A bid by one of Italy's ruling populist parties to recognise the legal rights of embryos and allow unborn children to be adopted has been denounced by critics who say it is an assault on the country's decades-old abortion law.

The proposal is back in the spotlight ahead of a global conference in Verona that seeks to defend the concept of family in society.

The World Congress of Families takes place from March 29-31 and gathers anti-LGBT, right-wing politicians and anti-abortion organisations.

The draft law was put forward by Stefano Stefani, a leading figure in the right-wing populist League party, which is currently governing in a coalition with the Five Star Movement (MS5).

Valorization of natural resources can be a decisive contributor to the improvement of the living conditions in developing countries.

1. Short title.

PART I

ADOPTION OF CHILDREN

2. Power to make adoption orders.

3. Restrictions on making of adoption orders.

'A good intention is not always a good idea'

Associate professor

Dr Kristen Cheney

Professor

Marinus van IJzendoorn

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Minister Dekker on the Lisa case: 'Independence of judges sufficiently guaranteed'

"As a minister, it does not suit me to judge in specific cases about the handling of the case, the course of the proceedings, the decision of the judge or the judges who have dealt with a case."

That says Sander Dekker, Minister of Legal Protection, in response to the parliamentary questions following the Argos broadcast. Should the Hague judge judge child abuse?

Should the court in The Hague judge child abuse?

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MEPs call for action as openDemocracy analysis reveals ‘shocking’ flows of cash crossing the Atlantic to push ultra-conservative agendas.

US Christian right ‘fundamentalists’ linked to the Trump administration and Steve Bannon are among a dozen American groups that have poured at least $50 million of ‘dark money’ into Europe over the last decade, openDemocracy can reveal today.

Between them, these groups have backed ‘armies’ of ultra-conservative lawyers and political activists, as well as ‘family values’ campaigns against LGBT rights, sex education and abortion – and a number appear to have increasing links with Europe’s far right.

They are spending money on a scale “not previously imagined”, according to lawmakers and human rights advocates, who have called our findings “shocking”. Reacting to openDemocracy’s findings, a cross-party group of more than 40 MEPs has called on the EU’s transparency tsar Frans Timmermans to look into the influence of “US Christian fundamentalists… with the greatest urgency” ahead of May’s European Parliament elections.

Among the biggest spenders is a group whose chief counsel is also Donald Trump’s personal lawyer, Jay Sekulow. Another organisation has collaborated with a controversial Rome-based ‘institute’ backed by Steve Bannon. And a number of the groups are connected to the World Congress of Families: a network of ultra-conservative activists which has links to far-right politicians and movements in several European countries, including Italy, Hungary, Poland, Spain and Serbia.

For the last decade foster care and adoption has been on the rise in Ukraine, as the need for caring for orphans and vulnerable children has been recognized by the Evangelical community. Evidence of this growth was seen at the recent 2018 Strengthening Families Conference in Kyiv, Ukraine, which hosted over 200 foster and adoptive parents for a weekend of teaching, refreshment and encouragement.

The parents who attended the gathering represent over 600 Ukrainian children who are now in loving families. In partnership with other local organizations, Orphan’s Promise has helped spearhead the efforts to see that this bi-annual gathering takes place since 2010, recognizing that foster and adoptive families need continual resources to help them on their often challenging journey.

As one adoptive mother shared, “it’s so healthy and important to see parents like us, foster parents who are standing in faith, even in difficult situations.”

Pam Parish, founder of Connected Homes in Atlanta, Georgia was one of the speakers at the conference this year. Pam’s book, Ready or Not: 30 Day Discovery for Battle Weary Parents, was translated into Russian and made available to all the families who were attending the conference. Pam was delighted to share at the gathering some of what she has learned on her own parenting journey. “Spending time with the wonderful families and team in Kyiv during the Strengthening Families conference was truly a highlight of my year,” shared Pam. “I will never forget the face of the adoptive mother (who had recently lost her husband) as she cried over a conflict with her teenage son. After talking with her and praying with her at length, she found me a day later to say that she had taken my advice and called her son and things were drastically better. There are no words to express the feeling of being used by God to touch a life experiencing such great sorrow, especially across the globe.”

Another important resource, The Connected Child by Dr. Karyn Purvis was translated into Russian and presented for the first time at the Strengthening Families Conference. Raya Shelashskaya, co-founder of the Institute of Child Developmental Trauma in Kyiv, helped oversee the translation and publishing of the book and is excited to see this recourse made available for Ukrainian families.

There were 54 successful applications, mostly from foreign countries, for adoptions in 2018 – a 10-year high, Minister for the Family, Children’s Rights and Social Solidarity Michael Falzon said as he officially opened the National Adoption Strategy for public consultation on Tuesday.

Out of these 54 applications, 38 were for children from India, 8 from Slovakia, 7 from Portugal and 1 from Thailand.

The strategy is based on 25 recommendations which are planned to be implemented by 2022, and the prime objective of it is to facilitate adoptions while ensuring that everything is done with the best interest of children, who – Falzon said – must never be treated like commodities – at heart.

Falzon said that prospective parents applying for inter-country adoptions had benefitted from a €10,000 government grant to cover part of the expenses that they faced due to the adoption process.

The minister also noted that the government had concluded an agreement which would pave the way for adoptions from Bulgaria, and that discussions were underway for a similar agreement with Moldova as well.

The illegal adoption of babies born in the Republic of the Marshall Islands into the United States has become an industry. In a move to address this issue, three Marshallese citizens were recently charged with criminal trafficking in persons in Majuro.

The three defendants charged by the RMI courts include a Marshallese residing in Arkansas. The other two defendants are residing in Majuro, according to a report from the Marianas Variety. The case involves the attempted recruitment of a Majuro woman to give up her baby for adoption in the U.S. state.

According to the Marianas Variety, charges were filed by RMI assistant attorney general Meuton Laiden against Justin Aine, 46, Aiti “Hatty” Anidrep, 49, and Sally Abon, 53 on March 14.

Marshall Island passport holders can travel to the U.S. under the Compact of Free Association. However, traveling for the purpose of adoption is illegal, according to the report. The RMI court scheduled an April 12 preliminary hearing on the case.