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Yesterday, Maryland became the eighth state to legalize same-sex marriage. Democratic Governor Martin O'Malley, who signed the bill, announced that "We are all one Maryland, and all of us at the end of the day want the same thing for our children." 

First of all, Governor O’Malley’s statement is not true, because we do not all want the same thing for our children. People of good will, generally-speaking, want what is best for their children…but some people deem it acceptable to kill their children in the womb (hello abortion) or even to euthanize their newborn baby after birth (see this previously posted article).

Secondly…how ironic that Governor O’Malley brings up the topic of children at a gay-marriage bill-signing celebration! The reality is, homosexuals cannot conceive. Abortion kills unwanted babies, while homosexuality eliminates the possibility of babies altogether.

Many may reply to this statement with the question, “Well, who cares anyways? Marriage shouldn’t just be about procreation.”

Well, there’s some truth to that…but nonetheless, marriage is mainly about procreation. Why? Marriage is the union of a man and a woman recognized by the state, whose children will be recognized by the state too (and for those of us who are religious, marriage is seen as a sacrament, blessed by the hands of God…but we’ll leave that topic for another day).

This is what my argument boils down to: Homosexual couples cannot naturally conceive a child. Their partnership is void of fertility. Then why are homosexuals so insistent on legalizing gay marriage? What benefits are they looking for in marriage?

Adam Kolasinski wrote an article presenting the secular case against gay marriage. He writes:

Advocates of gay marriage claim gay couples need marriage in order to have hospital visitation and inheritance rights, but they can easily obtain these rights by writing a living will and having each partner designate the other as trustee and heir. There is nothing stopping gay couples from signing a joint lease or owning a house jointly, as many single straight people do with roommates. The only benefits of marriage from which homosexual couples are restricted are those that are costly to the state and society.

Did you read that last sentence? It expresses the fact that marriage between homosexual couples is costly to the state and society. Over the past decades, we have seen the breakdown of the link between marriage and procreation in heterosexual relationships. The problem with homosexual marriage is that it will further widen the gap between marriage and children, leading to deeper societal issues.

It is my belief that dissociating marriage from the act of procreation builds an egocentric, selfish mentality of marital relationships. If marriage does not exist for the institution of family and building future generations, then why does it exist at all? Divorce, abuse, and declining birthrates all have negative impacts on economic and social development. Homosexual marriages will likely add to this confusion.

From the point of view of the child’s wellbeing, it has been shown that “children need both a male and female parent for proper development.” In other words, adoption or surrogate mothers would not be the way to go for homosexual couples because children develop better when they grow up with a biological mother and father.

Think about it: How many of you would be happy having had two mothers or two fathers instead of a mother and a father? I reckon most can testify that having a father and a mother provides the appropriate balance for a family. However, I want to emphasize that I do not think homosexuals are bad parents – rather, they simply cannot offer a parent unit that includes both a biological mother and father.

Finally, let us not forget that homosexual marriage could infringe upon our religious rights in much the same way as the current HHS mandate on contraception in the United States has. Here in Québec, the ERC course has wrought an atmosphere of moral relativism and religious indifference. Presenting homosexuality as a ‘personal choice’ and ethically neutral arrangement clashes with fundamental Christian teaching; it also prevents parents from overseeing their own children’s education. The state could take it a step even further and maybe, one day, force churches to offer homosexual marriage. Though this statement sounds outlandish, it is possible.

Currently it seems there are ten countries that have legalized same-sex marriage (Canada included). Please spread awareness of the dangers of homosexual marriage on the institute of family, child-rearing, religious freedom, and social stability. Help us build a culture of life!

Yesterday I learned that we had breached the three figure threshold (101) and today the count stands at 121 saved babies.

Thank you every body. Your prayers are making the difference.

Here in Montreal, we are not aware of any turn arounds. Yet, we stand strong at the corner of St. Joseph and St. Laurent Blvds, advocating for a culture of life.

Via our banner, prayers, and outreach, we are hoping to bring God's message of love to many who have lost the joy of living.

Even in yesterday's snowstorm, our message was getting out. A few among us engaged the pedestrians of the Main, many of whom were vehemently opposed to our presence in such a public venue. We can only pray that God touches their hearts, permitting them to turn and walk with Him in the fulness of life.

Union de prière!

Please mark your calendars for the National March for Life in Ottawa, coming up May 10th, 2012!

The March for Life is a wonderful occasion to stand up and be pro-active in your defense for human life. For those that have not attended before, the event begins with a mass at 10am in English or French.

At noon, everyone gathers on Parliament Hill and at 1:30pm we will begin the March through downtown Ottawa. This year there will also be testimonies from post-abortive woman (Silent No More Awareness Campaign). For more information and to see the promotional video please click here.

Please tell your friends and family about this important event, we need your support and look forward to seeing you there! Also, for Montréal residents, keep an eye out as we will be welcoming Father Boquet, president of Human Life International, to speak at events in Montreal in the days preceding the March for Life. More info on these exciting events will follow. 

Shocking news: Alberto Giubilin, a philosopher from the University of Milan, and Francesca Minerva, an ethicist from the University of Melbourne, claim that the killing of newborns may be justifiable on the grounds that the newborn is only a ‘potential person’ and may disrupt the lives of his parents. 

Whoa...Hold on! Does anyone really take these ethicists seriously? I sincerely hope not, because that confirms that we are really going crazy. How can anyone claim that the newborn is not a person? This idea not only is wrong and defies all philosophical and scientific reasoning- it is an incredibly dangerous idea, capable of annihilating all unwanted children and justifying infanticide based on social or economic reasons. Such proposals profoundly threaten the safety of our world and put in jeopardy all human lives.

Upon reading such an outrageous article, it is necessary that we emphasize again our stance that from conception, a new human life begins. Life from conception is the only justifiable position; every other position arbitrarily invents the point where human life begins in order to suit personal, egotistical desires.

Giubilin and Minerva believe that “killing a newborn could be ethically permissible in all the circumstances where abortion would be. Such circumstances include cases where the newborn has the potential to have an (at least) acceptable life, but the well-being of the family is at risk.” --This is ludicrous. Now we are discussing making homicide acceptable under certain circumstances…isn’t homicide a crime? I am sure that the abortion movement caused just as much shock when it began…and now look where we are: legal abortions almost everywhere. Please, please, let us make sure that such “after-birth abortions” (i.e., INFANTICIDE) do not ever become legal, under any circumstances.

I fear for our future and really hope the Pro-Life movement gains strength over the next years. We need to face the horrors of abortion, euthanasia, and infanticide with faith and courage. We need to help people understand the extreme dangers of the gradual manipulation and distortion of the definition of human life.

http://www.youtube.com/embed/0VVFc4lJqKA

Currently, in Prince Edward Island, several young adults are campaigning to win a $1,000 regional youth leadership award. The two leading candidates at the moment are Kandace Hagen and Tara Brinston.

Hagen’s mission is to provide free access to abortion for women in P.E.I. because currently women must leave the island for abortion services. Hagen says “we are fighting for a reproductive right that we have as Canadians – a right that Island women do not have full access to yet.”

The problem with abortion is that is not a reproductive issue, it is a human rights issue. Many atheists agree that abortion is an injustice (please see Feminists Choosing Life & Confessions of a pro-life atheist if you are interested in non-religious pro-life arguments). The right to life of the unborn child is greater than a woman’s right to her own body because from conception, a new life is formed, and it is clearly identifiable as separate from its mother’s body.

Hagen talks about “reproductive justice”, but what does she mean by this? In her video, Hagen does not once mention the huge controversy that surrounds abortion- she seems to take it for granted that because abortion is offered in all other Canadian provinces, people should support her in providing abortion in P.E.I. The problem is that many of us are unhappy with the state of abortion in Canada, and wish to see laws placed on restricting abortion. Why? - Because abortion is an injustice towards the unborn child. We are slowly starting to see the bitter fruits of this tree: sex-selective abortion (i.e., sexual discrimination all over again). Every year, there are far more baby girls aborted than baby boys. How is this creating a more just, loving society?

The idea that abortion should be offered to women in Prince Edward Island is reflective of what Plato called the “dictatorship of the majority.” It is flawed reasoning to believe that because women in other provinces have access to abortion, P.E.I. should provide access to abortion too. This is like claiming that since polygamy is legal in other countries, it should be legal here too.

Ask yourself: Is abortion really making the world a better place? Or should we orient our efforts to helping the poor and people with disabilities, as candidate Tara Brinston emphasizes?

There is so much work to be done to improve society- starting with eliminating violence, pornography, child prostitution, abuse, and providing better services to the mentally and physically ill. Has government-spending in the abortion industry really led to greater happiness and peace? Be honest with yourself. Anyone that has lived at least 10 years can see that the world is suffering from sexual perversity, lack of fidelity, sexually-transmitted disease, broken marriages, and wounded relationships.

Please make your choice: Vote for whoever you think will make the world a better place. This pledge isn’t about women’s access to abortion- this pledge is about making the right decision for all members of society, including unborn children, the most vulnerable members of society. As Tara Brinston says, "I want to live in a world that is welcoming and accepting, a world that celebrates diversity"--- well, so do I.

Day 2 at the "40 Days for Life" prayer vigil was pretty barren.

The number of participants was half that of the previous day - 11 compared to 22. The weather progressily got worse as the day went on; a snow squall hit the park at around 3 p.m. And even the pro-choice crowd remained away. Pretty stark day.

Yet, anyone familiar with deserts knows well that it is teaming with life. The "barren" afternoon - no one had register from noon until 7 p.m., indeed was not devoid of life.

First there were the moments of solitude. I was blessed. Prayer and reverie brought me to the foot of the Cross or in the garden of Gethsemane. Hymns buoyed my spirit.

Also, an elderly woman passing by, went out of her way to give me words of encouragement.

Then the first in a series of non-scheduled prayers showed up. At 2 p.m. Barbara arrived and together we chatted and prayed and before we knew it, it was already 4 p.m.; time for her to leave. An hour passed before a second prayer warrior showed up - Yves, and at 6 p.m. a third, jerome replacing Yves.

We fellowshiped and it was 6:55 p.m.; five minutes to go. After a final prayer of gratitude, we closed up shop, gathering the site's belongings. Day was done.
 

I'm writing this from an internet cafe on Parc Avenue - I have a two hour break... until noon.

Great day yesterday. Gruelling yet full of grace.

I spent eleven hours at the site yesterday and received many blessings, much positive stuff. Foremost was the trinkling of folks to the site to pray. Some came for five to ten minutes while others stayed for an hour or two. And this went on for the entire day - from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Most came alone - Jean, Gabriel, James, Emilia,..., but others came in groups - a young couple from Verdun with their parents who are visiting from Brazil.

Also, had a couple to registrations. One man has offered to covered two two-hour slots per week and another couple will take an hour block on March 3rd. Slowly that schedule is filling.

Our nieghbours (the counter-protesters) showed up at 4 p.m. and stayed a couple of hours. The same lot we are familiar with. Jovial. Free bagels may have been an incentive from many. I felt hostility by one of the thirty or forty that showed up during this time. They have invested in a new banner, stitching similar to our own. I wonder how they bought it...

Last night the 40 Days for Life Vigil in Montréal began with a kick-off event in Park Lahaie. A group of about 15 people attended, and we alternated between prayer meditations in French and English. We were lucky to have fairly mild weather; after singing ‘Amazing Grace’ in the unity of Christ, we walked over to the nearby Convent where we shared some good food and conversation.

During this event, our president, Georges Buscemi, was interviewed by Barry Morgan on CJAD. A few of the callers posed questions on whether there are exceptions to our position on abortion, what to do in cases of rape, and whether the emotional content of a woman’s pregnancy should be a factor in deciding to keep the child or abort it. To listen to Georges Buscemi’s interview on the Pro-Life position, please click here.

And finally…many thanks to the people that came out last night! We hope to see more of you in the near-future at Park Lahaie (30 St. Joseph Blvd), anytime between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m., 7 days a week.

Last week, a bill establishing a “federal framework for suicide prevention” passed in the House of Commons by a vote of 285 to three. This bill would require that the Canadian government spread greater suicide awareness, make data on suicide and its risk factors available to the public, and promote the use of research studies in treating and preventing suicidal behavior.

My question to you today: if the government of Canada acknowledges that suicide is wrong and must be prevented, how can euthanasia ever be right?

I am glad to hear about Bill C-300, and I hope that greater measures to help people with suicidal tendencies and educate society about suicidal behavior will be underway. Canada is already losing 3,600 lives a year to suicide- we cannot afford to lose more here in Quebec by legalizing euthanasia. I am fusing the discussion of suicide and euthanasia because they are essentially the same thing. Both suicide and euthanasia involve the individual’s “choice”; in both cases, the individual wants to terminate his or her life due to some dire circumstance; and the end result of both actions is the irreversible death of an individual.

Now, I wish to ask a question to euthanasia advocates: At which point, and after how much suffering, should a person be assisted in taking their own life? Furthermore, how do we cut the line between mental and physical suffering? Derek Humphry, author of the book “Final Exit” and promoter of euthanasia, admits the following: “I believe that assisted suicide for the mentally troubled will eventually be available in perhaps 50 years when we know more about the human mind, and when society has a more enlightened view on choices in dying in general.” Yet, Humphry’s statement is contradictory with his own views, for he emphasizes that he refuses to support assisted suicide for the mentally troubled on the grounds that poor mental health can be treated and most people would not be comfortable helping a mentally-ill person kill themselves (for a complete list of Humphry’s 9 arguments against euthanasia for the mentally ill, click here).

Let me stop here and tell you a little anecdote:

The other day, I saw something crazy…there was a couple fighting at a metro station, and at one point the man (who was on the opposite side of the tracks as the woman) went down the stairs to place himself on top of the railway lines. I was in panic when I saw that- my heart started racing at the possibility that a train would come any moment, but my first reaction was to call for help- a security personnel, the police, or someone who would protect this man from killing himself. I realized that if he didn’t move I would have to go get him myself. Thank God this man picked himself up and returned to the platform before the train arrived! I still don’t know what I would have done otherwise.

This reaction resembles the way we should respond to someone who seeks to accelerate his own death, whether assisted by a physician or not. Many of us will one day or another face very difficult situations – at such times, we can be led to believe that our life has no value, that things can only get worse…but if everyone feeling hopeless or depressed is given the “right” to physician-assisted suicide, what will our society turn into? Part of being human means accepting weakness, sadness, and fear as we confront the uncertainty of the future. It is through solidarity with others that we are able to deal with these difficult conditions and gather the strength to face them.

Euthanasia would enable a ‘system’ for eliminating pain- something that sounds good on the surface, but is totally unsustainable in reality. All of us, at some point, will have to face death. We can hope and pray for a peaceful and painless death- but we are not guaranteed that. Now, as we approach death or are made victims of mental or physical disease, it is normal to want to give up- but God wants us to hold on and understand that if he has kept us alive and breathing it is for a good reason. In friendship and communication with others, we can discover that reason for living, that motive to hold on and heal from suffering. I would like you to pause for a moment and think to yourself: what makes a life “meaningful”? What brings us happiness? I am young, but from what I’ve experienced so far, part of the beauty of life comes from persevering amidst difficulty. Some of my greatest moments of joy have been tending my hand to someone right when they need it. When someone thanks you for being there for them in the times they had most difficulty, cherish that moment, for it means you are following in Christ’s footsteps.

Let us all remember that God determines life and death….we do not have the power to create life, and we do not have the permission to cause someone’s death (if only everyone could understand this when it comes to abortion too!) We are living in a society that gradually seeks to eliminate all suffering, pain, and responsibility. Do we want to become part of a society that sees life as a nuisance and burden rather than a gift? I read an interesting article today that shared the following small piece of insight from a book by P.J. O’Rourke:

The real message of the conservative pro-life position is, as the prefix indicates, that we’re in favor of living. We consider people — with a few obvious exceptions — to be assets. Liberals consider people to be nuisances. People are always needing more government resources to feed, house, clothe them, pick up the trash after their rallies on the National Mall, and make sure their self-esteem is high enough to join community organizers lobbying for more government resources.

 Euthanasia is unacceptable, most of all because we live in an age where we are constantly making medical advances and discovering new methods to help people with various physical and mental ailments. We learn more about the human mind and body everyday- amidst such progressive scientific development, how can we make the case that human life is not valuable in all circumstances, even the most difficult ones? Let us stay firm and strong in our resolution to refuse the legalization of euthanasia. With the crime of abortion already infiltrating society, our duty to defend life from conception to natural death has become even more important and urgent.

I hope to never see euthanasia legalized in Canada (or elsewhere). Meanwhile, the 40 Days for Life Vigil begins tomorrow- please remember to pray for the end of abortion throughout the Lenten Season in the hopes that Christ will soften the hearts of those promoting the unjust killing of children and other members of society.

The 7th edition of a twice-a-year international prayer vigil for the end of abortion is kicking off this evening at 7pm in Lahaie Park (at the intersection of Saint-Laurent and Saint-Joseph boulevards), across the street from a Montreal abortion clinic.

Along with 257 other cities across the world, this "40 Days for Life" vigil, which will take place at Lahaie Park daily from 7am until 7pm from February 22nd until April 1st, aims to peacefully and prayerfully inform the public at large about the damage abortion has done to society.

Organised in Montreal by the Quebec Life Coalition (QLC), this year's vigil coincides with a new abortion defunding initiative spearheaded by QLC. This initiative will run alongside the 40 Days for Life right up until April 30th, the end of the tax season.

More about the 40 Days for Life >>