allowing them to be ordained priests regularized their situation and permitted a regular sacramental ministry to be available in the parishes they served. Nonetheless, this change – in concert with such moves as allowing the remarriage of divorced persons – caused strains among more conservative parishes, both Anglo-Catholic and Evangelical. In the early 1970s some members of the ACC left to join breakaway Anglican groups such as the small Anglican Catholic Church of Canada. Life issues The ACC has taken a moderate anti-abortion stance in the past. The official policy is that "abortion is always the taking of a human life and, in our view, should never be done except for serious therapeutic reasons." In 1989, the ACC stated that "In the light of the Government's announcement of a new Abortion Bill, the Anglican Church reaffirms its position that both the rights and needs of women, and the rights and needs of the unborn, require protection." The ACC has not released any official statement on abortion since then. The ACC also opposes firmly euthanasia and assisted suicide. They also condemn the death penalty. Inclusion of gays and lesbians and same-sex unions In 2002, the Synod of the Diocese of New Westminster (located in Vancouver and the south-west of British Columbia) voted to permit the blessing of same-sex unions by parishes requesting episcopal authorization to do so. Since then another ten dioceses (Edmonton, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, Winnipeg-based Rupert's Land, Ottawa, Toronto, London-based Huron, Quebec, Hamilton-based Niagara, Montreal and Victoria-based British Columbia ) have followed suit. The Anglican Parishes of the Central Interior (formerly the Diocese of Cariboo and now known as the Territory of the People) also permit such rites. On 30 September 2012, the Bishop of Saskatoon ordained as deacon a person who is civilly married to a person of the same sex. Also in 2012, the Diocese of Montreal ordained two openly gay and partnered men to the priesthood. In 2016, a proposal to change the marriage canon to include same-sex marriage received 2/3 in favour in all three houses and was passed; a Second Reading in 2019 failed, due to not reaching a 2/3 majority in the House of Bishops. The dioceses of Niagara and Ottawa, both of which already allowed blessing rites, announced after the 2016 vote that they would immediately allow same-sex marriages. In 2019, the General Synod approved a resolution which allows