Canada
Marylou Talbot, whose teenage pregnant daughter Olivia was murdered in 2005, has renewed calls for the enactment of an unborn victim’s of violence law … Alberta Culture Minister Lindsay Blackett, who oversees the Alberta Human Rights Commission, said Darren Lund’s complaint against Pastor Stephen Boissoin should never have gone before the AHRC: “It’s not there to mediate hurt feelings caused by some words” … Saskatchewan Justice Minister Don Morgan said the province will consider dissolving the Saskatchewan Human Rights Tribunal. He suggested that the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission would continue to operate but that it would refer cases to the Court of Queen’s Bench. Separating the link between the commission and tribunal is an idea endorsed by SHRC chief commissioner David Arnot, who says the change could streamline the handling of cases … Jer’s Vision, a gay rights group, presented Liberal MP Hedy Fry (Vancouver Centre) its Youth Role Model Award. Fry said that she was inspired by Pierre Trudeau’s commitment to minority rights to become a vocal supporter of special rights for homosexuals … According to an EKOS poll, 53 per cent of Canadians support same-sex “marriage” while 28 per cent are opposed … An Angus Reid poll found that 53 per cent of respondents want to legalize marijuana, 42 per cent say Canada has a serious problem with drug abuse and 70 per cent want mandatory minimum prison sentences for drug dealers and marijuana-grow operators … Liberal MP Keith Martin (Esquimalt-Juan de Fuca) has called for the decriminalization of possession of small amounts of pot (30 grams) and the growing of up to two marijuana plants … The Nova Scotia Supreme Court ordered the provincial government to pay for Sally Campbell’s medical marijuana. Campbell, who is on welfare, represents the first case in Canada in which a person living on social assistance has had their marijuana covered by government insurance … Amidst the controversy surrounding former minister of state for the status of women, Helena Guergis, Toronto Sun columnist and former Ontario education minister John Snobolen said he found it incredulous that “politicians still seem to believe a status of women ministry is still required … It is the tokenism of the position of minister of state for status of women, the meaningless political pandering of questionable women’s group, and the ghettoization of some important social issues,” all of which offended him … At the urging of Senator Doug Finley (Con.), the Senate began an inquiry into the state of freedom of speech in Canada. Senator Nicole Eaton (Con.) quoted the title of Interim Publishing’s Tyranny of Nice when she said it was “anathema to democracy” to have the Canadian Human Rights Commission, a government agency, “monitoring the internet, searching for certain political views to prosecute.”
United States
HBO aired “You Don’t Know Jack,” a light-hearted biopic of Jack Kevorkian, the Michigan doctor who has admitted euthanizing more than 130 people. The show stars Al Pacino in the title role … New York Times Magazine conducted a wide-ranging interview with Kevorkian and asked him about his solution to unemployment. Kevorkian responded: “There was a solution, but nobody would like it. I could solve it in a minute by cutting the population in half, and now you’d have a job for everybody” … The Florida Board of Medicine revoked the medical license of Matthew Kachinas, a Sarasota doctor who killed the “wrong” baby during a selective reduction procedure in 2006. Kuchinas attempted to eliminate an unborn child diagnosed with Down Syndrome and a possible heart defect. When the mistake was discovered, the couple aborted the remaining child.
International
Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki reaffirmed his opposition to legalizing abortion in the east African country, saying he would not support the draft of a constitution that included language permitting the procedure. Kenyans will vote on a new constitution in a June referendum … Irish Labour Party leader Eamon Gilmore told a party conference that if they formed the next government for the Republic of Ireland he would overhaul the country’s constitution to remove protection for the unborn and to permit same-sex ‘marriage.’ He called the constitution “a document written in the 1930s for the 1930s” … One in six health care trusts in the United Kingdom is considering permitting general practitioners to do chemical abortions up to nine weeks with approval from the Care of Quality Commission … The Daily Telegraph reported that human embryos with two mothers might be created within three years as part of a procedure they claim will eradicate hereditary diseases including diabetes, heart disease and blindness. The research team from Newcastle University said using altered embryos to bypass certain diseases was akin to replacing defective batteries … The European Court of Human Rights issued a Charter judgment that Austria’s laws restricting in vitro fertilization procedures are discriminatory and violate the right to a family life because it prohibits the use of donated sperm or ova in IVF procedures.