Silent Scream: An Ultrasound Video of an Abortion

The Silent Scream is a YouTube video of an ultrasound capturing an abortion.  From a baby’s beautiful developing environment within the womb to the brutal intrusion of an abortionist, this video provides absolute proof that an abortion is the killing of a developing human being.

Providing commentary and guiding the viewer throughout the video is Dr. Bernard Nathanson.  He identifies the baby within the womb illustrating how comfortable and peaceful the baby is.  Normal heart beat, stable positioning within the womb and all other indicators illustrate the peaceful developing environment within the womb.  It all changes and visibly so, with the intrusive instruments of death the abortionist uses to begin the abortion.  With an elevated heart beat and frantic movement to avoid the prodding instruments of death, the baby helplessly responds.  The result is the heart breaking killing of the baby.

For all who are willing to fight the good fight and help end abortion in Canada, I offer up this video to add to your arsenal of pro-life resources.  This video is absolute proof, that an abortion is the killing of an innocent human being, whose only purpose in the womb is to develop for birth and to be received into the loving embrace of his/her mother’s arms. 

Quebec’s Court Ruling is a Big Victory for Catholic Teaching

Loyola High school is a private Catholic school in west end Montreal. Last year the school took the Quebec government to court to try to get an exemption from having to teach the required generic ethics and morality course developed by Quebec’s Education Ministry.

This week the court handed down its ruling: it strongly backed Loyola that as a Catholic school it could opt out from having to teach the mandated religion course that all students in the province are required to study. This is welcome news for all Catholics in Canada and for all Canadians who are concerned about religious freedom. This is also good news for all those who are trying to work for a culture of life in Canada.

In the 63 page document, Judge Gerard Dugre put it this way: “In this age of the respect of fundamental rights, of tolerance, reasonable accommodation and multiculturalism, the attitude adopted by the Education ministry is surprising. Canadian democratic society is based on principles recognizing the supremacy of God and the primacy of the law-both of which benefit from constitutional protection.”

Judge Dugre went further: “The obligation imposed on Loyola to teach the ethics and religion culture course in a lay fashion assumes totalitarian character essentially equivalent to Galileo’s being ordered by the Inquisition to deny the Copernican universe.” The province according to this ruling cannot force Loyola High School, a Catholic school started in 1848, to teach its students based on secular principles.

The principal of Loyola, Paul Donovan, had previously approached the Ministry asking for accommodation in teaching the mandated world religions course, but they were essentially told that they could not do so because they were Catholic. For the principal and the Catholic community he represented this was a serious obstacle in running a Catholic school and as a result they launched a court challenge.

The fact that they won their legal battle to continue to teach the teachings of the Catholic Church is a victory not only for Loyola School, but for all Catholic schools in Canada, as well as other parochial institutions that questioned the general ethics course. This positive ruling sends a strong message for the future of Catholic schools. It says Catholics have a right to teach the truth about their faith. The Catholic perspective in education, ethics and morals has a place in the public square. The decision tells us we have a right to teach the truth about life and to promote a culture of life in Canada.

We should be very grateful to Loyola School, first for questioning the Ministry’s guidelines, then for asking for the option not to teach the world religions course and when that failed for taking the Education Department to court and winning. They fought the good fight and won for us the legal and moral reassurance that our faith must be given a place in a secular society. We should write to the school and thank them for making sure that there's room in Quebec society for Catholic schools and Catholic teaching. We should also let Judge Gerard Dugre know that we are encouraged by his bold decision to say that our democratic nation is founded on “principles recognizing the supremacy of God.” Let’s hope this represents a new chapter in Canadian history where we are free to teach the Catholic faith and its truth and as a result we are bound to promote a culture which defends human life.

"Abortion, it's not my problem"

If you are like me in some small way, you naturally accept the opportunity to bring the truth to those who do not recognize or understand it.  Recently I was presented with just such an opportunity in an abortion awareness effort, but unfortunately, I was confronted with indifference, apathy, an overall attempt to disconnect with the issue that concluded with a statement of, “...I don’t care about abortion, it's not my problem.”  This individual was adamant and his demeanor suggested that I best not pursue it further.  I decided to share my experience on line and answer how abortion is everyone’s problem.  I hope that in doing so, it will help others in their own respective awareness efforts.


How is abortion everyone’s problem?  When it comes to life matters, we all should be concerned especially when life is threatened.  Canada has permitted abortion for 43 years and this very fact alone should prompt Canadians to do something to end abortion in Canada!  Canada has become a nation whereby not enough of its citizens have taken action against abortion.  Is this indifference what Edmund Burke warned about when he stated, “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing?”  The killing of innocent human beings developing in the womb is everyone’s problem.  It is up to all Canadians to defend life and help restore Canada to a culture of life.


Abortion is everyone’s problem also due to the fact that in today’s society, we come into contact with a variety of individuals, both in the public and private sector, who are directly and indirectly responsible for an abortion.  When coming into contact with such individuals, if possible, we should seek ways of making the truth of abortion known to them!  Does this necessarily mean that one will always be afforded the opportunity to bring awareness on this issue?  Probably not, but there will be times when some thing can be done about it.


The Servant of God Pope John Paul II referred to such individuals in his encyclical Evangelium Vitae ranging from fathers to doctors and nurses, to politicians, legislators and civil leaders and promoters of promiscuity.  Below are group categories of individuals that the late pontiff explains, contribute in their own way to the evil of abortion.  Who knows, you just may be presented with an opportunity to bring awareness to any one or more of such individuals:

Fathers
Within the family component of society, fathers are to be blamed for an abortion, not only when the man directly pressures the woman to have an abortion, but also when he indirectly encourages such a decision on her part by leaving her alone to face the problems of pregnancy. There is also the wider circle of pressure from family and friends. (59)


Doctors and Nurses

Doctors and nurses are also responsible for abortion, when instead of placing their skills to help life, they place them at the service of death. No medical professional has the right to deliberately kill a human being, especially an innocent human being developing in the womb. Pope John Paul II quotes the Congregation For The Doctrine of the Faith's document, Donum Vitae: Instruction on Respect for Human Life in its Origin and on the Dignity of Procreation, "Human life is sacred because from its beginning it involves the creative action of God', and it remains forever in a special relationship with the Creator, who is its sole end. God alone is the Lord of life from its beginning until its end: no one can, in any circumstance, claim for himself the right to destroy directly an innocent human being" (53).  A unique responsibility belongs to health care professionals (doctors, nurses, pharmacists etc.) who are entrusted by society to be guardians and servants of human life.

Politicians, Legislators and Civil Leaders

Politicians, legislators and all civil leaders are also responsible for abortion when they have approved and promoted abortion laws in any way. Such individuals are called to serve the people and the common good, to make courageous choices in support of life, especially through legislative measures. This responsibility can in no way be renounced or removed from these public servants. Any decisions and actions that are contrary to the
defense and promotion of life, come with it a responsibility to "...answer to God, to his or her own conscience and to the whole of society for choices which may be contrary to the common good." (90) The establishment of laws are important in promoting and establishing a "culture of life" because of the role they play in influencing patterns of thought and behavior. As Pope John Paul II states, laws that are contrary to the culture of life, disregard the dignity of the person and undermine the very fabric of society.


Promoters of Promiscuity

A general and no less responsibility also rests with those who promote promiscuity and sexual permissiveness as well as to those who did not effectively ensure family and social policies in support of families, especially larger families and those with particular financial and educational needs. On a more grand scale, there is also the
responsibility of international institutions, foundations and associations which, "systematically campaign for the legalization and spread of abortion." (59)

The deliberate decision to deprive an innocent human being of his or her life is always morally evil and can never be licit either as an end it itself or as a means to a good end. As the Servant of God Pope John Paul II states, "It is in fact a grave act of disobedience to the moral law, and indeed to God himself, the author and guarantor of that law; it contradicts the fundamental virtues of justice and charity." (57)

G8/20 Canada Should Continue to Say No to Funding World Abortion

An article in the National Post reported that a so called “Catholic" group sent a letter to Prime Minister Stephen Harper pressuring him to include abortion at the upcoming G8/20 Summit. Even Hillary Clinton has openly criticized the Canadian government for not funding the International Planned Parenthood Federation. This organization promotes abortion as part of maternal health care. The Canadian government has voted to continue to fund maternal heath care, but has stopped funding groups like the IPPF who support abortion.

However, both Clinton and “Catholics” for Choice distort the meaning of maternal health and abortion. Maternal health means saving lives when there are complications during pregnancy and childbirth. Abortion is not health care because it is the intentional killing of a baby waiting-to-be born. Maternal health is there to help and save life; abortion terminates life. Abortion is elective surgery, funded by taxpayers’ money, and carried out with the sole purpose of ending the life of the child in the womb. Why are we surprised if the majority of Canadians no longer want their tax money to fund abortion at the global level? Shouldn’t we be doing the same thing at the national level?

The UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki- Moon, made the following plea this week at the opening of the global conference on maternal health care: " 2010 should be remembered as the year when the world decided that no woman should die giving life and no child should die when we know how to save them.” So why are most of the governments of the world, through the UN, funding abortion? Secretary-General, if you truly want to save lives, the UN would be fighting tooth and nail to make sure that all pre-born children in the world have an inalienable right to life. Presently, Mr. Secretary you say one thing, but in fact maternal health care at the UN, includes abortion, the killing of babies.

While it’s not surprising that the so-called "Catholics" for Choice would use maternal mortality as an excuse to use the G8/20 Summit to impose abortion on the international community, it is regrettable that the National Post would consider this self-appointed pro- abortion group as a “Catholic” organization. This group doesn’t represent either the Catholic Church or faithful Catholics.

Lets hope that most Canadian citizens will want and encourage the PM to leave abortion out of the Summit and ignore these other demands. Canada can do a lot better than be known on the world stage as an exporter of the culture of death. Email the Prime Minister’s Office and let him know that we want Canada on the international level to defend life, not to make funds available to terminate it. Do let the Prime Minister know where you stand on this important life and death isuue.

What happened to The Canadian Mother and Child?

“Every country is greatly concerned with the well-being of mothers and children. In Canada some of the most advanced legislation in the world provides a monthly allowance for every child, makes available money for research and improved services for mothers and children, and assists both official and voluntary organizations in extending the operation of clinics, hospitals and health services.” (From the Introduction to The Canadian Mother and Child by Ernest Couture, M. D., Child and Maternal Hygiene Division)

Is this not an issue which should be a government's first concern? A nation should make it a priority to support the health of its mothers and its children. Sadly the cited paragraph from The Canadian Mother and Child, first published in 1940, and reprinted in 1967, under the authority of John Munro, Minister of National Health and Welfare no longer applies today. If not for the reference to a monthly allowance which has long been cancelled, the quote should apply to contemporary Canada. But Canada has unfortunately become a nation that no longer truly cares for its children and its mothers.

What has changed? The greatest change is that today's federal government provides money to make abortion available as part of the “well-being of mothers and children” in all clinics and hospitals. Abortion is now considered an “essential” component of maternal health services. In the intervening years from 1940 to today, the truth has been lost. We have distorted the meaning of words by making the killing of a baby part of health care. We have changed our laws and have come to accept actions that disrespect and destroy life, but more on this later.

In the second chapter called, “The Process of Reproduction” there’s a detailed explanation of what is happening during pregnancy “as your baby grows.” (Page 24) Here’s the description for new life: “When one of the sperms unites with the ovum a new cell has formed and a new life has begun.” And it goes on to say, “From this tiny beginning the process of nature sets in motion a whole series of changes which will end in due time, in the birth of a baby.” As the baby develops, “Growth is so rapid that in a month the fertilized ovum or developing baby is twenty times its original size. By the time it is six weeks old, the beginning of arms and legs and spine can be distinguished, and these are quite recognizable at two months. The baby rapidly develops in a special sac of fluid within the uterus or womb.” (Pages 24-25)

The only time that fetus* is mentioned, is to tell the reader that it’s interchangeable with the word baby: “The unborn baby is often called a fetus by the doctor. At three months the fetus or the unborn baby is three inches to 3.5 inches long. At four months it is five inches long and weighs about one quarter of a pound. From then on he gains about a pound a month for the next two months. Later its weight goes up more rapidly. Most babies weigh about seven pounds at birth. At four months and a half the fetal heart can be heard by the doctor with a stethoscope. About this time the mother feels the movements of the baby. These have been going on for some time but were too weak to be noticed. They gain in strength as the months go by until, they can only be felt, but often can be plainly seen. An active baby can certainly make its presence felt.” (Page 26) *(italics are mine)

There’s no doubt whatsoever in these excerpts from The Canadian Mother and Child that at one time the Canadian government considered a pregnant woman to be carrying a baby in her womb, from the moment of fertilization. So specifically what has happened in last 41 years in Canada that a fetus has ceased to be a baby but has become something that can be destroyed up until the moment of birth?

Here are some of the main changes in law that have ushered and continue to sustain a culture of death in Canada:

1. It was on May 14, 1969 that the Omnibus Bill was passed in Parliament and with this law the unborn (a.k.a. fetus or baby) lost all legal protection.

2. In 1988, the Supreme Court strikes down section 251 of the Criminal Code,the section dealing with abortion, making it unconstitutional and leaving Canada with no abortion law, therefore no restrictions on killing the baby.

3. In 1991, the Supreme Court of Canada rules that a child in the process of being born is not a person. Unborn babies have no legal rights unless they are born alive.

4. In 2003, three provincial appellate courts declare the definition of traditional marriage unconstitutional.

5. On June 28, 2005 the House of Commons passes Bill C-38 that legalizes same-sex marriage and redefines it as the union of two persons.

6. On May 2, 2009, Francine Lalonde the Bloc Quebecois Member of Parliament introduces Bill C-384 for the third time, a private member's bill to legalize euthanasia in Canada. The Bill talks about autonomy and choice, but it really wants to legalize the direct intentional killing of a person. This is what happens when you re-define words to mean whatever you want them to mean,as in the case of euthanasia.....being seen as “mercy killing” or “death with dignity”.

It was the Ottawa physician Dr. Philip Cooper, back in 1967, representing The Emergency Organization for the Defence of the Unborn, who addressed the Standing Committee on Health and Welfare with this ominous idea: legalizing abortion would devalue life. He predicted that it would also lead to eugenic abortion and abortion on demand for convenience, and as another form of contraception. And isn’t this an accurate description of what is currently happening in Canada?

Just look at where we have come in just two generations of mothers and children. In our country today we can kill an unborn baby because legally we are allowed to do so. We as citizens pay for over 100,000 abortions in Canada every year. We no longer call the fetus, which in Latin has always meant “the young” still in the womb, a baby: it’s now referred to as a “bundle of cells” whose future rests solely with the whims and wants of the mother and of the legal system that defends her right to destroy the life she carries in her womb. Canada then has gradually descended down that slippery road from a culture protecting human life to one that sanctions the active seeking of death....a culture of anti-life. How? ....by enacting laws which permit the killing of the unborn, laws which strip the baby of any rights and laws which pay doctors trained not to defend life, but to kill life.

We can be sure that the founding fathers and mothers of our nation did not have this vision of Canada. Now I ask you isn’t there something grievously wrong with the morals, logic and laws of present-day Canada? If the current trend continues, the Canadian mother and child are facing extinction.

Why Attack Cardinal Ouellet for Speaking the Church’s Teaching?

Should a Cardinal in Quebec have the right to talk in the public square about the teaching of his faith? Can Canadian Catholics still express what they believe publicly? From the reactions of some Canadians to what Cardinal Ouellet recently said, the answer to these questions is NO. In Canada, it seems we’re slowly but surely losing our religious freedom.

As you probably know by now, La Presse columnist Patrick Lagace recently wrote that when Cardinal Marc Ouellet dies it should be from a painful illness because he stated that abortion is a moral crime even in cases of rape. These were his words, “Why should we push a woman who has been the victim of a crime to commit one of her own,” Ouellet told a pro-life conference in Quebec City May 15, and for these words he was strongly criticized. As well, he said to journalists: “I understand very well that a woman who’s been raped is dealing with trauma and that she needs to be helped. But she needs to do so with respect for the being that is in her womb. It is not responsible for what happened. It’s the rapist who is responsible. But there’s already a victim. Do we need to have another one?”

These comments prompted remarks to not only wish the Cardinal a painful and protracted death but also to call him an extremist and compare him to the Iranian imam who recently blamed natural disasters on women who dressed indecently.
“We’re all going to die,” Lagacé wrote in Montreal’s La Presse. “Cardinal Ouellet will die someday. I hope he dies from a long and painful illness. . . Yes, the paragraph I’ve just written is vicious. But Marc Ouellet is an extremist. And in the debate against religious extremists, every shot is fair game.”

The Cardinal simply reminded everyone about the teaching of the Catholic Church when it comes to the life issue of abortion(infanticide)and euthanasia. And for this he’s called a “religious extremist.” In addition, every shot hurled at this man of God is fair game. Now I ask you where is our civil standard of decency and our journalistic integrity in these cruel remarks? The Catholic Civil Rights League has said that Lagace’s words went too far and called them hateful. They asked the newspaper to apologize and have filed a complaint asking the newspaper to distance itself from the journalist’s comments. We should all write and complain to La Presse for publishing those vitriolic words.

However, our politicians, in their constant efforts to keep voters happy, responded differently. Pauline Marois, the leader of the Parti Quebecois stated that she was “completely outraged.” Shouldn’t her outrage have been directed towards the reporter and not the Primate of the Roman Catholic Church for merely referring to Church doctrine? Wait there’s more. The Intergovernmental Affairs Minister, Josee Verner said that Cardinal’s words were “unacceptable.” Again here, it’s not the reporter’s harsh words, but the Cardinal’s position that should not be articulated. Is there a law now in Canada preventing a man of faith from stating his Church’s teaching on controversial life and death issues? I think Christians should get the message in all of this: Canada’s media has done a great propaganda job of either trying to silence people of faith or outright dismissing them. They try to muzzle them by inaccurately and unfairly reporting their position on issues. We see this trend with many ethical and social questions: abortion, euthanasia, gay marriage, homosexuality, stem-cells research and human sexuality. The joke is that we are all people of faith......if we don’t believe in God then we replace God with something else.....humanism, secularism, materialism, socialism, communism, fascism, relativism...... or our own mixed up version of right and wrong.

The liberal relativists and the politically correct crowd have spun a hyperbolic web in an effort to frighten us about religious dogmatism. They have done a great job in warning and scaring people of the dangers of those who believe in God. They forget that those who first came to Canada from Europe were in fact mostly Christians. The in- style current amnesia has either silenced most political leaders or you find them sucking-up to so-called human-rights groups when it comes to these major life issues. I urge all Christians to see what’s happening in our nation. The media and our government leaders by not asking and demanding for an apology for Lagace’s remarks are helping to suppress the Christian position. When a Cardinal is strongly rebuked for expressing what the Church teaches, it becomes a serious problem of democracy since this affects everyone who believes in religious freedom. All Christians should care about this because if we continue along this road soon we will experience religious persecution. As citizens and taxpayers, we should speak up at every chance we get. If we wait too long, it may be too late. Let La Presse and our government leaders know that you support Cardinal Ouellet.

As people of faith in God we are encouraged to pray for Mr. Legace and his poor province who is NOT “JE ME SOUVIENS” anything! They are in fact “NOUS OUBLIONS”...they are forgetting their history, their faith in God, the founding fathers of their wonderful culture..... They are selling out to “developers” changing their beautiful churches into condominiums.... to a culture of me...ism, a culture their ancestors would not recognize much less be proud to call French. God help Quebec and God help us all when we have no respect for life!

A Brief History and Christian Teaching on Abortion

Today’s blog posting is but one of a series of postings that I will make, drawing attention to the evil of abortion.  Although today’s entry draws specifically from the Catholic Church’s teaching on abortion, I hope it will appeal to all Christians, non-Christians and all people of good will.  As Canadians, we should all stand together to fight the good fight and defend life.

Here at Everyday For Life Canada, abortion takes on a central significance. This is the case because it's the gravest sin and the greatest crime against humanity:  the worldwide slaughter of innocent children yet to be born.  Specific to Canada, abortion has been legal for 43 years and therefore, I encourage all concerned and conscientious citizens, to revisit this all encompassing life issue in order to not be deceived that abortion is ever acceptable under any circumstance.  By revisiting this issue, let us strengthen our resolve to  eliminate abortion and help restore Canada to a culture of life!

Brief History of Abortion in Canada
Abortion is the greatest source of human deaths in the twentieth and twenty first centuries, claiming more lives than those that have resulted from war, poverty, starvation, epidemics and natural disasters. The abortion problem has had so many medical, psychological, political, economic and cultural ramifications, that it has and continues to be a major contribution to our growing "culture of death." Its public funding and permissibility, its inclusion at law which began with the infamous Omnibus Bill C-150 Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1968-69 that in effect legalized contraception and "therapeutic" abortion, has stained Canada ever since.  

It was not too long after Bill C-150 that the evil of abortion became an “on demand” service in 1988, prompted by a legal challenge of Canada’s most infamous doctor, Henry Morgantaler.  What resulted from this challenge was the Supreme Court of Canada’s decision that the abortion provision in the Criminal Code of Canada was found to be unconstitutional, as it “violated a woman's right” under section 7 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms to "security of person". Ever since this ruling, there have been no laws regulating abortion in Canada, it has been made available on demand.  As a direct result of the above noted ruling, abortion “clinics” opened up throughout Canada.  These facilities  cleverly disguised their services with deceptive clinic titles, such as “Women’s Health Care Clinic.”  I encourage you to expose the evil of abortion, whenever and however you can.  Let us not stand idle and allow deception, in all its schemes, go unchallenged!  To gain a greater understanding of how abortion was ushered into Canada, please see Campaign Life Coalition’s Chronology of Laws page.

Church Teaching
The Catholic faith is very specific about abortion: it is the killing of a developing human being and a lack of respect for human life. Two key sources of information that expand on this are the Catechism of the Catholic Church and an encyclical written by the Servant of God Pope John Paul II. The Catechism of the Catholic Church specifically states at Article 5 The Fifth Commandment, under the section of Respect For Human Life,

"...Scripture specifies the prohibition contained in the fifth commandment: "Do not slay the innocent and the righteous." The deliberate murder of an innocent person is gravely contrary to the dignity of the human being, to the golden rule, and to the holiness of the Creator. The law forbidding it is universally valid: it obliges each and everyone, always and everywhere. (2261)In the Sermon on the Mount, the Lord recalls the commandment, "You shall not kill,..." (2262)

Pope John Paul II - Encyclical Evangelium Vitae (Gospel of Life)

In his encyclical, Evangelium vitae, the Gospel of Life, Pope John Paul II not only deals with the many aspects of human life, but he also exposes the threats to the value and inviolability of human life, namely: abortion, euthanasia, suicide, the death penalty, human embryo research and more.  I have quoted the late pontiff from section 58 of his encyclical, that in my view aptly captures abortions existence in today’s society.  Regarding abortion, Pope John Paul states,

"...in many people's consciences, the perception of its gravity has become progressively obscured.  The acceptance of abortion in the popular mind, in behaviour and even in law itself, is a telling sign of an extremely dangerous crisis of the moral sense, which is becoming more and more incapable of distinguishing between good and evil, even when the fundamental right to life is at stake. Given such a grave situation, we need now more than ever to have the courage to look the truth in the eye and to call things by their proper name, without yielding to convenient compromises or to the temptation of self-deception. In this regard the reproach of the Prophet is extremely straightforward: "Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness" (Is 5:20). Especially in the case of abortion there is a widespread use of ambiguous terminology, such as "interruption of pregnancy", which tends to hide abortion's true nature and to attenuate its seriousness in public opinion. Perhaps this linguistic phenomenon is itself a symptom of an uneasiness of conscience. But no word has the power to change the reality of things: procured abortion is the deliberate and direct killing, by whatever means it is carried out, of a human being in the initial phase of his or her existence, extending from conception to birth..." (58)

I hope that Canada will one be a nation, as it once was, without abortion and our laws and constitution accurately reflect our Christian heritage, a country that accepts God’s truth and in no way permits the "culture of death" to dilute, diminish and vanquish it from the minds and consciences of all Canadians!