CIHI is not ATIPable

My letter below was published today in the National Post. Below my letter are the numbers of abortions done in Canada in 2006.

As an interesting side note to the fact that Statistics Canada does not publish abortions statistics anymore since they transferred the responsibility to The Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI), is that CIHI is not subject to the same Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) rules as Statistics Canada is, since CIHI is not a government organization.

This is what CIHI told me:
"CIHI is a not-for-profit organization and is not subject to any federal or provincial access to information or privacy legislation."

Yet The Office of the Information commissioner of Canada website states:
"the right of individuals to access information held by public bodies and marks the benefits of transparent, accessible government."
"Access to information is a right of everyone
Access is the rule—secrecy is the exception
The right applies to all public bodies
Making requests should be simple, speedy, and free
Officials have a duty to assist requesters
Refusals must be justified
The public interest takes precedence over secrecy
Everyone has the right to appeal an adverse decision
Public bodies should pro-actively publish core information
The right should be guaranteed by an independent body"

So remind me again how the transfer of abortion statistics to CIHI bodes well for "transparent, accessible government"? I'm just saying.

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A 'sensible' debate on abortion

National Post · Thursday, Nov. 25, 2010

Re: Can We Sensibly Debate Abortion?, letter to the editor, Nov. 24.

Letter-writer David Bowland says that "what passes today as argument on a critical and fundamental issue like abortion [is] emotionally charged language devoid of fact but designed to tug at one's heartstrings rather than appeal to one's rational mind."

OK, let's talk facts. Canada has no abortion law and abortion is legal up until a woman gives birth. We have about 100,000 abortions a year. According to Statistics Canada in 2006 we had 464 (reported) late-term abortions. Also in 2006, Statistics Canada reported 55,006 abortions "of unknown gestational age."

We aren't allowed to have a debate about abortion in Canada -- especially not in Parliament. The letter writer doesn't like the term "culture of death." Since abortions are the willful destruction of unborn children, which are members of the human species, we can't call this a "culture of life." He also doesn't like the phrase "widespread extermination of ... our humanity." We are exterminating pre-born humans, and 100,000 is quite a few.

Those are the facts. Disliking them doesn't change them.
Patricia Maloney, Ottawa.
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2006 Abortion statistics
Under 9 weeks 13,368
9 to 12 weeks 17,848
13 to 16 weeks 3,241
17 to 20 weeks 1,383
21 to 40 weeks 464
Unknown or not reported (2) 55,006 60%
Total abortions 91,310
(2) Note the large percentage of abortions with an unknown or not reported gestation age of fetus.

Source: Statistics Canada from an ATIP request, November 2010

No words needed

Life's Hard

It's wonderfully ironic that the Carleton University Student Association (CUSA) is telling Carleton Lifeline that they are being de-certified for violating CUSA's anti-discrimination policy.

Hmmm, let's see...in actuality, CUSA is discriminating against Lifeline because--are you ready for this--they are pro-life AND, according to CUSA, Carleton Lifeline believes in:
"equal rights of the unborn and believe that abortion is a moral and legal wrong."

What rabbit hole did CUSA fall down anyway?

But it gets better. CUSA is saying that if Lifeline would only, you know, support abortion, why then, all would be forgiven. Say what?

The real irony here, is this. Because CUSA has issued this ridiculous discriminatory-anti-free-speech-rights-edict (DAFSRE), Lifeline gets national press on the front page of the National Post. Go Carleton Lifeline!

If I may take the liberty to quote that late great philosopher John Wayne:
'Life's hard. It's even harder when you're stupid.'

When pro-abortion MPs don't speak for us, we need to say so

During the parliamentary debate on November 1 on Bill C-510 ("Roxanne's Law"), there were five female MPs who spoke on the bill. Only one woman, Conservative MP Kelly Block, spoke in support of Rod Bruinooge's private member's bill. The other four female MPs who spoke, were all against the bill.

If passed, this bill would bring about additional legal protection for those women who don't want the abortions others are trying to impose on them. It would protect a woman's right to say "no" to abortion.

What concerns me as a Canadian woman, is when female pro-abortion MPs assume they speak for all women. They do not. MP Nicole Demers (who is against the bill) stated: "Men are trying to decide what is good for us". Well I can tell you, Ms. Demers, you will not decide what is good for me.

MP Jean Crowder (also against the bill) quoted the Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada numerous times in her remarks against Bill C-510. ARCC is an extremist pro-abortion organization whose chief advocate is Joyce Arthur. Ms. Arthur is the same person whose other radical pro-abortion group, the Pro-Choice Action Network received a $27,400 government grant to write a scathing report condemning crisis pregnancy centres in BC. No, Ms. Crowder, you do not speak for me either.

In fact, Ms. Demers and Ms. Crowder and Ms. Irene Mathyson and Ms. Marlene Jennings; none of you speak for me.

Unfortunately there are almost no women in our Canadian Parliament who are prepared to stand up for pregnant women who want to keep their babies. But there are many, many female MPs who will vociferously defend women who want to have abortions, even to the extent of needlessly sacrificing the safety and security and emotional health of those women who want to continue their pregnancies.

I say "needlessly," because there is no need to oppose Roxanne's Law in order to maintain legal access to abortion for those women who want it. With C-510 in place, abortion would still be completely legal for any reason, throughout a woman's entire pregnancy.

These pro-abortion MPs say they think the abortion debate is over. They pretend to be confused as to why we would discuss anything related to abortion. The reason is simple. Democracy is always a trump card.

MP Kelly Block, on the other hand, has demonstrated courage, compassion and integrity. She stood up in our Canadian Parliament and spoke on behalf of those pregnant women who want to bring their pre-born children safely to term.

Thank you Ms. Block. You speak for me.

Objective truth

In Installment number 34, the Laws of God, Father Benedict Groeschel again talks about the natural law. He talks about reading about an "ethics" committee doing something against the natural law:
"Some ethics committees loudly supported the idea of partial birth abortion. That is hypocrisy. That is a misuse of the term."

Fr. Groeschel goes on to talk about Pope John Paul II's encyclical, Veritatis Splendor encylical (the Splendor of the Truth):
"what the pope is ultimately saying is...that there are objective, solid, basic, moral truths that do not change. I have to say that God went out of his way to make that very clear..."

Fr. Groeschel ends with:
"Objective truth can defeat evil and in fact, it is ultimately the only thing that can defeat evil. It is the truth of God."

Thank you for your courage

November 3, 2010

Dear Ms. Block,

I would like to thank you for your principled stand on Monday in the House of Commons, when you chose to stand up and support Mr. Bruinooge's Bill C-510 that would allow a woman to press charges if she is coerced into an unwanted abortion.

Even though the pro-abortions in the House such as, Ms. Nicole Demers, Ms. Irene Mathyssen, Ms. Marlene Jennings, Ms. Jean Crowder and others, would prefer to shut down our democracy by not having any debate whatsoever about abortion, I can take comfort in knowing that there is at least one woman in the House of Commons, in my Parliament, in my country, who will speak for the unborn and who will also speak for me, a woman.

It is so tragic that the pro-abortions insist on telling us that they speak for women. Because they do not. They do not speak for me, and they most certainly do not speak for the children in our country who never get the chance to become a woman; to become a man; to become a Canadian citizen.

Even though I am only one small voice, I will support you in what you are doing in this great country of ours. And I will support all MPs who stand up for what is right, for what is moral, and for what will protect the most defenseless of our citizens.

I pray that other MPs will have the courage to follow your strong leadership and will also support Roxanne's Law.

Thank you again.

Sincerely,
Patricia Maloney
cc Mr. Rob Nicholson, Justice Minister
Mr. Stephen Harper, Prime Minister
Mr. Rod Bruinooge, Chair of the Pro-Life Caucus