CCBR in Toronto June 28!

From the event page:

"As many of you know, the pro-life educational group the Canadian Centre for Bioethical Reform is currently travelling across Canada for their "New Abortion Caravan" Campaign, confronting the public with the reality of "choice" through the use of graphic images, presentations, debates and pamphleting campaigns.

CCBR will be passing through Toronto and will be holding a talk at St. Vincent de Paul Church on Thursday, June 28th at 7:30pm. Executive Director Stephanie Gray and fellow activist Jonathon Van Maren will be speaking about how we can all help End the Killing of our innocent and helpless Canadian brothers and sisters.

You DON'T want to miss it!

To read more info about the New Abortion Caravan, click here: http://www.unmaskingchoice.ca/caravan"


Please consider attending! 


Where: St. Vincent de Paul Church, 268 Roncesvalles Ave, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
When: June 28, 2012, 19:30-21:15

Tips for Pro-choice Activists

Read Jane Cawthorne and Joyce Arthur's "Tips for Responding to the Abortion Crapavan" here. It is quite a rant against CCBR's newest project, called the New Abortion Caravan. 

In response, I have some tips for all you pro-choicers out there on how to properly respond when someone protests against your life's passion.

#1. Know thine enemy.

From Cawthorne & Arthur (emphasis my own):
 "[The New Abortion Caravan is] a project of the grossly misnamed Canadian Centre for Bioethical Research - CCBR"

This is just so hysterical because they actually provide a link to the CCBR website, yet they still get it wrong. Perhaps "Canadian Centre for Bioethical Research" seems so grossly misnamed to them because it is a misnomer - CCBR's actual name is "Canadian Centre for Bioethical Reform".  Get it right!

#2. If you want to be taken seriously, be serious.

From Cawthorne & Arthur on how to protest (emphasis my own):
"Include fun positive actions, satire, or costumes (dancing genitalia have been used in Calgary)."
"Give out cookies, condoms, balloons, or what have you. Ask a local sexual health centre for freebies."

Yes, because nothings says "I have a message about human rights, and I want you to listen because women's lives are at stake" like dancing genitalia, condoms, and sexual health freebies (is it too presumptuous to assume that women's lives are why Cawthorne and Arthur support abortion? Perhaps, considering their idea of a successful counter-protest centres around sex).

#3. Don't imply that you find images of bloody and dead pre-born children arousing.

From Cawthorne & Arthur  (emphasis my own):
"The so called 'new abortion caravan,' an anti-choice display of fetus pornography ..."

I think it is extremely disturbing when people, who presumably have no problem with imagery of the sexual act, equate violence and death with said imagery.

#4. Be professional and respectful, or people won't respect you.

From Cawthorne & Arthur (emphasis my own):
"... [The New Abortion Caravan is] dubbed the 'Crapavan' by pro-choicers ..."
"... pro-choice activists in Calgary have dubbed the 'Fetus-mobile' ..."
 "ARCC's intent is to protect the safety of pro-choice demonstrators and prepare you for the onslaught of crazy ..."
"The Calgary Pro-Choice Coalition produced a comic book about them, believing such a response was the only logical way to react to their ridiculous and offensive tactics."
Also see the "fetus pornography" comment from above ...

You'll notice that CCBR is professional and respectful in the language they use on their blog and in their press releases. I suggest the ARCC strive to do the same, lest they appear juvenile to the Canadian public.

#5. Don't make obviously false claims.

From Cawthorne & Arthur (emphasis my own):
"The real Abortion Caravan was part of second wave feminist efforts to decriminalize abortion. In 1970, a group of revolutionary women traveled from Vancouver to Ottawa ... to protest the new abortion law that was written to protect doctors, not help women access abortion. The new anti-choice version of this event bears no resemblance to it whatsoever."

Lets compare and contrast, shall we?

The New Abortion Caravan uses graphic imagery and shocking tactics.
The original Abortion Caravan used graphic imagery and shocking tactics.
For example, the original caravan included "a Volkswagen bus complete with a black coffin strapped on the roof". On Mother's Day,  a "convoy of Canadian women, over five hundred strong in support, arrived- coat hangers and a black coffin in tow" Additional aspects of the protest involved Prime Minister "Pierre Trudeau burned in effigy" and "[a] black coffin adorned with coat hangers left at the Prime Minister's front door" (From Wikipedia). Additionally, in an interview with the CBC, Margo Dunn, an original member of the Caravan, admitted that they also used shocking imagery in support of free access to abortion.
The New Abortion Caravan is travelling from Vancouver to Ottawa.
The original Abortion Caravan traveled from Vancouver to Ottawa.
The New Abortion Caravan concerns abortion.
The original Abortion Caravan concerns abortion.
I could go on.
Of course there is one main difference ... the New Abortion Caravan is protesting against the killing of unborn children, while the original caravan protested in favour of the practice. Also, I will be very surprised if the New Abortion Caravan manages to shut down parliament like the original did. But one can hope.

#6. Don't give your opponents free publicity.

From Cawthorne & Arthur (emphasis my own):
"Focus on raising awareness on anti-abortion Motion 312 ..."
"Consider setting up a warning at either end of the demonstration ..."

#8. Stop equating abortion to the Catholic Church. 

"Even Calgary's Bishop Henry has denounced this group's tactics ..."


You know, there are non-Catholics out there who are against abortion, and I'm sure most of them couldn't care less what a Calgary bishop has to say. I'm sure quite a few pro-choicers also don't care about the words of a Catholic bishop. Additionally, it would be good to realize that pro-life advocates turn to more than just the Bible and God in support of their cause, so I also suggest pro-choicers start brushing up on things like science and philosophy.

#7. (Hint: this is the most important one!) Address what your opponent is saying. 

In response to a protest exposing the realities of abortion and the humanity of its victims, Cawthorne and Arthur seem to only be able to discuss sex and women's bodies. The New Abortion Caravan has nothing to do with "dancing genitalia", "condoms", sex "freebies", or "fetus-porn", and has little to do specifically with what a woman does with her own body. However, it does have everything to do with the bodies of the unborn, and what is done to them. They have been ripped apart, starved, dismembered, disemboweled - in other words, they have been violently killed by Canadian doctors at the request of their mothers. Though I suppose, when the humanity of the child in the womb is so obvious, all a pro-choicer can do is ignore the real problem. 

Pro-lifers turn historical abortion campaign on its head

In case anyone missed it ...

The teaser trailer:

And the big reveal:

This is awesome. I was planning on writing about how our pro-life protests aren't inconvenient enough to get the public's attention - looks like I don't have to do that anymore! Seriously hope this gets people angry enough to start talking. You can read more about the New Abortion Caravan at CCBR's website!

China's War on Women: Quotes from the Culture of Death

I was browsing through the Women's Rights Without Frontiers website, when I came across the video below, where activist Reggie Littlejohn discusses the effect forced abortions and sterilizations have had on Chinese women.

What I wanted to highlight were the comments on this video; most of the recent comments are supportive of these practices. Reading them, it just made me realize the strength of the aptly-called "culture of death" in our society. That the same people who cry "Respect A Woman's Right to Choose" can come out in favor of brutally forcing women to abort wanted children just boggles the mind. I wrote yesterday about how depressing the abortion debate can be, and today it is just more depressing than ever. I never thought pro-lifers would have to argue against forced abortions.

Emphasis in the comments below is my own:

"Somebody needs to control the rabid infestation that is Chinamen and women. Its either they die this way or grow up in poverty and die of starvation. Leaving this horny population unchecked will create far more problems than having a women be punished for breaking the law. Its tough, but you should of realized that before you went and got pregnant for the nth time."
-LOLURCATS

"First you have to understand the overpopulation problem in China"
-royalsociety97

"load of crap"
-minimouse0285

"[...] The reality is for a long time China has [had] trouble maintaining it's enormous population. Unfortunately [people] don't understand the situation in China, and how bad overpopulation is over there. If China revoked it's one child policy and allow the [population] to grow out of control, there is no way this can be sustained. As a Chinese national I don't like this policy either. But unfortunately there are no other options available."
"... millions of people will starve to death. Just look at how bad it is over in India. Their population has exploded and have grew to rival China. Poverty grips the country more than any other place with millions starving to death every year. But at least they don't have any forced abortions. I wonder if this woman would still be talking about being pro life and condemning all the forced abortions if millions of people in China start starving because of overpopulation problems?"
-barbiquearea

"Blah, blah, blah. The fact is these women are not following the LAW.
Follow the law and they would not be forced to abort. 7,000,000,000 is too many people on this Planet. China is overpopulated - there are not enough resources, nor is there an adequate distribution system to adequately supply food, medicine, etc to the millions of poor people. Why should a child be born and then forced to starve? That is absolute cruelty. Better to abort than to starve ... it to death."

"... Forced violence? The fetus has no clue, dude.
You would rather the child be born and then starve to death, or die from disease? That is not compassionate or intelligent. That makes absolutely no sense.
Death from starvation. Yep, that's the answer (end sarcasm).
Overpopulation is a reality. The grace of god is NOT."
"... China is doing the right thing in limiting population growth. [...] Go out [and] MULTIPLY (fuck like rats) until there are no resources left to sustain us? What a JERK. You are blinded by Bible darkness and superstition. Grow up..."

-Jacob12Rivers

"I don't agree how they do it but I do agree that there needs to be a limit of how many children a family can have."
"I think that there should be a max of 2 children per family everywhere. One day this earth will be over populated. There needs to be a limit or I fear it will be the end of our species.
-FutureScience2012

"don't want a one child policy? don't want forced abortions? stop fucking breeding."
-CowieMooCowo87

"[They] need to follow the rules. There is a real need to limit the birth rate in these areas. You are a bleeding-heart. If they followed the rules, there would be no need to force them to practice self-control and use protection. You are a stupid woman. You need to see the bigger picture."
"SO true. OVERPOPULATION is no joke. When there are tough financial times, humans will kill to survive. We need to limit the birth rate world wide."
-angie0009able

"[They] are NOT following the rules. If kids are born and there is overcrowding, shortages of resources including food, water, medical care and the children become [malnourished], sick and die; who is responsible? They know the rules and they selfishly ignore them.

The one-child rule was adopted for a reason. Stop being a religious moron."
"But what happens when we reach critical mass?
What happens when there is a serious problem that damages or disrupts the food chain?
You do know there are starving children around the world, because of food shortages, don't you.
Food resources are NOT plentiful. That's one reason why China has adopted the one-child policy. You need to get your head out of the sand and face reality. There aren't enough jobs now for people everywhere. This is one we are seeing protests and chaos."
-marcusbronson

"I see the problem with forced abortions, which can be a real psychic torture to some women, but someone mind telling me what's the problem with forced sterilization?

After you get 1 or 2 children forced sterilization can only be right..."
-UNNAM3D82

You can read a good analysis on the acceptance of forced abortion from LifeNews: "Pro-Abortion Groups Still Unfazed by Forced Abortions in China"

Relevant quote (emphasis my own):

"Investigations of population control policies reveal an invisible hand of Western elites.  Great Britain recently gave $268 million to India even after being warned that the program commits mass coerced sterilizations.  UNFPA, whose grants paid for training and equipment like computers to calculate birth quotas, praised China’s one-child policy.  Gill Greer, director of IPPF, which includes the China Family Planning Association as a member, said adopting the population 'policy is very conducive to China’s development.'"

Read another great analysis from The National Post: "Chen Guangcheng, China's One Child Policy, and Abortion's Slippery Slope"

Quote of the Week: "He is a hero in the eyes of women"

Chai Ling's Testimony Before the House of Foreign Affairs' Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, and Human Rights:

Chai LIng, the founder of All Girls Allowed,
nominated twice for the Nobel Peace Prize
following her leadership role in the Tiananmen
Square student movement in 1989.

"[I]t grieves me to hear Chen dismissively referred to as 'a single guy'. He is one man; it is true. But he is a symbol - a hero - in the eyes of women, children, and the poor in China. Why? Because he defended them when it was costly, and when no one else would. [...] Often missing from last week's news stories was the cause that defined Chen Guangcheng's work, and led to his imprisonment. [...] The One-Child Policy formally sanctions violence against women. Chen knew this. Chinese authorities jailed him in 2006 after he filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of women who had undergone forced abortions and sterilizations because of the Policy. [...] If you are concerned that such a course is not realistic or pragmatic enough, I humbly ask you to do what is right. It was not economically pragmatic for William Wilberforce to seek an end to the British slave trade. It was not expedient for Martin Luther King to speak out against injustice and then land in a Birmingham jail. Ronald Reagan was not acting with calculated diplomacy when he said, 'Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.' I can think of many instances in history where men and women sacrificed pragmatism for the sake of higher principle. Somehow they invariably ended up on the right side of history. I hope that you will stand on the right side of history in confronting the injustices of our time."

Read more at All Girl's Allowed

Conviction

Secular Pro-life and Bad Catholic have both recently blogged about something that has been bothering me for awhile. How can we, as pro-lifers, go about our daily lives knowing that millions of our fellow human beings are being brutally killed every single day? Not only that, but in Canada, my tax dollars are paying for these atrocities. And yet I still pay taxes, and I happily take advantage of everything else my tax dollars pay for.

How can we pick just one day to protest and, after a few hours, go home feeling satisfied since more people came than last year?

Why aren't there more people who are willing to passionately
witness against abortion? Why am I not more like her?

Sometimes I just feel that we are remarkably useless. Even though I know that every voice who rises up, every person who peacefully protests, every individual who speaks up online or in person, makes a difference, I still feel as if we (or at least, I) have no real conviction. All I know is that I really do understand how atrocities in the past were allowed to happen. I understand how people could have supported chattel slavery, or the holocaust, or infanticide. I understand how slave owners could have brought themselves to brutally abuse "their" slaves, I understand how "Dr." Mengele could have experimented on children, and I understand how the Greeks and Romans could have left their newborn babies to die in the wilderness. I understand because I see it happening today with abortion, forced abortion and gendercide, human trafficking, poverty, and the millions of other tragedies that happen every single day. People justify them, or ignore them, or dehumanize the victims, or convince themselves that it can never happen to them, and then get on with their lives. I am guilty of this too, and I don't see how I could function normally if I wasn't. How can one live day-to-day constantly thinking about everything that is wrong with the world?

Just some food for thought.

From Secular Pro-Life: Is it really so hypothetical?

[in response to a hypothetical situation where an organization chucks two-year-old's into a furnace, and pro-lifers do nothing but say how awful it is]

"People have to live with these kinds of contradictions every day, actually. It's not like people three hundred years ago had no idea how bad the slave trade was. It's not like Americans in the nineteenth century didn't know how awful the Trail of Tears was. It's not like Germans under the Nazi regime really thought it was okay to lock up millions of Jews in concentration camps. These things really happened, not because people were so different from you or me. They happened because normal people like you and me aren't so wonderful as we think we are. It's remarkably easy to justify evil."


From Bad Catholic: Why I Don't Care

"If the March for Life was a march of human beings who saw other human beings as normalizing and legalizing the murder of infants, there would be cars burning in the street. As it turns out, there is no protest in the present age. There is only representation. There is no foolish human action. There is only the support of abstractions. Infants are being killed - we follow the lines the police allow us to follow."

March for Life 2012!!!!

Tomorrow is March for Life 2012 in Ottawa!!!! I won't be going this year since I could not get the time off work/school :'( But I hope as many of you as possible are able to make it out! And if you're able to, make homemade signs - the personal touches really do pack a powerful punch. If, like me, you aren't able to attend, keep updated on the news and be sure to comment favorably on MSM news sources!

I'll be keeping a list of articles I come across which cover our March :)
CBC: Anti-abortion activists tell Harper debate is on
          Anti-abortion protestors demand Tories revisit issue
          Anti-abortion rally
          Anti-abortion protestors march on legislature 
CTV: Pro-life advocates rally on Parliament Hill
The Globe and Mail: Anti-abortionists march on Hill - and vent frustration with Harper
The National Post: Thousands of anti-abortion protestors shut down streets near Parliament Hill
The Toronto Star: Canada's pro-life movement gets slick, youthful rebranding
The Toronto Sun: Anti-abortionists call Harper 'cowardly' for not reopening debate
The Ottawa Citizen: A woman's right to health
                                 Anti-abortion movement rolling out new tactics
The Edmonton Journal: Anti-abortion movement moves to a new generation
Guelph Mercury: March by anti-abortion protestors shuts down Ottawa streets
London Free Press: Open the abortion debate
The Star Phoenix: Youth out in force at Ottawa anti-abortion rally
Canada.com: Anti-abortion movement rolling out new tactics
Metro: Mayor defends city's pro-life proclamation ahead of National March for Life
Xtra!: March for Life takes over the Capital   
CNews: Thousands March for Life against abortion
Digital Journal: Thousands expected on Parliament Hill for 15th National March for Life
580 CFRA: March for Life Today
                   Pro-life protest in downtown Ottawa
680 News: Pro-life activists take aim at Harper over abortion issue
News 1130: Pro-life activists take aim at Harper
                    Pro-life advocates protest on Parliament Hill

Pictures:
National March for Life blog
LifeSiteNews

Sign Petition for Chen Guangcheng

link

Please sign and spread the word!

Jill Stanek and LiveAction have some great articles on where things currently stand.

UPDATE 03/04/2012:

Some other great articles from:
SecularProlife
Abort73
CCBR
LifeSiteNews

Chen was forced to leave the US embassy because his family's lives were threatened. "Like" the Free Chen GuangCheng Facebook page and make sure you sign petitions, tweet, or post about this story to help him and his family, and especially help the woman, He Peirong, who helped him escape and who is believed to have been detained by the Chinese government! This man and his supporters are ridiculously brave.

UPDATE 14/05/2012: An article from Catholic Lane

UPDATE 17/05/2012: An article from EWTN
                                     An article from Press of Atlantic City

VOTE on CBC and CTV!

Hi Everyone! So there are two polls that I know of in the MSM on Motion 312, which was brought to the House by MP Stephen Woodworth. It is a review on the question of when human life begins because, according to Canadian law, someone is not a human being until the moment of birth.

Obviously that is the most archaic, unscientific definition of human life ever. SO! If you agree, you really should really go vote in the MSM polls. Currently, the pro-life side is not doing too well so it'd be great to even it out a bit and show that our voices can be heard! With the March For Life coming up, and this Motion being debated in Parliament, its more important than ever to make sure that you have a say in the public discussions on abortion and human life.

Here are the polls:
CBC
CTV (scroll about have way down the page for this one)


VOTE and SHARE :)
 And while you're at it, sign the petition in support of Motion 312!

A nice summary of the Motion from Fr. Raymond J. DeSouza.

Quote of the Week: "I choose my own way to burn"

Sophie Scholl and other members of the White Rose resistance group. Image from Wikipedia.

 
“The real damage is done by those millions who want to 'survive.' The honest men who just want to be left in peace. Those who don’t want their little lives disturbed by anything bigger than themselves. Those with no sides and no causes. Those who won’t take measure of their own strength, for fear of antagonizing their own weakness. Those who don’t like to make waves—or enemies. Those for whom freedom, honour, truth, and principles are only literature. Those who live small, mate small, die small. It’s the reductionist approach to life: if you keep it small, you’ll keep it under control. If you don’t make any noise, the bogeyman won’t find you. But it’s all an illusion, because they die too, those people who roll up their spirits into tiny little balls so as to be safe. Safe?! From what? Life is always on the edge of death; narrow streets lead to the same place as wide avenues, and a little candle burns itself out just like a flaming torch does. I choose my own way to burn.”
-Sophie Scholl

Petition in Support of Motion 312

Sign and spread the word! So far there are 2096 signatures - lets see if we can get that number up by a couple of orders of magnitude.

Seriously, share now. We have a really rare chance to be heard in parliament, another one might not come along for awhile!

Stephen Woodworth discusses the motion: