Dear Pro-lifers:

As people tell me of their concerns about the coming dreaded West Nile disease, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and Middle Eastern war, I'm reminded of the words of the late, great Mother Teresa, "I know God won't give me anything I can't handle. I just wish He didn't trust me so much."

So, we work on doing whatever we're able, continuing the daily struggles against abortion, euthanasia, cloning, assisted suicide, destructive embryonic stem cell research and all kinds of evils threatening life and family.

We hope this letter finds you joyful doing God's work today. Remember that He told us to take care of today and not worry about tomorrow, because He'd handle that.

This current session of Parliament is expected to end on June 20th. As I write this letter we are still neck-deep in the controversial federal reproductive and technologies Bill C-13, feverishly attempting to get support for MP Garry Breitkreuz private members Motion 83, and making final preparations for the Annual March for Life on Parliament Hill, May 14.

I'm very happy with the efforts which have been expended thus far, by grassroots pro-lifers across Canada, on a wide variety of issues and action items recommended in our CLC National News.

We greatly appreciated the many letters, phone calls, E-mails and faxes of support, which we received throughout the Easter Season. We pray daily in our National and Lobby offices for all of you, our benefactors, for your loved ones and for your special intentions.

We are quite touched by the "stick-to-itness" of so many of you who, despite personal trials and tribulations, struggle through each day and never give up or get down.

Everyone seems to have their own set of special problems. Always remember that you're not alone - we're in this life's journey together, one life impacting on the next, the loss of each life marked and felt by all.

Prayerful quiet moments alone are essential for the health and well being of all pro-lifers. Actually, not just pro-lifers, but everyone in our communities. Only then, is it possible to hear what Almighty God is calling us to do.

We recently asked for special prayers for abortionist Henry Morgentaler who celebrated his 80th birthday on March 19th to which one of our supporters M.R. from Waterloo sent us the following prayer, which I gladly shall share with you.

O Almighty and Eternal God
Who savest all and willest not that
any should perish, look, we beseech
Thee, upon the souls that are led
astray by the deceits of the devil,
that rejecting all errors, the hearts of
those who err may be converted and
thus return to the unity of Thy truth,
through Christ Our Lord. Amen

As we have been observing for some months, our financial cupboard is emptying rapidly. We need you to respond as generously as you are able. Perhaps you might share an income tax rebate, a bequest or other unexpected windfall. We are always very grateful.

Again, please consider placing CLC as a beneficiary of your will. Call Rhonda at (416) 204-9749 or 1-800-730-5358 if you need information about how to do this.

So there you have it. We'll continue to do our very best in all that we do.

"Therefore do not be anxious, about tomorrow; for tomorrow will have anxieties of its own. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble." (Matt: 6:34)

Yours for Life
Jim Hughes

P.S. Please try to complete as many Action Items from the CLC National News as you are able. For it is each and every little effort completed with the right attitude, that, taken together, becomes a groundswell.

"I waited patiently for somebody to do something … and then I realized that I was somebody." - Anonymous

After nine years of hard work, MP Garry Breitkreuz (CA, Yorkton-Melville) has finally had one of his bills or motions drawn not just for debate, but a vote. Breitkreuz's Private Member's Motion M-83 directs "the Standing Committee on Health [to] 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 in accordance with the Canada Health Act; and (b) the health risks for women undergoing abortions compared to women carrying their babies to full term."

Breitkreuz, who has worked on several motions and bills attempting to bring the rights of the unborn before Parliament, last year countered Health Minister Anne McLellan's dubious claim "that obviously abortion is a medically necessary service" and challenged her to provide evidence.

Breitkreuz has pressed the federal Health Department and the health departments of the provinces and territories, but none have provided evidence supporting McLellan's claim. In fact, a Health Canada letter admitted that they don't have any evidence showing that abortions are "medically necessary."

Barring a last minute betrayal by the powers that be, motion M-83 will be debated for two hours May 13 and voted on sometime later this year. Breitkreuz, who just last year won the Joseph P. Borowski award recognizing a politician for his or her outstanding commitment to the pro-life cause, said "If passed by the House of Commons, my motion would require the Standing Committee on Health to fully examine this question of whether or not an abortion is a 'medically necessary' procedure in accordance with the definition in the Canada Health Act. If the Health Committee's study reveals that most abortions are not a 'medically necessary' procedure, then taxpayers shouldn't be paying for them." Breitkreuz also said that the findings may lead society to understand that abortion not only kills the unborn child but is dangerous to mothers as well. "Every woman and her family should know what these health risks are before they reach a decision to have an abortion."

The murder of Modesto, California native Laci Peterson and her preborn baby, whom she had already named Connor, has resulted in double murder charges against husband Scott Peterson. Marva Stark, president of a local New Jersey chapter of NOW (National Organization of Women) is claiming that only the murder of the mother should be considered because the child was one month away from birth. These outrageous remarks by members of NOW show clearly the lengths the pro-abortion fanatics will go to in order to preserve their ability to kill preborn children. They refuse to acknowledge the obvious fact that when you murder a pregnant woman you kill the mother and her child. Karen Murawsky, Director Public Affairs in CLC's Ottawa office, said "The tragedy of this horrible murder is compounded by the strident voices of those who would defy justice and ignore the death of this tiny baby, Connor, in order to advance their selfish agenda of murder in utero." Stark later "modified" her stance, defending her comments as merely "thinking out loud." One way to look at this is that Ms. Stark said what many feminists are thinking. Campaign Life Coalition National Organizer Mary Ellen Douglas informed the National Post that in Canada, the law would not be there to serve the murdered child and that there would be only one murder charge. CLC will continue its constant battle to obtain a law in Canada which will protect the right to life for all Canadians from fertilization to natural death.

The fact that the government has not yet passed C-13, the Assisted Human Reproduction Act, is a good sign. Campaign Life Coalition supporters such as yourselves have joined pro-life MPs in fighting against this abominable bill that fails to recognize and respect the sanctity of human life from the time of fertilization/conception. If our concerns were not valid or if the government thought it had the votes and could get away with it, C-13 would have passed by now. But the government realizes that opposition to embryonic stem cell research and human cloning - the former is permitted with a license granted through a new regulatory body C-13 creates, the latter is allowed because the bill fails to properly define human cloning - is so great, that if it allows this fundamentally flawed bill to pass, the issue will not just go away (despite the fact many MPs and cabinet members wish it would).

Over the past few months, MPs of all parties have been left in the dark about when voting would take place and how the amendments would be dealt with. A number of times the government has rescheduled debates or scheduled, but not actually debated the issue. But we have stayed the course, congratulating and supporting the MPs who have spoken out against this bill and attempting to work with MPs who still do not understand the dangers of the bill.

Our efforts have struck a chord. Many MPs on both sides of the abortion issue, now see the flaws of C-13. The government's reaction to any challenge against their claim that the bill does what it actually fails to do (namely, prohibit certain immoral activities) has been denial. We obtained a March 17 memo from Health Minister Anne McLellan which created confusion by once again falsely asserting that C-13 bans the creation of human embryos for research purposes, the cloning of human embryos and the formation of chimeras. But many MPs were not buying it. Still, McLellan calls C-13 a balanced approach - but what is the balance between prohibiting and permitting human cloning? She also stated if the bill doesn't pass, cloning would remain legal. This is false; such illicit research is currently halted in Canada through a voluntary moratorium. In fact, the bill makes it possible to proceed with cloning because it has been demonstrated that the wording of the definition of cloning in clause #3 specifically allows the creation of cloned human beings using the following techniques: pronuclei transfer, mitochondria transfer and DNA-recombinant germ line gene transfer. Also, it is through pronuclei transfer, that animal-human chimeras (hybrids) could be created, a process permitted with the current wording of C-13.

Despite the fact that Paul Szabo's (Lib, Mississauga South) anti-cloning amendment 13 passed, he admitted to LifeSite Daily News that human cloning is still permitted by the current wording of C-13. In March, Szabo's amendment to ban the creation of "a human clone by using any technique" passed narrowly, but he said that since the definition of cloning in the bill is still faulty, certain types of human cloning would not be considered cloning by the legislation and thus would not be covered by his motion.

Even if the public, the press and parliamentarians are confused about what the bill does and does not permit, researchers are not similarly confused. We have seen evidence that many researchers understand that much of what they want will be permitted when currently unwritten regulations render meaningless any so-called prohibitions in the bill. For instance, Drew Lyall, executive director of Stem Cell Network, recently wrote in Lab Business (Spring 2003) that the prohibitions in the bill are merely stepping stones to the research being fully sanctioned by regulation some time down the road: "Make it a prohibited activity that can be changed by regulation into a controlled activity which requires a license," as opposed to criminalizing human cloning, he urged parliamentarians. In short, by not explicitly prohibiting cloning, punishable under the Criminal Code, the government is playing into the hands of researchers in allowing human cloning with no more protection than a license from a federal agency. Lyall urged MPs not to "shut the door on this" but this is one door that should never be opened.

The UN's Commission on the Status of Women took place at UN headquarters in New York in late March and once again negotiations were halted with the introduction of pro-abortion language by the European Union and Canada. The European Union's call to "ensure that all human rights of women are respected including sexual and reproductive health" - a legalism that attempts to make abortion a universal human right - created havoc. Pro-life lobbyists at the meeting watched in shock as delegates, non-government organizations and officials engaged in shouting matches. No consensus was reached and no report was adopted. Many years ago, this issue might have sailed right through but due to years of working to alert delegates to the anti-life agenda, many countries are watching more closely what western radical elites are attempting to foist upon them.

The international community is gearing up for its third meeting to discuss a global ban on human cloning. The meeting is scheduled to take place at UN headquarters in September 2003. Last fall, the US won a motion to delay the debate for a year arguing that it would be better to wait and come up with a stronger agreement later. The debate centers on whether the UN ban should be comprehensive on all forms of cloning or whether there should be allowances made for research cloning. CLC will be closely monitoring this debate.

The assault case involving a woman pepper-spraying a pro-life counselor has come to an end - for now. Last August, Carol Ann Trueman attacked Aid to Women counselor Robert Hinchey as he was aiding a girl who had changed her mind about having an abortion. After a series of legal maneuvers, Trueman pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of common assault (instead of assault with a weapon). On March 24, she was convicted of her crime in College Park Court in Toronto, but after a bizarre odyssey of events in which Hinchey was placed on the witness stand and allowed to give his version of events, Judge Cathy Mocha questioned the admissibility of Hinchey's statements. Crown attorney Chris Punter labeled Hinchey's testimony mere "perceptions" of what took place. Consequently, Judge Mocha accepted a "deterrent sentence" for Trueman consisting of a period of probation in which she must stay away from Hinchey and not carry any form of weaponry, including pepper spray or dog repellent. She was given an absolute discharge - four days after pleading guilty to assault. Judge Cathy Mocha commented on the fact that Trueman was genuinely "remorseful" and ruled that the assailant had acted more out of fear than aggression, despite the fact that it was Trueman who approached Hinchey and the girl he was providing counselling to (in a hospital clinic). The pepper spray left Hinchey blinded and in pain for 15 minutes and he suffered a scratched eyeball and had to take antibiotics to ward off infection. CLC is encouraging Ontario residents to make their views known to the justice system on the "sentence" given to Ms. Trueman. In the meantime, Hinchey is considering his legal options, including a possible civil suit.

Can you imagine for a moment if the shoe was on the other foot? Supposing a pro-lifer followed a pro-abortion worker to a hospital clinic and forcibly removed a woman who was there voluntarily. Then if the pro-lifer pepper-sprayed the pro-abort in the eyes, causing everyone in the waiting room to be evacuated and treated, wrestling with security personnel and dragging the woman into an elevator and leaving. Can you picture the street outside the hospital clinic jammed with emergency personnel (fire, police and ambulance). Imagine the shock that the pro-abort was suffering - blind, in pain, not knowing what had been sprayed in his eyes (detergent, acid, who knows) - as firefighters in gas masks rush by. Then the pro-abort, being taken to the emergency room at the hospital across the street for treatment and given antibiotics. Then weeks later learning that in one letter to staff, hospital authorities commended medical personnel for their prompt response to the emergency situation and then in another letter to the pro-abort informing him that he was no longer welcome to accompany women to the hospital clinic and laying down other rules about assistance to pregnant moms. After all this, imagine the case making its way to the courts and on many trial dates the pro-lifer failing to show because she was out of the country - or her lawyer failing to show. Or on another occasion her lawyer and the judge meeting to decide what charges she would face - the negotiations resulting in the charges dropping from assault with a weapon to simple assault, no jail time: virtually exonerated.

Now that you've pondered this unlikely scenario for a moment, consider what really happened when over the past half-decade in the numerous arrests of pro-life heroine Linda Gibbons, repeatedly arrested for walking back and forth in front of a Toronto abortuary, praying and offering help to pregnant moms. Or the arrest of pro-life and Christian journalists covering Linda's witness. Do you see why many people have lost faith in our "justice" system. Still, cynicism must not be our response. We have an obligation to encourage politicians and other leaders to eliminate these abuses of the rule of law.

According to the March 28 release of abortion numbers by Statistics Canada, it is clear that Canada is imperiling its own future by eliminating the equivalent of a good sized city every year. Although the numbers are incomplete because Ontario does not release the number of babies killed in private facilities, at least 105,427 unborn children were aborted in 2000 (the last year in which numbers are available). This death toll is added to more than the two million slaughtered since 1969. The magnitude of this atrocity appears to be lost on the average person in Canada. Our federal leaders try to brag about their human rights record in Canada and abroad, while they ignore the mounting death toll that they have refused to stop here at home. Perhaps we are becoming desensitized to the carnage. CLC National Organizer Mary Ellen Douglas said "Statistics are cold numbers but each one of these precious babies before birth are human beings who were systematically dismembered by doctors and this was paid for by the taxpayers." She continued: "The death of each of these babies has been recorded in the Book of Life long before they were counted by StatCan." The magnitude of these numbers should be appalling to the Canadian public and our elected officials. Campaign Life Coalition renews its call on the federal government to enact legislation to protect the right to life for all Canadians from conception (fertilization) until natural death as they were directed by the Supreme Court in 1988.

His Eminence Gerald Emmett Cardinal Carter, the retired Roman Catholic Archbishop of Toronto, was recognized and eulogized on April 10 with a huge send off at Toronto's St. Michael's Cathedral after his death on April 6. At a funeral attended by the who's who of Canada - the Prime Minister Jean Chretien, former prime minister John Turner, Ontario Premier Ernie Eves, former Ontario premiers Bill Davis and Bob Rae, the lieutenant governor, more than 40 bishops, 250 priests and many other dignitaries, as well as other well-wishers - this powerful Catholic churchman was laid to rest among prayers and accolades. In recent years, I had occasion to help lift him in his wheelchair down from the stage at the Cardinal's fundraising dinner. He quipped, "that was an uplifting experience." And again, "I didn't believe I'd ever get a 'lift' from Jim Hughes." His role in the abortion battles in Canada will be doubtless chronicled elsewhere. Suffice it to say when I first met him I said we needed a strong spiritual leader and he responded "I'm political." His efforts proved to be prophetic. As two people from Irish backgrounds, may I wish him that God have mercy on his soul.

This is one last appeal to have you join us at the annual March for Life in Ottawa. This is a tremendous public witness to all of Canada that the injustice of abortion must not be allowed to continue. This year's theme is "Life, the Only Choice" - a message we want to make clear to the entire country. To that end, there are a number of events: youth programs on May 13 and 15, the powerfully moving candlelight vigil at the Human Rights Monument on the evening of the 13th and the banquet on May 14 featuring international pro-life crusader Dr. Jack Willke. Dr. Willke will share the knowledge and wisdom he has gained in his decades-long fight against abortion and euthanasia. And, of course, there is the march in the streets of downtown Ottawa in the afternoon after pro-life MPs and Senators have addressed the crowd on May 14. Come and give encouragement to the many pro-life MPs who are uplifted by the presence of marchers on Parliament Hill. As well, send a strong message to Prime Minister Jean Chretien, Justice Minister Martin Cauchon, Health Minister Anne McLellan and all MPs that the law must recognize and protect the sanctity of all human life. If you are unable to make it, please consider making a donation to help offset the costs of putting on this huge event or making a pledge for the vigil and join us in spirit. For more information, call Bill in the Toronto office at (416) 204-9749 or 1-800-730-5358 or Wanda in the Ottawa office at (613) 729-0379.

On May 25, 1978 Campaign Life was formed in Winnipeg, Manitoba.We are proudly celebrating 25 years of service to the cause of life. We will be saving our anniversary party until Saturday, September 13, 2003 so that leaders from across the country who will be in Toronto for the National Strategy Meeting can attend. Please mark the date on your calendar and plan to attend the party of the year.

Yours for life
Jim Hughes
National President