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NEW CANADIAN SUPREME COURT JUSTICE REVEALS PRO-HOMOSEXUAL STANCE

By this appointment Chretien has revealed his views on the issue

OTTAWA, August 9, 2002 (LSN.ca) - Newly appointed Supreme Court Justice Marie Deschamps has revealed she is in favour of special rights for homosexuals. The news comes as a serious blow to pro-family groups who note that the issue of homosexual marriage will undoubtedly reach the courts in the very near future.

CBC reports that Deschamps said she's looking forward to dealing with the country's most important issues, including homosexuality. "This is a good example where society has evolved a lot," she said. "Ten years ago, many provinces did not have any law that would (have) recognized the equality of gays."

Deschamps, a 49-year-old, Quebec judge, is rumoured to have been granted the prestigious appointment by Liberal Prime Minister Jean Chretien due to her husband's close ties to the Quebec Liberal party. The Toronto Star reports that Deschamp's husband Paul Gobeil was a cabinet minister in the government of Robert Bourassa and was also instrumental in Jean Charest's coronation as leader of the Quebec Liberal party in 1998. Currently Gobeil is the head of the Export Development Corporation, a federal crown agency.

Canadian Alliance justice critic Vic Toews (Provencher) criticized the autocratic appointment of Supreme Court Justices by the Prime Minister. "I wish her (Deschamps) all the best in a difficult situation, but the danger of a closed process is that people will think she got the job because her husband is a prominent Liberal," he said. So far Chrétien has appointed five judges to the Supreme Court.

See the coverage from CBC and the Toronto Star:
http://www.cbc.ca/stories/2002/08/09/supreme_crt020809
http://www.thestar.ca/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Ty...

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FEDERAL RIGHTS COMMISSION SAYS CANADA MUST ACCEPT HOMOSEXUAL MARRIAGE

OTTAWA, August 9, 2002 (LSN.ca) - Demonstrating that it is little more than a homosexual activist organization, the federal government's Canadian Human Rights Commission has sent out a press release saying, "Society Must Recognize the Reality of Same-Sex Couples in the Definition of Marriage." The release says the Liberal government appointed Commission "applauds the decision of the Ontario Superior Court allowing for same-sex marriages."

In related news, Mary Gusella has been appointed the new chief of the Commission. The Toronto Star reports that the commission was formed in 1978 and uses its budget of $22 million a year to deal with rights complaints.

See the Commission release and the Toronto Star article:
http://www.chrc-ccdp.ca/news-comm/2002/NewsComm072302.asp
http://www.thestar.ca/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Ty...

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ABORTIONS BY MINORS HIT RECORD HIGH IN JAPAN

TOKYO, August 9, 2002 (LSN.ca) - A Japanese Health Ministry survey released Thursday showed that 46,571 girls aged 19 or younger aborted their unborn children last year. The abortions for the minors make up 14% of the total

Abortions by minors hit record high 341,588 recorded abortions in Japan last year. Kyodo News reports that the Health Ministry is setting up a research team to look at sexual activity among youth in Japan to confront the problem.

See the Japan Today coverage:
http://japantoday.com/e/?content=news&cat=1&id=225927

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JUVENILE DIABETES GROUP FUNDS EMBRYO RESEARCH WITH DONOR DOLLARS

NEW YORK, August 9, 2002 (LSN.ca) - The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International (JDRF) has repeated its endorsement of destructive research on human embryos. Celebrating one year after the U.S. President's approval of use of stem cells derived from human embryos, the JDRF boasts of having spent millions of donor dollars on funding research involving the destruction of human embryos.

JDRF says it has increased its own funding for embryonic stem cell research in eight countries. JDRF has created a Stem Cell Research Development Fund-a new major gifts campaign which seeks to raise $20 million directly for stem cell research. The fund, championed by JDRF International Chairman Mary Tyler Moore and her husband, Dr. S. Robert Levine, will focus on derivation of new cells from human embryos created via IVF.

Contact the Canadian and American branches of the JDRF to express concerns:



See the JDRF release:
http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/08-08-200...

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NEW CANADIAN CHILD PORN LAW IN EFFECT SINCE JULY 23

Does not include Supreme Court ruling protecting porn deemed to have "artistic merit."

OTTAWA, August 9, 2002 (LSN.ca) - The Chretien government's long-awaited law "to protect children from sexual exploitation" came into effect on July 23. Because Parliament was determined to finally pass legislation last year, the government did not pause to amend it to take into account this year's Supreme Court ruling protecting child porn deemed to have "artistic merit."

In the past, active solicitation of children for sex was already a crime. But the new law "makes it illegal to use the Internet to communicate with a child," even if ostensibly in an innocent or "indirect" way, if it can be proven that the intent was to commit "a sexual offence against that child as well as to transmit, make available, export or access child pornography." The offence of "luring" a child has also be tightened by making it an offence to lure someone "indirectly" into a situation where they could be victimized -- again, where intent can be proven.

The law also provides for shutting down child porn sites whose servers are located in Canada; forfeiture of property used (cameras, computers), and makes it possible to prosecute Canadian citizens who exploit children overseas without a formal request from the host government. All that is required now to trigger an investigation is for anyone to report the crime, and for local police to cooperate in gathering evidence.

But the law does not include the Supreme Court's ruling that some child porn may have "artistic merit." A lawyer with the Justice Department told LifeSite that this is because the bill was originally introduced in March 2001, and the ruling did not come down until April 2002. "The government is reviewing its options on that," said the lawyer, who prefers anonymity.

To read the Department's press release see:
http://canada.justice.gc.ca/en/news/nr/2002/doc_30620.html

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U.S. KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS WILL ACT TO PRESERVE "UNDER GOD" IN PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

Organization resolves not to invite guest speakers unless genuinely pro-life

ANAHEIM, Calif., August 9, 2002 (LSN.ca) - The Knights of Columbus, a 1.6 million-member Catholic service organization, adopted a resolution at its 120th annual convention "deploring" the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling earlier this year that the Pledge of Allegiance was unconstitutional because it contained the words "under God."

The Knights' interest in the matter is not new: in the 1950's, it was lobbying from the Knights that helped incorporate the words "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance in the first place. In fact, Knights of Columbus began including the words at their meetings in 1951, three years before Congress and President Eisenhower passed the legislation.

The organization called the judge's ruling "yet another attempt to remove any reference to God from public life." At the same convention, the Knights passed resolutions condemning human cloning and calling for conscience legislation for healthcare providers. They also praised President Bush for withholding funds from the United Nations Fund for Population Activities and for signing the Born Alive Infants Protection Act. They reaffirmed their policy of not inviting to any of their events persons, "especially public officials or candidates for public office, who do not support the legal protection of unborn children."

To read the Knights of Columbus press release see:
http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/08-08-200...

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GERMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH TO FIRE EMPLOYEES WHO ENTER HOMOSEXUAL UNIONS

BERLIN, August 9, 2002 (LSN.ca) - The Catholic Church in Germany, which employs numerous people of differing faith backgrounds, has announced that it will dismiss employees who enter into homosexual civil unions. The church considers legally recognized homosexual civil unions, which were introduced in legislation last year, an affront to marriage and the family.

The diocese of Limburg released a letter Thursday which was sent to all heads of church organizations last month outlining the policy. The letter says that an employee entering such a union "loses credibility in fulfilling the tasks he has to perform in an ecclesiastical institution."

"Since entering a registered life partnership is considered a serious violation of loyalty obligations ... dismissal is in principle justified, and can only be disregarded in special cases," it added.

See the AP coverage from Yahoo at:
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20020808/ap_wo_en_po/germany_g...

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LIFESITE NEWSBYTES

ONE OF WORLD'S LEADING ABORTION BUSINESSES TO OPEN REPRO HEALTH CLINIC IN KABUL
http://www.cnsnews.com/ForeignBureaus/archive/200208/FOR20020808d.html

PRO-LIFE TORY MP ELSIE WAYNE URGES CLARK TO LEAVE SOONER THAN LATER
http://www.canada.com/national/story.asp?id={3C37D483-EAAE-475B-8E4B-5E5C7028444...

INTEL CORP. CHAIR FUNDS EMBRYONIC RESEARCH $5 MILLION
Intel Corp. Chairman Andy Grove has offered a $5 million grant to University of California San Francisco for embryonic stem cell research barred from federal funds by President Bush. He has urged others to match his donation.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/chronicle/a/2002/08/09/MN105802.DTL

UNWANTED BABY GIRLS KILLED IN INDIA
Despite new legislation banning the use of ultrasound tests to determine the sex of unborn children, the killing of baby girls in India continues, both inside and outside the womb.
http://www.cnsnews.com/ForeignBureaus/archive/200208/FOR20020808g.html

EUROPEAN BUREAUCRATS TO GET PUBLICLY-INSURED VIAGRA
The European Union's civil servants are to be given free Viagra by the EU's mutual health insurance scheme. Patients in Britain and other parts of Europe have to pay about £250 for 20 of the anti-impotence pills.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-378497,00.html

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