Monday, July 8, 2013

Dear Friends of Life,

Blessed summertime greetings to you and your loved ones.

As hinted in our previous newsletter, the Quebec government has indeed gone ahead with a bill permitting the practice of euthanasia in our province.

Fortunately, Bill 52, entitled “An Act permitting end-of-life care,” has only been tabled; it isn't law.

Yet, there is little preventing it from becoming law when the National Assembly resumes in September for all four sitting parties agree with the legislation.

So, is Bill 52 a done deal? No it isn't. Here are three things we can do: pray, study, act.

Pray. We can do little without being in union with and supported by our Divine Maker. Prayer, either individually or with others, brings us closer to God to learn his will. One person suggested forming prayer groups within our own faith communities to counter this threat.

Become knowledgeable. The 20-page bill is available simply by visiting the Quebec National Assembly web site ; if you are having difficulty procuring it, call me (438- 930-8643) and I will walk you through the exercise.

Next to perusing the proposed law itself, read commentaries about it. For instance, Alex Schadenberg, the Executive Director of Euthanasia Prevention Coalition, has commented on the bill’s lack of clarity. Concerning section 3 (3) which states that “End-of-life care means palliative care provided to persons at the end of their lives, including terminal palliative sedation, and medical aid in dying...,” he writes:

Medical aid in dying is a euphemism for euthanasia in the bill. The bill states that doctors would “administer” medical aid in dying. The bill is decriminalizing euthanasia and not assisted suicide. Euthanasia is a form of homicide since it directly and intentionally causes the death of a person, usually by lethal injection.

Here is a sampling of other voices opposing this dangerous law.

• Beauchamp, Dr. Marc and Me. Michel Racicot, “Why Bill 52 Should Not Become Law” in the opinion section of The Montreal Gazette, Wednesday, June 26, 2013.
• Somerville, Dr. Margaret, “Quebec is trying to legalize euthanasia by naming it something else. It’s still wrong,” in the opinion section of The Globe and Mail, Wednesday, June 19, 2013.
• Hasbrouck, Mrs. Amy, “Bill 52: Bad Medicine,” available on the website of “Toujours Vivant – Not Dead Yet,” (http://tvndy.ca/).

Act. Consider calling or, even better, visiting your MNA. Our elected officials need to know that this is a dangerous law. We need to say NO to bill 52 and euthanasia, and YES to a natural death with TRUE palliative care, NOT to terminal palliative sedation.

If you do not know who your MNA is, find out by calling the National Assembly at (866) 337-8837.

Also, consider visiting your elected official. Summer is here and many will be returning to their home riding. Take advantage of this to visit them either in their office or at public gatherings such as a corn roast. Their office locations are readily available again by calling Quebec City.

Pray. Study. Act.

Remember. You are not alone. Many physicians are speaking up about the pending dangers of this law. This past May 18, 2013, a physician group – “Total Refusal of Euthanasia … Caring, not Killing,” was a principal organizer that brought 1700 persons to Quebec City to voice their disapproval of the government’s plans. Now, in light of the legislation, the same organizers of the May 18 event are planning a further civic action. Details will be forthcoming.

Until then, pray, study, and act.

Yours Respectfully,

Brian A. Jenkins

P.S. Thank you for your ongoing support, both spiritual and financial!

Dear Brian,

I wish to protect the elderly and the vulnerable from assisted suicide and euthanasia. Here's my donation to allow QLC to continue its important work.

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Dear Friends of Life,

I need your help.

The French daily La Presse reported this past Thursday, June 6, 2013, that the Provincial government would be tabling, the very next day, legislation permitting the practice of euthanasia in our province.

This isn’t anything unexpected. Under the previous government, a liberal one, we witnessed two signs that our government was moving in this direction – the recommendations of the select committee Dying with Dignity which endorsed the deadly procedure and the report of the Ménard committee on the legal implementation of the select committee’s recommendations which outlined how to circumvent federal jurisdiction.

Friday came and went without any new legislation. Yet because the parliamentary session ends this Friday and breaks for the summer, we expect that the legislation will be tabled in a few days.

We need to act. Would you to call or email your member of the National Assembly in order to tell him or her about your opposition to permitting ‘medical aid in dying’ legislation – a.k.a., euthanasia and assisted suicide.

To find out who your elected official is, you need only enter your postal code in the appropriate box at the Assemblée nationale page.

Else, at this same web address, we can enter other search parameters which will permit you to find out who your elected representative is.

Finally, you can get the same information by calling:

1-866 Députés (1 866 337-8837)

It is important to act, preferably by phone, if not, by email, or both. We need to tell our elected officials that we will not stand for this contradiction to health care.

Creeping euthanasia

Some say euthanasia is already present in Quebec. I have heard tales of unscrupulous health care professionals, cowering under the title of multi-disciplinary committees to avoid taking personal responsibility, who have disregarded their Hippocratic Oath to ensure the health and safety of their patients. I have heard of at least 2 cases.

Teresa has experienced how the health care network has failed her, her parents, and her family. The death of her parents was the result of either a series of unfortunate inept decisions by the people intended to care for their well-being or worse - a deliberate and coordinated plan to play god with the more vulnerable of our society – our elderly.

The case of inept individuals include: an overzealous and territorial CLSC social worker, a pastor more respectful of governmental guidelines than pastor-parishioner care, a family doctor also cowering to CSSS pressures rather than caring for the patient, and a medical researcher and administrator more interested in medicating their research subjects rather than respecting their Hippocratic Oath.

In a second instance, Pierrette wrote to me about the death of her mother. Her experience with a provincially-run long term health care facility has left bitter feelings. She concludes that “euthanasia is a money portfolio in that inheritors and the government both stand to gain.”

She described the deterioration in the care given to her mom at the nursing home – beginning with the disappearance of personal and family heirlooms– as well as arbitrary rules preventing Pierrette to inquire about personal matters related to her mother.

Yet there is hope: Many physicians have not been silent about the pending dangers. Over 500 have signed a manifesto pledging total refusal of euthanasia. And this past May 18, 2013, the Springtime March attracted 1700 persons to Quebec City to voice their disapproval with the government’s orientation. Now, in light of the legislation, the same organizers of the May 18 event are planning a further civic action. Details are be forthcoming.

In the meantime, please contact your local MNA to voice your disapproval with the direction of our provincial legislation.

Yours Respectfully,

Brian A. Jenkins

P.S. Thank you for your ongoing support, both spiritual and financial!

June 2013 Newsletter >>

Dear Brian,

I wish to protect the elderly and the vulnerable from assisted suicide and euthanasia. Here's my donation to allow QLC to continue its important work.

February 8, 2013

Dear Friends of Life,

Get ready! We are about to begin the single, most effective way to end abortion: the 40 Days for Life prayer vigil.

On Ash Wednesday, February 13th, the Quebec Life Coalition will be starting its ninth vigil. Inaugurated here in Montreal back in the spring of 2009, after having gone nationwide in the United States two years earlier, we have consistently ran two vigils per year - one during the Lenten period of February and March, and the other in fall, usually spanning the month of October.

2013 is no different. On February 13th, we will be joining 260 other locations worldwide in this effort to end the scourge of abortion. The bulk of these may be found in our neighbour to the south of us – 225. As for our more proximate neighbours – i.e., the other Canadian provinces, there are seven vigils occurring simultaneously – two each in British Columbia (Victoria, Terrace) and Ontario (Guelph and Oakville) and three in Alberta (Calgary, Edmonton, and Red Deer).

As for our neighbours further afield, there are the familiar ones – Australia, England and Spain, and some not so familiar ones – Nigeria, Russia, and Wales. Here’s a further breakdown:  Australia (7), England (9), Spain (4), and 1 in each Ireland, Nigeria, Poland, Russia, South Africa, and Wales.

An interesting footnote to this total of 261 vigil locations occurred some two weeks ago. One of the vigil teams needed to drop out for a surprising and good reason. The abortion facility at which it was planning to pray folded. Yes, employees were seen carting boxes and materials into a dumpster.

So, you see how effective prayer and fasting can be; we have yet to start and an abortion facility has already closed!

Also, statistics show how this kind of vigil can be the most effective means to ending abortion. Since this prayer vigil movement first began in College Station, Texas, in 2004, and spread across the United States and internationally, a slew of numbers show its effectiveness:

• Over 6700 lives have been saved from abortion;
• 75 abortion workers have experienced a conversion and left their jobs; and
• 25 abortion facilities have closed.

Here in Montreal, we are beginning to see the effects of our prayers as well. Our core team – i.e., persons who register online, has grown. The number of vigilers coming to the site to pray grows; I estimate a figure of 160 this past fall. And most importantly two Montreal mothers have elected to forego an abortion and give life to their child. Can there be any better sign that this?

Ash Wednesday, February 13th marks the beginning of the Lenten period, a time of year known for preparation, atonement. Christians around the world will begin to prepare themselves for the arrival of the holiest time of year – the Easter Tridium marked by the death and the resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Can I count on you to join us - through acts of prayer, fasting, almsgiving, self-denial, to remember the unborn and their mothers and fathers?

God alone can change hearts. God alone can end the scourge of abortion. Yet God needs our hands, feet, and voices to get his message of hope and mercy known.

Please join us this Lent, in prayer – whether in your homes, at your churches, or in Lahaie park, to make God’s message of hope and mercy.

Yours Respectfully,

Brian A. Jenkins

Outreach Coordinator

Quebec Life Coalition

P. S. In previous letters, I wrote to you about one of our faithful vigilers Maria and her pregnancy. Mother and child are progressing well, despite, the nausea that mother continues to experience. Again, your prayers are welcomed.

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Dear Friends of Life

I trust you have all had a blessed Christmas period.

I did and in a most unexpected manner.

Yes, there were the traditional joys of meeting friends and sharing meals.

In addition, as the New Year began, I received an unexpected phone call.

The caller was someone I knew well. He and his wife are faithful prayer warriors, active during our twice annual 40 Days for Life prayer vigils for the end of abortion. So faithful are they that they have been part of every single vigil we have organized since we first began them in Montreal, back in the spring of 2009 – an amazing eight campaigns!

On this day, another topic was on his mind. He was wondering whether I was free and willing to spend the afternoon with him laying down a primer coat in a couple of bedrooms of an apartment recently leased to an expectant mother.

Some background knowledge may be helpful at this point. The couple’s involvement during this past fall’s 40-day vigil took a most unexpected turn. They befriended a young woman anxious about her pregnancy. Under much parental pressure to abort her 19 week old child, she had gone to the Morgentaler facility, across the street from where we were praying. Fortunately, she left without aborting the child and came to speak to us and ever since we have been accompanying her.

The latest form of this support was the painting exercise.

I gladly accepted the invitation and despite my aching muscles on the following day, I have no regrets for having accepted the invitation. In fact, I feel blessed.

Subsequently, I learned that the final coats were done that same evening and the following day. Further that the following Saturday, mother, father and child moved into a newly painted 4 ½, leaving their outgrown bachelor apartment behind.

So, as many of us were celebrating the arrival of the Christ child, I was privileged to spend some time helping an expected mother.

We are committed to help women who face untimely pregnancies and choose life for their babies.

Unfortunately, not all of our encounters with pregnant women end so well. In my previous newsletter I had asked for prayers for another expected mother. Despite our best efforts to help, this young woman decided to abort her child.

Such incidents are all too typical of Quebec society where there are over 30 000 abortions yearly. And these figures do not take into account the children lost to abortifacients such as the morning-after pill.

What can be done? Prayer and Politics.

As our twice-yearly prayer vigil for the end of abortion has continued to garner strength, Further, we have expanded upon this by providing a daily presence outside abortions mills.

Since the beginning of January 2012, I have gone to spend at least an hour each day near a local abortion mill in silent contemplative prayer. Often alone, sometimes accompanied by a few faithful, I act in faith that my prayers will be heard and change will come.

One sign that change is happening is the increase in number of post-abortive people joining me in prayer. Jean-Olivier experienced the abortion of his child this past fall. Despite his wishes to have the child, the mother believed otherwise and aborted. Since then, he has joined me at the vigil location.

Have a blessed New Year,

Brian A. Jenkins

Outreach Coordinator

Quebec Life Coalition

P. S. Our own prayer warrior, Maria, is pregnant and all is going well, though she is suffering from much nausea. Please keep mother and child in your prayers.

Friday, November 9, 2012

Dear Friends of Life,

I trust this letter finds you well.

As for me, I am experiencing mixed feelings. On the one hand, President Obama re-election has me worried about the fate of the unborn, both south of the border and wherever U.S. policies extend. On the other hand, my faith assures me that I am on the right side as the following passage from the book of Proverbs asserts:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;

in all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your paths. (Pv. 3)

On the first point, Lila Rose outlines five points about which the President has failed to safeguard protection for the unborn.

1. President Obama voted against the Born Alive Infant Protection Act four times, horrifyingly voting against protecting babies who survived abortion and voting in favor of leaving them to die. A vote against this legislation was a vote for infanticide.
2. On his third day in office, President Obama repealed the pro-life “Mexico City Policy.” By doing this, President Obama made groups that perform and promote abortion eligible for U.S. foreign aid funds.
3. Planned Parenthood’s funding jumped from 33% publicly-funded to nearly 50% – over $487 million in taxpayer funding now goes to the abortion giant (under Obama and his administration). This is almost half a billion dollars that American families are forced to pay in tax dollars to the nation’s largest abortion provider, Planned Parenthood.
4. President Obama refused to sign an emergency budget, putting funding the military at risk, until Planned Parenthood funding was included in the budget. This was following Live Action’s Sex Trafficking Operation, showing Planned Parenthood aiding and abetting the sex-traffickers of underage girls.
5. The president has pushed for his “pet legislation,” The Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare), which would help fund “community health centers” (Planned Parenthood is their prime target). Additionally, the HHS mandate would force all Americans to fund abortion and contraception, with no exceptions for religious institutions or religious individuals who are vehemently against abortion and contraception.

Hence, my worry is not unwarranted.

Yet, as Susan Michele Tyrrell adroitly put it in a post-election commentary, we are called to put our trust in our Lord and not in men.

Though pro-lifers are disappointed, grieved and even angry, we must remember that our call to LIFE and prayer has never changed. This isn’t a time to spew negativity or fight with natural weapons. Never have we needed to pray as we do in this critical hour. No man is our answer apart from Jesus, and He wasn’t the least bit surprised. Before the foundation of the world, He knew we’d re-elect President Obama tonight. We absolutely cannot forget the word of the Lord in Romans which says:

13 Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same.

And so we continue in faith. We believe that the unborn child has value and deserves to be protected. This cause has permitted us to hold eight 40-day prayer vigils in one of the most liberal area of Montreal if not Canada. Faith spurs us on to defend life at of its stages, from conception until natural death. Faith sustains us as we continue to build via organizing conferences, helping pregnant women, comforting those who have experienced an abortion. We believe that we can change hearts.

Thank you for supporting us on this journey, both spiritually and financially.

Yours in Christ Jesus

Brian Jenkins

Outreach Coordinator

Quebec Life Coalition

Dear friends of life,

As you read this newsletter, Premier Jean Charest has most likely called an election, an election to be held in early September, 2012 : so, we find ourselves in election mode!

Under such circumstances, the question arises: what is our role - either at the Quebec Life Coalition or individually, at this time ?

Your role is to inform us as to the positions taken by your local candidates on the issues that matter to us, and then pass this information on to us - (514) 344-2686, so that we may then disseminate these views as widely as possible, thereby informing the largest number of persons of what the candidates are saying.

What should we be asking our candidates? Here are the four main questions.

1. Are you in favour of or apposed to the public funding of abortion in Québec ? We support every candidate who opposes such financing . (Currently in Quebec, abortion may be procurred at any moment during the pregnancy and for any reason or no reason at all, fully payable by our tax dollars – a travesty to say the least !)
2. Are you in favour of or or opposed to the legalization of euthanasia in Québec ? (The Quebec attorney general is currently searching for ways to circumvent the Canadian Criminel Code in order to permit euthanasia in Québec. We support every candidate who defends those citizens vulnerable to this euthanasia legislation, who are opposed to the legalization of murder "with compassion".
3. Do you believe that it is the right and duty of the parents - and not the state - to provide moral and spiritual education to their children and that the parents have the right to delegate this responsibility to a school whose orientation matches their own ? (Once this right is recognized, gone is the obligation to follow the ECR course and dubious sex education courses.)
4. Do you believe that parents should be able to care for their children at home, that is to say, to directly receive the funds currently allocated by the government for placing children in public daycare?

Thank you for asking these questions to the candidates within your riding and then relaying their answers to us so that we may inform all of our members and our thousand of Internet readers - i.e., Facebook and on our website.

Finally, your last duty is to vote for the candidate who follows closely your pro-life and pro-family convictions. If and only if your evaluation of the candidates is inconclusive, then you should choose the best party (contact us for more info on this). Let's all set aside partisan affiliation, and focus on the most pressing issues, those noted above, that transcend the usual divisions. Wishing one and all the best election!

Georges Buscemi, President

(Translated by Brian Jenkins)

Dear pro-Lifer,

Blessed summer greetings to you.

“We pray that people will understand that to be pro-life means to be pro-woman,

and that to be pro-woman demands that we be pro-life.”

(Taken from "Pro-Life Meditations" by Priests for Life.)

This month I want to underscore the importance of coming to the aid of women. Whether those struggling with an unplanned pregnancy or those who have already aborted, we as a society need to be front and centre in our support of both groups so as to eliminate altogether the scourge of abortion.

Before saying any more on this, I want to encourage you not to forget us over the summer months. Our bills do not take a holiday. Please click here to donate today. Your support would help us to continue supporting life initiatives such as:

• Welcoming a delegation from the Calgary-based Canadian Centre for Bio-ethical Reform;
• Hosting the Canada Crossroads walkers, a group of intrepid youth who are walking across the country for the cause of life; and
• Canvassing select areas of Montreal with pro-life material.

Our Attitude Towards Women

An important way to confront and change the culture of death that we live in is to confront and change our inertia towards helping women in distress. I’m thinking of the adage; to be pro-life is to be pro-woman.

The Post-Abortive Woman

While visiting Holy Name of Jesus Parish in Laval ten days ago, a parishioner pulled me aside. He worried for the fate of his sister-in-law. The latter is post-abortive, having had three. Rightly her soul is in danger and I was asked for prayers, particularly as she shows little remorse or contrition for her acts. The parishioner struggled on what role he can play in her spiritual journey.

As he spoke with me, I recalled the words a bishop had said to St. Monica about her wayward son, Augustine. “Speak less to Augustine about God, but more to God about Augustine.”

In aiding women, whether this sister-in-law or others, I believe we need to greet them in their terms- i.e., meet them where they are at in their spiritual journey. Our role is to walk with them towards Christ. Only then will they discover the way, the light, and the truth.

Rachel’s Vineyard

Other women have recognized the gravity of their abortion. Diane (not her real name), mother of five, had her abortion some thirty years ago, as a sixteen year-old.

Her road afterwards was quite bumpy. There were years of broken relationships, drugs, and alcohol. There was estrangement from her parents. Healing appeared unattainable.

Yet healing was available and was found through participation in a post-abortion recovery ministry. The form hers took was called Rachel’s Vineyard.

Rachel’s Vineyard organizes weekend retreats throughout the year to help women who suffer mental anguish and pain after having an abortion. This ministry aims at assisting post-abortive women come to deal with the emotional, physical, and spiritual pain the death of their child has had on them.

Diane says that she continues to experience bouts of depression, yet because of the structures she learned in this ministry, she finds support and peace.

Montreal and Quebec needs a similar kind of post abortion healing retreat. In Montreal alone, there are about 10 000 abortions per year. Since unrestricted abortions came into effect in 1988, that means about 250 000.

It is our goal to organize such a retreat. With your support we can organize one as early as this fall. Will you help? Your support would allow us to get the training needed to organize such a retreat.

So, let’s continue to be supportive of women.

Yours in faith,

Brian Jenkins

English and Multicultural Communities Outreach Director

Quebec Life Coalition