Articles for Month: November 2003

BOSTON, November 18, 2003 (LifeSiteNews.com)  In a 4-3 split decision, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, the highest state court, has ruled that denial of marriage to homosexual persons violates the state’s constitution.  It has given the legislature 180 days to alter its legislation to reflect the court’s decision. The activist judges who voted in favor of overturning the state legislation on marriage were Chief Justice Margaret Marshall, John Greaney, Roderick Ireland, and Judith Cowin.  Dissenting from the majority were justices, Francis Spina, Robert Cordy and Martha Sosman.  The case was a ploy by homosexual activists in the U.S. copying the […]

PRETORIA, November 18, 2003 (LifeSiteNews.com)  South Africa, one of the only countries in the world with abortion access enshrined in its constitution, has moved to increase abortions by allowing nurses to carry out the procedure.  The draft Choice on Termination of Pregnancy Amendment Bill, which has been tabled in Parliament, would also place approval of new abortuaries in provincial rather than federal jurisdiction.  While the legislation would make it an offence to carry out an abortion in a non-approved facility, it also would allow any health facility with a 24-hour maternity service, whether public or private, to carry out first […]

LONDON, November 18, 2003 (LifeSiteNews.com)  Pro-life groups are concerned that the upcoming Queen’s speech on November 26 may introduce the draft Mental Incapacity Bill.  The bill, while opposing active euthanasia backs euthanasia by neglect, or the withholding of basic medical care or even food and fluids. Patients with conditions like dementia, stroke or traumatic brain injury would be at risk.  The Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC) reports that the bill provides ways of making decisions for mentally-incapacitated adults about their financial affairs, welfare and medical treatment. ‘Treatment’ under the bill is defined as “includ[ing] a diagnostic or […]

Home School Group Warns of Growing Trend to Try to Link Homeschooling to Abuse

JERUSALEM, November 18, 2003 (LifeSiteNews.com) – In a bizarre decision, Israel’s Attorney-General Eliyakim Rubinstein has issued legal guidelines giving Israeli widows the right to harvest their dead husband’s sperm for fertility treatment, even if the husband did not consent to the ‘donation’.  Only when the husband specifically indicated he did not want this done after his death would a widow’s request not be acted upon.  “In a situation where a partner is interested in having a child with the sperm of the deceased it is appropriate to allow her to do so,” Rubinstein said.  The directive also pertains to men […]

Pope John Paul II on Conscience and Moral Law “Everyone must act in accordance with conscience. But conscience is neither absolutely independent nor infallible in its judgements; if it were, conscience would be reduced to the mere assertion of personal will. Thus it is precisely a defense of the dignity of conscience and of the human person to teach that consciences must be formed, so that they can discern what actually does or does not correspond to the ‘eternal, objective and universal divine law’ which human intelligence is capable of discovering in the order of being (cf. Dignitatis humanae, n. […]

VANCOUVER, November 17, 2003 (LifeSiteNews.com) – During last Wednesday’s Alliance Leaders’ Dinner in Vancouver, party leader Stephen Harper made an effort to assure worried social conservatives about their role in the new Conservative Party. In his address “One Conservative Voice” Harper said that “Our party must offer more than tax cuts and a few economic ideas and that the new Conservative Party must also address concerns about the moral fabric of our society.”  Harper emphasized that those who value life and family must have the opportunity to play a role in the party. He stated, “social conservatives, including traditional Christian […]

LONDON, November 17, 2003 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Britain is set to outlaw spanking of children by their parents through legislation to be presented in the Queen’s speech this week. The speech, which sets out the legislative agenda for the Labour Party, includes a Child Protection Bill which David Hinchliffe, chairman of the Commons Health Select Committee, hopes to amend to include removal of permission to use reasonable spanking as a form of discipline.  The media is fueling the move relating the measure to the recent death of a girl who was killed as the result of abuse by a relative.  The […]

Says "there's not much difference between an umbilical cord and a feeding tube"

Conrad Black Resigns as CEO of Hollinger https://www.cbc.ca/stories/2003/11/17/black031117   Harper tells Martin to set fixed election dates https://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/1069102146115_64511346///?hub=Canada   National Post publishes truth of life inside the womb “Historically, stillbirths were not registered until an infant was 28 weeks old or 1,000 grams. But dramatic advances in neonatal care have pushed back the earliest frontier at which a baby can be delivered alive. At 20 weeks, babies have functional organs. They have wisps of eyebrows, eyelashes and head hair. They suck and kick. They have taste buds.” (“Stillbirth endures as mystery to doctors”)  https://nationalpost.com/home/story.html?id=DAB83F39-5D99-44BB-9A79-7F720F7D81EC   Ohio House Passes ‘Choose Life’ […]