Development funds often come with pressure to change their laws
OTTAWA (CCN)
As thousands prepared to come to Ottawa for the annual March for Life May 12, the federal government said it would begin funding abortion in the developing world.
“The government will close existing gaps in reproductive rights and health care for women as part of its commitment to refocus Canada’s development assistance on helping the poorest and most vulnerable,” said Amy Mills, a spokeswoman for Global Affairs Canada, in an email statement. “It will also ensure that Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health programming is driven by evidence and outcomes.”
When Prime Minister Stephen Harper launched the Muskoka maternal, infant and child health initiative in 2010, funding for abortion was not included.
“The inclusion or exclusion of specific health services is under the purview of recipient countries,” Mills said. “Many governments allow abortion on request or for a variety of reasons including safeguarding the woman’s health.”
Mills said Canada supports the health care systems of countries in line with their legal frameworks and priorities.
“Canada will ensure access to safe, reliable and high quality family planning services, which, when used effectively, should reduce the recourse to abortion, decrease the number of unplanned pregnancies, and improve maternal, newborn and child health,” she said.? “Canada has committed $3.5B for 2015-2020 to supporting the health & rights of women and children and closing existing gaps in sexual and reproductive health care and services for women and adolescents. For 2016-2017 disbursements are expected to exceed $750 million.”
The restoration of abortion funding contrasts with the view of Nigerian biomedical scientist and founder and president of Culture of Life Africa Obianuju Ekeocha, who is in Ottawa to speak at the National March for Life and its annual Rose Dinner. Ekeocha addressed a breakfast of Parliamentarians May 10. In an interview, she said the vast majority of Africans oppose abortion as morally unacceptable.
“They have decided that abortion is an attack on human life at its earliest stages,” she said. “For a more developed country and a clearly wealthier nation bringing to us funding for abortion and a culture of abortion, it reeks of colonialization and it reeks of cultural imperialism.”
While Mills said Canada is respecting local laws, Ekeocha said development funds often come with pressures from donor countries and philanthropic foundations to change those laws and “trigger social change.”
A spokesman for the political arm of the prolife movement said he was not surprised by the government move.
“We’ve seen this coming for a long time,” said Campaign Life Coalition’s UN representative Matthew Wojciechowski at a May 11 news conference in advance of the March for Life. Even during the last election campaign, Justin Trudeau “discussed plans for exporting abortion overseas.”
Wojciechowski also not government funding for the UN agencies that promote abortion and population control.
The news conference included Alex Schadenberg of the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition and medical doctor and psychotherapist Dr. Lise Poirier-Groulx who warned of the dangers to vulnerable Canadians, especially those who are mentally ill or disabled by assisted-suicide Bill C-14 now before the House of Commons Justice Committee. Grouxl said her suicidal patients often thank her for accompanying them and saving their lives.
Schadenberg warned Bill C-14 provides no protection for vulnerable people and will bring 20 years of litigation.
The theme of this year’s March for Life is “End the Killing.” Though the focus of the March every year is on abortion, with the soon-to-be passed euthanasia/assisted-suicide law “our sick and our elderly will soon face a death sentence,” Wojciechowski said.
Concern about euthanasia is likely to increase numbers at the March, he said, despite the change of government and the retirement or election loss of many prolife MPs.
