Latest

Profile: a baby doctor who advocated abortion rights

Like so many other doctors who perform abortions, Dr. Garson Romalis started because of a tragic case. More than 50 years ago, before abortion was permitted in Canada, he was an aspiring obstetrician/gynecologist. “I was assigned the case of a young woman who had died of a septic abortion. She had aborted herself using slippery elm bark,” said Dr. Romalis. He best loved delivering babies — but he also became an advocate for a woman’s right to an abortion, writes Rod Mickleburgh in his profile of the doctor. An excerpt: Dr. Garson (Gary) Romalis never sought the limelight. He was

On Fred Phelps and the Westboro church

It is mortifying for many Christians that Fred Phelps defined himself as one, writes Cheryl Hawkes in her inaugural piece for Facts and Opinions:  a column about a man so filled with hate that his church’s web site is “godhatesfags.com.” Phelps’ death has given the people he hurt and offended a moral choice, Hawkes argues; while his cause deserves no more life-sustaining attention, the danger is from those who will follow. An excerpt: Across the street from my home in downtown Toronto, there once lived a family in the biggest, grandest detached brick home on the block. Two lesbian mothers,

Boo! GMO!

By Chris Wood The purported dangers of genetically modified organisms are articles of faith among certain tribes of environmentalists and pure-foodies. I’m not personally alarmed about GMO foods — empiricism is demanded, as I wrote in a recent column, Follies to the Right, Follies to the Left — but what exactly is wrong with allowing consumers to be informed? A cabal of industry-supported United States Congresspeople is trying to prevent American consumers from being informed about the GMO content of the hamburger and frozen fries down at the Piggly Wiggly. These would be Republican Congresspeople. One of the numerous fact-free

Indonesian “saviour” fails first test: Manthorpe

International affairs analyst Jonathan Manthorpe examines the prospects for better governance in Indonesia, following the failure of Joko Widodo, the touted “white knight,” to persuade enough people to support him. An excerpt: For months the political life of Indonesia has been throbbing with the expectation that the hugely popular mayor of Jakarta, Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, was all set to become the country’s saviour and President in July elections. But in the critical preliminary parliamentary elections today, enough people appear to have had second thoughts about the suitability of the charismatic, but largely untried and tested Jokowi, as he is universally

Oscar Pistorius and South Africa’s class justice

The murder trial of Oscar Pistorius, the “Blade Runner” Olympian, reveals as much about the ugly face of South African class justice as it does about the details of the killing, writes Facts and Opinions contributor Ruth Hopkins in F&O‘s Justice section. The trial has revealed the level of quality of the legal process that the criminal justice system is capable of producing — but ordinary South African citizens are by no means guaranteed a fair trial. An excerpt: Oscar Pistorius’ murder trial in South Africa, dubbed the trial of the century, has hogged the limelight since he was arrested

1 … 86 87 88 89 90 … 130