The Catholic Bishops in Canada are criticizing Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for forcing Canadians to spend 650 million dollars on abortions after American President Donald Trump defunded International Planned Parenthood.
The Canadian Bishops criticized the move — saying that the money could have been spent on much more worthwhile priorities such as immunizing children or building schools.
Bishop Douglas Crosby, president of the Canadian bishops’ conference, made a statement March 13 calling the recent move by the Canadian government “Western cultural imperialism.”
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In a letter to Trudeau, Cdl. Thomas Collins of Toronto wrote, “Money spent on promoting abortion and contraception could be spent on vaccinating millions of women and girls against malaria or other diseases.” He added that the money “could help build a lot of schools or universities, pathways to knowledge for future female leaders of our world.”
Members of Canada’s parliament also spoke out against Trudeau’s recent move. Rona Ambrose, interim leader of the Conservative Party, pointed out the legal implications of funding oversea abortions. “We’ve always taken the position that this is not just divisive, but illegal, in a lot of the countries that we give aid to,” she remarked.
Cardinal Collins said it was “praiseworthy to offer international aid; it is arrogant for powerful, wealthy nations to dictate what priorities developing countries should embrace.”
Leading pro-life groups also blasted Trudeau.
“Today’s announcement, which comes on the heals of last week’s commitment of $20,000,000 to an International Abortion Fund is deeply concerning to both fiscal conservatives and social conservatives,” said WeNeedaLAW.ca spokesperson Mike Schouten.
“Today’s announcement, which comes on the heals of last week’s commitment of $20,000,000 to an International Abortion Fund is deeply concerning to both fiscal conservatives and social conservatives,” said WeNeedaLAW.ca spokesperson Mike Schouten.
A signature component of former Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s Muskoka Initiative – a funding agreement for maternal, newborn, and child health, was that the money Canada contributed could not be used to facilitate abortions in third-world countries.
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“The former government’s position on the exclusion of abortion from maternal health care overseas could have been carried out to appease the social conservative base, but it was also based on good health care policy,” continued Schouten.
“Rather than forcing a pro-abortion ideology on the underdeveloped areas of the world, Canadian tax dollars should be used with the intention of achieving the best results for the money we spend.”
“Women in third-world countries are in desperate need of medicine, clean water, and maternal care, so that they can care for themselves and their newborn children. These essentials, which we take for granted, are needed so they can give their families the best possible future,” concluded Schouten.
