Archives for 2008

Pro-life demonstrators? What Pro-life demonstrators?

May 9, 2008 by Véronique Bergeron Leave a Comment

Ottawa March for Life 2008

In local Ottawa news yesterday, 2 broken water pipes caused traffic nightmares. But if you were driving through Ottawa’s downtown core, as I was, in the afternoon, you could not miss the 8,000 marchers who paralyzed circulation around Parliament Hill. CBC radio was probably caught in some “ethical” dilemma, having to choose between reporting what goes on in Ottawa – 4 main downtown arteries filled by 8,000 people – and having to acknowledge pro-life demonstrators. Because driving down Metcalfe around 2 pm, I was shocked by the size of the March for Life. Up came the 2 o’clock local newscast and I was thinking “For sure, they’ll have to mention the march, if only to accuse it of clogging up downtown!” But no! Not a word! Not a word at 3 pm either. Not a word. The broken water pipes got the royal treatment.

See no evil Hear no evil
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Tanya adds: The Ottawa Citizen didn’t have a problem accepting money to advertise for the March for Life, though. Ahh, scruples…

http://shopping.ottawacitizen.canada.com/ROP/ads.aspx?advid=836404

A difficult “hero,” indeed

May 9, 2008 by Andrea Mrozek Leave a Comment

Abortion is a personal and private matter, unless you’re on a crusade to change the law, in which case writing the prime minister to highlight just who you’ve conducted abortions on is entirely appropriate. So desperate was Dr. Henry Morgentaler to legalize the practice that he wrote a personal letter to Dear Pierre detailing how he had done abortions on members of Trudeau’s family and other politicians…

The letter, reported on in Maclean’s and by Terry O’Neill, was written in August 1973.

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Brigitte is flabbergasted: How come everybody is so shy about using the term blackmail to describe, well, blackmail? He writes:

Do you know that in my clinic, I have helped wives, daughters, mistresses and relatives of members of the Federal and Provincial Cabinet, including some relatives of yours?

And then he says:

I also want to assure you that if I refer to prominent people having had safe abortions in my clinic it is not with the intention of embarrassing anyone but only to bring into stronger focus the hypocrisy and absurdity of the law.

I’m not buying it. Had I been in Trudeau’s shoes I certainly would have felt threatened by that letter. Which, as Terry O’Neil notes in his piece, “is perhaps a testament to the strength of Trudeau’s character that he refused to budge from his position, even though Morgentaler’s letter could be viewed as a none-too-thinly-veiled threat that, failing to amend the law, names would be named and alleged hypocrites exposed.” Indeed. You can say a lot of unflattering things about Trudeau (I have done so myself, more than once), but he was no pushover.

The question nobody ever asks

May 8, 2008 by Brigitte Pellerin Leave a Comment

There’s an interesting review out this morning by our very own Andrea Mrozek (yes, Andrea has a life outside PWPL) on a British childcare report Canadians ought to know about. So many aspects of the childcare debate are neglected – including this one, which I had never thought about before reading Maggie Gallagher’s most excellent Enemies of Eros:

This is a perfectly obvious question and yet it is one we seldom ask. Where are the warmhearted substitute caregivers going to come from in a society which increasingly declines to celebrate children, child rearing, and mothering? Values are funny things. We cannot insistently warn women that childbearing is a potential trap and childraising a degrading preoccupation, and then expect the day care industry to be flooded with eager, commited, emotionally-giving workers.

Indeed. If we keep telling girls and young women that only social retards think staying home (or in a home-like setting) to care for snotty toddlers all day is a fun and worthwhile activity, where are we going to get the high-quality “educators” we need to make a national day care system be more than just a reasonably safe-ish place to park your kids?

The quote above is on page 102 of Enemies of Eros. The book was published in 1989, and it rings terrifyingly true in 2008. I only read it recently and if you haven’t read it yet I heartily encourage you to do so.

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Andrea adds: It’s not much of a life, but I’ll concede your point. Anyway, I felt encouraged reading that British childcare study… Because it says women want to care for their kids. And cost is not a factor inhibiting them from using daycare: It’s values and ideology, as per the report.

The other takeaway from that UK childcare report is this: DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT trust executive summaries. I was shocked to see how the UK government had concealed valuable results of their own surveys.

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Tanya adds: Hmm… warmhearted substitute caregivers are more likely to come from a society that celebrates children. To celebrate them, a society needs to be having children, I’d say. Is this why, every time I meet an actual super-nanny (by super-nanny, I’m referring to one who hugs and kisses, dotes on and teaches), she’s actually not a Westerner? She’s from a country with a healthy population pyramid, like the Philippines.

http://www.nationmaster.com/country/rp-philippines/Age-_distribution

Has anyone looked at our population pyramid lately?

http://www.census.gov/cgi-bin/ipc/idbpyrs.pl?cty=CA&out=s&ymax=250

Pointing out the obvious, it does NOT look like a pyramid.

“I didn’t know”

May 8, 2008 by Andrea Mrozek Leave a Comment

Ok, so one blogger links to another and so it goes. Blaise drew my attention to Feministing, who both in turn drew my attention to Pam Stenzel.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0ezYNWIDB0]

Now Feministing can say she’s lying and dangerous as much as she wants–but young girls are going to like her. Why? Because she can relate to them. A while ago, I admitted that as a teen or even university student, I’d have rather been dead than pregnant. First time now, I’m hearing an experienced counsellor say she sees this mentality all the time. But she doesn’t go on to say what I might: That it’s not the end of the world to be pregnant, let’s gain some long term perspective and help each other out… She says for a girl that age, unmarried, not done school, the options once pregnant are bad, worse and terrible. What she’s doing is conveying the notion that there is no “undo” button, something our friends at the condom companies understand, but our feminist friends do not.

Pam Stenzel will do well because she’s telling the truth. And Feministing can’t change that, even if she doesn’t like it.

P.S. Stenzel is bang on about the cause of poverty in America–and Canada–today.

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Tanya adds: This is absolutely a video every woman (mother or not) should watch the whole hour through. (YouTube provides it in 10 minute segments.)

Maybe fish who have bicycles respect the value of other fish more highly

May 7, 2008 by Rebecca Walberg Leave a Comment

Starbucks has these little inspiration quotes on their paper cups. Some of them are odd, some of them are worth a moment’s thought. Newt Gingrich, for instance, is quoted as saying that “in the battle of ideas, winning requires marching toward the sound of cannons” (from memory – can’t find it online.) That’s good advice for anybody on the side of traditional families, these days – criticism means you’re goring sacred cows, which is in our case a good thing.

On cup #256, we have a gem from Gloria Steinem, and this is a direct quote since I’m holding a macchiato in my hand:

Women’s bodies are valued as ornaments. Men’s bodies are valued as instruments.

This is one of the more ridiculous things I’ve seen attributed to her, and there is plenty of competition for that title. Could anyone who has given birth seriously think this way? Feminism, with its championing of risky birth control, unlimited abortion, and the proposition that women should be as promiscuous and callous as men at their historical worst, places far less value on women’s bodies, never mind their hearts and souls, than the good old patriarchy ever did.

“You don’t have the right to challenge it”

May 7, 2008 by Brigitte Pellerin Leave a Comment

Interesting confrontation at Louisiana State University. I find this dude’s reason to dismantle the pro-life (or anti-abortion, your pick) display very illuminating.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5NeLyMZUYM]

[h/t Michelle Malkin]

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Véronique is shaking her head in disbelief: What about the bit where he complains about not being allowed to exercise his freedom of speech? You mean the freedom of speech you are denying to the pro-life protesters?

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Andrea’s comment was going to be: that he is not offended by the display, or the crosses row on row, but rather, he is offended by what they stand for. Sometimes, a picture is worth a thousand words, however, so this from today’s National Post should do nicely. Any reports of someone tearing down this display? Didn’t think so. (They were placed in support of British Columbia’s supervised drug injection site.)

Not all strong women are CEOs

May 7, 2008 by Andrea Mrozek Leave a Comment

Rose Rock, mom to comedian Chris Rock is interviewed in Maclean’s. She had ten kids, fostered seven and says this:

Q: You must have liked being pregnant.

A: I did. When I say that to people, they go, “What?!” But I loved the fact that God gave me that gift. I’ve never gotten over the feeling that I’m the first person that ever gave birth, because I’m so in awe of the fact that I have the ability to carry life. And everybody was so happy waiting for the baby, even the older children.

Sounds like a strong woman to me. Compare and contrast then, because I have to be a bitter pill somewhere, with those pro-choice activists who declare that “women are not incubators.” True enough… To them–women are not incubators, merely robots, capable of having sex, who then use their God-given gifts to sit at very important desk jobs.

I have to go push some paper now. Important paper, though.

Oh, I get it!

May 7, 2008 by Tanya Zaleski Leave a Comment

Ever since I saw this, I’ve been thinking more about why abstinence is a bad word. Reading this, it became pretty clear. (If you enjoyed that read, you’re in luck. Hundreds of similar articles are published every day.)

If we adults choose to live like an episode of Sex and the City, preaching abstinence to our teens seems outlandishly hypocritical. Gracious, no one wants to be a hypocrite!

That, and “do as I say – not as I do” has never been a very effective parenting technique.

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Brigitte is laughing her little head off: My favourite part in the age-difference discussion?

Family members seem to be a popular gauge on both ends of the scale: ‘They have to be older than my younger brother,’ another woman tells me.
Of course, it also depends on whether you’re planning on doing more than sleeping with the person. ‘I mean, is it just sex or am I going to have to have breakfast with the guy and attempt conversation?’ a young woman in her 30s asks.

But, our middle-agish woman also had a problem with this distinction. ‘Sleeping with people is a type of relationship, isn’t it?’

Yes, honey, it is.

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Andrea is also laughing:

Having said that, however, as a friend in Vancouver so aptly put it, ‘It is still a great ego boost when a guy ten years younger than you makes it quite apparent that he’s got it bad for you!’

Ain’t no “ego-boost” large enough to compensate for the lack of self-esteem that would allow a woman to think someone younger than her wanting to sleep with her constitutes a compliment. I mean, imagine that… a young testosterone-filled guy wanting to have sex. With me. Sweep me right off my feet.

Breastfeeding and intelligence

May 6, 2008 by Véronique Bergeron Leave a Comment

Now, I know that this is a prolife blog and breastfeeding isn’t technically prolife material. But hey, unborn babies eventually need to be fed. The link may be tenuous but here I go.

Like everything childbirth, those who have had the great privilege of (a) giving birth, and (b) deciding how to feed their infant, know that there is no easier way to be shot at than to unravel the breast vs bottle issue. (Well, actually, prolife blogging is a pretty sure-fire way of being called names–I would link to some of them but it seems that most pro-abortion bloggers cannot criticize without a generous helping of profanities, at least those who link to us.) But back to breastfeeding. McGill researchers have just published a study linking breastfeeding to higher intelligence. Read the news release here.

Now, for the disclaimer: I have 5 children, all of them were breastfed to a certain extent. 3 of them had their first bottle by their 3rd week, one of them was supplemented with formula from birth. Some of them were weaned the hard way, some of them weaned on their own. I’ve had about every breastfeeding joy and tribulation found in books and even some not found in books. And, dare I say it, all my children are brilliant AND cute as buttons. I honestly don’t care how you fed your baby nor for how long you breastfed. I only care that you fed your baby and if not, that child welfare authorities have been notified. Okay?

Back to McGill researchers. What I find interesting is that breastfeeding has been linked to higher intelligence. Given that breastfeeding is how human babies should be fed in the big scheme of things, shouldn’t we say that breastfeeding is linked to normal intelligence and artificial feeding linked to lower intelligence? On that topic, I found this article very interesting. Warning: do not follow the link if you don’t want to be challenged on breast vs. artificial feeding or if you can’t stand a white font against light blue background.

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Andrea compliments Véronique on her amazing knack for putting together a line of almost non-sequiturs and keeping me interested and laughing in the process. And I don’t even have children to feed. But I won’t read the link because of the light blue background–and their choice of font. Terrible.

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Rebecca’s theory on breastfeeding and IQ: the intelligence flows straight out of the maternal brain, out the mammaries, and into the baby.

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Patricia adds: Hear, hear, Rebecca.

I have nursed to some degree or another all five of my kids, in most cases up to about 13 months. (All of my kids seemed to have lost interest at about that stage.) Each time, the first three months have been a grueling ordeal with pain rivalling childbirth and a host of attendant complications most of which are too gruesome to relate. Over the years, I have had help from professionals, La Leche, my breastfeeding friends, etc., so mine is not a case of being uninformed or unsupported. And, finally, every time, I have wondered why I insist upon putting myself, my husband, my other kids and my baby through the process, and I’m still not 100% sure that I did any of us any favours.

I’m read the press release from the McGill study and, while I’m no expert, I was not convinced that their “control” eliminated all the biases in favour of a certain type of mother. According to the press release, the study was “randomized by taking half of the mothers and subjecting them to “an intervention that encouraged prolonged and exclusive breastfeeding” while the other half of mothers continued with their usual maternity hospital and outpatient pediatric care and follow-up. Well, what type of mother do you think was most persuaded by the intervention in support of breastfeeding? I suspect it was mothers who accept that “what is best for their child” is what is recommended by a certain kind of expert, who relies more on those experts than the experience of her mother, who has the time and support to give to the breastfeeding process, who can persist when it doesn’t go well initially, who takes advantage of lactation consultants, etc. And I wonder how often this type of mother has a certain kind of intelligence and a certain determination to interact and stimulate her child that results in that child, at age 6.5, to do well in certain measures of intelligence.

There are all kinds of reasons to breastfeed – my personal favourite is that it’s cheap. (You might think it’s free, but I have such a voracious appetite when I’m breastfeeding that I’m sure there is an added grocery cost.) When it works, it’s lovely and convenient. But then, so is snuggling up to give your baby a nice, peaceful bottle, especially if it provides you with a break from stomach-churning pain. Let’s face it, infant formula has been around for a long time and was developed for a reason.

What I think really bothers me about the “breast is best” argument is that, for many, many women, it seems to set such a high standard of motherhood so as to make it unattainable, impractical, or something that they may undertake once, under the right conditions, but not something that they would want to have part of their lives on an ongoing basis. I’m sure that any woman who saw me weeping and literally gnashing my teeth as I struggled to overcome the pain involved with getting my infant to eat would think “thanks but no thanks” to whole process. To me, the whole argument has an association with a view of childrearing that says “we must have to best at all costs for our little prince/princess” from breast feeding at any price to the dupioni silk baby carrier (I saw one the other day when I was trying to buy a bib for my youngest). And if you can’t provide that, you’re really not trying hard enough to fulfill your child’s entitlement to the “best”. In some ways, that’s a very worthy standard, but it pretty much guarantees that having child will be seen as some extraordinary undertaking rather than part of everyday life.

And don’t even get me started on natural childbirth (which, incidentally, all of mine were, not by intention, believe me) or attachment parenting.

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Tanya agrees: Oh, Patricia, thanks for bringing that up. Didn’t I just feel like the devil the first time I hopped my 2 week old baby up on formula. When you are pregnant, no one seems to mention that breastfeeding might actually be really, really hard.

Here’s a good gauge, now that I have valuable hindsight: If you want to crawl under a rock every single time your newborn cries of hunger, you’re not alone. Breast is not best if it makes mom lose her sanity.

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