Monday May 3, 2010
“Hypocritical” Green Party Calls for Abortion in Canada’s Maternal Health Plan
By Patrick B. Craine
OTTAWA, Ontario, May 3, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – According to Canada’s Green Party, the country has been “embarrassed on the world stage” due to the unwillingness of the Conservative government to include abortion in its G8 maternal health initiative – a stance that one Canadian pro-life leader has slammed as “hypocritical.”
“The point of the maternal health plan was to provide health for women who are pregnant, who need doctors, who need good medical care for themselves and their babies, and that’s what was presented,” said Campaign Life Coalition (CLC) National Organizer Mary-Ellen Douglas in response to the Green party’s position. “And for some reason, these pro-death politicians can’t think of anything to give except dead babies.”
“We know that about half a million women die every year in developing countries because of unwanted pregnancy complications and the number grows when you include botched abortions,” said Debborah Donnelly, the Green party’s Status of Women critic, in a press release issued Monday. “Abortion should be part of our development commitments abroad. It is an important part of reducing maternal and child mortality.”
“We should be focusing on the goal of reducing poverty and bettering the lives of women and children in developing countries,” said Green Leader Elizabeth May. “The Harper government is inserting its ideology and by doing so is slowing progress on these important goals.
“We urge the Prime Minister to reconsider his decision to exclude abortion from the maternal health initiative,” May added.
The Green Party’s move, which aligns with their party platform, follows the Conservative government’s announcement last week that abortion would not be included in their plan for promoting maternal and child health as president of the G8 this June.
“We want to make sure our funds are used to save the lives of women and children and are used on the many, many things that are available to us that frankly do not divide the Canadian population,” Prime Minister Stephen Harper said. “Frankly, there is not enough money to do all the things we want to do, even in [the government’s focus areas]. We will concentrate our efforts on areas where the Canadian people are united and want to see progress.”
The government had indicated shortly after Prime Minister Harper announced the G8 plan in January that it would not include support for abortion and contraception. They backed down on the issue of contraception in March following pressure from the opposition parties, leading to fears that they would also back down and include abortion.
The government has cited the support of Parliament in excluding abortion, pointing to the defeat of last month’s motion by the Liberals to “include the full range of family planning, sexual and reproductive health options,” including abortion, in the plan. Though backed by the opposition parties, the motion was defeated 144-138, in part because 13 Liberal MPs were absent or abstained, and 3 Liberals – Paul Szabo, Dan McTeague, and John McKay – opposed it on principle.
The Green party is “as pro-abortion as the NDP,” CLC’s Mary-Ellen Douglas told LifeSiteNews. “We’ve never found anybody in the Green party who is pro-life.”
Abortion only helps the poor “by eliminating them,” she added. “That’s basically what they’re saying – you eliminate poverty by eliminating the poor.”
“They’re hypocrites. From the Green party who’s so concerned about the earth, how come they can’t be so concerned about the people on the earth?” she asked. “They don’t want to really dig down deep and provide help.”
See related LifeSiteNews.com coverage:
Canadian Gvmt: No Abortion in G8 Maternal Health Plan
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2010/apr/10042703.html
Liberal Pro-Life Heroes Secured Defeat of Pro-Abortion Motion
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2010/mar/10032414.html
Canadian Pro-Life Victory: Liberal Abortion Motion Defeated
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2010/mar/10032318.html
PM Harper “Caves”: “Not Closing the Door” on Contraception in G8 Maternal Health Push
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2010/mar/10031911.html
Maternal Health Plan about Saving Lives, not “Family Planning”: Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2010/mar/10031710.html
Minister Confirms Abortion Not Part of Harper’s Maternal Health Initiative
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2010/feb/10021905.html
Canadian PM Calls for G8 to Tackle Maternal Mortality – Abortion Push Feared
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2010/jan/10012712.html