3. TIL In 1990, King Baudouin of Belgium, a staunch catholic, had to abdicate for a...

TIL In 1990, King Baudouin of Belgium, a staunch catholic, had to abdicate for a day in order to allow the government to pass the nation’s first abortion law. As signing the bill required his signature, and his faith made him personally opposed to it, he did it to avoid a constitutional crisis.

The full article in case you are in Europe.

King Baudouin of Belgium temporarily gave up his throne today, saying his Roman Catholic conscience would not allow him to sign a controversial law legalizing abortion.

After two late-night cabinet meetings, the government issued a statement saying it had declared the childless 59-year-old monarch unable to reign--a procedure last used in 1940 when his father, King Leopold III, surrendered to Nazi invaders. Leopold returned to the throne after the war but abdicated amid riots and strikes protesting his surrender.

Today the Cabinet immediately assumed King Baudouin's powers and promulgated the abortion law, which was published in the official gazette. And it called a joint session of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate for Thursday to declare that Baudouin was able to resume his 39-year-old reign.

The law, which allows abortions in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy for women "in distress," at one stage threatened to topple the center-left coalition government because it was opposed by Prime Minister Wilfried Martens' Christian Democrats.

Ireland is now the only European country to outlaw abortion.

/r/todayilearned Thread Link - latimes.com
Previous
Next

Recently removed from /r/todayilearned

TIL Thomas(ine) Hall was declared both a man and a woman in a Virginia court in 1629 and ordered to wear men's clothing with a woman's apron and bonnet. He/She would present as either gender carnally and when working as soldier, lacemaker, field laborer, or maid. Thomasine was physically intersex. TIL that the low cost wine brand "Two Buck Chuck" was created by Fred Franzia, who bought the Charles Shaw name from a bankrupt winery for $27k. Once when asked why his wine was cheaper than water, he replied "They're overcharging for the water. Don't you get it?" TIL that butterflies have 4 wings not 2 (found out on an episode of Benidorm during a pub quiz) TIL Don Quixote, considered one of the first modern novels, is also one of the first stories that uses meta-fiction, as the author plays pretend that his story comes from historical sources and had to search for lost documents and translations to complete it. TIL "Rudy", of Notre Dame football fame, was involved in a pump-and-dump scheme and had a settlement with the SEC for >$380,000. TIL Brazil found incarcerated populations read 9x as much as the general population. They made a new program for prisoners so each written book review took 4 days off a prison sentence. TIL most English speaking countries around the world pronounce “Z” as “zed” but the United States is the only one that does not. Unlike other English speak countries the US pronounces it “zee.” TIL Snoop Dogg was excommunicated by the Rastafari Council after his attempt to rebrand as Rastafarian "Snoop Lion" TIL Some of the reasons people drive aggressively include a sense of anonymity while driving, feeling more empowered driving than in the rest of their lives, and a feeling that other drivers have previously driven aggressively around them. TIL about Nasubi from Japan's (perhaps the entire world's) most controversial TV show ever recorded. Nasubi lived alone in a tiny room for 15 months completely naked and only able to survive based on items he won from sweepstakes. More info in comments. TIL by passing a law requiring pharmacies to be owned by a licensed pharmacist, North Dakota has essentially done away with corporate chain pharmacies. Corporations that own pharmacies must be majority owned by licensed pharmacists. TIL that the Fahrenheit scale was standardized 18 years before Celsius. The world switch due to the British Empire. The United States is actually using the earlier standard. TIL that the famous James Bond theme (first heard in 1962 in Dr. No) was source of a long running dispute between John Barry and Monty Norman. Norman had originally written a song for a musical adaptation of V. S. Naipaul's novel A House for Mr Biswas which was the inspiration. TIL that the parasite H. zschokkei is the only multicellular organism that does not rely on Oxygen for respiration. It relies on a currently undiscovered energy metabolism to sustain itself. TIL, cold or rainy weather cannot make you sick

More Random Comments

Should Boise State become the University of Boise? Am I the only that that thinks the current name is holding the school back in academics and potental acceptance to a top athletic conference. Dowd on McPherson: Responding to Three Questions Yup. Esquerda: como Lula vai fazer o Brasil não segui o rumo da Venezuela e Argentina? I found this at a estate sale a few years ago and I've always wondered when it might have been made. Herpes is more common in olders? Is it really this hard for this sub to understand this? How to stop wanting a relationship? Have been dealing with hair loss as a teen. “Moving the goalposts” is a useless concept Is it possible to get a job with a really good portfolio/ demo reel instead of a degree? Should I Quit Harry Potter Because Of JK Rowling? Looking for a champ like garen to play mid ¿Hay algo que le quieras decir a esa persona? How to escape elo hell