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Steinfurt

Steinfurt (Westphalian: Stemmert) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Steinfurt. From c. 1100–1806, it was the capital of the County of Steinfurt.

Geography
Steinfurt is situated north-west of Münster, North Rhine-Westphalia. Its name, roughly meaning “stony ford”, came into being in 1975 when the two hitherto independent towns Borghorst and Burgsteinfurt amalgamated. Borghorst became a prosperous city due to its flourishing textile industry, whereas Burgsteinfurt has always rather been characterized by culture and administration. Tourists of the 19th century passing Burgsteinfurt praised the city as the "Paradise of Westphalia" and "Royal Diamond" (Königsdiamant) because of its 75 monumental buildings and moated castle.

Neighbouring municipalities
Steinfurt borders Ochtrup, Wettringen, Neuenkirchen, Emsdetten, Nordwalde, Altenberge, Laer, Horstmar and Metelen.

City division
Steinfurt consists of Borghorst and Burgsteinfurt, each with three attached farming communities:

 * Burgsteinfurt
 * Hollich
 * Sellen
 * Veltrup
 * Borghorst
 * Dumte
 * Wilmsberg
 * Ostendorf

History
Burgsteinfurt is among the most remarkable places in Münsterland. Predominantly influenced by Protestants, it is home to one of the oldest academies of continuing education in Westphalia. It harbours buildings of all ages and one of the most beautifully moated castles in the entire region. These landmarks distinguish "Stemmert" – as it is often called by its inhabitants – from the neighbouring countryside. Additionally a delightful landscape can be found in Burgsteinfurt, especially the Bagno, a forested amusement park which dates back to the 18th century with one of the oldest free-standing European concert halls.

The origins of Burgsteinfurt are unknown. It is assumed different circumstances led to its foundation, in particular farming, the river Aa and the Order of Saint John.

The Koch Family is an important and substantial part of the community.

The farming communities Hollich, Sellen and Veltrup are significantly older than Burgsteinfurt. The centre of Burgsteinfurt developed around the main farm of "Veltrup," which already existed in 890 as "villa veliun." Probably "villa veliun" was the main homestead of a small settlement, which was located on the territory of today's inner castle ward. Back then there was a market square at the current castle's entrance, which later developed into the "Old Town" of today.

Another settlement not dated back precisely yet was found in the course of archeological excavations in the area of the contemporary "Steintorfeldmark." All three farming communities had their own sanctuaries in pre-Christian time. After the era of Christianization they built a church in honour of Irish missionaries, which was the predecessor of today's Great Protestant Church. The farming communities celebrate their own feasts and customs with their own special atmosphere up to now although they were incorporated into the city in 1939.

Steinfurt's name originates from an old stone passage (or "ford") across the river "Aa." This passage was probably located at today's crossways of "Wasserstraße" and "Europaring." Being a part of a military formation connecting east and west, it offered one of only few possibilities to cross the river with coaches. The authority controlling the "ford" was powerful, authorised to charge tolls, and fords were also places of commerce. In a document from 1129 there is the first reference to two noblemen "de Steinvorde" (of Steinfurt). They probably had a moated castle built in the place of the main farm of Veltrup near the "ford" in order to control it.

The first rival was the Ascheberg clan living in a castle near today's road to Emsdetten, the old road of army and commerce to Münster and other eastern Germanic areas. There was a permanent war between the House of Ascheberg and the House of Steinfurt. In 1164 the Ascheberg clan is said to have destroyed the castle of the Steinfurt clan while the latter were on a trip to Cologne. After their return to Steinfurt they satisfied their desire for revenge and destroyed the castle of Ascheberg.

The noblemen of Steinfurt put forward a liberal settlement policy offering tradesmen, craftsmen and other citizens favourably situated houses near the "ford." In return they had to provide currency, wax or poultry and the old farming community "Villa Veliun" turned into a market square. In a document from 1338 the settlement is named "unse Stat to Stenvorde" (our city of Stenvorde). From 1816 up to the administrational reform in 1975 the city was called "Burgsteinfurt" and now there is just the city of "Steinfurt" uniting the two parts – Burgsteinfurt and Borghorst.

The Knights of St. John of Jerusalem was a religious and military order of striking importance for Steinfurt, which came to Burgsteinfurt sometime in the 13th century. The knights were given several manors around Steinfurt. Next to the major church the "Knights" founded their settlement called "Kommende" in 1244 of which most of the old buildings have survived until today.

From the 12th century on there was another settlement developed in the neighbourhood of the "Kommende," which is now the district of Burgsteinfurt called "Friedhof" (free area).

The wealth of the Order of St. John grew continuously. The noblemen gave them authority to supervise the major church, including the prerogative to appoint clergymen and to manage its funds. Additionally they accepted donations of several rich farms as well as possessions in the surrounding area. The settlement of the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem in Steinfurt, which was the first settlement of the order in Westphalia, became the biggest one in the region. In Münster they also founded a branch settlement. The Knights of St. John and the "Friedhof" (cemetery)-district formed an important unity. The "Friedhof" (free zone)-district was an independent area outside Steinfurt with its own civil rights. The name "Friedhof" doesn't refer to a cemetery, but reminds the reader of a pre-Christian sanctuary, which was located in the place of today's "Great Church." A person reaching this holy place was free; even criminals could not be punished here. In 1347 Steinfurt was granted town privileges. A hundred years later the County of Steinfurt was integrated into the community of counties immediate to the Empire, so that Steinfurt was only subordinate to the Emperor of Germany. Nevertheless, the ambitions of Münster kept growing. The self-government of Steinfurt had always annoyed the bishop of Münster.

But Steinfurt prepared itself. The citizens built walls, ramparts, ditches and so on at their own expense. A complete wall around the city was put up. This fortification consisted of the city wall, the inner moat, the rampart, the outer moat and a forward wall. The course of this fortification can be traced in today's cityscape. It develops around the old city centre from the "Schüttenwall" via the "Wilhelmsplatz," the "Kalkwall," the "Stampenwall" and the "Neuen Wall." The small lanes "Türkei," "Löffelstraße," "An der Stadtmauer," "Drepsenhoek" and "Viefhoek" run parallel to the old city wall.

Additionally four city gates were built: "Kirchpforte," "Rottpforte," "Steinpforte," and "Wasserpforte." There was only a small gate for pedestrians southward to the castle in the "Burgstraße." The road to Borghorst was built in the 19th century, when the ancient fortification had almost vanished. The "Friedhof"-district had its own fortification – secluded by its own city gate "Blocktor." The old guarding plans of Steinfurt showed the names of citizens who had to "tho wake und to yse," i.e., to guard the fortification and keep them clean and to de-ice them. In winter, when the moat was frozen, they had to break up the ice to guarantee the security of the city. Therefore, the citizenship was divided into three boroughs – the so-called "Eise" (Kirchsträßner Eis, Steinsträßner Eis, Wassersträßner Eis).

Simultaneously the city became more prosperous. In 1421 Eberwin I von Götterswick, who ruled Bentheim and Steinfurt since Steinfurt's dynasty was extinct, donated the town hall with market stalls of butchers and with a set of scales to the city. All citizens became more and more self-confident. As the Great Church was located outside the fortified city, they built a new Small Church from 1471–1475, on the foundation walls of the poorhouse of the Holy Spirit; until 1807 the annual election of the council took place there on 7 January. Later the Counts of Steinfurt conferred the right to build, and the right to put taxes on routes and beer to the city authorities. In 1561 the citizens proudly built their new town hall, resembling the town hall in Münster, on the foundation walls of the old market hall. This town hall was located at the crossroads of the three main streets from Münster (Wasserstraße), from Coesfeld (Kirchstraße) and from Schüttorf (Steinstraße).

During the aftermath of the Reformation Count Arnold II converted for his wife's sake to Lutheranism. This caused tensions with the order of the Knights of St John of Jerusalem, which resulted in the assault on the Great Church on 25 January 1564 (Steinfurt Reformation Day). While the count was asleep, the Great Church was taken. From this time on, only Lutheran church services were held in the Great Church and even today the date is known as the "Robber-Feast." The noble family converted collectively to the Calvinistic Church and stayed alert. From 1591 to 1593 Count Arnold founded a special type of university known as "Hohe Schule," which was a Protestant institution opposing the Catholic Münster.

Unlike universities recognised by the German Emperor or the Pope the "Hohe Schule" mustn't award doctorates. Still this oldest of all Westphalian universities attracted students and scientists from all over Europe; the city became wealthy and famous throughout Germany and the neighbouring countries. Especially Protestant Dutch students appreciated the Hohe Schule. Professor Conrad Vorstius taught there from 1596 until 1605 before he was chosen to become successor of Jacobus Arminius at the Leiden University. Some professors built renaissance-style houses, two of which can still be viewed at the old market square. The Count of Steinfurt even provided cover to Calvinists and Mennonites, who usually came from wealthy families and, therefore, brought many economic resources and also education to Steinfurt. Thus Steinfurt became and remained a Calvinistic-Mennonite island in the centre of Catholic Münsterland for a long time.

But all the prosperity vanished in the Thirty Years' War. The Black Death as well as mercenaries from all over Europe looting the city frightened off many citizens who emigrated in particular to the Netherlands. At the end of the war a great deal of houses was destroyed. Only a minority of citizens still lived in town. Yet even in the post-war period Burgsteinfurt remained lively. In 1660, Prince-Bishop Bernhard von Galen of Münster occupied the town and even ignored judicial orders by the Reichskammergericht, the highest court of the Holy Roman Empire at that time. He even enforced the right of Catholics to perform the mass in the Great Church. The occupation stopped in 1716 because an agreement was reached. Shortly after that a Catholic baroque church was built in Burgsteinfurt. Furthermore, the county of Steinfurt proved to be liberal towards Jews. In 1662 the Count of Steinfurt licensed one of them to live and work in Steinfurt in accordance with his religion. Even though the citizens originally objected to the settlement of Jews, the Jewish community grew successively.

A more peaceful period of time began. Moats and walls were flattened and the resulting new land was given to the citizens for cultivation. Count Charles Paul Ernest planned increasing the economic power of the city. Inspired by several journeys to foreign countries he decided to build an amusement park east of the castle – the "Bagno" (Italian: il bagno = bath, spa) – based on French blueprints.

His heir Louis William Geldricus Ernest of Bentheim and Steinfurt expanded the originally little lake and reconstructed the garden in English style. In the time to follow many exotic buildings were put up, among these a so-called Chinese palace, an Arion ship, a Gothic house and the artificial ruin of a castle. Today there are only the concert hall, the island with the ruin and the New Guardhouse ("Neue Wache") left, but the "Bagno" has become established as an attraction for tourists.

At the same time the conflict between Count and city came to a climax. Following a legal dispute the Count of Steinfurt deposed the city council, arrested the mayor and deployed 150 French soldiers. He banned the town guards and, consequently, the town guard festivals called "Schützenfest." Later peace was restored through a settlement and a new council was elected. In 1806 the French allocated Steinfurt to the grand duchy "Berg." Steinfurt was now the head of the "arrondissement" and therefore its administrational centre. Thus, a decision had been made which is still valid today. Steinfurt is still the seat of the local government, the local district court and the financial authorities. The French also closed the "Kommende."

The decision of the French to choose Burgsteinfurt as an administrational centre was simultaneously the start of the industrial era. Due to poor harvests and subsequent common impoverishment many citizens left for the United States. Especially in Ohio and Missouri old "Stemmerter" (= citizens of Steinfurt) left their traces at that time. Meanwhile, Steinfurt was linked to the existing road networks. Old city gates were torn down to establish new housing estates beyond the old city boundaries. In 1851 the first house was built outside the ancient urban area. Railroad connections were established from Steinfurt to Münster, Enschede, Rheine, Oberhausen and Borken. Textile industry, tobacco factories and the brewery "Rolinck" gained recognition. The predominantly Protestant population grew significantly. An almost forgotten fact is that a first line of telegraphs existed between Burgsteinfurt and Borghorst. Christoph Ludwig von Hoffmann, MD, scientist and personal physician of the Count, installed the optical telegraph.

At the end of World War II, the town was in the British Zone of Occupation. The townsfolk were noted in the British press for their silent but palpable resentment of the British occupation. On 29 May 1945 the people of the town were ordered to watch an Allied documentary film detailing Nazi mass murder.

Historical monuments
The Old Town Hall built in 1561 indicates by its Renaissance gable the self-confidence of the economically successful citizens of Burgsteinfurt. The swinging contours of the gable lead to seven peaked pyramids and the crest of the city. The turret of the town hall is supported by one big beam, called "Kaiserstiel" (i.e., emperor's beam). The Gothic hall below on the first floor contained the city guard and the prison for a very long time. On the second floor there is the big assembly hall of the city council and the chamber with the fireplace.

At the beginning of the Hahnen street is the "Huck-Beifang-Haus." Eberhard Huck, the Count's financial administrator, had built this house as an annex to his wife's home in "Bütkamp 3." The proud owner noted on the bay in Latin: "Sunt hae structae aedes Eberhardie sumptibus Hucki. Ex his as superas sperat abire domos," which would be in English something like: "This house was built at the expense of Eberhard Huck. From here he hopes he will come into heaven one day." The bay is marked with the crest of the Huck family (Huck = hook) and Beifang family and the year 1607. The building, which in the meantime harboured the public library, serves now occasionally as an art gallery and a function hall for public lectures.

From here a narrow medieval lane, the "Kalkarstiege," leads to "Bütkamp." There are several classic buildings all at once: first the Haus Bütkamp 3 on the left side and the house called Ackerbürgerhaus, a building inhabited by a citizen who was a farmer as well as a citizen of the town and who had his land outside the city walls. On the right side is a very graceful half-timbered house with two storeys located. It dates from the beginning of the 17th century and is called Kornschreiberhaus ("Bütkamp 14"). The second floor and the third floor extend into the street. Thus the house offered more space. Michael Oeglein from Southern Germany's Swabia is considered the architect and initial owner of this house. He was in charge of collecting the duties and taxes the farmers owed to the Count. They delivered food grain ("Korn") and he had to keep records. Since "keeping records" is in colloquial German "(auf-)schreiben", his house was eventually known as "Kornschreiberhaus."

The tall building housing the "Stadtbücherei" (municipal public library) is known as "Weinhaus" (wine-house). It is the oldest building at the market square. Built around 1450 by the Count, it served as accommodation for his guests and later on for selling wine. Moreover, it demonstrated how the Count held sway over the town and its market square which symbolized the wealth and power of the citizens. Due to certain defects concerning the building's construction the roof had to be restored in 1490 already. The wall close to "Kirchstrasse" had to be rebuilt after the Thirty Years' War. And the stucco façade, a mix of Baroque elements and Art Nouveau dates back to 1912. Nowadays the house lodges a fireplace which was relocated from house "Markt 16." It shows Adam and Eve while Eve passes on the apple to Adam.

Close to the Wine-House there are two houses in Renaissance style. The house "Markt 18" was owned by the judge and law professor at the "Hohe Schule," Johannes Goddaeus, who had the house built on the foundations of a wine-shop. The house "Markt 16" was constructed by the Count's administrator Dr. Caspar Kestering and his wife Adelheid Huberts immediately after the Thirty Years' War in 1648. Their initials are eligible in the crest of the two lions in front of the door. In the past there was a tavern, the cellar of which still exists. During the Thirty Years' War the house was destroyed, but Kestering had a new house put up on the foundation of the old one in the style of the Dutch Renaissance.

Opposite to this house there is the House Pieter van der Swaagh, which was built in 1784 by judge Friedrich Houth in classicistic style. The flowerpots on the house with the artificial agaves probably derive from the Bagno.

The tour leads on to "Burgstrasse." The Count's the former "Kunsthaus" (House of Arts) deserves attention because more than a hundred years ago it was a unique museum of artwork, stuffed crocodiles and odd scientific instruments. At the end of "Burgstrasse" there is the "Schlossmühle" (castle mill) on the left and the castle itself on the right. There was a mill on this site already in the Middle Ages, today there is a café and a restaurant.

The Castle is one of Burgsteinfurt's most important buildings. Registered sightseeing tours are offered, but only a limited area is open for tourists because the castle is still inhabited by the noble family. A fortified castle was erected on a hill already dug up in the 10th century, but was destroyed in 1164 in a conflict with Ascheberg's nobility. The new facility contained an outer wall, the "Buddenturm," a tall tower for defence demolished in the 18th century, and the tower used for living with the Great hall. A rare construction are the two chapels built on top of each other and used as two-storeyed chapel. The auxiliary building ("Vorburg") of today in front of the main residence or "Hauptburg" comprises flats, garages, stables and farm buildings. In the middle there is a little Baroque "house" for a well, built by stonemason Johann Schrader.

From the castle and the market the former university building "Hohe Schule" can be seen. In order to oppose the activities of the Jesuits in Münster and "Münsterland," Count Arnold IV (1554–1606) founded a Calvinistic university, once the oldest university in Westphalia. Starting in 1591 the "Hohe Schule" offered courses in law, theology, medicine/physics, philosophy, history and rhetoric. Doctors’ degrees, however, were not awarded in Burgsteinfurt. The "Hohe Schule" was built in the Renaissance style and is crowned by two weather vanes that are marked with the crest of Count Arnold IV and his wife. Around the big tower runs a gallery, where people could make astronomical computations. At the beginning of the 19th century the "Hohe Schule" was closed. It was used then by French troops under Napoleonic rule, later on as the seat of a law court and as a prison.

From the "Hohe Schule" an alley branches off, the so-called Kautenstege, actually Kortenstege or "short way." At the beginning the old Geisthaus (House of the Holy Spirit) can be seen, the only surviving poorhouse of the city from the 15th century. In "Kautenstege" a memorial stone reminds the visitor of the Synagogue that once stood here and the Jewish citizens who were deported. The Synagogue was destroyed in November 1938. At the end of "Kautenstege" there is the Steinstrasse ("cobblestone street," in former times the only paved street in Burgsteinfurt); on the right side there is the old town hall, the starting point of the tour.

Education
Steinfurt and all its 34,000 citizens (14,000 of them living in Burgsteinfurt) profits from its location in the centre of the charming landscape of "Münsterland." Steinfurt is also the home of numerous medium-sized enterprises, especially the brewery, spinning mills and transportation companies. In Steinfurt there are a variety of schools and colleges, including of course the traditional academic high school "Arnoldinum," a descendant of the "Hohe Schule." The polytechnic institute of Münster keeps several world-famous departments in Burgsteinfurt, particularly for electronic technology and bio-chemistry. The city possesses two public pools, two secondary schools and in the "Bagno" there is one of the most beautiful golf courses in Westphalia (nine holes).

The engineering faculties of the University of Applied Sciences Münster (Fachhochschule Münster) are based in Steinfurt.

Train
Steinfurt-Burgsteinfurt station is located on the Münster–Enschede railway and has an hourly train service to Münster in one direction and to Enschede in the other direction.

Buses
Bus lines connect Steinfurt to Rheine, Emsdetten and Coesfeld

Bicycle
Bicycle paths lead to Metelen, Rheine, Horstmar and Münster.

Twin towns – sister cities
Steinfurt is twinned with:
 * 🇧🇪 Liedekerke, Belgium
 * 🇩🇪 Neubukow, Germany
 * Rijssen-Holten, Netherlands

Notable people

 * Alexander Hegius (c. 1439–1498), humanist, priest and member of the Brothers of Common Life
 * Johann Friedrich Böckelmann (1632–1681), jurist and professor
 * Louis William Geldricus Ernest, Prince of Bentheim and Steinfurt (1756–1817), nobleman
 * Ludwig Wilhelm, Prince of Bentheim and Steinfurt (1812–1890), nobleman, Royal Hanoverian and Prussian Lieutenant General
 * Alexis, Prince of Bentheim and Steinfurt (1845–1919), nobleman and statesman
 * Levin Ludwig Schücking (1878–1964), anglist and Shakespeare researcher
 * Heinz Baumkötter (1912–2001), SS leader and concentration camp doctor
 * Paul Gauselmann (born 1934), founder and chairman of the company's group of companies of the same name
 * Jutta Richter (born 1955), author of children's and youth literature
 * Bertram Engel (born 1957), drummer
 * Mikael Forssell (born 1981), Finnish footballer
 * Peter Elkmann (born 1981), racing driver
 * Lena Wermelt (born 1990), footballer
 * Jannine Weigel (born 2000), German-Thai singer, actress and model

title: Steinfurt


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Talk:Abortion in the United Kingdom

Structure of Article
Visiting the page expecting to be able to easily reference the state of the law in each part of the UK (and it would be helpful, as I've added, to include the Channel Islands) I found that the section on "England and Wales" gave details only about the 1861 Act which no longer applies in *any* part of the Common Travel Area, and that I could not readily find out the dates or names of the legislation that applied to Scotland, England, and Wales - nor was there any reference to the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man, and the history of abortion in Northern Ireland was away down at the foot of the page. (If there is an article specifically on abortion in Jersey, Guernsey, and Man, then I apologise for putting this in the wrong place and suggest a link to the article from the top level section: but as I noted in this section, women from the islands habitually traveled to the mainland when they needed an abortion, this is a documented fact: therefore the legality of abortion on the islands is as closely linked to the legislation in the mainland UK as the legality of abortion in Northern Ireland.)

I've restructured the page so that the initial visitor can quickly find out (a) the state of the law in England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Island and the Channel Islands, and (b) the dates of the relevant legislation.

I appreciate that many people are keen to know about opinion polls, attempts to amend legislation, history of punishments for abortion, etc. But the basic facts of the law and dates of the legislation passed are key, and should be readily available, uncluttered by the wealth of information further down the page. Yonmei (talk) 15:37, 7 June 2011 (UTC)

(1) As far as I can see, sections 58 and 59 of the Offences against the Person Act 1861 are still in force in England and Wales and Northern Ireland. The 1999 edition of Archbold Criminal Pleading, Evidence and Practice, which I have in front of me right now, says, at paragraphs 19-149 to 19-165, that they are still in force. The Government's official database of legislation makes no suggestion that either section has been repealed: see here http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Vict/24-25/100/section/58 and here http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Vict/24-25/100/section/59 (the website in question is provided by the National Archives). If you think that they have been repealed so recently that the change has not yet appeared on the "legislation.gov.uk" website you must provide the name of the Act of Parliament that you think did this.

The Abortion Act 1967 did not repeal sections 58 or 59. All it did was to provide that the word "unlawfully" in those sections was to be construed in accordance with its first section. If an abortion was performed that was not in accordance with section 1 of the Abortion Act 1967, the person who performed it would be liable to be prosecuted for an offence under section 58 provided that he had the mens rea for that offence.

(2) The Infant Life (Preservation) Act 1929 does not extend to Northern Ireland. The offence of child destruction is created for Northern Ireland by the Criminal Justice Act (Northern Ireland) 1945.

James500 (talk) 17:26, 7 June 2011 (UTC)
 * I consider this to be political pleading and NPOV. The fact is that abortion in mainland UK has been legal within specifically defined criteria since 1967. Your attempt to claim that it is unlawful is unhelpful to users. Your speculation that a 19th-century act could still apply in the UK does not rightly belong in a factual encyclopedia article at all. I will revert to my original edits. Yonmei (talk) 18:58, 7 June 2011 (UTC)
 * Yonmei, this is not political pleading. It is not POV. It is not speculation. It is a question of factual accuracy. Your claims that section 58 and 59 have been repealed are unsourced. The government's database, and my textbook, do not agree.
 * Also, I have not claimed that abortion is unlawful within the criteria of the 1967 Act. All I have done is to point out that, outside of those criteria, it is still offence (to which Archbold devotes a number of pages, making it notable). That is not the same thing.James500 (talk) 19:09, 7 June 2011 (UTC)
 * I apologise, then. Moving on to the issue of abortion in the mainland United Kingdom outside the criteria of the 1967 and 1990 Acts, the point of my changes was to restructure the article to make it clearer and easier to use as a reference.
 * As an illustration: There were 195,296 abortions in England and Wales in 2008 of which 95% took place at 20-or-less weeks gestation and 98% are recorded as taking place under Statutory Ground C of the 1967 Act: 2% on other grounds Department of Health PDF. In contrast, when attempting to show that the 1861 Act was still relevant, you provided one example of one prosecution under the 1929 Act in 2007, linking to a news story which acknowledged that this was a strikingly-rare event.
 * The structure of the article needs to give the basic and commonplace information first - abortion is lawful, here is the statutory legislation under which it is lawful. You may note, if you feel it important, in the historical section about the 1861 statute your citations to show that (except in the overwhelming majority of abortions taking place in the United Kingdom since 1967) subsections of 1861 legislation have not formally been repealed but are no longer in active use: abortion is lawful in the UK. I think it important that it's clear I am not disagreeing that you should not include whatever information and citations you have about the 1861 and 1929 Acts - just that the structure of the article needs to have the current law in all parts of the United Kingdom referenced first. Yonmei (talk) 22:52, 7 June 2011 (UTC)

In response to your observations here and on my talk page:

(1) The 1861 and 1929 Acts are not "historical" or "irrelevant" because they have not been repealed and people can still be prosecuted under them. (In England and Wales, unlike Scotland, an Act of Parliament does not cease to be law merely because it has fallen into desuetude).

 * Thank you for acknowledging that the 1861 Act has fallen into desuetude. It would be inappropriate, therefore, to make that Act the first part of the page. (The 1929 Act has not, because it is still the legislation that makes abortion unlawful in Northern Ireland.) Yonmei (talk) 08:05, 8 June 2011 (UTC)

 * Desuetude is irrelevant because it is not a defence. It does not make the Act "historical". It could be used at any moment.
 * In any event, I do not agree that sections 58 and 59 have fallen into desuetude. I have not seen sources that support the proposition that there has been "open, notorious and pervasive violation of the statute for a long period". I have not seen sources that suggest that large numbers of backstreet abortions and the like (what the 1861 now prohibits) are still taking place.James500 (talk) 00:38, 11 June 2011 (UTC)
 * The 1861 Act is still in force in Northern Ireland, as far as I am aware. It also includes acts that cannot be prosecuted as child destruction (because that offence has been held only to apply to late abortions due to the words "capable of being born alive").James500 (talk) 17:01, 8 June 2011 (UTC)
 * The Infant Life (Preservation) Act 1929 does not extend to Northern Ireland. See section 3(2). The offence of child destruction is created for Northern Ireland by the Criminal Justice Act (Northern Ireland) 1945.James500 (talk) 17:14, 8 June 2011 (UTC)
 * The BBC website that you have cited is not an appropriate source as it does not purport to be written by someone with legal credentials or with an audience of lawyers in mind. Section 25 of the Criminal Justice Act (Northern Ireland) 1945 does not mention the 1929 Act. The text of section 3(2) of the 1929 on legislation.gov.uk does not acknowledge any amendment to that Act. What you have here is a journalist who does not understand what the "extent" of a statute means.James500 (talk) 17:40, 8 June 2011 (UTC)
 * The correct expression is that section 25 of the 1945 Act is "derived" (i.e. copied) from section 1 of the 1929 Act.James500 (talk) 17:48, 8 June 2011 (UTC) The expression "framed" on is also used. James500 (talk) 01:01, 9 June 2011 (UTC)
 * Also, on the legislation.gov.uk website, when you click on "show geographical extent" under "advanced features" in the left hand panel, it says that the geographical extent of the 1929 Act is England and Wales. See here, for example, http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Geo5/19-20/34/section/3?view=extent (look for the purple box with "E+W" written in it).James500 (talk) 00:09, 11 June 2011 (UTC) And if you move your cursor over that purple box, the words "Applies to England and Wales" come up on the screen.James500 (talk) 00:14, 11 June 2011 (UTC)

(2) The frequency with which prosecutions occur does not determine notability. That is determined by whether anyone is bothered to publish anything on the subject. I have already pointed to the leading textbook on English criminal law. I do not doubt that it will be included in many others.

 * The number of sources publishing material on the legislation that makes abortion lawful in the mainland United Kingdom, the 1967 and the 1990 Acts, is far greater than the number of sources publishing material on the 1861 Act, which has fallen into desuetude: the 1929 Act is still live legislation for Northern Ireland, and the cause of people traveling from Northern Ireland to the mainland to have abortions. If you wish to expand on the 1929 Act, further than is already expanded in its own wikipedia page, that would be appropriate. Yonmei (talk) 08:05, 8 June 2011 (UTC)

 * Can you prove that there is more literature on the 1967 Act than on the 1861 Act? It is not immediately obvious to me how this could be done.
 * If the order of the article were based on "popularity" or perceived "importance", instead of being organised by subject, it would become a psuedorandom collection of information (by which I mean that it would appear to be random to a casual observer). It would end up looking like "twenty facts" in The Sun. You might as well insist on putting it in alphabetical order.James500 (talk) 00:54, 9 June 2011 (UTC)

(3) The fact that prosecutions do not often take place for an offence does not mean that it is not important. It might mean that it has the public running scared. To put it another way, it might mean that the offence is working.

 * The point of the 1861 Act was to make all abortion a criminal offence. Since abortion is lawful and the right to have an abortion largely supported throughout the UK, and the right to travel to have an abortion supported by the ECHR, your argument for including the 1861 Act at the top of the page falls by this argument alone: plainly it cannot be argued to be an important Act any longer. Yonmei (talk) 08:05, 8 June 2011 (UTC)
 * Today, the purpose of the 1861 Act seems to be to prevent abortions that are not authorised by the 1967 Act. That would seem to include, for example, (1) dangerous backstreet abortions and (2) thugs beating seven bells out of pregnant women out of spite.James500 (talk) 17:01, 8 June 2011 (UTC)

(4) It is impossible to understand what the 1967 Act does without reference to the 1861 Act, because the 1967 Act is primarily a corrollory to the 1861 Act.

 * The 1967 Act makes abortion lawful in England, Scotland, and Wales, providing certain criteria are met. The Act itself has its own wikipedia page, which explains the function of the Act in more detail, and if you feel that page needs to be improved by citations from the 1861 Act, I would suggest you go edit that.
 * I agree that the progress of abortion law in the UK needs to be on the page: that is why there is a Historical section, where your detailed material on 1861 Act seems to belong.
 * I disagree that it's "impossible" to understand that the 1967 Act made abortion lawful without explaining in detail about the offenses in an Act in desuetude Yonmei (talk) 08:05, 8 June 2011 (UTC)

(5) The logical way to set out the article is to discuss all laws that are still in force in turn, in one section, including the 1861 Act. That is how Archbold Criminal Pleading, Evidence and Practice deals with the topic (it actually puts the 1861 Act first, but it, of course, is only concerned with England and Wales).

 * The logical way to set out an article of general reference for the public to find information is to give the basic information first, and expand on it in detail further down the page. Since the 1861 Act has fallen into desuetude, it is not information that an article of general reference needs to have at the top of the page. Yonmei (talk) 08:05, 8 June 2011 (UTC)
 * I agree that that there should be a summary at the top of the page. But what you have is not a summary.
 * For the sake of navigation it is necessary to put "like with like", e.g. all laws that are still in force in one section.James500 (talk) 17:01, 8 June 2011 (UTC)
 * For the sake of clarity, it is necessary to make clear first that abortion is lawful in the United Kingdom, and the legislation which makes abortion lawful. 80.192.121.39 (talk) 12:04, 9 June 2011 (UTC)
 * For the sake of clarity, it is necessary to make clear first that abortion is lawful in Great Britain under certain circumstances, and unlawful otherwise, and the legislation which respectively makes abortion lawful and unlawful under the aforementioned circumstances. I think that to pick and choose between one and the other would be potentially misleading and incompatible with NPOV.
 * NB: I am not convinced that the wording of section 5(2) ("For the purposes of the law relating to abortion ... unlawfully done unless ...") makes abortion generally lawful for all purposes. But that is a separate issue.James500 (talk) 21:31, 9 June 2011 (UTC)

(6) I do not think that what you have written in the section on Great Britain is satisfactory because it is incomplete. It is not even a summary of what the 1967 Act does. It is a random fact. My provisional proposed revision of the section for England, Wales and Scotland is here. It is a substantial re-draft of what I originally wrote. Please let me know whether you find it acceptable.

 * Having had some experience with Wikipedia arguments, I wanted to establish that the structure of the article was accepted by other page editors before investing any further time in adding appropriate material. The section on the UK links to the Abortion Act 1967 and the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990 and the Infant Life (Preservation) Act 1929, each of which have their own pages on Wikipedia and which also link to the page on the Offences against the Person Act 1861. (I am surprised that you are not attempting to amend these pages.) The section on the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man links to the legislation itself where I could find it online (as no one has yet written wikipedia pages on this), and to other external sources referencing the changes making abortion lawful. Yonmei (talk) 08:05, 8 June 2011 (UTC)

 * I'll read your re-draft and comment on it, but I cannot guarantee to have time to do so properly in the next 24 hours. Will read and respond within 48 hours, if that's OK. Thanks Yonmei (talk) 08:01, 8 June 2011 (UTC)

(7) It might be desirable to completely decouple the information on the law relating to abortion from the rest of the article, perhaps by creating a new article at Abortion law in the United Kingdom or the like. I think that there is probably enough material to justify an article, if I was to add that material (there are quite a number of cases on sections 58 and 59 alone). This would probably be my preferred option.James500 (talk) 01:31, 8 June 2011 (UTC)

 * I don't see why that would be desirable. The Offences against the Person Act 1861 has its own wikipedia page, as do the 1929, 1967, and 1990 Acts. Why create what would effectively duplicate information available elsewhere? The article on Abortion in the United Kingdom should provide the basic and relevant information first: an 1861 Act fallen into desuetude is neither basic nor relevant.Yonmei (talk) 08:05, 8 June 2011 (UTC)
 * The volume of case law, and other accretions, on the 1861 Act is such that it is not going to be possible to discuss all its offences on that page, for reasons of length alone.James500 (talk) 17:17, 8 June 2011 (UTC)
 * Another alternative might be to create an article at Sections 58 and 59 of the Offences against the Person Act 1861, or such like, as there may be enough material to justify that.
 * The suggestion that the 1861 Act is not relevant is manifestly wrong, since it is still in force, and I am not even sure what you mean by "basic".James500 (talk) 23:44, 10 June 2011 (UTC)

What I am going to do now
I was told above that I would have a reponse on the proposed redraft in 48 hours. It has now been over three and a half days. I can't assume that I am going to get an answer, I can't wait forever, so I am going to go ahead. In any event, I think the arguments that have been offered above are manifest nonsense. The material obviously should go in the encyclopedia somewhere, this is as good a place as any, and it can always be moved later if it appears expedient to do so.James500 (talk) 01:43, 11 June 2011 (UTC)

Channel Islands
(3) The Channel Islands are not part of the United Kingdom. They are what remains of the Duchy of Normandy. They are part of the British Islands. See the Interpretation Act 1978.James500 (talk) 18:47, 7 June 2011 (UTC)
 * If you feel it is appropriate to create a new Wikipedia article on Abortion in the Channel Islands, we can discuss this. But as I demonstrated in my link to Hansard, people from Guernsey, Jersey, and the Isle of Man, have been coming to the mainland UK for legal abortions since the 1967 Act was passed. Yonmei (talk) 18:58, 7 June 2011 (UTC)

Polls
"2006 MORI poll A more recent survey shows support for restricting abortion laws in the UK, and is cited by the Catholic Church in England and Wales as evidence of a growing unease with abortion. [10]"

I've got a concern with the analysis presented by this sentence. It say that there is support for restricting abortion laws in the UK but I read the exact opposite.

"42% of British men and women believe the legal limit for an abortion should be cut (i.e abortion more restricted). 47% of British women believe the legal limit for an abortion should be cut 36% of British men believe the legal limit for an abortion should be cut 10% of British women believe that abortion should be "outlawed altogether" "

So a slim majority of men and women do NOT believe the abortion limit should be cut against the 47% who do. Compare these findings to the earlier poll:

"2005 YouGov/Daily Telegraph poll--Hauskalainen (talk) 05:50, 14 January 2010 (UTC) According to an August 2005 YouGov/Daily Telegraph survey, Britons' feelings toward abortion by gestational age are: [9]

30% would back a measure to reduce the legal limit for abortion to 20 weeks 25% support maintaining the current limit of 24 weeks 19% support a limit of 12 weeks 9% support a limit of fewer than 12 weeks 6% responded that abortion should never be allowed 2% said it should be permitted throughout pregnancy "

Adding up the restrictive groups, we come to a total of 66% in favour of some sort of restriction.

Contrary to "growing unease" there seems to be a relaxing of attitudes from 66% in favour of restriction in 2005 to 47% in 2006. All this tells me is that it depends how you ask the question...Anyway, I thought it was misleading to characterise the UK attitude as one of "growing unease" Tominatrix (talk) 19:15, 31 May 2009 (UTC)

 * I deleted the alleged 2006 poll and replaced it with a 2009 poll. The 2009 poll is published at the MORI web site. The 2006 poll is curiously not there (http://www.ipsos-mori.com/researchpublications/researcharchive.aspx?keyword=Abortion).--Hauskalainen (talk) 05:50, 14 January 2010 (UTC)

Northern Ireland
I did a few minor edits to this very infomative article. Would it be possible to clarify whether the Irish women travelling to GB for abortions are from Northern Ireland, the Republic or both? ~jimfbleak

There is circumstantial evidence to suggest that a large proportion of those 'Irish' women in Britain for abortions aren't Irish at all. Doctors in one Liverpool clinic in 1997 observed that less than 25% of those 'Irish' women actually had Irish accents; most had Liverpool accents, some Scottish, etc. There are still many British women who are unwilling to give a lot of personal details when checking into a hospital for a termination. They suspected that in saying 'I'm Irish' the women in question presumed that that would mean the hospital would decide that it would be tactful not to ask for any detailed info (home addresses, doctor contact numbers etc), on the basis that Irish women travelling for an abortion that was illegal in their own country would be unwilling to give the details and would be embarrassed to be asked. So the claims of Irishness by vast numbers of people seeking abortions are regarded by all but hardcore pro-abortion campaigners are deeply dodgy.

In addition, a travel survey in 1999 found that far less women of childbearing age travelled to specific locations in the UK than the supposed number of people showing up in those clinics for abortions and claiming Irishness. The survey on the demography of travel by age and gender suggested a serious discrepancy in the numbers. As many of these women were according to the survey not flying over with public airlines, and not travelling by boat from Dublin, Dun Laoghaire, Hollyhead or any port in Northern Ireland, the mystery was, how exactly were these 'Irish women' getting to the UK? Unless there is some secret unheard of secret boat or plane service, they were hiring private planes to fly them over or they are travelling to Europe and then to the UK, or they are swimming the Irish Sea, the numbers simply do not tally.

In one week in June 1999, a review of the number of women of 15-50 travelling to airports, sea ports and other locations within a fifty mile radius of a particular British city suggested that 144% of Irish women who travelled to that geographic area had abortions!!! Details of the exact numbers, or even a reasonable guess of the numbers of Irish women having British abortions, don't exist but put together, information from the hospitals, their data, the observations of staff and the result of the demographic survey of travel all suggest the speculated numbers are pie in the sky and privately off the record many leading abortion campaigners in Ireland admit that. FearÉIREANN 01:42 3 Jul 2003 (UTC)

I just had to point out that the above is complete and utter nonsense. From wiki "Estimates to the number of Irish women seeking abortions in Britain vary, in the 1990s it is alleged that between 1,500 and 10,000 women who stated in hospital records that they were 'Irish' travel annually. The official figure is 45,000 since 1967."

According to the UK Office of National Statistics, 20.4 million people visited Britain in 2006. I also found the following statistics- "Foreign visitors to the UK: American - 13%, French - 12%, German - 11%, Irish - 9.5%, Dutch - 6%". So, almost 2 million Irish people came to the UK in 2006. Admittedly some were probably in transit through UK airports, but I really don't believe that there were so few women of child-bearing age in Britain that 10,000 of them couldn't have been here for abortions. If only 10% of Irish visitors were women of child-bearing age, there would have been 200,000 of them in the UK last year. Maybe Ireland has some strange shortage of child-bearing women, or only men visited the UK. Seanjw 16:44, 17 January 2007 (UTC)

 * The article currently states "Approximately 80,000 women have travelled from Northern Ireland to England or other European countries to access a safe and legal abortion since the Abortion Act was enacted in 1967" Where is that figure from? No references at all are given. The above 4 year old comment from Seanjw does not provide any references either and saying "I really don't believe..." doesn't get anyone any nearer to an accurate figure. The same goes for: "anything up to 2000 pounds". As with every other article on Wikipedia, statistics need to be referenced to a reliable and neutral source. This one is no exception. Until then I am flagging this section.62.254.133.139 (talk) 21:04, 6 May 2011 (UTC)

I removed a reference to the sad case of Savita Halappanavar from the Northern Ireland section. While it's an important and newsworthy occasion, she died because doctors in the Republic felt bound by laws of the Republic - I don't see how someone dying in a neigbouring country has any relevance to Northern Ireland, where the law is completely different (with the 1929 and 1945 acts unequivocally legalising abortion in NI in cases like Halappanavar's. Johnb78 (talk) 11:43, 16 November 2012 (UTC)

Vera Drake
Would a link to the 2004 film, Vera Drake, about a back-street abortionist, be a helpful illustration of the situation in England before the '67 Act? === Vernon White (talk)  08:33, 20 February 2007 (UTC)
 * If you can find a reliable source to suggest that Vera Drake is an accurate portrayal of the situation in the U.K. before the Abortion Act 1967, then, yes. Otherwise I'd suggest adding it to a "Trivia", "Popular culture," or "Arts and literature" section. -Severa (!!!) 16:17, 20 February 2007 (UTC)
 * Don't really like "Trivia" sections added to heavy topics e.g Myra Hindley. Do you think there were any reliable contemporary social science studies of back-street abortionists. Maybe some of the actors have talked about the research they did on the characters and background. Is there any other "Popular Culture" source that might be mentioned in such a section? === Vernon White  (talk)  19:08, 20 February 2007 (UTC)

(Undent) Understandable. It's just that, in a number of past discussions at Talk:Abortion, concerns have been raised over information regarding the practice of abortion before legalization (particularly in the U.S.). So as a preventative measure against similar objections being raised here it might be a good idea to add a source if you're going to introduce a reference to the film in the context of an example of the practice of abortion in the U.K. prior to 1967. Here's some stuff I found on Google about Vera Drake:
 * BBC News: "Vera Drake review"
 * Telegraph: "Mike Leigh film 'could trigger abortions'"
 * The American Historical Review: "Europe: Early Modern and Modern." I could only view a preview of the article's text, but here's the relevant quotation:
 * "Before 1967, abortion was a criminal offense in Britain, only permitted under very strict criteria. It was punishable by jail sentences of up to four years. But abortion remained an important form of contraception, particularly among working-class people whose access to other kinds of birth control was limited. Until the passing of the Abortion Act, it was estimated that there were 100,000 illegal abortions each year, often performed by working-class women like Vera Drake. We should not judge historical dramas only for historical correctness, but Vera Drake is an accurate reflection of the practice of working-class abortion and the way abortion law worked in the pre-1967 era."

I realize that "Popular culture" and "Trivia" are not the best examples of potential titles, but I've seen a "Trivia" section in at least one abortion-related article before (David Gunn (doctor)), and also introduced a "...in popular culture" section to Abortion-related violence. I gather it's somewhat customary to round up all the film, documentary, literature, music, etc. references that might not fit elsewhere in an article into a collective section (for example, see the "Media" section at World War II). As for other candidates for inclusion in such a "Media" section in this article, I'm Canadian, so I'm not as informed as editors in the U.K. might be. However, I do recall reading that Channel 4 aired a documentary called My Foetus (see the BBC News article, "Review: Abortion documentary is hard-hitting"). -Severa (!!!) 10:51, 22 February 2007 (UTC)

I made a few legal edits (sorry! but I am a Criminal Lawyer so cant help it!) Was interested to see the comment under Northern Ireland that there had been 60 prosecutions between 1925 and 1973, I would be interested to see a source for this as I cannot find any from my own research in Northern Ireland. Thanks! —Preceding unsigned comment added by Eodon (talk • contribs) 22:14, August 24, 2007 (UTC)

When the film was released there was criticism from expert sources that it underplayed the risks of the abortion methods used by Vera Drake. The film implied that she had been using her method (syringing the uterus with soapy water) for many years without problems, until one exceptional bad result caught her out. According to the experts, her method was much more dangerous than thid implied, with a serious risk of infection or even fatal embolisms. I don't know if this is true, but it wouldn't surprise me.86.135.4.134 (talk) 12:11, 31 August 2014 (UTC)

History
The sentence "These provisions remain the law but they have not deterred abortions" seems utterly unlikely and meaningless. I'd call it impossible. JohnHarris (talk) 07:32, 18 July 2008 (UTC)

Angus Reid Poll
The Angus Reid Poll which I deleted is from a web site which pays people to respond to polls. These people have chosen to be part of the panel. They are therefore a self-selected group. Tho polling organizations try to balance their sample, there is no getting away from the fact that this polling method is NOT random, which is the gold standard for opinion polling. Self selected groups are not valid polling samples. Also the results of the poll are at odds with all the other polls. The ip editor who reinstated this poll to the article claims that this organization is a member of the British Polling Council. I checked yesterday and the company was not listed. If I made a mistake I will apologize but it is up to you to prove this.--Hauskalainen (talk) 19:31, 15 January 2010 (UTC)

Cuts
I have cut the words in italics from the following passage. There is no source and they appear to be at odds with the appearance of the word "unlawfully" in section 58.James500 (talk) 21:44, 27 May 2011 (UTC)

That section was replaced by section 58 of the Offences against the Person Act 1861, which made abortion or attempts to "procure a miscarriage" illegal under all and any circumstances, which provides:

I have cut the words "UK abortion law is based on several Acts of Parliament" from the lead. I am not convinced that one can properly speak of "UK abortion law" when England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland each have different laws in relation to abortion. I am also under the impression that in Scotland, the law relating to abortion subsists at common law (subject to modification by the 1967 Act), and cannot therefore be said to be "based" on an Act of Parliament. James500 (talk) 00:05, 2 November 2011 (UTC)

An anonymous editor says the article is not accurate
In light of this edit, could someone who has access to the full text of the BMJ paper check that the passage in question, which was added by another anonymous editor is accurate. James500 (talk) 06:09, 16 November 2011 (UTC)

 * In my view the original paragraph was inaccurate in that it attributed views to Claire Dyer which she may not have held -- a problem that I fixed a few weeks ago in this edit. I have access to the article so let me know if you have any further questions. NotFromUtrecht (talk) 19:31, 29 January 2012 (UTC)

Death of Savita Halappanavar
Hey, Why is this story a subsection of the Northern Ireland part? It happened in the Republic. Moreover, what is it doing in an article on abortion in the UK? ~ — Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.47.179.217 (talk) 13:50, 16 November 2012 (UTC)

Comment
Someone recently cut the following passages from the section on Northern Ireland:

 * The Infant Life (Preservation) Act 1929 allows abortion when necessary to protect the mother's physical and mental health.

 * Abortion in Northern Ireland is only legal in exceptional circumstances where the life of the pregnant woman is at immediate risk and if there is a long term or permanent risk to her physical or mental health.

I haven't restored the first because it isn't about NI. James500 (talk) 02:12, 21 January 2015 (UTC)

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Scotland
The claimed legal position in Scotland here and elsewhere seems to be based on the same unsourced assertion that abortion was previously a Common Law offence 'unless performed for “reputable medical reasons”'. My understanding from comments made around the time of the 1967 Act was that abortion was not a specific offence in Scots Law; this is to be distinguished from other offences committed by the consequences of an abortion. Note also that organisations such as SPUC Scotland wrongly quote English Law (e.g. Offences Against the Person Act 1861) when addressing the legal position.MBRZ48 (talk) 20:43, 9 August 2017 (UTC)

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Split section
I think the section about Northern Ireland should be split to create a new article titled Abortion in Northern Ireland. It's clearly notable enough, and that is where a lot of the coverage is. I'm surprised it wasn't an article already.  — Mr. Guye (talk) (contribs)  04:33, 17 August 2018 (UTC)
 * At the moment, I don't see the need for a split since the UK article is not too long by WP standards (70kB), and the NI section is the longest but not overwhelmingly so. (However, I'd support expanding the GB section for balance.) I recognise that NI may be considered a special case, but are there any other subnational entities that have their own article on abortion? --Roentgenium111 (talk) 15:15, 19 October 2018 (UTC)
 * I support a split. Abortion in Northern Ireland is its topic that's come about due to a unique case of devolved powers. It's also important because it is the only section in the UK where abortion remains illegal. 194.60.38.230 (talk) 13:55, 17 April 2019 (UTC)
 * I support the split. The history of NI justifies a longer explanation, and the abortion discussion involves more links and references to the social circumstances there, which is less the case in the rest ofthe UK. Thus, the topic is better suited for a separate article. 68.4.116.15 (talk) 16:49, 6 September 2019 (UTC)

I'm removing the split section tag from the article, because there's been no update to this discussion for over a year now, and I don't think leaving it up will help get any more attention to this discussion if there hasn't been any for that long. If people disagree with me, please revert me/re-add the tag/restart the discussion.  Seagull123  Φ  11:15, 20 October 2020 (UTC)

Inconsistency over term limits
The article states that the 1967 act made provision for lawful abortions under 24 weeks. (It was actually 28 weeks)

Later it states (correctly) that the limit was reduced to 24 weeks from 28 weeks in 1990. I am not going to edit the article because in my experience this usually results in an edit war 90.248.77.28 (talk) 04:40, 24 May 2019 (UTC)

The principle of double effect
Under "Church positions" we have the statement "It has been claimed that Catholic opposition to abortion follows from the "doctrine of the double-effect" which originated with St Thomas Aquinas."

 * This is quite an odd misconception – in most cases this principle is not applicable at all!
 * "It has been claimed...", is this not weasel words? Is the claim notable? Is it authoritative?

 * When you follow the citation, no support is given for the claim. It is there, but just as a plain claim: "Whatever the merits or otherwise of DDE, this is where the Catholic objection to abortion originates from."

 * One could elaborate and add some statement to the contrary, but probably this article is not the right place. A historical analysis of the origin of Rome's position on abortion isn't that too much of an aside here?

I propose that the material is removed.

St.nerol (talk) 08:26, 17 September 2019 (UTC)

Northern Ireland (Oct 2019)
It looks to me as if this article needs attention re Northern Ireland -- see talk:Abortion law and I am not qualified to look at this much further than this -- could some editor more qualified re this than I please take a look at it? Thanks. Wtmitchell (talk) (earlier Boracay Bill) 20:04, 22 October 2019 (UTC)

Unfactual
The article would make it seem that abortions are stricter in the rest of the UK than Northern Ireland. This is farther from the truth. In 2019 Northern Ireland was brought in line with the rest of the UK, not the other way around. https://www.msichoices.org.uk/abortion-services/abortion-and-your-rights/ TheeFactChecker (talk) 17:53, 17 February 2022 (UTC)

209,918 abortions were carried out in England and Wales in 2020 TheeFactChecker (talk) 17:54, 17 February 2022 (UTC)

 * Abortion on demand is only de jure legal (but not de facto accessible) in Northern Ireland, until the twelfth week of gestation. In the rest of the UK, a woman cannot de jury procure her own abortion (but can de facto obtain one through Ground C). Sceptre (talk) 18:29, 25 June 2022 (UTC)

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Talk:Abortion in the United Kingdom


text:
Groundcover

Groundcover or ground cover is any plant that grows over an area of ground. Groundcover provides protection of the topsoil from erosion and drought.

In an ecosystem, the ground cover forms the layer of vegetation below the shrub layer known as the herbaceous layer. The most widespread ground covers are grasses of various types.

In ecology, groundcover is a difficult subject to address because it is known by several different names and is classified in several different ways. The term groundcover could also be referring to "the herbaceous layer," "regenerative layer", "ground flora" or even "step over."

In agriculture, ground cover refers to anything that lies on top of the soil and protects it from erosion and inhibits weeds. It can be anything from a low layer of grasses to a plastic material. The term ground cover can also specifically refer to landscaping fabric, a breathable tarp that allows water and gas exchange.

In gardening jargon, however, the term groundcover refers to plants that are used in place of weeds and improves appearance by concealing bare earth.

Contributions to the environment
The herbaceous layer is often overlooked in most ecological analyses because it is so common and contributes the smallest amount of the environment's overall biomass. However, groundcover is crucial to the survival of many environments. The groundcover layer of a forest can contribute up to 90% of the ecosystem's plant diversity. Additionally, the herbaceous layer ratio of biomass to contribution to plant productivity is disproportionate in many ecosystems. The herbaceous layer can constitute up to 4% of the overall net primary productivity (NPP) of an ecosystem, four times its average biomass.

Reproduction
Groundcover typically reproduces one of five ways: Like most foliage, groundcover reacts to both natural and anthropogenic disturbances. These responses can be classified as legacy or active responses. Legacy responses occur during long-term changes to an environment, such as the conversion of a forest to agricultural land and back into forest. Active responses occur with sudden disturbances to the environment, such as tornadoes and forest fires.
 * Lateral growth
 * Side growth: Branches on the side of the plant extend outwards upon contact with the soil.
 * Base growth: New plants produced from the base of the origin plant.
 * Under/Above-ground growth: Produced from rhizomes and stolons
 * Roots

Groundcover has also been known to influence the placement and growth of tree seedlings. All tree seedlings must first fall from their origin trees and then permeate the layer created by groundcover in order to reach the soil and germinate. The groundcover filters out a large amount of seeds, but lets a smaller portion of seeds pass through and grow. This filtration provides ample amount of space between the seeds for future growth. In some areas, the groundcover can become so dense that no seeds can permeate the surface, and the forest is instead converted to shrubbery. Groundcover also inhibits the amount of light which reaches the floor of an ecosystem. An experiment conducted with the rhododendron maximum canopy in the southern Appalachian region concluded that 4–8% of total sunlight makes it to the herbaceous layer, whereas only about 1–2% reaches the ground.

Variation
Two common variations of groundcover are residency and transient species. Residency species typically reach a maximum of 1.5 m in height, and are therefore permanently classified as herbaceous. Transient species are capable of growing past this height, and are therefore only temporarily considered herbaceous. These height differences make ideal environments for a variety of animals, such as the reed warbler, the harvest mouse and the wren.

Groundcover can also be classified in terms of its foliage. Groundcover that keeps its foliage for the entire year is known as evergreen, whereas groundcover that loses its foliage in the winter months is known as deciduous.

In gardening
Five general types of plants are commonly used as groundcovers in gardening:
 * Vines, which are woody plants with slender, spreading stems
 * Herbaceous plants, or non-woody plants
 * Shrubs of low-growing, spreading species
 * Moss of larger, coarser species
 * Ornamental grasses, especially low-growing varieties

Of these types, some of the most common groundcovers include:

 * Alfalfa (Medicago sativa)
 * Clover (Trifolium)
 * Dichondra
 * Bacopa (Bacopa)
 * Carpobrotus
 * Delairea
 * Ivy (Hedera)
 * Gazania (Gazania rigens)
 * Ground-elder (Aegopodium podagraria)
 * Ice plant
 * Japanese honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica)
 * Juniperus horizontalis
 * Creeping lantana
 * Lilyturf (Liriope muscari and Liriope spicata)
 * Mint (Mentha)
 * Mesembryanthemum cordifolium
 * Nasturtium (Tropaeolum majus)
 * Pachysandra
 * Pearlwort (Sagina subulata)
 * Sphagneticola trilobata
 * Periwinkle (Vinca)
 * Shasta daisy (Leucanthemum)
 * Soleirolia (Soleirolia soleirolii)
 * Spider plant (Chlorophytum comosum)

In roof gardens
Groundcover is a popular solution for difficult gardening issues because it is low maintenance, aesthetically pleasing and fast growing, minimizing the spread of weeds. For this reason, ground cover is also a common choice for roof gardens. Roofs take on the brunt of incoming weather, meaning any plants on a roof must be resistant to long-term exposure to sun, overwatering from rain and harsh winds. Groundcover plants are able to sustain themselves in such conditions while also providing lush vegetation to what would otherwise be unused space.

title: Groundcover


text:
Ishikawa Prefecture

Ishikawa Prefecture (石川県) is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu island. Ishikawa Prefecture has a population of 1,133,294 (1 October 2020) and has a geographic area of 4,186 km2 (1,616 sq mi). Ishikawa Prefecture borders Toyama Prefecture to the east, Gifu Prefecture to the southeast, and Fukui Prefecture to the south.

Kanazawa is the capital and largest city of Ishikawa Prefecture, with other major cities including Hakusan, Komatsu, and Kaga. Ishikawa is located on the Sea of Japan coast and features most of the Noto Peninsula which forms Toyama Bay, one of the largest bays in Japan. Ishikawa Prefecture is part of the historic Hokuriku region and formerly an important populated center that contained some of the wealthiest han (domains) of the Japanese feudal era. Ishikawa Prefecture is home to Kanazawa Castle, Kenroku-en one of the Three Great Gardens of Japan, Nyotaimori ("body sushi"), and Kutani ware.

History
Ishikawa was formed in 1872 from the merger of Kaga Province and the smaller Noto Province.

Geography
Ishikawa is on the Sea of Japan coast. The northern part of the prefecture consists of the narrow Noto Peninsula, while the southern part is wider and consists mostly of mountains with the prefecture's chief city, Kanazawa, located in the coastal plain. The prefecture also has some islands, including Notojima, Mitsukejima, Hegurajima.

, 13% of the total land area of the prefecture was designated as Natural Parks, namely the Hakusan National Park; Echizen-Kaga Kaigan and Noto Hantō Quasi-national parks; and five prefectural natural parks.

Municipalities
The cities of Ishikawa are:
 * Kanazawa (capital)
 * Nonoichi
 * Nanao
 * Komatsu
 * Suzu
 * Hakui
 * Kahoku
 * Hakusan
 * Nomi
 * Kaga
 * Wajima

Towns are grouped into five districts, which are geographical and not governmental:
 * Hakui District
 * Hōdatsushimizu
 * Shika
 * Hōsu District
 * Anamizu
 * Noto
 * Kahoku District
 * Tsubata
 * Uchinada
 * Kashima District
 * Nakanoto
 * Nomi District
 * Kawakita

Economy
Ishikawa's industry is dominated by the textile industry, particularly artificial fabrics, and the machine industry, particularly construction machinery.

Demographics
Ishikawa Prefecture has an area of 4,186.09 km2 and,, it has a population of 1,166,643 persons.

List of governors of Ishikawa Prefecture

 * Wakio Shibano (柴野和喜夫) (12 April 1947 to 23 February 1955)
 * Jūjitsu Taya (田谷充実) (24 February 1955 to 19 February 1963)
 * Yōichi Nakanishi (中西陽一) (23 February 1963 to 2 February 1994)
 * Masanori Tanimoto (谷本正憲) (29 March 1994 to 27 March 2022)
 * Hiroshi Hase (馳浩) (28 March 2022 to present)

2024 earthquake
On the 1 January 2024, a 7.5 magnitude earthquake struck Ishikawa Prefecture, specifically the Noto Peninsula. Ishikawa reported 232 fatalities and 22 missing people. Overall it is estimated that 1,200 people were injured across different prefectures.

Culture

The area is noted for arts and crafts and other cultural traditions:
 * The art of Noh was introduced to the area during the rule of the fifth Maeda lord Tsunanori and was refined into the style of Kaga hosho.
 * The tea ceremony was introduced in 1666 when Maeda Toshitsune invited Senbiki Soshitsu of Urasenke to Kanazawa.
 * Kutani ware (Kutani yaki) is a bright colored glaze like Chinese porcelain.
 * Ohi teaware (Ōhi yaki) is a pottery with a style unique to Kanazawa.
 * Nyotaimori or naked sushi is said to have originated in Ishikawa Prefecture.
 * Kaga silk (Kaga yūzen) is made with complicated silk print technique with an intentional rough look (wabi-sabi).
 * Kanazawa lacquerware (Kanazawa shikki) is high quality lacquerware traditionally decorated with gold dust.
 * Kanazawa gold leaf (Kanazawa haku) is produced with a technique of beating gold into wafer-thin sheets.
 * Kaga mizuhiki is ribbon-like decoration made from glued Japanese paper (washi).
 * Kaga inlay crafts (Kaga zōgan) are made with a combination of thin flat and thread metal inlays.
 * Gojinjo Daiko is a Japanese drum, a Wajima city cultural heritage (since 1961) as well as an Ishikawa Prefecture intangible cultural heritage (since 1963).
 * Abare Festival is reputed the most 'fierce' festivals of Noto, Ishikawa.
 * Japan Tent, an international exchange event.

Tourism
The most popular destination in Ishikawa is Kanazawa. Tourists can get to Ishikawa by plane via either the Komatsu or Noto airports. Popular sites include:
 * 1000 Rice Fields
 * 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa
 * Notojima Aquarium
 * Chirihama Driveway
 * Higashi-chaya district in Kanazawa
 * Ishikawa Prefectural Museum of Art
 * Kaga hot-springs district
 * Wakura Onsen
 * Kanazawa Castle
 * Kenroku-en
 * Mount Haku
 * Shibayama Lagoon
 * Wajima Morning Market

Prefectural symbols

 * Fritillaria camschatcensis (flower)
 * Golden eagle (bird)
 * Thujopsis dolabrata (tree)

Notable people

 * Enhō Akira, a professional Sumo wrestler at the Jūryō division.
 * Minami Hamabe, an actress.
 * Kodai Iida, a professional footballer for OKC Energy FC.
 * Kyōka Izumi, author of novels, short stories, and kabuki plays, from Kanazawa.
 * Takeshi Kaga, an actor in Japan who is probably best known internationally for his portrayal of Chairman Kaga in the Japanese television show Iron Chef produced by Fuji TV, is from Ishikawa.
 * Hideki Matsui, a former Yomiuri Giants and New York Yankees, was born and raised in Neagari Town (now Nomi City), Ishikawa. He gained fame as a baseball player while attending high school in Kanazawa.
 * Daisuke Nakata, a trampolinist who has competed in the Olympics in the past, is from Ishikawa.
 * Kitaro Nishida, philosopher, founder of the Kyoto School of philosophy, from Kahoku.
 * Murō Saisei, poet and novelist in modern Japanese literature from Kanazawa.
 * Daisuke Satō, a board game designer, novelist, and manga writer. His Highschool of the Dead anime/manga series is known for being left unfinished due to his unfortunate death in 2017.
 * D.T. Suzuki, Buddhist philosopher and popularizer of Buddhism in the West was born in Kanazawa.
 * Yusuke Suzuki, (no relation to D.T.) born in 1988, is a racewalker born in Nomi, Ishikawa prefecture.
 * Yoshirō Taniguchi, modernist architect and father of architect Yoshio Taniguchi, who designed the D.T. Suzuki Museum in Kanazawa.
 * Shūsei Tokuda, author from Kanazawa. (Izumi, Muro, and Tokuda are known as the Three Famous Literary Persons in Ishikawa )

Universities
Ishikawa has a number of universities:
 * Kanazawa University
 * Hokuriku University
 * Ishikawa Prefectural Nursing University
 * Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology
 * Kanazawa College of Art
 * Ishikawa Prefectural University
 * Kanazawa Gakuin University
 * Kanazawa Institute of Technology
 * Kanazawa Medical University
 * Kanazawa Seiryo University
 * Kinjo University
 * Hokuriku Gakuin University
 * Komatsu University
 * Hokuriku Gakuin University

Rail

 * JR West
 * Hokuriku Shinkansen
 * Hokuriku Main Line
 * Nanao Line
 * Hokuriku Railway (Hokutetsu)
 * Asanokawa Line
 * Ishikawa Line
 * Noto Railway Nanao Line
 * IR Ishikawa Railway Line

Expressways and toll roads

 * Hakusan Super Forest Road
 * Hokuriku Expressway
 * Noetsu (Noto-Etsuchu) Expressway
 * Noto Toll Road

National highways

 * National Route 8
 * National Route 157 (Kanazawa – Hakusan – Katsuyama – Motosu – Gifu)
 * National Route 159
 * National Route 160
 * National Route 249
 * National Route 304
 * National Route 305
 * National Route 359
 * National Route 360 (Toyama – Hida – Shirakawa – Komatsu)
 * National Route 364
 * National Route 365
 * National Route 415
 * National Route 416
 * National Route 470 (Wajima – Himi – Takaoka – Oyabe – Tonami)
 * National Route 471

Ports

 * Kanazawa Port (International container hub port)
 * Nanao Port

Airports

 * Komatsu Airport
 * Noto Airport

Regional policies

 * Premium passport

Politics
The current governor of Ishikawa is Hiroshi Hase who was first elected in 2022. He defeated six time incumbent Masanori Tanimoto. Prior to his defeat, Tanimoto was one of two governors who were in their sixth term nationwide, the other being Masaru Hashimoto of Ibaraki. Hase is only the fifth governor of Ishikawa since 1947 when prefectural governors became elected offices, as Tanimoto had held the governorship for twenty eight years, first coming to office in 1994, succeeding Yōichi Nakanishi, who had served from 1963 until his death in 1994.

The Ishikawa Prefectural Assembly has 43 members and is elected in unified local elections (last round: 2011) in 15 SNTV electoral districts – six single-member, five two-member, one three-member, two four-member districts and the Kanazawa City district that elects 16 members. As of February 26, 2014, the LDP prefectural assembly caucus has 25 members and no other group has more than four members.

In the National Diet, Ishikawa is represented by three directly elected members of the House of Representatives and two (one per election) of the House of Councillors. Additional members from the prefecture may be elected in the proportional representation segments of both houses: the Hokuriku-Shin'etsu proportional representation block in the lower house, the proportional election to the upper house is nationwide. After the Diet elections of 2010, 2012 and 2013, the five directly elected members from Ishikawa districts are all Liberal Democrats, namely:
 * in the House of Representatives
 * for the 1st district that covers Kanazawa City: Hiroshi Hase, LDP, 5th term,
 * for the 2nd district that consists of Southern parts of Ishikawa and had been the district of former LDP president Yoshirō Mori until 2012: Hajime Sasaki, LDP, 1st term,
 * for the 3rd district in the North: Shigeo Kitamura, LDP, 3rd term,
 * in the House of Councillors
 * in the class of 2010 (term ends 2016): Naoki Okada, LDP, 2nd term, and
 * in the class of 2013 (term ends 2019): Shūji Yamada, LDP, 1st term who was able to defeat Democratic incumbent and former defense minister Yasuo Ichikawa by a huge margin in 2013.

title: Ishikawa Prefecture


text:
Talk:Domestic Security Enhancement Act of 2003

Untitled
Articles for an international encyclopedia should not assume that the USA is the only country.

 * It doesn't. Hence the "The draft version of the bill would expand the powers of the United States government..."

The Domestic Security Enhancement Act is one scary piece of legislation. Interestingly enough, the current administration isn't trying to pass it -- yet.

It has been suggested by some that this is an over-the-top bargainaing strategy in the spirit of the maxim "if you want a kitten, ask for a pony." In other words, it is designed to be sacrificed to gain a different (and less frightening) goal of the Bush Administration.

Unfortunately, there is always the possiblity that this beast will get passed. Aslo unfortunately, most people will simply ignore the problem and gripe to their friends. Please write your congressperson!

If we were not able to before, we can now kiss the Fourth Amendment goodbye. Does anyone want to re-evaluate including George W. Bush on the list of dictators? --Daniel C. Boyer - While I find the entire act scary, I tend to think that wikipedia-articles isn't the right place for political activism. The entire article reeks of being written by someone opposing the act.

 * This might well be true, but I would prefer, and think that others deserve, a list or precis of POV problems with the article rather than this general statement, so that someone can make whatever revisions are called for. --user:Daniel C. Boyer

Also, the entire article is written such that you have to be a USian or know the US very well to get anything useful out of it. Maybe one of the most US-centric and non-useful articles for people that don't know the US I've ever seen on wikipedia. :)

 * I don't see the slant: everything stated in there is factually and objectively true. I don't think it is at all polemic, and actually is rather restrained. If you are concerned with some specific section, please point it out and I will be happy to have a look, or just go ahead and edit it. As for US-centrism, again, I don't see it, but maybe that's just because I'm from the US. :) The article is about a proposed US law, so it is by definition going to have to do with institutions of the USA. I thought I'd made everything pretty self explanatory (i.e. one could probably guess what the Department of Justice does even if one does not already know, and it's linked just in case), but again, if there is anything specific you feel could use some clarification, let me know here, or just edit it... -kwertii

The only problems I see are a couple of weasel or weasel-like situations (e.g., "It has also been suggested that, had the text of the bill not been leaked, the administration would have delayed its deployment to co-incide with a future terrorist attack in an attempt to secure a wider basis for approval of its measures."). blahpers 16:24, 2005 Jan 28 (UTC)

With the advent of the 110th US Congress...
I highly doubt this'll pass. 1ne 05:45, 13 November 2006 (UTC)

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text:
Rheine

Rheine is a city in the district of Steinfurt in Westphalia, Germany. It is the largest city in the district and the location of Rheine Air Base.

Geography
Rheine is on the river Ems, about 40 km north of Münster, 45 km west of Osnabrück and 45 km east of Hengelo (Netherlands).

History
Although the region around the city has been populated since prehistoric times, Rheine was first mentioned in a document signed by Louis the Pious in 838. On 15 August 1327, it received its town charter from Louis II, Bishop of Münster.

The settlement was near to the crossing of two old merchant roads and a ford over the river Ems. Frankish soldiers initially secured this strategic point with a barrack yard. Later a church and more buildings were added to this outpost.

At the end of the Thirty Years' War the city was burned down almost completely. Swedish and Hessian troops besieged imperial soldiers who had entrenched themselves in Rheine. On 20/21 September and 19 October 1647 glowing cannonballs set fire to the city and 365 houses were destroyed. In 1803 the city became the capital of the Sovereign Principality of Rheina-Wolbeck (556 square kilometers) of the House of Looz-Corswarem, later annexed by the Grand Duchy of Berg and the Kingdom of Prussia.

During the industrialization the textile industry prospered. It remained an important economic factor until the second half of the 20th century. Today engineering industries and services form the largest part of economy in Rheine.

On 1 April 1927 about 10,000 inhabitants of the Office Rheine (Bentlage, Wadelheim, Dutum, etc.) were incorporated into the city, the population increased to 29,598, the city area was thus tripled.

In Nazi Germany, Jewish citizens were also deported from Rheine. The allied war opponents bombarded the city repeatedly, especially the railway line and the Dortmund-Ems Canal, which represented tactical goals. The large-scale attacks on 5 October met in 1944, and 21 March 1945, each with more than 200 dead and Injured the city area. The conquest of Rheine took place on 2 April 1945 after some fierce fighting by units of the 157th British Infantry Brigade (5th Battalion of the King's Own Scottish Borderers Regiment, 7th Battalion of the Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) Regiment).

Rheine was after the war in 1945 in the British occupation zone and 1946 was politically assigned to the newly founded Land of North Rhine-Westphalia. In 1949 it joined with the other Lander in the Western Zone to form the Federal Republic of Germany.

On 10 February 1946 Rheine was affected by the highest ever Emshochwasser. Large parts of the city were flooded.

On 15 August 2002 the city celebrated the 675th anniversary of the granting of municipal law.

Division of the city
There is no standard division of the city, different divisions are used for different purposes. The districts do not form administrative units. A detailed breakdown includes 21 districts.

 * Altenrheine
 * Baarentelgen
 * Bentlage
 * Catenhorn
 * Dorenkamp
 * Dutum
 * Elte
 * Eschendorf
 * Gellendorf
 * Hauenhorst
 * Hörstkamp
 * Innenstadt (city centre)
 * Kanalhafen
 * Mesum
 * Rodde
 * Schleupe
 * Schotthock
 * Stadtberg
 * Südesch
 * Wadelheim
 * Wietesch

The city of Rheine has eleven district advisory councils. For statistical purposes, there is a division into 18 statistical districts. The city is divided into 22 electoral districts.

Eschendorf, Dorenkamp, and Schotthock are the biggest districts by population, and Catenhorn is the smallest.

Politics
Peter Lüttmann of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) has been the mayor of Rheine since 2015. The most recent mayoral election was held on 13 September 2020. Lüttmann was the sole candidate and was re-elected with 90.6% of votes in favour and 9.4% against, on a turnout of 48.5%.

List of mayors

 * 1946–1948: Georg Pelster (1897–1963) (CDU)
 * 1948–1954: Albert Biermann (CDU)
 * 1954–1960: Balduin Echelmeyer (CDU)
 * 1960–1961: Franz Rudolf Kümpers (CDU)
 * 1961–1975: Albert Biermann (1903–1994) (CDU)
 * 1975–1994: Ludger Meier (CDU)
 * 1994–1999: Günter Thum (SPD)
 * 1999–2004: Wilhelm Niemann (1949–2012) (CDU)
 * 2004–2015: Angelika Kordfelder (born 1955) (SPD)
 * since 2015: Peter Lüttmann

City council
The Rheine city council governs the city alongside the Mayor. The most recent city council election was held on 13 September 2020, and the results were as follows:

! colspan=2| Party ! Votes ! % ! +/- ! Seats ! +/- ! colspan=2| Valid votes ! 29,434 ! 98.3 ! ! ! ! colspan=2| Invalid votes ! 498 ! 1.7 ! ! ! ! colspan=2| Total ! 29,932 ! 100.0 ! ! 48 ! 4 ! colspan=2| Electorate/voter turnout ! 61,695 ! 48.5 ! 2.1 ! !
 * bgcolor=|
 * align=left| Christian Democratic Union (CDU)
 * 13,885
 * 47.2
 * 1.3
 * 23
 * 2
 * bgcolor=|
 * align=left| Social Democratic Party (SPD)
 * 6,444
 * 21.9
 * 8.1
 * 10
 * 3
 * bgcolor=|
 * align=left| Alliance 90/The Greens (Grüne)
 * 4,196
 * 14.3
 * 4.5
 * 7
 * 3
 * bgcolor=|
 * align=left| Free Democratic Party (FDP)
 * 1,663
 * 5.7
 * 0.6
 * 3
 * 1
 * align=left| Independent Voters' Association Rheine (UWG)
 * 1,380
 * 4.7
 * 0.3
 * 2
 * ±0
 * bgcolor=|
 * align=left| The Left (Die Linke)
 * 993
 * 3.4
 * 0.8
 * 2
 * ±0
 * align=left| Citizens for Rheine (BfR)
 * 873
 * 3.0
 * New
 * 1
 * New
 * ±0
 * align=left| Citizens for Rheine (BfR)
 * 873
 * 3.0
 * New
 * 1
 * New
 * 1
 * New
 * colspan=7| Source: City of Rheine
 * }
 * }

Transport
Rheine is the western terminus of the Münster-Rheine railway.

 * Rheine railway station
 * Rheine-Mesum

Twin towns – sister cities
Rheine is twinned with:
 * Borne, Netherlands (1983)
 * 🇩🇪 Bernburg, Germany (1990)
 * Leiria, Portugal (1996)
 * 🇱🇹 Trakai, Lithuania (1996)

Notable people

 * Heinrich Meyring (1628–1723), German sculptor
 * Moritz Dobschütz (1831–1913), German-American merchant
 * Carl Murdfield (1868–1944), painter
 * Josef Winckler (1881–1966), author
 * Carlo Mense (1886–1965), painter
 * Carl-Alfred Schumacher (1896–1967), military officer
 * Georg Pelster (1897–1963), politician (CDU)
 * Gustav Niemann (1899–1982), mechanical engineering scholar
 * Josef Pieper (1904–1997), philosopher
 * Rembert van Delden (1917–1999), politician (CDU)
 * Josef Paul Kleihues (1933–2004), architect
 * Harald Ibach (born 1941), physicist
 * Frank Ripploh (1949–2002), actor
 * Peter Funke (born 1950), historian
 * Josef H. Neumann (born 1953), art historian and photographer
 * Silvia Hildegard Haneklaus (born 1959), agricultural scientist
 * Bettina Hoy (born 1962), equestrian
 * Lisa Paus (born 1968), politician
 * Michael Prus (born 1968), footballplayer
 * Oliver Krüger (born 1973), professor of religious studies
 * Kerstin Stegemann (born 1977), footballer
 * Jonas Reckermann (born 1979), beach volleyball player
 * Julian Lüttmann (born 1982), footballplayer

title: Rheine


text:
Moss FK

Moss Fotballklubb is a Norwegian football club, founded on 28 August 1906. They play in the 1. divisjon, the second highest division in the Norwegian football league system. They played in the Norwegian top flight between 1937–1939, 1953–54, 1977–1985 (9 seasons), 1987–1990 (4 seasons), 1996 and 1998–2002. The club came close to earning promotion to the top flight in 2005, but lost the play-off against Molde.

Stadium
Moss play their home games at Melløs stadion, which has a capacity of around 10,000. Because of national rules of professional license for top clubs in Norway, the stadium has only been certified for 2373 spectators. Built in 1939, it has remained the club's home ground ever since. The record attendance is 10,085, set in 2003 against rivals Fredrikstad. A higher attendance may have been achieved in 1976 in a match against Odd, but no precise figure exists for this match because the gates broke down after around 9500 spectators had shown up.

Recent history

 * {|class="wikitable"

! Season ! ! Pos. ! Pl. ! W ! D ! L ! GS ! GA ! P !Cup !Notes Source:
 * -bgcolor="#efefef"
 * 2006
 * 1. divisjon
 * align=right |8
 * align=right|30||align=right|11||align=right|7||align=right|12
 * align=right|61||align=right|46||align=right|40
 * Third round
 * 2007
 * 1. divisjon
 * align=right |5
 * align=right|30||align=right|15||align=right|8||align=right|7
 * align=right|46||align=right|37||align=right|53
 * Third round
 * 2008
 * 1. divisjon
 * align=right |9
 * align=right|30||align=right|9||align=right|12||align=right|9
 * align=right|63||align=right|54||align=right|39
 * Third round
 * 2009
 * 1. divisjon
 * align=right |7
 * align=right|30||align=right|12||align=right|5||align=right|13
 * align=right|47||align=right|53||align=right|41
 * Second round
 * 2010
 * 1. divisjon
 * align=right bgcolor="#FFCCCC"| 15
 * align=right|28||align=right|7||align=right|5||align=right|16
 * align=right|32||align=right|56||align=right|26
 * Third round
 * Relegated
 * 2011
 * 2. divisjon
 * align=right |10
 * align=right|26||align=right|11||align=right|5||align=right|10
 * align=right|58||align=right|56||align=right|38
 * First round
 * 2012
 * 2. divisjon
 * align=right |10
 * align=right|26||align=right|8||align=right|6||align=right|12
 * align=right|43||align=right|46||align=right|30
 * Second round
 * 2013
 * 2. divisjon
 * align=right |9
 * align=right|26||align=right|10||align=right|3||align=right|13
 * align=right|47||align=right|53||align=right|33
 * Second round
 * 2014
 * 2. divisjon
 * align=right |3
 * align=right|26||align=right|16||align=right|5||align=right|5
 * align=right|69||align=right|24||align=right|53
 * Second round
 * 2015
 * 2. divisjon
 * align=right |2
 * align=right|26||align=right|18||align=right|3||align=right|5
 * align=right|65||align=right|31||align=right|57
 * First round
 * 2016
 * 2. divisjon
 * align=right bgcolor="#FFCCCC"| 11
 * align=right|26||align=right|9||align=right|8||align=right|9
 * align=right|57||align=right|55||align=right|35
 * Second round
 * Relegated
 * 2017
 * 3. divisjon
 * align=right bgcolor=#DDFFDD| 1
 * align=right|26||align=right|20||align=right|3||align=right|3
 * align=right|88||align=right|22||align=right|63
 * Second round
 * Promoted
 * 2018
 * 2. divisjon
 * align=right |9
 * align=right|26||align=right|7||align=right|9||align=right|10
 * align=right|37||align=right|42||align=right|30
 * Second round
 * 2019
 * 2. divisjon
 * align=right |8
 * align=right|26||align=right|10||align=right|4||align=right|12
 * align=right|35||align=right|46||align=right|34
 * Second round
 * 2020
 * 2. divisjon
 * align=right |12
 * align=right|13||align=right|3||align=right|2||align=right|8
 * align=right|16||align=right|24||align=right|11
 * Cancelled
 * 2021
 * 2. divisjon
 * align=right |10
 * align=right|26||align=right|8||align=right|5||align=right|13
 * align=right|44||align=right|51||align=right|29
 * Third round
 * 2022
 * 2. divisjon
 * align=right bgcolor=#DDFFDD| 1
 * align=right|24||align=right|18||align=right|2||align=right|4
 * align=right|46||align=right|23||align=right|56
 * Third round
 * Promoted
 * 2023
 * 1. divisjon
 * align=right |10
 * align=right|30||align=right|10||align=right|8||align=right|12
 * align=right|37||align=right|40||align=right|38
 * Third round
 * }
 * 2020
 * 2. divisjon
 * align=right |12
 * align=right|13||align=right|3||align=right|2||align=right|8
 * align=right|16||align=right|24||align=right|11
 * Cancelled
 * 2021
 * 2. divisjon
 * align=right |10
 * align=right|26||align=right|8||align=right|5||align=right|13
 * align=right|44||align=right|51||align=right|29
 * Third round
 * 2022
 * 2. divisjon
 * align=right bgcolor=#DDFFDD| 1
 * align=right|24||align=right|18||align=right|2||align=right|4
 * align=right|46||align=right|23||align=right|56
 * Third round
 * Promoted
 * 2023
 * 1. divisjon
 * align=right |10
 * align=right|30||align=right|10||align=right|8||align=right|12
 * align=right|37||align=right|40||align=right|38
 * Third round
 * }
 * align=right |10
 * align=right|30||align=right|10||align=right|8||align=right|12
 * align=right|37||align=right|40||align=right|38
 * Third round
 * }
 * }

Honours

 * Norwegian top flight:
 * Gold medal (1): 1987
 * Silver medal (1): 1979
 * Norwegian Cup:
 * Winners (1): 1983
 * Runners-up (1): 1981

Records

 * Greatest home victory: 15–0 vs. Medkila FK, September 21, 2014
 * Greatest away victory: 9–1 vs. Borre IF, May 5, 2004
 * Heaviest home loss: 1–6 vs. FK Bodø/Glimt, August 2, 2000
 * Heaviest away loss: 0–8 vs. Molde FK, April 21, 1996
 * Highest recorded attendance, Melløs stadion: 10,085 vs. Fredrikstad FK, October 26, 2003
 * Highest average attendance, season: 5814, 1979
 * Most appearances, total: 569, Geir Henæs
 * Most appearances, Norwegian top flight: 227, Geir Henæs
 * Most goals scored, Norwegian top flight: 78, Geir Henæs

title: Moss FK