Dear Pro-lifer Friends,

As we enter the season of Advent, another opportunity presents itself to all of us,an opportunity to reflect on how our actions have squared up with the calling we have been given to promote the Culture of Life.

We celebrate Christmas as the real Thanksgiving because of God’s great generosity in sending us a child, His Son, Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, God made man. This was the ultimate pro-life event in history, confirming forever the sacredness of every human life.

We know and try to understand life’s trials and tribulation which have been sent to each and every one of us - little ‘specks of the Cross’ and the impact they have on our lives: retirement, loss of a spouse, parent or child, health problems, marital difficulties, job (occupational) pressures, loved ones drifting away from the practice of their faith, financial woes, special needs of relatives and friends.

But despite life’s challenges we celebrate big-time, because of the knowledge that we are loved and carried through periods of difficulty by our faith in almighty God and the love of those around us.

For many years the work of Campaign Life Coalition has been carried out by thousands of volunteers and a small band of dedicated leaders and staff across Canada.

Abortion supporters cannot understand why we (the pro-life, pro-family movement) haven’t disappeared. They just don’t get it, do they? We ultimately don’t rely on ourselves, as they rely on themselves. We continue, often against overwhelming odds, with God’s help and inspiration, to spread the truth and battle for justice for the weakest and most vulnerable in society.

That’s why so many pro-lifers are part of church organizations which help the poor and distressed, visit the sick and comfort the families of the deceased.

The story of the Christ Child, fading into the background in many large communities, with the business community daring not to offend customers, must be brought to the forefront by you this Christmas Season.

We have observed that in many smaller communities across the country there is still an openness and a healthy respect for the public celebration of the birth of Christ.

We encourage you to drop a note to those businesses such as Canadian Tire, Leon’s and many others in your communities who wish their customers a Merry Christmas instead of the lifeless, generic “Seasons Greetings” or “Holiday Wishes” to everyone. And don’t you be afraid to wish all and sundry a “Merry” or “Blessed Christmas”.

It’s difficult to adequately express our love and gratitude to each and every one of you, our faithful supporters, for your ongoing prayers, notes of encouragement and your dedication to the cause. Many thanks for your efforts to nominate and elect pro-life politicians to all levels of government, your ongoing work to inform your pastors, relatives, friends and co-workers about the many and varied attacks on society. Your letters of support to politicians who take a pro-life stand are precious to those dedicated and courageous men and women.

Your sacrificial donations, from many on fixed incomes, your monthly commitment to provide the necessary funds to keep us ‘going’ and your overall generosity done in such a joyful manner are truly inspirational.

From all of us at CLC headquarters in Toronto: May you enjoy a most Blessed Christmas.

Yours for Life

Jim Hughes
National President
Campaign Life Coalition

P.S. We always pray for you and for our nation. Please keep us in your prayers.

* To DONATE to Campaign Life Coalition click here and mail in the donation card with your name and address filled in or to donate securely on line click here.

Christmas is the season of hope and joy given to us by the celebration of the birth of the Saviour. It is also an ideal time for all of us to be reminded that, regardless of our struggles, all things are ultimately in God's hands and will turn out for the good. At this time we urge pro-lifers to check their perspective and make a special effort to acknowledge and treasure the blessings that have been given to us. God bless you and your loved ones during this joyous season. Have a safe and Blessed Christmas.

A victory made by pro-life and pro-family voters

For more than a week after the November 2 presidential election, the media, both north and south of the border, noted that pro-life, pro-family and pro-faith voters made the difference in President George W. Bush's re-election. Exit polling demonstrates that in many key states, Bush was the overwhelming favourite among the approximately one-fifth of voters who identified moral issues as their key concern in choosing a candidate to support. Were it not for Bush's support of the pro-life position, his defense of the traditional family and his public demonstrations of reliance on God, Senator John Kerry would have been the president-elect.

Kerry did his utmost to hide his extreme socially liberal positions: he supported traditional marriage but opposed any measure that would stem the judicial activism that redefines this bedrock institution, he said he personally opposed abortion ("as a Catholic" and "as an article of faith") but also opposed any limitation on abortion including a ban on partial-birth abortion. He said that his first actions as president would be to allow and fund embryonic stem cell research and rescind the Mexico City policy which prohibits US funding of organizations that provide or counsel abortion in the developing world. Whatever one might think of Bush's execution of the war or other policies, he has provided exemplar leadership on abortion, euthanasia and marriage over the past four years.

Bringing out the pro-life vote

The political experts tell us that this presidential election was about turnout and Bush spoke directly to a clear majority of regular church-going Catholics (winning 55%-44%) and evangelicals (78%-21%). The fact is, many of these voters stayed home or voted for the pro-abortion Al Gore in 2000, seeing little reason (at that time) to support Bush. As president, he addressed their concerns on moral issues head-on. The US leaders of life and family organizations deserve much credit for their voter registration programs which provided great opportunities to educate grassroots voters on the moral issues. Also, many Catholic bishops and evangelical leaders are to be congratulated for their faithful leadership. They forcefully spoke out on the obligation of Christians to place moral issues at the top of their voting priorities and the serious need for the entire nation to address moral issues.

Desperately wanting leadership on moral issues

The American experience on November 2 provides a lesson for Canadians: when social conservatives do not have a clear leader or candidate to vote for on moral issues, they go down the list of lesser concerns and vote on economic, health, education or whatever issues. The standard line from too many frankly unprincipled "deep thinkers" within so-called conservative parties in Canada is "who else will pro-life Canadians vote for - the Liberals?" Well, yes they will. Many pro-lifers vote on the abortion issue alone, but for others, if there is not a distinct position by one leader or party versus another, most pro-life voters will look at other issues. President Bush demonstrated that a platform of life, family, faith and freedom is not only viable but spectacularly attractive; Bush received more votes for president than any other candidate in history, including Ronald Reagan. Part of this is because of population growth; but part of it is reaching out to previously disenfranchised pro-life and pro-family voters who previously had little incentive to make an effort to actually vote.

Lessons for Canada's conservatives

Canadian politicians should heed this lesson. While standing up for life and family might turn off some narrow-minded voters, it will bring many hundreds of thousands of new voters out as they finally discover candidates who proudly share their views or at least who appear to be genuinely principled politicians. Sadly, Stephen Harper has said that his Conservative Party will not follow Bush's example - no talk about moral issues, he insists. What the political elite do not understand is that social conservative values are winning values. Half-measures or false measures will not win the votes of people committed to defending human life and the traditional family.

Lessons for Canada's Liberals

The failure of the Liberal Party in many regions of this country is due to the perception that it is a party committed to the radical re-engineering of this country through abortion-on-demand, gay 'marriage' and judicial activism. Indeed, pro-life Liberals had a much better re-election record in June than did their pro-abortion caucus-mates. Such Liberals know that they attract voters who might not otherwise be inclined to support them precisely because the voters admire the candidate's principled positions. Where are the grassroots pro-lifers who traditionally support the Liberal Party and why are they not turning out in droves to nominate pro-life candidates? The pro-life Liberal incumbents cannot organize this; it's up to CLC and others who share this vision to make the difference.

Will Canadian candidates court pro-life/pro-family voters?

As we noted last month, a recent survey of public opinion shows that Canadians overwhelmingly oppose the abortion status quo. If given the chance, many Canadians would reward a candidate, leader or party committed to a clear defense of traditional values. President Bush's success, despite the perception of a poor economy and an unpopular war in Iraq, proves that values attract a huge number of voters. What are Canadian political parties waiting for? Why are they so stubbornly entrenched in their self-defeating and socially destructive positions.

Ballot initiatives amending U.S. state constitutions to prevent redefining marriage to include homosexual couples passed in all 11 states in which the issue was put to the voters. This despite overwhelming odds; for example, the defeat of these constitutional amendments, eight of which also outlawed civil unions, was led by editorials at 74 newspapers (in 11 states) compared to just seven supporting them. In many states, the margin of victory for retaining the traditional definition of marriage was two or three to one and in Mississippi and Louisiana, almost four to one.

"Today's vote reveals once again the broad support for protecting marriage among the American people," commented Family Research Council President Tony Perkins. "The people aren't waiting for the politicians to act to reign in activist judges who have no regard for the rule of law." Concerned Women for America's Robert Knight concluded, "It's no contest. Americans are saying 'yes' to marriage and 'no' to 'gay' counterfeits." CWA also emphasizes that 'civil unions' are included in the "counterfeits" that threaten marriage. It is clear that when given a say, the people want traditional marriage defended.

No doubt, such results would be replicated in Canada. Gwen Landolt, national vice president of REAL Women of Canada, told the Canadian Press, "In many regards, we (Canadians) are no different ... We're just ordinary people and we're restricted in having a voice here. These referenda show that when you allow people to speak, it's just common sense: You want to have a man and a woman because children need a mother and father." In the United States, as in Canada, the march toward gay "marriage" is being imposed through the courts with few politicians going along with the social re-engineering.

An activist judge with the Saskatchewan Court of Queen's Bench has ruled that the traditional definition of marriage as a union of exclusively one man and one woman was unconstitutional because it discriminated against homosexual couples. The decision leaves just Alberta, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador and Prince Edward Island as the only provinces that have not capitulated to a court-led redefinition of marriage. However, the Newfoundland government has just announced that it will not contest a challenge to the marriage definition in its courts. It is therefore highly likely that the marriage definition will also be changed in that province in the near future.

MP Maurice Vellacott (Conservative, Saskatoon-Wanuskewin) slammed the Saskatchewan decision, saying "Madam Justice Donna Wilson should have postponed a decision or ruled in favour of the current law until the government's marriage definition legislation had been debated in the Parliament of Canada." Vellacott said democracy demands this issue be brought to a vote by public representatives. "The Liberal government's obligation to democracy and the Canadian public is to bring the issue for a debate and vote in Parliament, which is really the highest court of the land."

Mail may be sent postage-free to any Member at the following address:
House of Commons, Parliament Buildings, Ottawa, Canada K1A 0A6

MP launches marriage defense

On November 5, MP Rob Moore (Conservative, Fundy-Royal) introduced Private Member's Bill C-268, which may allow Parliamentarians the opportunity to vote on the definition of marriage. The Bill defines marriage as a union between one man and one woman and specifies that this definition does not affect the freedom of officials of religious groups to perform ceremonies or to refuse to perform ceremonies that are not in accordance with their religious beliefs.

" The purpose of C-268 is to reinforce our Party's position that the issue of defining marriage should be decided in Parliament by Canadians' elected representatives, rather than in the courts," said Moore. Moore noted that Parliament has voted on the definition of marriage twice in the past five years. "In 1999, Paul Martin and many of his current cabinet ministers supported a motion that defined marriage as a "union of one man and one woman, to the exclusion of all others," which passed 216 to 55. In 2003, Martin and many of those same cabinet ministers voted against another motion with exactly the same wording, causing it to be defeated 137-132," he said.

Action Item: Contact your MPs and urge them to support C-268 if it comes to a vote on the floor.
Mail may be sent postage-free to any Member at the following address:
House of Commons, Parliament Buildings, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1A 0A6

The Canadian Council of Churches (CCC) which includes Christian churches of numerous denominations, has officially decided it will not take a stance on the issue of homosexual "marriage." CCC President Professor Richard Schneider writes in a release on the subject, "Canadian Christians might hope for a statement of position about same-sex marriage from the Canadian Council of Churches. But our only statement can be that at present no such pronouncement is possible, and none will be made." Schneider explained that the CCC requires total consensus on issues before statements are made from the group. However, Schneider also indicated that those who would see the decision to perform homosexual marriages as "wrong" are falling prey to pride. CLC questions why any Christian denomination would want to belong to this organization that not only will not take a stand on such a profoundly important moral issue but even criticizes those who would defend true marriage.

Pro-life leaders worldwide are saying, "enough is enough" regarding the abortion push and other radical social engineering being imposed on the world via the United Nations. In early November LifeSiteNews.com reported that the UN Human Rights Committee urged Poland to liberalize abortion laws, and implement sex-ed, contraception and gay rights programs and also urged Morocco to decriminalize abortion.

The committee's pro-abortion push is longstanding. In March this year the committee told Colombia that denying abortion in rape cases was an "outrage". In July 2000, the committee expressed concern over Ireland's restrictive abortion legislation, and in July 2001 the committee urged Guatemala to loosen its abortion law. LifeSite Daily News (LifeSiteNews.com) was all over this story but it is being ignored by the mainstream media.

" The Canadian representative on the Committee, Max Yalden will have to answer for his actions," Jim Hughes, National President of Campaign Life Coalition said. Pro-life Canadians are urged to contact Foreign Affairs Minister Pierre Pettigrew to express their concern over Yalden and the UN Human Rights Committee interfering in the internal affairs of Poland. Also ask your member of Parliament to demand that Canadian representatives to the UN stop taking positions that interfere in the internal social affairs of other nations.

Action Item: Hon. Pierre Pettigrew, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Affairs Canada, 125 Sussex Drive, Ottawa, ON, Canada, K1A 0G2. Tel: (613) 995-8872 / Fax: (613) 995-9926.
Email: Pierre.Pettigrew@dfait-maeci.gc.ca

Evelyn Martens, a 73-year-old euthanasia campaigner, was acquitted in two cases of assisting in the suicides of two B.C. Women. Martens had pled not guilty to the charge of aiding former nun Monique Charest, 64, and Vancouver teacher Leyanne Burchell, 57, to commit suicide. Notably, Charest suffered from a number of health complaints including severe back pain, but was not terminally ill.

The Euthanasia Prevention Coalition requested that the Crown review the evidence with an eye to appealing Marten's acquittal. The EPC said: "Consider the following facts: Monique Charest died on January 7, 2002, with Evelyn Martens present. During the trial Dr. Philip Kerswell stated that he had been treating Charest for several years, but none of her medical conditions were terminal. She suffered from low thyroid, a digestive condition and serious back pain, conditions experienced by many Canadians. Monica Kateley, a friend of Charest stated that Charest claimed to have had a vision of her deceased parents. "She wanted to die so she could join her deceased parents. Monique Charest needed professional care not assisted suicide."

During the trial, there was ample evidence that pointed to Martens assisting in the suicide of these two women. Brenda Hurn, a fellow Right to Die Society of Canada member who testified during the trial, said she saw a plastic bag and hoses attached to a helium tank in Charest's apartment, but that she was not present when Charest died. She overheard Martens ask Charest if she still wanted to go through with it. Hurn said she saw Charest eating apple sauce laced with sleeping pills, followed by an alcoholic beverage; Charest also had a conspicuous plastic bag draped over her forehead. Testimony revealed the plastic bag, sedatives, and helium are components of what is known as an "exit bag" protocol by euthanasia campaigners. Crown Attorney Neil MacKenzie said that police transcripts of Martens' conversation showed her intention to assist with Charest's suicide plans.

This decision sends a deadly message to the caregivers and guardians of vulnerably ill persons. We are also concerned that the decision will re-open the debate over assisted-suicide and euthanasia. The one bright spot is that the case itself did not hinge on the law (or lack thereof) on assisting suicide. As the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition noted, "The reality is that [Martens] was acquitted not because the law isn't effective but because the Crown failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that she had actually assisted in the suicide deaths." However, we must also ask if the Crown gave its best effort to prosecute the case.

Former Canadian Alliance MP turned Liberal backbencher Keith Martin (Esquimalt-Juan de Fuca) has called for the legalization of euthanasia in Canada. "I think the public needs it and wants it and that's something all of us can work towards," Martin said in the days after the Evelyn Martens decision. The Victoria Times-Colonist reported Martin said "We need to have a national debate on end-of-life issues," adding "That's critically important given end-of-life issues and the ethical challenges that are going to be faced by health-care professionals and patients in this country." Martin is a medical doctor and staunch abortion supporter who left the merged Conservative Party last year, complaining about its supposed social conservatism.

TQueen's University in Kingston, Ontario has put the fundraising efforts of a pro-abortion group ahead of the conscience rights of Christians, Muslims and other students of faith who oppose abortion. Pro-life student Dennis Crawford took the Queen's Alma Mater Society (AMS) to the university's Judicial Committee on November 4 for an AMS decision to support a campus pro abortion group with an 85-cent contribution from each student at the university. Crawford argued that the decision violated the university's constitution which protects students from discrimination based on religion. Crawford presented Christian and Muslim leaders who attested that the forced support for an abortion-supporting group violated religious freedom. However, the Judicial Committee ruled that forced contributions of pro-life students to the 'pro-choice' Sexual Health Resource Centre - a student resource that counsels in favour of abortion - did not violate their religious freedom.

Action Item:
1) Email your concerns to Queen's University Principal Dr. Karen Hitchcock at principa@post.queensu.ca
2) When speaking with Queens graduates, encourage them to express their displeasure with the university's violation of the conscience rights of students and remember this during Queen's fundraising drives.

Researchers at the University of Toronto declared themselves "beyond shock" at how easily stem cells taken from eyes reproduced in the lab. "Within seven days, they go from one cell to 7,000 to 10,000 cells," said Brenda Coles of the University of Toronto, lead author of a report in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Researchers from Toronto and Lausanne, Switzerland discovered that retinal cells were easy to obtain and the results of the tests on mice and chickens offer hope for curing certain types of blindness. The cells reproduced and were able to survive, migrate, integrate, and differentiate into all seven types of retinal tissue. After more animal tests the research could move on to human testing, but will probably take another decade, the researchers say. Unlike test subjects injected with embryonic stem cells, these animals had no problems with the cells reproducing uncontrollably into tumours. "They didn't take over the eye, or cause any cancerous-type things or sit in inappropriate places," says Coles. "They found their home and responded to the proper signals."

Some scientists believe that embryonic stem cell research holds great promise because they can morph into any type of tissue. That, however, is also the problem: they are not easily controlled and often turn into tumours or unintended tissue. Also, treatment with stem cells from embryos would require the use of expensive non-rejection drugs and cause the death of human embryos. We reiterate our call on the government to reconsider its fundamentally flawed reproductive and experimental technologies legislation, passed into law last year, and promote ethical and more applicable stem cell research.

Fr. Ted scholarship

Each year, The Interim offers its Father Ted Scholarship Program which celebrates the renowned pro-life priest's "lifetime of service to God's human family and to inspire young people to learn more about the cause so dear to his heart." The scholarship program offers two prizes - $1,000 and $500 for first and second place respectively - with the recipients being determined by a committee. Students must submit a typed original essay, postmarked no later than December 31, 2004, on one of two topics:

1. "The legacy of Joe Borowski and what it means to you" or
2. "What a young person can do to promote the pro-life cause during an election"

The length of the essay must be between 800 and 1000 words. Winners will be declared March 1, 2005. For more contest details and the application form and pamphlet see http://www.lifesite.net/interim/frtedscholarship or call Dan Di Rocco at (416) 204-1687. Please pass this information onto anyone who will be graduating from high school this year. The scholarship can be used at any post-secondary institution.

Michael O'Brien prints

If you order today, we can still get the Michael O'Brien print Jesus and the Little Children to you or a loved one by Christmas. Several years ago, author and artist Michael O'Brien offered us this beautiful print exclusively for our supporters as a fundraiser for CLC. We still have several left and while they won't fit in a stocking, they make wonderful gifts. Or consider purchasing one for yourself; it is sure to become a treasured heirloom. They cost just $250 and your can order by calling CLC at (416) 204-9749 or 1-800-730-5358 to order yours today.

May you and your loved ones enjoy a Blessed Christmas,
Jim Hughes
National President

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