The Faroe Islands and the Amendment of the Hate Crime Statute §266b. A history of the Faroese LGBT+ community, homophobia and religion, from 1980’s to the mid 2000’s

This thesis explores the history of LGBT+ rights in the Faroe Islands, and the intersection of LGBT+ rights and religion in political discussions. I have looked into newspapers, documentaries, parliamentary discussions, law proposals and academic publications to understand the progress of LGBT+ rights in the Faroe Islands and the arguments for and against them. I have used queer theories that explain how politicians would describe LGBT+ people, with special attention to the “foreign vice” argument, as queer Faroese people would move abroad and not be visible in society. To evaluate this paper, I have focused on the §266b “hate crime bill” and the inclusion of the words “sexual orientation”, which was first introduced to the Faroese parliament in 1988 but not passed until 2006. With this framework in mind, I have detailed the events and discussions from 1987 up until the approval in 2006, and looked into the pivotal moments of queer activism in the Faroe Islands, while also analyzing the debates for and against LGBT+ people in the Faroese parliament. The thesis then concludes with arguing how the §266b hate crime bill was the first positive LGBT+ right, that was passed with queer people in mind, and would then lead to increased visibility and rights

Increased Plasma Concentrations of Vitamin D Metabolites and Vitamin D Binding Protein in Women Using Hormonal Contraceptives: A Cross-Sectional Study

nutrient

Estimation of the maternal vitamin D intake that maintains circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin D in late gestation at a concentration sufficient to keep umbilical cord sera >= 25-30 nmol/L: a dose-response, double-blind, randomized placebo-controlled trial in pregnant women at northern latitude

Background: In the absence of dose-response data, Dietary Reference Values for vitamin D in nonpregnant adults are extended to pregnancy. Objective: The aim was to estimate vitamin D intake needed to maintain maternal 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] in late gestation at a concentration sufficient to prevent newborn 25(OH)D = 25-30 nmol/L. Results: Mean +/- SD baseline 25(OH)D was 54.9 +/- 10.7 nmol/L. Total vitamin D intakes at the study endpoint (36 wk of gestation) were 12.1 +/- 8.0, 21.9 +/- 5.3, and 33.7 +/- 5.1 mu g/d in the placebo and 10-mu g and 20-mu g vitamin D-3 groups, respectively; and 25(OH)D was 24.3 +/- 5.8 and 29.2 +/- 5.6 nmol/L higher in the 10- and 20-mu g groups, respectively, compared with placebo (P = 50 nmol/L, 95% of cord sera were >= 30 nmol/L and 99% were > 25 nmol/L. The estimated vitamin D intake required to maintain serum 25(OH)D at >= 50 nmol/L in 97.5% of women was 28.9 mu g/d. Conclusions: Thirty micrograms of vitamin D per day safely maintained serum 25(OH)D concentrations at >= 50 nmol/L in almost all white-skinned women during pregnancy at a northern latitude, which kept 25(OH)D at > 25 nmol/L in 99% and >= 30 nmol/L in 95% of umbilical cord sera