred-to-the-supreme-court/

Ireland is erasing women!

Update: amendments to the draft Work-Life Balance and Miscellaneous provisions bill were published on 13th October and the word "woman" has been reinstated. 

An innocuous-sounding bill, the ‘Work-Life Balance and Miscellaneous provisions bill” is beginning its journey through Ireland’s two legislative houses, which, if it is passed into law, erases all mention of women from maternity laws.

The bill has been designed to bring Ireland into line with the EU Work-life Balance Directive and concerns rights of parents and carers in the workplace. The bill contains specific workplace provisions and protections for pregnant and breastfeeding mothers and will, if passed into law, remove all mention of the word ‘woman’ from maternity protection legislation as well as the words ‘she’ and ‘her’ in reference to being female.


The legislation also makes the scientifically inaccurate claim that men can breastfeed and allows for people who claim that they are men, to breastfeed at work. The Irish government appears to believe that they are able to change the laws of nature!

This is not simply a procedural change. The Irish government intends to officially enshrine the idea that men can give birth and breastfeed into the laws of the land and in doing so, deny the unique role played by women.

Laws often play an important part in influencing public opinion. Denying the basic scientific fact that only women can conceive, birth and breastfeed their children puts Ireland’s women in jeopardy. Biological sex is a protected characteristic in the country’s Equalities Act to recognise the innate differences between males and females and the unique role played by women in human reproduction.

Ireland appears to want to strip women of a key part of their identity and deny that motherhood is unique to the female sex. This is all part of an attempt by Ireland’s politicians to further embed gender ideology into the law and constitution without any consultation with the public.

Maternity laws should be there to protect pregnant women - not deny their existence!


Scrap the Family Sex Show

Update:  On Tuesday 19 April, the production company behind the Family Sex Show announced that the production will no longer go ahead in either Bristol or Norwich and would only be performed to a 'select invited audience' in Bath. 

Sadly, it seems as though no lessons have been learned. The production company, Egg theatre company, stated that the withdrawal was thanks to 'illegal threats and abuse' from a small group of extremists, ignoring the 39,000 ordinary citizens who signed the petition in protest. 

The company doubled down on their position by asking for support from venues that would still be happy to host them and directed the public to their website for material that supported the themes of their show. One of the pages of their website suggested that children might like to look up themes of animal masturbation on the internet and then draw pictures to represent their findings. Other suggestions were for children to make play-doh models of genitals. 

The Family Sex Show website also published the lyrics of one of their songs, which explicitly encourages children to name and touch their and each others' sexual organs for pleasure. 

CitizenGO does not condone and is not responsible for any threats of abuse, however we remain dismayed by the attitude of the production company and alarmed by their total disregard when it comes to the safeguarding of children. It appears that no safeguarding checks have been carried out on the adults who proposed to strip naked in front of children before talking to them about sex. The Family Sex Show has yet to cite the names of the supposed 'experts in safeguarding' who were supposedly consulted when the show was originally devised. 

The BBC and Guardian have both reported on the cancellation, claiming that this is due to threats and abuse and making no mention of the highly sexualised content or reason for the widespread public outrage. 

The petition remains open for signatures so that the public can continue to register their opposition. We will continue to monitor the situation and will not hesitate to raise our voices in protest if this show attempts to continue to market itself to children. 

Serious questions need to be asked about why this production was allowed to be funded in the first place. 


A sexually explicit show funded by the Arts Council, which is in turn funded by taxpayers and National Lottery money, is currently touring various UK theatres.


The show, which is billed as an alternative to porn, is incredibly titled ‘The family sex show’ features full-frontal nudity and is marketed at families and children as young as five. Children should not be de-desensitised to the sight of naked adult bodies or introduced to topics surrounding adult sexual pleasure which this production promotes and celebrates. 

The producer of the Family Sex show claims that it imagines a future without sexual shame and aims to make it easier for anyone of any age to talk about the ‘tricky sticky topics’ of gender, masturbation, boundaries and relationships. All of the performances are based on the actors' own personal experiences of sexual relationships. Photographs of the production feature adults simulating various sex acts.  The Family Show website contains a glossary of terms that they want young children to become acquainted with and includes definitions of 'BDSM', 'frottage', 'hand job' and 'squirting'. 

The show even comes with a content warning but is at the same time aiming to attract families and children! The advertising for the show mentions that performers will take off as many clothes as they are comfortable with, but not once is there any suggestion or reflection of the feelings of their young audience. The marketing material discusses equipping children with the language to be able to choose to talk about sexual relationships.

This is nothing more than a blatant and extremely concerning attempt to sexualise children prematurely and is abusive. The show aims to break down children’s natural boundaries and expose them to content they are not sufficiently mature enough to handle. There is no difference between taking children to the Family Sex Show and taking them to a seedy peep show or strip club! It raises precisely the same safeguarding concerns. Children who exhibit precocious sexual knowledge are at increased risk of sexual abuse and vulnerable to sexual predators. 

It is a disgrace that taxpayers’ money has been spent on a production that scandalises and harms children and potentially places them at risk. 

The Family Sex Show is a misnomer. Demand that theatres immediately scrap the production! 

 


Further information:

Why are we allowing the Family Sex Show (The Critic)

https://thecritic.co.uk/why-are-we-allowing-the-family-sex-show/

And now for a song about the clitoris (The Guardian) 

https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2022/mar/08/and-now-for-a-song-about-the-clitoris-the-joy-of-sex-education

Fury as theatre company stages naked show exploring 'sexuality, sexual pleasure and queerness' aimed at children as young as FIVE (Daily Mail)

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10700795/Fury-theatre-company-stages-naked-exploring-sexuality-sexual-pleasure-queerness.html

The Family Show FAQ marketing. 

https://thefamilysexshow.com/faq


End ‘DIY’ abortion schemes that have seen abortion numbers soar and women put at risk

Update 24th February 2022: The Department of Health has confirmed that the temporary measures allowing for DIY abortion to take place at home during the pandemic will now be wound down and that from 30 August 2022, the safeguard requiring women who want an abortion, to have an in-person appointment, will be re-implemented. This is very good news for the health and safety of both pregnant women and their unborn children.



Coinciding with the introduction of ‘DIY’ home abortion, 2020 saw a significant rise in the number of abortions performed compared to the already all-time high figures recorded in 2019.

210,860 lives were lost to abortion in England & Wales in 2020. ‘DIY’ home abortions accounted for a significant proportion of those terminations.

Now, the UK Government is coming under extreme pressure from the abortion lobby, led by abortion provider BPAS, to make these dangerous abortion services available permanently.


This is despite significant safety abuses linked to the scheme, including a murder investigation into the death of a baby believed to have been born alive.


According to a leaked “urgent email” sent by a regional chief midwife at NHS England and NHS Improvement on the “escalating risks” of ‘DIY’ home abortions, police have opened a murder investigation into the death of a baby who they believe was born alive despite her mother taking ‘DIY’ home abortion pills. 


A study undertaken by the previous Global Director of Clinics Development at abortion provider Marie Stopes International (now MSI Reproductive Choices) has found that over 10,000 women have needed hospital treatment following the use of medical abortion pills since March 2020. 


A nationwide undercover investigation found evidence of abortion providers putting women at significant risk by not carrying out basic checks before sending them ‘DIY’ home abortion pills.

The study also discovered that ‘DIY’ home abortion pills can easily be obtained and administered to others, potentially in a coercive manner.


A number of women have also come forward to share the serious problems they’ve experienced after taking ‘DIY’ home abortion pills.  One woman said she went through “hell” and thought she was going to die after taking the dangerous pills. Another woman said the pain and physical process was “horrible” and “a lot worse than expected”. 


Abortion providers, such as BPAS and Marie Stopes International, have made no secret of their desire to see the temporary measure allowing ‘DIY’ home abortions to be made permanent, regardless of how many complications or serious incidents have arisen as a result of their ‘services’.


Sign the petition now to send a message to the UK Government that the dangerous ‘DIY’ home abortion schemes should be ended immediately.

victories

Let ST's story be heard: End reporting restrictions

Update – 22 Sep 2023: 
Thanks to your support and the excellent work of the Christian Legal Centre, the family of ‘ST’ has today won the right to name her and share her story!

Today, the Family Division of the High Court has ruled that Sudiksha's parents and her brother can be named and are free to tell the courageous 19-year-old's story and share the ordeal they have been through.

Again, your support has helped achieve this victory.


Original text:
I write to you today with a heavy heart and deep sadness about the death of ST.

Her heart-wrenching story underscores the urgent need for change in our healthcare system.

The brave teenager and her family have spent the majority of 2023 locked in a legal fight with doctors who wanted to withdraw her life-preserving treatment. These same doctors also blocked ST from seeking alternative life-saving treatment in Canada through a controversial court mechanism called a "Transparency Order".

The order imposes draconian restrictions on reporting any information that might lead to the identification of ST, members of her family, or the hospital. This prevented ST and her parents from giving any media interviews or raising funds for her care. Even now, in the hour of their grief, ST’s parents are still banned from sharing her story. 

ST’s story deserves to be heard! Join us in demanding the UK Health Secretary lift the reporting restrictions on her case so we can hear it. 

In a healthcare system funded by the public, transparency and accountability are paramount. However, Transparency Orders, as seen in ST's case, obstruct transparency and prevent public scrutiny of critical medical decisions. This lack of transparency challenges the NHS's accountability to the very taxpayers who support it.

We cannot let cases like STs continue without change. Sign our petition calling for an urgent review on the NHS’ use of "Transparency Orders" and their anti-life consequences.

Every individual, irrespective of their medical condition, should have the right to make informed decisions about their healthcare. Transparency Orders often silence patients like ST and their families, undermining autonomy, and dignity.

In situations where life and death hang in the balance, transparency is not a luxury but an essential element of justice. Justice that ST was denied.

Your support has always been invaluable to us, and we now implore you to stand with us in this critical moment. We need your voice to advocate for change to ensure that no other family faces the torment that ST's family endured.

Act now and help prevent further tragic cases. Sign our petition to demand transparency and justice.


Learn more:
'We seek justice for Sudiksha today': https://christianconcern.com/news/we-seek-justice-for-sudiksha-today/

Family of ill teen say they were 'brutally silenced' by courts: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-66893040

The parents of Sudiksha Thirumalesh - only known as 'ST' until today - reveal their anger and grief after their daughter's death which saw them dragged through the courts after trying to raise money for her medical treatment overseas: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12551033/Parents-Sudiksha-Thirumalesh-ST-anger-grief-daughters-death-courts-raise-money-medical-treatment-overseas.html


Stop anti-Christian hatred and reinstate King Lawal

Update (27 Oct 2023):

King Lawal has been reinstated as a Conservative councillor!

The Christian councillor was suspended from the Conservative Party for expressing the Christian and biblical position on LGBT pride events and his concerns about illegal activity at such events. 

Supported by the Christian Legal Centre, Cllr Lawal instructed lawyers to prepare legal action alleging multiple violations of his rights to freedom of speech and freedom of religion.

However, at a full council meeting last night (26 October) in Corby, Northamptonshire, Cllr Lawal was reinstated by Leader of the Council, Jason Smithers, and then invited to make a statement. He said:

"On June 29th I posted a tweet which I understand some people were offended by. The tweet was an expression of my Christian faith by quoting passages from the Bible. This was an exercise in free speech. As a councillor, I act equally for the residents of the areas in which I am elected in all areas of debate and discussion. I represent all members of my constituency without fear or favour and undertake my role as a councillor with impartiality and without bias. My intention in posting the tweet was not to cause harassment, alarm or distress to any person or persons"

Thank you for your support.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 

Christians are being cancelled for holding Christian views! 

King Lawal is the latest to have his life torn apart. 

The Christian councillor was suspended from the Conservative Party and cancelled by six organisations for expressing the Christian and biblical position on LGBT pride events and his concerns about illegal activity at such events. 

A local authority demanded that he resign from his own business or risk losing a substantial council contract. 

Lawal, who is being supported by the Christian Legal Centre, joins the ranks of an increasing number of Christians who have faced severe repercussions for expressing their views:  

  • Felix Ngole achieved a significant legal victory against Sheffield University when he was unjustly expelled from his course for expressing his views on same-sex 'marriage.' However, despite this landmark win, Felix continued to face discrimination. His "dream job" offer was rescinded by potential employers upon learning about the successful outcome of his case. This shocking turn of events underscores the persistent challenges individuals like Felix endure in exercising their freedom of speech and the far-reaching consequences that unjust treatment can have on their career prospects.
  • Dr David Mackereth, a Christian doctor with 26 years of experience, was unjustly dismissed from his job for expressing the belief that gender is determined by biology, not self-identification and stating, as a result of this belief, he would not use transgender pronouns.
  • Maureen Martin, a Christian mayoral candidate, lost her job at a housing association for expressing her Christian beliefs on marriage on her election manifesto. Her employer, rather than argue in court for the right to discriminate against her, agreed to settle her case.
  • Rev. Dr Bernard Randall was sacked as school chaplain for preaching a Christian sermon in a Christian act of worship in a Christian chapel in a Christian school. Adding to the absurdity of his dismissal, Bernard was reported to the terrorist watchdog, Prevent, and blacklisted by the Church of England as a safeguarding risk to children. 

Tragically, there are many more cases like these

By signing our petition, you can stand with us to protect freedom of speech and Christian expression.  

Together, we can send a powerful message that Christian beliefs should be respected and upheld. 

Join us in our fight for justice and equality for all by signing and sharing the petition.

 

--

This petition is written by Christian Concern (CGPE230718).

If you choose the option 'Keep me informed about this and other campaigns from Christian Concern' we will email you about this and other news updates. You can unsubscribe from these emails at any time.

You can find our privacy policy on our main website christianconcern.com/privacy

Block Scotland's gender reform

Despite polling demonstrating that the majority of Scottish residents are opposed to their government’s proposals to make the process of self-identification easier and to lower the age at which people can identify as the opposite gender, Scotland’s government has gone ahead and voted in favour of these measures.

The Gender Recognition Reform Act was passed in the Scottish Parliament on 22 December 2022 by 86 votes to 39 due to a coalition between the Scottish National Party and the Green Party.

Recent polls for YouGov on behalf of the Times reveal that these reforms are opposed by two-thirds of the Scottish population.

The bill is an absolute disaster for the safety and well-being of women and children in Scotland. It allows anyone who says they are a woman to be legally recognised as one, meaning that people in possession of a gender recognition certificate can access spaces and programmes that were originally allocated for biological women.

Under this new regime, endorsed by Nicola Sturgeon’s Scottish National Party, no medical diagnosis will be required to obtain a gender recognition certificate and the age at which one can be obtained has also been lowered to 16. 

The bill, if implemented, creates a disparity between the law in Scotland and in the rest of the United Kingdom, whereby the Equality Act treats gender reassignment and biological sex as separate categories.

The bill also raises the possibility of gender tourism in Scotland, whereby men could travel to Scotland to have their gender legally changed and then use their new official status to access female-only spaces in other nations.

The bill has the potential to impact the NHS, the education system and the criminal justice across the whole of the United Kingdom and not just Scotland. It could make it difficult to guarantee same-sex care in the United Kingdom single-sex schools. It could also allow biologically male Scottish prisons to be placed in women’s prisons.

The government has the legal powers to block this bill, under section 35 of the Scotland Act and Scottish secretary Alistair Jack has indicated his willingness to do so. Sign the petition to urge him to turn his speech into action and stop this disastrous bill from being implemented and affecting the rights and safety of women and children across the United Kingdom.


More information:

Nicola Sturgeon’s New Trans law could put women at risk in English schools, hospitals and prisons (Daily Mail)

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11611469/Nicola-Sturgeons-trans-law-reform-undermine-womens-rights-amid-gender-tourism-concerns.html

Time is tight, write to your MP to protect Scottish women and UK law (Graham Linehan)

https://grahamlinehan.substack.com/p/write-to-your-mp-to-protect-scottish

Why Scotland’s self-ID bill should be referred to the Supreme Court (Sex Matters)

https://sex-matters.org/posts/updates/why-scotlands-self-id-bill-should-be-referred-to-the-supreme-court/

Ireland is erasing women!

Update: amendments to the draft Work-Life Balance and Miscellaneous provisions bill were published on 13th October and the word "woman" has been reinstated. 

An innocuous-sounding bill, the ‘Work-Life Balance and Miscellaneous provisions bill” is beginning its journey through Ireland’s two legislative houses, which, if it is passed into law, erases all mention of women from maternity laws.

The bill has been designed to bring Ireland into line with the EU Work-life Balance Directive and concerns rights of parents and carers in the workplace. The bill contains specific workplace provisions and protections for pregnant and breastfeeding mothers and will, if passed into law, remove all mention of the word ‘woman’ from maternity protection legislation as well as the words ‘she’ and ‘her’ in reference to being female.


The legislation also makes the scientifically inaccurate claim that men can breastfeed and allows for people who claim that they are men, to breastfeed at work. The Irish government appears to believe that they are able to change the laws of nature!

This is not simply a procedural change. The Irish government intends to officially enshrine the idea that men can give birth and breastfeed into the laws of the land and in doing so, deny the unique role played by women.

Laws often play an important part in influencing public opinion. Denying the basic scientific fact that only women can conceive, birth and breastfeed their children puts Ireland’s women in jeopardy. Biological sex is a protected characteristic in the country’s Equalities Act to recognise the innate differences between males and females and the unique role played by women in human reproduction.

Ireland appears to want to strip women of a key part of their identity and deny that motherhood is unique to the female sex. This is all part of an attempt by Ireland’s politicians to further embed gender ideology into the law and constitution without any consultation with the public.

Maternity laws should be there to protect pregnant women - not deny their existence!


Let us stand for freedom of speech in Europe

Freedom of speech in Europe is in great danger!

On 9 December 2021, the European Commission proposed to extend the list of EU crimes to hate speech and hate crimes.

If this proposal is accepted, your pro-life and pro-family voice will be shut down in all the EU and the Republic of Ireland. Sorry, but I must warn you about the upcoming danger: your right to free speech will be violated by public and private entities.

It's a tactic by the radical left to censor any dissent to their agenda worldwide. By changing the definition of what free speech means, they’ll strike a blow on our freedom to defend our opinions and beliefs… We are on the brink of being unplugged!

The debates are still going on, but the vote is inexorably coming. The next meeting of the Justice and Home Affairs Council will be in Luxembourg on 9 - 10 June 2022. We plan to persuade some delegates of the EU Member States to vote against the new hate speech laws and make them derail… But I need your help NOW!

If freedom of expression is suppressed, the system of government turns into totalitarian tyranny.

We are increasingly seeing how hate speech laws can be misused for persecuting people of different opinions. Biden administration in the US has announced its intent to establish a Disinformation Governance Board (DGB) to label information it does not like as disinformation. The Finnish pro-gender prosecutor persecuted the Christian politician Päivi Räsänen for her biblical views on marriage, family, and sexuality.

We have numerous examples of this in the UK, not least with our Campaign Director, Caroline Farrow who has been contacted by the police twice now in relation to misgendering. Several Christian pastors have found themselves under arrest for preaching the Gospel on the streets because the content is deemed 'hate speech and one woman was arrested in front of her children, put in jail and later convicted of hate speech for causing offence by misgendering a transgender activist before her conviction was overturned. 

We must stop it before it is too late!

The new hate speech laws proposed by the Commission to be added to Article 83(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) are very loosely worded and might be arbitrarily misused by some powerful groups e.g. pro-abortion and pro-gender politicians, judges, and activists.

Another problem is that we have no clear definition of what hate speech and hate crimes are. 

The radical left wants to have free hands to shut you down and censor the pro-life and pro-family voices! If they get away with this in the EU, they’ll feel entitled to impose the same censorship in the rest of the western countries, including the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom.

We are mobilizing thousands of citizens around the world to prevent the radical left in the EU from converting you into a criminal… But we have to move fast to convince the delegates since the vote session is expected on 9-10 June.

The situation is difficult, but we have hope.

For the introduction of the new hate speech laws, the delegates of the Justice and Home Affairs Council in Luxembourg must unanimously vote.

It means that if we manage to persuade some delegates of the EU Member States to vote against the new hate speech laws, we can win and defend our freedom of speech.

However, if we fail, it might very easily and quickly happen that we will face judicial trials for our pro-life, pro-family, and pro-Christian opinions presented in public. Then, free Europe will be over.

I hope that this is not what you and I want. Let’s act NOW to avoid it.

Therefore, we need to speak up and defend freedom of speech before it is too late!

Please, sign our petition and stand for freedom of expression in Europe!

More information: 

Ireland to opt into EU wide hate speech ban

https://www.lawsociety.ie/gazette/top-stories/2022/ireland-to-opt-in-to-eu-wide-hate-speech-ban

Komisia navrhuje rozšíriť zoznam trestných činov EÚ tak, aby zahŕňal nenávistné prejavy a trestné činy z nenávisti
https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/sk/ip_21_6561

Rada pre spravodlivosť a vnútorné veci, 9. – 10. júna 2022
https://www.consilium.europa.eu/sk/meetings/jha/2022/06/09-10/

Rada pre spravodlivosť a vnútorné veci, 3. – 4. marca 2022
https://www.consilium.europa.eu/sk/meetings/jha/2022/03/03-04/

Extending EU crimes to hate speech and hate crime
https://ec.europa.eu/info/policies/justice-and-fundamental-rights/combatting-discrimination/racism-and-xenophobia/extending-eu-crimes-hate-speech-and-hate-crime_en#documents

We must protect free speech—Enough is enough!
https://europeanconservative.com/articles/commentary/enough-is-enough/

 

Scrap the Family Sex Show

Update:  On Tuesday 19 April, the production company behind the Family Sex Show announced that the production will no longer go ahead in either Bristol or Norwich and would only be performed to a 'select invited audience' in Bath. 

Sadly, it seems as though no lessons have been learned. The production company, Egg theatre company, stated that the withdrawal was thanks to 'illegal threats and abuse' from a small group of extremists, ignoring the 39,000 ordinary citizens who signed the petition in protest. 

The company doubled down on their position by asking for support from venues that would still be happy to host them and directed the public to their website for material that supported the themes of their show. One of the pages of their website suggested that children might like to look up themes of animal masturbation on the internet and then draw pictures to represent their findings. Other suggestions were for children to make play-doh models of genitals. 

The Family Sex Show website also published the lyrics of one of their songs, which explicitly encourages children to name and touch their and each others' sexual organs for pleasure. 

CitizenGO does not condone and is not responsible for any threats of abuse, however we remain dismayed by the attitude of the production company and alarmed by their total disregard when it comes to the safeguarding of children. It appears that no safeguarding checks have been carried out on the adults who proposed to strip naked in front of children before talking to them about sex. The Family Sex Show has yet to cite the names of the supposed 'experts in safeguarding' who were supposedly consulted when the show was originally devised. 

The BBC and Guardian have both reported on the cancellation, claiming that this is due to threats and abuse and making no mention of the highly sexualised content or reason for the widespread public outrage. 

The petition remains open for signatures so that the public can continue to register their opposition. We will continue to monitor the situation and will not hesitate to raise our voices in protest if this show attempts to continue to market itself to children. 

Serious questions need to be asked about why this production was allowed to be funded in the first place. 


A sexually explicit show funded by the Arts Council, which is in turn funded by taxpayers and National Lottery money, is currently touring various UK theatres.


The show, which is billed as an alternative to porn, is incredibly titled ‘The family sex show’ features full-frontal nudity and is marketed at families and children as young as five. Children should not be de-desensitised to the sight of naked adult bodies or introduced to topics surrounding adult sexual pleasure which this production promotes and celebrates. 

The producer of the Family Sex show claims that it imagines a future without sexual shame and aims to make it easier for anyone of any age to talk about the ‘tricky sticky topics’ of gender, masturbation, boundaries and relationships. All of the performances are based on the actors' own personal experiences of sexual relationships. Photographs of the production feature adults simulating various sex acts.  The Family Show website contains a glossary of terms that they want young children to become acquainted with and includes definitions of 'BDSM', 'frottage', 'hand job' and 'squirting'. 

The show even comes with a content warning but is at the same time aiming to attract families and children! The advertising for the show mentions that performers will take off as many clothes as they are comfortable with, but not once is there any suggestion or reflection of the feelings of their young audience. The marketing material discusses equipping children with the language to be able to choose to talk about sexual relationships.

This is nothing more than a blatant and extremely concerning attempt to sexualise children prematurely and is abusive. The show aims to break down children’s natural boundaries and expose them to content they are not sufficiently mature enough to handle. There is no difference between taking children to the Family Sex Show and taking them to a seedy peep show or strip club! It raises precisely the same safeguarding concerns. Children who exhibit precocious sexual knowledge are at increased risk of sexual abuse and vulnerable to sexual predators. 

It is a disgrace that taxpayers’ money has been spent on a production that scandalises and harms children and potentially places them at risk. 

The Family Sex Show is a misnomer. Demand that theatres immediately scrap the production! 

 


Further information:

Why are we allowing the Family Sex Show (The Critic)

https://thecritic.co.uk/why-are-we-allowing-the-family-sex-show/

And now for a song about the clitoris (The Guardian) 

https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2022/mar/08/and-now-for-a-song-about-the-clitoris-the-joy-of-sex-education

Fury as theatre company stages naked show exploring 'sexuality, sexual pleasure and queerness' aimed at children as young as FIVE (Daily Mail)

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10700795/Fury-theatre-company-stages-naked-exploring-sexuality-sexual-pleasure-queerness.html

The Family Show FAQ marketing. 

https://thefamilysexshow.com/faq


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