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December 1999
Re: "Bogus ‘Catholic' group stages Hallowe'en prank" (Nov. 1999). As the recipient of much of the media frenzy, I would like to clarify a few facts. 1. In 1996 a decision was made by the Toronto Catholic District School Board to oust UNICEF as the recipient of its Hallowe'en collection. It was not until 1997 that Aid to Women applied to fill the void, and it was not until 1998 that we became the major beneficiary of the program, collecting $13,000. 2. At the time of the application, it was fully understood that the money collected would be used exclusively for the moms and children we serve. A financial statement was issued, which included items such as rent for mothers, medical bills, baby needs, layettes, etc. I would like to assure all our supporters and readers of The Interim that we do not harass women. We do not show bloody pictures, call women names, or tell them we are doctors. Yes, we walk on the street with signs and literature to draw attention to our ministry. We do offer help to women going in to have their babies killed. Most of them ignore us, some speak to us, and a few come into the office and change their minds. Judging by the attacks of late from abortion supporters, we may be even more successful than we thought. We give God all the glory for babies and moms saved from abortion. Joanne Dieleman On Oct. 3, 1999, I stood at the corner of St. Clair Ave. and Yonge St. in Toronto, holding a sign saying "Abortion kills children." Amidst the usual vile reactions from homosexuals and feminists, one from a girl who looked about eleven years old stood out for its chilling implications. All but overcome by giggles, she said to me, "Everyone knows that abortion kills children. That's what it's for. So what's your point?" May God have mercy on the soul of that poor little girl, and on all those who taught her to despise human life. Amen. Lise Anglin How much longer can the cries of the unborn go unheard? This letter is to update the public on the abortion issue and it is a plea to the abortion doctors and politicians. There are 106,000 abortions recorded in Canada each year - one every five minutes. We know many of these abortions are painful to the "product of conception" - the child. Ultrasound technology has viewed the baby squirming with pain as the abortionist's needle punctures the baby. D&X (or "partial-birth" abortions are performed up to full term. In this procedure the child is delivered up to the neck and then the abortionist's needle punctures the brain and destroys the child. Former abortion doctors and staff who have worked in abortion clinics are coming forward and revealing how at times aborted babies are left alive to die unaided. Former abortion clinic staff have also revealed facts concerning the women who are the victims of the abortion industry. They have stated there is little or no information given concerning hemorrhage, infection and serious complication to more pregnancies. There is no counselling about alternatives to abortion or the extreme emotional difficulties that can last for years. As a former nurse on an obstetrical floor, I do not understand how a doctor who has assisted in the miracle of the birth of a child can turn around and work in a clinic set up to destroy innocent little lives. I believe if politicians witnessed an abortion procedure their hearts of stone would melt and they would work for just laws to protect all human life. Canada is one of only three countries in the world which have no laws to protect human life at any stage. Are we like some in Hitler's time, standing idle while our children go to the death camps? Furthermore, "fetal tissue" is in demand for experimentation by some university laboratories and cosmetic companies. A high price is paid to the abortion clinic for this special tissue - also known as a baby. I beg people of all faiths to end this holocaust of our children by the weapon of prayer. Let us hear the cries of the unborn children. Judy Denstedt As Christians we know the ultimate truth was decreed by God the Father, is Personified in Christ, and can be found in the Bible. It is not determined by public opinion, is never at the mercy of a referendum, and does not change. On one hand Preston Manning admits he does not believe in abortion. On the other hand he wants to put out his "political feelers" to see what the voters want before he takes on official position. If Mr. Manning will be true to his roots he may yet be the kind of statesman Canada needs and history will honor. If not, he will be remembered as just another politician. The number of evangelicals is increasing faster in Canada than the left would wish. Most of us believe abortion is murder and abortionists are serial killers. We have been very patient. We have watched in horror as Linda Gibbons, Rev. Ken Campbell, Father Ted Colleton and others have suffered gross injustice and even physical violence at the hands of the police. The vast majority of pro-life people are peace-loving individuals and would not take the law into their own hands. At least, at the present time this is how it is. We are appalled when we hear of an abortion doctor being killed. But every movement has its fringe, and we are not responsible for the unauthorized behaviour of a few. Unless we see legislation soon to protect the unborn, I am afraid of what might happen. We cannot allow the madness to continue, and the slaughter of the innocent to go on indefinitely. Rev. Donald G. Hiel Some call abortion an "issue" or a "debate." Lately, I've come to see it as it is: a war. Does that sound too strong? Not when The Interim has recently carried accounts of assaults against pro-lifers such as Bill Whatcott and Robert Hinchey. Not when abortion providers receive death threats or bullet wounds. Intensifying the conflict, this war's weapons are not just picket-signs or political platforms, but religious convictions. Yes, religious convictions on both sides. Both sides? Well, I think I can say that the basic pro-life conviction is that God is the Author of Life, and that the child is a human soul before God from conception. To take that life is to commit murder. That certainly appears religious in nature, but the other side also carries a religious conviction, though they may not admit it. The belief that a woman has the right to an abortion, that humans have the final say in creating life or not, is called humanism, and that is also a religion. What is most regretful is that the humanist point of view is so pervasive in Canada today while the Christian perspective has been largely ignored. Consider this example: in our rural community, a local minister was concerned about children missing Sunday school due to Sunday morning hockey practices. Calling other clergy, myself included, he suggested he was ready to start a "mini-rebellion" in complaint. How appropriately worded! As pro-abortion political candidates are elected, as pro-lifers face prosecution in the courts, as researchers and think-tanks release absurd-sounding findings on the family, we might feel we need just that: a rebellion. But wait, would-be rebels and moral militias! No muskets or mortars in this war! We're fighting with the weapon of conviction, and that weapon works best when packed full of the very ammunition that Jesus used: truth in love. Convictions based on God's truth and acted out with God's love are the only hope in the battle for the unborn. Indeed, Romans 5:8 describes Christ dying for sinners as a demonstration of God's love. Truth wrapped in caring and corrective love reinvents a "call to arms" as an embrace for a hurting world. In communities where I have pastored, I have been privileged to see Christian people releasing the ammunition that for too long has been stockpiled inside our churches. People that reach out with truth and love to unwed mothers, women in crisis, and babies yet to be. More of us need to answer this "call to arms," because unlike any other wars, fighting this one will actually save lives. Rev. Troy Tobey |
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