Should The Interim take an editorial stand on the toplessness question? A seemingly trivial subject has generated a great deal of attention, particularly as the summer weather hits with a vengeance. Everywhere it seems, Ontario newspapers are beating the bushes for stories involving topless women and the public's reaction to this newfound expression of "equality." But what might appear a little inane [...]
Two news events, initially unrelated, send a disquieting message to those concerned with the diminished respect for human life in this country. In Quebec, a woman found guilty of killing her autistic son is given a 23-month suspended sentence, despite the Crown's insistence that a three-year sentence be served. Admittedly there were difficult circumstances which led to the woman's action, and it [...]
McCAYSVILLE, Ga. They came in limos and pickups, rich and poor, to this remote copper-mining town in the Appalachians. Women in "trouble" from miles around sought the help of Dr. Thomas J. Hicks, who advertised his services in messages scrawled in telephone booths and on highway overpasses. For $100, Hicks performed illegal abortion. And he offered another service: selling unwanted infants on [...]
The manilla folder labelled "Poetry" in the Interim's editorial office is stuffed thick with submissions from thoughtful readers, students and contest winners. It's a folder that is not well thumbed. Its contents resting quietly amid the dust and clatter, sacrificed to a mental calendar of what are seen as more timely matters. Officially, The Interim does not publish works of poetry. Our [...]
My first childhood memories are of Nana, my mother's mother, a large bosomed woman in flower print dresses. Nana was so loving and would shower me with attention. My family spent the summers at her cottage on Lake Simcoe with numerous cousins, aunts and uncles. But when I was six Nana died and so did something in my mother. There was some [...]
The hoopla may have died down somewhat - at least for the time being - but the ramifications of Ellen DeGeneres's "coming out" as television's first openly homosexual prime-time lead character continue. The fact that television and other entertainment media are once again being used as a vehicle to promote certain moral stances should come as no surprise to anyone who has [...]
Ontario's Lieutenant- Governor Hilary Weston was a special guest at the June 13 ceremony honoring members of Rosalie Hall's 1997 graduating class. The Scarborough-based Rosalie Hall is a facility for single women in emergency pregnancies to continue their education while preparing for the birth of their child. The agency also provides care and counselling for clients place their child for adoption or [...]
CHARLOTTETOWN - A May 29 public meeting organized by Canadian Abortion Rights Action League (CARAL) attracted a dozen pro-choice activists, and 70 pro-life supporters of various faiths. In a joint project with the Women's Network and the PEI Advisory Council on the Status of Women, CARAL had brought in Kathleen Howes to convince Island Catholics they can support abortion with a clear [...]
CHARLOTTETOWN - Late in June, more than 50 young people from across Canada gathered at Maritime Christian College for the 1997 National Youth Pro-Life Conference. Throughout the weekend, keynote speaker Eric Genuis, an accomplished pianist from Ontario, used a combination of music and discussion to educate those in attendance. "Always look critically at what society and the media present," was his opening [...]
A Toronto lawyer, arguing for legal protection for unborn children, says the law must be updated to account for the distinctness of the child in the womb. In brief filed to the Supreme Court in the case of a pregnant Winnipeg woman who won the right not to undergo mandatory addiction treatment, Angela Costigan said the law is out of date when [...]
Doctors are set to reject a revised version of the 2,500-year-old Hippocratic Oath, after the inclusion of a paragraph allowing "ethical abortions." Delegates to a recent meeting of the British Medical Association were asked to approve an updated version of the oath, taken by many graduating doctors. But it appeared that the motion would not be carried, as many doctors rejected the [...]
Problems faced by supporters of the 1997 Show the Truth Tour are of special interest to noted U.S. pro-life worker Joe Scheidler. The executive director of the Chicago-based Pro-Life Action League, Scheidler is facing a vindictive and potential disastrous lawsuit launched by the National Organization for Women (NOW) in connection with his unrelenting pro-life activity. The lawsuit stems from Scheidler's unwillingness to [...]
Alliance For Life of Winnipeg, a leading presented the Kurelek Award to a journalist - the first time in its history. The 1997 recipient is Rory Leishman of the London Fress Press. The annual award is presented to someone who is not an active member of a pro-life group, but has been actively engaged in work that promotes a respect for human [...]
Ontario's pro-life community suffered the loss of another committed activist with the sudden passing of Stanley Grzywna of Toronto. Grzywna, 68, died of heart failure July 5 at Sunnybrook Hospital. He had recently returned from the national pro-life conference in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. Perhaps it is fitting that one of Grzywna's final acts was in support of a national pro-life activity. [...]
Some alarming questions arise from the case of a cantor at a Halifax synagogue who fled to the States in disgrace this January after being charged and fined $2,000 for downloading child pornography from the Internet. No suggestion was made that the cantor's involvement with porn went beyond the fantasy stage. Undoubtedly, part of the buzz which made this sad tale so [...]