Henry Morgentaler Receives Order of Canada Medal
By John Jalsevac October 10, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - In spite of the outcry of thousands of Canadians, the Governor General presented Henry Morgentaler, Canada's "father of abortion," with the official Order of Canada snowflake medal this morning in a ceremony at the Citadel of Quebec in Quebec City. He was scheduled to receive the award along with 20 other recipients.
A statement released by Rideau Hall, the office of the Governor General, on Thursday commended Morgentaler for increasing "health care options for Canadian women," and for "influencing public policy nationwide."
No mention was made of abortion in the release, despite the fact that Morgentaler has devoted nearly his entire career to promoting and performing abortions. He has boasted of personally killing more than 100,000 unborn children, and is responsible for the deaths of millions more. Because of Morgentaler's pro-abortion activism, Canada currently has one of the most extreme abortion regimes in the world, in which a woman can have her unborn child killed up to birth at taxpayer expense for any reason.
"(Morgentaler) has been a catalyst for change and important debate," said the release. "He has heightened awareness of women's reproductive health issues among medical professionals and the Canadian public."
"I'm honoured to receive the Order of Canada today," Morgentaler said, reading from a statement following the ceremony.
"Canada's one of the few places in the world where freedom of speech and choice prevail in a truly democratic fashion."
A small group of pro-life protesters was able to organize a rally at the Citadel on the short notice.
"We have been too quiet and I think it's time to step out in a bigger way," Peter Ryan, Campaign Life Coalition New Brunswick (CLCNB) president, told reporters. Ryan was part of a group of six New Brunswickers who travelled to Quebec City to protest at the ceremony. "Our country is throwing away hundreds of thousands of children while we are struggling with a low birth rate," he added. Pro-life leaders across the country responded to the awarding of the Order with outrage.
Patrick Hanlon, President of the Right to Life Association, said, "Morgentaler receiving this award … should be seen as a great sign of disrespect to the non-controversial nature of the Order of Canada, to the women and children hurting and dying from abortion, and to the majority of Canadians who disagree with this notorious abortionist."
Jim Hughes, National President of Campaign Life Coalition, stated, "We are strongly opposed to a man who is a professional killer of unborn children in their mothers' wombs being rewarded with the Order of Canada."
On July 1st of this year, the Governor General announced that Morgentaler had been named to the Order of Canada, sparking a nationwide protest. Soon after the July 1st announcement, Campaign Life Coalition commissioned a survey of over 150,000 Canadian household. They were asked the following question:
Henry Morgentaler Receives Order of Canada Medal
By John Jalsevac October 10, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - In spite of the outcry of thousands of Canadians, the Governor General presented Henry Morgentaler, Canada's "father of abortion," with the official Order of Canada snowflake medal this morning in a ceremony at the Citadel of Quebec in Quebec City. He was scheduled to receive the award along with 20 other recipients.
A statement released by Rideau Hall, the office of the Governor General, on Thursday commended Morgentaler for increasing "health care options for Canadian women," and for "influencing public policy nationwide."
No mention was made of abortion in the release, despite the fact that Morgentaler has devoted nearly his entire career to promoting and performing abortions. He has boasted of personally killing more than 100,000 unborn children, and is responsible for the deaths of millions more. Because of Morgentaler's pro-abortion activism, Canada currently has one of the most extreme abortion regimes in the world, in which a woman can have her unborn child killed up to birth at taxpayer expense for any reason.
"(Morgentaler) has been a catalyst for change and important debate," said the release. "He has heightened awareness of women's reproductive health issues among medical professionals and the Canadian public."
"I'm honoured to receive the Order of Canada today," Morgentaler said, reading from a statement following the ceremony.
"Canada's one of the few places in the world where freedom of speech and choice prevail in a truly democratic fashion."
A small group of pro-life protesters was able to organize a rally at the Citadel on the short notice.
"We have been too quiet and I think it's time to step out in a bigger way," Peter Ryan, Campaign Life Coalition New Brunswick (CLCNB) president, told reporters. Ryan was part of a group of six New Brunswickers who travelled to Quebec City to protest at the ceremony. "Our country is throwing away hundreds of thousands of children while we are struggling with a low birth rate," he added. Pro-life leaders across the country responded to the awarding of the Order with outrage.
Patrick Hanlon, President of the Right to Life Association, said, "Morgentaler receiving this award … should be seen as a great sign of disrespect to the non-controversial nature of the Order of Canada, to the women and children hurting and dying from abortion, and to the majority of Canadians who disagree with this notorious abortionist."
Jim Hughes, National President of Campaign Life Coalition, stated, "We are strongly opposed to a man who is a professional killer of unborn children in their mothers' wombs being rewarded with the Order of Canada."
On July 1st of this year, the Governor General announced that Morgentaler had been named to the Order of Canada, sparking a nationwide protest. Soon after the July 1st announcement, Campaign Life Coalition commissioned a survey of over 150,000 Canadian household. They were asked the following question:
Barbara Kay, Poland's "preemie miracle" is an embarrassing postscript to Henry Morgentaler's Order of Canada
Posted: October 10, 2008, 7:56 AM by Jonathan Kay
Abortion czar Dr Henry Morgentaler will be receiving his Order of Canada in a quiet little ceremony in Quebec City today. The typical OC is inducted in Ottawa amongst his or her peers. So it is fitting that Dr Morgentaler's should be in Quebec, where the abortion rate is double that of the rest of Canada, and therefore the least likely place in Canada to draw a large protest. Ah well, just one more symbolic displacement from the centre of Canadian life for the peripatetic abortionist.
Dr Morgentaler was born in Poland. By coincidence CNN has been running a series this week, Eye on Poland, which offers "wide-ranging reports on this complex country tackling a time of transition; from Warsaw to Sopot, to Gdansk, Krakow and Lodz." The series has much to say about the country' history, economy, political progress, arts and so forth. But thanks to information I received via Vancouver medical researcher Brent Rooney, who focuses on premature risk factors, here is a little known fact about Poland that is unlikely to be aired on CNN: Since 1995, Poland's extreme preterm birth rate (XPT) per 100 live births has plummeted by 98% .
An XPT birth is one that occurs at 28 or under weeks gestation (normal gestation is between 39 and 42 weeks) - and amongst the many other deficits associated with XPT is Cerebral Palsy. The risk of Cerebral Palsy is about 38 times higher in XPB births than in the overall newborn population: that is, a live birth at 28 weeks or less leads to a more than 3700% increase in Cerebral Palsy. So naturally any young woman contemplating a family would want to know how to minimize the risk of an XPT birth.
Here's where the statistic I mentioned above about Poland gets interesting. While the Polish XPT rate has dropped by 21% between 1980-2006, the U.S. preterm birth rate has escalated by 44%. The reason for Poland's "preemie miracle" can be found in the induced abortion rates for the corresponding years. In 1989 Poland instituted a very restrictive abortion law. In the next four years induced abortion rates went down by 98% per 100 live births. Opponents of the law predicted a health disaster. But not only did the preterm rate decrease, maternal mortality also declined by 41% according to studies reflecting rates from 1995-97, while infant mortality decreased by 25%. You can check out the uncontested research link between "prior first trimester induced abortion" as an "immutable medical risk factor associated with preterm birth" here.
Let me be clear: I am not advocating a repeal of the right to abortion for Canadian women. I am, however, advocating for stricter "informed consent" laws around abortion. Dr Henry Morgentaler is the reason most women in Canada believe that abortion is a risk-free intervention. You will not see XPT birth listed as an elevated risk for a future pregnancy on pro-choice websites or on the consent forms at any Morgentaler clinic nor, to my knowledge, at any other abortion clinic. Indeed, as became clear when, as I reported in a previous column, I sent a "sleuth" to a Morgentaler clinic posing as a woman contemplating an abortion, she was told by a doctor there in no uncertain term: "One, two, three abortions, there are no risks [for future pregnancies].”
If women knew about these and other risks of induced abortion, the only surgical intervention that is routinely performed on women without having been performed first in animal studies, at the very least the rate of multiple abortions would decrease. The benefit to our health care system is obvious: fewer future high-risk pregnancies would immediately reduce pregnancy-related costs and high-tech, labour-intensive care in neo-natal units, not to mention the dramatic decrease in the high lifetime burden of care associated with the stricken children. The emotional costs to the parents of these children are of course incalculable, and any information that would lead to fewer such tragedies should be an outcome all Canadians, including the most fervently pro-choice amongst us, should welcome.
And so, as Dr Morgentaler receives his Order of Canada today, let us reflect on the irony of life. We so often hear the phrase "rush to judgment" when we speak of people charged with a crime they may not have committed. We should also be careful of the "rush to honour" those whose legacy may embarrass us. And here in Quebec City today is, verily, a case in point of a rush to honour I believe will one day prove a cautionary tale for the Order of Canada committee.
Be the first to comment.
Henry Morgentaler recevra la médaille de l'Ordre du Canada demain en matinée.
By John-Henry Westen
QUEBEC CITY, October 8, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) -
LifeSiteNews.com has learned that abortionist Henry Morgentaler will be awarded the Order of Canada on Friday at 10am in Quebec City.
Official announcement is planned only for Thursday late afternoon.
LifeSiteNews.com broke the story on Morgentaler's nomination to the Order of Canada two days prior to the official proclamation, launching a media frenzy.
The news service has since published over 70 news articles on the subject.
Campaign Life Coalition (CLC) the political arm of the pro-life movement has led the public outcry against the nomination with a petition of over 30,000 Canadians, commissioning the largest poll in the country on the subject (finding 56% opposed), and polling all Members of Parliament (finding over 100 MPs publicly in opposition).
Source: Lifesite
FRC Defends Conscience Law
U.S. Newswire
Tuesday, October 7, 2008, p. n/a
FRC Defends Conscience Law
866-FRC-NEWS, both of Family Research Council
WASHINGTON, Oct. 7 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Family Research Council (FRC) has released comments that FRC and several other groups filed with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in strong support of regulations to enforce statutes now on the books that protect health care providers' right of conscience. Last month, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) proposed regulations that increase public awareness of, and require governmental compliance with, these conscience protection statutes. HHS asked the public to comment on the proposed rules.
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080930/FRCLOGO)
Tony Perkins, President of Family Research Council released the following statement:
"The Church, Coats, and Weldon Amendments should be strongly enforced by the government just as every other civil rights law is. Many of the intended beneficiaries of these landmark federal statues, which are intended to protect health care providers' right of religious and moral conscience, do not know their rights under the law. The proposed HHS regulations are needed to educate health care workers about their conscience rights and implement these statutory protections.
"Recognizing that a right of conscience among healthcare workers needs to be enforced to ensure that health care providers are not discriminated against, such regulations would not undermine women's access to healthcare, despite what pro-abortion groups would have Americans believe. Rather, these regulations would implement conscience protections that are constitutionally guaranteed and have been embodied in statutory law for the past 35 years.
"Family Research Council urges the Department to enact the proposed regulations for the civil right protections guaranteed to health care workers."
Download a copy of FRC's comments at http://downloads.frc.org/EF/ EF08J02.pdf
SOURCE: Family Research Council
FRC to Host Panel Discussion on Post-Abortion Mental Health Effects
U.S. Newswire
Tuesday, October 7, 2008, p. n/a
FRC to Host Panel Discussion on Post-Abortion Mental Health Effects
866-FRC-News
WASHINGTON, Oct. 7 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --Thursday, October 9,at 10:00 am, Family Research Council,will host a panel discussion with leading researchers and clinicians on abortion history and associated mental health effects. Data from numerous studies will be discussed and analyzed to explore associations between abortion and mental health, and substance abuse disorders. Additionally, results from a national poll conducted through the Elliot Institute examining politics and post-abortion awareness will be presented. Join us to learn more about the body of research the American Psychological Association failed to assess in its recent report on abortion and mental health.
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080930/FRCLOGO)
Who:Priscilla K. Coleman, Ph.D., Bowling Green State University;
Catherine T. Coyle, RN, Ph.D., Alliance for Post-Abortion
Research & Training; Tom McClusky, Vice President for Government Affairs, FRC; David Reardon, Ph.D., Elliot Institute; Vincent M. Rue, Ph.D., Institute for Pregnancy Loss; Martha Shuping, M.D., Shuping & Associates
What:Panel Discussion: Post-Abortion Mental Health Effects, Awareness, and Politics
When: Thursday, October 9, 2008
10:00am - 12:00pm
Where: Family Research Council
801 G St, NW
Washington,DC20001
RSVP:1-800-225-4008
http://www.frc.org
*Complimentary lunch will be served*
SOURCE Family Research Council
Abortion Opponents Launch Campaign in 179 Cities Today
U.S. Newswire
Wednesday, September 24, 2008, p. n/a
Abortion Opponents Launch Campaign in 179 Cities Today
804-852-2979, [email protected]
40 Days for Life mobilizes thousands of volunteers for focused pro-life initiative during weeks prior to elections
WASHINGTON, Sept. 24 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- "During an election season in which abortion has emerged as a critical -- and potentially decisive -- issue, people across the nation need to be made aware of the reality of what abortion does to women, men, children, communities and our nation. So 42 days before Americans go to the polls to select new national, state, and local leaders, thousands of volunteers are launching a massive 40-day pro-life campaign simultaneously in 179 cities -- an initiative focused on prayer, fasting, and peaceful action that could have a profound effect on our nation at this crucial time," said David Bereit, national campaign director of 40 Days for Life.
40 Days for Life is a community-based campaign that is being conducted from September 24 until November 2. The focused effort is made up of 40 days of prayer and fasting, round-the-clock peaceful vigil outside an abortion facility or Planned Parenthood center, and grassroots educational outreach. 179 communities in 47 states, the District of Columbia, American Samoa and two Canadian provinces are launching local campaigns today, making 40 Days for Life the largest and longest coordinated pro-life mobilization in history. The full list of locations is online at http://www.40daysforlife.com/ location.cfm.
"With abortion in the forefront of the national debate during this heated political season, people of faith and conscience are coming out to 40 Days for Life kick-off events and getting involved in local campaigns in record numbers," said Bereit. "I am seeing a greater sense of urgency to end abortion in America right now than I have seen in the last decade."
Bereit explained that 40 Days for Life neither endorses any candidate nor campaigns against anyone seeking public office. "I am convinced that the change in the abortion status quo will begin as a spiritual change," he said. "The nation is beginning to undergo a spiritual conversion that will ultimately turn our society away from abortion. That spiritual change will then be reflected in the political realm, as elected officials will recognize the will of the people and respond accordingly to protect the life of every human -- born and pre-born."
CONTACT:
Amber Dolle
40 Days for Life
804-852-2979
[email protected]
SOURCE 40 Days for Life
2008 U.S. Newswire
Family Research Council to Defend Ireland Abortion Ban
WASHINGTON, Sept. 22 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Family Research Council announced today that that the European Court of Human Rights has granted permission for the organization to defend Ireland's ban on the practice of abortion. FRC will be represented by the Alliance Defense Fund, a legal alliance of Christian attorneys and organizations.
"Family Research Council is proud to be working with the Alliance Defense Fund in this important battle," said Bill Saunders, FRC's Human Rights Counsel and Senior Fellow of the Center for Human Life and Bioethics, "Ireland has wisely chosen to protect its most vulnerable citizens and we will work tirelessly to ensure that unborn children remain protected in Ireland."
"No one should be allowed to decide that an innocent life is worthless. ADF and FRC are looking forward to defending Ireland's abortion ban so that scores of pre-born children are guaranteed the protection the Irish people gave them," said ADF Chief Counsel Benjamin Bull. "This case is not only pivotal to Europe; it's pivotal to America. With greater frequency, the U.S. Supreme Court looks across the ocean to see what other countries are doing when considering its own cases. This case could be the Roe v. Wade of Europe."
The case was filed initially by three women who sought abortions in Ireland and were unable to do so. The European Court granted the opportunity for three pro-life organizations to file a brief defending Ireland's abortion ban. A hearing could occur as early as next year.
For more information, including the court order, visit http://www.telladf.org/
SOURCE Family Research Council
© 2008 PR Newswire
Family Research Council to Defend Ireland Abortion Ban
WASHINGTON, Sept. 22 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Family Research Council announced today that that the European Court of Human Rights has granted permission for the organization to defend Ireland's ban on the practice of abortion. FRC will be represented by the Alliance Defense Fund, a legal alliance of Christian attorneys and organizations.
"Family Research Council is proud to be working with the Alliance Defense Fund in this important battle," said Bill Saunders, FRC's Human Rights Counsel and Senior Fellow of the Center for Human Life and Bioethics, "Ireland has wisely chosen to protect its most vulnerable citizens and we will work tirelessly to ensure that unborn children remain protected in Ireland."
"No one should be allowed to decide that an innocent life is worthless. ADF and FRC are looking forward to defending Ireland's abortion ban so that scores of pre-born children are guaranteed the protection the Irish people gave them," said ADF Chief Counsel Benjamin Bull. "This case is not only pivotal to Europe; it's pivotal to America. With greater frequency, the U.S. Supreme Court looks across the ocean to see what other countries are doing when considering its own cases. This case could be the Roe v. Wade of Europe."
The case was filed initially by three women who sought abortions in Ireland and were unable to do so. The European Court granted the opportunity for three pro-life organizations to file a brief defending Ireland's abortion ban. A hearing could occur as early as next year.
For more information, including the court order, visit http://www.telladf.org/
SOURCE Family Research Council
© 2008 PR Newswire
Open Letter from Head of the Knights of Columbus to Senator Joseph Biden
WASHINGTON, Sept. 19 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The following open letter from the head of the Knights of Columbus, Carl Anderson, to Senator Joseph Biden was published in major newspapers on Friday, September 19, 2008, including USA Today, the Washington Times and the Philadelphia Inquirer.
OPEN LETTER TO SENATOR JOSEPH BIDEN
Dear Senator Biden:
I write to you today as a fellow Catholic layman, on a subject that has become a major topic of concern in this year's presidential campaign.
The bishops who have taken public issue with your remarks on the Church's historical position on abortion are far from alone. Senator Obama stressed your Catholic identity repeatedly when he introduced you as his running mate, and so your statements carry considerable weight, whether they are correct or not. You now have a unique responsibility when you make public statements about Catholic teaching.
On NBC's Meet the Press, you appealed to the 13th Century writings of St. Thomas Aquinas to cast doubt on the consistent teaching of the Catholic Church on abortion.
There are several problems with this.
First, Aquinas obviously had only a medieval understanding of biology, and thus could only speculate about how an unborn child develops in the womb. I doubt that there is any other area of public policy where you would appeal to a 13th Century knowledge of biology as the basis for modern law.
Second, Aquinas' theological view is in any case entirely consistent with the long history of Catholic Church teaching in this area, holding that abortion is a grave sin to be avoided at any time during pregnancy.
This teaching dates all the way back to the Didache, written in the second century. It is found in the writings of Tertullian, Jerome, Augustine and Aquinas, and was reaffirmed by the Second Vatican Council, which described abortion as "an unspeakable crime" and held that the right to life must be protected from the "moment of conception." This consistent teaching was restated most recently last month in the response of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops to remarks by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Statements that suggest that our Church has anything less than a consistent teaching on abortion are not merely incorrect; they may lead Catholic women facing crisis pregnancies to misunderstand the moral gravity of an abortion decision.
Neither should a discussion about a medieval understanding of the first few days or weeks of life be allowed to draw attention away from the remaining portion of an unborn child's life. In those months, even ancient and medieval doctors agreed that a child is developing in the womb.
And as you are well aware, Roe v. Wade allows for abortion at any point during a pregnancy.
Finally, your unwillingness to bring your Catholic moral views into the public policy arena on this issue alone is troubling.
There were several remarkable ironies in your first appearance as Senator Obama's running mate on the steps of the old state capitol in Springfield, Illinois.
His selection as the first black American to be the nominee of a major party for president of the United States owes an incalculable debt to two movements that were led by people whose religious convictions motivated them to confront the moral evils of their day - the abolitionist movement of the 19th Century, and the civil rights movement of the 20th Century.
Your rally in Springfield took place just a mile or so from the tomb of Abraham Lincoln, who in April 1859 wrote these words in a letter to Henry Pierce:
"This is a world of compensations; and he who would be no slave, must consent to have no slave. Those who deny freedom to others, deserve it not for themselves; and, under a just God, cannot long retain it."
Lincoln fought slavery in the name of "a just God" without embarrassment or apology. He confronted an America in which black Americans were not considered "persons" under the law, and were thus not entitled to fundamental Constitutional rights. Today, children of all races who are fully viable and only minutes from being born are also denied recognition as "persons" because of the Roe v. Wade regime that you so strongly support. Lincoln's reasoning regarding slavery applies with equal force to children who are minutes, hours or days away from birth.
The American founders began our great national quest for liberty by declaring that we are all "created equal." It took nearly a century to transform that bold statement into the letter of the law, and another century still to make it a reality. The founders believed that we are "endowed by [our] Creator with certain unalienable rights," and that first among these is "life."
You have a choice: you can listen to your conscience and work to secure the rights of the unborn to share in the fruits of our hard- won liberty, or you can choose to turn your back on them.
On behalf of the 1.28 million members of the Knights of Columbus and their families in the United States, I appeal to you, as a Catholic who acknowledges that life begins at conception, to resolve to protect this unalienable right. I would welcome the opportunity to discuss these issues personally with you in greater detail during the weeks between now and November 4.
Respectfully,
Carl A. Anderson
Supreme Knight
SOURCE Knights of Columbus
© 2008 U.S. Newswire