In 2002, the head of the Pro-Choice Action Network, Joyce Arthur, sent a presentation to the head of the Charities Directorate at the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency, attacking the Pro-Life Society of B.C. Among the many charges directed to B.C. Pro-Life were false statements in tax returns, unethical fundraising and the list went on. To say that Joyce doesn’t like the pro-life movement is an understatement.

Her recent essay on all of us also is a delight to read. In “Why Anti-Abortion Groups Should Not Have Charitable Tax Status,” Joyce comes out with vacuum aspirator blazing. My favourite line in her essay deals with what her innermost thoughts are about the movement to restore human rights to the unborn: “The purpose of anti-choice groups has become largely detrimental to society since 1988, because access to legal abortion has been deemed by the courts to be a constitutional right, guaranteeing women’s equality and liberty.”

Her comment about pro-lifers being detrimental is beside the point. She doesn’t send us Christmas cards, so I was not amazed she would think such thoughts. But she once again lays out the untruth about there being a constitutional right to abortion … something the judges in the 1988 Morgentaler decision forgot to mention in their decision.

Telling such untruths – or should I say Joyce’s inability to tell the truth – reminds me of her secret meeting with our old attorney-general … the one who got religion and recently converted from the NDP to the federal Liberals – Ujjal Dosanjh. We got it on good authority that the meeting took place – indeed a July 13, 2000 Vancouver Sun article even alluded to the meeting – but Joyce actually e-mailed me and told me such a meeting never took place.

At any rate, those in high places who feel that we are detrimental to society are organizing “Canada’s Day of Action for Choice” on April 25, 2004. Yes, that’s right. By the time you read this, it will have taken place. It will feature a special award to Henry Morgentaler as well as marches, rallies, etc.

Arthur writes: “Some Canadian pro-choice individuals and groups are planning to attend the March For Women’s Lives in Washington D.C. – including representatives from the Pro-Choice Action Network. You are welcome to join us! (Travel and accommodation costs and arrangements are the responsibility of individuals.)

“However, the Planned Parenthood Federation of Canada has plans to organize local events and marches in several cities across Canada, with help from the Pro-Choice Action Network. These events will not only give Canadians the opportunity to provide solidarity and support to our American sisters, they will help spread the word in Canada that the promise of abortion rights has not yet been fully realized here. We are still in a battle to improve access to abortion services in Canada, including obtaining full funding for clinics and better hospital access, and countering anti-choice politics and interference.

“To inquire about or help with possible local events in Ontario, Quebec, and the Maritimes, please contact the national Planned Parenthood office in Ottawa; telephone 613-241-4474. To join up with events in Manitoba, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and B.C., please contact the Pro-Choice Action Network in Vancouver; telephone 604-736-2800.”

You will note the heavy participation of our favourite group, Planned Parenthood. Jill McCormick at PP’s Ottawa office is the contact person.

So why not write to:

Audit Division
Charities Directorate
Canada Customs and Revenue Agency
Ottawa, Ont.
K1A 0L5

Let them know that Planned Parenthood, a registered charity, is heavily involved in a nation-wide protest. You might also ask why a registered charity is involved with a group like the Pro-Choice Action Network, which has had in its membership nice folks who believe in using violence to advance the pro-choice agenda.