Canada

Columnist, broadcaster and Interim contributor Michael Coren wrote a column in the National Post claiming that he was “blacklisted” from a political panel on the CBC News Sunday program in which he was originally scheduled to appear. He said it was because of the Mother Corps’ objections to “certain conservative, particularly morally conservative, voices in the media” … Canadian Catholic and evangelical leaders are speaking out against Amnesty International proposals to begin abortion advocacy. Calgary Bishop Fred Henry told LifeSiteNews.com, “The proposal of Amnesty International to enter into abortion advocacy is an ill-conceived and gross betrayal of their mission to campaign for human rights.” He said he will cease his support for the group. Janet Epp Buckingham, of the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada, told LifeSite: “It’s disappointing news. I think it could have a negative impact on the important work they do for prisoners of conscience and I believe it will have an impact on support by evangelical Christians for Amnesty” … Preston Manning announced he will not run for the leadership of the Alberta Progressive Conservative Party to replace retiring premier Ralph Klein. Among the notable candidates is the socially liberal former finance minister Jim Dinning and the pro-life, pro-family former University of Calgary political science professor and MLA Ted Morton … The Hill Times newspaper reports that interim Liberal leader Bill Graham told his caucus that returning MPs will be protected – that is, they will not have to face nomination challenges. Deputy Liberal House leader Marlene Jennings defended the policy, saying it is important for MPs to focus on their work in Parliament, rather than on politics at the riding level. In the previous election, all parties protected their incumbents with the excuse that the frail minority government might have fallen at any time. The paper reported Graham made the decision at the request of the Liberal Women’s Caucus.

United States

A Harris poll shows abortion on demand is continuing to lose support among Americans, with just 49 per cent supporting the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, the lowest rate ever registered by a national poll on the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling decriminalizing abortion. The April poll of 1,016 U.S. adults found that 47 per cent oppose the decision. The polling organization also found that a majority, 53 per cent, want some limits placed on abortion … In a move seen as a tactic to reach out to social conservative voters, the pro-abortion former mayor of New York and potential 2008 Republican presidential contender, Rudy Guiliani, helped Ralph Reed, former director of the Christian Coalition, raise money for his own Georgia lieutenant-governor’s bid … Republican senator, and another possible GOP contender in 2008, John McCain (Ariz.), who has had an ambiguous relationship with social conservative voters in recent years, addressed Jerry Falwell’s Liberty University in an effort to heal the rift between himself and Christian conservatives … President George W. Bush endorsed the idea of his brother, pro-life Florida Governor Jeb Bush, running for the White House some day …  First Lady Laura Bush urged Republicans not to politicize the constitutional amendment protecting marriage … For the 10th year in a row, a measure that would allow U.S. military hospitals to commit abortions was defeated in the House of Representatives. Concerned Women for America applauded Congress’s refusal to permit (but not pay for) abortions at military hospitals: “Congress knows that our military hospitals are not there to end lives, but to save them.”

International

The Daily Telegraph reports that an increasing number of British parents are aborting children with Down’s Syndrome after prenatal tests for the condition. The Down’s Syndrome Association found that 92 per cent of babies diagnosed in the womb with the condition are aborted and government records show that a total of 937 Down’s Syndrome children were aborted, compared to 657 who were born … The Independent reported that 82,000 British women who have no partner and are  in their 30s give birth each year … The Irish Medical Times reports that a survey of Irish doctors found 66 per cent of them were opposed to the idea of the abortifacient “morning-after pill” being sold over the counter. The research, conducted by Dr Fionnula Murphy, won the Irish College of General Practitioners’ research competition at the college’s annual general meeting … Residents of the Zurich block of flats that houses the Dignitas euthanasia clinic have complained about the number of corpses being moved about the building. Gloria Sonny, 52, who lives in the apartments, told the Daily Record that, “Almost every day, the bodies of people who have chosen to kill themselves are taken down in the lift” … Efrat, an Israeli group concerned with the decline in the Jewish birthrate in Israel, is offering financial support for poor pregnant women to complete their pregnancies. Dr Eli Schussheim, a surgeon and founder of Efrat, told Reuters that in the 29 years the organization has been operating since Israel liberalized its abortion laws, “I haven’t had one case where a woman said she regretted it.”