Pro-lifers and politics

Politics should be more than a spectator sport so although some people may delight in the happenings in the Liberal Party following the Prime Minister's sacking of his popular and effective Finance Minister Paul Martin, the possible leadership race raises serious issues for pro-lifers. The question for those of us who respect the sanctity of life and understand that the unborn deserve legal protection is not just who to support per se, but what strategy or strategies should pro-lifers use in the political arena.

This fact is highlighted by the NDP leadership race which will culminate in that party's November leadership convention and the distinct possibility of a Tory leadership race following Joe Clark's leadership review.

The Interim does not endorse political parties. Instead we urge readers to support pro-life candidates within each party during leadership races, nominations at the constituency level and at election time. We also support the Christian Heritage Party, which is the only federal party that calls for legal protection for the unborn.

We are mindful that many of our readers support various parties and we support their efforts to elect candidates who will work to protect life and family. We remind readers that during an election, support for abortion is a disqualifying issue.

Leadership races present a slightly different challenge/opportunity. Sometimes pro-lifers must work to elect leadership candidates who, though not necessarily pro-life, would do the least harm if elected leader and perhaps prime minister.

For starters, pro-lifers who are delegates to party conventions must be diligent to see that anti-life, anti-family policies be defeated, or if that is not possible, then amended to remove as much of the evil as possible. No one may vote for policies which agree in principle with abortion, euthanasia or assisted suicide. Most Christian churches would agree that the responsibility of party members in this regard is to mitigate the evil.

That said, we hope and pray that genuinely pro-life leaders run for and win the leadership races of each party. But that will not happen if pro-lifers abandon their responsibility to be involved in the political process. That means, at the very least, voting for pro-life candidates on election day. It is also important to be involved in party politics, raising the issue whenever possible and supporting pro-life measures and individuals.

Purchase a membership in whatever party you support and do it today before the official leadership campaigns begin. You can't fulfill your responsibility and be part of the solution unless you are willing to take part in the political process.

It matters less what party you support than the fact you support people who will help advance the pro-life cause.

Canadians growing leery of gay agenda

A prominent sociologist says despite growing public acceptance of homosexuality, Canadians are showing an increasing reluctance to extend equal rights to homosexuals. Reginald Bibby, a University of Lethbridge sociologist who has been surveying social trends for 25 years, said Canadians who agree that sexual relations between same-sex adults are "not wrong at all" has tripled from 14 per cent in 1975 to 44 per cent in 2000.

However, the number who say it's "always" or "almost always wrong" has dropped from 70 per cent in 1985 to 40 per cent in 2000. Also, Canadians who support the idea that "homosexuals are entitled to the same rights as other Canadians" dropped from 81 per cent in 1990 to 70 per cent in 2000.

It should be noted that public approval of homosexuality has decreased slightly since the gay lobby has won a number of high-profile court cases which have infringed upon the rights of religious institutions and people of faith such as the Brockie case in Ontario and the Vriend case before the Supreme Court. It seems clear that while Canadians are willing to tolerate homosexuals and certainly do not want them to be mistreated (i.e. they shouldn't be victims of violence or unreasonable discrimination in employment and housing), they are less open to giving their seal of approval to same-sex relationships by considering them equal to traditional marriage.