OTTAWA, Ontario, October 11, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The pro-life arm of the Canadian bishops is calling on Canada’s Conservative government to end its grant to the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF).
In a Friday letter, Bishop Gerald Wiesner, O.M.I., chairman of the Catholic Organization for Life and Family (COLF), said IPPF is “the world’s largest abortion provider and promoter,” and so the government’s recently announced $6 million grant is in clear violation of its pledge not to fund abortion abroad.
“IPPF works aggressively to dismantle abortion laws in countries where abortion is prohibited and to have abortion recognized as a universal human ‘right,’” wrote the bishop, who heads the Diocese of Prince George, British Columbia.
“It would be naïve, therefore, to think that Canadian tax dollars will not be used by IPPF to promote abortion in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Mali, Sudan, and Tanzania,” he continued.
“Under the guise of ‘education,’ this money will be used to advance IPPF’s fallacious claim that access to abortion is necessary in order to prevent maternal deaths and to promote women’s health,” he added.
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The three-year grant, awarded late last month, will be directed to IPPF’s affiliates in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Mali, Sudan, and Tanzania. IPPF had not received funding from Canada since the end of 2009 after a petition campaign to end the funding spearheaded by Saskatchewan MP Brad Trost.
The government is claiming to uphold its pledge against overseas abortion funding by targeting countries where abortion is illegal, but IPPF’s affiliate in Bangladesh is open about the fact that they commit early abortions through a legal procedure known as “menstrual regulation.” They report committing 1,447 abortions in 2006 and 3,131 in 2007.
“Simply put, IPPF does not meet the criteria of your maternal and child health care initiative,” Bishop Wiesner insisted. “Surely it is not too late to redirect this six million dollar grant to organizations which truly respect the life and dignity of women and children, at every stage.”
“The fact is that abortion destroys lives,” he said. “Thousands of women who have been hurt by abortion are speaking out today, hoping to help others avoid the physical, emotional, and psychological suffering they have endured.”
“Their message is clear: they made the wrong choice.”
COLF is co-sponsored by the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops and the Supreme Council of the Knights of Columbus. It promotes respect for human life and dignity, and the essential role of the family.
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