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.

There are a few important stories about euthanasia this week.  British Columbia is pressuring a Catholic healthcare provider to allow the sick and the elderly to be killed on its premises. There’s evidence that Ontario is using palliative-care dollars to fund euthanasia. And, the number of people being killed by MAiD in Ontario continues to skyrocket.

Some good news on the parental rights front is that Toronto’s public school system is allowing parents to opt out of having their children subjected to drag queen storytime events…at least for now. Surprisingly, even Ontario’s Ministry of Education weighed in, stating that “we expect school boards to respect parental decisions when it comes to their children.” I had to laugh when comparing how this news was rightly covered by the conservative-leaning Counter Signal as a win for parents and by the leftist Toronto Star as a violation of LGBT rights.

There’s an excellent piece by Barbara Kay about taking seriously the promise of LGBT activists that they’re “coming” for children. She convincingly makes the case that grooming children into homosexual practices, and making it acceptable to do it legally and institutionally, is the real goal of the homosexual movement.

Lou Jacobelli has written about the new film “Sound of Freedom” which reveals the evil world of child sex trafficking.

Finally, the LifeSiteNews 25th Anniversary Canadian gala takes place this coming Tuesday, July 18, in Markham, Ontario. You can find out more about the event and buy a ticket to attend here.

Top Canadian pro-life stories you need to know about

Campaign Life Coalition: New Brunswick Child Advocate Seeking Input

“Kelly Lamrock, the Child Advocate, is conducting a public consultation on the changes Premier Higgs' government made to Policy 713. This consultation is gathering public opinion and feedback, which will form the basis for a final report to be delivered to the government on August 15.”

The Interim: Quebec prayer rally cancelled because hosting organization’s pro-life links

“The government of Quebec recently shut down a religious event that was set to take place in a state-funded facility, due to the group’s pro-life views.”

ARPA: British Columbia pressuring religious health care provider to provide euthanasia… again

“In a province that is in dire need of more palliative care beds (and more health care capacity in general), the Premier and the Health Minister shouldn’t be picking ideological battles with religious health care providers. Instead, to better serve its citizens, the government should be asking: how can we form more, new, and better partnerships with faith-based institutions to provide the services that British Columbians need?”

Catholic Register: Ontario Ministry of Health funds euthanasia with palliative dollars, pro-lifers claim

“Euthanasia Prevention Coalition executive director Alex Schadenberg and pro-life blogger Patricia Maloney have channeled the mystery-cracking spirit of Sherlock Holmes in a quest to determine how much the Ontario government is paying for medical assistance in dying (MAiD). While they could not uncover a monetary account of the MAiD landscape in Canada’s largest province, they made a discovery that should raise some pressing questions for the Ontario Ministry of Health: palliative care bill codes are apparently being used for euthanasia procedures.”

LifeSiteNews: Ontario projected to see 5,000 euthanasia deaths in 2023 alone

“The Canadian province of Ontario has seen deaths by state-sanctioned euthanasia skyrocket by 25 percent in the first five months of 2023, meaning the province is on track to see a whopping 5,000 die via the grim procedure this year alone.”

The Counter Signal: SANITY PREVAILS: Ontario Ministry of Education supports parents holding their children back from attending drag queen story time

“Despite pushback from far-left activist groups, the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) and the Ontario Ministry of Education are standing firm in allowing parents to opt-out from having their children subjected to drag queen story time events.”

LifeSiteNews: Catholic school board votes against motion to prohibit radical LGBT flag at district schools

“A Catholic district school board late last month voted against a motion that would have banned the flying of the divisive LGBT “pride” flag at district schools.”

True North: “No secrets”: Windsor parents hold protest against gender ideology

“Windsor parents, students and allies gathered in front of NDP MPP Lisa Gretzky’s office to protest against the local public school board’s controversial gender policy and its recent decision to ban parents from meetings.”

Epoch Times: Barbara Kay: When They Say ‘We’re Coming for Your Children,’ Believe Them

“A recent video clip of naked Pride marchers chanting ‘We’re here, we’re queer, we’re coming for your children’ went viral.”

Every Day For Life Canada: Sound of Freedom: the evil of child sex trafficking

“It’s an American film that tells the true story of the evil of child trafficking around the world. It stars Jim Caviezel as the real Tim Ballard who worked for Homeland Security arresting people who possessed and distributed child pornography.”

Inspiring stories to give you hope

Live Action: DOUBLE DELIVERY: Identical twin brothers welcome grandchildren on same day… and there’s more

“Abby Lancaster and Rachel Timmons have always been close as cousins. Part of the reason is because their dads, Alan Wells and Brian Wells, are identical twins. So it was an exciting surprise for the whole family when the women each gave birth to their first children on the exact same day.”

Epoch Times: Girl Born With Feet Facing Backward Walks Again After Life-Saving Surgery, Dreams to Become a Gymnast

“A ‘one in a million’ amputee who was born with both legs bent backward is now dreaming of becoming a gymnast after undergoing a third successful surgery to save her left leg.”

Live Action: Los Angeles hospital NICU has ‘baby boom’ with quadruplets and 10 sets of twins

“Cedars-Sinai Guerin Children’s Hospital in Los Angeles is experiencing what they’re calling a ‘baby boom,’ with a high rate of multiples being cared for at their neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).”

Pregnancy Help News: Teen publishes book about foster care and adoption

“An adopted teenager in Bismarck, N.D., wants to start a conversation about foster care and adoption. So, she wrote a book, which is now available for purchase.”

Awesome pro-life social media posts this week

Campaign Life Coalition

Lila Rose

Abby Johnson

Must-see video of the week

The Supreme Court Changed My Sex Life Forever: This is pro-life satire at its best. This video from Live Action does a great job of exposing the insanity of far-left thinking when it comes to relationships and responsibility. Note: This video is meant for an older audience and is not suited for children. 

Take Action

Sign our new petition asking RCMP to investigate deaths of babies born alive after failed abortion. Sign here.

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Maureen, last week, my parents Ted and Theresa celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. They renewed their commitment to each other at a special religious ceremony. Part of their ceremony included the singing of Psalm 128, which in part states:

Your wife like a fruitful vine
in the heart of your house;
your children like shoots of the olive,
around your table.

It was a fitting psalm for my parents. Their marriage has been fruitful with 12 sons and two daughters. Most of these have married, producing the fruit of 64 grandchildren. My wife Erin and I are responsible for 8 of those grandchildren. Praise God!

Many, but not all, of my brothers and sisters have gone on to live a life of faithfulness to the Lord. And, many of them are teaching their children to do the same.

I was filled with hope while looking at the multitude of my nieces and nephews who came to celebrate my parents’ love and fidelity to each other.

I saw in my parents’ grandchildren the realization of their efforts to restore and build up a culture of life. I saw in them a hope that no matter how dark the world becomes, there will always be a remnant who carries on the torch of life, love, faith, and joy to the next generation.

There’s truth in the saying that fecundity wins the culture war. To retake the culture, faithful Christians must have large families, and train them in the ways of the Lord so that these can become the light and salt of the world.

May God bless my parents for their openness to life and their often heroic efforts to pass on a living faith to their children.

And, may God bless all parents today who are open to life and who seek to raise a new generation of faithful followers of God. We know that God is faithful and present today because He is always raising up a new generation of people who seek to do His will. Large Christian families are a testimony to God’s faithfulness.

So, are you a young person and want to change the culture for the good? Find someone God-fearing, get married, and have a large family. As John Paul II always pointed out, the family is the cell of society. Strong families create a strong society. The restoration of our country depends on strong families.

Be bold and daring for life!