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DEBATE ON ASSISTED REPRODUCTION LEGISLATION BILL C-13 RESUMES TUESDAY

Important Group 2 amendments to be debated and possibly voted on by Wednesday

OTTAWA, March 17, 2003 - (LifeSiteNews.com) - Bill C-13, the Assisted Human Reproduction Act will resume debate Tuesday. Parliamentarians will be debating the Group 2 amendments which are the ones which attempt to mitigate the damage done to human life by the bill. Political sources suggest that the vote on the group two amendments may come as early as Wednesday, at a time when parliamentarians and the nation will likely be greatly distracted by developments in Iraq.

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POPULATION IMPLOSION DRIVES QUEBEC TO OFFER CHILD-BIRTH INCENTIVES

QUEBEC CITY, March 17, 2003 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Quebec, the Canadian province with the highest rate of abortion and one of the lowest birthrates, is attempting to divert the looming ageing and worker shortage crises with incentives for child birth. The ruling PQ Party has offered to pay half the loans of graduating students if they have children within the first five years after graduation.

The PQ has already promised to enact a four-day work week for parents with young children. Historically they have offered baby bonuses of $500 for the first child, $1,000 for the second and $7,500 for the third and for each subsequent child, which did much to bolster the birthrate.

Party Leader Bernard Landry responded to the charge that he was pushing women to have children by saying, "I never knew women could make babies without men. The only known case of parthenogenesis - of immaculate conception - is the Virgin Mary. It takes two for the rest."

See the Globe and Mail coverage:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20030315.uvote0315/BNStory/Na...

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ADULT STEM CELLS COULD BE USED TO TREAT DIABETES

LONDON, March 17, 2003 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Diabetes is the latest in a growing list of diseases that may be on the threshold of being treated with cures derived from adult stem cells, according to a new study. The other diseases include brain damage, multiple sclerosis and sickle cell anaemia.

Researchers at the New York University School of Medicine suggest that adult bone marrow may be converted into insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas to replace those damaged when someone has diabetes. So far, they have found that the cells developed properties associated with the crucial beta cells in mice.

Mehboob Hussain, assistant professor of medicine and pharmacology, says, "I am absolutely excited by the potential applications of our findings. In our body, there is an additional, easily accessible source of cells that are capable of becoming insulin-producing pancreatic endocrine cells. Transplantation of bone marrow stem cells already is a routine procedure for treating cancer and other diseases, and we could build on that experience."

For BBC News coverage:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/2849667.stm

For the Journal of Clinical Investigation (Full-Text Version available):
http://www.jci.org/cgi/content/full/111/6/843

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SEVERAL U.S. CATHOLIC POLITICANS CAUGHT SUPPORTING PARTIAL BIRTH ABORTION

WASHINGTON, March 17, 2003 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Following the recent Senate vote to regulate partial-birth abortions, the 'Crusade for the Defense of our Catholic Church', a project of American Life League, is intensifying its outreach to Catholics in public life who support abortion. The group published a list of Catholic politicians who have defied Church teachings by voting in favor of abortion.

"These purportedly Catholic senators, who either voted against the bill or voted to re-affirm Roe v. Wade, have betrayed their faith, their country and their constituents. They continue to bring great scandal to the Church and its faithful by their support for a court ruling that has led to the killing of millions of pre-born children and caused untold suffering for their mothers," said Judie Brown, American Life League President.

On January 16, 2003, the Vatican released a strongly worded reminder to Catholics in public office stating, "Those who are directly involved in lawmaking bodies have a grave and clear obligation to oppose any law that attacks human life. For them, as for every Catholic, it is impossible to promote such laws or to vote for them."

The Crusade has mounted a multi-pronged effort. It has offered to arrange spiritual and other counseling to help correct misguided beliefs that one can be a practicing Catholic while supporting abortion. The Crusade is also contacting offending senators' bishops, imploring them to publicly and privately address the senators' actions as Bishop William Weigand of Sacramento, Calif has already done with California governor Gray Davis. The Crusade is also mounting a comprehensive effort to encourage its grassroots supporters to contact both the senators and their bishops regarding this situation.

"After 30 years of legalized abortion, we can no longer tolerate so-called leaders who consistently fail to fulfill the civic and moral obligations to their constituents, born and pre-born," said Brown. "Now is the time to act." The original Deadly Dozen Senators are Sens. Kennedy (D-Mass.), Kerry (D-Mass.), Biden (D-Del.), Collins (R-Maine), Daschle (D-S.D.), Dodd (D-Conn.), Harkin (D-Iowa), Landrieu (D-La.), Leahy (D-Vt.), Mikulski (D-Md.), Murray (D-Wash.), and Reed (D-R.I.). All listed, except Biden (who was unable to vote because of an illness), plus Sens. Durbin (D-Ill.) Cantwell (D-Wash.), Murkowski (R-Alaska) supported the Roe v. Wade resolution. A list of all Catholic Senators who voted against the ban and a list of those who voted for the reaffirmation of Roe v. Wade can be found at http://www.CatholicCrusade.com

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BEIJING REGIME MOVES TO LEGALIZE ASSISTED SUICIDE

BEIJING, March 17, 2003 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A group of delegates to the National People's Congress (NPC), the national assembly of the People's Republic of China, wants the country to experiment with "right to die" legislation, according to a report from the government newspaper China Daily.

Shanghai representative Zhu Shiming and 31 other delegates say the program could be first tested in Beijing and Shanghai. He cited as his motivation the recent death of his brother-in-law from cancer. "If China had a law allowing termination of life by painless means to end severe physical suffering, my brother-in-law and other patients wouldn't have to experience severe pain before death," he said.

Dong Xieliang, a member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, the country's highest advisory body, said assisted suicide "could be misused" and that it could become obsolete as advances in medical technology find cures for terminal illnesses.

(with files from Pro-Life E-News)

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PRO-ABORTION DEMOCRATS FIGHT FOR ANTI-LIFE BANKRUPTCY WEAPON

WASHINGTON, March 14, 2003 (LifeSiteNews.com) - An overhaul of bankruptcy laws which could have serious implications for the pro-life movement is about to pass the House Judiciary Committee. But the legislation faces one more hurdle in the Senate, where pro-abortionists are vowing to put up a fight.

House Democrats tried to insert an amendment into the regulations in an effort to ban pro-lifers from using bankruptcy to avoid life-destroying fines imposed by liberal judges exacting vengeance. But the latest attempt to get the law through the House omitted the controversial provision.

Senate Democratic assured Reuters news service that their bosses will resurrect the abortion issue during debate.

For newswire coverage:
http://reuters.com/financeNewsArticle.jhtml?type=bondsNews&storyID=2370524

For previous coverage:
REPUBLICANS RESCUE PRO-LIFE SAFETY-VALVE
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2002/nov/02111508.html

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GERMAN WOMEN EMBRACING ABORTION PILL

HAMBURG, March 14, 2003 (LifeSiteNews.com) - German women are embracing the
abortifacient morning-after Mifepristone RU-46 abortion pill. The drug, which delivers a fatal chemical dose to the unborn child, has been sold in Germany since late 1999 under the brand-name Mifegyne.

Statistics show that the number of oral-chemical abortions increased about 17% last year, following a 44% increase in the previous year - totaling 7,000 abortions in 2002, or 5% of all abortions. Expectations are that the chemical's use will eventually constitute 20% of future terminations. But because it can be harder to track who is using it and how often,
pill-induced abortions may not always show up in statistics in future. For example, one Texas girl was given the abortion pill by her boyfriend's sister, not directly by a doctor.

In its annual report on abortions, the German Statistics Office said 130,387 abortions were reported in Germany in 2002, up 3.4% from 2001.

For newswire coverage:
http://asia.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=healthNews&storyID=2376891

For the case of a Texas girl who was given the pill by her boyfriend's sister:
STUDENT ABORTS BABY IN SCHOOL WASHROOM
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2003/feb/03022105.html

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SOUTH AFRICA'S HIGHEST COURT RULES FOR HOMOSEXUAL BENEFITS

PRETORIA, March 17, 2003 (LifeSiteNews.com) - South Africa's Constitutional Court ruled Monday that homosexual couples are entitled to the same benefits as heterosexual couples. The court noted that the country's constitution bars discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.

See the AP coverage from Yahoo:
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20030317/ap_wo_en_ge/af_gen_so...

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CANADIAN MILITARY EXPECTED TO BLESS HOMOSEXUAL MARRIAGES

OTTAWA, March 17, 2003 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Canadian Forces chaplains are likely to begin conducting same-sex marriage ceremonies "as a gesture to help homosexual service people feel more at ease" in the military. Anglican army chaplains are said to be in the forefront, taking a page from renegade Bishop Michael Ingham, whose Vancouver diocese is moving ahead with homosexual marriage.

But an evangelical minister is working against the tide. Rev. Sheldon Johnston of the Church of God in Canada says chaplains are forbidden to mention Jesus and other "exclusively Christian terminology" in public military services to avoid offending non-Christians.

Johnston says officials are forgetting that homosexual marriages do offend Christians. "It's concerning that a public official, a chaplain with a Maple Leaf sewn on his sleeve, would be conducting services we wouldn't approve of," Johnston said. "These same-sex blessings are offensive to a number of Christian groups, as well as Muslims and some Jewish groups."

For National Post coverage:
http://www.nationalpost.com/home/story.html?id=89C0DF85-710B-4C55-8AFA-BBA12F75A...

For related coverage:
RESIGNATIONS CONTINUE OVER ANGLICAN BLESSING OF HOMOSEXUAL UNIONS
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2002/nov/02111906.html

CANADIAN MILITARY CHAPLAINS TOLD TO AVOID CHRISTIAN REFERENCES IN PUBLIC SERVICES
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2001/nov/01111602.html

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