Opinion

OTTAWA, Oct. 8, 2013 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The minister who oversees Canada’s foreign aid has said the government’s pledge that they will not fund abortion overseas as part of its Muskoka maternal and child health initiative applies in the case of war rape victims and child brides.

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“We've been clear in Muskoka, so you can think the same logic will apply here,” Christian Paradis, Canada’s International Development Minister, told the press on Friday morning in quotes reported by CTV News.

The remarks have prompted rebukes from the Opposition parties and abortion activist groups, and praise from some in the pro-life community. But the response has missed a crucial fact: the government never stopped funding abortion overseas.

Bev Oda, then-Minister of International Cooperation, announced in April 2010 that the Muskoka initiative would not include funding for abortion. But the Conservatives continued funding Marie Stopes International, a leading abortion provider that admits to offering the procedure in countries where it’s illegal, until May 2011. Then on Sept. 22, 2011, the government awarded a three-year, $6 million grant to the International Planned Parenthood Federation, the world’s leading abortion provider, for “sexual and reproductive health services.”

The Conservatives claimed that the IPPF grant was in line with its pledge because, they said, abortion is illegal in the five countries where they’ve invested in the abortion giant’s work. The grant agreement, further, stipulates that “abortion services will not be funded,” as pro-life researcher Patricia Maloney discovered in a recent access to information request.

But the fact is that abortion is legal in one of those countries, it’s just not called “abortion.” In Bangladesh, where IPPF’s affiliate is receiving the largest share of the $6 million grant (35%), the law allows a procedure known as “menstrual regulation.” Known simply as “MR” to abortion advocates, it involves suctioning the child from the womb in the early weeks of pregnancy.

According to IPPF’s affiliate, called the Family Planning Association of Bangladesh (FPAB): “Government policy in Bangladesh does not recognize abortion; but there [exists] a policy on menstruation regulation (MR), which permits termination of unwanted pregnancy up to 10 weeks from the last menstrual period.”

According to FPAB’s annual reports, which are available on their website, the organization commits thousands of “MR” procedures every year. In 2007, for example, they report having carried out 3,131 procedures.

This is not new information. Conservative MP Maurice Vellacott alerted the government to the fact that IPPF was carrying out “MR” procedures in Bangladesh on Sept. 30th, 2011. The same day, LifeSiteNews revealed that FPAB reported carrying out thousands of these procedures every year.

We presented CIDA with this information again in February 2012. “Abortion services and advocacy for abortion will not be funded under CIDA's approved IPPF initiative,” said then-spokesman Justin Broekema. About the Bangladesh issue, he said, “In all five countries, including Bangladesh, on-request abortion is illegal.” We tried again in November 2012, and were told by spokesman Clément Bélanger, “As per the Muskoka Initiative criteria and the contribution agreement with IPPF, abortion services will not be funded through this initiative.”

But the government’s grant to IPPF is clearly supporting abortion, and I think we have to ask further whether the government is not, in fact, paying for Bangladesh abortions directly.

A United Nations fact sheet on Bangladesh’s abortion policy says that “the [menstrual regulation] procedure is considered a family planning method rather than an abortive technique.” CIDA reports that 33% of its grant to IPPF is allocated towards “family planning.” So, it would seem, IPPF could legitimately pay for its abortion work in Bangladesh through Canada’s “family planning” dollars.

Unfortunately, when Maloney asked CIDA to give her a breakdown of what activities IPPF carried out under “family planning,” CIDA told her they had “no records related to your request.” In other words, the government either has no idea how IPPF is using Canadian tax dollars or they’re not telling.

So CIDA is paying the world’s leading abortion provider to carry out “family planning” in full knowledge that the organization provides an abortion procedure under the name of “family planning.” And, apparently, we have no way of finding out how those “family planning” funds are being used.

Further, in those countries where abortion is illegal, one of IPPF’s chief goals is to make it legal. And every dollar the government gives IPPF is fungible, freeing up an extra dollar for the organization’s promotion of abortion.

So please, let’s stop the charade. The Harper government is funding abortion overseas.

Contact:
Prime Minister Stephen Harper
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