Today we learn that Few Canadians know rules on abortion, poll finds
No shaving cream Sherlock. Tell me something I don't know.
Last year the Parliamentary Pro-Life Caucus had a press conference to discuss this very topic. There was no mainstream media present at said press conference. This resulted in no media coverage, except one lonely letter in the Ottawa Citizen.
Below is the PPLC Chair Rod Bruinooge's press release at that time, followed by my letter.
The ad mentioned in the press release:
9 Months the length of time an abortion is allowed in Canada
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For Immediate Release
May 13, 2009
Pro-Life Free Speech Suppressed in Canada
(Ottawa) - "In the last 12 months we have seen an alarming increase in the number of cases where pro-life groups have had their free speech suppressed," said Rod Bruinooge, Chair of the Parliamentary Pro Life Caucus (PPLC). "What do opponents of the pro-life viewpoint fear?
"Each year, the multi-party Pro-life Caucus holds a press conference in conjunction with the National March for Life.* This year's March marks the 40th anniversary of the 1969 Omnibus Bill which decriminalized abortion in Canada.
The pro-life caucus will use this opportunity to highlight a disturbing trend of intolerance towards the pro-life point of view. "From student unions and campuses, to advertising regulators, pro-life free speech is being treated by some as unworthy of protection," Bruinooge said.
One particular case involved LifeCanada, after they coordinated a national billboard campaign with the message "Nine Months, the length of time abortion is allowed in Canada." The Advertising Standards Canada body ruled that the advertising was "deceptive," and LifeCanada was banned from using that ad among all of the major advertisers that this body serves. "It is unfortunate that we are unable to communicate the truth to Canadians that abortion is permitted in all 9 months of pregnancy," said Gudrun Schultz, executive director of LifeCanada.
On campuses around Canada there are a number of cases where pro-life clubs have been denied club status and where pro-life students have been shouted down, prevented from speaking, been the subject of "thought police" inquiries, or have been arrested for trespassing.
"Polls consistently show that a majority of Canadians do not support Canada's unrestricted tax-payer funded abortion regime," Bruinooge said. "And although there are close to 100,000 abortions every year in Canada, we actually know very little about the practice. For example, we don't know the gestational age of the unborn child in over 60% of the cases because abortion providers aren't required to report this information. Nor are they required to report health complications or the reasons women obtain abortions. Stifling free speech allows the whole secrecy surrounding the practice of abortion to thrive."
Bruinooge continued, "Every woman has a right to be fully informed about the potential physical and psychological health risks of abortion. The trend to clamp down on free speech on this issue is a threat to all women who seek to be adequately informed."
Bruinooge concluded, "Student unions attempt to censor pro-lifers; school campuses attempt to censor pro-lifers; advertising bodies attempt to censor pro-lifers; but one place where freedom and democracy are still valued is the Parliament of Canada. It doesn't surprise me that our opponents attempt to suppress pro-life messages, because the truth is powerful.
"The PPLC press conference will be held Thursday, May 14, at 11:00 a.m. in the Charles Lynch Press Theatre (room 130-S Centre Block).
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For additional comment, please contact:Rod Bruinooge, MP(204) 984-6787* The National March for Life is an annual event organized by Campaign Life Coalition and draws thousands of people to Ottawa from across the country every year in support of the lives of preborn children, the health of women, and the strength of families.
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Pro-life free speech was suppressed
The Ottawa Citizen May 21, 2009
Re: Thousands hit Hill to protest against abortion, May 15.
I attended this year's pro-life rally on Parliament Hill for the first time. I saw the thousands of people, but I sure didn't see much media presence.
In the Citizen's news story, the statement that there has been "snickering" at the Parliamentary Pro-Life Caucus' "secretive" reputation in the mainstream media is really kind of silly.
Every year the pro-life caucus holds a press conference at the same time as the rally. A media advisory and a press release went out to the Ottawa Press Gallery before the conference.
Perhaps if some members of the media could have taken a few minutes out from their laborious duties of their round-the-clock coverage of Larry O'Brien's trial or Brian Mulroney's inquiry, they would have had a few minutes left over to cover the Pro-Life Caucus's press conference and rally.
They would have learned something, like who some of the Pro-Life Caucus members are, as many of them attended at the press conference.
Publishing the names of members of a caucus is not normal caucus protocol -- it's up to members to self-identify if they wish.
It's ironic that the subject for this year's press conference was "pro-life free speech suppressed in Canada."
Now that's an understatement.
With the press's little to no coverage of the pro-life rally or caucus press conference, this all seems like a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Patricia Maloney,
Ottawa
© Copyright (c) The Ottawa Citizen
Patricia, thank you for this information. It is through media like your blog that thousands are informed of the truth when it comes to reproductive health. It is very sad that the very information women need to protect their health is suppressed by main line media. What an oxymoron that at this time in history, universities attempt to silence discussion on topics that promote and protect the wellbeing of women. I appreciate the information I read on this site and recommend that others follow you.
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