The Vancouver Sun reports that comedian Guy Earle's lawyer Jim Miller left the hearings yesterday because he considered the process illegal. He asked the tribunal if it had jurisdiction to accept the complaint of a lesbian who claims discrimination and the tribunal said they would deal with that issue after evidence had been presented. The Sun reports: Miller's argument is that his [...]
This piece by Edward Feser is too harsh on the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, but it sounds like a plausible explanation for Rep. Bart Stupak's (D, Mich.) sell-out of pro-life principles. Most of the post is about why the USCCB is wrong to support state-directed health care, which represents an abandonment of the Christian principle of subsidiarity, and it is worth reading for the [...]
A few years ago comedian Guy Earle commented on the sexual orientation of a pair of lesbian hecklers a few years ago. They complained to the British Columbia Human Rights Commission. His BCHR Tribunal hearing in Vancouver takes place today. Some background on the case is available in this 2008 Kathy Shaidle piece for Pajamas Media. As the Vancouver Province reports today: "If [...]
In a symposium on "what happened" to liberalism in Democracy Journal, Katha Pollit says abortion in the United States is legal, "but spottily available and hugely contested." More than a million abortions a year argues against the spottiness of its availability. The totalitarian impulse of pro-abortion feminists is never more evident than when they are complaining that at an issue is open for discussion. How [...]
A Petoskey News Review story (via Russ Roberts) reports that Rep. Bart Stupak (D, Mich.) may have been bought off with $726,409 of local airport improvements that were announced just 48 hours before the health care vote.
The regular and guest columnists from the March issue are now online. Rory Leishman looks at churches that compromise on contraception -- and how difficult it is to hold the line. Michael Coren on the reaction to his recent talk to a campus pro-life club. Joe Campbell introduces his new column in the paper. Rick McGinnis didn't really like The Blindside. Theresa Gilbert says [...]
Andrea Mrozek at ProWomanProLife on the defeat of the Liberal motion to require abortion as part of maternal health: "Bottom line: Abortion activists just lost a battle." That's rare and it's very important. Or as Miss Mrozek says, "That's always very good news." We are debating within the offices today, along with our friends at Campaign Life Coalition and Catholic Insight, whether [...]
The motion defeated 138-144. It appeared that three Liberals voted against the motion. More about this tomorrow. Liberal strategist on CBC Newsworld John Duffy vowed that the issue isn't going away.
NDP MP Libby Davis claims there is no debate about the need for choice in terms of the full range of reproductive rights. Then why have this debate today? She claims you can't support women and equal rights without celebrating no promoting , eh, what exactly ... providing abortion. "Put women first," she implores her colleagues.
NDP MP Libby Davies on abortion as part of maternal health: "This is about empowering women." And if we don't offer abortion to women in the developing world Canada becomes "an international embarrassment, just like Copenhagen." Like most other NDP speakers Davis has raised the "appalling" conditions many Canadian women live in, especially those in the north and on reservations: no social housing, [...]
Liberal MP Carolyn Bennett said that abortion and contraception will supported by Canadian taxpayer dollars only where they are already legal which is the first time any opposition MP has suggested such a limitation. She introduced a new formulation: abortion is a choice "between [sic] a woman, her doctor and, ah, her country." Interesting phrase from an abortion rights defender; it implicitly admits that a [...]
A Bloc MP has just said she was just yesterday reading the 1988 Morgentaler decision which, she said, was "unanimous" in its decision overturning the existing abortion law and that Supreme Court acknowledged a right to abortion. It wasn't unanimous (5-2) and only one justice (Bertha Wilson) said that there was a right to abortion, but even she acknowledged the right of Parliament to regulate [...]
Bloc MP Nicole Demers apologized to women in the developing world for the "misfortune" of becoming pregnant in countries that don't have health care. Demers lamented the lack of basic health care in the developing world. But isn't that what the Conservative government is trying to address by focusing their maternal health program on clean water, inoculations, safe deliveries and nutrition programs? On one level, [...]
Press release issued by REAL Women: Liberals reject motherhood We now know why the Liberal Party is so keen on including contraception and abortion in the G-8 Summit’s proposals in June. Such proposals will eliminate motherhood - every time. This came to light when Liberal MP Carolyn Bennett stated (Hill Times, March 22, 2010) that motherhood wasn’t a “real job.” Instead, she [...]
A Bloc Quebec MP says the Conservative government is ideologically rigid and right-wing, charging them with defending "the right to bear arms but not the right to choose." If I was taking a swig every time the opposition employed a non sequitur, I'd be drunk right now.