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Hope does spring eternal

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It’s Easter and Passover and so in lieu of trolling the news for interesting abortion-related items, I offer instead the opportunity to give to good causes. Seems fitting.

We have options: First Place Pregnancy Centre (Ottawa), Options 360 (Washington State), and Aid to Women (Toronto). Finally, you can always buy a T-shirt from ProWomanProLife.

First Place Pregnancy Centre–good people, and they offer choices to women in the true sense of the word, not the distorted one. A great crisis pregnancy centre in Ottawa, not too far from where I live and work. They offer real options to women. They aren’t a centre that just gives a bag of diapers and a pat on the back—they see women through the whole process of having a child that she wasn’t prepared to have. Counselling in these circumstances and offering full and total information before birth or abortion is something not a single pro-choice agency will do—and counseling through the baby’s birth and into the future is Expensive with a Cap E. Please give if you can. 

If you live on the west coast, consider Options 360 in Washington State. Located next door to Planned Parenthood, Sarah Doll who works there say they can hear the suction machine–that’s the sound of lives being lost. How do I know about Options 360 you ask? Because Sarah Doll is the wife of Cyril Doll, and I used to work at The Western Standard with Cyril. Were it not for Cyril, there might not be a ProWomanProLife. He took a leave from work and planned a walk across Canada to fight abortion. I was very inspired by that. I know that there are others doing good pro-life work in this country. But to be honest, I never really took special note because they had always been doing it–and it became part of the pro-life landscape. Cyril up and left a regular job to follow his heart–which apparently involved walking across one of the world’s largest countries in support of life. Inspiring. So support his wife’s group if you can. 

Finally, Aid to Women is having a fundraiser on April 18th. Aid to Women is also right next door to an abortion clinic in Toronto and is run by the indefatigable Nicole Lau. A spunkier young woman you will not find. There will be music at her event and I believe the Archbishop is speaking, if I’m not mistaken. She asks you to call her for tickets if you are interested at 416-921-6016. The theme is “Hope Springs Eternal.” 

And hope does indeed spring eternal. Happy Easter season to all. 

What Planned Parenthood Ottawa just doesn’t (appear to) do

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Say you are facing a crisis pregnancy and you need crisis pregnancy counseling. Where do you go?

 

If charitable agency filings with Canadian Revenue Agency are correct, not Planned Parenthood. Planned Parenthood Edmonton and Waterloo devote 30 per cent of the budget to crisis counselling, and though it’s not clear, Planned Parenthood Toronto may do the same. Planned Parenthood Ottawa—only 5 per cent.

 

The others? None.

 

How Planned Parenthood spends its resources is copied below. But check the Canada Revenue Agency to see for yourself. 

 

Could be that I’m missing something. Maybe they offer counseling and don’t itemize it that way for Revenue Canada. But right now it sure does look hypocritical that Planned Parenthood Ottawa would complain about places like First Place Pregnancy Centre. First Place is just doing what Planned Parenthood appears not to: Ongoing crisis counseling and long-term support.

 

 

The following is taken from the Revenue Canada website:  

Program areas: The three primary areas in which the charity is now carrying on programs to achieve its charitable purposes are listed below. The program areas are ranked according to the percentage of time and resources devoted to each program area.

PLANNED PARENTHOOD OTTAWA-CARLETON/PLANNING DES NAISSANCES D’OTTAWA-CARLETON, 2005

1          Promotion and protection of health (see guide)          F8                  50%

2          Public education, other study programs                      C10               45%

3          Family and crisis counselling, financial counselling   A11                5%

 

 

Planned Parenthood Toronto 2006

Rank   Description                                                                  Field Code   % of
Emphasis

1           Promotion and protection of health (see guide)        F8                   30%

2           Specialized health organizations (see guide)            F9                   30%

3           Clinics                                                                      F3                   30%

 

 

Planned Parenthood Edmonton 2006

1          Family and crisis counselling, financial counselling          A11     34%

2          Public education, other study programs                            C10      33%

3          Promotion and protection of health (see guide)                 F8        33%

 

Planned Parenthood Fredericton 2005

1           Promotion and protection of health (see guide)        F8                   100%

 

PLANNED PARENTHOOD ASSOCIATION OF NOVA SCOTIA 2006

1           Promotion and protection of health (see guide)          F8                   85%

2           Public education, other study programs                     C10                 15%

 

Planned Parenthood Regina 2006

1           Promotion and protection of health (see guide)        F8                   100%

 

Planned Parenthood Saskatoon 2006

1           Promotion and protection of health (see guide)        F8                   100%

 

Planned Parenthood Hamilton 2006

1           Clinics                                                                       F3                   80%

2           Promotion and protection of health (see guide)        F8                   20%

 

Planned Parenthood Waterloo 2007

1          Family and crisis counselling, financial counselling          A11     30%

2          Public education, other study programs                            C10     30%

3          Promotion and protection of health (see guide)                        F8        20%

Planned Parenthood Ottawa: Their choice or no choice at all

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It was November 2007 when the Ottawa Senators Foundation, the wives and girlfriends of the Ottawa Senators (also known as the Sens Better Halves) chose First Place Pregnancy Centre as one of their designated charities in a tree raffle. First Place Pregnancy Centre is a small counseling centre located on Bank Street in the Glebe, in Ottawa. They rely exclusively on charitable donations to help women in crisis pregnancies, in offering post-abortion counseling and generally in offering pregnancy help and information.

 

Today First Place Pregnancy Centre sued Planned Parenthood Ottawa. Why?

 

When the First Wives made First Place Pregnancy Centre one of the charities, Planned Parenthood attacked. Calling First Place “anti-choice”—they raised a stink and cast aspersions on what First Place does. As a result, First Place withdrew from the fundraising opportunity. So today First Place sued Planned Parenthood for “interfering with critical funding” and for defamation.

 

First Place doesn’t offer or refer for abortions, but that is something they openly tell each client. They’ll give you all the information you need, but they won’t help you obtain an abortion. Last I checked, that’s not a sin.

 

Many women appreciate the heightened sense of awareness and empathy First Place provides: It is, after all, very difficult to be truly sympathetic to a woman grieving an abortion when you don’t believe there’s anything wrong with it. That’s something First Place does. Does Planned Parenthood Ottawa?

 

Which leads me to another point. Pro-life women and girls get pregnant unexpectedly too. Consider that pro-lifers believe that the unborn are people, not to be killed. In short, abortion is not an appropriate option. Should that pro-life girl only have the option of counseling from Planned Parenthood—a place where in the same room with a different client that counselor will sanction and refer for an abortion? Pro-lifers have sex, fear pregnancy, get pregnant, are further terrified and need counseling too. Must they all go to Planned Parenthood Ottawa? Or should there be other options?

 

Let me add at this point that all pro-lifers support Planned Parenthood Ottawa. It’s not because we want to, mind you, but because we are forced to. Planned Parenthood Ottawa is rolling in government dough. I don’t agree with what they do. But I am not able to withdraw my tax dollars.

 

The only choice I have available is to support other groups, like First Place Pregnancy Centre. And so can the Sens Better Halves.

 

First Place pregnancy centre offers another option. They do it day in and day out whether you’ve had an abortion in the past or will have one in the future. They just won’t help you get one.

 

I think that’s understandable. Only the most obtuse question the very idea of being pro-life. And no one’s forcing anyone to go to First Place either. Seems to me women are smart enough to choose. Seems to me that First Place offers one more choice. Seems to me that Planned Parenthood Ottawa in throwing their weight around last November, has been served a lot more than legal papers. They should serve up the explanation on why they think their choice is the only choice for all of Ottawa’s women.

 

Hope it’s a good one—because relying on choice mantras when you take others’ choices away sounds like a dirty trick to me.

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Tanya adds: There’s a Facebook group petitioning against the Sens Better Halves and their donation to First Place Pregnancy.

 

One Facebook group member is on staff at PPO and had this to say as she tried to articulate what makes this organization ‘anti-choice’:

I have deep feminist intervention perspectives, and i’m a believer in the philosophy that a womyn knows best what is best for her own good. By allowing for these myths [referring to a link with breast cancer, risk of infertility, increased risk of depression, and so on] to continue, i feel that we bully womyn.

Let’s be out and open with it. What they call ‘scare tactics’ can actually be backed up credibly.

Regarding abortion’s link to breast cancer: It is a highly politicized issue, and studies have shown a variety of results. It’s irresponsible for a medical professional not to mention the possibility. Now’s a good time for me to bring this up again.

As far as infertility, even the Mayo Clinic says: “It’s possible — but very uncommon —for a surgical abortion to cause scarring on the inside of the uterus or to weaken the cervix.” Are we not to even mention this possibility?

Let’s not forget depression. We’ve covered that before, too.

I could go on with this, and this, but that might be overkill.

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Andrea adds: Thanks Tanya. That Planned Parenthood Ottawa employee lost me at “womyn.” I will attempt to ensure she gets spelling lessons soon.  

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