National Affairs Rory Leishman Who would have thought that it might take a crass narcissist like United States President-elect Donald Trump to curb the greatest moral catastrophe in the history of the United States: namely, the deliberate, mass slaughter in the womb of more than 50 million babies over the past 40 years. Trump has got off to a promising [...]
Light is Right Joe Campbell Pity the poor legislators. Increasingly, Big Brother watches their every move. Well, not just Big Brother, Big Sister, too. Being constantly watched is intimidating. Having what you painstakingly put together repeatedly taken apart is demeaning. But that’s the fate of legislators under a judicial dictatorship. From time to time, I’ve called Big Brother/Sister, also known [...]
Health Canada approved the abortion drug Mifegymiso in 2015 for use in 2016, but thus far its Canadian distributor, Celopharma Inc., has yet to make the so-called “gold standard” in medical abortion available in Canada. In early December, the Canadian Press reported on the status of Mifegymiso, which used to go by the name RU-486, saying “the drug’s Canadian distributor, Celopharma Inc., [...]
On Nov. 29, former MP Pierre Lemieux entered the Conservative Party leadership race, and less than two weeks later he released a video calling for a “respectful debate” on sex-selective abortion. The former Glengarry–Prescott–Russell MP said that “in a democracy such as ours, there should be no debate that is closed.” He said that sex-selective abortion was an issue that should be [...]
Terminally ill patients seek access to unapproved drugs A group of Canadians with terminal illness is asking for the right to try unapproved drugs or treatments for their conditions. “We have the law that allows us to kill ourselves. We just don’t have the law to do something else,” said Jeff Pereault, one of the founders of the Right to Try campaign, [...]
Lawyer Clayton Ruby questions victim’s memory Editor’s Note: The story below contains colloquial and graphic details of an alleged sexual assault. Also, the decision in the historic sexual assault trial of Rev. Brent Hawkes, originally scheduled for Jan. 18, was postponed till after The Interim went to press. Because Associate Chief Judge Alan T. Tufts needed more time, the matter was adjourned until [...]
Q: The allegations date back to the mid-1970s. Some leaders fear that even after retirement somebody disgruntled somewhere will bring up a complaint out of nowhere. Why do we even prosecute historic sexual assault? A: Regardless of whether they’ve held authoritative roles, most observers would recognize that allowing minors to drink in one’s home would be most unusual for a teacher and [...]
MPP Sam Oosterhoff 10. Renewed pro-life political activism in Canada Social conservatives were making news in Canada for grassroots involvement. The October victory of 19-year-old socially conservative Sam Oosterhoff over Ontario Progressive Conservative president Rick Dykstra for the party’s nomination in a by-election was heralded as a victory for the movement over the party establishment. But it began when grassroots [...]
According to most of the nation’s state health departments, abortion continues on the decline across the country. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control released its abortion figures, based on reporting from 47 states, but not including Maryland, New Hampshire, or California (the country’s most populous state). In 2013, the CDC’s “Abortion Surveillance Report” lists 664,435 abortions reported from those states. The importance [...]
"In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered” (Lk 2:1). St. Luke’s account of Christ’s Nativity begins with the appearance of Imperial power for good reason. Besides being the story of a King’s birth, Christmas is also the story of the effects of that birth: of the old order that this King upsets, [...]
Limited space permits just a brief consideration in these pages of the Institute for Catholic Education’s Catholic lens of the controversial 2015 Health and Physical Education (HPE) curriculum document for Ontario schools. For a detailed treatment visit www.viewyourenvoymediasite.ca. When the controversial 2015 HPE curriculum for Ontario schools was released, parents with children in the Catholic school system were reassured by bishops, trustees, [...]
Christmas is upon us. We’ll be trimming our trees, putting wreaths on doors, eating sumptuous meals, singing carols (or having them sung to us) and opening presents. I’ve recommended Christmas-themed books, animated specials, and DVDs to Interim readers in the past. This year, my focus will be on a talented cartoonist with strong Christian principles, Johnny Hart. Hart’s work was published in [...]
Light is Right Joe Campbell "Well, they’ve done it,” Dingwall said. “Done what?” I asked. “Removed the stigma from suicide,” he replied. “By letting doctors help patients kill themselves, the Supreme Court transformed a calamity into a cure.” “Some think the ruling is very restrictive,” I said, “requiring intolerable suffering, among other conditions.” “Maybe for now,” he said. “However, the [...]
Law Matters John Carpay Campus free speech hits a temporary road block in October, wih an Ontario court ruling against Students for Life at Ryerson. Since 2013, these pro-life students have been denied their right to set up a campus club by the Ryerson Students’ Union (RSU). Without status as a registered campus club, the students cannot set up a table on [...]
How sad it is that the Netherlands, a country which heroically resisted the Nazi euthanasia program, is now saddled with a government so steeped in the culture of death that it plans to extend legalized assisted suicide to any healthy elderly person who has voluntarily resolved that he or she has simply had a “completed life” (voltooid leven) and wants to die. [...]