Canada

1. Bill C-6 passes

The government’s reproductive and experimental technologies bill will lead to the deaths of untold millions of tiny human beings through destructive embryonic stem cell research and opens to the door to human cloning through poor definitions and loop-holes.

2. Social conservatism and the Canadian election

Prime Minister Paul Martin and his media accomplices inject the topic of abortion into the federal election, although everyone carefully avoids discussing the real issue – the truth about the humanity of the unborn. Still, social conservatives increase their representation in the new Parliament and for many of them, their vote shares compare to the 2000 results.

3. The Supreme Court of Canada okays gay ‘marriage’

Canada’s top court gives the green light to the government to do what Justice Minister Irwin Cotler said it would do anyway – pass legislation allowing homosexuals to “marry” one another.

4. Bill C-250 passes

Svend Robinson’s legacy piece, the “hate crimes” amendment to the Criminal Code, creates special rights for homosexuals and opens the door to criminalizing religious objection to homosexual acts, not to mention possibly curtailing debate on same-sex “marriage.” Critics of the bill say that current laws against assault are sufficient to protect homosexuals from physical violence .

5. Euthanasia debate is re-opened

Following the November acquittal of euthanasia campaigner Evelyn Martens, several politicians and media outlets urge a public debate about allowing physician-assisted suicides. Among those adding their voices to calls for liberalizing Canada’s assisted-suicide laws is Justice Minister Irwin Cotler.


United States

1. Values voters

On Nov. 2, voters re-elect a pro-life president, deliver more pro-life senators and congressmen to Washington, approve constitutional amendments protecting marriage in 11 states, support a Florida initiative permitting parental notification for minors seeking abortions and passes initiatives limiting gambling. Exit polls find that nearly one in four voters cites moral issues as a top concern. Nov. 2 proved decisively that millions of U.S citizens are concerned about the moral direction of their nation and respond when provided with clear leadership on the issue.

2. Stem cell debate

The deaths of former president Ronald Reagan and actor Christopher Reeve help activists who favour embryonic stem cell research promote their cause, despite the former’s strong pro-life leadership in the White House and the latter’s remarkable progress using non-ESCR therapies. Democrats exploit Reagan’s death by having his son Ron address their national convention on the issue of ESCR and Senator John Kerry invokes Reeve’s name relentlessly in the final weeks of the campaign. Reeves is also highlighted in a well-financed advertising campaign to pass Proposition 71, a pro-ESCR ballot initiative in California.

3. The Laci Peterson case

In 2002, Scott Peterson murdered his wife, Laci, and their unborn child, Connor. In November, he is found guilty of double homicide. The case highlights the humanity of unborn children and the importance of legislation that recognizes them as victims of crime in-utero.

4. RU-486 is restricted

In November, the Food and Drug Administration puts the lives and health of women ahead of Big Pharma by requiring that black-label warnings about the possibility of death be put on packages of RU-486. The move is spurred by the 2003 death of California teen Holly Patterson.

5. Media overblows pro-abortion march

In May, hundreds of thousands of pro-abortion feminists march in Washington D.C., and the media dutifully cover it as a major event on their front pages and at the top of their broadcasts. Even Canadian papers feature the demonstration, billed as “the March for Women’s Lives.” But just four months earlier, the media virtually ignore the March for Life in the nation’s capital, an annual event that often attracts more than 100,000 participants.

International

1. The Dutch euthanize children

After the Groningen Academic Hospital requests euthanasia be legalized for newborns who endure “unbearable suffering” and who have “no hope of a future,” it is revealed that Dutch hospitals routinely permit doctors to deny non-extraordinary, but essential, care for disabled or sick babies, resulting in the children’s deaths. All eight Dutch teaching hospitals endorse Groningen’s suggestion that guidelines for infant euthanasia be formulated.

2. ‘Abortion boat’ lands in Portugal

Rebecca Gomperts’ Women on Waves floating abortuary docks off Portugal after Portuguese government officials and the courts deny the ship access to the country’s ports and use their navy to prevent the Dutch ship from docking. Gomperts seeks to provide abortion and birth control services to Portuguese women and to promote the abortion cause in the predominantly Catholic country. Politicians and judges agree that any attempt to bring illegal abortifacients into the country is a legitimate reason to deny entry.

3. Costa Rican president speaks out for life at UN

In September, Abel Pacheco, the president of Costa Rica, makes an impassioned plea for the rights of the unborn in a speech before the United Nations. He urges the passing of “internationally binding” agreements that “uphold human dignity from the moment of conception.” He also urges the UN to pass a comprehensive ban on human cloning. Tellingly, official UN transcripts of his speech do not include the passages calling for respect for the dignity of human life.

4. Anglican Church is convulsed by homosexual issue

The Anglican church is forced to confront the simmering issue of blessing homosexual relationships and the ordination of active homosexuals as bishops. In the spring, Gene Robinson, a homosexual, is ordained a bishop in the Episcopalian Church of the United States, the American branch of the Anglican church. There is talk of schism within the Anglican Communion, as African and conservative North American bishops criticize the official sanctioning of homosexual relationships. On Oct. 18, the Windsor Report, commissioned by the archbishop of Canterbury, makes recommendations to end the rift over homosexuality, including a moratorium on same-sex blessings and consecration of homosexual bishops. It also calls upon the ECUSA to express regret over breaking “the bonds of communion and affection.” In Canada, the Anglican synod puts off a decision on blessing same-sex unions.

5. The EU rejects Itatian Catholic as a commissioner