Dear pro-lifers:

As reported in last month’s appeal letter, the attacks on Campaign Life Coalition continue. But, before you begin worrying about us, please remember that our attackers would not be paying any attention if they didn’t fear that you, the grassroots majority, were becoming active.

One of the founders of Campaign Life Coalition, prominent Vancouver lawyer Paul Formby, has frequently reminded us to ignore the “buzz in the background,” and get on with the important life-saving work we set out to do.

Those of you who are Canadian Alliance supporters have done a fine job of acting and voting in the leadership race. Doubtless, you will also be a strong force for life and family in the upcoming candidate selection meetings as well.

For those who support the federal Liberal and Progressive Conservative parties, we encourage all of you to get your relatives and friends involved in the nomination process in each and every riding across the country, to ensure the election of pro-life candidates for the upcoming federal election.

Supporters of the Christian Heritage Party (which is the only solid pro-life party on the federal scene) must also work hard, as the media generally ignores the CHP. The party needs you to get out their message, to be their “media.”

Wouldn’t it be great if voters went to the polling booth on election day and had a choice of two, three, even four pro-life candidates. It is possible if pro-lifers get involved at the grassroots level, and that means getting started during the nomination process.

Remember, abortion, euthanasia, and other “social conservative” issues are not just another issue — they are the key or pivotal issues. If candidates for public office do not understand the importance of restoring protection to the unborn or the need to fight child pornography or protect the “Tracy Latimers” of this country, then they must be defeated.

All of our fundamental rights and freedoms are built on the right to life of all human beings. If one person is vulnerable, we all are. If our right to life can be taken away just like that, any other right we enjoy can also be taken from us.

In the July CLC National News, you will learn that our efforts at the United Nations created havoc among the pro-abortion feminists as their plans to further their anti-life agenda were effectively stalled. The determined band of pro-life and pro-family activists are truly heroes for securing these victories for life. Congratulations to our representatives and thanks to all of you who prayed for them.

Our summer interns have arrived (students who will work for us while training in pro-life work). They bring a lot of youthful energy and enthusiasm to our work, much like fresh troops to fortify battle weary veterans.

Their presence also assures that our regular staff gets to take a much needed break. But with them comes the need to raise additional donations to be able to pay their wages. Your contributions will help ensure there are bright, enthusiastic and able pro-life foot-soldiers, not only now, but for the battles of tomorrow.

Summer is a difficult time to raise funds and coupled with recent expenditures and our preparations for a federal election expected to be called this fall or early 2001, we desperately need you to send us a contribution to help us continue this crucial work.

We are stemming the tide of the culture of death and I feel an ultimate victory is closer than ever. We cannot afford to let this opportunity slip by.

Yours for life, Jim Hughes

P.S. If you are experiencing delays in responses to your emails, faxes, letters and phone calls, please be patient — we have been inundated. P.P.S. Many supporters express amazement that we have been able to shoulder such a heavy load — and regularly. The answer, of course, is prayer — ours and yours. May God continue to bless us all.

Many leadership races have been lost when supporters believe their man is a shoe-in. There will be no victory on July 8 if complacent pro-life supporters of Stockwell Day don’t get out and vote. Organizers from the other camps will be busy mobilizing their supporters, so please do not let them snatch this victory from you.


Victories at Beijing+5

Despite virulent attacks on CLC and other pro-life groups at the United Nations, pro-lifers scored some major victories at the Beijing+5 intersessional meeting that began on May 24. According to feminists at the UN, some women are more equal than others, some should be heard and others silenced. To that end, Canada's Humanities and Social Sciences Research Council produced a 40-page booklet, a blacklist that names pro-life and pro-family groups that lobby at the UN and CLC was at the top of the list.

The booklet, entitled "Right-Wing Anti-Feminist Groups at the United Nations," is a brief for feminists that hysterically warns about pro-life and pro-family activists. The June 10 National Post noted the booklet's intolerance toward people of faith. The Post found "the quality of the research in this booklet" "laughable or lamentable depending on your sense of humour," before concluding "The blacklist, laden with innuendo, intolerance and factual errors, is a tacit confession of intellectual bankruptcy."

What this blacklist comes down to is the fact that many pro-abortion, anti-family advocates don't even want to deal with pro-life groups at the UN. The opinions of pro-life, pro-family women - including those from CLC - shouldn't be tolerated. But despite their attempts to silence us, we ended up with some pretty good victories.

Organizers said the 10,000 female delegates were mapping an agenda for the advancement and empowerment of women. The emphasis of organizers completely ignored the real needs of women in the developing world such as basic child and maternal health care, jobs, good government. Instead, the committee focused on forced abortions, forced abortion training for health care workers, forced sterilization, sexual rights for girls as young as 10 years old, the recognition of lesbian "rights" and turning a blind eye to pornography and prostitution. It is sad to see the concerns of women from Third World countries ignored so that feminists in the West can advance their radical agenda.

Pro-life NGOs from the West worked with a coalition of traditional values delegates from the Holy See, Nicaragua, Moslem and African countries among others. There would probably be even greater support for our position if more national delegations were truly representative of their people. A large number are usually stacked, like Canada's, with Planned Parenthood and radical feminist types, appointed by governments who want to bypass their own countries' legislatures to make radical changes via the UN.

Developing nations want the real needs of women addressed and oppose the feminist agenda being pushed on them. Western delegations had attempted to tie humanitarian aid for these developing countries to their acceptance of abortion and lesbianism, a common blackmail tactic of the West to push their anti-life, anti-family agenda. A Polish delegate was told that a wrong vote could jeopardize Poland's chances of getting into the European Union.

Members of pro-life, pro-family NGOs, including CLC were shouted down at meetings and undemocratically had their recommendations pushed to the end of the agenda and ultimately deleted once time ran out, so two strong paragraphs on the family never made it into the final document. CLC members reported meetings were relocated and had their times changed but were never notified. The UN gave their official support to more than 2,000 feminist groups but less than two dozen pro-life and pro-family groups.

Despite the virulent attacks, pro-lifers and family values delegates and supporters were largely successful. As the June 12 Washington Times headline heralded, "Feminist proposals routed at UN conference." References to lesbian rights, sex rights for kids, and the promotion of abortion were dropped from the new five-year U.N. agenda for women's advancement. The session concluded with the adoption of a document calling for better education and health care as keys to improving lives. This makes more sense than pushing abortion and lesbianism.

These victories would not have happened without the presence of groups such as CLC or without your prayers and financial support. Your moral support and donations were vital in protecting women all over the world from an aggressive push by feminists for abortion, lesbianism and much more. A heartfelt thanks to all our pro-life lobbyists in New York, who despite having very little time to prepare, did an excellent job. But we're far from being in the clear yet. As we go to press, the document had not yet been okayed by the General Assembly and frustrated feminists are sure to try again in future conferences. Indeed, feminists promised to fight on. Well, so do we - for the sake of precious life and family.

Thank you to all who joined the Canadian Alliance in order to elect a prolife leader. Throughout the years, CLC has always urged pro-life voters to support pro-life candidates, regardless of party affiliation. This spring, CLC provincial groups across the country encouraged and assisted their supporters to get involved in the one-member, one vote leadership process that was established by the Canadian Alliance.

Very early in this campaign, it became very clear that there were only two candidates worth considering from the pro-life perspective: Preston Manning and Stockwell Day.

On the crucial issue of legislative protection for the unborn, both Stockwell Day and Preston Manning have essentially the same position. Both claim to be willing to initiate a "debate" on the issue, but neither would introduce legislation in the House of Commons to make abortion a crime under the Criminal Code, claiming that MPs cannot "impose" their will on the public on the issue of abortion.

Although neither Manning nor Day would permit a majority of MPs to pass a law prohibiting abortion, they would allow a national referendum on the issue, where a majority of Canadians could decide to extend legal protection to the unborn. Again, neither Manning nor Day would initiate such a referendum, but they both support Canadian Alliance policy, which would allow Canadians to petition for a referendum to be held. Both Day and Manning have promised to campaign on the pro-life side of any such referendum campaign.

Even though Stockwell Day and Preston Manning have been unwilling to make a determined commitment to enact a pro-life law, I am optimistic both Manning and Day would take other actions on the pro-life, pro-family issues. Both support the right of the provinces to decide on the de-funding of abortion services. Both would oppose euthanasia and assisted-suicide measures, and both Day and Manning have been critical of judicial activism and court decisions permitting the possession of child pornography.

From the pro-life perspective, what distinguishes Day from Manning?

As an opposition leader, Manning has occasionally spoken out on life issues, and did mention the unborn in his response to the Throne Speech last September. Day, as a government MLA and cabinet minister in Alberta, has broken ranks with his own party and government in efforts to de-fund abortion in that province. Day has also led the charge for the use of the notwithstanding clause to overrule anti-family decisions of the Supreme Court of Canada.

The pro-life movement has had more exposure to Day than to Manning. Over the years, Day has been accessible to pro-lifers, developing strong relations with pro-life activists in Alberta and speaking at national pro-life conferences. Manning has, on occasion, met in private with pro-life leaders, but has allowed his staff and advisors to obstruct regular and meaningful access to him. Even during this leadership contest, the Day campaign has been for more aggressive in courting pro-life voters, while Manning has kept his distance.

Throughout this leadership campaign, both Manning and Day have often not properly explained the pro-life position, hiding behind "the will of my constituents". Still, while neither has denied the pro-life label, Day has been more willing to proclaim himself pro-life and has repeatedly acknowledged that human life begins at conception. During the Monday, June 13 debate, Day was especially forthright and refreshingly unapologetic about his pro-life position. The other candidates were either emphatically pro-abortion or embarrassingly evasive on the question.

Notwithstanding my reservations about the approach they take on pro-life legislation and the referendum process, I do believe both Manning and Day are pro-life. I like and respect them both. I also believe that the Canadian Alliance, led by either Manning or Day, will attract a significant number of pro-life candidates for the federal election expected within the next year.

Based on their records in public life, on their accessibility to the prolife movement, and on their willingness to be identified with the pro-life cause, Stockwell Day is clearly the better choice for Alliance leader. Regardless of the outcome of this leadership contest, we will continue to urge our supporters to vote for the most pro-life candidate, regardless of party affiliation, and we will ensure that pro-life voters are kept informed as to the positions and records of the various candidates in their area.

On June 14, Bill C-23, granting most of the rights enjoyed by married and common-law couples to homosexual couples passed in the Senate, despite opposition from Tory Senator Roch Bolduc and Liberal Senator Anne Cools, who warned that the bill will entice homosexual activists to go for a court challenge to permit homosexual marriage. We thank all the pro-family politicians in both the Senate and the House who spoke out and voted against this bill, and the many grassroots Canadians who made their opposition heard on this issue.

On June 6, a Senate subcommittee released its On Life and Death update, Quality End-of-Life Care: The Right of Every Canadian. CLC New Brunswick President Peter Ryan, a euthanasia expert, says the report deserves credit for bringing attention to the inadequate state of palliative care in this country. "Too many Canadians suffer needlessly before dying," he said. "Pain relief and other palliative care needs to be regarded as a right... Poor care fuels a desperate demand for assisted suicide and euthanasia." In this regard, we are extremely pleased the report focuses on the need to improve the quality and access to palliative care in Canada.

However, the report still had several flaws. It did not reject the call for a new third category of murder, so-called "compassionate homicide." Killing is never compassionate and the law must never consider it thus. Parallels to "putting down" a sick pet to the killing of our sick, disabled or elderly fellow citizens is a perversion the law should never consider. Ryan also said the report did "not address the problem of inappropriate withholding and withdrawal of treatment. Some people are labeled as dying when they are not dying at all - they are just old or disabled. Hence they are denied proper treatment and left to die." Honesty in dealing with this issue is a must, and the report's failure to address this issue puts a great many people at risk.

Also, among the ethical principles for "end-of- life" care the report notes it failed to notice the most important one, respect for life. As Ryan said, "If we do not respect someone's life, we will not care for them properly. It is not a matter of preserving life at all costs, but of not ending life prematurely." We hope that future political considerations of this issue will rectify this glaring and ominous omission.

Whether or not this report will affect the decision of the Supreme Court Justices who heard oral arguments in the Robert Latimer appeal on June 12 or Sharon Carstairs's (Lib-Manitoba) Senate Bill S-2 which is nothing more than euthanasia in disguise, we will have to wait and see. For now, we can only hope that the government acts on the recommendations to improve palliative care education, training and access. Action Item: Contact your MPs and provincial representatives and urge them to enact legislation that will provide quality palliative care services. If you need help to find your representative's address, contact us at (416) 204-9781 or 1-800-730-5358.

The June 10 Calgary Herald reported that the Alberta College of Physicians and Surgeons approved a policy that would have babies injected with a deadly solution before second and third trimester abortions are committed. The lethal injection of potassium chloride into the hearts of unborn babies would ensure that no more babies would be born alive after botched abortions. Last year, Alberta Report broke the story of babies being left for dead after surviving abortions at Calgary's Foothills Hospital. The police did not pursue murder charges after several conscientious nurses brought forth information about this grisly form of infanticide. One wonders exactly how many babies survive abortions if some doctors consider such a policy "necessary." Action Item: Please contact the Alberta College of Physicians and Surgeons and ask them to reconsider the policy of injecting unborn babies with this lethal concoction: 900 Manulife Place 10180-101 Street, Edmonton, Alberta T5J 4P8; Phone: (780) 423-4764; Fax: (780) 4200651.

When LifeSite first reported on the support of Catholic organizations for the feminist March of women 2000, it had no idea that such a firestorm would follow in the church over this issue. Additional information just kept on coming in and the controversy took on a life of its own.

On June 7, Archbishop Adam Exner of Vancouver, Chairman of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishop's pro-life arm, the Canadian Organization for Life and Family (COLF), issued a statement opposing the World March of Women 2000. He said the demands of the feminist march are "ambiguous and some are directly opposed to essential and fundamental elements of Catholic teaching." He requested "the CCCB, the National CWL Council, and the CCODP review and reconsider their decision to support the World March of Women 2000," and for the "CCODP to reconsider its monetary contribution to the World March of Women 2000." He said the archdiocese will delay forwarding its contribution to CCODP until it can be assured that its donation "will be used only for Third World projects and needs that are not in conflict with Catholic teaching." Archbishop Exner said Catholic organizations should support measures other than the march to promote the demands consistent with Catholic teaching such as the elimination of poverty and violence against women.

Yarmouth Bishop James M. Wingle has also criticized the March and said his diocese cannot support it. Making clear why Catholics cannot support the March, he said "Anything that compromises or clouds our witness to this utterly essential good of life and the inalienable right to it, must be rejected." He added "No amount of reference to other good intentions in actions we take or positions we support can ever justify compromise in our inescapable responsibility of choosing to be unconditionally pro-life."

Also on June 7, the office of Archbishop Marcel Gervais of Ottawa released a letter supporting the March. This seemed strange to us considering Archbishop Gervais's courageous May 31 condemnation of Jean Chretien's support for abortion. However, Archbishop Gervais's letter, unlike others supporting the march, doesn't duck the issue of abortion but instead says "It is much better for us to be present, promoting our pro-life message, than for us to stay away and leave the entire stage to our opponents." However, Bishop Wingle, in his letter said that engagement is now futile considering the March organizers are bent on advancing their anti-life agenda.

Canon lawyer Monsignor Vincent Foy of Toronto submitted a letter to Canada's Apostolic Nuncio which clearly illustrates the validity of Catholic objections to the march. "If the stated aim of the World March of Women were the right to kill Jewish or Irish or Quebec children, Catholic groups would recoil in horror. Yet the March targets... just as innocent a segment of our human family - our defenseless brothers and sisters in the womb. The child ripped to death in the womb or the human persons killed through abortifacient contraceptives ... have as much right to the pursuit of happiness and holiness as any marching radical feminist." He also showed how a kit, "World March of Women 2000, A Reflection and Action Kit for Church Networks," published by the Women's Inter-Church Council of Canada (WICC) contains materials incompatible with Catholic belief (and many other Christian faiths). This kit was forwarded to the CWL.

Fortunately, several more local CWL groups have spoken out against the march, including the BC and Yukon provincial CWL and the St. Catharine's (Ontario) archdiocesan CWL. The Toronto archdiocesan CWL also voted against the march at their annual convention. We are pleased to see so many rank and file CWL members speak out against the march and demand that this Catholic organization reconsider its support.

This whole debate is a mess that we'd rather not see, but remember that those who are defending Catholic teaching on abortion are in the right. Whatever the motivation for those participating in and supporting the march, they have given all its demands, including the ones for easy access to abortion and lesbian rights greater credence by their presence. We pray that all pro-lifers come to their senses and speak out against this march and distance themselves from it.

In May, the government passed Bill C-2, a new Elections Act which restricts third party speech during elections by limiting how much money they can spend. The gag law would severely undermine CLC efforts to educate candidates about life and family issues and voters on where the candidates stand on such issues. The Act restricts political expression by making it a crime (punishable by massive fines and a five-year jail term) for an individual or organization (such as CLC) to spend more than $150,000 addressing any and all public policy issues during an election. While $150,000 may sound like a lot of money, it is an average of just $500 per constituency, and no more than $3,000 can be targeted at any one riding. Thanks to efforts by the National Citizen's Coalition, previous gag laws in 1984 and 1993 were overturned by the courts, and rightfully so. Once again the National Citizen's Coalition, went to court on June 7 challenging the constitutionality of this one. The gag law can effectively ensure that issues like abortion will not be raised during an election by limiting our ability to address the issue. Gag laws have no place in a free and democratic country. Action Item: Contact your MPs and request that this anti-democratic legislation be reconsidered and defeated. You can mail your MP postage free at House of Commons, Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 0A4 or if you need help contacting your representative, please contact us at (416) 204-9781 or 1-800-730-5358.

The Annual General Meeting of the Manitoba Pharmaceutical Association has adopted a policy that allows pharmacists to refuse for reasons of conscience to dispense certain drugs. It is the first time a pharmacists' association in Canada has formally recognized the importance of freedom of conscience. We hope that Manitoba is merely the first to recognize the right of pharmacists not to have to compromise their moral and religious beliefs by dispensing abortifacient drugs such as the morning- after pill or contraceptives.

The June 2 Calgary Herald reported that pro-life activist Michael O'Malley lost his bid to carry a sign at the Kensington Abortion Clinic in Calgary that relayed the truth that abortion is murder and that it kills unborn babies. The court accepted the abortuary's lawyers's bid to prohibit the use of such terms as "killing" or "murder" on signs outside the abortuary. O'Malley said such restrictions violate his freedom of speech, the "fair comment on a public issue." Justice Mason said "You are free to hold your opinion," but that "you can't express it in such a way as to harm a legitimate business." Its too bad the courts are more interested in protecting the abortion franchises than the unborn babies, that they find the use of the word killing more offensive than the actual killing of innocent children.

Andrew Fournier had quite an adventure in the Ontario leg of his pilgrimage. He struggled with foot ailments that prevented him from covering the distance he usually does each day. However, when Andrew was in Toronto on May 26, about 40 people walked with him up Yonge Street (the longest street in Canada). At one point a few bystanding youth who were pro-abortion started talking to the group as they passed by and now they seem to have switched over to the pro-life side. At time of print, Andrew is rehabilitating from the foot injuries that have plagued him the past month and he is taking a break from his walk. But he will persevere. For more information please call CLC Youth at 416 204-9749. Thanks again to all those in Ontario who have helped out so far. We now need your support in the Prairie provinces.

Yours for Life,
Jim Hughes

CLC Strategy Meeting in Ottawa