Christians gathered in Parliament Square on Tuesday evening to call for the end of abortions among women who lack decision making capacities.

On Monday, Court of Appeal judges overturned a ruling of the Court of Protection (which makes decision for those who can’t make them for themselves) on the future of a mentally ill woman’s pregnancy.

The woman, in her twenties, is around 22 weeks pregnant and the circumstances around the conception are unclear.

Staff at the NHS trust in the London area caring for her wanted to terminate the pregnancy, saying it would be in her ‘best interests’.

They argued it would cause more harm if the preganncy went ahead as the woman has a mental age of between six and nine and that she would not know the difference between having a baby and having a doll.

The woman’s Catholic mother launched an appeal against the termination decision on Monday and won, with the call being made by Lord Justice McCombe, Lady Justice King and Lord Justice Peter Jackson.

The woman’s mother had also offered to look after the child herself.

Pro-life supporters have been celebrating but also saying that she will not be the only woman in this position.

Among those rejoicing at the overturned decision is Sister Rosanne, who works at a crisis pregnancy centre in Glasgow and helps women who’ve had abortions.

She told Premier’s News Hour: “Her mother would have known…

DUP MP Jim Shannon was speaking during a debate in the House of Commons over the ongoing protests at Birmingham’s Anderton Park Primary School.

Some parents there have protested over the lessons which they say ‘normalises’ same sex relationships.

From September next year, all schools will be invited to introduce the idea of LGBT relationships as part of the curriculum.

The Department for Education will advise that the lessons are age appropriate and take into account the religious backgrounds of pupils.

It also insists that the lessons “don’t promote” LGBT relationships, rather, they educate.

Speaking about the wider issue, Mr Shannon (pictured below) said: “I recently read a post which said it is not about homosexuality, heterosexuality, or trans sexuality.

“Stop promoting sexuality to our kids full stop. Let kids be kids. We need to protect the innocence of our children at all costs.”

Christian Labour MP Stephen Doughty, who is also gay, however suggested that the issue had been blown out of proportion.

He said the protests at the school were due to a small number of individuals “whipping this up, creating a myth and creating fear”.

The Commons debate comes ahead of a ruling expected this summer over the rights of parents to protest at Anderton Park School.

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The Australian athlete is asking for donations to fund a legal challenge after he was sacked by Rugby Australia for a social media post about sin and hell.

In it he listed a variety of sinners, including homosexuals, suggesting they need to repent.

His bosses claimed he breached the player’s code of conduct and terminated his AUS $5m contract.

Last week, he launched a page on the Go Fund Me website but it was shut down on Monday with all donations refunded after the site claimed his campaign violated its terms of service.

In a statement, Folau’s support team said: “There appears to be a continuing campaign of discrimination against Israel and his supporters.”

Following on from the collapse of his fundraising drive, campaign group Australian Christian Lobby (ACL) picked up the mantle offering him AUS $100,000 and hosting a new fundraising page.

At the time of writing, he’d already collected over AUS $1.5m.

Martyn Iles, ACL managing director, said he wanted to help as it was “right and it sets an important legal precedent”.

Folau says he needs the money as he’s prepared to fight his religious discrimination case to the highest court in Australia.

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Security officers raided Faith Missions Church in Keren – Eritrea’s second largest city – last Sunday, confiscating property they found in the building.

The raid comes just over a week after authorities seized 21 health facilities belonging to the Catholic Church and arrested five Orthodox priests.

The East African country has witnessed a clampdown on Christians in recent months.

More than 140 Christians in the capital Asmara were arrested in May while they were attending a private meeting.

Faith Missions Church is one of four religious communities still awaiting registration from the state despite claiming to have submitted the necessary documentation in 2002.

In May 2002, Eritrea introduced a registration policy that effectively outlawed all religious practices not affiliated with the Catholic, Evangelical Lutheran or Orthodox Christian denominations and Sunni Islam.

Eritrea’s human rights record will be reviewed at the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) on 2nd July.

Christian Solidarity Worldwide’s (CSW) chief executive Mervyn Thomas said in a statement: “CSW is deeply concerned by this latest development in a crackdown on people of faith in Eritrea that has been ongoing since 2002.

“We call for the immediate and unconditional release of all members of Faith Missions Church, as well as all other prisoners of conscience in the country.”

“It is essential that…