LifeCanada Focus

As we come to the end of 2007 I’d like to share with you a few of the key projects and achievements LifeCanada has undertaken within the past year.

The biggest project of 2007 has been creating the campaign for January 2008 to mark 20 years since the Supreme Court Morgentaler decision removed all restrictions on abortion in Canada. Almost 2 million unborn babies have lost their lives to abortion in the past two decades. Built around the theme “Abortion: Have we gone too far?” the campaign encourages the public to question abortion on demand in Canada, legal through all nine months of pregnancy with no medical reason required. Many people have no idea that abortion is legal up until birth, or that Statistics Canada has records for some of the late-term abortions that are performed each year (for more than 60% of abortions in Canada, no record is kept of the gestational age of the baby at the time of the abortion.)

There has been a strong show of support for the campaign across the country. More than 44 billboards and 24 transit shelter ads have been sponsored for January, in nearly every province.
Postcards are available for distribution in local communities—the cards contain information on late term abortions in Canada, and link to the website www.AbortionInCanada.ca (online in
January 2008).

The website address offers the public straightforward information on the reality of abortion in our country. The number of abortions performed, the number of repeat abortions, the age of the mother, the gestational age of the baby, and the physical and mental health risks of abortion are just some of the topics covered on the site.

Another important project of 2007 was the annual abortion survey commissioned by LifeCanada. The poll results reveal the continuing dissatisfaction Canadians feel with the current lack of restriction on abortions—two-thirds of those questioned said they would support restrictions on abortion at some point before birth. The poll also showed that almost three-quarters of Canadians would support a fetal protection law making it a separate crime to injure or kill an unborn baby in the course of attacking the mother.

The poll results were used as a reference by MP Ken Epp in bringing forward the Unborn Victims of Crime Act on November 21.

The Abortion Breast Cancer campaign ran in October again this year, with groups in four provinces sponsoring billboards and transit shelter ads alerting the public to the link between abortion and breast cancer.

LifeCanada co-sponsored the 2007 National Pro-Life Conference in Moncton, New Brunswick, together with New Brunswick Right to Life and Campaign Life Coalition. The conference offered workers in the pro-life movement a much-needed opportunity to come together for support, encouragement and information on key issues in pro-life work.

The projects we have accomplished have only been possible through the dedicated support of our members, who share in all the work we do through their participation in the national association of LifeCanada.

It is vital that all of our work continues, whether in your local communities, in the provincial groups, or here in LifeCanada’s office. The work of respectfully teaching Canadians the truth about abortion, what it does to women and children and to our society as a whole, is essential. It’s essential that we alert the public to the growing danger of euthanasia legislation, as the pro-euthanasia and assisted suicide movement gains strength and support internationally. As the national association of pro-life educational groups, we all share in the work of creating a unified voice calling for respect for all human life, regardless of how small, weak or vulnerable.