Canadian pro-lifers to government: No, abortion is not a ‘core’ Canadian value

The current Canadian government is one of the most aggressively pro-abortion governments in the world – not just in terms of domestic legislation, but perhaps more disturbingly in terms of pushing abortion on the rest of the world.

In March, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a plan for the Canadian government to spend $650 million on worldwide sexual and reproductive health and rights – which is, of course, a less direct way to say “abortion.”

International Development Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau confirmed that Canadian support would be directed towards international groups promoting abortion, indicating that the Canadian government could be buying pro-abortion legislation – in other countries.

Most recently, in a June 6 speech before the House of Commons, Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland claimed that abortion is “at the core” of Canadian foreign policy. Yes, foreign policy.

Despite blatantly admitting to considering abortion values at the core of policy towards other countries, Freeland also stated, “it is clearly not our role to impose our values around the world. No one appointed us the world’s policemen.”  Freeland seems to be oblivious to the contradiction here, but fortunately not all Canadians are.

In a June 29 letter, Bishop Douglas Crosby, president of the Canada’s Catholic Conference of Bishops, called out several of the more obvious flaws in Freeland’s comments, including the aforementioned contradiction. Crosby criticized Freeland for pushing abortion on other countries, while failing to address dire problems women in other countries face, or Canada’s economic partnerships with countries in which women are grossly mistreated.

Crosby also noted that in many countries in which abortion is legal, female preborn babies are killed for not being male; it is problematic for a government claiming to stand for women’s rights and gender equality to ignore this problem. He went on to question the Canadian government’s priorities, contrasting Trudeau’s pledged $650 million towards abortion funding with Canada’s pledged $120 million in response to severe food shortages in Africa. Killing preborn babies should not be considered more essential than feeding the hungry, even to the staunch pro-choicer.

Several Canadian bishops have long been strong voices for the pro-life movement, but just as is the case here in the States, it’s not just religious leaders that stand for life. In an opinion piece published by The Daily Courier following Freeland’s ill-advised speech, pro-life activist Marlon Bartram argued that despite common misrepresentations by the current government, Canada is historically a pro-life country:

Despite the evaporation of legal protection for the unborn over the past 50 years, it is important to recognize that Canada does have a pro-life heritage. [Canada’s first Prime Minister, Sir John A. MacDonald] is quoted as saying, “Abortion saps the very lifeblood of a nation.” For 100 years, the most defenceless, the most vulnerable among us, were protected in Canadian law, and we can get there again.

As Bartram goes on to point out, despite the appearance of an overwhelmingly pro-choice nation, mainly due to the government’s obnoxiously aggressive policies, the Canadian pro-life movement is strong, arguably stronger than ever, in large part due to a wave of young, passionate pro-life activists.