ST JOHN, NS, Feb 27, 2001 (LSN.ca) – A Halifax couple is seeking to overturn a Supreme Court decision that denied public funding of their in-vitro fertilization treatment. They are accusing a Supreme Court Justice of bias because he is a Roman Catholic.
The Catholic Civil Rights League (CCRL) reacted to the case noting that “having exhausted all legal avenues to force the government to cover the high cost of in vitro fertilization, the couple hopes to capitalize on current anti-religious sentiment in Canada by attacking the personal beliefs of [Justice Louis Lebel].” CCRL President Thomas Langan said, “The mere fact that the parties would resort to implicating the Supreme Court justice’s beliefs as an impairment should be of concern to all Canadians living in what is supposed to be a healthy pluralistic society.”“We hope the Nova Scotia government makes particular note of this when responding to the reapplication. To accept the allegations against Justice Louis LeBel as in any way valid, equates to an acceptance of a lesser class of Canadians who we marginalize and discriminate against based on their conscience and beliefs,” said Langan.