Abortions & Canada
Here's a creative way to express the horror of abortion that is occuring in Canada. The National Post's graphic notes over 93 000 abortions for 2009, noting that this figure is an underestimate.
Dr. Lejeune and a Biological Hypothetical
Would you have Adolf Hitler's mother aborted prior to his delivery?
This question was asked of me during the recent 40 Days for Life prayer vigil for the end of abortion. I responded in the negative for two reasons. First, we don't know what the future holds in store for each child in the womb. How do we know that the child in utero will be responsible for countless deaths and untoll suffering.
I believe that this answer does not do justice to the question. It accentuates that what is important is what one does with one's life - a utilitarian principle.
Second, and more importantly, every single life is important in itself, not by what one does during one's lifetime.
Below, geneticist and discoverer of Trisomy 21, Dr. Jerome Lejeune weighs in on this matter with a story taken from the pre-natal period of the German Chancellor. Enjoy.
http://www.youtube.com/embed/mloDMyp1QLQ
Abortion, Women's Rights and the Hypocrisy of 'Progressives'
The following commentary, written by Tasha Kheiriddin, is taken from them IPolitics site and contributes to current discourse about sex-selective abortions. Two things she does well. First, I believe she presents well how "progressive" types subordinate the live in the womb to inferred political motives - whether rightly or not.
It's a rite of passage for expectant parents worldwide: the 20 week ultrasound. And it's inevitably followed by two questions. First - is it healthy? Second - is it a boy or a girl?
Unfortunately, the answer to the second question often doesn't only determine the color of the nursery walls. In the case of female fetuses, it can mean the difference between life and death.
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This latter danger has prompted MP Mark Warwara to bring forward Bill M-408, which would have the House of Commons condemn the practice of sex-selective abortion. Returning to Kheiriddin, therein lies the subordination and hypocrisy..
It seems impossible to object to this idea, yet some opposition members are doing just that. In the words of NDP leader Thomas Mulcair, "(A)t the end of the day, it's a new attempt by the Conservatives to reopen the debate on abortion and remove from women their right to choose."
Considering the Tories' unwillingness to go anywhere near the abortion debate lately, that's simply untrue. But Mulcair's statement also reveal the contradiction - the hypocrisy - many so-called "progressive" politicians maintain when it comes to abortion.
The abortion debate is informed by social mores and science, both of which evolve over time — and both of which are routinely mined by progressives as sources of new laws, on issues ranging from gay rights to drug injection sites. Yet abortion seems off-limits, even though much has changed over the years.
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Next Ms. Kheiriddin dabbles in various solutions to the situation - medical, educational, economic, or legal.
Somewhere, in the grey area that frightens everybody, lies a solution. It may, as Mulcair suggested, be medical: the editorial board of the Canadian Medical Association Journal has called on doctors to withhold gender information until 30 weeks, "when unquestioned abortion is all but impossible". But this may just produce a black market for the information, as it has in countries that have officially banned sex-selection, such as China and India.It may be educational: Canadians need to stand up for the value of gender equality in the classroom, the workplace and the birthing room, and let Canadians of all cultures know that gender discrimination will not be tolerated. This, however is a longer-term solution and it won't help the girls being aborted today - and without the participation of the communities involved, it will not be effective.
Another long term solution may be economic. In a society where girls have the same opportunities as boys, they will no longer are viewed as financial burdens on their families, but as assets. Hvistendahl refers to ad at an Indian clinic "Better 500 rupees now than 5000 later" - alluding to the cost of a dowry.
Finally, there may be legal fix — and it may already have come before Parliament in the form of Bill C-510. "Roxanne's Law" was named for a young Winnipeg woman, Roxanne Fernando, who was killed after refusing her boyfriend's demand that she have an abortion. Introduced by Conservative MP Rod Bruinooge, it was torpedoed in large part by the Tories, 178-97, on the basis that, according to PMO spokesperson Andrew MacDougall, "the prime minister has always said he wouldn't support a bill that reopens the abortion debate" and that, in the words of Heritage Minister James Moore, "those protections already exist in the Criminal Code."
Perhaps it is time to revisit Roxanne's Law. Its context could just as easily by applied to gender selection abortions, which often are forced on women by others, including family members or religious leaders. Of course, mothers themselves might still decide to abort a female fetus, but after reading many harrowing accounts of women forced to do so, I would wager that it would happen less often - and such a law would give society the means to fight back.
The very fact that Warwara’s motion raises all these issues shows that the debate on sex-selection - and indeed, on abortion itself - should not be sidestepped again. Though it often lags behind, the law must try to keep pace with social and scientific changes. It's the responsibility of our lawmakers on both sides of the aisle to ensure that it does.
What's lacking in Kheiriddin's analysis is any reference to faith-based solutions. Hearts need to be changed. To save the child, whether male or female, we need to help the woman; not to remain indifferent to the plight which leads her to aborting her child.
On Miscarriage and Abortion: MP Benoit
Yesterday, MP Leon Benoit rose in the House of Commons and addressed the topic of the rights of the unborn. The following are his statements as recorded in official report of the House - Hansard.
41st PARLIAMENT, 1st SESSION
EDITED HANSARD • NUMBER 192 CONTENTS
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
Mr. Leon Benoit (Vegreville—Wainwright, CPC):
Mr. Speaker, a few months ago, my daughter, Jennifer, and her husband were devastated when they lost their unborn child through a miscarriage. She cried herself to sleep for weeks, and maybe still does.
My wife, Linda, and I experienced the same sense of loss and emptiness when we lost our first child to a miscarriage. People never really get over it.
I know that many parents experience this same pain but what I cannot square and what I need someone to explain to me is why the loss is any less when a child is aborted. Why is the loss any less, why does the child become less just because it is not wanted?
Protect Girls - Stop Gendercide
We live in a violent society. In an effort to address this violence particularly against women and girls, MP Mark Warawa and other MPs have banded together to raise awareness nationally. Their press conference, issued today and noted below, falls on Day 11 of the international campaign entitled "16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence."
MP’s Join to Call on Canadians
to Help End Violence Against Women and Girls
Ottawa, ON – Today Mark Warawa, Member of Parliament for Langley, was joined by several other MP’s in announcing a national call to action for all Canadians to work together to end violence against women and girls, during the international 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence.
“As part of the activism being undertaken, we encourage Canadians to #protectgirls and Support #M408”, says Warawa. Motion 408 calls on Parliament to condemn discrimination against females occurring through sex-selective pregnancy termination. MP Warawa declared December 5, Day 11 of the campaign, as Protect Girls, Support M408 Day and launched a public campaign as part of the activism.
Kildonan-St. Paul MP Joy Smith says “"It is a human right not to be discriminated against under Canadian law. Gendercide is discrimination against females. I applaud MP Warawa for putting M-408 forward to raise awareness of this issue. I urge all Canadians to support it, to ensure the protection of girls."
“MPs are also seeing the issue of gendercide being talked about across Canada in all cultures,” says Mississauga South MP Stella Ambler. “Canada is a leader in human rights around the world, and that is because we take action when atrocities, like gendercide, are committed. All parties in this House have condemned sex-selection.”
Saskatoon-Rosetown-Biggar MP Kelly Block commended the groups and individuals that have worked very hard to raise awareness of M-408 and have lobbied for its passage. "By raising awareness on this issue, these groups and individuals truly are the defenders of gender equality and the protection of women and girls against discrimination. By supporting M-408 we are affirming our value of gender equality here in Canada", says Block.
“Canadian’s have been asking us for a cohesive venue to declare their support for this motion,” says Warawa. “We have responded with these calls to action:
- The creation of a facebook fan page “Protect Girls – Support M408” in order to give Canadians a voice in their desire to take action on this issue.
- A petition drive so that all Canadians can again be a voice to protect girls. Petitions can be downloaded at markwarawa.com, or supportm408.com.
- Using the hashtags #protectgirls and #M408 on Twitter to unite the conversation.
- And finally, Canadians can support M-408 on Youtube by posting a video using the title “I support M408”.
“The issue of female gendercide is being discussed openly across Canada and internationally,” says Warawa. “We are calling on all Canadians to work together to end violence against women and girls, to send a message of acceptance that women are valued in Canada and to stop this discrimination, protect girls and support M-408.”
BACKGROUND:
M-408 is in response to numerous inquiries and concerns my office received after the CBC presented an investigation on gender selection last June. With hidden cameras, the CBC visited 22 private ultrasound clinics in Canada. They found that most of these clinics allowed ultrasounds to determine the gender so parents could choose to terminate the pregnancy if the unborn child was a female.
An Environics poll last year shows 92% of Canadians believe sex-selective pregnancy termination should be illegal.
Gender selection has been strongly condemned by all national political parties. As well, the Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists of Canada have vehemently opposed sex-selection pregnancy termination.
The international 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence started on November 25th . It began with the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, and wraps up on December 10, International Human Rights Day. This period includes December 6, Canada’s National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence against Women.
America’s Pediatricians Claim the Right to Contracept Your Kids
The present article comes to us from Steven Mosher of the Population Research Institute. It is part of his weekely series of blogs. What are we, as a society, permitting our adolescents to put into their bodies, is one of the points that he brings up.
Parents are Not to Know (But They are Expected to Pay)
The day before Thanksgiving, I got a call from a harried reporter. “The American Academy of Pediatrics has issued a statement on “Emergency Contraception,” he said. “I’d like to get your take on it.”
The 10-page document turns out to be a full-throated endorsement of what is euphemistically called “Plan B” (levonorgestrel manufactured by Teva Women’s Health) for kids of all ages. The current FDA rules, which limit emergency contraception to young women 17 years or older, are too restrictive, the document argues.
Those of us (including, I am guessing, a number of pediatricians) who conscientiously object to flooding immature teenage bodies with powerful, steroid-based drugs will not accept this statement on multiple grounds.
First, as everyone who has had high school biology knows, pregnancy begins at conception. To claim that pregnancy begins a week later, when the developing fetus implants in the lining of the uterus is simply not true. Since the morning-after pill sometimes operates by preventing implantation, it is ipso facto abortifacient. Therefore it is not accurately described as "emergency contraception," but as an "early-term abortion," at least in some cases.
The AAP statement attempts to dodge these problems by suggesting that the evidence of the effect of hormonal emergency contraception on the endometrium (the lining of the uterus) are “conflicting.” While admitting that some studies show that “endometrial receptivity to the implantation of a fertilized egg is impaired,” it claims that other studies show “little effect.”
This is doubly disingenuous. First, as high school biology students know—but what the physicians who drafted the AAP statement have conveniently forgotten, what implants in the lining of the uterus is not merely a “fertilized egg.” It is rather a tiny human being who is already at the blastula stage of fetal development.
Second, it has long been generally accepted in the medical world that hormonal contraception operates, at least part of the time, by preventing implantation. To claim, as the AAP statement does, that the science is not settled is to deliberately obfuscate the matter.
I am sure that there are many pediatricians and other medical professionals who do not wish to counsel, prescribe, fill prescriptions for, or refer for drugs that violate their conscience. The AAP statement nonetheless asserts that pediatricians have an ethical responsibility to "inform/educate about availability and access to emergency-contraception services." There is no ethical basis for this assertion which, if enforced, would violate the conscience of all Catholic and many Christian physicians.
Perhaps the most egregious claim of a statement which makes many such claims is that "at the policy level, pediatricians should advocate for increased non-prescription access to emergency contraception for teenagers regardless of age and for insurance coverage of emergency contraception to reduce cost barriers." Allowing 13-year-olds to buy steroid-based drugs without their parents’ foreknowledge and consent is a violation of parents’ rights and is also not in the best interest of the teenagers themselves.
Finally, someone needs to realize how much of this is driven by the profit motive. Big Pharma pays for many of these studies which assert the purported benefits of providing drugs that they manufacture to as many people as possible at the expense of the taxpayers. Such rent-seeking is typical of the kind of bureaucratic capitalism that we now see coming to dominate the medical space under Obamacare.
Urbanization: Who's Afraid of the Big Bad City?
The following comes to us from the Population Research Institute - PRI.
We at PRI are proud to announce the sixth episode of our highly popular YouTube cartoon series. Called “Urbanization: Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad City?” it talks about why people are crowding into cities in increasing numbers.
Over the past hundred years, half the world’s population has moved country to city. Megacities with ten million or more people have sprung up as countrysides have emptied out.
But urban overcrowding should not be mistaken for overpopulation. Heavy traffic, homelessness, and long lines are not symptoms of a global glut of people, but of people seeking the good life that cities offer.
“Urbanites often complain about overcrowding,” says Steven Mosher, PRI’s president. “Yet they enjoy the economic, educational and cultural benefits that come from living in the city. This video will help them understand that they can’t have the perquisites of city life without the people that provide them. If you don’t love your neighbors you can always move to North Dakota where you won’t have any.”
“The fight against the myth of overpopulation does not have to be a bare-knuckled brawl,” continues Mosher. “These videos are funny and easy to digest, the very opposite of Al Gore's dark and boring pronouncements on the 'dangers' of too many people. Our viewers end up considering the science that supports our pro-people position, often for the very first time. We say to our skeptics: watch, laugh, and learn.”
The latest video, two minutes long, is available below, or by visiting overpopulationisamyth.com. The series has, to date, garnered over 1,500,000 views in multiple languages.
40 Days for Life: Weekly Review
Saturday, October 27, Day 32. This past week we crossed the three-quarter mark of our 40-day prayer for the end of abortion. On average, slightly more than twenty persons came out to the site spending about 45 hours of prayer time, each day.
I'm inspired by the numerous exchanges that spontaneously take place on the subject of life and abortion and related themes. Either with passersby or the pro-choice crowd that gathers next to us, many vigilers share their views. Special thanks to Mr. Lecomte, John & Celeste, Carole, and Barbara.
End of Our Banner - More Signs
On Thursday, I was visited by an officer with the local police force. It seems that our banner is violating a municipal by-law. Yes, we have had it since 2009 – i.e., seven other 40-day campaigns, and yet only now has it been deemed not permitted. The officer showed me the law which dates back to 2001. Hence, as of Monday, I will be compelled to take it down, else pay a fine.
We will continue for the final week of the vigil with signs.
The loss of the banner entails a loss of visibility, which we will try to compensate for in two ways. First, we can continue using our signs. Our current inventory displays the same message as the banner – "Pray for the End of Abortion." Also, we will reveal two new signs – one with the image of the 20-week old fetus and the other with the help-line number.
Second, in effort to have some visibility, I suspect that we will be parading more along the wakways in Lahaie Park.
Please keep us in your prayers during this last week of the vigil.
The vigil ends this coming Sunday, November 4th
40 Days for Life: The Second Half
We've begun the second half of our 40-day prayer vigil for the end of abortion this past Monday and here are a few of the highlights since.
Wednesday, October-17: Spiritually Powerful Day
Day 22 was an emotion packed day: encouragement at the outset, dread and foreboding in the middle, and the sweet peace of reconciliation at the end.
During the second hour of the day, a young francophone evangelical dropped by to offer a few words of encouragement for the work we are doing. We exchanged a little about our respective faiths and then he was off.
A more powerful event came in the afternoon. At that time, I began feeling dread and foreboding and no matter how much I prayed or shared with one or two persons at the site, these feelings would not subside.
Noris was one such person I shared with. She arrived an hour or so after I first had these experiences. As I described them, she shared her particular devotion to Saint Benedict and to the Saint Benedict medal, the latter being used in instances against Satan and his minions.
We began to pray and as we did so something incredible happened: pro-choice persons began walking up to our site. First came a young man - a student of social work, then a woman pushing her child in a carriage, and finally another woman.
On arrival, they were greeted by vigilers and conversations sprung up. The young man met John and Celeste with whom he spoke for nearly ninety minutes; during this exhange, the second woman arrived and joined in. On the other hand, the woman with the stroller met Yves on arriving and the two spoke for nearly as long.
Throughout these exchanges, Noris and I prayed continuously for peaceful resolutions. I invoked the intercession of powerful saints - Dominique, John Chrysostom, Peter Chrysologus, and John the Baptist, hoping that their inspirations may provide our vigilers with the right words for their listeners to hear. Noris expressed her conviction that positive outcomes would result.
And positive outcomes did occur. On the one hand, the exchanges though intense and passionate weret not belligerent. On the hand, there was one conversion. John and Celeste introduced me to the young man who they told had become pro-life as the result of the encounter. Though the two women did not express any conversion of hearts, we trust that our witness and goodwill affect them in the time to come.
Finally, the day ended with a blessing as one vigiler was able to bring peace to a fractured relationship between two others.
Thursday and Friday, October 18 & 19 – Contrasts in Weather
Days 23 and 24 of the vigil could not have been more unalike. Thursday was sunny and balmy while the following day, rain, rain and more rain.
40 Days for Life: A Ray of Sunshine on a Cloudy Day
Sunday, October-14, Day 19.
Shortly after my arrival at mid-day, a drizzle began to fall. Only a mist at first, it progressed in intensity as the afternoon wore on. Eventually, I needed to put on my rain wear and protect our gear inside our waterproof bag.
By 5:30 p.m., a steady rain had been falling for some time. Little did those of us who were there - Andrew, Francois, and me, know that we were in store for "sunshine." Yet when God is the vigil scheduler, sunshine often occurs.
The "sun" did come in the form of welcomed company. First, it was the arrival of Christopher. Then, no sooner had greetings been exchanged that Brother Emmanuel and Mark-Anthony showed up. Finally, within thirty minutes, Maria, Pierre, and little Marie-Camilla arrived and stayed until closure.
A wonderful blessing I have experienced during this vigil time and again is the arrival of persons - whether old friends or new acquaintances, coming to spend some time at the site in prayer.
The vigil runs through until Sunday, November 4, 2012. Drop by for an hour of silent prayer or remember us and the cause of life in your own home or faith community.