A Luntz Research Associates poll finds just one per cent of Ivy League university professors want a legal ban on abortion. … MSNBC on-line poll finds that more than 70 per cent of respondents want a ban on abortion or restrictions that permit it only to save the life of the mother or in cases of rape and incest … Report magazine's Terry O'Neill wonders why Indigo boss Heather Reisman can forbid her chain of bookstores to sell certain books but a Christian printer Scott Brockie cannot refuse to print material he considers obscene because of his moral beliefs: "Viewed in the context of the support for Ms. Reisman's right to make her own business decisions – indeed, of her right to discriminate – the lack of protest over Mr. Brockie's legal problems seems hypocritical and unjust" … Planned Parenthood distributed 250,000 condoms during the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. With roughly 2,000 participants, that's 166 condoms for every man and woman over a two-week period … Marie Stopes International, one of the world's leading abortion providers, offered discounts on vasectomy operations as part of a Valentine's Day promotion that billed the operation as an "alternative to flowers or chocolates." It called on men to, "Make the supreme romantic gesture with a Valentine vasectomy!" … Two years ago, 80s pop sensation Tiffany, now 30, described on Politically Correct how she had a "personal relationship with Jesus." In April, she will appear nude in Playboy.

The British Medical Journal reports HIV/AIDS may surpass the 14th century's Black Death as the worst pandemic ever. Forty million people now have HIV or AIDS … A study by Douglas Richman of the University of California at San Diego, finds that 78 per cent of HIV patients may be developing resistance to at least one component of their anti-HIV/AIDS drug cocktails … The journal Cell reports morphine's painkilling ability can be sustained without increasing dosages when the process of endocytosis (a natural change in cells thought to weaken effects of opiates) is enhanced. Hospice care workers and anti-euthanasia advocates have long complained that many patients are not sufficiently treated for pain because of concerns about morphine addiction … The U.S. American Academy of Pediatrics endorses same-sex adoption, saying it must help lead the fight to public acceptance of same-sex relationships: They "are in most ways like every other family" … The BBC reports that in-vitro fertilization seems to be a better way to get pregnant because some IVF clinics have a 40 per cent chance of achieving a pregnancy whereas "fertile couples who are having sex only have a 25 per cent chance of pregnancy each month." The report concedes that most couples "do eventually succeed." Dr. Mohammed Taranissi, director of the Assisted Reproduction and Gynecological Centre in London, England, said he doubts few couples who do not have medical problems will use IVF as a fast-track method of getting pregnant.

Outgoing Ontario Premier Mike Harris insists at a farewell dinner that he is not contemplating a run for federal Tory Joe Clark's job, despite persistent rumours … CLC-rated "pro-life with exceptions" MP Joe Peschisolido (Richmond) leaves the Canadian Alliance to join the Liberal caucus … An Alliance source tells the Globe and Mail that Peschisolido staffer Hamish Marshall, who told Interim editor Paul Tuns last year that he supports gay marriage and abortion, will have a job with the party … Frontpagemag.com reports newly installed Foreign Affairs Minister Bill Graham, a married father of two, had a 15-year relationship with Lawrence Metherel, a former male prostitute, for which Metherel was paid $1,500 a month. Metherel was 15 years old when the relationship began … Transvestite Enza Anderson flirted with the idea of running for the CA leadership but, despite the financial backing of several Bay Street Tories, did not raise the $25,000 entrance fee. Anderson later announced the formation of a new party, Supermodels in Politics, and congratulated MP Carolyn Bennett (Lib-St. Paul) for publicly chastising the prime minister over a perceived diminution of the role of women in politics … An Environics poll finds two-thirds of Canadians want elected Supreme Court justices … In separate interviews, Preston Manning and aspiring CA leadership hopeful Diane Ablonczy warn that under Stephen Harper and Stockwell Day, the party risks becoming an "NDP of the right" … President George Bush names former Mother Teresa associate and founder of Aging with Dignity, Jim Towey, to head the White House Office of Community and Faith-Based Initiatives … Representative Nina Lowey (D-N.Y.) has been honoured by the Population Institute as "Legislator of the Month" for her successful efforts to have contraceptives insured under federal employee insurance plans … Columnist Robert Novak reports Elizabeth Dole, who is hoping to replace conservative Jesse Helms as senator in North Carolina, has adopted "a more conservative position … on abortion than she displayed in her failed 2000 presidential run" … Virginia Attorney-General Jerry Kilgore on why he plans to appeal a lower court decision denying the Virginia Military Institute's right to say prayers at school ceremonies: "It's a shame today that while American soldiers are fighting for our liberty in places like Afghanistan, cadets training to be soldiers cannot pray for their safety."