Provincial Convention 2007: Christian Family Life Oral Report

Submitted by: Marilyn Van Dongen

There is no shortage of resources for the issues dealt with in this standing committee. I always carry reading material with me in case I am stuck waiting somewhere. Conferences are fun to attend and are a wealth of information. Right now Edmonton is the place to be. A conference on euthanasia and end-of-life issues was held in May 25 in Edmonton.The newly formed Diocesan Vocation Directors of Canada are holding a conference in Edmonton June 11 – 15. Novalis has published an excellent resource aimed at teens 12 – 17 years old titled “It’s Your Call”. It reminds young people who feel lost and aimless that God has a call for each one of them. Also in Edmonton June 15 & 16 is a conference on Towards a New Sexual Revolution, National Symposium on the Theology of the Body. Margaret Beardon, as national sub-committee chairperson, will be representing our league. Watch out for conferences you are able to attend. It will be well worth your time and money. What you do with your time and money shows what is important to you.

We must continually be on defense of our beliefs and morals. The National Post recently reported that the National Abortion Federation is lobbying the Canadian Medical Association (CMA) to remove its “conscientious objector policy, which allows physicians to refuse to refer patients for abortions.”

Currently, the CMA’s abortion policy allows doctors to refuse to make an abortion referral when it would violate their religious/conscientious beliefs. The director of ethics at CMA recently clarified CMA’s position in the April 24, 2007 issue of the Canadian Medical Association Journal after the CMA’s policy was misrepresented in a guest editorial in the CMA Journal last July by lawyers who claimed that doctors who refuse to refer for abortion are committing ‘malpractice’. The National Abortion Federation is lobbying CMA to change its policy to take away a physician’s right to freedom of conscience.

If CMA’s policy were to be changed so that doctors were obligated to make abortion referrals against their conscientious/religious beliefs, Canada may one day find itself without any practicing pro-life doctors. Canadian Physicians for life are already in dialogue with the CMA.

We should write and thank CMA for upholding conscience protection for Canadian doctors. The address is 1867 Alta Vista Drive, Ottawa, ON K1G 3Y6.

The right to life is scared from the moment of conception to natural death. We must affirm groups that respect life and uphold the right to freedom of conscience and religion.

Respectfully submitted
Marilyn V…….