Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock has confirmed that ‘[p]eople can break lockdown in order to travel abroad for assisted dying’, saying that ‘flying to the Dignitas clinic in Switzerland would be considred a “reasonable excuse” under the travel ban’ (‘Terminally ill allowed to break travel ban for assisted dying’, Telegraph, November 6, 2020). https://www.telegraph.co.u

The Telegraph reports that Poland ‘is delaying the implementation of a high court ruling tightening abortion law that triggered almost two weeks of nationwide protests’ as ‘the country’s Right-wing government said that leaders were taking time to debate the hotly contest ruling and find a solution’ (‘Poland delays action to tighten abortion law’, November 4, 2020). https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/11/03/poland-delays-implementation-abortion-ruling-amid-massive-nat

Tim Stanley notes that Donald Trump’s perceived divisiveness has delivered a surprising result in the presidential election; while all the votes have not yet been counted, it would seem that although ‘his alleged racism probably drove white moderates away from his party, he seems to have attracted more support among those very groups he was accused of discriminating against – including Hispanics and African-Americans.

The head of NHS complaints has told MPs that it is ‘settling around two multi-million-pound payouts every week for failings in maternity care’; giving evidence to the all-party Commons health and social care committee on the safety of maternity services in England, Helen Vernon, chief executive of NHS Resolution, said this year’s ‘largest single payout for clinical negligence was about £37 million’, while adding that ‘around half of all cases dealt with by NHS Resolutions do not result in a compensation payment’.

New Zealand has voted by a large majority to legalise euthanasia, with preliminary figures from a dual referendum on euthanasia and recreational cannabis - held on the same day as the general election vote which ‘returned prime minister Jacinda Ardern to power with a landslide majority’ - showing that 65.2 per cent supported euthanasia, with 33.8 per cent opposed; this does not include overseas votes, ‘which account for almost 20 per cent of the total’ and will not be included until ‘final figures are released next Frid

According to the Telegraph, ‘[p]ro-choice campaigners have accused a Polish leader of stirring “civil war” after he urged members of the public to protect churches from being targeted during protests over a controversial abortion ruling’, which ‘found that a clause permitting terminations where there is severe damage to the foetus was unconstitutional’; on taking effect, it will allow abortions ‘only if a pregnancy threatens the woman’s health or is the result of a crime such as rape.’ Campaigners ‘spoke out ...