August 11, 2023
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.
It’s great to be back from a week of vacation with my family. I’ll tell you more about where we went and what we did in my reflection at the bottom.
This week’s top news is that the Christian Heritage Party has filed papers to officially contest the City of Hamilton’s decision to ban its ad poster of a photo of a woman with the caption “Woman: An Adult Female.” You can read more about that in a blog I wrote.
CLC has launched a national campaign to have Planned Parenthood banned from schools across Canada after the pro-abortion organization allowed children to access flashcards on how to perform harmful and perverted acts of a sexual nature. Please add your name to our petition by tapping here.
A group with pro-life beliefs is suing the Québec government after the government canceled the group’s event specifically over the group’s pro-life beliefs. I’m glad to see a pro-life group stand up to this big bully.
There’s more and more news about Muslims standing up against LGBT ideology in schools. This week there are two stories, one about a “million person” march being scheduled by a Muslim man in Ottawa, and the other about a Muslim mother who is facing the heat for her outspoken defense of her children from sex activists.
Finally, if you are a pro-life and pro-family healthcare practitioner, the Canadian Physicians for Life have launched a service that may come in handy for you when it comes to ethical dilemmas. You can read about that below.
Top Canadian pro-life stories you need to know about
Campaign Life Coalition: Canadian city doesn’t want residents to know what a 'woman' is
“The City of Hamilton banned an ad that showed a modestly dressed young lady and a caption reading, ‘Woman: An Adult Female.’”
Campaign Life Coalition: Time to ban Planned Parenthood from Canadian schools
"Schools have now become hijacked by sex activists."
Campaign Life Coalition: Is “Trans Care” an Eventual Death Sentence?
“The LGBT movement is beginning to reap the seeds of confusion and destruction it has sown in our society over the last several decades. There is no more hiding the bitter fruits of its perverted agenda to eradicate God’s good design for human sexuality, gender, marriage, and family.”
Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms: Pro-life group sues Québec government for forcing event cancellation
“It is simply not acceptable that anyone should suffer discrimination at the hands of government on account of religion or political opinion. We take governments to court to ensure that governments respect the fundamental rights and freedoms of all Canadians.”
LifeSiteNews: Pro-life group condemns Alberta town bylaw restricting distribution of unborn baby images
“The newly passed bylaw not only targets photographs of abortion victims, but any ultrasound images of pre-born children.”
The Post Millennial: Canadian Muslims to stage 'Million Person March' to protest against Trudeau Liberal's push for LGBTQ indoctrination in schools
“Ottawa businessman and Muslim activist Kamel El-Cheikh is organizing a Million Person March to protest gender ideology and "Pride" month in schools. He told The Post Millennial that his goal is to bring together a million Canadians of all faiths from coast to coast on Sept. 20.”
True North: Muslim mom told to 'go back to her country' for opposing 'gender ideology'
“‘You cannot imagine the amount of threats, insults I am getting just because I am saying I want my children to be educated without gender ideology,’ said Bahira Abdulsalam, an educator and Toronto mother.”
Run with Life: MAID proponents write paper to justify euthanasia for social reasons
“Canada's MAID regime just keeps rolling forward. There doesn't seem to be any way to stop this deadly runaway train.”
Euthanasia Prevention Coalition: Québec Commission on End-of-Life Care warns that some euthanasia deaths do not comply with the law
“The President of Québec's Commission on End-of-Life Care sent a letter to euthanasia doctors urging them to stop abusing the law.”
Euthanasia Prevention Coalition: The euthanasia lobby is pushing for child and infant euthanasia
“Euthanasia of infants with disabilities (infanticide) has been advocated by the Québec College of Physicians and is already approved in the Netherlands based on the Groningen Protocol and Belgium even though infants are not capable of requesting or consenting for death to be inflicted upon them.”
“A former registered nurse in Vancouver who worked with children and youth has been found guilty of possessing more than one million images and 15,000 videos of children being sexually abused. Despite referring to himself as a “pedophile” and owning a large collection of pornographic content involving minors, Derek Paul Roelofsen, 45, was released on a 12-month conditional sentence and three years’ probation by a Vancouver Provincial Court judge.”
Canadian Physicians for Life: Doctors with ethics launch Case Consult Service
Canadian Physicians for Life has launched a resource for healthcare practitioners who would like help addressing an ethical question or problem related to a patient’s care. Some of the issues that the service covers are: Surrogate decision-making, Potentially inappropriate treatment, Refusal of recommended treatment or plan, Conscientious objection, Duty to care, etc.
Inspiring stories to give you hope
Live Action: Pregnant at 17, Gemma refused to allow fear to rob her of the joy of motherhood
“Seventeen years old, living away from her family, and freshly out of a relationship she described as ‘toxic,’ Gemma Howard was struck with fear when she learned she was pregnant.”
Epoch Times: ‘TikTok Influencers Made Me Think I Was Transgender—Now I’m De-Transitioning,’ Says Montana Teen Girl
“A teenage girl says she is de-transitioning after being influenced to wrongly identify as a boy by TikTok users.”
Live Action: Second baby surrendered in Kentucky Safe Haven Baby Box this year
“A baby was successfully surrendered last week in a Safe Haven Baby Box in Bowling Green, Kentucky, marking the second time this year that an infant has been surrendered in that particular location. Another child was surrendered in February, less than two months after the baby box was first installed.”
Pregnancy Help News: Assisted by pregnancy help, teen parents who chose life graduate from high school
“Young parents Zayda and Cole benefitted from pregnancy help and have continued with their lives while raising their daughter Delia, including graduating from high school recently, demonstrating that an unplanned pregnancy does not have to end one’s dreams.”
Awesome pro-life social media posts this week
Campaign Life Coalition
LifeNews
Abby Johnson
Must-see video of the week
Adam Smith-Connor, army veteran and father, has pled “not guilty” to charges related to breaking a UK local “buffer zone” regulation by praying silently, in his mind. Smith-Connor was issued a fine by local authorities after he was caught praying silently near an abortion facility on Orphir Road, Bournemouth, and was questioned as to “the nature of his prayer”. Here’s the video of his original January 2023 encounter with the police. May God bless Adam and help him win this fight.
Take Action
Sign our new petition to have Planned Parenthood banned from Canadian schools. Tap here to add your name.
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Maureen, last week, my family and I attended a Catholic family retreat in Quebec. During this time, I detached from my phone, along with the problems of the world, and spent time focusing on my family and living my faith.
Going to a Nazareth Family Retreat is truly a life-changing experience. The day begins with a wake-up call at 7:30 where the host family leads the older children in singing “Rise and shine, and give God the glory” while the children bang on pots and pans, going from cabin to cabin to wake up each family. Then there’s breakfast followed by Mass in the chapel for the whole camp.
Then comes my favourite part.
This is where the parents attend a conference while their children are watched by camp helpers. A presenting couple gives a talk/testimony on the issues that every married couple faces when dealing with married life and parenting. Topics include living family life as a vocation; how parents live out their un-renounceable authority over their children, especially when it comes to their children’s spiritual and educational formation; how to live out the Church’s teaching on fertility and openness to life; how purity is a pillar of marital life and how to live it out.
Couples shared their stories and journeys when dealing with these issues in their own families. I was moved many times by how deeply the couples were sharing and how much they opened up about what was really happening in their marriages and in their families.
There were many tears as couples shared their struggles. We went through a few boxes of tissues. And, there was laughter as they shared their joys.
Hearing someone else’s story has a way of softening the heart, making the listeners reflect on their own lives and begin to evaluate if their marriage and family life are healthy or in need of improvement.
Healing comes for couples in the sharing and in the listening.
The afternoons in the camp are devoted to swimming with your children at the fabulous beach, playing volleyball or soccer, building sandcastles, or, if needed, sometimes taking a nap!
In the evenings are prayer times, campfires, music around the bonfire, singing, and playing board games.
My children love attending this camp. And, it helped my wife Erin and I grow closer together as a couple.
I came back from the week-long retreat rejuvenated and ready to get back to the battle lines where marriage, family, and children are under assault.
The week away helped me to realize just how important are the battles being fought today, and how necessary they are to fight.
Children are being targeted like never before by an enemy that wants to destroy their lives (abortion), their innocence (pornography), and even their bodies (transgenderism). The family is under assault like never before. One of the Fatima seers once warned that the final battle between Satan and God would be over marriage and the family. We seem to be in the midst of such a battle.
I’ve come back from the retreat renewed in spirit, ready once more, to stand firm with the belt of truth around my waist, the breastplate of righteousness in place, taking up the shield of faith, wearing the helmet of salvation, and taking up the sword of the Spirit, as St. Paul puts it.
Be bold and daring for life!