LifeCanada’s Monthly E-Newsflash

Wednesday May 18, 2005

This is LifeCanada’s fifth e-news monthly bulletin. LifeCanada’s Monthly E-Newsflash will appear on or about the 15th of every month. Please invite your friends or family members to sign up for this free bulletin which will provide important updates, action items and notices of upcoming events.

LifeCanada asks MPs to revisit the issue of abortion

At the end of April 2005, LifeCanada sent an article to all Members of Parliament informing them that Marie Stopes International, one of Britain’s largest abortion providers, has asked the British government to lower the 24-week gestational limit for abortion on demand to 20 weeks because of the potential viability of the fetus. In a covering letter we asked Members of Parliament to address the problem of unrestricted abortion in Canada.

Canada is the only country in the Western world with absolutely no law on abortion. Abortions are permitted at any time, by any means and for any or no reason, right up until the point of birth. Abortion has been legal in Canada since 1969. Since then there have been many scientific, technological and medical advances which have taught us much about the development of the child in the womb. We can no longer pretend that abortion just involves a blob of cells.

We have received positive responses from a number of MPs and know that some of them will look into the matter further. You could help to raise this issue by asking your MP if he/she has seen the letter and whether he/she is willing to re-examine the question.

Abuse during pregnancy can lead to abortion

The following is excerpted from a press release issued by the Parliamentary Pro-Life Caucus. We are including it in the e-news bulletin because the subject matter is important to all pro-life groups and individuals. This press release was issued on Thursday, May 12 and has not yet been picked up by any media. The complete text of the press release is attached in English and French for your information.

OTTAWA – A history of physical and sexual abuse is associated with repeat induced abortion, according to a study published in the March 1, 2005 issue of the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ). The researchers conclude that all women seeking abortions be screened for physical or sexual abuse.

There were over 105,000 abortions in Canada in 2002—the most recent year for which Statistics Canada has statistics—and more than one third of those were repeat abortions. “One cannot help but wonder how many of these women were coerced by abusive partners into obtaining unwanted abortions,” says Parliamentary Pro-Life Caucus Co-chair Maurice Vellacott. “Surely, we have enough compassion to offer something better to these women and their children.”

There have been no legal restrictions on abortion since the law was struck down in 1988, and abortion providers are not required to report the reasons women seek abortions. Prior to 1988, a therapeutic abortion committee had to review and approve a woman’s request for an abortion before she could obtain one. “A paradoxical effect of the decriminalization of abortion,” notes a former member of one such therapeutic abortion committee in a commentary in CMAJ, is that there is now “no requirement for anyone to bear witness…to stories of lives disrupted by violence.”

“We have heard many stories from post-abortive women—like those from Canada Silent No More who are here with us today—about how they were pressured into obtaining abortions,” says Liberal PPLC Co-chair Paul Steckle. “Now we have studies that tell us abortions can be associated with abuse. Yet there is no requirement for abortion providers to report the reasons women obtain abortions. For the sake of women’s health and safety, isn’t it time we looked more closely at abortion’s role in women’s lives?” Mr. Steckle asks. “It may not be as liberating as its supporters have tried to make us believe.”

Health risks of abortion

Life Canada’s pamphlet, Health Risks of Abortion, is now available. Please contact the office if you would like to order a copy.

L’avortement et ses consequences à la santé

The new pamphlet entitled Health Risks of Abortion has been translated and will be available shortly. Please contact the office if you would like to order copies.

Canadian Health Portal

LifeCanada has discovered one more example of the Canadian government’s pro-abortion bias through its new website, the Canadian Health Portal. Their mission is “To empower Canadians to make informed decisions that improve and sustain their health.” The website claims that most of the information is provided by federal government departments. Once again, the government is depending on abortion rights activist groups such as the Planned Parenthood Federation of Canada and the Canadian Abortion Rights Action League to provide much of the information on the issue of abortion. There is no information or links to the many crisis pregnancy centres across Canada which offer help to women in unplanned pregnancies. Also missing is all the information on the health risks of abortion.

What Can I Do?

The website claims that efforts are being made to expand the content contributors to include not-for profit health-related organizations. Please contact the Canadian Health Portal at Health@canada.gc.ca to request that they invite a pro-life organization to provide a more balanced approach to crisis pregnancies and the issue of abortion.

March for Life

A total of 5,900 Canadians participated in the annual March for Life in Ottawa on Thursday, May 12, 2005. The March, organized by Campaign Life Coalition, received almost no publicity by the media even though it was one of the largest gatherings on Parliament Hill. Another event recently ignored by the media was the April 9, 2005 March4Marriage rally which attracted about 15,000 Canadians.

Silent No More Awareness

The March was followed by a Silent No More Awareness campaign featuring 15 women who had personally experienced an abortion and were willing to share their testimonies. They were joined by three men who also witnessed to the devastating impact of abortion on their lives. We wish to extend a sincere thank you for these pro-life witnesses who are willing to sacrifice their personal comfort to inform others that abortion can have serious physical, emotional and spiritual consequences.

Become a Partner for Life

We are actively seeking sponsors/advertisers for our newly-designed website (www.lifecanada.org) and for our bi-monthly newsletter. We do not have a charitable tax number but these ads can certainly be a business expense as you promote your business to our supporters.

Our rates for this project are reasonable. A business card ad in LifeCanada News will cost $125 per issue or $600 for the full year. Your sponsorship ad on our website will be posted for a year for a cost of $500. We see this as a great opportunity to build a pro-life network across the country and help to secure LifeCanada’s financial base.

For more information, please call LifeCanada’s toll free number 1-866-780-5433 or email us at carroll@lifecanada.org

Pre-authorized Giving Plan

LifeCanada is now able to accept pre-authorized monthly donations. This is a tremendous option for LifeCanada because it allows us to schedule our educational pro-life activities since we know in advance how much support is coming in each month. It is also easy for our supporters since they just complete a form, send in one ceque and then the pre-authorized amount is automatically deducted from their bank account. Donors maintain control of their donations by simply contacting us by phone, email or letter to let us know if they wish to make changes or cancel the plan.

If you would like to donate ten, twenty, fifty dollars or any other amount to LifeCanada each month, please contact us and we will send you the necessary form to complete.

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