So many Islanders from all walks of life have begun speaking out in defence of the unborn, that local newspapers have had to run an extra “Letters” page.
Nurses for Life and other groups have been holding special education sessions. Physicians for Life met with both the Liberal and the Conservative caucuses to provide information.
Msgr. William Simpson (Catholic) and Canon H.M.D. Westin (Anglican), showed Eclipse of Reason on Cable TV, with a joint commentary. REAL Women PEI supplied tapes of lawyer Angela Costigan’s defence of the unborn, as delivered at the REAL Women convention in Toronto, for Members of Parliament Mel Gass and provincial Minister of Justice Wayne Cheverie.
One enterprising pro-lifer brought the “precious feet” symbol and the Lennart Nilsson photographs of life before birth to her adult upgrading class debate on abortion. “We won, and we converted some opponents,” she reported jubilantly.
Perturbed by our benighted attitude to abortion, medical columnist Dr. W. Gifford-Jones (pen name for Niagara Falls, Ontario abortionists Kenneth Walker), declared his personal willingness to initiate abortion services at any one of our seven hospitals. No thank you! He was told.
Telling CBC about the courage it took because of the danger of pro-life reprisals, pro-choicers ran a half-page advertisement listing 165 supporters of CARAL’s demands for full abortion services.
In response, Charlottetown’s Catholic parishes took out full-page ads urging the provincial government to legislate in favour of the unborn. St. Dunstan’s Basilica was first with over 1,300 names (with addresses); Pius X followed with 800; Holy Redeemer with 1,000.
Bishop James MacDonald issued a pastoral letter reminding all Catholics of their moral obligation to individual action opposing abortion, and arranged for Right to Life information sheets to be distributed through his churches.
Just as pro-choicers started up their usual chorus about “imposing Catholic morality on others,” a news release by the Diocesan Church Society, a council of the 4,000 members Anglican Church on PEI, declared that the practice of abortion couldn’t be tolerated in a Christian community.
