Liberal opposition party leader Michael Ignatieff is thought to be swimming in a tank of sharks. A group of top Liberal politicians thinks he’s politically dead or heading in that direction. Ignatieff’s plummeting popularity is a concern for some of the wannabes in the federal Liberal party who are sharpening their knives. His approval rating is now down to 20 per cent. [...]
In early March, the usual Hollywood types gathered at the usual Hollywood Oscar event and gave the usual people the usual awards. Avatar didn’t win much, but it hardly matters – it’s the most financially successful movie in the history of cinema. It’s also anti-Christian, anti-human and bursting with pagan and anti-life concepts and constructs. Set in 2154, it concerns [...]
Margaret Sanger, the early American abortion advocate, believed in the practice of eugenics. Like many misguided early twentieth-century social activists, she believed that eugenics was – in her words – “the most adequate and thorough avenue to the solution of racial, political and social problems.” For Sanger, birth control did not simply constitute a marginal alteration of the ratios of reproduction; it [...]
On March 21, the U.S. House of Representatives voted 219-212 to approve the Democrats’ pro-abortion health care reform bill. The bill passed after Rep. Bart Stupak (D, Mich.) accepted a compromise from the White House that he says will limit abortion funding. Last November, Stupak co-authored an amendment that restricted taxpayer funding of abortion. A similar effort in the Senate failed although [...]
Editor’s Note: In February, we inadvertently ran only half of Donald DeMarco’s column. We are publishing the article in its entirety this month. I attended the Catholic Medical Association Conference in Springfield, Ill., last October, and presented a paper entitled, “Love and Healing.” It was most encouraging to observe the strong and courageous witness for life expressed by well over 300 participants [...]
Iain Duncan Smith, former leader of the British Conservative party, has written a major policy paper on the family, in which he urges his parliamentary colleagues to single out married couples for special tax benefits. It’s an excellent idea that politicians in Canada should be no less eager to embrace than their British counterparts. Not so long ago, special benefits [...]
‘The culture of death is all-pervasive’ For nine years, The Interim and Niagara Region Right to Life have been co-sponsoring the Father Ted Colleton Scholarship program. The topics have varied over the years, but they have always challenged students to think more deeply about pro-life issues and to write about them cogently. The prizes are awarded following an evaluation process conducted by [...]
Campaign Life Coalition’s CLC National News publication was all ready for layout, with a story that praised the Conservatives for holding firm on keeping any facet of “reproductive health” out of the government’s signature policy to improve maternal and infant health in the developing world. On March 17, Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon informed the foreign affairs committee that the [...]
On March 23, as The Interim went to press, Canada’s opposition parties sought to require the Conservative government to fund abortion as part of their maternal and child health initiative at the G8 summit this June. Liberal foreign affairs critic Bob Rae tabled a motion that would require “the maternal and child health initiative for the world’s poorest regions” to “include the [...]
Alberta family wins 3-week reprieve for son EDMONTON – On Feb. 19, Court of Queen’s Bench Judge Michelle Crighton ordered Stollery Children’s Hospital in Edmonton to keep Isaiah James May on life support until March 11 to give May’s parents three weeks to assemble medical experts to assess their son’s chances for further recovery. The order extends an original reprieve granted on [...]
An estimated 200,000-400,000 people took part in the Washington March for Life on Jan. 22 to commemorate the 37th anniversary of Roe v. Wade. Organizers say it was larger than the record 2009 crowd. This year’s theme was “Stand Up Now! Unite for the Life Principles. No Exception! No Compromise!” and the pro-life witness urged an end to the slaughter [...]
I have two announcements about our roster of columnists, a new one and one who is leaving. Over the Christmas holidays, Rev. Royal Hamel resigned as a columnist. He is focusing on other opportunities and projects. I am saddened to see him leave, but am glad that we part amicably. I consider Rev. Hamel a friend and it has been my pleasure [...]
At the end of January, the pro-life clubs at the University of Toronto and Queen’s University each hosted a guest speaker that came with a reputation for sparking some controversy. Jose Ruba from the Canadian Centre for Bio-Ethical Reform (CCBR) presented his “Echoes of the Holocaust” presentation at U of T on Jan. 27. The following day, Michael Coren, broadcaster, [...]
The International Planned Parenthood Federation, the world’s largest abortion provider, is complaining that the Canadian government has not yet responded to its request for a funding renewal of $18 million over the next three years. IPPF spokesman Paul Bell told Canwest News Service that his organization was “taken by surprise” after Michael Ignatieff pointed out the delay in IPPF’s funding in late [...]
Canada The National Parole Board denied the request of Robert Latimer, the Saskatchewan farmer who murdered his disabled daughter, for extended leave from his halfway house in British Columbia ... According to an Angus Reid Public Opinion poll 67 per cent of Canadians think euthanasia should be made legal while 23 per cent are opposed. Just over four in ten (41 per [...]