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Today
marks the 15th year of the 1988 Supreme Court Decision
(R. v. Morgentaler) which ruled on procedural grounds,
that Canada’s criminal abortion law violated the
Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The majority
of the court also considered the substance of the former
abortion legislation, and one of the several conclusions
that they arrived at was that, “…protection
of unborn human beings from abortion is a valid legislative
objective.”
“For
the past 15 years, Canada has been the only country in
the western hemisphere that has absolutely no restrictions
on abortion,” says Patty Nixon, Executive Director
of Alberta Pro-Life. “A woman can have an abortion
at any time during the pregnancy, up until the moment
of birth, and she does not need any reason other than
that she wants one to get an abortion.”
“Even
though Canada has wide open abortion-on-demand, and nearly
all being paid for by the taxpayers, these facts are not
generally known by the general public. There is a belief
that a woman has a constitutional right to an abortion
in Canada, and this is simply wrong. The Charter of Rights
and Freedoms does not include any clauses that state a
woman has a “right” to an abortion.”
“We
need federal politicians who will tell the truth, and
demand justice for the most vulnerable members of our
society – the unborn. Contrary to what our Prime
Minister says, there is no social peace on abortion. The
deliberate taking of human life will continue to be the
most important social issue of our country, and will remain
so until we have leaders who are willing to acknowledge
that justice has been denied to our youngest citizens.”
says Patty Nixon.
The
Alberta government will not listen to the views of Albertans
on tax-funding of abortion. The October 2002 Leger polled
3,000 Canadians on the de-insuring question. Almost three
quarters of Albertans (72%), and two thirds of Canadians
polled said that abortion should only be funded in medical
emergencies. Health Minister Gary Mar is now responding
to the concerns of Albertans on this issue by stating,
“As we have corresponded several times on this issue,
I will not be responding further.”
The
poll also asked 1,500 Canadians when they thought the
law should protect human life. Only
30% of Canadians support the current situation of no protection
until birth. 37% said unborn children should be protected
from conception on, 13% said after 3 months of pregnancy,
and 6% said after six months.
“Again,”
said Nixon, “most Canadians reject the practice of
performing abortions up to the moment of birth. We should
be protecting human life in the womb and we should de-insure
abortions.”
For
more information, call Patty Nixon at 780-421-7747 or
cell 780-718-7844.
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