MONCTON - New Brunswick's contentious abortion policy appears to be a hot potato both the federal and provincial
governments are hoping will cool off.

The province does not pay for abortions performed at Dr. Henry Morgentaler's private clinic in Fredericton, where
women pay upwards of $700 for an abortion. New Brunswick and Ottawa have clashed for several years over the policy,
which also requires women to find two physicians to deem an abortion medically necessary.

However, federal Health Minister Tony Clement told the Telegraph-Journal Saturday that the issue is "off the radar."

"We were waiting for the results of the New Brunswick election," said Clement. "I have not heard formally or informally
from the new minister of health (Mike Murphy) on the issue and really the ball is in their court to have the discussion.
I don't want to preclude any option from him. He has to decide what their stance is on this issue and communicate it to us."

The two sides appeared to be headed toward a showdown last fall after former Liberal health minister Ojjal Donsanjh
named a three-member panel to resolve the issue.

The talks were stalled by the January federal election and a Health Canada spokesperson said in the spring that the
new Conservative government was still reviewing whether to proceed. Former justice minister Brad Green said in
the fall that he hadn't heard anything more about the issue from Ottawa.

When asked how long he would wait to hear from Murphy before taking action, Clement said, "I'll wait until I hear
from him."

Murphy also said the issue was not a priority for him.

The fifth annual poll on Canadians’ opinions on abortion has found that almost two-thirds of the 2,021 people surveyed
by Environics Research Group support laws to protect human life before birth.

Only three in ten support the current Canadian policy in which there is no legal protection for human beings at any stage
of development before birth.

The poll was commissioned by LifeCanada, the national educational pro-life group, and includes questions on parental
consent for abortion, informed consent and views on tax-funding of abortion.

LifeCanada’s President Joanne Byfield noted that support for legal protection has increased this year to 64%, from 60% in
2005.

"This may reflect the high profile murders of pregnant women over the past year and the frustration that the police cannot
charge the perpetrators with two murders," she said. "Our laws do not recognize these babies as human beings with rights,
so killing them is not a crime."

She pointed out that a proposed bill brought forward by Alberta MP Leon Benoit would have changed the law to allow
murder charges to be laid when an unborn baby is killed in an act of violence against the mother. The bill was declared
unvoteable by a Commons committee.

The poll also found 70% support for informed consent laws which would require that women be informed about fetal
development and all health risks and complications before they choose to have an abortion.

On the issue of parental consent, 55% of those polled supported a law requiring parental consent for minors under the
age of 18 to have an abortion. Currently in Canada there is no parental consent requirement. Girls as young as 13 and
14 can obtain abortions without parental consent.

Canadian taxpayers pay for most abortions in Canada, said Byfield, yet two-thirds of those polled said that abortions
should either be funded privately (18%) or only funded in medical emergencies (48%).

"Why do our governments insist on using scarce health care dollars to pay for this personal choice?" she asked. Byfield
pointed out that Canadian public opinion has been clearly expressed in these polls for five years in a row. "We pose the
questions in terms of rights," said Byfield. "We’re looking at the right to life, enshrined in section 7 of the Canadian Charter
of Rights and Freedoms; the rights of women to be informed about the procedure they are about to undergo; the rights
of families to protect their children; and the rights of taxpayers to decide how their money should be spent."

"Canadian politicians, federally and provincially, avoid dealing with this issue. We urge them to read these results, listen
to Canadians and craft laws and policies that reflect the wishes of the people."

A report published in the journal Nature Biotechnology revealed that stem cells have been found in the amniotic fluid which
surrounds babies in the womb. These stem cells are very promising since they have successfully been transformed into bone,
heart muscle, blood vessels, fat, nerve and liver tissues according to the study. 

Researchers are also encouraged by the fact that the stem cells found in amniotic fluid do not seem to form tumors when
implanted as is the case with embryonic stem cells. 

Another obvious advantage is that this research does not raise the same ethical and moral concerns as research using
embryonic stem cells which destroys the living human embryo. 

According to a Jan. 16 news reports, a group of seven women activists may sue the Province of New Brunswick if it does not
change its current regulations restricting abortion.

University of Moncton law professor Michèle Caron, representing the group, claims that such regulations violate women’s
abortion rights as established by the Supreme Court.

The disputed regulations require that for Medicare to pay for an abortion, it must be performed in a hospital, by an obstetrician-
gynaecologist, based on approval by two physicians that the procedure is "medically necessary." The group said it wants the
Province to allow abortions by any physician and without the need for a second opinion.

NB Right to Life responded to the news by the following letter to the editor.

           Editor’s Note: The following letter to the editor appeared in the Jan. 15, 2007 Daily Gleaner.

Dear Editor,

How wonderful no babies were aborted in New Brunswick over the Christmas holidays. If only the pro-child spirit of
Christmas could continue year-round, what a blessing it would be.

Unfortunately, the spirit of Herod, who killed the babes of Bethlehem as he sought to eliminate the Christ child, is still
with us. We hear it in complaints that women could not abort over Christmas. We hear it in clamor about "access" to
taking unborn life being restricted in our province.

Why is that some people lack compassion for the most innocent of children - those in a mother's womb - and instead
promote what is so evil, so heinous? Is this not what the Bible calls hardness of heart?

Abortion advocates deride New Brunswick's restrictions as being old-fashioned. If respecting life and maternity are
old-fashioned, so be it.

In reality, our province's restrictive abortion policy is more forward looking than its critics realize. First, the policy is
consistent with contemporary embryology, which has entirely removed past doubts about the humanity of the unborn.
Second, it reflects reams of scientific studies which have similarly removed doubts about whether abortion harms women's
health. Abortion just is not safe. This month's British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, for instance, reports that women
who have abortions run a 60% increased risk of having a subsequent miscarriage.

A third way NB's policy is progressive is in its demographic soundness. The last thing our aging and dwindling population
needs is fewer babies as the result of abortion on demand.

Let's keep the brakes on killing the unborn.

Better still, let's keep the Christmas spirit going year round. It's time for a public policy that welcomes every child, born or
unborn.

- Jill Kruse, New Maryland NB

          Is it a Crime in NB to Try to Save a Child’s Life?
               But Not a Crime to Kill the Child?

A Fredericton area woman is still waiting to see if she will be formally charged with committing a crime following her
Sept. 26 arrest for holding the image of a 10 week aborted baby outside the Morgentaler clinic. Police at the time said
that Suzie Ryan, mother of seven and wife of NBRL executive director Peter Ryan, was guilty of "obscenity" and
"corrupting morals" by displaying such an image.

Pending a court appearance, Mrs. Ryan was released the same day as her arrest after being held in jail several hours.

Obscenity is prohibited by the Canadian Criminal Code, even though what most people consider obscene - pornography
- is widely available and routinely ignored by law officials.

After news of the arrest, the father of a nine-year old boy wrote to the Daily Gleaner to say his son had posed a very
good question. Why were the people killing babies inside the clinic not arrested? Why was a woman trying to save those
lives arrested? (see also letter to editor below)

The Fredericton police department subsequently acknowledged there is no Canadian case law that would support a
criminal conviction for showing an abortion image.

The Crown has 6 months following an arrest to lay charges. If the charges are not laid within that time, the matter is
automatically dropped.

On or about Sept. 26 at approximately 10 a.m., at least six Fredericton police officers took pictures, surrounded and
arrested Mrs. Suzie Ryan who was standing on Brunswick Street holding a poster depicting a fetus of 10 weeks gestation.

Mrs. Ryan was told she was under arrest for displaying an obscene picture and for obstructing justice.

Mrs. Ryan was placed in a paddy wagon and taken to the Fredericton Police Station where her shoes were removed,
she was manually searched and placed in a prison cell for 2.5 hours. She was release and told to appear in court on Nov.
17, 2006 to answer the charges of displaying obscene materials.

Regardless of your feelings about induced abortion, to display a picture that can be seen in LIFE magazine displays, any
middle school textbook, any gynecological medical text or any reproductive Internet site could hardly be construed as
obscene.

Who told six members of the Fredericton Police Force to converge on that site and to accost that particular woman on
a quiet street on a quiet Tuesday morning where five people were gathered to express their opinion about abortion?

Who is influential enough to convince the police to arrest and charge someone who has committed no crime?

We must look at our society and our community very closely to assess the seriousness of using the Fredericton Police
Force to censor public opinion.

- Tom Barry, M.D., New Maryland N.B.

    Pro-Life Speaker Offers Five Lessons in Converting Pro-Choicers
       By Steve Lord. Abridged from the New Freeman November 3, 2006. Reprinted with permission.

Stephanie Gray of Calgary, a 26-year-old woman who offers a pro-life message to audiences all over North America, said
in late October there are tried and true ways to be persuasive in saving the lives of unborn children.

Ms. Gray was keynote speaker at a pro-life fund-raising dinner in Rothesay. The dinner was sponsored by Saint John Right
to Life. Ms. Gray founded the Canadian Centre for Bio-Ethical Reform (CCBR) after becoming interested in pro-life issues
in high school and at the University of British Columbia. She is known for her well prepared arguments and support for the
public showing of graphic images of aborted human fetuses to help stop the killing of children in the womb.

Several MLS’s noted the presence of young people at the fund-raiser. Lending their support were Stuart Jamieson, minister of
tourism and government house leader; Saint John Lancaster MLA Abel LeBlanc, Saint John Portland MLA Trevor Holder
and former federal parliamentarian Elsie Wayne, and Bev Harrison, a Conservative and Opposition House Leader in the
province’s legislature.

Ms. Gray offered five lessons to help convert pro-choicers to the pro-life cause. First of all, one must ask them lots of questions
about their views to make their contradictory arguments apparent to them.

Secondly, she advised that change involves tension - such as showing terrible images of abortion alongside Holocaust pictures
to shake up the rationalization involved in this form of killing. Thirdly, one is bound to be disliked by someone and it’s wise to
stand firm while presenting the truth. The fourth piece of advice is to "stay human" and treat adversaries with respect and
kindness since it has a healing effect on "wounded" pro- choicers. The fifth lesson is that "when we are weak, God is our
strength."

Ms. Gray said pro- lifers aren’t alone because they’re all over North America, and that young people often change their pro-
abortion views after being given the facts. She said everyone is linked in the present and future and quoted the assassinated
Archbishop Oscar Romero who said people can accomplish "only a tiny fraction of the magnificent enterprise that is God’s
work: but in realizing that, they can do something and do it well.         

                       Right to Live is Illusory
                       From Life Canada News E-Flash December 2006

In a fascinating article in the December 14 National Post reporter Tom Blackwell told the story of Noorix Yeung, a 46-year-old
cancer patient and father of three who died in November after doctors at a Halifax hospital ignored his wife’s wishes and
imposed a do-not-resuscitate (DNR) order.

Mr. Yeung died before his wife, Wendy Yeung-Chen, could have the case heard by a judge. Mrs. Yeung-Chen wanted her
husband treated by a traditional Chinese healer whose treatment would have taken six weeks. That would have required the
doctors at the hospital to revive the patient should he stop breathing. The case was adjourned on Nov. 23 to the following
Tuesday but her husband died on the Saturday with the DNR still in place.

The Post story cited several bioethicists who said such cases are common and that families are often "browbeaten" by doctors.
Ann Smith, the lawyer in the Yeung case said, "I think that most people would be surprised to learn that, ultimately, physicians
can make these life-and-death decisions."

                Health Professionals Start to Recognize
 From Rosemary Bennett, "Abortion exposes women to higher risk of depression," The Times(London) October 27, 2006

WOMEN who have abortions are risking depression and other mental illness and should be told of the dangers, a group of
leading doctors says today.

In a letter to The Times, 15 senior obstetricians and psychiatrists say that new evidence has uncovered a clear link between
abortion and mental illness in women with no previous history of psychological problems.

Women who have had abortions have twice the level of psychological problems and three times the level of depression as
women who have given birth or never been pregnant, they say.

The evidence cited by the doctors was published this year and came after a lengthy study that was conducted in New Zealand.

Although it has been long established that women with a history of mental illness are at greater risk of further instability
following an abortion, the New Zealand study established for the first time that abortion could trigger depression and other
illnesses in women with no mental problems in the past.

The research prompted the American Psychology Association to withdraw an official statement which denied a link between
abortion and psychological harm.

- Signed by 15 U.K. obstetricians and psychiatrists   

         New Study Suggests Emergency Contraception Doesn't
               Reduce Pregnancy or Abortion Rates
                      The Eliot Institute News , Vol. 6, No. 2 Jan. 25, 2006

Researchers have found that easier access to "emergency contraception" - also known as the "morning-after pill" - hasn't
reduced rates of pregnancy or abortion, according to a study published in the journal Obstetrics and Gynecology.

The researchers published a review of 23 studies that examined the impact of increased access to emergency contraception
on pregnancy and abortion rates. They reported that while easier access to the pills increases the number of women who use
them, "no study has shown that increased access to this method reduces pregnancy or abortion rates." Further, the authors
noted that predictions that the drug would reduce pregnancy and abortion rates "may have been overly optimistic" and
called for more research on this issue.

                       House of Miracles
            A Book by Grace Petrasek. Review by Joan Tardiff, Catholic Insight December 2006.

It is not easy to be pro-life in Canada. After almost forty years of legalized abortion, pro-lifers have suffered defeat after defeat
in the courts, at the polls, and in the legislatures. On the face of it, the news appears to be relentlessly grim.

This is where Grace Petrasek’s little book, comprised of articles that first appeared in The Interim, provides a much-needed
antidote. By focusing on one agency, Aid to Women, Petrasek shows that every day small pro-life victories do happen.
Through chance meetings, small acts of kindness, or even just one right word, babies and mothers are saved from the
horrors of abortion.

Founded in 1988 and since 1992 located in Cabbagetown, Aid to Women is situated right beside an abortuary. Through
the heroic efforts of pro-life witnesses and sidewalk counselors, well over a thousand babies have been saved from a gruesome
death next door.

As in her earlier book, Silhouettes Against the Snow, Petrasek introduces us to real pro-life heroes like Dick Cochrane who
founded Aid to Women, Joanne Dieleman who served as its director for eighteen years, the new director, Ann Wilson,
and Robert Hinchey, who, for seven years, worked full-time as sidewalk counselor and live-in office counselor. Other
activists include Rosemary Connell, Linda Gibbons, and the late Tom Brown.

But the other focus of the twenty or so episodes recounted here are the pregnant women who felt pressured by circumstances
or by family members to consider abortion. These include a Somalian woman abandoned by her boyfriend, a mother of three
in an abusive relationship, an American mother without health insurance, a 19-year-old factory worker, and a nanny pregnant
with twins. Through friendship, counseling and sometimes material support and financial aid, Aid to Women provided these
women with the help they needed to say ‘no’ to abortion. Perhaps the most gratifying aspects of these stories are the return
visits of the mothers with their children to thank the staff at Aid to Women for their help.

Attractively illustrated with charming drawings and well-chosen photographs, and written in a style both simple and sweet,
House of Miracles is not only a heart-warming tribute to the staff and volunteers at Aid to Women, but also a worthwhile
reminder to the pro-life community that, with God, all things are possible.

          New Testing Recommendations Could Increase Pressure
                   on Parents to Have Abortions
           Sources: Elliot Institute News , Vol. 6, No. 2 Jan. 25, 2006; LifeCanada E-News January 2007

Two leading medical societies in the U.S. and Canada are recommending that doctors encourage Down Syndrome testing for all
pregnant women, a move pro-life groups say could lead to more abortions.

Currently, screening tests are generally offered to women age 35 or older, who are considered more at risk for having a child
with Down Syndrome. The American College of Obstetrics & Gynecologists issued new guidelines in January that calls for
the tests to be offered to all pregnant women, instead of just to older women who are considered most at risk for having a
child with Down Syndrome.

The Canadian Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists is also calling for an increase in Down Syndrome testing and
the group’s executive vice president told the National Post that this would give more women the opportunity to abort.
Dr. Andre Lalonde, executive vice- president of the SOGC, said, "Yes, it’s going to lead to more terminations" but he
added that "We have to be fair to give women a choice."

Although ACOG says that early diagnosis will allow parents to seek support earlier, there is no cure for Down Syndrome
and critics fear that more testing would increase the pressure on parents to abort.

The Canadian Down Syndrome Society announced in response that it would launch a public awareness campaign to
offset the notion that having a child with Down Syndrome is a "death sentence." Krista Flint, the group’s executive
director said, "Just because we can [test], doesn’t mean we should." Her group will focus its campaign on the positive
aspects of dealing with Down Syndrome. Without a positive message to counteract the negative one, she worries that
those with Down Syndrome will be eliminated by abortion.     

                     A Story of Blessing
            By Martha Lakin, Counsellor, Women’s Care Center, Fredericton, December 2006

There comes a time when you know you’re in the right place at the right time. When everything seems to fall into place
- like a river flowing down a river bed that already has had its course etched out before. Its path guides the water along-
so too the hand of God guides our lives along.

I want to share a story about a girl named "Nadine" whose story reminds me of that already etched river bed. One day I
got a call at my office from Nadine. She asked, "Do you do open adoption?" I told her I could explain to her all about
‘open adoption’ and asked if her pregnancy test had been confirmed. In all the years of counseling girls, I had never had
a girl call and ask specifically about ‘open adoption.’ It surprised me that she knew the specific terminology.

Nadine came into the office. She was a pretty nineteen year old girl with sandy blond hair and blue eyes. Her boyfriend
was not the father of her child, but he still supported her desire to place her child for adoption. I commended her for
thinking of her child first - she told me she could not take the life of her child. She said, "It would be like killing part of
myself." She wanted to know, however, who her child was with and hopefully meet the couple. I explained to her in
Fredericton if she wanted "open adoption" and wanted to meet the couple, she could. Plus they could arrange together
how many times of meeting and how much exchanging of pictures and letters. It would be agreed upon in the beginning.

Nadine really wanted to do this - so I gave her the adoption worker’s name and phone number and asked her to contact
her. Well time went by, and I asked her if she had contacted the adoption worker. She said no. She just felt like she wanted
a private adoption with a lawyer. She believed in God and wondered if there wasn’t a couple who had been waiting a long
time to adopt.

All the while I had been meeting with this birth mother, I kept feeling like she looked familiar to me - and then one day it
hit me. The person she reminded me of was a woman, who along with her husband, had been waiting to adopt for ten years.
They could not have children of their own. He was a pastor and they lived in the New Brunswick area. I shared with the
birth mother that I might have a couple, but I had to see if they were interested first. I had the couple come in and shared with
them all about the situation. They were very interested, and although there was a risk, they definitely wanted to step out in
faith. I shared with the couple the likes, dislikes, characteristics, etc. - there were so many similarities between the couple and
the birth mother - it was amazing.

When I shared with the birth mother all about the couple and that they were so interested and had so many similarities she
was excited! The next step was for the birth mother to get a lawyer, which she did, and the couple got a lawyer too. A meeting
was planned in a neutral setting that I was able to attend. What a blessed meeting it was! As they talked a truly beautiful bond
of trust developed that day. We laughed and prayed together in the spirit of peace and joy. You know those times when
something is just right - this was one of those times.

After that meeting, which was in about the eighth month - there were showers that the church was giving for their pastor and
his wife. I was invited to that as well and met the grandparents-to-be who were looking forward to their first grandchild.

The day came when the birth mother was ready to go into labor. She had so bonded with the couple that she wanted them to
take her baby from the hospital, as arranged by the lawyers. That all happened as she wished. Even when the social worker from
the adoption agency, the lawyer, and the couple were all there at the hospital while I waited down the hall - everything fell
into place. They did take their new little baby boy home from the hospital, and the birth mother and boyfriend visited a few
times afterwards.

Shortly after the baby was placed, God called this couple to another area of the country to be a pastor of a church. The birth
mother knew that they would be leaving the area, and that was fine with her.

They continued to write letters. My husband and I just returned from Alberta where this couple had invited us to come and
speak- both to share about our work, and especially to see this little one - who now is 15 months old, and their adoption has
been finalized. What an absolute joy it was to see them and to have been used by God to be a part of such an important time
in their lives.

               Huge March for Life in Washington, DC
                            A New Brunswicker’s Eyewitness Account
          Georges Comeau, from Edmundston, writes that he will never forget the women who spoke of their abortions.

Each of these stories was unique. In one case, the woman felt no guilt and led a "perfect" life for seven years or so. As
she said, "I was the perfect pro-choice success story." But then, in one moment, guilt fell on her like a ton of bricks and
she was crushed. Nearly all of them turned to alcohol, or drugs, or fell into depression, or all of these. Some became
promiscuous and some wanted to die. But there was one thing all of them, without an exception, had in common:
they all had a moment of very strong personal encounter with Jesus, Who made Himself known to them, forgave
them and gave them healing. Some were Catholic and some were Protestant. And they all ended their testimonies in
the same way: "I don’t want even one woman to go through what I went through; this is why I am silent no more."
If someone wants to read testimonies similar to those I so inadequately reported, I recommend the following webpage,
which contains dozens of m: http://www.silentnomoreawareness.org/testimonies/index.html

This hour hearing testimonies was the highlight of my trip. I will never forget these women.

            Learning "How to Make Abortion Unthinkable"
                 Provincial Pro-Life Conference, AGM Held in Sussex

            National Conference to be Held in Moncton
                      - First time ever in New Brunswick

New Brunswick Right to Life is delighted to announce that, for the first time ever, the national pro-life conference will take
place in Moncton, this coming October 25-27. Conference theme is "From Sea Unto Sea - for Life!"

Hosted by the Moncton Right to Life chapter, the event will feature top educational speakers from across Canada and the
United States.

The keynote speaker will be Mary Ann Kuharski, a Minnesota mother of 13including 6 adopted who have special needs.
Mrs. Kukarski is an author of several books including Parenting, With Prayer and is a longtime pro-life leader in the U.S.A.
She founded and leads Pro- Life Across America, an organization with some 5,000 pro-life billboards across the U.S. Mrs.
Kuharski has made many media appearances including Phil Donahue and EWTN.

The banquet speaker will be Dennis Savoie, from New Haven CT, deputy leader of the worldwide Knights of Columbus.
Mr. Savoie hails from New Brunswick and is recognized as an outstanding speaker. Other speakers include the Rev. John
Ensor from Miami Fla., a pro-life author and Baptist minister who heads up a crisis pregnancy center initiative with
HeartBeat International. Lorraine Hartsook, an award-winning Christian entertainer from Saskatchewan will offer a
musical evening including a powerful personal testimony about her two adopted children plus twelve "in heaven."

Other accomplished speakers will talk on euthanasia, the abortion-breast cancer link, pro-life internationally, media
coverage of life issues, and pro-life in the schools.

In a letter to pro-life groups Moncton Right to Life president Maurice Arsenault stated, "We think this is a perfect time
for a national pro-life conference in New Brunswick. Our province has become a rallying point for pro-lifers. I sense that
this conference will be a spiritual event that will further galvanize all of us to take a stand From Sea to Sea - for Life!"

The conference takes place from a Thursday to Saturday, at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in downtown Moncton. All Right
to Life members and supporters are cordially invited. For further information visit www.nbrighttolife.ca or
www.dvmrl.knows.it, or call 1-888-796-9600.

Canadian Physicians for Life have issued a press release alerting us to the reality that some vaccines have been
developed from tissue from aborted fetuses. The good news is that ethical alternatives do exist for some of these vaccines.
Pediacel, an ethical alternative to the infant vaccine Pentacel, has been approved by Health Canada. 

While both vaccines are considered to be equally effective in protecting against diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio and
Haemophilus B, Pediacel is not yet marketed in Canada. LifeCanada will join Canadian Physicians for Life’s campaign
to ask that the infant vaccine join Canadian Physician for Life’s campaign to ask that the infant vaccine Pediacel be
made available. The campaign has resulted in the province of Alberta’s decision to make Pediacel available in Alberta.
All provinces should be encouraged to make the same available to concerned Canadian parents nation-wide.

Editorial Notes: (1) NB Right to Life has joined the campaign by writing to the NB health minister. (2) For an information kit
on this issue visit www.lifecanada.org, see under "Viral Vaccines and Aborted Fetal Tissue".