PRO-LIFE PARLIAMENTARIANS GEAR UP FOR MARCH FOR LIFE

OTTAWA, May 13, 2003 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Members of Parliament stand with pro-life Canadians as they gather in Ottawa on Wednesday to protest Canada’s abortion-on-demand regime. The Parliamentary Pro-Life Caucus (PPLC) held a press conference on today in conjunction with the 6th annual March for Life to affirm their commitment to the sanctity of life from conception to natural death.  This year the MPs want to draw attention to abortion’s other silent victims – the women who have had an abortion and are suffering devastating psychological and physical after-effects. Two women who have had an abortion and can share from their own experience also spoke at the press conference.  Many politicians are among those who continue to deny the existence of post-abortion trauma and, therefore, deny suffering women the right to the help they need. “Health Minister Anne McLellan does not have studies to defend the claim that abortion is medically necessary and, therefore, must be funded by taxpayers. Yet she continues to preserve this political wall of protection for the right to abortion – and many female victims continue to live in silence,” said PPLC co-chairman and Conservative MP Elsie Wayne.  “Abortion is not the neat and clean procedure that abortion advocates claim. Women tell us that it can leave devastating scars behind – especially for those for whom coercion or deception has been part of the process towards the abortion,” added Liberal PPLC co-chairman Paul Steckle. Except for those who experience abortion-related infertility problems, it is the psychological effects that can be most destructive – greater risk of substance abuse, higher incidence of suicide, depression, insomnia and rage.  “These women are starting to break free from their silence,” said PPLC co-chairman and Canadian Alliance MP Maurice Vellacott. “The government can no longer sweep them under the (political) carpet.” If Garry Breitkreuz’s Motion 83 passes after the 2nd hour of debate in the House in the fall, Parliament would be required to do the studies necessary to determine the legitimacy of the claim that abortion is medically necessary. This would be a small, but important, step towards addressing the abuses Canada’s current abortion regime allows women to endure.