Lesbian Couple Win In IVF Case Against Spanish Hospital

After a hospital in Madrid refused artificial insemination to them due to their sexual orientation, a lesbian couple has now won a case against the hospital in a Spanish court.

 

The court ruled that the Madrid hospital had "infringed" on the couple's "fundamental right not to be discriminated (against) for their sexual orientation."  The hospital was then ordered to pay the lesbian couple almost €5,000 ($5,600) in damages.

According to The Local, one woman of the couple had started IVF treatment at the Madrid hospital in 2014, but on finding her sexual orientation, she was told she was excluded from the public program under a recent order from the health ministry. The hospital stated that under the ministry directive, the treatment can only be offered to couples who had for 12 months tried to have a child via sexual intercourse, and said that this obviously excluded a lesbian couple.

The couple then lodged the complaint against the health ministry in Spain, regional authorities and the hospital itself.

However, according to the court, since the woman was "in a romantic relationship with another woman this criteria is impossible to fulfill and she is therefore a victim of discrimination." The court further said that Spanish law on assisted reproduction, which effectively prohibits any form of discrimination, prevails over the directive of the health ministry.

Spanish lesbians win artificial insemination case http://t.co/MKvdx4OgPN

— BeautyCribTV (@beautycrib_tv) October 6, 2015

According to Glenys de Jesus, president of Women's Link Worldwide, the Spanish court's decision is "very valuable because it will set a precedent."

She added that their clients are very satisfied and that it is a "great victory for them, for LGBT groups and for all women in Spain."

Apparently before the court's decision was made, the hospital did tell the couple they they had reassessed the situation and that the woman could resume treatment. However, according to the group, the couple decided to push head with the lawsuit anyway.


[Image: Intracytoplasmic sperm injection artwork CC BY-NC-ND 2.0  Wellcome Images]

'Do it for Mom:' Danes Urged to Take Sexy Baby-Making Trips to Spain [Video]

Denmark just gave Spain's Canary and Balearic Islands a touristic boost by encouraging their citizens to come to Spain to make a baby. Better yet, they can get the future grandmothers to pay for the trip. Not a bad deal at all.

It seems there are not enough babies being born in Denmark at the moment, causing problems for the Danish welfare system and, of course, the potential grandmothers. A company called Spies Travel is trying to rectify the situation.

According to Spies, the fact that there are not enough babies being born concerns all Danes, but most of all people's mothers, the wannabe grandmothers who are currently losing out on the deal.

Back in 2014, Denmark launched a campaign called "Do it for Denmark" where they started encouraging Danes to have more babies. This apparently didn't work.

Now they have come up with the "Do it for Mom" campaign, which offers great holiday packages to the Canary and Balearic Islands, with the aim of helping Danish women conceive and, of course, giving grandmothers some grandchildren to spoil.

The video points out that people are more likely to relax, get sexy and then get pregnant in pleasant, sunny and warm surroundings. They refer to a poll run in 2014 which proved that Danes have around 51 percent more sex while away on a tropical holiday. They have now come up with a promotion which will encourage older parents to contribute to their adult children's sexy getaways, so they can produce a grandchild in return.

Spies Travel offers package holidays to luxury resorts on the islands of Spain, all of which include several kinds of physical activities, which they say will encourage sexual activities, such as running, yoga, golf, tennis and water aerobics. The best part is, if future granny pays the bill, they will receive a 134 euro discount on the price of the trip.

They tempt future granny to pay the bill by saying, "Send your child on an active holiday and get a grandchild within 9 months."

In closing, referring to the failed 2014 campaign they say, "In 2015, Danes will be having babies not just for their country, but also for the grandmothers. We think that it's going to work."

Spain is, of course, quite happy to accommodate the deal!  Enjoy the video below.



Images: Screengrab from YouTube video

Doggie honours: Black Lab graduates from University of Cádiz

A blind student at the University of Cádiz used to take his guide dog, Idena, with him to lectures. Now they've both graduated.

As students were studying social work and were accustomed to seeing the dog in the halls while studying for their degree, so they decided to include him in the class graduation photos, right alongside his owner, Arturo Diaz Benitez.

.@RoyalVetCollege, I thought you might like this. A guide dog included in the graduation photo of a university. http://t.co/22EsUfdaVD

— Pashi (@Er_Pashi) October 2, 2015

In another photograph, included top, the black Labrador can be seen, sporting a mortarboard just like the other graduating students.

According to The Local, the idea went down well on Twitter, with one person commenting, "I bet this dog attended more lectures than most students!"

Another tweeted: "Magnificent. Ten out of ten for the University of Cádiz."

The University of Cadiz @univcadiz Includes a Guide Dog in a Graduation Class Photo 👏 #WorldVegetarianDay pic.twitter.com/OJW9gT9WPk

— Elsa Negro Calduch (@ElsaCalduch) October 1, 2015

According to The Local this is not the first time a canine has appeared in a graduation photo in Spain. Apparently history graduates from the University of Santiago de Compostela, who studied there from 2007 to 2012, also posed alongside a dog friend in their graduation photograph.

Source: The Local

3 Syrian refugees discovered in refrigerated truck in the Basque region

Three Syrian men were found locked in a refrigerated food truck Tuesday, near the Basque town of Hernani. They were suffering from hypothermia and a lack of oxygen. 

 

The discovery was made at a gas station near the town of Hernani, where a driver pulled up next to the truck and heard banging and shouting coming from the back of the vehicle.

Reportedly the truck had originated in Poland but its last stop was in Belgium, where the truck was reloading fruit produce, bound for MercaMadrid in Spain's capital city.

The three refugees are all in their thirties and believed by Basque police to be Syrian nationals. On taking them out of the truck, the men were immediately hospitalized with hypothermia, but are believed to be doing well and are recovering.

The Basque regional police force have opened an investigation in an effort to determine whether the driver was aware that the Syrian refugees were in the back of his truck, where the temperature was reportedly only around 10 degrees Celsius.

Meanwhile Spain has agreed to take on 14,900 Syrian refugees under an EU agreement, where the migrants will be relocated from Greece, Hungary and Italy. The first refugees are due to arrive early in October this year.

This quota was originally rejected by the Spanish government, but after citizens lobbied in protest, it was agreed to take them on. According to The Local, despite the economic crisis in the country, over 100 local councils across Spain have now declared themselves "refugee friendly" with thousands of people signing up to welcome them into their homes.

Source:  The Local / Telecinco

Photo: Basque police car CC BY 2.5 Javierme

PETA applauds Swedish stripper who jumped into bullring to comfort dying bull in Málaga

In a second recent incident of its kind, a Swedish stripper jumped into a bullring in Málaga to comfort the dying bull. Animal rights activists, PETA, have hailed her bravery. 

Amkina Axelsson, 41, attended a bull fight at the La Malagueta bullring in Málaga recently. After holding up a banner saying "No Más Tauromaquia!" or "No More Bullfighting!" during the event, she jumped over the barrier into the bullring to comfort the dying bull, but was removed from the area by the one of the matadors.

Axelsson describes herself as a Swedish stripper and adult model and lives in Marbella on the Costa del Sol in southern Spain with her husband. She told The Local, "It was a symbolic act to show that we are thinking about the bull."

"No animal should have to endure an agonizing and unnecessary death for the enjoyment of a crowd."

"I join together with PETA to urge all compassionate people to stop these cruel events, which have been condemned internationally, by never attending a bullfight."

https://t.co/7EJKs6hdgk pic.twitter.com/Sgu9JQWLlz

— Amina Axelsson (@AminaAxelsson) September 19, 2015

Axelsson says she was nervous about doing it, but was more nervous about police than the bull itself, and while she was arrested after the protest, she said the policeman was "fantastic".

"He was also against bullfighting, he was definitely on my side."

However, Axelsson will have to pay a fine for her actions, but says this doesn't worry her.

"I’m still going to stand up for what I believe in."

Watch Axelsson jump into the bullring in the video below.



Axelsson's protest was nothing new to Málaga, as in August this year a Spanish woman, Virginia Ruiz, also jumped into the bullring, but in her case she managed to give the bull comfort as it lay on the ground dying.

After the event, Ruiz told the Spanish TV station Telecinco, "I wanted to give him love before he left this world." Her protest can be seen in the video below.



PETA released a statement Monday where Mimi Bekhechi, director of PETA UK, condemned bullfighting practices in Spain, which she said included "subjecting the animal to electric shocks" along with "tranquilizing" the bulls before the corridas.

According to PETA, 12 people died in July and August after being gored by bulls, making this the deadliest summer bullfighting season in 15 years.

Source: The Local / PETA

SEARCH RESUMED FOR US WOMAN LOST ON ‘CAMINO DE SANTIAGO’ PILGRIMAGE IN SPAIN

Police forces in Spain have renewed their search for an American woman, Denise Pikka Thiem, who went missing while walking the “Camino de Santiago” pilgrimage route in northern Spain.

Thiem, 41, quit her job in Phoenix, Arizona earlier in the year, planning on traveling the world, but went missing soon afterwards on April 5 while walking the famous pilgrimage route... read more

Google Street View Car Destroyed In ‘La Tomatina’ Festival In Spain [Video]

The search engine giant has been rolling out its Google Street View cars all over the world, mapping out cities, taking shots of famous landmarks, but this time it made a huge mistake.

Recently, the Google Street View vehicles and their backpack camera versions have been capturing some of the more iconic scenes in Spain, including the famous Moorish Fortress, The Alhambra, and other emblematic sites.

As reported on the Inquisitr, they even made it possible for online viewers to experience the most dangerous footpath in Spain, “El Caminito del Rey,” without leaving the comfort of their computer chair.

However, as reported in the Mail Online, some bright spark decided it was a good idea to capture the messiest food festival in the world held in Spain each year, by taking their Google Street View car into Buñol in eastern Spain. They wanted to capture the essence of the famous “La Tomatina” festival this week.... What a big mistake that was ... read more

Photo: Courtesy Ainhoa Alberola