FREEDOM OF SPEECH / FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION


FREEDOM OF SPEECH / FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION

Freedom of speech is the freedom to speak without censorship and/or limitation. The synonymous term freedom of expression is sometimes used to indicate not only freedom of verbal speech but any act of seeking, receiving and imparting information or ideas, regardless of the medium used [United Nations, 1966, 1976]. The right to freedom of speech is recognized as a human right under Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and recognized in international human rights law in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). The ICCPR recognizes the right to freedom of speech as "the right to hold opinions without interference. Everyone shall have the right to freedom of expression". Furthermore freedom of speech is recognized in European, inter-American and African regional human rights law [United Nations, 1966, 1967]. Freedom of speech, or the freedom of expression, is recognized in international and regional human rights law. The right is enshrined in Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights, Article 13 of the American Convention on Human Rights and Article 9 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights [Andrew Puddephatt & Hodder Arnold, 2005; Kumar, Ambika, 2006].

In Islamic ethics freedom of speech was first declared in the Rashidun period by the caliph Umar in the 7th century. In the Abbasid Caliphate period, freedom of speech was also declared by al-Hashimi (a cousin of Caliph al-Ma'mun) in a letter to one of the religious opponents he was attempting to convert through reason.

According to George Makdisi and Hugh Goddard, "the idea of academic freedom" in universities was "modelled on Islamic custom" as practiced in the medieval Madrasah system from the 9th century. Islamic influence was "certainly discernible in the foundation of the first deliberately-planned university" in Europe [Boisard, Marcel A., 1980].

* Selected REFERENCES / Sources:


Amnesty International: Annual Reports: URLhttp://www.amnesty.org/ailib/aireport/index.html Andrew Puddephatt & Hodder Arnold. (2005). Freedom of Expression: The Essentials of Human Rights. United Publishers. Boisard, Marcel A. (July 1980), "On the Probable Influence of Islam on Western Public and International Law", International Journal of Middle East Studies 11 (4): 429–50. Goddard, Hugh. (2000). A History of Christian-Muslim Relations. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. Kumar, Ambika. (2006). ‘Using Courts to Enforce the Free Speech Provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.’ Published by Chicago Journal of International Law. Summer 2006. URLhttp://www.allbusiness.com/corporate-governance/4082846-1.html United Nations: ‘International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.’ Adopted and opened for signature, ratification and accession by General Assembly resolution 2200A (XXI) of 16th December 1966: Entry into force 23 March 1976, in accordance with Article 49. URLhttp://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/ccpr.htm (United Nations) Wikipedia. (2010). ‘Freedom of Speech.’ Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. URLhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_of_expression

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21 January 2011

Dr Kermit Gosnell: Made in the USA !


Comment:

And they said that everthing in the USA is the best, the so-called doctor is a devil in human skin. Its crime on woman, on the new born, its medical malpractises at the lowest level, its 'dirty' money, how worst can all that be... and its made in the USA!!

Do the authorities ever do spotchecks on these private clinics and hospitals?! Where are the so-called 'standard operating procedures', or 'quality assurance practises', or 'medical professional practises' ??? More questions need to be answer by the authority ! The door is NOT close yet!




http://au.news.yahoo.com/a/-/newshome/8690583/doctors-arrest-leads-cops-to-abortion-house-of-horrors (21st January 2011)

Doctor's arrest leads cops to abortion 'house of horrors'
Yahoo!7 January 21, 2011, 1:09 pm

A man has been arrested and charged with the murder of a 41-year-old pregnant woman and seven newborn babies in an abortion clinic deemed a 'house of horrors' by prosecutors. A judge has withheld bail for Dr Kermit Gosnell, 69, who has allegedly made millions of dollars over thirty years performing illegal abortions at a Philadelphia clinic that served mostly low-income minority women.

According to a grand jury report, the Women's Medical Society was the "go-to" place for women wanting illegal abortions or for people seeking "no-questions-asked" prescription drugs.

In early 2010 authorities investigating drug-related complaints at the clinic say they uncovered a squalid, barbaric "house of horrors" where "botched", "illegal" abortions were conducted. An attorney alleges seven babies born alive in the sixth, seventh and eighth months of their mothers' pregnancies were killed when scissors were used to cut their spinal cords.

Gosnell is also accused of routinely inducing labor in patients in their second and third trimesters rather than perform risky late-term abortions, sometimes resulting in live births. In these cases, Gosnell and his staffers allegedly killed the babies by stabbing their necks with scissors to sever their spinal cords and sometimes suctioned their skulls.

The conditions of the clinic have been described as deplorable. According to a criminal complaint, shelves in the clinics were lined with bags and bottles holding aborted fetuses. Severed feet were said to be kept for no medical purpose. Gosnell is accused of murdering 41-year-old patient Karnamaya Mongar. Reports say Mongar died November 20, 2009, after overdosing on anesthetics prescribed by the doctor.

Born in Bhutan, Mongar had spent 18 years living in a bamboo hut in a Nepalese refugee camp before going to the United States in July 2009 as part of a humanitarian resettlement program, reports say. The mother of four and grandmother of one was 19 weeks into her pregnancy when, after getting a referral from a Washington, D.C., medical clinic, she went to Gosnell's practice.

Reports say that a high school student was employed at the clinic, paid $8.50 an hour to operate an ultrasound machine, administer anesthesia and diagnose sexually transmitted diseases.

Investigators say Gosnell made thousands of dollars a night, mostly in cash, for a few hours of work performing abortions. Nine of Gosnell's employees have also been charged, four with murder. None had any medical training. Gosnell, who is not a registered obstetrician or gynecologist has been charged with eight counts of murder and is next scheduled to appear in court on February 9.



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