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The Oakville Beaver, W e d n e sd a y F e brua ry 12, 2003 - A 7 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Halton Pro-Life director responds to letter writer's allegations Rc: Pro-Life advertisement contained incorrect, inflammatory statements Letter of the Week, the Heaver. Jan. 29. 2003 I can identify with, and appreciate. Lorraine Quast's passion and desire to help women around the world. Clearly. Ms. Quast's heart is in the right place as she seeks justice for all. Unfortunately. Ms. Quast has allowed the mantra of " freedom of choice" and "a woman's right to choose" to impede her ability to engage in rational discussion of the data now' available on the issue of abortion. After more than 30 years of abortion, of which the last 15 years have allowed abortion on demand throughout the entire nine months of pregnancy, there is much we have learned. Ms. Quast wonders why it should matter that 37.4 per cent of abortions are repeats (Therapeutic Abortion Survey. 1998-B Health Statistics Canada Source: Therapeutic Survey. Canadian Institute for Health Information). Quite simply, taxpayers think it matters. It costs Canadians $56 million every year to fund abortion on demand; $30 million in Ontario alone. Even Canadian Abortion Rights Action League (C A R A L) presi dent. Marilyn Wilcox, told the Commons Finance Committee on Oct. 31, 2001. that women seek abortions " for socio economic reasons." In other words, for convenience. And in 1988, abortionist Henry Morgentaler stated that fewer than onetenth of 1 per cent of abortions are done for serious health emergencies. How do Canadians feel about this once they leam the facts? A December 2(X)I Gallup poll reported 66 per cent of Canadians are opposed to abortion on demand and an October 2(X)2 Leger poll determined 65 per cent of Canadians are uncomfortable paying for abortion on demand. Ms. Quast questions the validity of the fact that having one abortion increases a woman's risk of breast cancer, depression and suicide. A full 25 out of 31 studies worldwide have shown that women who had an abortion increased their risk of breast cancer. In 1996 Joel Brind. PhD assembled the results of all the studies up to that time and concluded in his meta analysis that women who have an abor tion before their first full-term pregnancy have a 50 per cent increased risk of devel oping breast cancer and those who have an abortion after their first full-term preg nancy have a 30 per cent increased risk (Brind J.. Chinchilli VM..Severs W B.. Summy-Long J,, Induced Abortion as an mented effects of having an abortion (Reardon IX . Cougle Jr. Depression and unintended pregnancy in the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth; a cohort study British Medical Journal. 324:151152 January 2(X)2 and Russo Nf. Zierk K. Abortion, childrearing and women's well-being. Professional Psychology: research and practice 1992: 23:269-280). As early as the 1970s, the federally appointed Badgley Commission con ducted two background papers that found women who had abortions were more likely to experience physical and mental health problems than women who car ried their babies to term. And less than two ye;irs ago in May 2(X)I. the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario sponsored a study o f41.039 women dur ing the three month period following their abortion. They found a nearly five times higher rate of hospitalization for psychiatric problems than the matching group of women who had not had abor tions. Now. having cited well-documented sources to substantiate the facts. I realize that there arc those who would still deny the truth that is revealed in studies that seek to uncover the untold story of abor tion. namely that abortion hurts women. Steeped in the rhetoric of "choice" and "a woman's right to control her own body" some would find it difficult, if not impossible, to acknowledge that maybe abortion isn't such a good choice alter all. Clearly, the experiences of millions of women since the advent of legalized abortion should be enough to convince us to at least take a second Itxik at abortion. Even long-time abortion rights activist Germain Greer has come to realize that " Abortion is a sign of oppression, not lib eration" as stated in her book. The Whole Woman. Another pro-abortion feminist has compared women "choosing" abor tion to an animal caught in a trap that "chooses" to chew off its leg. It's time to take a second look at abor tion. Its time for all to look honestly at all the data available. And most importantly, it's time to listen to those who have expe rienced the trauma of abortion. They each have a story to tell. They're lw>king for someone to listen, someone to acknowl edge their pain and grief. At the end of the day. abortion ends the life of a child and harms his mother. Either we choose-to accept this fact or we choose to look the other way. Which way we choose will determine whether we are supporting women's health and wellness or not. JOANNE MATTERS. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR HALTON PRO-UFE OAKY!LLE C O U N C IL & STAN D IN G C O M M IT T E E M EETIN G S M onday, F eb rua ry 17, 2 0 0 3 Council Meeting Council Chambers 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb rua ry 25, 2 00 3 Community Services Committee 7:30 p.m. - Oakville Room Administrative Services Committee 7:30 p.m. - Trafalgar Room M onday, F ebruary 24, 2003 Planning & Development Council Meeting Council Chambers 7:30 p.m. M onday, M arch 3, 2003 Council Meeting Council Chambers 7:30 p.m. Independent Risk Factor fo r lireast can cer: A comprehensive review and meta analysis. U.K. College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists 2001World Congress on Women's Health). In August 2(XX). the British Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists found that American stud ies "could not be disregarded." And, in July 2(X)2. the U.S. National Cancer Institute was forced by U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services to remove scientifically false infomiation on its web site that denied the abortion/breast cancer link. Depression and suicide are well-docu- 1225 T R A FA LG A R RO A D · O A K V IL L E , O N T A R IO · L6] 5A6 w w w .to w n .o a k ville .o n .ca (9 05 ) 845-6601 Feeling hopeless I find it hard to believe that despite the desper ate need to either change the present government, or to have a minority or even a viable opposition, that the Alliance and the Conservatives make no effort to join forces. I also find it hard to believe that candi dates would put themselves in the hopeless position of running for Bonnie Brown's position when the last election proved that togeth er they could win Oakville but, as separate entities, Bonnie will keep her job. It doesn't make sense to me or to many others and the result of this fiasco will mean voters will lose patience and give up. All the time I have lived in Oakville (45 years) I have taken an avid interest in politics and the community, yet this is the first time 1have fell hopeless about the state of politics in Canada. I wrote a letter to your paper before talking about patriotism or the lack thereof and you were kind enough to publish it, but to get peo ple interested in politics is one of the most difficult of endeavours and the old adage 'never talk about politics, religion or sex' is still in vogue except for the latter. Yet. the way this country is being governed is nothing short of disastrous. I could qualify this sen tence but it would take too long. There must be many people out there who feel as I do and this bodes ill for the number of people w ho will actually vote. I wonder who the candidates will be for the Conservatives and the Alliance? I would like to w'ish them the best of Irish luck. HUH LI! wants to show our school support and team spirit, so we proudly announce... 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