Finnish Chancellor of Justice sees FM’s appearance in anti-abortion event problematic

Finnish Chancellor of Justice sees FM's appearance in anti-abortion event problematic

Source: Xinhua| 2018-09-19
Editor: Mu Xuequan

HELSINKI, Sept. 18 (Xinhua) -- The Finnish Chancellor of Justice Tuomas Poysti determined that the participation of Finnish Foreign Minister Timo Soini in an anti-abortion event in Canada last May was "problematic", the Chancellor's office said on Tuesday.

The Chancellor took the stand in response to citizens' complaints about Soini's actions. The Chancellor is an independent highest supervising official of legality in Finland.

Continued: http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2018-09/19/c_137477196.htm


Finland – Opposition parties move to oust anti-abortion Foreign Minister Soini

Opposition parties move to oust anti-abortion Foreign Minister Soini
Four parties in the Finnish parliament are to propose a motion of no-confidence in Foreign Minister Timo Soini over his opposition to abortion rights.

Sep 7, 2018

Foreign Minister Timo Soini faces a vote of no-confidence in parliament after four opposition parties came together to propose the motion. Their move follows a string of anti-abortion statements Soini has made on his blog and his participation in an anti-abortion demonstration in Canada while on an official visit.

SDP parliamentary group leader Antti Lindtman said that a majority of MPs are opposed to Soini’s actions and statements.

Continued: https://yle.fi/uutiset/osasto/news/opposition_parties_move_to_oust_anti-abortion_foreign_minister_soini/10393623


Finland – Soini’s views on abortion are medieval, slams Halla-aho

Soini’s views on abortion are medieval, slams Halla-aho

Created: 14 August 2018

Minister for Foreign Affairs Timo Soini’s (BR) views on abortion are medieval, states Jussi Halla-aho, the chairperson of the Finns Party.

“I think it’s slightly disconcerting if your thoughts revolve too much around questions like this. I think there should also be other themes in politics,” Halla-aho stated in a news conference held in Helsinki on Monday, 13 August.

Continued: http://www.helsinkitimes.fi/finland/finland-news/politics/15748-soini-s-views-on-abortion-are-medieval-slams-halla-aho.html


Finland – Soini’s anti-abortion views rejected again by fellow cabinet members

Soini’s anti-abortion views rejected again by fellow cabinet members

Created: 13 August 2018

Timo Soini (BR), the Minister for Foreign Affairs, has once again raised eyebrows by declaring his opposition to abortion.

Soini on Friday commended the Argentine Senate for rejecting a bill that would have legalised abortion in the first 14 weeks of pregnancy. “Long live life! Stronger than death,” he wrote in his personal blog.

Continued: http://www.helsinkitimes.fi/finland/finland-news/politics/15744-soini-s-anti-abortion-views-rejected-again-by-fellow-cabinet-members.html


Finland – Foreign Minister Soini riles fellow politicians with anti-abortion comments

Foreign Minister Soini riles fellow politicians with anti-abortion comments
Timo Soini has again made public comments about his opposition to abortion; a move that many of his colleagues in Finnish politics believe is inappropriate.

Aug 11, 2018

Finland's Minister for Foreign Affairs Timo Soini has once again set off a storm of indignation in Finland after writing a blog entry on Thursday praising Argentina for its decision to keep abortion illegal.

"Argentina is a lovely country. The Pope is an Argentinean who is widely listened to and respected. Words have weight," he wrote in his popular online journal on August 9.

Continued: https://yle.fi/uutiset/osasto/news/foreign_minister_soini_riles_fellow_politicians_with_anti-abortion_comments/10348539


Finland – Foreign Minister defends role in anti-abortion march while on official trip to Canada

Foreign Minister defends role in anti-abortion march while on official trip to Canada
Foreign Minister Timo Soini told Yle that he sees no contradiction between his personal convictions and Finnish foreign policy.

May 31, 2018

On Wednesday, tabloid daily Iltalehti reported that Foreign Minister Timo Soini, who is Catholic, had participated in an anti-abortion march while on an official trip to represent Finland at Arctic Council meetings in Ottawa, Canada in early May.

According to the paper, Soini wrote about the event in his blog. “In Ottawa, one night I attended an evening vigil by the Pro-Life movement. It was an outdoor event, not in church. The event preceded a major pro-life march in Ottawa the next day,” the minister said.

Continued: https://yle.fi/uutiset/osasto/news/foreign_minister_defends_role_in_anti-abortion_march_while_on_official_trip_to_canada/10232304


1968: a revolutionary year – also for reproduction

1968: a revolutionary year – also for reproduction

14.05.2018
By: Nikolai Astrup, Minister of International Development, Norway;- Isabella Lövin, Minister for International Development Cooperation and Climate and Deputy Prime Minister, Sweden; Ulla Tørnæs, Minister for Development Cooperation, Denmark; and Anne-Mari Virolainen, Minister for Foreign Trade and Development, Finland.

This year, in 2018, it is 50 years since reproductive rights – including the right to decide whether to have children and how many children to have – were first formally recognised.

More than 200 million women in developing countries are still denied these rights.

1968 gave its name to a generation known for its ambition to change the world for the better. And a historic decision was made that year, a decision with the potential to fundamentally change the lives of all people – and of women in particular.

Continued: http://um.dk/en/news/newsdisplaypage/?newsid=c37e4a26-76ea-4256-82c6-00bd29def796


Malaysai – Yes! SheDecides: Affirming women’s rights to their own body

Yes! SheDecides: Affirming women’s rights to their own body

Friday March 2, 2018

March 2 — A group of stakeholders and global representatives came together today to express their support for SheDecides — a movement that promotes, provides, protects and enhances the fundamental rights of every girl and woman to freely decide about their sexual lives.

The discussion, organised in conjunction with SheDecides’ first anniversary, saw participations of regional non-profit group Asian-Pacific Resource and Research Centre for Women (Arrow) and representatives from Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark and Finland, among others.

Continued: http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/yes-shedecides-affirming-womens-rights-to-their-own-body


Finland has Nordic region’s lowest abortion rate

THL: Finland has Nordic region's lowest abortion rate
3.11.2017
Fewer abortions are performed in Finland per capita than in other Nordic countries, according to preliminary figures from the National Institute for Health and Welfare used in a recent study at the University of Oulu.

National Institute for Health and Welfare, THL, reports that abortions among those under 20 years of age have declined steeply in recent years, and are now at half the level of the early 2000s. The agency's senior planning officer Anna Heino says there are many reasons for the downturn.

"Municipalities have invested in bringing the number down, health information classes have been obligatory in school since the early 2000s and the internet is full of accurate information on reproductive health and contraception," Heino says.

Continued at source: https://yle.fi/uutiset/osasto/news/thl_finland_has_nordic_regions_lowest_abortion_rate/9915409


Scottish abortion laws ‘making slow progress’

Scottish abortion laws ‘making slow progress’
Kirsteen Paterson
Sep 27, 2017

ABORTION must be removed from the criminal justice system to protect women’s rights, a new report claims.

A paper released to mark International Day of Safe Abortion today claims Scotland lags behind countries like Canada, where the process of ending a pregnancy has been decriminalised and integrated into the health system.

Feminist policy organisation Engender, which compiled the paper, says the results show how far women’s bodies and choices are regulated by the state.

Continued at source: http://www.thenational.scot/news/15561930.Scottish_abortion_laws____making_slow_progress___/