ST. JOHN’S, Newfoundland, Oct. 1, 2013 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A national campaign calling on provincial governments to defund abortion kicked off in Newfoundland Saturday with a rally outside the Confederation Building in St. John’s.
Forty pro-life advocates lined the street outside the legislature holding placards stating ‘Defund Abortion’ or ‘Not from my wallet!’ They were met by about twenty counter-protesters who stood behind them.
The event, organized by Campaign Life Coalition Newfoundland, was the first of a wave of rallies planned across the country. Nova Scotia, Manitoba, Alberta, and Ontario will host rallies on Thursday, and Quebec, Saskatchewan and British Columbia will host rallies next spring. (Click links for more info.)
CLC Newfoundland says the province pays at least $1 million every year to fund abortion. There are approximately 1,000 abortions in Newfoundland annually and the group estimates that each abortion costs about $1,000.
“MHAs will learn that there is a real opportunity cost of diverting 1 million in tax dollars towards elective abortion,” said Margie Hynes, President of CLC Newfoundland. “For that money we could hire 5 family doctors, or 14 nurses in communities facing a dire shortage, or we could provide crucial therapy to 13 autistic children each year. That would be real healthcare, not politically-motivated spending.”
The goal of ending taxpayer funding for abortion enjoys wide support among the Canadian public. According to a 2010 Angus Reid poll, 39% of Canadians said taxpayer funds should cover abortion only for medical emergencies and 10% said it should be completely defunded. Less than half, 44%, believed abortion should be funded in all cases.
At the Newfoundland rally, the pro-life contingent lined the street, and the pro-abortion counter protesters stood behind them with reduced visibility as cars drove by.
At one point, the leader of the pro-abortion group shouted “Onward!” and the whole group ran through the line of pro-life advocates and across the road onto the median. A cameraman from CBC ran over to film them, and the pro-abortion leader called the group back across the road. The pro-abortion leader asked CBC’s reporter not to include the incident in their report and the reporter assured her they would not.
The CBC story, published Sunday, disputed the pro-life group’s estimate of the province’s spending on abortion. It said Newfoundland’s Department of Health and Community Services told them the total cost for abortion was $118,000 in 2011/2012, which would mean just over $100 per abortion. LifeSiteNews.com contacted the department for clarification but has not yet heard back.
However, Joyce Arthur of the Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada has said that CLC’s estimate of abortion costs is accurate.
The rally was organized as part of a daylong pro-life forum hosted in St. John’s by Campaign Life Coalition Newfoundland. Speakers at the forum included Jim Hughes, national president of Campaign Life Coalition; Margie Hynes, president of CLC Newfoundland; Dr. Stella Edwards, a local psychotherapist who spoke on post-abortion healing; and Patrick Craine, Canadian Bureau Chief for LifeSiteNews.com. The event was emceed by Patrick Hanlon of Pro-Life NL, and Roman Catholic Archbishop Martin Currie joined in for part of the morning and lunch.
Campaign Life Coalition has planned a tweet-a-thon for Thursday, Oct. 3rd, urging supporters to use the hashtag #DefundAbortion. (See Facebook event here.)