Dear pro-lifers,

The CLC News is usually written at least two to five weeks before you receive it (especially depending on postal service to different parts of the country).

We normally develop three drafts before The News is sent off to the printer. Printing takes 3 or 4 days and then it is shipped off to the mailing house, which collates the newsletter, our appeal letter, the trigger card, return envelopes and any other inserts. This process takes another 3 or 4 days after which it is taken to the post office.

We do our very best to produce a first-rate newsletter with timely and interesting information so that you'll be able to keep up to date with our latest efforts.

The Interim, the monthly pro-life, pro-family newspaper, covers a much wider spectrum of issues and is an ideal companion to the CLC News.

In addition to these two monthlies, we share LifeSite Daily News on the Internet which is received by subscribers in many countries.

All three are pro-life efforts designed to keep Canadians and others informed about crucial issues that are rarely presented in a thorough fashion in the mainstream press.

The majority of Canadians, who understand the necessity of restoring Christian or biblical principles into our laws and government policies, are served well by our three, hard-to-replace publications. Justice (starting with the right to life), peace and long term social stability are impossible without our publications' principles, which are also valued by most of the world's great religions.

Although we try our best to raise funds through the sale of cakes, cards, and poinsettia plants at Christmas, and through the collection of pennies and Coins For Life campaigns, the monthly appeal letters generate the vast bulk of our revenues.

During the last two months our donations were way down, and combined with the low returns of months previous to that, we now find ourselves desperately short of funds.

Hopefully, the international pro-life conference that is about to take place (as I write this) in Toronto from October 24-27 will generate some additional revenues or at the very least break even financially. That would be a nice bonus in addition to the information and inspiration benefits it provides.

We thank in advance those of you who have made special sacrifices to attend. But we realize that only a fraction of our supporters are able to attend such conferences because of time, travel or financial constraints. For those of you who couldn't make it, look for an ad for the conference tapes in a future issue of the newsletter.

Our yearly planning and strategy has resulted in a full work schedule throughout the final quarter of 2002, the most important being our work in Parliament to defeat bill C-13 (formerly C-56) dealing with embryonic stem cell research.

We have battled long and hard on the stem cell issue, hoping and praying that common sense and courage will prevail and that only somatic (adult) stem cell research will be approved. This research as been proven effective for over 20 years and will result in even greater breakthroughs in cures or treatments for major illnesses.

Unethical embryonic stem cell research, being intensely pushed by the scientific community and drug companies that stand to make windfall profits from subsequently needed anti-rejection drugs, has a dismal track record. Worse, it always requires the destruction of human beings in order to use their body parts.

This is a diabolical, ghoulish type of research reminiscent of Nazi medical experiments. If it is legally permitted, scientists and corporations will naturally continue to push the envelope further and further to experiment on other classes of human beings. Why not, because the state will have established the basic principle that it permissible to create, kill and experiment upon human beings.

Defeating the government's fundamentally flawed legislation on reproductive and experimental technologies has taken a huge amount of work and severely depleted our resources.

Please help us in this struggle against evil by offering your prayers and sacrifices to Almighty God on our behalf for his little ones, the handicapped and elderly.

Also, please remember us when you next take out your cheque books. We cannot function without your regular and continued support. Make no mistake about it - your donations help save lives.

Justice Minister Anne McLellan has given assurances to researchers that Canada will allow embryonic stem cell research before the legislation has even been debated in the House of Commons. McLellan said "It's obviously a controversial issue for some people but within an appropriate framework, embryonic stem cell research should be allowed to take place." She made her comments after the revelation that Gregory Korbutt, an associate professor of surgery at the University of Alberta Surgical Medical Research Institute plans to use human embryonic stem cells as part of his research. McLellan told the Edmonton Sun that "It's inappropriate to shut down the potential that might exist within embryonic stem cell research."

CLC National Organizer Mary-Ellen Douglas said it is very "strange that the Minister is making comments to scientists that embryos will be used for research even though debate has not been completed on the proposed bill." What crystal ball is McLellan using to know that the legislation will pass? Has all pretence of democratic debate been abandoned as the government cracks the whip in an effort to force MPs to vote for fundamentally flawed legislation which allows embryonic stem cell research and experimental human cloning? It appears so.

Ideally, MPs should be guided by a combination of personal conscience, the will of the voters, and party discipline but should never knowingly violate moral principles. If the fix is in and the Health Minister is already reassuring scientists that embryonic stem cell research will be allowed (and, it should be added, funded at taxpayer expense through federal agencies such the Canadian Institutes of Health Research), then it seems the votes of MPs will be determined only through party discipline. Sadly, if this travesty of democracy is allowed to stand, immoral research will become common-place in Canada and hundreds of thousands, and soon millions, of tiny embryos will be sacrificed on the altar of science.

Canadian abortionist Henry Morgentaler has announced that he will sue New Brunswick and "possibly" Nova Scotia in an effort to have the provinces fund abortions committed in private abortuaries. At present, five provinces - Manitoba, Quebec, PEI, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia - refuse to fund abortions done in private abortion mills - a position abortion activists wrongly claim contravenes the Canada Health Act.

Morgentaler, who stands to profit hugely from federal funding of his lucrative chain of abortion mills, says: federal Health Minister Anne McLellan is "afraid" and that "she doesn't want to antagonize anybody, she has a position of power where she could tell the provinces, 'If you don't follow and obey the Canada Health Act we will withhold substantial federal transfer payments'." He vowed to undo what he saw as a grave wrong and take the governments of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia to court. Campaign Life Coalition New Brunswick President Peter Ryan said his province's policy does not contravene the Canada Health Act because "The Act is about paying for medically necessary procedures. Ending an unwanted pregnancy is a personal choice, not a medical necessity."

Ryan and other pro-lifers took issue with the CBC "news" report on Morgentaler's announcement because the national broadcaster stated erroneously that five provinces contravene the Act. "That is Morgentaler's contention, not fact," Ryan told LifeSite. "Even Ottawa has not made that claim." Morgentaler and his ilk claim that fully funding abortion at his private abortion franchises is the only way women can exercise their right to abortion. This despite the fact that in four of the five provinces that do not fully fund abortion at private facilities, the province does provide taxpayer funded abortion at public hospitals. Morgentaler is more concerned about his profits than women. The court action is nothing more than bullying New Brunswickers into accepting what their democratically elected provincial representatives have thus far decided is not in the interest of the health of women: funding private abortuaries which lack the medical facilities to handle numerous complications that may arise.

But elected officials should go further and end public funding of abortion completely, regardless of where it is done. Polls consistently show the public disapproves of taxpayer funding of abortion, the healthcare system is already strapped for cash, the Canada Health Act requires only the funding of medically necessary procedures and defunding is the right thing to do. In a press release we said: "Campaign Life Coalition calls on the federal government to ignore these publicity-seeking rantings and use taxpayers' money to heal the sick, not kill the healthy."

During the debate over private abortuary funding, Morgentaler dismissed Prince Edward Island as "a joke of a province." This particular vulgarity was on display after being asked why he wasn't also suing the island province along with N.S. and N.B. It appears the criteria for his labelling of PEI as a joke province rests with a population of 230,000 - or twice the number of abortions committed in this country annually. CLC National President Jim Hughes replied that "The joke is on Henry, the public is not fooled by his pretended concern for women in his quest to get taxpayer dollars to fund his abortion mills. His offensive comments towards the people of PEI demonstrate just who has the real concern for distressed women and their children." Hughes noted that far from being a joke, PEI is a beacon for the rest of the country because it is "the only province which protects its children from abortion predators like Henry Morgentaler."

In August, a Leger Marketing poll found that 75% of Canadians are concerned about the future financing of their pension plans due to the aging population and slowing population growth. Recognition of the economic problems that arise with an aging population - increased pension and healthcare costs - have led some governments to curtail such programs, raise the age of retirement or significantly increase immigration. Yet, few elected officials are willing to face the most obvious reason for the rapidly aging population: fertility rates below replacement level. The main reason for the drastic decrease in the fertility rate is abortion on demand and the easy availability of all forms of birth control, many of which are abortifacient. Furthemore, government financial and social policies have made it increasingly difficult for couples to raise children.

Responding to the latest figures on Canada's declining birthrates, Globe and Mail columnist Bruce Little (October 2) said that the failure of Canadians to have more children imperils our future. "Canadian couples are not having enough kids even to replace themselves - and have not for more than three decades now ... so long as we Canadians don't replace ourselves, we put ourselves on a path that's almost impossible to alter. The economics columnist also challenged the conventional wisdom (shared by all the federal political parties) that immigrants will somehow fill the gap: "More immigration won't change the underlying pattern."

We are hopeful the growing public recognition of the serious economic consequences of our low birth rate will provide political momentum for pro-natalist, pro-family policies.

On September 30, Yorkton-Melville MP Garry Breitkreuz introduced Motion M-83 that requests Parliament establish whether abortion is medically necessary. M-83 states, "That the Standing Committee on Health should fully examine, study and report to Parliament on: (a) whether or not abortions are medically necessary for the purpose of maintaining health, preventing disease or diagnosing or treating an injury, illness or disability; and (b) the health risks for women undergoing abortions compared to women carrying their babies to full term."

Breitkreuz's motion hasn't been deemed votable but is vitally important as it will open up the debate over medical necessity and expose Morgentaler's claim that abortion must be funded under the Canada Health Act as nothing but a sham. "Medical necessity" is used to determine which health procedures should be taxpayer-funded under the CHA. CLC has long emphasized that abortion is chosen for convenience and is, as abortion advocates always say, "a choice," not a necessity. Last October, CARAL representatives testifying before the Finance Committee admitted that most women choose abortion for social reasons such as finishing school or advancing a career. Pro-abortion advocates are so desperate to defend the indefensible that they have abandoned all logic by saying that abortion is both a choice and a medical necessity. Action Item: Contact your MPs and urge them to support M-83. Politely tell your MP that abortion is not a medical necessity because pregnancy is neither an illness nor a disease; it is a lifestyle choice that should not be funded under the Canada Health Act. Write postage free to your MP at the House of Commons, Parliament Buildings, Ottawa, K1A 0A6. If you need help finding your MP, call CLC at (416) 204-9749 or 1-800-730-5358.

The announcement by Joe Clark that he is stepping down as Tory leader could have been a tremendous opportunity for pro-lifers to greatly influence the Progressive Conservative party and the larger conservative movement. Many pro-lifers had hoped that eventually the PCs and Canadian Alliance would unite around a genuinely conservative political platform that included a pro-life, pro-family plank. That said, it appears the party wants little to do with pro-lifer Canadians. At its August convention in Edmonton, the party rejected any effort to work with social conservatives or the Canadian Alliance (which the upper circles of the party view as the same thing). Time and time again, party members criticized the Alliance for being, in the words of one delegate, "a bunch of wing-nuts." Many Tories dislike or fear the influence of social conservative within the Alliance. Others consider pro-life, pro-family positions to be beyond the pale. Others see policies that would restrict abortion or support the family as electoral albatrosses, even if they themselves agree with pro-lifers. Indeed, many Ontario Tories who temporarily supported the Alliance in 2000, urged the party to jettison its very moderate social conservative positions. (Remember no federal party except the Christian Heritage Party is committed to rescinding abortion or supporting the traditional family.)

New Brunswick Premier Bernard Lord emerged from the convention as a possible Tory leadership contender. Despite repeated protests that he is not interested, the socially liberal, pro-abortion Globe and Mail was still pumping him up as the saviour of the Progressive Conservative Party a month-and-a-half after the convention. While Lord's government battled the federal government last year over the issue of funding abortion at private abortuaries, he appears motivated less by a conviction that abortion is wrong than by fiscal and constitutional priorities - not funding such abortions saves taxpayers money and the view that the provinces, not Ottawa, should decide what is funded under the Canada Health Act. But despite his boyish good looks and charm, the fact he is fluently bilingual, and his overwhelming electoral victory in New Brunswick in 1999, Lord would be a poor choice for the party's leadership. Lord outlined the road he thought the Tories should follow to return to pre-eminence and it is taken from the same map Kim Campbell, Jean Charest and Joe Clark used: fiscal responsibility and social tolerance, liberalism or moderation - whatever word they're using today. As CLC New Brunswick President Peter Ryan has noted, when he, Ryan, raised the issue of welcoming the unborn, the premier was silent. Furthermore, Lord has "repeatedly rebuffed" invitations to sit down with pro-life leaders, even during last year's stand-off with then Health Minister Allan Rock over abortion funding. "He's very deliberately avoiding the issue," concluded Ryan, who was told by PC party insiders that the possibility of Lord's courting the pro-life voters is "out of the question."

Other potential candidates for the party leadership include MPs Peter Mackay, Scott Brison, Andre Bachand and Rick Borotsik (none of whom have done anything for life or family in Parliament and all of whom have criticized the Alliance for what they deem its socially extreme positions) as well as John Tory, the leftish head of Rogers Cable and Mike Harris, who broke his promise not to expand abortion services in Ontario. One possible bright spot is Jim Flaherty, the Ontario minister who finished second to Ernie Eves in the race to replace Harris as Ontario PC leader and premier. After a weak campaign start, Flaherty began to warm to pro-life themes. Flaherty repeatedly said he was pro-life during the campaign and said he would consider defunding abortion as part of a larger plan to cut health costs. However, Flaherty was reluctant to reach out to pro-life voters. Perhaps, though, he has learned from his mistakes and would recognize that conservative parties must reach out to all of their constituents, whether they are in the fiscal or social camps.

We urge people inclined to support the Tories to purchase and renew their memberships immediately. While details of the party's leadership race have yet to be announced, we hope pro-lifers within the party will take the opportunity of the leadership race to raise abortion as an issue. Even in the absence of a pro-life candidate, it is important that we provide a voice urging the party to re-look at the issue of abortion. It is by such steps that parties can be changed.

In the October issue of The Interim, assistant editor Tony Gosgnach wrote a marvellous two-page centrespread story exposing the corporate and "philanthropic" foundation support for social liberal causes such as abortion, contraception and gay rights. One figure stands out: according to the Life Research Institute, 242 foundations gave a total of $268 million (U.S.!) to abortion, contraception, promiscuity-promoting and population control causes in 1999 alone. That is foundation money; corporations gave millions more. With such dollars at their disposal, the abortion empire is vast and powerful. That is why we are supporting Life Decisions International's efforts to expose corporate support for abortion and their selling of The Boycott List. American Express funds Planned Parenthood directly. Others, such as Dairy Queen, are owned by Warren Buffet's Berkshire Group which, through Buffet's foundation, funnels money to morally objectionable causes (primarily population control schemes in the developing world). Likewise, Microsoft founder Bill Gates generously gave $212 million to "reproductive health" causes in 2000 alone through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

The Boycott List is sold in Canada through an agreement with The Interim for $26. Additional Boycott Lists are available for $5. Some people have complained that the list is not provided for free. Please understand that LDI has gone through a great deal of work to compile a comprehensive list of such corporations and it has been successful in getting 84 corporations to stop supporting pro-abortion causes. This list would not be available without the hard work of LDI and these corporations would not have stopped funding abortion causes without the dogged determination of Doug Scott's organization. This Boycott List is a tremendous tool in the battle against the abortion culture. Parts of the proceeds will remain with The Interim as they will continue to investigate and expose corporate support for abortion in Canada and abroad.

The contraception mentality has solidly gripped Canada and two recent news stories demonstrate this vividly. Evra, a patch produced by Janssen-Ortho Inc., will go on sale in Canada in the New Year. The one square-inch patch that releases a steady flow of hormones directly into the bloodstream was approved by Health Canada despite the fact that there could be tremendous dangers to women. The patch is to be worn for a week long period, three weeks out of four. While abortion advocates claim it is safe, convenient and effective, others have their doubts. Dr. John Shea, a fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Canada and a medical advisor to CLC, said it "causes all the usual, dreadful effects that the (oral) pill does - perhaps more so, because it is taken at a consistent pace." Indeed, research shows a number of "potentially serious side-effects," including blood clots, strokes and heart attacks. Less lethal side-effects include breast tenderness, headaches, nausea, upper respiratory infections, menstrual cramps and abdominal pain. Although the contraceptive's manufacturer won't admit it, there is also the increased risk of breast cancer. Chris Kahlenborn, author of The Breast Cancer Link to Abortion and the Birth Control Pill, pointed to evidence linking oral contraceptives and breast cancer. The patch uses the same ingredients, synthetic progestin and estrogen. Of course, the main problem with Evra, like the birth control pill, is that it often works as an abortifacient by impeding the implantation of a fertilized egg in the uterine wall; unable to access much needed nutrients, the tiny embryo then starves to death.

Also, Health Canada is being lobbied by Paladin Labs, makers of Plan B, to allow the so-called emergency contraceptive or morning-after pill, to be sold without a doctor's prescription. For all the same reasons that the patch is unsafe and should not be allowed, Plan B should not be sold at all, let alone with great ease. Plan B is a high dose birth control pill used within a few days of sexual intercourse in order to make the uterus inhospitable to a newly conceived embryo which dies because it cannot implant in the uterine wall.

It is a travesty that pharmaceutical companies, which could be using their resources to cure disease and help the sick, are busy promoting contraception. This should not be the priority of the pharmaceutical industry and Health Canada, both of which should be helping people. These contraceptives are dangerous to women and lethal to unborn babies.

One strategy to interest young people in the pro-life cause is to offer curriculum material for use in schools. Fortunately, The Interim is producing this important educational tool composed by experienced senior level educators. Young people are open to wholesome ideas that make sense and address life related issues. What is a curriculum supplement? It is a learning resource consisting of readings and guided questions on selected topics or issues. Usually there is one or two articles appearing in a particular issue of The Interim which lend themselves to extended class discussion. For example, in the October edition there were two articles dealing with the new International Criminal Court. A teacher of history, law, world politics, or religion could have an interest in this new institution. Interim Plus (supplement) provides Interim articles, additional material drawn from other publications and internet sites, and accompanying questions.

The teachers receive through email a 4-page supplement to assist them in teaching the topic from a faith-based perspective and with a life-issue angle.

You can help to expand this service and thus promote The Interim newspaper and traditional values on life and family among educators and young readers by donating an amount of money earmarked for this curriculum program. A gift subscription for a specific school in your local area will help spread the news about the curriculum supplement to others. You can also support Interim Plus by joining the Hi-5 program to support the work of The Interim in this special way. Hi-5 is a monthly pre-authorized cheque withdrawal and it is a convenient way of subscribing to The Interim without worrying about sending out annual renewals. For more information, call Interim circulation manager Dan Di Rocco at (416) 204-1687 or 1-800-730-5358 or email dirocco@lifesite.net. Interim Plus is also available free to Interim subcribers who homeschool their chidlren.

Thank you for the response to our plea for help in organizing and selling Christmas cakes. The planning is in full swing. We need a lot of help to make it the total success it needs to be. So much depends on the money raised through this particular fundraiser. You can personally help by buying a cake for family, friends, or neighbour; buying one as a gift to an employee, your child's or grandchild's teacher, coach, ballet instructor or crossing guard; volunteering to sell the cakes at your church; finding a friend to help sell the cakes; requesting or encouraging your pastor to permit the sale of cakes (If CLC Christmas cakes are sold in your church, please thank the pastor); approaching local schools and bringing the availability of the cakes to the attention of the school council or the teaching staff. Whatever you can do to help is greatly appreciated. Christmas cake sales keep our doors open at the beginning of each year when donations go down after people get their bills for Christmas shopping. Thus far, the campaign is taking good shape right across the nation. But we still could use a lot of help in certain areas like Alberta and in the Atlantic region.

The cakes are scrumptious, exquisite in taste and beautifully wrapped to maintain optimum freshness. We can fill orders by mail. Let your American friends and family members experience a taste of Canada at Christmas, or even earlier at American Thanksgiving in late November. Don't forget that Eastern rite Christians celebrate Christmas in January and so the opportunity for gift giving is longer than we think.

In some areas, for the first time in 12 years, we have had to slightly increase the price. In prior years we had been able to absorb increased costs; unfortunately in those areas we are no longer able to hold the price down. They are still bargain prices considering the size and superb quality. Christmas cakes are easy to sell. They represent value and tradition. They are welcomed by many people as a delicious treat at a fair price.

Yours for Life,
Jim Hughes