By Winifride Prestwich The Interim A National Post article, "Patent office challenged over human cloning" (Feb. 22, 2000), mentions a United States Supreme Court ruling almost twenty years ago which gave "the green light" to patents on "living things." The article refers to the Court's ruling in Diamond vs. Chakrabarty, June 16, 1980. Briefly stated, these are the facts. (1) Amanda Chakrabarty, a microbiologist [...]
By Donald DeMarco The Interim Our Celebrity Culture has placed such a high premium on good looks that many prospective parents are having second thoughts about reproducing themselves for fear that their progeny might be as unglamourous as they imagine themselves to be. A Malibu, California photographer who has worked with Playboy is attempting to cash in on this anxiety of producing less [...]
By Linda Wegner The Interim A July 1999 ruling by a Saskatchewan Human Rights Board of Inquiry may have temporarily, at least, excluded the recitation of the Lord's Prayer from Saskatoon classrooms, but it has not ended the controversy surrounding the issue. Saskatoon Public School Division Policy #1030, as proposed by the Saskatoon public school board trustees on Feb. 22 recommends that [...]
Commentary by Bill Whatcott The Interim In 1993 when the NDP decided to add "sexual orientation" to the Saskatchewan Human Rights Code, Hugh Owens became incensed. Upon doing some research and reading various documents from the commission, Hugh concluded that "the Human Rights Commission is nothing more than a tax-funded homosexual propaganda machine," and filed a human rights complaint alleging that the [...]
The facts, however, don't bear out the accusation that the agency hides its pro-life principles Analysis by Sue Careless The Interim Margaret Wente is a highly respected columnist for the Globe and Mail who has recently been nominated for a National Newspaper Award for her column writing. She has also been a managing editor at the Globe. So it is all the more surprising [...]
Delegates to follow-up women's conference fail to agree on abortion and homosexuality By Tim Bloedow The Interim Last month, from March 3-16, feminists from Western countries took another stab at advancing their pro-abortion and homosexual agenda at the United Nations during the so-called Beijing+5 PrepCom. Once again, however, they were beaten back by aggressive pro-family forces and resisted by developing countries, organized [...]
Analysis by Tim Bloedow The Interim A recent ruling in an Ontario Human Rights Tribunal case has produced one of the most explicit statements to date from a government agency relegating Christianity exclusively to the private sphere of life, banning its use as a legitimate defence for behaviour deemed unacceptable by the establishment. The case involved a complaint of discrimination taken to [...]
Pro-family critics say traditional marriage definition leaves substance of gay bill intact By Tim Bloedow The Interim The federal Liberals continue in their push to entrench same-sex benefits and, as a result, to redefine marriage in Canadian law through Bill C-23. As of this writing, the House of Commons Justice Committee is examining the bill, but critics say the process is nothing [...]
By John-Henry Westen and David Curtin The Interim An international series of feminist demonstrations calling for, among other things, legalized abortion and gay rights has won the endorsement of Canada's Roman Catholic bishops - and a hefty $110,000 donation from the bishops' official social justice agency, the Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace (CCODP). The World March for Women in the [...]
By Catherine Fournier The Interim It's only been a few weeks since Andrew began his Pilgrimage for Life, walking across Canada to raise money and awareness for two pro-life organizations, but it's already been an adventure, a lesson in the workings of Providence and the generosity of people. His trip actually started on February 28, when we took him to the Ottawa [...]
Body parts trade probed By Paul Tuns The Interim The Commerce Committee of the United States Congress has finally begun an investigation into the grisly trade in human body parts procured from aborted babies. During the partial-birth abortion debate last October, New Hampshire Republican Senator Robert Smith had been unsuccessful in his attempt to rein in the gruesome trafficking of body parts [...]
I have never been an expert at anything, apart from eating and sleeping. But, since I became active in the pro-life movement some years ago, I have taken a special interest in the question of world population. The obvious reason for this is the effect which abortion and contraception must have on the number of new human beings. Having read the 19th-century [...]
I used to read the comics for laughs - now I read items from our courts. Just recently a juror who helped acquit Shannon Murrin of first degree murder in British Columbia was visiting him at his home in Newfoundland. Police noticed 49-year-old Kathy MacDonald smiling at the suspect during the trial. Ignoring the advice of Murrin's lawyer, because the case was [...]
"Bishops are not intercontinental ballistic missiles, manufactured on one continent and fired into another as an act of aggression." So fumed Archbishop Michael Peers, primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, in a statement quoted recently by the National Post. Archbishop Peers was referring to the January 29 consecration in Singapore of two U.S. Episcopalian (Anglican) priests - the Right Reverends John Rodgers [...]
On the face of it, the federal Liberal government's Bill C-23 is about granting all the privileges and obligations of common-law couples to same-sex partners. Looking just under the surface, we see that the measure would make homosexual unions equal to marriages, since there is currently little difference between common-law partners and spouses in Canadian law. Moreover, as pro-family groups across the [...]