Canada
According to an Angus Reid Public Opinion poll, just 20 per cent of Canadians are aware that there are absolutely no restrictions in law on abortion, while 43 per cent believe that under current law women can obtain an abortion only in the first trimester while nearly a quarter believe that women can get an abortion when their life/health is endangered, she has been raped or is the victim of incest, or there the unborn baby has a serious defect. Informed about the current lack of limits, only 30 per cent support the status quo. Joanne McGarry, executive director of the Catholic Civil Rights League, said in a press release: “It’s difficult to have meaningful debate about any issue when people do not know the factual information” … According to an online Leger Marketing poll conducted for the Montreal Gazette, 71 per cent of Quebecers support legalizing euthanasia while 16 per cent were opposed and 13 per cent were undecided. Linda Couture, director of Living with Dignity, told the paper the numbers might reflect a lack of information, but added: “This is a symptom that the system is giving up on its elderly. This is the ultimate abuse” … The Gazette reports that “medical specialists say Quebec won’t be able to keep up with the demand” for free fertility treatments that the province began providing on Aug. 3,- by which there were already 3,000 women already signed up. The program is meant to boost the province’s low birthrates, but Gaetan Barrette, president of the Quebec Federation of Medical Specialists, said, “It’s a diversion of medical practice to political issues” … According to the Toronto Sun, the federal government has been spending tens of thousands of dollars every year to supply federal prisoners with free condoms. From 2008-2010, Canada’s 50 federal prisons spent approximately $120,000 to provide their 14,000 inmates with condoms. REAL Women pointed out that some condoms are given to prisons with programs for sexual offenders and that it has done nothing to lower the incidence of AIDS/HIV in prisons … A Leger Marketing poll conducted for QMI Agency (formerly Sun Media) found that 21 per cent of Canadians think Ottawa should decriminalize so-called soft drugs like marijuana, 34 per cent say they should be legalized and taxed like alcohol, and 20 per cent think laws should be stiffened for people caught with pot. Pamela Stephens, a spokesman for Justice Minister Rob Nicholson, said, “Unlike the Liberals, we have no intention of decriminalizing or legalizing marijuana” … Ontario Finance Minister Dwight Duncan announced that the province will permit online gambling in 2012 following consultations which are set to begin before the end of the year … The Green Party voted down a motion to make legalizing polygamy part of their platform.
United States
U.S. District Court Judge Vaughn Walker overturned Proposition 8, a 2008 California constitutional amendment passed by voters 52 to 48 per cent banning same-sex ‘marriage’, saying there was no “rational basis” for denying homosexual couples the right to marry one another. Former U.S. attorney general Edwin Meese III accused Walker of ignoring “the voluminous evidence introduced on the side of Proposition 8 does not exist.” The decision was stayed and will be appealed to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals which expects to hear the case later this year. Legal observers say that the case is headed to the Supreme Court … John Boehner, House Minority Leader of the Republicans in Congress, has made a commitment to codify the Hyde Amendment to explicitly prohibit federal funding of abortion. Presently, Congress must reaffirm the amendment. In July, Reps. Chris Smith (R, N.J.) and Dan Lipinski (D, Ill.) introduced the “No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act” … U.S. District Judge Ralph Tyson dissolved a temporary restraining order placed on the Louisiana “Ultrasound Before Abortion Act” which requires abortionists to perform an ultrasound at least two hours before a child is aborted. Benjamin Clapper, executive director of the Louisiana Right to Life Federation said, “For the first time in Louisiana’s history abortionists will be required to offer women seeking abortion the opportunity to see the ultrasound image, hear a description of the image, and receive a print-out of the ultrasound. We look forward to seeing the positive results of this legislation in our state.”
International
On August 4th, 67 per cent of Kenyans voted in favour of a new constitution containing a clause which opens the door to expanding legal abortions and limited Shariah law. The new constitution allows abortion in cases when “the health of the mother is in danger” or “if permitted by any other written law”. The Barack Obama administration funneled $23 million into the ‘Yes’ campaign and promised greater financial prosperity to Kenya if the constitution be ratified … By a 9-2 decision, the Supreme Court of Mexico has decided that all Mexican states must accept the validity of homosexual ‘marriages’ contracted in Mexico City, where such ‘marriages’ were legalized in December of last year.