LifeCanada Focus

We have added a new feature to LifeCanada News! We want to give you, our readers and key supporters, a regular update on the events going on at LifeCanada. There are always multiple projects under way here at the office and across the country, many of them in the public eye but some quite hidden behind the scenes that you may not be aware of. Every issue will now contain a page giving you an update on what we have been doing to educate Canadians on pro-life issues, everything from national media campaigns to the development of educational resources.

There are so many areas to work on in building respect for life that we sometimes face diffi cult choices in deciding where our limited resources will do the most good. As always, we appreciate hearing back from you and encourage you to send us comments, suggestions or requests for action you would like to see LifeCanada undertake.

One of the key projects we have been working on for the past two months is a campaign to bring attention to Canada’s lack of any legal limits on abortions. January 28, 2008 will mark the 20th anniversary of the Supreme Court Morgentaler decision that removed all restrictions on abortion in Canada. LifeCanada will launch a nation-wide media campaign that month to bring the issue of abortion on demand before the Canadian public. The theme of the campaign is “Abortion. Have we gone too far?” Billboards, transit shelter ads and newspaper ads will display the message with the image seen below. We are very excited about this undertaking and eager to see the level of response it generates.

Another important project underway is the annual poll on abortion that LifeCanada commissions with Environics Research Group. The poll is the only survey conducted in Canada that asks the public their opinion on abortion, and the results of the poll are invaluable for pro-life work. Past polls have consistently shown that two thirds of Canadians want to see restrictions on abortion, with one third wanting abortion to be illegal throughout all nine months. We added a fifth question this year that asks Canadians if they would support legislation making it a separate crime to kill an unborn child while attacking the mother. A woman seven months pregnant was murdered in Toronto on October 2, along with her unborn baby, the fourth case in the past three years. Th e person responsible cannot be charged with the baby’s murder under current Canadian law.

The third annual abortion/breast cancer campaign is underway, with educational pro life groups in four provinces sponsoring ads alerting the public to the link between breast cancer and abortion.

We have recently completed a pamphlet tracking the results of surveys on Canadian attitudes towards abortion over the past 30 years, as an educational tool for pro-life workers. The pamphlet will be available in November 2007, in both English and French.

Other activities include an interview with the Globe and Mail by LifeCanada President Joanne Byfield, for an October 1 article on abortion wait times. Executive Director Gudrun Schultz submitted comments to Health Canada on behalf of LifeCanada in early September, expressing concern over a proposal to allow reimbursement for egg or sperm donation.