HAMILTON, Ontario, March 25, 2013 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The co-founder of the Canadian chapter of Pharmacists For Life International (PFLI), Michael Izzotti, died peacefully on March 21, 2013 at the Hamilton General Hospital, in his 56th year, after suffering from Multiple Sclerosis for some time.
Izzotti had been instrumental in helping found the Canadian chapter of PFLI in the late 1980s and had served as its head until 2011.
“The death of a leader of his expertise and talent is a great loss to the pro-life movement, and we pray for him and his family, ” said Mary Ellen Douglas, the National Organizer of Campaign Life Coalition.
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Douglas recalled how when the Ontario College of Pharmacists called for legislative changes in 2002 so that pharmacists could dispense early abortifacients, commonly called “emergency contraception” or “the morning after pill,” without a doctor’s prescription, Izzotti led the fight for freedom of conscience protection for pharmacists who refused to dispense the dangerous drugs.
“By having pharmacists distribute abortifacient pills without a doctor’s prescription, the government would merely be changing the method of abortion from surgical to chemical and turning pharmacists into the next generation of abortionists,” Izzotti said of the pilot project funded by the Ontario government’s Women’s Health Council. That project saw the medication dispensed without prescription or consultation with a doctor in 40 Toronto-area pharmacies.
As well as being a practicing pharmacist and heading up Pharmacists For Life Canada, Izzotti was a member of the Knights of Columbus and Hamilton Right to Life, and worked for the pro-life cause through these organizations.
Michael Izzotti's funeral Mass took place this morning at St. Anthony's Church in Hamilton. His family asked that memorial donations could be made to Hamilton Right To Life or the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada.