Heart and Stroke Foundation has an ad showing off the research they do. It shows a baby on a monitor, in utero. Voice says heart disease strikes both young and old, as the camera does a close up of the baby in utero. You can hear the baby’s heart pounding, and the visual is the 3D ultrasound.
The closing line is: “Saving babies lives, before they’re even born.” Gave me shivers. A very cool ad. And if a pro-life group ran it, the Advertising Standards Council would drag them before some commission, fine them, and force it off the air.
by 
Unfortunately, they do have a history of supporting embryonic stem cell research. I don’t know if this is still true.
Suzanne,
Yes, this is still true. H&S foundation is open to using embryos that otherwise would remain unused as a result of fertility treatments. As far as I know the guidelines have not changed.
Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada website:
http://web.archive.org/web/20030323121041/http://www.hsf.ca/research/guidelines/guide03_e.pdf
Excerpt from this document:
“Human Pluripotent Stem Cell Research Guidelines
Stem cell research has the potential of offering significant advances for life-threatening diseases including heart disease and stroke. At the same time, this new science carries immense implications for our societal values and beliefs. For these reasons, the Heart and Stroke Foundation has carefully studied and evaluated the issues involved in using stem cells in research. The Foundation has determined that: under no circumstances will the Foundation fund research that uses stem cells derived from human embryos created solely for research purposes or from cloned human embryos. (Note- this is a red herring, read below).
However, after extensive consideration and review, the Foundation will support certain types of stem cell research, provided the research meets our ethical and peer-review standards, and appropriate donor consent has been obtained. The research may use stem cells from adult stem cells; embryos that otherwise would remain unused as a result of fertility treatments; fetal tissues; post-birth umbilical cord blood; and existing stem cells lines already being used in research.”
It should be noted that following the guidelines for stem cell research developed by CIHR and covered by federal legislation, indicated above, does not in any way mean the research is morally or ethically acceptable.
The Act Respecting Assisted Human Reproduction and Related Research (Bill C-6) was passed into law by the Senate of Canada in March, 2004, and was immediately denounced by all major pro-life groups in Canada. The legislation allows destructive research on human embryos ‘leftover’ from fertility clinics. It also allows the specific creation of human embryos for the express purpose of research on IVF, sanctions destructive in vitro fertilization and its allowance for homosexual couples, and contains loopholes which would allow for human cloning for research purposes.
See CIHR guidelines. Specifically, 8.0 Guidelines for Human Pluripotent Stem Cell Research and 8.1 Research that would conform with the Guidelines:
http://www.cihr-irsc.gc.ca/e/34460.html