For Immediate Release

May 15, 2009

The Missing: 3.2 million Canadians lost to abortion

40 years after abortion was first permitted in Canada , 3.2 million Canadians under the age of 40 are missing from our country.

Unborn babies are not protected from abortion at any stage of pregnancy. Detailed information is missing on 60,000 abortions annually, and Canadians who want protection for the unborn are shut out of public debate. It is time for Canada to face the truth about abortion and make the facts available to the public.

One year ago LifeCanada coordinated an ad campaign that ran in nearly every province with the message “9 months—the length of time abortion is allowed in Canada . Have we gone too far?” Ad Standards Canada, the industry body that regulates advertising, said the ads were deceptive and banned them, after three complaints.

In fact, the ads state the truth. Abortion is permitted at any stage of pregnancy in Canada . The most recent statistics available from Statistics Canada, for 2005, show at least 534 abortions were performed after 20 weeks when the baby is considered viable. However, since abortion providers are not required report details about abortion, we do not know the gestational age for 60% of the abortions performed that year. So the number of post-viability abortions is likely much higher. There are no official policies or guidelines on a provincial level that ban second or third trimester abortions, as recent research by the Library of Parliament confirmed. There is no penalty for performing an abortion past a certain stage of pregnancy.

“These ads should not have been censored,” said Gudrun Schultz, executive director of LifeCanada. “Shutting down the debate on abortion ignores a majority of Canadians who want some protection for the unborn.”

An Environics poll commissioned by LifeCanada last year found nearly 60% don’t support the current situation with no legal or medical restrictions on abortion whatsoever. A survey conducted by Angus Reid last fall found that 92% of Canadians don’t know the facts on abortion in our country.

“Are we suppressing the truth about abortion in order to maintain the status quo? Why is information missing for nearly two-thirds of abortions each year? Canada is a democracy—hiding information is unacceptable. This issue is important to Canadians and they have the right to know the facts.”

For more information contact Gudrun Schultz at 613-722-1552 or Dr. Delores Doherty at 709-754-2068.