The video linked below, produced by a Crisis Pregnancy Care Centre in the Vancouver area, lays out the basic facts on adoption, abortion and parenting. It stresses that an unexpected pregnancy is not something to be met with a hasty decision, and offers repeated assurances that you are not alone.

You can view the full 15-minute video by clicking here.

Schuyler’s comments come as Degrassi is set to air its third season. In it they will confront abortion, refugees, and “scary right-wing thinking.” In an episode called #IRegretNothing Lola Pacini, a 16-year old character on the show, will be featured having an abortion. Victoria Ahearn of the Canadian Press interviewed Schuyler who is quoted as saying, “We’re very much influenced by what’s going on in the world, there’s no question.” This would lead the reader to believe that the only reason they include such a “divisive topic” on their show is because of what’s going on in the world – as though 16-year old girls are publicly celebrating their abortions all the time – and they are only catching up.   Except that’s not really what’s going on. Amanda Arcuri who plays Lolo Pacini in the show told Ms. Ahearn that, “I’m happy that the writers gave me this opportunity to portray it [abortion] and help young girls.” Degrassi’s producers are clearly trying to destigmatize abortion and normalize it for teens.

In spite of Degrassi and the efforts of other abortion advocates to portray abortion as something to celebrate we can be sure that it will always remain divisive. This is not because of “right-wing, scary thinking” but rather, because of the scientific reality that abortion takes the life of a human being, and that abortion is contrary to the created order in which a mother’s natural instinct is to care for her young.

The pro-life response to Degrassi’s ploy is not to demonize the show or its characters but to continue displaying the humanity of the pre-born child and doing everything we can to build support for laws that protect them.

“Today’s decision establishes an expansion of access to abortion and is not welcome news for pre-born children in Canada,” said Mike Schouten of WeNeedaLAW.ca. “This will undoubtedly add to the over 100,000 lives already lost to abortion every year while also trivializing the purposeful destruction of human life when it is most vulnerable.”

Mifepristone, otherwise known as RU-486, is a drug that interferes with the hormones necessary to sustain pregnancy. When taken by a pregnant woman in the first trimester of pregnancy, it will cause her to miscarry, resulting in the death of the child.

“That Health Canada has now approved RU-486 through the proverbial backdoor is contrary to democratic principles that should allow for an abortion discussion” said Schouten.

Abortion is a criminal matter and as such the Supreme Court of Canada has consistently looked to Parliament to craft a new abortion policy.

Health Canada is governed by the Food and Drugs Act and is the ultimate responsibility of the Minister of Health. The Act  also contains provisions for the Minister of Health to issue an Interim Order if the Minister, “Believes that immediate action is required to deal with a significant risk, direct or indirect, to health, safety or the environment.” [30.1(1)]

“We are calling on the Minister of Health, the Honourable Rona Ambrose to do the right thing and immediately issue an Interim Order suspending the decision of Health Canada. In addition to pre-born children being at grave risk with the approval of RU-486, the lives of pregnant women are also subject to harm. In 2011 alone, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration reported 2200 adverse effects, including 14 deaths, 58 ectopic pregnancies, and hundreds of infections that required blood transfusions,” said Schouten.

This decision needs to be reversed! Use our Simplemail technology to urge your MP, the Minister of Health and the Prime Minister to stop the expansion of abortion services!

• Click here for Letter #1 – Do the right thing
• Click here for Letter #2 – RU-486 will result in women and children dying
• Click here for Letter #3 – Leadership requires courage

“It’s time the Conservatives, NDP, and Liberals realized how out of step they are when it comes to the protection of pre-born human rights. Why is it that lawmakers in every other Western nation can debate and pass abortion regulations with civility, but Canada’s political parties continue to treat pre-born children as a political liability, trying to one-up each other in expanding the abortion regime?” noted Schouten.

“It’s not just other countries that our political parties are out of step with. Polls consistently show a strong majority of Canadians do not support the status quo. Sneakily expanding abortion services through the back door may be convenient, but it comes with a high cost – real human lives will be lost unless the decision is reversed,” concluded Schouten.

It only takes 5-10 minutes to use SimpleMail to respectfully but firmly request the Minister of Health to do the right thing and stop this decision from coming into force. Please take action, and encourage your friends to do the same.

Most health jurisdictions around the world have legislation that protects vulnerable minors by enacting parental consent for abortion legislation, including 39 of the 51 states just south of us. As stated in our recently released legal opinion:

“Beyond healthcare, age restrictions are used to determine when a person can vote, drive, sell property, stop attending school, consent to sex and marry.  All of these restrictions all have some element of a literal arbitrariness but this does not automatically invalidate them, and in fact, they are a common and necessary was of ordering our society.  Some of these also have a parental consent component.  For example, youth under 18 years of age who wish to marry.    Like abortion, marriage carries with it potentially serious consequences and implications.  Yet choosing to marry is a reversible decision.  Abortion is not.”

Requiring parental consent for abortion is not only good for the health and well-being of adolescents, it also saves the lives of pre-born children. This week marks the 25th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court decision upholding Minnesota’s parental notification requirement and in that time period abortions performed on minors has dropped an astounding 79%! See here for more on the impact of Minnesota’s parental laws.

Parental consent does not equal parental control – it is about responsibility and care.  A parental consent law makes it clear that the government supports young women as well as the lives they may carry, and is working to enhance their well-being now and across their lifespan.

The latest example comes from our neighbours to the south where Carafem, a new abortion clinic in Washington, DC is seeking to break down the stigma surrounding abortion by offering a ‘spa-like’ experience to all its customers. Has it really come down to this? Apparently it’s the choice of flooring and upholstery that is a barrier for women who feel that abortion is the only choice they have? While it remains to be seen as to how many more women Carafem can attract to their facility with this new marketing ploy what is perhaps more disturbing is the fact that abortion advocates continue to disregard the often times serious psychological problems caused by abortion.

Every year approximately 100,000 Canadian women walk into a clinic or hospital in order to abort their pre-born child. The reasons are varied but the results are the same; the life of a human being with inherent dignity is ended. For many women there is considerable regret after having an abortion. The psychological impact of abortion cannot be minimized. Studies vary and some put the increase in mental health problems as high as 81% when comparing women who had an abortion with those who did not.[1] This reality has become problematic for abortion advocates and if Carafem’s stunt is any indication they aren’t willing to address the root cause of regret.

Some of the most prolific apologists for pre-born human rights are the very people who have been mostly deeply affected by abortion; women who have regretted their abortion.

Regret is a major obstacle for the pro-choice movement in foisting their ideology on Canadians. In fact last year at an international conference on Prince Edward Island the majority of speakers spoke of the need to “normalize” abortion as a response to this obstacle.

Herein lies the hypocrisy of the pro-choice movement. The feelings a women has had after killing her baby are real and justified. No matter what the décor is the regret will still be there. But instead of working to minimize the need for abortion (and thereby reducing the regret) abortion advocates are attempting to normalize it – with attractive floor coverings and comfy chairs.

The Asheville Citizen is reporting that a North Carolina man has been charged with first-degree murder in the deaths of a Cristie Codd, a finalist from the TV show Food Network Star and her husband. Ms. Codd was pregnant at the time of her death. It is unclear from news reports how many weeks pregnant she was. But because North Carolina has a fetal homicide law that makes it a crime to unlawfully kill a pre-born child at any stage of development the police have laid an additional charge for the murder of the Codd’s pre-born child.

In another tragic news story, this one even more disturbing, a Colorado woman was stabbed in the abdomen and her pre-born child ripped from her womb. The woman, who was seven months pregnant at the time of the vicious attack is expected to survive, but her pre-born child did not. The State of Colorado allows for pregnancy to be considered an aggravating factor for sentencing a convicted offender but unlike North Carolina, it does not recognize the pre-born child as a separate victim. Boulder County District Attorney Stan Garnett said his office is still considering what formal charges should be filed against the suspect. “The issues involving an unborn child are complicated under Colorado law,” he said. “In most circumstances, if a child was not actually born alive, then homicide charges are not possible.”

In the past ten years there are countless Canadian tragedies which are eerily similar to the ones described above. Yet, because there is no recognition in law of children before birth – even for those children a woman has chosen to carry to term – justice is denied when it is needed most.

This legal void is a result of culture fixated on the right to abortion even though pre-born victims of crime legislation has nothing to do with abortion. Abortion is legal in Canada throughout the entire nine months of pregnancy for any reason. A pre-born victims law would not change this. The current reality is that when a pregnant woman is attacked and her assailant causes harm or kills her pre-born child, no charge can be laid in the death of the woman’s child, even if the sole purpose of the attacker was to kill her child.

Unfortunately, even though a majority of Canadians want this injustice corrected, a pre-born victims law is only discussed when tragedy strikes. I’ve written here before about the loss experienced by the Kaake (pronounced “cake”) family in Windsor, Ontario when their daughter Cassandra was brutally murdered along with her pre-born daughter Molly. Thanks to the courage and tenacity of the Kaake family they are pursuing justice for Molly and her peers. They have launched a national written petition drive to build support for a change in the law that would see pre-born children treated as a separate victim when a crime is perpetrated against a pregnant woman.

There are far too many politicians who willfully paralyze themselves when they should be enacting just laws that address these injustices and as a result real life consequences are felt by already grieving individuals and families. Even though it is unlikely the Kaake family will see justice for Molly if all Canadians get on board with their efforts politicians will not be able to ignore this issue any longer. And God willing, no family will need to experience the same lack of justice ever again.

Why are abortion facilities closing? As LifeNews.com reports,

• “The enactment and enforcement of new state laws.
• Increased reporting by pro-life activists of incompetent and/or criminal behavior committed by abortionists.
• Financial struggles within the abortion cartel due to decreased demand for abortions.
• The retirement of abortionists who are not replaced.”

Operation Rescue (OR) is a pro-life organization that maintains a listing of abortion facilities and tracks clinic closures. OR President, Troy Newman, says “We are continuing to witness the implosion of the abortion cartel in America. The only things that are preventing total collapse are court injunctions that are blocking several state abortion safety laws from being enforced. Once those laws clear the courts, we expect to see even more dangerous abortion facilities close. This is great news for women and babies because when abortion clinics close, lives are saved.”

“As abortion facilities continue to close, abortion numbers continue to fall. While national abortion numbers remain incomplete, the average number of abortions decreases by about 3% annually. However, state statistics show that the drop in abortions that is more pronounced in areas where there are abortion clinic closures.”

This is encouraging news, there is a decreased demand for abortions. We wrote about that earlier when we showed that abortion regulations improve maternal health outcomes. The truth is, less women are demanding abortions and more women are getting the help they need, now that’s what we call good healthcare!

Whatever one’s view on the implementation of abortion laws, we are missing an important aspect of the debate by neglecting to take into account a woman’s right to carry her child to birth. Debate on abortion predominantly takes place within a paradigm based on personal autonomy and the right to choose what one wishes to do with her body. Those who attempt to challenge the status quo are quickly marginalized, often by means of ridiculous statements. For example, I recently posted a link to an article by former Liberal MP Bernie Collins in which he questions Justin Trudeau’s pro-choice edict. Almost immediately it was responded to by numerous self-proclaimed ‘pro-abortion feminists’ (and some men who are welcomed to any debate on abortion so long as they support totally unfettered abortion) who proclaimed, “If you’re #prolife you’re antiwoman [sic].” I realize it may take more than 140 characters to fully articulate one’s worldview, but this oft-repeated yet false dichotomy is not conducive to informed debate on a serious issue involving real women and the irreversible decisions they make.

Women make up the majority of pro-life activists. For many of them the reason they oppose abortion is because they stand for women’s rights. This false dichotomy between a woman’s rights and the foetus’s right to life is resulting in tragic consequences for the very women abortion advocates purport to defend.

To be clear, I believe Canada’s position as the only Western nation without an abortion law is wrong primarily because it affords no legal protection whatsoever to children before birth. But this legal vacuum is also wrong because it is a travesty against women. An acquaintance who works in a pregnancy care centre told me that when women come to their centre, the majority lay out the horrible ultimatum they face: abort their child (which they usually don’t want to do), or be abandoned, deserted and disowned by their parents and boyfriends. It was a chilling testimony that is all too often a reality for pregnant women.

The challenges facing a single mother disowned by the people she loves most are incredible. The false dichotomy presented to her is a result of a perversion of true feminism, one that promulgates abortion as the one and only foundation for women’s rights. Vulnerable women are led to believe that there actually is no choice whatsoever.

This understanding of “women’s rights” is nothing more than an abdication by fathers, families and communities of all responsibility toward young mothers and their children. As a pro-life feminist once said, “A woman wants an abortion like an animal caught in a trap wants to chew its leg off.” A woman should have the right to carry her child.

It’s time that we gained a deeper, more compassionate understanding of the term “women’s rights”. The current view is a politics of false mercy: ‘We can’t help you raise your child, but we can kill it for you.’ This is not the Canada anyone should want to live in.

Even in spite of a crowd funding effort that reportedly raised more than $100,000 the clinic will close its doors for the last time at the end of the month.

The province of New Brunswick has become a battleground in recent months with pro-choice advocates demanding the government remove Regulation 84-20 which stipulates that a pre-born child can only be killed with public money if the act is carried out in a hospital and has been approved by two doctors. Meanwhile, pro-life activists have been encouraging Premier Alward and his government not to capitulate to those demands. Provincial governments have the constitutional responsibility to regulate health care, which the courts say includes the regulation of abortion.

It remains to be seen if the clinic’s closure will lower the number of lives ended in New Brunswick, but as the forceps and suction machines are used for the last time today, we celebrate a small achievement.

The above statement was said by a father in Winnipeg (read article here). Do you think he was talking about abortion? No, he was talking about a belly button piercing. This Winnipeg couple is angry that their 16 year old daughter was able to obtain a piercing without their consent and, we believe, rightly so.

The teenager’s father goes on to say “We’re not mad at our daughter. We trust and believe this was a 16-year-old who made a decision. We wanted to be there to help make that decision.”

That is what parenting is about, it’s about helping our children make decisions because they have been entrusted to our care and as parents or legal guardians, we have the responsibility to help them make decisions – whether about a body piercing, or a life-altering decision such as an abortion procedure.

We believe that a parent is in the best position to support their child when facing an unplanned pregnancy and if children are having abortions and being counseled on how keep it a secret from their parents, how do we expect parents to carry out their responsibilities to love, nurture and protect their children?

For more information about our Parental Consent campaign, currently running in Saskatchewan, please visit sk.parentalconsent.ca