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Ottawa
- It was a huge disappointment for Garry Breitkreuz, MP
for Yorkton-Melville, when his Private Member's Motion
M-83 was defeated by a vote of 139 to 66 in the House
of Commons last night. On Tuesday of this week, Breitkreuz
introduced petitions signed by more than 10,000 Canadians.
However, such an outpouring of support for his common
sense motion didn't sway the majority of MPs. "I
want to thank each and every Canadian who signed these
petitions and all the MPs who spoke and voted in support
of my motion," said Breitkreuz. "I'm simply
baffled why MPs would vote against women's health."
Breitkreuz's
Motion M-83 stated: That the Standing Committee on Health
fully examine, study and report to Parliament on: (a)
whether or not abortions are medically necessary for the
purpose of maintaining health, preventing disease or diagnosing
or treating an injury, illness or disability in accordance
with the Canada Health Act; and (b) the health risks for
women undergoing abortions compared to women carrying
their babies to full term.
"This
is the first Private Members' bill or motion that I've
had voted on in my ten years in Ottawa. I was sure that
if MPs had read my motion and listened to both sides of
the debate that the vote would go our way. I was wrong
and this morning I am very discouraged," said the
Saskatchewan MP. "The Members of Parliament who spoke
out against M-83 claimed having the Health committee study
the risks associated with having an abortion would lead
to the recriminalization of abortion. I'm surprised so
many MPs bought such a complete distortion of the facts.
I'm surprised so many MPs are so
afraid of the truth."
"The
Health Minister says that abortions are 'medically necessary'
but neither she nor her department can produce a shred
of evidence to prove it. The federal government and ten
provincial and territorial governments admit that they
have never done a risk/benefit analysis on abortion procedures,"
reported Breitkreuz. "The majority of clinical studies
show there is a risk, but last night Parliament voted
as if it just doesn't care."
"It's
going to be interesting to hear these 139 MPs who voted
against M-83, and the MPs who skipped out of the vote,
explain their performance during the next election,"
mused Breitkreuz. "Common sense arguments were defeated
by irrational rhetoric in the House of Commons last night.
Every woman and her family should know what these health
risks are before they reach a decision to have an abortion.
Last night, 139 MPs buried their heads in the sand in
the false hope that the issue will just go away. But it
won't!" promised MP Breitkreuz. "The government
hides the truth about the full effects of more than 100,000
abortions a year. One of these days, each and every Parliamentarian
will have to confront the awful truth of their failure
to fully investigate this annual tragedy."
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