Thousands More, 12 Bishops, and 18 Politicians Join in Regional Marches for Life Across Canada Total Number of Bishops: 24

Tuesday May 19, 2009


By Alex Bush

May 19, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The 12th annual March for Life in Ottawa may have drawn a record number of participants; but the pro-life show of strength this past week was not just limited to the national March, with numerous regional events taking place across the country. In addition to the 12,300 people and 12 bishops that participated in the Ottawa March for Life, approximately 4,000 people, including 12 bishops, participated in regional Marches For Life.

All told, more than 16,000 Canadians participated in pro-life demonstrations last week, and the number of bishops involved totaled 24.

In addition to the multitude of marchers and bishops, 18 Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) from New Brunswick joined in the New Brunswick March for Life, including the PC Opposition Leader David Alward and the Liberal Minister of Health Mike Murphy.

Marches took place coast to coast across Canada, setting numerous records for attendance. 40 people from Newfoundland, 140 from Manitoba, 350 from Nova Scotia, 400 from New Brunswick, 400 from Alberta, 700 from Saskatchewan, and a mighty 2,000 from British Columbian took part in various local marches.

The Bishops that participated at the Marches across Canada were, in New Brunswick, Archbishop Robert Harris; in Alberta, Archbishop Richard William Smith, Bishop Frederick Henry, Bishop Joseph Luc André Bouchard, Bishop Gérard Pettipas; in British Columbia, Archbishop Michael Miller, Bishop Richard Gagnon, Bishop David Monroe; in Saskatchewan, Archbishop Daniel Bohan, Bishop Albert LeGatt, Ukranian Bishop Bryan Bayda, and Ukranian Bishop Kenneth Nowakowski.

The Liberal MLAs from New Brunswick also used the March for Life as an opportunity to throw their support behind a PC bill that would allow distraught women to give their newborn babies to hospital staff. The "Safe Haven Bill" was introduced after the public mourning of a baby boy, known as Baby Taylor, who was left to die of exposure near Moncton, New Brunswick over the winter and was only found during the spring thaw.

The marchers from New Brunswick also placed 250 Roses at the Legislature and at the three main abortion facilities in the province (which includes two full-fledged hospitals) to commemorate the 25,000 unborn babies who have been aborted in New Brunswick since 1969.

The Complete list of bishops that participated in the various Marches for Life is as follows (to find the contact information to send the bishops a letter of thanks for their participation, see: http://www.cccb.ca/site/component/option,com_wrapper/Itemid,1211/lang,eng/):
1. His Eminence Marc Cardinal Ouellet - Quebec City
2. His Grace Archbishop Terrence Prendergast - Ottawa
3. His Grace Archbishop Thomas Collins - Toronto
4. His Grace Archbishop Brendan O'Brien - Kingston
5. His Grace Archbishop Sutton, OMI, emeritus archbishop of Keewatin-LePas
6. His Grace Archbishop Richard William Smith - Edmonton
7. His Grace Archbishop Michael Miller - Vancouver
8. His Grace Archbishop Daniel Bohan - Regina
9. His Excellency Bishop Paul-André DuRocher - Alexandria-Cornwall
10. His Excellency Bishop Ronald Fabbro - London
11. His Excellency Bishop Jean-Louis Plouffe - Sault Ste. Marie
12. His Excellency Bishop Stephen Victor Chmilar - Ukrainian Bishop of Toronto and Eastern Canada
13. His Excellency Bishop Michael Mulhall - Pembroke
14. His Excellency Bishop John Stephen Pazak - Byzantine Rite
15. His Excellency Bishop Robert Harris - Saint John
16. His Excellency Bishop Frederick Henry - Calgary
17. His Excellency Bishop Joseph Luc André Bouchard - Saint Paul
18. His Excellency Bishop Gérard Pettipas - Grouard-McLennan
19. His Excellency Bishop Richard Gagnon - Victoria
20. His Excellency Bishop David Monroe - Kamloops
21. His Excellency Bishop Albert LeGatt
22. His Excellency Bishop Bryan Bayda, Ukrainian Bishop of Saskatoon
23. His Excellency Bishop Kenneth Nowakowski Ukrainian Bishop of Westminster
24. Mgr Gerard Drainville, retired bishop of Amos (Quebec)


12,000: Canadian 2009 March for Life Smashes Previous Attendance Records
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/may/09051409.html

Now 11 Bishops Confirmed: Unprecedented Promotion of March for Life from Catholic Bishops
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/may/09051303.html

New Brunswick Right to Life Says Abortion Law Being Abused at NB Hospitals
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/may/09051517.html

States, Planned Parenthood Sue to Reverse Bush Abortion Protections for Docs

States, Planned Parenthood Sue to Reverse Bush Abortion Protections for Docs

by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
January 15, 2009


Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- The attorneys general of seven states and leading pro-abortion groups have filed a lawsuit against the new pro-life protections the Bush administration recently put in place. The "Provider Conscience Rule" provides more enforcement for laws protecting medical centers and professionals who don't want to do abortions.

The new rule, which requires medical facilities to affirm in writing that they won't force staff to participate in abortions and potentially denies federal funding for centers or governments that do, is slated to take effect January 20.

The protections merely provide additional enforcement for existing laws, some of which have been on the books for decades, that allow medical professionals to avoid involvement in abortions.

Led by Attorney General Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, six states filed suit today against the new rule claiming that it allows medical centers and staff to deny women birth control, including the morning after pill.

Blumenthal says he sued because he believes the new rules will override a state law that forces all hospitals and medical centers to provide the morning after pill to victims of sexual abuse.

State officials in California, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Oregon, and Rhode Island also joined in the suit.

The suit is the second to target the new conscience protections as a collection of pro-abortion groups, including the ACLU, the National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association, and Planned Parenthood Federation of America have also sued.

The lawsuit names the Department of Health and Human Services as a defendant, seeks an immediate injunction to prevent the conscience protections from going into effect. It also argues for their overturning claiming they violate federal law, women's rights and states' rights to enforce their own laws.

Blumenthal talked with the Hartford Courant newspaper about the suit.

"On its way out, the Bush Administration has left a ticking legal time bomb set to explode literally the day of the inaugural and blow apart vital constitutional rights and women's health care," Blumenthal claimed.

A recent survey found half of doctors support the new protections.

A new national study among 1,736 physicians conducted by HCD Research reveals 50 percent of physicians support the new rules. Just 33 percent oppose the rules and the rest had no opinion.

Abortion advocates, including incoming president Barack Obama, are also expected to use one of three methods to reverse the protections for medical staff.

True Heroism: NY Times Tells Story of Woman Who Chose Homeless Shelter over Abortion

True Heroism: NY Times Tells Story of Woman Who Chose Homeless Shelter over Abortion

By Thaddeus M. Baklinski

NEW YORK, January 20, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - When Jabrilla English was 24 years old, nine months pregnant, and living with the mother of her half-brother, she was given an ultimatum: have her unborn child killed by an abortion, or leave. She said, however, that abortion was not an option and chose instead to live in a homeless shelter in the Bronx.

The NY Times article recounting Jabrilla's story (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/20/nyregion/20neediest.html?_...) goes on to describe her difficult but hopeful childhood growing up with her grandmother, her effort to get out of the poverty surrounding her by attending a year at Marymount Manhattan College and majoring in psychology, and how she ended up giving birth to her son Elijah two weeks after moving in to the shelter.

“It was a nightmare,” said English of her experience in the shelter.

Jabrilla is now 29 and has persevered through illness and a cycle of low-paying jobs and being on welfare to a point where she now has hope for herself and her son.

“I’m not going to play victim and say that this or that is the reason why I am in the position I am in. You have to take responsibility,” Ms. English told the NY Times. “There were some things that I could not control. But I’m a mother, I have a son, and I’m no good to him if I’m not together mentally."

“I didn’t think I would go through anything like that,” Ms. English said. “But I’m kind of glad I did, though. It really made me appreciate everything.”

Jabrilla's courage in the face of the adversity she faced is emphasized by the findings of a recent study that shows that the level of support a woman has from family, support groups, and especially from the father of her child, plays a key role in whether or not the woman aborts. Women like Jabrilla who receive little support during their pregnancy are much likelier to abort than others, according to the study, which was headed by Prof. Priscilla Coleman of Bowling Green State University and published in the International Journal of Mental Health & Addiction.

Another study, published in the Medical Science Monitor, reported that a survey of women in post-abortion support groups found that more than 83 percent said they would have continued the pregnancy if they had been given more support from others. This survey also found that 64 percent of respondents reported feeling pressured to abort by others, and more than 80 percent said they weren't given enough information to make an informed decision about abortion.

Jabrilla's story does not yet have a happy ending, however. The NY Times reported that though she has achieved her goal of getting off welfare, her financial position is precarious and she has received help from the Times Neediest Cases Fund to buy a bed for her son, Elijah, so they no longer have to share her futon, and a dining table and chairs so they can eat together.

Funds to help her may be directed through the link to the NY Times story given above.

Link to the study referred to in this article:

New Study Finds Father's Support Plays Key Role in Abortion
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/jan/09012001.html

Baby Born Alive And Killed After Botched Abortion

Baby Born Alive And Killed After Botched Abortion Laid to Rest in Miami

Thomas More Society Seeks Justice for Baby Shanice

Shanice Denise Osbourne was laid to rest this week, nearly 27 months after she was killed following a botched abortion. She was stuffed into a medical waste bag filled with chlorine bleach just after she was delivered alive by abortion clinic owner Belkis Gozalez in Hialeah, Fla. While the Miami-Dade County district attorney vacillated, the Thomas More Society intervened to seek justice for Baby Shanice.

So far, a Thomas More Society investigator has surfaced essential facts and witnesses, consulted with police, and prodded prosecutors. An expert pathologist, retained by the Thomas More Society, found that A Gyn Diagnostics' unlicensed staff played a causative role in the infant's death. Now, the Thomas More Society has retained Tom Pennekamp, Esq., a former president of the Dade County Bar Association and an expert in major personal injury cases, as its co-counsel for the purpose of bringing a lawsuit for "wrongful death" of Baby Shanice.

For more information about this shocking case, read the press release, along with articles from World Net Daily, LifeNews, and LifeSiteNews.