Californians reject gay marriage California voters have said an emphatic "no" to the question of same-sex marriage. Results of the state's direct democracy plebiscite indicate that voters have turned thumbs down to a proposal that would give official sanction to homosexual unions. The plebiscite, which contained 31 propositions, asked for a yes or no vote to the proposal: "Only a marriage between [...]
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 [...]
I sat down to write this column and as I was thinking about what to say, I realized that it was going to be in the January, 2000 issue of The Interim. Yes indeed, this would be my first column for the new year - and for a new millennium! And then, all of a sudden, I thought, "If there is a [...]
By Tim Bloedow The Interim Three years ago the Liberal government introduced a bill, C-47, to criminalize and regulate various aspects of the reproductive and genetic technologies industry, but the 1997 election was called before the bill could be passed. Despite repeated promises that they would reintroduce legislation governing reproductive technologies, the Liberals have yet to do so, and they have avoided [...]
By Tim Bloedow The Interim Three years ago the Liberal government introduced a bill, C-47, to criminalize and regulate various aspects of the reproductive and genetic technologies industry, but the 1997 election was called before the bill could be passed. Despite repeated promises that they would reintroduce legislation governing reproductive technologies, the Liberals have yet to do so, and they have avoided [...]
The 1973 science-fiction film, Soylent Green, horrified audiences when they realized just what went into the manufacture of the food product from which the film gets its name. In the story, food has become so scarce in the year 2022 that the government decided to feed its citizenry re-processed human corpses. The protagonist, played by Charlton Heston, discovered what this curious food was [...]
By now, most Interim readers will have heard about young Tyrell Dueck of Saskatchewan. A judge ordered the 13-year-old bone cancer victim to undergo chemotherapy, and possibly amputation, against his and his parents' wishes. Tyrell underwent two court-ordered courses of chemotherapy, but terminated the treatments at the end of February.Tyrell's parents, Timothy and Yvonne Dueck, wanted to send him to a clinic in [...]
Reciting the ancient Hippocratic Oath was once the high point of any medical school convocation. Now, the noble pledge of traditional medical ethics is being altered or even suppressed to accommodate modern prejudices and taboos. Interim associate editor Tony Gosgnach tells us why. Once upon a time, it was unthinkable that a physician would perform an abortion, or cause harm to his [...]
A recent press report has disturbing inplications for all concerned with the sanctity of human life. The report described efforts by health officials in California to pay crack cocaine-addicted women to undergo sterilizations. According to the report, the program is a privately run enterprise involving Planned Parenthood and the American Civil Liberties Union. The program is known by the provocative name CRACK [...]
The Catholic Church and Christian tradition teach that sexual intercourse belongs only within the bond of marriage. Marriage is a covenant between a man and a woman with God. Only within marriage do ideal conditions exist for raising children. Christians respect sexual intercourse and recognize it to contain both a gift of love (union) and a gift of life (procreation). Through sexual [...]
BRISTOL, Tenn. (LSN) -- The Christian Medical and Dental Society, which represents more than 11,500 doctors and medical students nationwide, condemned plans announced Jan. 6 to begin cloning humans for profit. Dr. David Stevens noted that an individual would have to sacrifice hundreds of lives just to attempt a cloning procedure. Cloning a single animal, the sheep Dolly, involved killing 277 developing [...]
Federal Health Minister Allan Rock has reiterated the need for careful federal regulation in the area of new reproductive and genetic technologies. In a December letter to The Interim, Mr. Rock said the voluntary moratorium on certain new reproductive technology applications, such as sex selection for non-medical purposes, cloning of embryos, and embryonic research, remains in effect. The moratorium was enacted by [...]
STOCKHOLM - Sweden's most influential opposition leader demanded August 26 that the government investigate a four-decade policy under which 60,000 people deemed genetically inferior were sterilized. Swedes, long proud of there social welfare system, have been forced to acknowledge an unflattering chapter in their past since a newspaper series recently looked at the 1935-76 involuntary sterilization program. Some have said robbing fellow [...]
KINGSTON There were theatrics, debate and emotion and a Global Action Plan. More than 500 people from around the world gathered at Queen's University here July 13-17 to look at the causes of breast cancer and develop a strategy to halt the disease. Breast cancer is the leading cause of death in women 35 to 54 years, and rates are highest in [...]
“Let s make man in our image, after our likeness,” said Almighty God in Chapter 17 Genesis. Now, “Clone-Aid” – a Caribbean company, advertising human clones (at a cost of $200,000 each) on the Internet is proposing that man can make man in his own image and for his own purposes. Less than two weeks after Scottish scientists announced they had successfully [...]