February 23, 2024
Dear Maureen, I’m Pete Baklinski and this is your Canadian Pro-Life News Bits where I let you know what’s happening on our country’s pro-life and pro-family front.
Good news! The City of London has temporarily backed away from banning images of preborn babies in the public square after receiving threats of legal action from legal and pro-life groups. While this is good news, the battle is not over yet. The city said it was going back to the drawing board to come up with a by-law that would respect Charter rights to free speech.
In similar news, the pro-life group ARPA has launched a legal challenge against St. Catharines’ by-law that restricts pro-life speech by forcing pro-life advocates to cover flyers that depict images of preborn babies and to place a warning label on them. Please pray for the success of this challenge.
The Canadian 40 days for Life campaign is underway. If you are looking for a great way to pray this Lent, click on the story below to find a location to pray at an abortion mill near you.
My colleague David Cooke has penned an important piece warning about a Federal bill that would delete religious belief as a defense against a charge of “hate speech.” This is an alarming bill that must be opposed and defeated.
Canadian physician Dr. Ramona Coelho has written a powerful piece in Al Jazeera against the real threat of expanding euthanasia to children. This is a must-read.
The story of the leftist Canadian Anti-Hate Network, referred to by some as the Anti-Canadian Hate Network, spreading misinformation about CLC being tied to an Alberta poll on abortion is still being picked up by various media outlets, most recently by Western Standard and Rebel News.
Don't miss my reflection at the end about how pro-lifers rallied together to oppose London's proposed ban on fetal images in the public square.
Top Canadian pro-life stories you need to know about
Campaign Life Coalition: Proposed Canadian law could see Christians jailed for quoting the Bible
“Should Christians be arrested for quoting portions of the Bible in public? Should pastors be charged with a “hate crime” when they preach against certain sins? Should churches be closed if the government does not approve of their beliefs? With the introduction of Bill C-367, all these questions are on the table.”
Campaign Life Coalition: Canadian pro-lifers unite for 40 Days for Life prayer vigils to end abortion
“This winter, there will be hundreds of communities in North America, including several Canadian cities, simultaneously hosting a 40 Days for Life campaign from Wednesday, February 14 to Sunday, March 24, 2024.”
Campaign Life Coalition: Albertans must now ask Danielle Smith to require parental consent for abortion
“Premier Danielle Smith has taken a step in the right direction by protecting the rights of parents in the area of gender ideology. But will she take the next logical step – by protecting parental rights in the area of abortion?”
CTV News: Threats of legal action force London to delay banning pro-life signs in public square
“The proposed update to city hall's Streets By-law would have forbid the public display of ‘an image or photograph showing, or purporting to show, a fetus or any part of a fetus.’”
ARPA: Legal challenge launched against St. Catharines by-law that targets pro-life speech
“The Association of Reformed Political Action (ARPA) Canada has initiated litigation against the City of St. Catharines, challenging the constitutionality and legality of the city’s recently enacted by-law to restrict pro-life speech.”
C-Fam: UN Event Connects the Family with Poverty Reduction
"CLC's Wojciechowski criticized the focus of UN programs on population control through sterilization and abortion: 'we cannot eradicate poverty by eradicating the poor,' he said, adding that 'the family should not be reduced to a mere lifestyle choice.'”
LifeSiteNews: Christian organization sues Quebec for canceling event over pro-life beliefs
“‘We are confident that we will win,’ Pastor Art Lucien said, adding that ‘it’s important to stand against tyranny in these days and against governmental overreach.’”
LifeSiteNews: Archdiocese of Montreal sues Quebec for trying to force Catholic hospice to commit euthanasia
“The Montreal archdiocese has sued to overturn a Quebec law that would force St. Raphael’s Nursing Home to murder the sick and elderly or close its doors.”
Euthanasia Prevention Coalition: Bill to delay expansion of MAiD to mentally ill for three years now in Senate
“We hope for an adoption without amendment by March 1, 2024 due to the scheduled breaks in the Senate’s session. We will be very vigilant, as many Senators oppose delaying the exclusion of MAID for mental disorders.”
Al Jazeera: Canada’s assisted dying regime should not be expanded to include children
“As a mother, I can’t fathom living in a country where the government has the power to assist in the suicides of my children without my consent.”
JCCF: Quebec teacher challenges Education Minister’s gender transition policy
“The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms announces the launch of a constitutional challenge in Quebec’s Superior Court against the Ministry of Education. This action is brought on behalf of a teacher who refused to lie to the parents of a 14-year-old student seeking a female-to-male gender transition, as her school administration had ordered her to do.”
Rebel News: Joe Rogan and Dr. Phil slam the state of parental rights in Canada
“Dr. Phil joined The Joe Rogan Experience earlier this week, where the pair reacted to comments from NDP MP Randall Garrison, who suggested parents don't have rights when it comes to their children.”
Inspiring stories to give you hope
LifeNews: Alabama Supreme Court Rules Human Embryos are Human Beings With Human Rights
“The Supreme Court of Alabama ruled Friday that frozen human embryos conceived in vitro fertilization (IVF) are children, with human rights under state law.”
40 Days for Life: Arkansas Abortion Center Closed Down and Its Building is Now For Sale
“How many 40 Days for Life campaigns does it take to close an abortion facility? It's a question we get asked a lot, and there's no easy answer. But 40 Days for Life participants in Arkansas can tell you that after more than 20 40 Days for Life campaigns, Little Rock Family Planning Services has closed its doors for good!”
UK Right to Life: Mother refuses doctors’ suggestion to abort twin daughter
“Elaine Avery, 37, was excited to be having twins but was told at an early stage that hers was a high-risk pregnancy.”
Epoch Times: ‘My Mom Is My Hero’: Man Conceived in Rape Tells How His Mentally Challenged Teen Mom Fought to Give Him Life
“God had a purpose for my life. I don’t believe God makes mistakes. Every part of my story, the good and the bad, has a role to play.”
Awesome pro-life social media posts this week
40 Days for Life
Alliance for Life
Abby Johnson
Must-see video of the week
Irish pro-life heroine Katie Ascough explains in this 2018 video where her pro-life convictions came from. Her answer is surprising.
Take Action
Please use our online tool to contact your MP asking them to vote against Bill C-367 which would eliminate a key provision in the Criminal Code of Canada that protects the right of Christians to express Bible-based religious beliefs in the public square freely. Click here.
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Maureen, I was heartened to see the pro-life movement and its allies rally to oppose the City of London’s move to ban fetal images in the public square. Groups included the Canadian Centre for Bioethical Reformed represented by the Acacia Group, London Against Abortion, Alliance for Life Ontario, The Democracy Fund, and CLC.
My boss, Jeff Gunnarson, penned a powerful letter to the city about why this proposed bylaw was a bad move. The letter was picked up by CTV and quoted in its online and televised report.
Jeff wrote that abortion stands as one of the darkest chapters in Canadian history, where some four million babies have been erased in the name of “reproductive rights” and “choice” since 1969. He pointed out that images documenting the victims of abortion serve as a powerful reminder of the atrocities that continue to be committed against the youngest members of the human family.
“Banning these images would suppress vital educational tools that foster understanding, empathy, and vigilance against discrimination of the most vulnerable among us–the preborn child,” he wrote.
He argued that the proposed ban sets a dangerous precedent that threatens the broader principles of free speech and expression.
“Freedom of speech is a foundational pillar of our democracy that is enshrined in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms which recognizes that Canada is founded upon the ‘supremacy of God and the rule of law.’ The right to freedom of speech protects not only popular and uncontroversial speech but also dissenting and uncomfortable speech. Suppressing certain viewpoints, no matter how discomforting they may be to some, undermines the very essence of democracy and pluralism,” he wrote.
Jeff urged the city to abandon the bylaw proposal.
His request was also echoed by Alan Honner, Litigation Director of the legal group The Democracy Fund. In his letter to the city, Honner pointed out that the bylaw would “obviously limit” the right to free expression that is protected by the Charter.
“Our concern is that the City of London is being asked to take sides in the political and moral debate about abortion, and to misuse its legislative power to silence one side of that debate,” he wrote. “The municipality does not have jurisdiction to pass such a bylaw, because its objective is to limit expression on the basis of its political or moral content.”
On Tuesday night, the city decided to pause the proposed bylaw and return the whole matter to the drawing board, with one councillor giving the reason that there were “a lot of concerns regarding Charter challenges.”
This is certainly a small victory for the pro-life movement. But, the battle is far from over. London City is being urged by abortion groups to pass this bylaw and the abortion groups will not let up until they get what they want. So, we must be vigilant and be prepared to act if a similar bylaw comes before the council.
Still, what happened at the council meeting goes to show what the pro-life movement is capable of achieving when we work together to defend God’s babies.
Be bold and daring for life!