Articles for Month: July 2001

Today the US House is debating a ban on human cloning, and another option, which would allow cloning only if the newly created human embryos are destroyed during experiments. The White House has made explicit its wish for a total ban on human cloning.  https://www.usnewswire.com/topnews/Current_Releases/0730-139.html Read a CNN interview with first lady Laura Bush on stem cells, where she reveals she has decided on the issue but will not reveal her stance.  https://www.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0107/30/ip.00.html The Reform Party has adopted a pro-life plank. In line with 2000 presidential nominee Pat Buchanan, the party passed a vote to adopt pro-life, pro-family and pro-Christian […]

HEAR MICHAEL COREN ON WORLD YOUTH DAY SPEECH BY JUSTIN TRUDEAU https://www.lifesitenews.com:7070/ramgen/080101worldyouthday.rm BRITISH CATHOLIC LAWMAKER LOSES JOB BECAUSE OF PRO-LIFE VIEWS Catholic World News reports that MP Edward Leigh, a Conservative member of Britain’s Parliament has been forced to withdraw his nomination to a key committee because Labor MPs thought he would try to impose his Catholic pro-life views on their work.  https://www.ewtn.com/vnews/getstory.asp?number=17718 The BBC today reports on the turmoil in some parts of Germany over the arrival of homosexual marriage set to launch August 1.  https://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/europe/newsid_1460000/1460154.stm The National Post reports that the International Lesbian and Gay Association was not […]

A letter published in today’s Daily Telegraph by some of the UK’s leading doctors, questions whether guidelines from the General Medical Council (GMC) on “Withholding and Withdrawing Life-Prolonging Treatments” are even legal. The doctors, including Professor Peter Millard, an expert in geriatric medicine, wrote that the GMC process for drawing up the guidelines was closed and that many who had applied to attend were excluded. Moreover, they say the subsequent consultation period was too short, and poorly advertised, reports the BBC. The doctors noted the closed process was disturbing especially considering “the fact that withdrawal of treatment from patients, particularly […]

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, July 31, 2001 (LSN.ca) – The Southern African Catholic Bishops Conference issued a statement Monday condemning the promotion of condoms in the country battered by AIDS. “Condoms may even be one of the main reasons for the spread of HIV-AIDS,” said the Bishops. They explained that “Apart from the possibility of condoms being faulty or wrongly used they contribute to the breaking down of self-control and mutual trust.” The statement said, “The Bishops regard the widespread and indiscriminate promotion of condoms as an immoral and misguided weapon in our battle against HIV-AIDS.” The bishops proposed the solution […]

GENEVA, July 31, 2001 (LSN.ca) – The United Nations Human Rights Committee concluded its seventy-second session Friday and issued its final conclusions and recommendations on reports submitted to it by various countries including Guatemala. In its recommendations to Guatemala the Committee said Guatemala “must guarantee the right to the life of pregnant women who decide to interrupt their pregnancies” (UN euphemism for abortion). The Committee also ordered the country to provide pregnant women with “the information and the means necessary to guarantee these rights.” Finally the Committee said that Guatemala must protect the right to life of women by “amending […]

A special LifeSite resource page The Harry Potter series, a wildly popular set of books by Joanne K. Rowling, is about to receive much more publicity with the first Potter film by Warner Brothers due out this November. The Potter series has received rave reviews even from some Christian reviewers, however many a parent has felt uneasy about allowing their children to jump into Rowling’s world of witchcraft. Famed Canadian Catholic novelist Michael O’Brien has written an essay, Harry Potter and the Paganization of Children’s Culture, exposing serious problems with the Potter series. He has generously allowed LifeSite to reprint […]

SUPREME COURT ORDERS ALASKA TO PAY FOR ABORTIONS The Alaska Supreme Court ruled unanimously Friday that a state regulation barring public funding for abortion is unconstitutional.  https://www.adn.com/front/story/642254p-685885c.html UN COMMITTEES ENGAGE IN RADICAL ANTI-FAMILY RE-INTERPRETATIONS OF TREATIES C-Fam reports that in a paper delivered last week to the World Family Policy Forum, in Provo, Utah, Algerian ambassador to the United Nations, Amina Mesdoua examined the role of UN compliance committees. Instead of simply monitoring states’ actions, Mesdoua charges that these committees engage in radical anti-family re-interpretations of the treaties, and then demand that states accept these new interpretations, or risk falling […]

Trudeau's comments about rejecting "old men with old ideas" cause concern

MOSCOW, July 30, 2001 (LSN.ca) – On Friday the Russian government passed a temporary ban on human cloning to last for five years. Xinhua news service reports that Academician Lev Kiselyov, chairman of the scientific council of the Russian national program Human Genome, told reporters that the Russian government has also forbidden the import and export of cloned human embryos.

AYLMER, ON, July 30, 2001 (LSN.ca) – CTV News has reported that the 100+ congregants of the Church of God in Aylmer, Ontario who fled Canada fearing retribution from child welfare officials, may seek refugee status in the United States claiming religious persecution. The families fled after the children of one of the church families were seized by Children’s Aid Society officials. The children were taken after their parents refused to promise they would not spank their children with a switch. For previous LifeSite coverage of the case see:  https://lsn.ca/ldn/2001/july/010726.html#2 https://lsn.ca/ldn/2001/july/010716.html#1 See CP’s coverage:  https://www.canoe.ca/CNEWSTopNews/fam_jul29-cp.html

WASHINGTON, July 30, 2001 (LSN.ca) – House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) has come out with a statement with wavering support for life and rejection of the funding of destructive research on human embryos. Yesterday Hastert said, “I personally am pro-life, [and] I think . . . taking and killing those embryos certainly doesn't go along with that sanctity of life issue that I think is important . I don't think at this point there ought to be federal funding, but I want to look at all the debate before I make solid that decision.” In related news, a letter […]

NEW YORK, July 30, 2001 (LSN.ca) – The United Nations Human Rights Committee has expressed concern over the Dutch law allowing legal euthanasia which is to come into effect in January. On Friday, the Committee issued final recommendations on a report submitted by the Netherlands. The Committee asked the Netherlands to re-examine its euthanasia law to ensure “adequate safeguards against abuse or misuse.” Committee rapporteur Eckart Klein said “The main worry is not only the actual practice, but also the fact that this new law could create precedents that dilute the importance and trivialize this act.” He stated “The practitioner […]

A pro-life petition asking President Bush to begin taking actions that would restore full legal protection for unborn babies, ends signup on July 31.  https://www.conservativepetitions.com/petition.html?name=first_step_initiativ

NUUK, July 27, 2001 (LSN.ca) – Figures from NOMESCO, the Nordic health statistics committee, show that Greenlandic girls aged between 15 and 19, have far more abortions than girls of the same age in Denmark, Finland, the Aland Islands, Norway and Sweden. The report notes that in the mid-1990s, one in ten Greenlandic girls had an abortion while the same figure for the rest of the Nordic region was about one in 50. The report, featured by the Nordic Business Report, also said that Greenland’s teenage girls get pregnant and have children nearly ten times as often as their Nordic […]

WASHINGTON, July 27, 2001 (LSN.ca) – Yesterday the Senate Appropriations Committee moved to reinstate funding for groups which lobby for and perform abortion overseas. The committee approved without challenge a Democrat-sponsored amendment to a foreign aid bill which would overturn Bush’s Mexico City policy. A Republican aide explained the no contest allowance of the amendment, by Democrats Patrick J. Leahy of Vermont and Barbara A. Mikulski of Maryland, saying the Republicans would have lost a vote in the committee. “Rather than have a vote and lose in committee, the decision was made to fight this out later,” the aide told […]

WINNIPEG, July 27, 2001 (LSN.ca) – Two women who opted to pay for abortions at a private clinic rather than have their children aborted for free at a hospital are now suing the province for only paying for abortions in hospitals. The women, who cannot be named due to a court order, are being represented by Winnipeg lawyer Robert Tapper. The Winnipeg Sun reports that one of the women is a Winnipeg nurse who had an abortion at the Morgentaler Clinic in 1994. The other woman had an abortion at the same clinic in April 2001. Maria Slykerman, President of […]

WWW, July 27, 2001 (LSN.ca) – A virus known as “Sircam” has been spreading very quickly over the Internet via email. Although LifeSite has never transmitted the virus since our system sends from a server rather than from a personal computer, LifeSite computers have received the virus via email over 100 times in the past two days. Thus we ask that LifeSite subscribers please check your systems for the virus. More information on the virus is available from various antivirus software companies. The fix for the virus and more information can be found at the links below or on other […]

ST THOMAS, ON, July 26, 2001 (LSN.ca) – The seven children forcibly removed from their home early this month because their parents refused to promise Children’s Aid workers that they would never spank them with a switch were allowed to return home today. A judge heard arguments from the lawyers of the parents and the Children’s Aid Society and agreed to a compromise. The agreement imposes eight conditions on the family including one that the parents will temporarily not spank their children. The court will meet again to continue the proceedings on Sept. 6th. Before and during the proceedings, in […]

WASHINGTON, July 26, 2001 (LSN.ca) – The lobbying over embryonic stem cell research has stooped to manipulation involving a video demonstrating the results of a stem cell study on paralyzed rats that regain some function in their legs. The video is being promoted by advocates of embryonic stem cell research funding as key evidence to persuade President Bush to decide pro-funding. However, the study in the video does not involve the type of stem cells in question in the funding debate – a critical fact being withheld in media coverage. The study, led by Drs. John Gearhart and Douglas Kerr […]

The Catholic News Service reports that the National Black Catholic Apostolate for Life has declared Aug. 4-5 a mobilization weekend in the black community against embryonic stem-cell research. “Black Catholics cannot and will not sit back and allow this attack on human life to go unchallenged,” said Franciscan Father Jim Goode, president of the New York-based apostolate founded in 1997. The group is asking parishes and institutions in the black community throughout the country to send letters and make phone calls to President Bush and to their representatives in Congress asking them not to fund any research that would involve […]

A couple in Japan has been arrested for playing on the psychological trauma of post-abortive women. Japanese police report that the couple charged Japanese women large fees to be exorcised from the “spirits of their aborted babies.”https://mdn.mainichi.co.jp/news/20010725p2a00m0fp009001c.html   Excellent commentaries on Stem Cells:   * Gene Edward Veith: A new modest proposal https://www.worldmag.com/world/issue/07-28-01/national_2.asp  * Nat Hentoff: The Stem Cell Wars https://www.jewishworldreview.com/cols/hentoff.html  * Cal Thomas: Ronald Reagan’s valuable view of life https://www.jewishworldreview.com/cols/thomas.html

MILWAUKEE, WI, July 25, 2001 (LSN.ca) – Daniel Maguire, a tenured professor at the Jesuit Catholic Marquette University in Milwaukee, who calls himself a ‘Catholic’ theologian has come out with a paper claiming falsely that the Catholic Church endorses embryonic stem cell research. Maguire is one of the few professors at Catholic universities complaining openly about a Vatican plan to have local bishops give Catholic theologians a letter of standing known as a mandatum. Supporters of the mandatum suggest that the requirement for such procedures came from renegades such as Maguire who masquerade their anti-Catholic tirades under the flag of […]

VATICAN, July 25, 2001 (LSN.ca) – Several media outlets were caught attempting to twist the pope's message on embryonic stem cell research. The Vatican today issued a clarification of his public statement to President George Bush in order to set the record straight. The Catholic Church opposes all research procedures that exploit living human embryos and fetuses, said Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls. The most reckless spin of the pope's comments came from the Washington Post, which declared misleadingly, “The pope's denunciation of stem cell research could have been much broader. By making his comments specific to stem cells that are […]

WASHINGTON, July 25, 2001 (LSN.ca) – Yesterday, the U.S. House Judiciary Committee approved, on a party-line 18-11 vote, a bill to prohibit the creation of human embryos by cloning. The bill (H.R. 2505) sponsored by Rep. Dave Weldon (D-Fl.) and Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mi.) is expected to come up for a vote by the full House as early as next week. Punishment for cloning would include fines and up to 10 years in prison. The National Right to Life Committee in the US has warned that a separate bill, which would allow creation of new human beings via cloning but […]

LONDON, July 25, 2001 (LSN.ca) – In a new study showing the benefit of ethically derived adult stem cells, British scientists have, for the first time, shown that stem cells from an adult’s bone marrow are capable of turning into mature kidney cells. A team led by Professor Nicholas Wright of the UK’s Imperial Cancer Research Fund, demonstrated that theories suggesting that stem cells in the bone marrow only develop into specialized blood cells are incorrect. The study, conducted on mice, shows that bone marrow stem cells clearly have potential for turning into the tissues of other organs. Dr. Wright, […]

PARIS, July 25, 2001 (LSN.ca) – French Health Minister, Bernard Kouchner, has admitted he committed euthanasia when he worked as a doctor. In an interview with the Dutch weekly magazine Vrij Nederland, Mr Kouchner said that during the wars in Lebanon and Vietnam he “helped” people die with morphine injections when he believed they were suffering too much. “When people were suffering too much pain and I knew in advance they would die, I would help them,” he said. According to a BBC report, Kouchner – UN administrator for Kosovo in the late 1990s – does not currently plan to […]

9 STATES HAVE ALREADY BANNED EXPERIMENTS WITH HUMAN EMBRYOS The International Herald Tribune reports that nearly two dozen U.S. states already have laws that govern research on embryos and fetuses, and at least nine ban any experimentation with human embryos. South Dakota explicitly forbids embryonic stem cell studies: last year the state made it a misdemeanor to experiment with cells or tissues obtained from human embryos.  https://www.iht.com/articles/27103.html

The National Institutes of Health study showing that condoms cannot be proven effective in fighting sexually transmitted diseases is available online at:  https://www.niaid.nih.gov/dmid/stds/condomreport.pdf A new surgical technique available in Australia treats cervical cancer by removing only the cervix rather than also the womb, as is done in the usual treatment via hysterectomy.  https://news.com.au/common/printpage/0,6093,2406328,00.html The Irish High Court has refused an application by seven pro-life members of the Irish Medical Council for a judicial review of the council’s manipulation of ethical guidelines on abortion so as to allow abortion in certain circumstances. The doctors said the council’s actions violated Irish law.  […]

AYLMER, ON, July 24, 2001 (LSN.ca) – A peaceful rally is being planned in support of the Christian family whose 7 children were forcefully taken from their home by the Children’s Aid Society and police on July 4 over the issue of spanking. The rally is to start at 9 a.m. on Thursday July 26, at 9 am outside the courthouse in St. Thomas, Ontario where a hearing is scheduled to begin at 9:30. The earlier reported court date of August 9th has been canceled. The Church of God, has stressed that the rally be PEACEFUL and has asked participants […]

Chretien predicts Canadian ratification next year OTTAWA, July 24, 2001 (LSN.ca) – The Kyoto treaty, a plan to cut carbon dioxide emissions and based on shaky science suggesting that man-made emissions are causing global warming, is slated for implementation after a meeting of 180 countries agreed to move forward yesterday. Following the agreement Prime Minister Jean Chretien issued a statement saying he is confident that Canada will ratify the treaty next year after consultations with the provinces and Canadians. During marathon talks in Bonn, Germany the 180 nations agreed, after concessions were made to lessen the severity of the global […]

FBI accused of manufacturing map leading to A-Z Pawn Shop WASHINGTON, July 24, 2001 (LSN.ca) – The first instance of documented evidence contrary to the FBI’s case against pro-lifer James Kopp, accused of killing abortionist Barnett Slepian, has come to light. A Pittsburgh couple swears that Kopp was with them when the FBI alleges he was purchasing the rifle used in the shooting. Doris and Patrick Grady remember that Kopp was staying with them in Pittsburgh during the summer of 1997. Doris Grady, in a signed affidavit, said Kopp was working for her building a fence on July 16, 1997, […]

Pamphlet about numerous deaths resulting from legal Canadian abortions is factual HULL, QUE., July 24, 2001 (LSN.ca) – La Clinique des femmes de l’Outaouais (Hull region women’s clinic), a Quebec abortion mill, officially withdrew its legal action against the pro-life group Respect de la Vie Outaouais (RVO) yesterday. The abortuary was contesting a pamphlet by RVO noting that one in 25 women “are hospitalized up to 7 days after legally induced abortion in Canada.” On February 16, 2001, the women’s clinic served RVO with a legal action filed with la Cour supérieure du Québec in which the clinic accused the […]

WASHINGTON, July 24, 2001 (LSN.ca) – As the battle over the funding of embryonic stem cell research (ESCR) rages in Washington, the media have repeatedly failed to expose the bias of many oft-quoted “experts” on the issue. Pro-life observers have wondered why the ethically problematic ESCR is being so heavily promoted when an ethically viable and many say superior alternative exists. Moreover, the whole argument of “a woman’s right to choose” is not part of the argument. The answer to the dilemma comes from an article in last week’s National Journal (NJ) exposing the financial interests of scientists who promote […]

President George Bush declared Sunday, July 22, 2001, as Parents’ Day. In the proclamation Bush said, “Being a parent is the most important job in the world. Study after study has demonstrated that children who grow up without both parents in their home are more likely to end up in poverty, drop out of school, become addicted to drugs, have a child out of wedlock, or go to prison. Single-parented children who avoid these unfortunate outcomes will nevertheless miss out on the balance, unity, and stability that a two-parent family can bring.”  https://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2001/07/20010723-2.html VOTE.COM is doing a poll on President […]

Scott Klusendorf of Stand to Reason has written an excellent lobby letter on stem cell research. (with files from Pro-Life E-News)  https://www.str.org/free/bioethics/stem_cell_letter.pdf The National Post reports that the province of Nova Scotia has resisted the move to allow Sunday shopping despite massive pressure. Premier John Hamm is personally opposed to shopping on Sunday.

LONDON, July 23, 2001 (LSN.ca) – One of the largest surveys of teenagers has found that teenagers are twice as likely to engage in underage sex if their parents are separated or cohabiting rather than married. The survey of 2,000 teenagers aged 13-15 to be published tomorrow, by the Family Matters Institute and will be presented to the Lords and Commons Family and Child Protection Group of the British Parliament. Dr Clifford Hill, one of the authors of the report, told the UK’s Observer that the number of children born to unmarried couples in Britain had risen from 5 per […]

VANCOUVER, July 23, 2001 (LSN.ca) – Starting today and until August 3, the Supreme Court of British Columbia will hear a landmark challenge to Canada’s marriage laws, brought by 3 homosexual activist couples (the “BC Partners Group”) and 5 further couples together with Equality for Gays and Lesbians Everywhere, the national homosexual activist group. Intervening in the case, in defense of traditional marriage, is the Interfaith Coalition made up of the Archdiocese of Vancouver B.C., Council of Sikhs, B.C. Muslim Association, Evangelical Fellowship of Canada, Islamic Society of North America, Ontario Conference of Catholic Bishops, Ontario Council of Sikhs, and […]

PRAGUE, July 23, 2001 (LSN.ca) – On July 10, Czech Republic President Vaclav Havel signed into law a bill regarding funeral arrangements which included a clause ensuring that the remains of aborted babies receive a proper burial. The law suggests that the mother is responsible for the burial of the remains of her child and failure to make the provisions could result in a fine of $500 to $1,250. Some politicians are hoping to amend the law to eliminate the clause mandating burial for aborted babies before the law takes effect on January 1, 2002. According to the Prague Post, […]

OTTAWA, July 23, 2001 (LSN.ca) – Suspicions have been confirmed that the Pollara poll on attitudes towards embryonic stem cell research in Canada was biased. Its results, which are reportedly being used to tailor draft legislation on the issue, are therefore misleading. LifeSite has obtained a copy of the poll questionnaire. Respondents were not informed that when human embryos are used for stem cell research, it necessarily leads to their destruction. Moreover, the poll also failed to mention that there is the ethically viable alternative of using stem cells from adults which causes no harm to the donors. Mary Ellen […]

VATICAN, July 23, 2001 (LSN.ca) – President George Bush met today with Pope John Paul II at the pope's summer residence Castel Gandolfo. After their private discussions, lasting about 35 minutes, the Pope and the President made short public remarks. Recognizing the struggle facing the president over the matter of stem cell research, the Pope stressed the gravity of the decision. The “area in which political and moral choices have the gravest consequences for the future of civilization concerns the most fundamental of human rights, the right to life itself,” said the Pope. The pope stressed that with stem cell […]

Pro-life Catholic priest Rev. Norman U. Weslin, who has been jailed more than 60 times for his pro-life witness was found guilty Wednesday of four counts of criminal contempt. Weslin, the 70-year-old head of the Lambs of Christ, could face up to six months in jail for violating a court-ordered buffer zone in front of a Buffalo abortuary. https://www.buffalonews.com/editorial/20010719/1027766.asp The Bush administration has verbally denied New York’s request to expand tax-payer funded contraceptive coverage in the state to include coverage for those at 200% over the poverty level. https://library.northernlight.com/EA20010720140000043.html?cb=0&dx=1006&sc=0 CNSNews.com reports that President Bush’s faith-based initiative passed the House by […]

On July 23, 2001, the Supreme Court of British Columbia will hear a landmark challenge to Canada’s marriage laws, brought by 3 homosexual activist couples (the “BC Partners Group”) and 5 further couples together with EGALE, the national homosexual activist group.

WASHINGTON, July 20, 2001 (LSN.ca) – Despite its support for abortion, the United Methodist Church (UMC) called on President Bush to prevent the funding for the destructive use of human embryos for stem cell research. The General Secretary of the UMC General Board of Church and Society, Jim Winkler, has sent a letter to fellow United Methodist and President George W. Bush, urging him to continue to impose “an extended moratorium” on human embryo stem cell research. Winkler, noting that Bush promised to make a decision on human embryo stem cell research by the end of July, said that “after […]

WASHINGTON, July 20, 2001 (LSN.ca) – A 30-page report to be released today by the National Institutes of Health concludes that science cannot yet confirm condoms block the spread of most sexually transmitted diseases. The U.S. report was written at a June workshop of 28 experts at the request of Congress. Tom Coburn, a physician who requested the report in June 2000 when he was a Republican House member from Oklahoma said, “For decades, the federal government has spent hundreds of millions of dollars to promote an unsubstantiated claim that promiscuity can be safe . We all now know for […]

AMSTERDAM, July 20, 2001 (LSN.ca) – A Dutch study published in the British Medical Journal confirms long-held suspicions that the birth control pill has been found to increase the chances of potentially fatal blood clots. The study looked at the most modern form of birth control pills, known as “third generation” pills and found a 70% increased risk of blood clots over the older pills. See the actual study in the BMJ and the BBC coverage: https://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/323/7305/131 https://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/health/newsid_1447000/1447377.stm

VANCOUVER, July 20, 2001 (LSN.ca) – Pro-life activists Mary Wagner and Glenn Reed were on trial yesterday in Vancouver for charges of mischief; for ‘interfering with the lawful use of a facility’. The two were arrested on the morning of June 25th while sitting prayerfully in front of the doors of the Everywoman’s Health Centre, a notorious Vancouver abortuary. Wagner and Reed held roses as a sign of respect for life, and attempted to counsel abortuary clients and staff. The pair represented themselves in court, and did not contest the circumstances surrounding the arrest. Wagner read a statement reminding the […]

OTTAWA, July 20, 2001 (LSN.ca) – The results of an April Pollara poll on stem cell research commissioned by Health Canada were released only today by the Ottawa Citizen. The Citizen reports that the federal poll claims, “the vast majority of Canadians are in favour of using donated human embryos for stem cell research.” However, the Citizen fails to mention the questions that were posed, leading to concerns by some about possible bias in the polling method. A Pollara representative told LifeSite that the poll questions had to be released by Health Canada. Health Canada could not provide the poll […]

The Culture and Family Institute reports that Ted Turner’s Cable Network TNT has launched the ‘Myths of Avalon’ – an open assault on Christianity with a made-for-TV mini-series that depicts witchcraft as a compassionate alternative. https://cultureandfamily.org/e/report/2001-07-18/m_mists-avalon.shtml The clothing company Abercrombie and Fitch has issued two pornographic catalogues aiming as youth. American Decency is urging those concerned to take action. https://www.americandecency.org/abercrombie.htm A fire at an abortion mill in Baton Rouge, which had the abortion lobby screaming about anti-abortion violence, has been found to have been caused accidentally by a malfunctioning air conditioning unit. https://www.nola.com/newsflash/index.ssf?/cgi-free/getstory_ ssf.cgi?n1560_BC_LA—AbortionClinicFir&&news&newsflash-louisiana

The Speaker of the British Columbia Legislative Assembly, Claude Richmond, has announced that the New Democratic Party will not be granted Official Opposition status in the legislature. The former BC NDP government was the most extremist pro-abortion government in Canadian history. The UK Advertising Standards Authority has ordered a national pro-life group to change its ads because, among other things, the UK LifeLeague identified the morning after pill as an abortifacient. https://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/health/newsid_1443000/1443727.stm During a visit of Cuban Catholic Bishops with Pope John Paul II on July 6, the pope said, “the Church must present her social teaching to all… Her […]

OKLAHOMA CITY, July 19, 2001 (LSN.ca) – The life of Oklahoma County District Attorney Wes Lane was threatened in a letter demanding he drop charges against a well-known local abortionist. Oklahoma City NewsChannel 4 received a letter warning that Lane will die if he does not drop charges against Dr. John Hamilton. The letter says Lane’s witness will also be dead and warns that it is “very serious.” The news channel has turned over the letter to police. Hamilton is facing murder charges for the Valentine’s Day beating and strangulation death of his wife, Susan. Not surprisingly, the news report […]

UNITED NATIONS, July 19, 2001 (LSN.ca/C-Fam) – In a report presented this Tuesday to a UN committee on sexual equality, the government of Nicaragua claimed that the Catholic Church perpetuates discriminatory attitudes about women, and that these attitudes stifle further progress towards justice within Nicaragua. The report, intended to illustrate Nicaraguan compliance with the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), alleges that “The Church publishes messages reinforcing attitudes and values that make women subordinate to men and discriminate against women. Even when abused by her husband, a wife is obliged to live with him […]

WORCESTER, MA, July 19, 2001 (LSN.ca) – Advanced Cell Technology (ACT), which last week announced it had commenced experiments to mass produce human clones for stem cell research, is now attempting to camouflage its controversial operations with deceptive language tactics. The company is refusing to use the term ‘embryo’ and is instead calling the early stage humans ‘entities.’ The clones are to be created from the fusion of a cell from an adult with a donated human ovum that has been stripped of its own genes. The result, if the scientists achieve it, would be a live human embryos with […]

WICHITA, July 19, 2001 (LSN.ca) – Yesterday morning, as pro-life demonstrations continued in Wichita for the 10th anniversary of the Summer of Mercy demonstration, two pro-abortion activists were taken into custody by police. The pair were arrested outside the abortuary of partial-birth abortion specialist George Tiller and were charged with the misdemeanor of battery for pushing pro-lifers. No pro-lifers have been arrested. Pro-life Christians by the hundreds are singing, praying and reading the Bible aloud around the city “to break the curse of abortion that is defiling the city and our land.” Operation Save America said, “The arrests show just […]

BOGOTA, July 19, 2001 (LSN.ca) – The Roman Catholic Church in Colombia has warned doctors, medical practitioners and judges who participate in procuring abortion that they may face excommunication. In a letter, released Wednesday, signed by all Colombian Catholic bishops, Columbians were called to practice conscientious objection and refuse to participate in the “abominable crime of abortion.”“Believers can legally and conscientiously object with validity. That means that women, doctors and even judges can excuse themselves from participating in this type of crime, because their beliefs do not permit it,” says the letter. LifeSite reported that last month the Columbian Supreme […]

The Florida Supreme Court ruled Thursday that the state’s constitution does not require public funding for abortion. https://www.miami.com/search?NS-search-page=document&NS-rel-doc-name=/herald /content/news/local/florida/digdocs/031624.htm&NS-query=abortion&NS-search- type=NS-boolean-query&NS-collection=Miami%20Herald&NS-docs-matched=20&NS-doc-number=2 The Wichita Eagle reports that with songs and shouts echoing off the concrete caverns of downtown Wichita, nearly 1,000 abortion protesters paraded through the streets Monday morning.  https://web.wichitaeagle.com/content/wichitaeagle/2001/07/17/faithvalues/0717abortion_txt.htm The Washington Post reports that a key House panel yesterday overturned President Bush’s proposal to eliminate contraceptive coverage for federal employees. Twelve Republicans on the House Appropriations Committee joined 28 Democrats in voting to require federal health insurance plans to cover even abortifacient contraceptives.  https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A10224-2001Jul17.html Yahoo news reports that Missouri has become […]

KARLSRUHE, July 18, 2001 (LSN.ca) – On Wednesday, Germany’s highest court dismissed an appeal of a parliament-sanctioned law to allow homosexual marriage. The states of Bavaria and Saxony appealed to the constitutional court saying that the law, passed by the ruling Social Democrats and their junior coalition partners, the Greens, was an attack on traditional family values. As of August 1, homosexuals in Germany will be able to wed in registry offices, share a common surname and be granted inheritance and immigration privileges normally reserved for married couples. The court did not rule yet on whether the law contravened the […]

MADRID, July 18, 2001 (LSN.ca) – Spain finds itself in dire circumstances as its birth rate of 1.2 (the world’s lowest) threatens to crash the country’s social-welfare system. The National Post reported yesterday that Spanish politicians are taking to the airwaves to pitch patriotism to women, urging them to have more children. Demographer Juan Antonio Fernandez of Spain’s Superior Council for Scientific Research predicts that with the current state of affairs, the country’s population of 40 million will begin shrinking in as few as four years. “The problem is not the volume of the population. We could get by with […]

Canadian Internet Provider Compares Child Porn to Smoking MONTREAL, July 18, 2001 (LSN.ca) – According to child advocacy groups in the United States, pedophile websites that are forced out of the United States by authorities find their material welcomed in Canada. The National Post reported yesterday that the Canadian branch of MCI/WorldCom, one of the world’s biggest Internet companies, is hosting a web site for pedophiles offering advice, pictures and discussion groups for men who “love boys.” MCI/World was asked by Mark Hecht, an Ottawa lawyer and co-founder of the group Beyond Borders, which fights sexual exploitation of children, to […]

ST. JOHN, July 18, 2001 (LSN.ca) – Health Minister Alan Rock has confirmed that his Ministry is having on-going discussions with the province of New Brunswick over the public funding of abortions in private abortuaries. An article in today’s New Brunswick Telegraph Journal says that officials from Health Canada and the provincial Department of Health and Wellness have initiated discussions but that the province maintains its position against such funding since it already funds abortions performed in hospitals. When Rock first ordered several provinces to cough up the money for the private abortionists early this year, he faced a flurry […]

A new Gallup poll, conducted July 10-11 shows that 50% of the population self-identify as “pro-choice” while 40% say they are “pro-life”. A further breakdown from May of this year shows that 26% believe abortion should be legal under any circumstances; 15% – Legal under most circumstances; 41% – Legal only in a few circumstances; 3% – Illegal in all circumstances https://www.gallup.com/poll/indicators/indabortion.asp The city of Wichita Kansas has been overruled by Judge Thomas Marten who ruled that the city improperly denied the pro-life group, Operation Save America, a parade permit for marches near the abortuary of partial-birth abortion specialist Dr. […]

DAYTON, July 17, 2001 (LSN.ca) – Acting on his own initiative and not as a member of any particular organization, Fr. Peter West of Priests for Life has encouraged pro-lifers to urge a Catholic university to halt plans to honor a pro-abortion politician. The University of Dayton(UD), a Catholic university run by the Marianists, notes in their Alumni Newsletter that the UD Alumni Association plans to present retired Senator John Glenn with the 2001 “Leadership with Virtue” award on September 20, 2001. Fr. West notes that they cite his four terms in the Senate where he opposed nuclear proliferation and […]

AYLMER, ON, July 17, 2001 (LSN.ca) – The Home School Legal Defense Association of Canada (HSLDA) has written in support of the Christian family in Aylmer, Ontario whose 7 children, aged 6-14, were forcefully removed from their home by Children’s Aid workers. HSLDA notes that since the family is not a member of HSLDA and do not home school their children, the HSLDA is not taking on the case. However, they are assisting the family in finding lawyers and plan to work closely with them “to ensure that the most family-friendly result is reached.” HSLDA has encouraged its members to […]

MONTREAL, July 17, 2001 (LSN.ca) – A recent poll conducted by Leger Marketing reveals that, despite claims by homosexual activists that 10% of the population is homosexual, only 2.6% of Canadians have ever engaged in homosexual sex acts and only 4.6% have ever been attracted to someone of the same sex. The poll also reveals that language plays a major role in the opinions expressed. In one question, asking if homosexuals should have the same rights as heterosexuals, 75.7% of respondents said they should. However, when the questions were specified to include marriage and adoption rights, the results differed greatly. […]

WASHINGTON, July 17, 2001 (LSN.ca) – Hannah Strege, a former frozen embryo and now a two and a half year old girl, is in Washington this week with her parents in an attempt to convince politicians that destructive experimentation on her in her earliest stages should be unthinkable. Terence Jeffrey writes in Human Events that as a frozen embryo, Hannah, was adopted by an infertile married couple after her genetic parents gave their consent in an arrangement orchestrated by Nightlight Christian Adoptions with their Snowflakes Embryo Adoption Program. Hannah and her parents Marlene and John Strege will be testifying today […]

WASHINGTON, July 17, 2001 (LSN.ca) – The Wall Street Journal reports today that President Bush will not be making a decision on funding for destructive embryonic stem cell research until he returns from the G-8 summit meeting in Genoa, Italy. As LifeSite has already reported, the President has scheduled a meeting with Pope John Paul II for July 23, after his summit participation. Deal Hudson, editor and publisher of CRISIS, an American Catholic magazine, commented recently on the Catholic web portal, Catholic Exchange (www.e3mil.com), that he believed “it would be preferable to meet the Holy Father face-to-face on the matter,” […]

The Christian Coalition is circulating a ‘Petition For Life’ in order to “have an impact on pro-life issues this year.” The coalition hopes to obtain 1.1 million signatures on a petition indicating support for the group’s “key pro-life debates”—one signature for “each of the 1.1 million unborn babies who will be aborted this year. https://www.grassfire.net/21/life.asp?RID=&PID=1061270&CID=21&P=5 STOPP International has put out a press release advising President Bush to oust “Clinton’s Surgeon General.”“Clinton’s Surgeon General will continue to promote Clinton’s pro-abortion and contraception ideology as long as he remains in office,” said Ed Szymkowiak, national director of STOPP in response to Dr. […]

Zenit News reports that Pope John Paul says in a letter that when “the Incarnation is denied . our vision of human purpose dwindles; and as we anticipate and aim for less, hope gives way to despair, joy to depression. … Life is not valued and loved, hence the advance of a certain culture of death, with its dark blooms of abortion and euthanasia.”

WASHINGTON, July 16, 2001 (LSN.ca) – Republican Majority Whip Tom DeLay and House majority leader Dick Armey told Newsweek that they would seek to bar funding of destructive embryonic stem cell research even if President Bush opted to drop the ban on the controversial experimentation. “We’ll treat it like federal funding of abortion, putting a ‘Hyde Amendment’ on it,” DeLay says in the July 23 issue of Newsweek, ), referring to the amendment that prevents any federal funding of abortion. The magazine reports that President Bush met privately with DeLay late last week in the Cabinet Room for a heart-to-heart […]

GENEVA, July 16, 2001 (LSN.ca) – Swiss pro-lifers have achieved a major victory in forcing a referendum on abortion. Switzerland’s socialist-led parliament approved the legalization of abortion on demand during the first three months of pregnancy on March 14. On Thursday, pro-lifers delivered a 120,000 signature petition to the Chancellor’s office with around two-thirds of the signatures believed to be those of women.

Fearful doctors may now recommend abortions at the smallest hint of a disability PARIS, July 16, 2001 (LSN.ca) – The highest appeals court in France, the Cour de Cassation, has ruled that when doctors fail to detect deformities in unborn children and do not suggest abortion to their parents, the doctors are liable for compensation. The case was brought by the families of three children—one who has a malformation of the spine and the other two who have only one arm – who said that “if doctors had not failed to spot the disabilities in the womb the pregnancies would […]

OTTAWA, July 16, 2001 (LSN.ca) – After years of wrangling with federal regulators in Canada, the Catholic television station, Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN), has finally received approval to be broadcast in Canada. On Friday the Canada Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) released its decision allowing EWTN. The CRTC had turned down the Catholic station in previous years, while allowing the playboy channel and other pornographic fare. CRTC spokesperson Denis Carmel told LifeSite that previous decisions against EWTN were based on not allowing “single-faith” programming. That decision changed, said Carmel, with a larger market of channels available and the assurance […]

Another family questioned AYLMER, ON, July 16, 2001 (LSN.ca) – The case of the Aylmer family whose 7 children aged 6 to 14 were taken from their home by the Children’s Aid Society (CAS) and police on July 4, because the parents might use corporal punishment in the future, has exploded. Other large families have fled from their homes fearing more CAS-directed abductions of children. The National Post reports today that one hundred members of the Church of God, 74 children and 26 mothers, have fled Canada fearing their children may be seized by CAS workers since they hold to […]

The number of recorded abortions taking place in Minnesota last year was 14,450, 118 more than in 1999. The report notes that only 57 abortionists were responsible for all these deaths. The reason women cited most often—by 5,608 women—was that they did not want children “at this time.’’ The next most common reasons given were economics and that the woman believed her emotional or physical health were at stake. AP reports that only 124 women said they were having the abortion because they were raped and six because they were victims of incest and one third of the women refused […]

DUTCH GOVERNMENT DOUBLES ITS FUNDING TO INTERNATIONAL PLANNED PARENTHOOD The Netherlands Foreign Ministry has sent a letter to the world’s largest abortion provider, IPPF, stating that they have increased their funding to IPPF to 45 million Guilders over the period January 2001 to December 2003. https://ippfnet.ippf.org/pub/IPPF_News/News_Details.asp?ID=1253 Wesley J. Smith, author of “Culture of Death: The Assault on Medical Ethics in America” has written two excellent articles regarding embryonic stem cell research for National Review Online at:  https://www.nationalreview.com/comment/comment-smith070901.shtml https://www.nationalreview.com/comment/comment-smith071201.shtml Catholic World News reports that Bishop Kevin Dowling said on Wednesday the Southern African Catholic bishops’ conference is considering a proposal to […]

BOSTON, MA, July 13, 2001 (LSN.ca) – Massachusetts state Senator Brian A. Joyce turned his back on his Catholic faith by abandoning his pro-life stance after opinion polls demonstrated voters in his area supported abortion by a 3-1 ratio. Rev. Thomas Foley, parish priest at St. Mary of the Hills, where Joyce was an altar boy and has attended all his life, condemned the move. The Boston Globe reports that in a handout to parishioners last Sunday, Fr. Foley reprinted an opinion column from diocesan newspaper, which accused Joyce of demeaning the Catholic faith by suggesting that ‘‘deep consideration’’ allowed […]

MARKHAM, ON, July 13, 2001 (LSN.ca) – The pro-life community in Ontario is mourning the passing of Jerry Young (1933-2001), a pro-life leader long involved with the Family Coalition Party of Ontario (FCP), the provinces only pro-life party. According to current FCP president Giuseppe Gori, Jerry has been on the Executive of the party as Vice President, President and Past President for some 13 years. Mr. Gori relates that what kept Young going in that seemingly impossible struggle was that “no other voluntary work was more important to him than doing his best to reverse the atrocity of abortion, camouflaged […]

DUBLIN, July 13, 2001 (LSN.ca) – Ireland’s largest Catholic paper, the Irish Catholic, has exposed the government’s complicity with the European Union in endorsing a document called the International Guidelines on HIV/AIDS and Human Rights, intended for passage at the United Nations Conference on HIV/AIDS. Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute (C-Fam) reports that the Irish government supported the document even though its provisions countered Irish law in calling for worldwide recognition of homosexual marriage, the legalization of prostitution and “safe and legal” abortions. Irish Catholic editor David Quinn was told by the Irish government that when the EU accepts […]

NEVADA, IA, July 13, 2001 (LSN.ca) – Lutherans For Life, an inter-Lutheran, pro-life educational organization, has released a paper on its opposition to “destruction of embryonic children” which results from embryonic stem cell research. The Lutheran group calls on all Christians who believe in the Bible to uphold the teachings of the Word of God regarding the sanctity of human life and oppose such destructive research. Basing its main argument on the fact that “embryonic stem cell research necessarily involves the intentional destruction of a human life (and that) human life begins at conception”, the group notes Christians must oppose […]

AYLMER, ON, July 13, 2001 (LSN.ca) – The case of a Christian family whose 7 children aged 6 to 14 were taken from their home by the Children’s Aid Society and police on July 4 because of spanking has sent shockwaves throughout Canada. Pro-family groups – Canada Family Action Coalition and REAL Women spoke with the press to condemn the tactics of the CAS, which in this case seem extreme. New developments in the case include the setting up of a website, for the family’s case as well as a defense fund for their support. Moreover, famed Canadian author William […]

The David and Lucile Packard Foundation has again donated millions to population control in the third world. Second-quarter grants for 2001, included a total of $26 million to groups working in “reproductive health”. The money also targeted American youth with a $600,000 grant to the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation “to promote a more informed discussion about the role of sex education in America’s classrooms.” https://ippfnet.ippf.org/pub/IPPF_News/News_Details.asp?ID=1252 The Associated Press admits that it erroneously reported that pro-life leader Randall Terry of Operation Rescue advocated killing abortion doctors. https://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20010710/us/summer_of_mercy__corrective_2.html A gathering of Muslims in the United States, called the Islamic Circle of […]

The National Post reports that Paladin Labs Inc., the Montreal company that distributes the abortifacient morning after pill, Plan B, and the national Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists are preparing an application that could be ready by August that will ask Health Canada to eliminate the requirement for a prescription for dispensing the abortifacients. Two polls of interest to pro-lifers are on line. A 60 Minutes poll to legalize abortions in Ireland and the msnbc.com poll of funding for embryonic stem cell research. The pro-life position is behind in both polls. For the 60 Minutes poll, click:  https://news.ninemsn.com.au/sixtyminutes/stories/2001_07_08/story_365.asp For the […]

WORCESTER, MA, July 12, 2001 (LSN.ca) – Advanced Cell Technology Inc. (ACT), the first company to admit creating a live human-animal hybrid, has now admitted to having commenced experiments to create human clones for use in stem cell research. The Washington Post reports that as of last night, scientists were still conducting the work and would not report on their results. “Scientific results should be published in scientific journals,” said Michael West, the company’s president and chief executive. The clones are to be created from the fusion of a cell from an adult with a donated human ovum that has […]

LONDON, ON, July 12, 2001 (LSN.ca) – The Southwestern Ontario leg of the Show The Truth Tour kicked off to a great beginning on Monday, July 9th. In particular, the two morning presentations in Windsor, Ontario garnered mainstream media coverage – print, radio and television. Main organizers, Rosemary Connell and Phil Arnsby were delighted with the coverage. Additional exposure was given when CBC Radio interviewed Phil Arnsby this afternoon in London. Arnsby was instrumental in organizing the tour, with the help of other pro-life leaders from various communities. Sporting a core team of over forty members, ranging in all ages […]

OTTAWA, July 11, 2001 (LSN.ca) – Another example of selective mainstream media coverage on the rupture within the Canadian Alliance occurred this week with news reports about Alliance party co-president Ken Kalopsis resigning from the executive committee of the Alliance National Caucus. Media reports gave the impression that Kalposis’ July 9 resignation was another unexpected and serious loss to the Day led Alliance. Almost all reports failed to mention that Kalopsis was about to be voted off the Alliance Executive and that his resignation conveniently pre-empted the action. Kalopsis and wife Nancy Branscombe have been known to be strong Day […]

UNITED NATIONS, July 12, 2001 (LSN.ca) – Speaking yesterday on the occasion of World Population Day, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan made a thinly veiled call for abortion rights while promoting “an integrated approach to… slowing population growth.” Annan appealed to the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development to justify his endorsement of population control, which he tied to reducing poverty and protecting the environment. Annan said that “Among the requirements for achieving these related goals are universal access to …reproductive health care and family planning… Women… are often denied the right to…control their own fertility. Enhancing women’s opportunities […]

WASHINGTON, July 12, 2001 (LSN.ca) – The media has come out as one of the strongest lobbyists in favour of funding research involving the destructive use of human embryos. Numerous editorials favouring funding for the unethical research were published with few papers dissenting. While the Washington Times came out in favour of ethical stem cell use not involving the destructive use of human embryos, the following papers all carried editorials favouring the experimental research over the right to life: Albany Times Union (https://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyKey=61671&category=O)  Atlanta Journal-Constitution (https://www.accessatlanta.com/partners/ajc/epaper/editions/thursday/opinion_b34460a766d410080085.html)  Boston Globe   Des Moines Register (https://desmoinesregister.com/news/stories/c5917686/15186266.html)  Fresno Bee (https://www.fresnobee.com/opinion/story/0,1733,280891,00.html)  Houston Chronicle (https://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/editorial/964925)  Newsday […]

WASHINGTON, July 12, 2001 (LSN.ca) – White House press secretary Ari Fleischer was bombarded with questions from the media this week regarding President Bush’s eagerly awaited decision on embryonic stem cell research. At a press conference yesterday where the bulk of the questions centered around stem cells, Fleisher confirmed that he was asked by reporters Monday “when the President believed that life begins.” Fleisher did not respond immediately but sent an email to reporters later that day indicating that the President believed life beings “at conception.” One reporter yesterday asked if the President continues to believe that in light of […]

The Wall Street Journal reports that the Food and Drug Administration has clamped down on fertility clinics practicing a new technique using DNA from three parents, saying that the government needed to give approval to any procedures that involve human cloning and other forms of genetic engineering. The targeted technique, “ooplasmic transfer,” combines the eggs of two different women and is generally used when an older woman is trying to conceive. New Jersey Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jim McGreevey is demonstrating religious intolerance towards his Republican opponent Bret Schundler. Schundler a pro-life Catholic, is being attacked for his uncompromising pro-life stand. […]

A Thailand university is saying that the country’s population program has been “successful” in making for population decline. The report argued that Thailand’s success in birth control should be attributed to women, who shouldered the burden of contraception, sterilization and abortion. https://library.northernlight.com/FA20010711790000129.html?cb=0&dx=1006&sc=0#doc Kenya is pledging to reduce population growth. Earlier LifeSite reports have demonstrated how this pro-population control mentality has been forced on the country. https://ippfnet.ippf.org/pub/IPPF_News/News_Details.asp?ID=1247

MADISON, Wis., July 11, 2001 (LSN.ca) – On Tuesday the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled 4-3 that a man who owed $25,000 in child support could be ordered not to father anymore children as a condition of probation. AP reports that if David Oakley, who already has had nine children with four women, fails to abide by the condition, he faces 8 years in prison. The decision by the justices was split along gender lines as all three female justices dissented from the ruling saying having children is a basic human right guaranteed by the Constitution. Justice Ann Walsh Bradley wrote […]

NEW YORK, July 11, 2001 (LSN.ca) – The United Nations is harassing a tiny Southern European Catholic country with less than 70,000 citizens for not allowing abortion. Yesterday, the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women called on Andorra, a country located between France and Spain and about 2.5 times the size of Washington, DC, to deliver its report on compliance with the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). In its report to the committee the Catholic country, represented by Esteve Vidal, Counsellor-Delegate for Institutional Relations of Andorra, indicated that it regarded […]

WASHINGTON, July 11, 2001 (LSN.ca) – For the first time in history, scientists in the US have admitted to creating human beings explicitly for experimentation that will lead to the deaths of those human beings. A study published today in the journal Fertility & Sterility, published by the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM), admits that scientists harvested ova from 12 women and sperm from 2 men to create human embryos for stem cell experimentation. Scientists at the Jones Institute for Reproductive Medicine at the Eastern Virginia Medical School in Norfolk claimed their experimentation was “ethically and scientifically justifiable” and […]

WASHINGTON, July 11, 2001 (LSN.ca) – As US President George Bush is about to release his decision on the use and funding of the destructive use of human embryos for stem cell experimentation, advocates and opponents are competing to have their voices heard. Pro-life groups have presented a unified front against the killing of this youngest of human life. At the same time, special interest groups and corporations which have spent much money on embryonic stem cell research are urging Bush to go further than Clinton in supporting such research. On all fronts the competition in this latest front of […]

A researcher in Australia says she has found a way to fertilize ova without the use of sperm. Dr. Orly Lacham-Kaplan, from Monash University in Melbourne told the BBC that her team had been able to successfully fertilize mice eggs in lab cultures using other cells in the body known as somatic cells. https://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/health/newsid_1431000/1431489.stm Human Life International has announced the appointment of Fred J. Turek as the organization’s new executive vice president. For 28 years he worked for the Mobil Corporation handling financial, operational, managerial and strategic planning activities at the local, regional and international corporate levels. Upon his retirement, […]

OTTAWA, July 10, 2001 (LSN.ca) – The Canada Family Action Coalition (CFAC) is urging pro-family Canadians to express their concerns over the recent decision of the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission which noted that a newspaper ad publishing Bible verses on homosexuality was discriminatory. In a release CFAC says it “is very concerned about the serious implications of this ruling on religious freedoms in Canada” and “with the process by which this decision was made.” The CFAC release notes ” Human Rights Commissions have clearly become another tool of radical special interest groups. Human Rights Commissions are made up of appointed […]

OTTAWA, July 10, 2001 (LSN.ca) – Newspapers across Canada featured stories today reporting that “the anti-abortion United States government is having an effect north of the border.” The frenzy was initiated last week when the Bush administration drafted a policy to allow states to cover “unborn children” under the Children’s Health Insurance Program. While pro-lifers are hopeful that pro-life measures in the US will encourage similar legislation in Canada, pro-abortion activists are worried that a pro-life victory in the US would embolden pro-lifers in Canada. Both pro-lifers and those opposed to life recognize that the influence of the United States […]

VANCOUVER, July 10, 2001 (LSN.ca) – The newly elected Liberal government in British Columbia has dropped out of a court case, launched by the previous New Democratic provincial government, to force Canada to allow homosexual marriages. The BC Catholic reports that the spokesman for BC Attorney General Geoff Plant confirmed the province had pulled out of the case. The former NDP BC government, which suffered a crushing defeat in the recent elections, was the most extremist pro-abortion and pro-homosexual government in Canadian history. Launching the legal challenge against the federal government last July, then BC Attorney General Andrew Petter said, […]

HALIFAX, July 10, 2001 (LSN.ca) – Nova Scotia provincial Supreme Court Justice Deborah Gass rendered a written decision Monday stating that a provincial law that restricted adoption to married couples was unconstitutional and discriminated against homosexual and common-law couples. The ruling stems from a legal challenge launched by two lesbians with children who argued that they were being discriminated against because the province prevented both from being recognized as parents. In her ruling Gass wrote: “Prohibiting a joint adoption where all the evidence indicates these adults are providing optimum care and loving .. defeats the very purpose of the legislation […]

OTTAWA, July 10, 2001 (LSN.ca) – Canada has put two million dollars into a United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) campaign targeting Guatemala for chemical abortion advocacy. The five-year project, according to CIDA, aims for “Increased demand, supply, access and quality of reproductive health services, including contraceptives, in Guatemala.” Moreover the plan aims to promote a change in law advocating population control. The CIDA document lists as one of its components for support: “advocacy for a law on population and development.” Mercedes Wilson, formerly the official delegate of Guatemala to the United Nations, told LifeSite “it is horrible that Canadian taxpayers […]

A study in Obstetrics and Gynecology (2001;98:101-106) reports that about 3% of women who abort their children with the abortion drug RU-486 have serious complications requiring surgical abortion.  https://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20010706/hl/abortion_surgery_1.html A report in the Sunday Times reveals that career women are using “rent-a-womb” contracts to have children while avoiding pregnancy. Conceptual Options, a private clinic in California, performs the procedures for clients around the world. The article notes that the women are concerned that they may lose their jobs if pregnant, they fear stretchmarks and the pain of childbirth.  https://www.sunday-times.co.uk/news/pages/sti/2001/07/08/stinwenws02005.html Toronto tourism officials are promoting the city as the travel destination […]

TORONTO, July 9, 2001 (LSN.ca) – LifeSite has learned that pro-life heroine Linda Gibbons was released from prison Saturday. Linda, a veteran pro-life demonstrator and counsellor was sentenced to four months in jail and two years’ probation, in addition to two months already served in custody, in April. She was convicted on charges stemming from pro-life activities inside bubble zones at Toronto abortuaries. Gibbons was arrested and charged with obstructing police and breaching terms of probation on Feb. 13 after walking and praying while holding a placard outside the Scott Clinic abortuary on Gerrard Street East.

TORONTO, July 9, 2001 (LSN.ca) – The Globe and Mail reported today that “court rulings have forced most provinces to allow same-sex couples to adopt children.” The report notes that British Columbia was the first province to allow homosexual adoption without mandates by the courts. However the Globe cites a Supreme Court of Canada decision two years ago allowing spousal support for homosexual couples, as a turning point. Since then Ontario, Alberta and other provinces have passed laws allowing homosexual couples the same privileges as heterosexual spouses. Certain provinces, such as Manitoba, left adoption out of such legislation. The Globe […]

OTTAWA, July 9, 2001 (LSN.ca) – The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada (EFC), an association of 32 Protestant denominations representing just under half of Canada’s estimated 3 million Protestant evangelical Christians, submitted a brief on stem cell research to the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) on June 29. The EFC recommends that the government respect and protect human life by not extending funding to stem cell research that results in the destruction of the human embryo. “Allowing embryonic stem cell research which destroys the embryo treats the human embryo as an object to be utilized, and not as a subject […]

AYLMER, ON, July 9, 2001 (LSN.ca) – A hearing today in the case of a Christian family whose 7 children aged 6 to 14 were taken from their home by police last Wednesday has not led to the children’s return home. LifeSite has learned that an interim hearing is scheduled for July 26 and a trial for August 9. The family’s pastor, Rev. Henry Hildebrandt of the Aylmer Church of God, told LifeSite that there is no merit to the actions of the Children’s Aid Society and the police since the family is in no way abusive to their children. […]

PRESIDENT BUSH PLANS ALLOW STATE TO GIVE “UNBORN CHILD” MEDICAL COVERAGE The Bush administration has drafted a policy to allow states to cover unborn children under the Children’s Health Insurance Program. Pro-abortion groups are condemning the measure even though it allows coverage for pregnant women who are not eligible for Medicare, since they see it as establishing the recognition of the unborn child as a person.  https://www.nytimes.com/2001/07/06/politics/06FETU.html?searhpv=nytToday CNS reports that Bishop Joseph A. Fiorenza, head of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has written President Bush urging him not to fund destructive research on human embryos. “Government support for destructive […]

CNN reports that Germany’s governing Social Democrats and Greens have rejected opposition calls to stop imports of human embryos for experimentation. A decade-old German law prohibits the creation of embryo cells purely for research, but imports are not explicitly forbidden.  https://www.cnn.com/2001/HEALTH/07/03/germany.genetic.ap/index.html Zenit News reports that Belgium’s Catholic bishops have issued a statement expressing their opposition to a proposal to legalize euthanasia. The document, entitled “Euthanasia, A Defeat for Civilization,” comes as the Belgian Senate debates legislation promoting “gentle death.”  https://zenit.org/english/archive/0107/ZE010705.htm#7774

“Cloning will never make a correct copy” say scientists A study published in today’s Science journal, suggests that embryonic cloning is dangerous and causes hidden defects in the two percent of embryos that survive the cloning procedure. Researchers from the University of Hawaii cloned mice and found that the pups had problems. “Even if a cloned animal looks normal, it may have a dormant problem,” said Ryuzo Yanagimachi, one of the researchers. Yanagimachi and Dr. Hidenori Akutsu, collaborated with Rudolf Jeanisch and scientists at Whitehead Institute, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in the research which according to Akutsu shows “we must […]

LUCERNE, Switzerland, July 6, 2001 (LSN.ca) – Switzerland, a country where physician assisted suicide is tolerated, has just been confronted with the case of a young nurse who has admitted to – as the media put it – “helping nine senile women die” in a home for the elderly. The National Post reports that Orvo Nieminen, the investigating magistrate for Lucerne, told a news conference yesterday that the man, whom he described as a “well-educated young nurse,” said he acted out of sympathy for the sick people and was convinced he was doing good. For more see the National Post […]

PARIS, July 6, 2001 (LSN.ca) – France’s Paris-based Constitutional Council has ruled that a recently-passed bill allowing later abortion in France is also enforceable in its overseas territories, including French Polynesia. In April, the French Socialist government France passed a law increasing the legal limit for abortions from 10 weeks to 12 weeks. However, a clause in the bill forced French Polynesia to publicly fund abortions, as has been done in France for some 25 years. The colony’s strong religious tradition prevented the law’s implementation and Polynesia rejected the clause. Gaston Flosse, president of the French overseas territory that includes […]

AYLMER, ON, July 6, 2001 (LSN.ca) – Police in Aylmer, Ontario forcibly removed seven children aged 6 to 14 from their home Wednesday after their Christian parents refused to promise social workers they would not use a switch to discpline the children. Rev. Henry Hildebradt of the Aylmer Church of God, where the family worships, told LifeSite that he knows the family personally and that they are “a wonderful Christian family.” He said the couple, German-speaking immigrants in their 30s, “are known for being lenient with their children rather than strict.” Rev. Hildebrandt said the couple allowed the social workers […]

Statistics Canada reported yesterday that “children from both ends of the income distribution attend private schools; 29% of children who attend private schools are from families with incomes below $50,000, while 26% are from families with at least twice as much income.”  https://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/010704/d010704b.htm An American firm has boasted about its ability to allow parents to select the sex of their children using a sperm sorting machine and in vitro fertilization.  https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/0,,2-2001230966,00.html CNS News reports that the National Education Association Wednesday decided not to vote on a homosexuality resolution at its annual meeting in California in response to hundreds of pro-family […]

TORONTO, July 5, 2001 (LSN.ca) – The homosexual activist group EGALE has put out a press release cheering the decision of Big Brothers of Toronto, an organization which encourages men to become temporary guardians for boys, to remove a question on sexual orientation from its screening questionnaire. The release notes: “In early June, EGALE was contacted by a person who had been asked to provide a reference for an acquaintance who had applied to become a Big Brother. This person, who is heterosexual, was offended that one of the questions on the personal reference form asked if they were aware […]

CHICAGO, July 5, 2001 (LSN.ca) – An important statement made recently by U.S. Rep. Henry Hyde about pulling the United States out of the United Nations was largely ignored by the media. Republicans for Fair Media (RFM News) reported last month that at a June 9 conservative conference Hyde answered a series of questions about America’s membership in the United Nations. Referring to House Resolution 1146, sponsored by Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) which would essentially call for the United States to end its membership in the United Nations, Hyde said, “As Chairman of the International Relations Committee, I don’t think […]

EDMONTON, July 5, 2001 (LSN.ca) – A story in the May 28 edition of Report newsmagazine details the horrifying story of a caring wife who alleges that her husband was euthanized in an Alberta hospital. Irene McNeilly of St. Paul, Alberta has lodged a complaint with the College of Physicians and Surgeons regarding the treatment her late husband Dr. Keith McNeilly received at the St. Therese Hospital in St. Paul. However, an advocate for the elderly in Alberta, Ruth Adria of Edmonton, told the magazine that euthanasia is becoming more common and that she has other charges in progress. Adria […]

CLEVLAND, OH, July 5, 2001 (LSN.ca) – Pro-life U.S. Catholics were distressed on learning that the Cleveland Diocese donated $30,000 last year to an Ohio community organization affiliated with the National Abortion Rights Action League. Several Catholics had contacted the Diocese to protest last year’s funding. However, the diocesan newspaper, the Cleveland Catholic Universe Bulletin, reported June 22 that the Cleveland Diocese’s Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD) grants for this year once again include $30,000 to the same organization – Organize! Ohio – Grassroots Leadership Development Program. Organize! Ohio’s (OO) list of member organizations last year included the National […]

U.S. HOUSE BIG-WIGS OPPOSE FUNDING EMBRYO RESEARCH Pro-life US House Reps. Richard K. Armey, Tom DeLay and J.C. Watts—the House majority leader, majority whip and Republican conference chairman, respectively—said in a statement to President Bush: “The federal government cannot morally look the other way with respect to the destruction of human embryos, then accept and pay for extracted stem cells for the purpose of medical research.”  https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A10638-2001Jul2.html Idaho state Judge Michael McLaughlin issued an emergency order Monday requiring Idaho to keep paying for abortions pending a review of the constitutionality of a new law against public funding of abortion.  https://www.al.com/newsflash/index.ssf?/cgi-free/getstory_ssf.cgi?  […]

The National Post reports that King’s College, the Christian school which lost a discrimination case in the Supreme Court of Canada for dismissing a practicing homosexual teacher, has decided to enact a code of behaviour. The code bans sex outside of marriage. Such codes were recently upheld by the Supreme Court in the Trinity Western decision.  https://www.nationalpost.com/home/story.html?f=/stories/20010704/608905.html The Ottawa Citizen reported this week on conscience legislation, quoting Barb Wahl, president of the Ontario Nurses Association as saying such a law “would be a good thing.”  https://www.ottawacitizen.com/national/010701/5038322.html A Scottish opinion poll has revealed that about 70 per cent of Scottish citizens […]

Nurse Who Revealed Killings of Live Aborted Babies Still Being Harrassed WASHINGTON, DC, July 4, 2001 (LSN.ca) – A pro-life amendment to the Patients’ Bill of Rights legislation that was approved by the Senate on Friday, June 29th, will ensure that babies born alive after botched abortions have the right to life and thus medical care. The amendment passed the Senate 98-0. An identically worded Born-Alive Infants Protection bill passed the U.S. House of Representatives last year. Ironically however, the pro-life nurse who brought the issue to light is still facing disciplinary action by the medical center where she is […]

JERUSALEM, July 4, 2001 (LSN.ca) – An Israeli pro-life group which distributed pro-life videos to some 350,000 Israeli households has met with success. Israel’s Health Minister, Nissim Dahan (Shas), was motivated by the tape to take action. The tape distribution caused a stormy session in the Knesset (Israeli Parliament) yesterday. Ha’aretz News reported today that feminist MK’s were outraged at the video. However Minister Dahan said, he found the tape instructive. “I received the impression that the social workers don’t do their jobs faithfully and that the abortion committees [medical committees that by law must approve all abortions] approve terminations […]

ERIE, PA, July 4, 2001 (LSN.ca) – Pax Christi USA, which bills itself as the “National Catholic Peace Movement”, has cancelled its national assembly after the Catholic university where the event was scheduled refused to allow the pro-abortion keynote speaker on campus. Pax Christi national coordinator Nancy Small told Catholic News Service that Christian Brothers University in Memphis Tennessee refused to allow Rev. James Lawson to speak at the scheduled Aug 3-5 annual meeting. According to a report in the United Methodist News Service (UNMS), Lawson, a civil rights leader in the 1950s and 60s and pastor of Holman United […]

LOS ANGELES, July 4, 2001 (LSN.ca) – A California State appellate court ruled Monday that a new California law requiring Catholic Charities to provide contraception and abortion chemicals to women who receive health insurance coverage does not violate religious freedom. Arthur Scotland, presiding justice of the three-judge Court of Appeal panel in Sacramento, revealed that he and the other justices accepted the pro-abortion ideology that not providing abortifacient birth control pills discriminates against women. Catholic Charities is not required to support the principle of contraception, but “having chosen to provide employee health insurance coverage with prescription drug benefits, it simply […]

VANCOUVER, July 4, 2001 (LSN.ca) – Notorious Vancouver abortionist Ellen Wiebe has been experimenting with aromatherapy to reduce anxiety in women undergoing abortions. A write-up of the study in the journal, Effective Clinical Practice (Jul-Aug 2000), showed that Wiebe had patients sniff either essential oils or hair conditioner for 10 minutes. However, there was no helpful effect found with the aromatherapy. Pro-life observers wonder whether the women involved in the experiment are now tormented with the memory of the abortions every time they use conditioner. Post-abortion counselors have often noted that post abortive women are tortured by the memories of […]

VANCOUVER, July 4, 2001 (LSN.ca) – A former abortionist at the center of a sexual molestation scandal in British Columbia has had his profession hidden by the media which refers to him only as a doctor. Dr. Mark Walter Stewart, is facing a dozen sex charges involving nine female patients and has been identified by pro-lifers from his home town of Campbell River, BC as an abortionist. Reports by Global Television, the Canadian Press, and The (Nanaimo) Daily News all refer to Stewart merely as a “doctor”. John Hof, President of Campaign Life Coalition BC, told LifeSite: “If Stewart were […]

Catholic World News reported that a French appeals court ruled on Friday that a six-month-old unborn child killed in a car crash by a drunk driver cannot be considered a victim and the driver cannot be prosecuted for his death.  https://www.ewtn.com/vnews/getstory.asp?number=16882 A survey on abortion to be published in November in the women’s magazine Marie Claire is on line at:  https://homearts.com/mc/articles/41baby13.htm Focus on the Family Canada reports that the Manitoba Legislature passed on a voice vote legislation expanding the spousal rights of same-sex couples. Not included in the legislation is adoption.  https://www.gov.mb.ca/leg-asmb/bills/37-sess2/b041e.html Kofi Annan will be given a second term […]

WASHINGTON, July 3, 2001 (LSN.ca) – An ABCNews/Beliefnet poll conducted by telephone June 20-24, 2001, among a random sample of 1,022 US adults has found support for legal abortion in the United States has fallen to 52 per cent, down from 59 per cent in January. Additionally, the poll found that the percentage of Americans who said abortion should be illegal in all or most cases has reached 43 % – the highest level since the ABC polls began. Religious belief was found to top the list of reasons for pro-life convictions. Among people who identified themselves as Catholics, 55% […]

Member of the Pontifical Academy for Life joins as plaintiff against Catholic pro-abortion US Senators AUSTERLITZ, NY, July 3, 2001 (LSN.ca) – A legal appeal to Pope John Paul II asking for the public excommunication of Catholic pro-abortion politicians is gaining steam as thousands of Catholic faithful are agreeing to sign on as plaintiffs in the legal action. Judie Brown, President of the American Life League and a corresponding member of the Pontifical Academy on Life has become a plaintiff in the case entitled “A Canonical Petition to Excommunicate Culture of Death ‘Catholics’”. Timothy A. Chichester, Executive Director of Yankee […]

RENNES, France, July 3, 2001 (LSN.ca) – James Kopp, the suspect in the shooting death of abortionist Barnett Slepian, has appealed a French court ruling saying he should be extradited to the US. Kopp’s lawyer,Herve Rouzaud-Leboeuf, told the media that the appeal would not be heard before September. Extradition procedures have been suspended. See the LA Times coverage at:  https://www.latimes.com/wires/20010703/tCB00a9156.html

DENTON, TX, July 3, 2001 (LSN.ca) – Life Dynamics, a pro-life organization based in Denton Texas, released a detailed report indicating why it believes James Kopp has been framed by the FBI as the killer of Buffalo abortionist Barnett Slepian. The report, “The United States of America vs. James Charles Kopp, A Conclusion in Search of its Evidence”, confirms pro-life suspicions about the investigation against Kopp since charges were first laid. A Dec. 1998 LifeSite Special Report indicated that Kopp was a very unlikely personality to have taken such violent action and could not have possessed the professional skills required […]

Larger Poll Demonstrates Leger Marketing Poll Biased LONDON, July 3, 2001 (LSN.ca) – A Leger Marketing Poll, of 1,507 Canadians, released today suggests that 75.5% of Canadians believe that someone who helps end the life of a loved one suffering from an incurable and extremely painful illness should not be prosecuted. However, a larger poll conducted by Environics shows the Leger poll does not accurately reflect the views of Canadians. The Euthanasia Prevention Coalition (EPC) recently collaborated with the Environics Research Group on their national Focus Canada Omnibus Survey. This national omnibus poll asked 2035 people from across Canada a […]