The Barrie Examiner, on October 17, 1996, proclaimed, Planned Parenthood coming to Barrie. Kelly Redmond, a Planned Parenthood volunteer, was quoted in the article saying that PP will be instrumental in increasing accessibility to services not now available in Barrie. Redmond left no doubt that one of these services is abortion.
Another spokesperson for the new group, Bette Vanderwater, is a researcher and evaluator for “Best Start, Barrie,” an organization into which the former NDP government put millions of dollars in order to give preborn children and their mothers the “Best Start.” This organization, which claimed all along to focus on nutritional counseling, now admits that one of their primary goals was to pave the way for Planned Parenthood to come to Barrie. Best Start has been referring young pregnant women who do not wish to continue their pregnancy to the Health Department which in turn has been referring these women to one of the three abortuaries in Toronto or to one particular doctor who performs abortions in a Toronto hospital. This information was obtained first-hand by telephone calls to Best Start and to the Health Department in Barrie.
A new Planned Parenthood Chapter is not in itself startling news, particularly since the work they advocate has been carried out for some time in this area by like-minded groups. What causes great concern is the blatant announcement that PP will lobby for abortion services in the area. Many wonder why PP has targeted Barrie. At present the Royal Victoria Hospital in Barrie does not perform abortions. A new R.V. Hospital is about to reach completion and board members have already clearly stated that the new hospital will not be performing abortions, despite the fact that one doctor at the hospital is willing to perform them.
Speculation is that PP plans to lobby for abortions in hospitals and/or to set the stage for a PP abortion clinic in Barrie. It would be naïve to rule out the possibility that PP, which has abortuaries across the United States, does not have its eye on Canada for expansion of the killing trade. Some sources speculate that Planned Parenthood has an agreement with Henry Morgentaler that this will not happen during his lifetime. Others feel that Morgentaler will not work with PP to set up abortuaries in preparation for his eventual demise in order to ensure that his life’s work of legalizing and carrying out the death of innocents will continue long after he is gone.
Pro-life groups in Simcoe County were quick to respond to the arrival of Planned Parenthood. They formed a group, “Concerned Citizens of Barrie.” On November 8, they held a public meeting with Patricia Bainbridge, Executive Director of Life Decisions International and an expert on Planned Parenthood.
Patricia told the more than 60 people present the deceptive and immoral methods and materials used by PP in encouraging “all kinds” of sexual behavior in youth which at the same time undermines parental authority. Also present at the meeting was Bob Brooks from Kitchener Waterloo Right to Life. Bob shared some tips used in a successful attempt to block funding from PP.
Bainbridge’s point on PP’s use of deception was illustrated at the groups “launching” at the Barrie City Hall on November 12. On the occasion of the official opening of the organization, speaker Bonnie Johnson, Executive Director of Planned Parenthood Federation of Canada, stated there are only 50 abortions per year in Holland despite their liberal views on abortion. However Mike VandenHeuval, president of Huronia Right to Life, exposed this deception with a letter to the editor which was printed in the Barrie Examiner on November 13. The letter included the real statistics: at the end of 1994, there were 16 abortions clinics in the Netherlands and the number of abortions reported for that year alone was 20,811. Mr. VandenHeuval pointed out that “an error factor of 416 can hardly be dismissed as trivial.
Close Watch
Since Planned Parenthood announced its plans for Barrie, pro-life groups have determined to keep a close watch on their activities. In an interview following the grand opening, VandenHeuval said “there will be no demonstration and there will be no protest, just a dissemination of facts.” Calling Planned Parenthood’s goals “anti-family,” he criticized the organization’s attitudes towards abortion and sex education in elementary schools. “They believe that any choice is the right choice, as long as it’s their choice,” he said, “What we are saying is that we have to change society and establish family values and a true morality with some absolutes.”
Concerned Citizens of Barrie plans to work against Planned Parenthood’s aim for abortion services and for the sexual indoctrination of youth. Group Chairman Graham McKee has already successfully brought together representatives of pro-life groups, churches and others concerned about the issue.
The group will oppose Planned Parenthood by exposing the facts about the organization and by offering positive alternatives so youth in Barrie and area can choose life and can learn the meaning of sexual relations within the context of marriage and the family.
