Some nine months after our in-depth examination of the issue of gestational limits to abortion, we continue to receive correspondence on the issue. We don’t want to beat a dead horse because our position is well-known: aside from the semantic and philosophical arguments for or against gestational or other time limits on abortion, The Interim does not think this flawed incremental approach [...]
The reporter who broke the story that set off a storm of worldwide criticism of Ireland’s abortion laws is questioning Praveen Halappanavar’s account of the death of his wife, Savita. Kitty Holland reported in the Nov. 14 edition of the Irish Times that Praveen claimed his wife requested an abortion and was denied one because the child had a heartbeat and “this [...]
The death of a pregnant woman has led to international media coverage as abortion advocates condemn Ireland’s ban on abortion. Savita Halappanavar died on Oct. 28 at University College Hospital in Galway from septicaemia after a miscarriage. The case is now being investigated by the hospital and Ireland’s Health and Safety Executive. Halappanavar’s husband, Praveen, told the media that on Oct. 20, [...]
On Sept. 26, four Liberal MPs and more than half the Conservative caucus, including 10 members of the government, voted for M-312, Stephen Woodworth’s private member’s motion calling for a debate on the beginning of human life. Woodworth, a Conservative MP from Kitchener Centre, hoped to launch a special committee to re-examine section 223 of Canada’s Criminal Code, which stipulates that a [...]
Alexandra Jezierski organized Letters for Life A Grade 12 student achieved her goal of sending 100,000 letters to Prime Minister Stephen Harper and MPs asking them to support Motion-312. Alexandra Jezierski from Kingsville, Ont., launched the campaign to support MP Stephen Woodworth’s private members motion that would start a debate on when human life begins. Her inspiration was the Teenage [...]
The Christian Heritage Party of Canada issued a position paper outlining its support for various incremental measures to restrict abortion to offer guidance in what it seems as the best ways to limit abortion in Canada on route to eventually eliminating it. The document, signed by party leader Jim Hnatiuk and deputy leader Rod Taylor reiterates the party’s “unequivocal and unwavering [...]
Editor’s Note: We asked more than 15 pro-life groups, organizations, and leaders to answer two questions: Do you support gestational limits* on abortion. Would you like to state why? (* for the purpose of this survey, gestational limits means restricting abortion after a certain point, whether by trimester or some other time period.) What kinds of incremental measures do you support. If [...]
For decades, the pro-life movement has experienced division; sometimes over strategy, sometimes over principles. It is of no use to assign blame or rehash old arguments. People of goodwill can differ over tactics and strategy, but on principles it becomes more difficult to countenance disagreement. On the (once again) difficult issue of gestational limits to abortion, as a way of reducing abortion, [...]
In February, two Australian professors argued in the Journal of Medical Ethics that because “both fetuses and newborns do not have the same moral status as actual persons,” “the fact that both are potential persons,” and that “adoption is not always in the best interest of actual people,” abortion should be permitted after birth. Conservative MP Stephen Woodworth issued a press release [...]
Americans United for Life released its seventh annual “Life List,” a ranking of all 50 states based on a comprehensive list of life issues, from abortion to euthanasia. For the second time in three years, Louisiana tops the list, followed closely by Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Nebraska, and Arkansas. The least life-affirming states were Washington, California, Hawaii, Vermont, and Montana. The five states rated [...]
Prince Edward Island calls itself a Life Sanctuary. No hospitals or other facility in the province offer any abortion services. With the support of all political parties and members of all religious denominations, P.E.I. became officially abortion-free in 1986. However, off-island, in-hospital abortion costs are covered if the procedure is recommended by two doctors. Abortions at the private Morgentaler facility in [...]
A bill completely banning abortions was narrowly rejected by the Polish parliament. Lawmakers voted 191-186 to reject the bill with 5 abstentions. The bill came forward to Parliament as a result of a citizen petition that collected 600,000 signatures in two weeks. It overwhelmingly passed its first vote (254-141) in July and was then delegated to a committee for further work, which [...]
On Nov. 1, Bill C-510, Rod Bruinooge’s private member’s bill that would outlaw coercive abortion, received second reading before heading to the Justice and Human Rights Committee. During an hour of debate, three Conservative MPs spoke in favour of C-510 while MPs in all four parties criticized the bill and its sponsor. Bruinooge noted that his bill is also known [...]
Amidst the national debate over maternal health and whether it would include abortion this past Spring, Rod Bruinooge, the Conservative MP for Winnipeg South and chair of the Parliamentary Pro-Life Committee had his name picked to be among 30 MPs who would get their private member’s bills considered by the House of Commons. On April 14, he introduced for first [...]
In an April interview with The Catholic Herald, David Cameron, the leader of Britain’s Conservative party, advocated reducing the abortion limit from 24 to 20 or 22 weeks’ gestation. Readers of The Catholic Herald were invited to submit questions for one of Cameron’s first pre-election interviews. “I think that the way medical science and technology have developed in the past few decades [...]