South Dakota legislature's bill an insult to women

A direct attack on Roe v. Wade is coming from the South Dakota legislature. The new bill, which outlaws abortion, makes no exceptions, not for a pregnancy caused by incest or rape. It would only be legal—the only exception if it would save the pregnant woman's life.

Doctors who perform abortions could face up to five years in prison. The bill passed the State Senate 23-12. It's expected to pass the House again and then go to Governor Mike Rounds' desk. The bill's sponsor says he thinks the antiabortion movement has momentum on its side and a—quote—“change in national policy on abortion is going to come in the not-too-distant future.”

To read an excerpt from their conversation, click on this link


In his opening statement DAN ABRAMS, HOST, ‘ABRAMS REPORT' states:

"My Take” is that the state lawmakers have got to know this bill effectively spits in the face of the U.S. Supreme Court precedent. Not just because of Roe v. Wade, because the high court reaffirmed Roe when it revisited the abortion issue in 1992 in Planned Parenthood v. Casey. A majority agreed that women have the right to have an abortion before the fetus is viable and to obtain an abortion without undue interference from the state.

So whatever you think of abortion, this law is almost an insult to the court. Governor, I know you've made it perfectly clear you support many abortion restrictions, but this is not an abortion restriction. This is outlawing it. I assume you've got to know that this wouldn't pass the court's test.

Dan has it right, I may be a Canadian liberal, small l. But attacking a womens right to not have to live with the stigmatisms that the world would impose on her if she was forced into bringing a child into the world that was the result of a rape or god forbid incest, is as sick as the act it self.

Roe v Wade is a world wide cornerstone of justice and for a handful of South Dakota extremist politicians to even conceive such a bill proves that their is something seriously wrong with our elected officials.

Here in this country our Canadian women found themselves in a similar fight for respect.

On May 29, 1990, the House of Commons passed Bill C-43. This bill would have put abortion back into the Criminal Code, while exempting from penalty those abortions deemed necessary by a physician for health reasons. Bill C-43 was awaiting only Senate approval to become Canada’s new abortion law when, suddenly, two cases of clandestine illegal abortion reappeared in Canada. In June of 1990, a sixteen-year-old girl from Kitchener, Ontario, sustained physical injury from a botched abortion performed in a man’s home. Less than two weeks later, a Toronto woman died from a self-induced coat-hanger abortion, apparently the first such death in well over a decade.

When Bill C-43 was introduced, at least sixty doctors, fearful of possible criminal prosecution, stopped performing abortions. A 1990 survey done by the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada found that 275 of the 460 specialists then performing abortions would stop if the bill became law. The legal possibility of criminal charges for performing an abortion was simply a greater price than most doctors could afford to pay.

Bill C-43 was defeated by the Senate on January 31, 1991, in a dramatic tie vote. Since then, there have been no new attempts by the federal government to return abortion to the Criminal Code. Abortion in Canada has remained a private medical matter between a woman and her doctor since 1988.

Later,
Kenaz

Man of steel's super wife passed away

Dana Reeve, who became a champion of spinal cord research after the death of her husband, actor Christopher Reeve, has died of lung cancer in Memorial Sloan- Kettering Cancer Center in New York. She was 44.

Reeve, who was diagnosed with the disease in August, died yesterday, said Maggie Goldberg, spokeswoman for the Christopher Reeve Foundation. Reeve was chairwoman of the foundation and founder of the Christopher and Dana Reeve Paralysis Resource Center.

Christopher Reeve, best known for his portrayal of ``Superman'' in four movies, was paralyzed from the neck down after he fell from a horse in 1995. The couple started the paralysis research, treatment and support organization as he learned to live as a quadriplegic.

Christopher Reeve died at age 52 in 2004. The foundation named for him has awarded more than $55 million in grants for neuroscience research.

Reeve, an actor and singer who did not smoke, lived in Westchester County, New York. She announced the lung cancer diagnosis two days after ABC News anchor Peter Jennings died of the disease at age 67.

Reeve is survived by her son, Will, 13, and two stepchildren, Matthew and Alexandra; as well as her father, Dr. Charles Morosini, sisters Deborah Morosini and Adrienne Morosini Heilman.

For more about this courageous women and the work her and Christopher accomplished vistit the "Christopher Reeve Foundation" website.

Later,
Kenaz

Postcards from the Hammer

I found this great photo site put together by Janet Forjan-Freedman the 43-year-old historical interpreter at Dundurn Castle has a personal collection of more than 1,500 cards from the 1890s until the 1950s. And the great part is they're all about Hamilton.

The assortment -- which can be seen online at www.hamiltonpostcards.com -- offers a fascinating glimpse at the city's personality.

Through the collection you can see how civic pride has evolved over the years, whether the pictures expound the virtues of Gore Park, the Royal Connaught Hotel, area waterfalls or the Beach Strip.

Local history author Margaret Houghton had an interesting take on the popularity of collections like this for Hamiltonian's. She had an idea for a book. But she couldn't get any publishers interested in it. She wanted to write about Hamilton landmarks and icons that have been torn down or disappeared such as the bathrooms in Gore Park, Paddy Green's and "Shorty Green" water fountains.

"Why would anyone want to buy a depressing book like that?" one publisher asked.

"You don't understand people in Hamilton," Houghton replied. "They love this stuff."

And you know what? Houghton was right. She eventually found someone to put out Vanished Hamilton and it's been "flying off the shelves." The book has been so successful that a second printing was ordered within weeks of the book launch. A Vanished Hamilton II and III are also planned.

Hamiltonians love to glorify the past and they like to get angry at people who change things for the sake of change. The interest in the book is also a reflection of the passion for local history in the city.

There are apparently only three places in Canada where an author has any hope of selling books on local history -- Halifax, Vancouver and Hamilton.

"And of those three, Hamilton is the best," Houghton says.

Why is that?

"It's because Hamilton is the biggest small town in Canada," she says.

Later,
Kenaz

A Canadian takes top honours at the Oscars

Congrats to London, Ontario born Paul Haggis who was still floating on cloud nine Monday morning after winning the best picture Oscar for his film Crash on Sunday night.

Haggis and producer Cathy Schulman accepted the Best Picture Award from screen ledgend Jack Nicholson.

Coming from directly from Hollywood celebrations and hobnobbing with the biggest stars, and still without a wink of sleep, Haggis told reporters it was "pretty darn cool" getting an award from Jack Nicholson. "It was an amazing feeling," he said.

The film was the directorial debut for Haggis, who also won the Academy Award for best original screenplay with co-writer Bobby Moresco. Crash beat out the heavily favoured Brokeback Mountain for the top Oscar.

In typical Canadian humbleness, Haggis heartily laughed off suggestions the awards, plus a nomination last year for Million Dollar Baby script, had made him Hollywood's top dog.

"That's a pretty scary thought," he said. "I don't think so."

Haggis says he never believed either Crash or Million Dollar Baby would make it to the silver screen because his topics were offbeat and even slightly depressing.

"When I wrote Million Dollar Baby and [Crash], I didn't believe either one of them would ever get made. Crash – I figured no one would ever make it. It had all these characters. It was about race relations and fear and intolerance. Who'd want to see that?

"I thought my grandchildren would read these scripts and go, 'Oh look, grandpa tried to get into the movies. Isn't that cute?' "

Haggis' next project is a film entitled Flags of Our Fathers. It is based on the story of six men who raised the U.S. flag on Iwo Jima during the Second World War. Haggis wrote the script.

IMDb mini-bio: Paul Haggis

Later,
Kenaz

Baseball ledgend Kirby Puckett dead at 45

Hall of Fame outfielder Kirby Puckett died Monday after a stroke. He was 45. Puckett was admitted to intensive care at Phoenix's St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center and listed in critical condition following surgery for a stroke suffered Sunday morning at his home in Scottsdale, Ariz.
Kirby Puckett died Monday at age 45. Puckett underwent the surgery at Scottsdale Healthcare Osborn before being transferred to St. Joseph's, where he passed away Monday afternoon.

Puckett debuted in the majors in 1984 and retired in 1995, his career cut short by glaucoma which left him blind in his right eye. Of equal concern was Puckett's excessive weight gain upon retiring.

"It's a tough thing to see a guy go through something like that and come to this extent," admitted former Twins first baseman Kent Hrbek.

"That's what really hurt him bad, when he was forced out of the game. I don't know if he ever recovered from it."

Puckett was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame with former teammate Dave Winfield in 2001. He was 40 years old at the time, making him the third-youngest inductee behind Lou Gehrig (36) and Sandy Koufax (37).

... Kirby was taken from us much too soon and too quickly."

MLB commissioner Bud Selig.

Later,
Kenaz

New tape of Canadian hostages shown on Al-Jazeera

James Loney and Harmeet Sooden

Hostages held in Iraq


The CBC has reported that Arab television channel Al-Jazeera broadcast a brief videotape on Tuesday reportedly showing three of four peace activists, including two Canadians, taken hostage in Iraq last fall.

Canadians, James Loney, 41, and Harmeet Sooden, 32, of the Christian Peacemaker Teams, were shown in the 25-second video. Their colleague, 74-year-old Briton Norman Kember, was also seen. The tape, which had no sound, carried a time-stamp of Feb. 28.

The mens families say the tape offers great hope for their return. No speculation or reasons have been given for American Tom Fox's absense from the tape.