Friday June 25, 2010
Former PM Paul Martin Calls for Abortion in Maternal Health
By Patrick B. Craine
OTTAWA, Ontario, June 25, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Former Prime Minister Paul Martin has issued a call for abortion to be included in the Canadian Government’s maternal and child health initiative at this week’s G8 summit, and openly criticized Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s handling of the issue.
“Regardless of what your position is on abortion, you’ve got to understand that in a huge number of these cases, some people say the majority of these cases, the mother’s health is at risk,” he told The Mark in a taped interview.
“If what you’re talking about in this particular instance [is maternal health], you have to include abortions,” he added.
Martin was reacting to Prime Minister Harper’s continued commitment not to fund abortions within his “signature initiative” as president of the G8.
Martin’s comments were seized upon by liberal media such as the Globe and Mail and the CBC as part of their lead up to the summit in Huntsville, Ontario, which begins today.
Martin’s Liberals, now under the leadership of Etobicoke MP Michael Ignatieff, have led the push for abortion in Harper’s plan since it was first announced in January. Even up until the final days before the summit, Harper’s stand has been denounced by pro-abortion activists, media, and politicians.
According to Martin, it would be “acceptable” for Canada not to fund abortions if the other G8 countries will be funding them.
He added, however, that Canada shouldn’t “do that on the basis that we think that Africa has got modern hospitals spread throughout those villages and that those abortions could take place in a safe condition, because that is not the case.”
“And that is the reason that I think abortion should be included.”
A dedicated proponent of the “woman’s right to choose” throughout his career, Martin also oversaw the imposition of same-sex “marriage” in 2005 while Prime Minister. He is a Catholic, but was denounced by Bishop Fred Henry of Calgary in 2004 as “a scandal to the Catholic community.”