Quebec Life Coalition

Here are a couple of handy references for your perusal.

First

"The Unborn Child: A Gift, a Treasure, and a Promise," issued by the Catholic Organization for Life and Family, provides readers with an introductory panorama of the abortion issue.

Described as a "Reflection on Abortion," the twelve-page reference is ordered under ten headings posed as questions. These are:

1. When does life begin?; 2. What is an abortion?; 3. Is abortion legal in Canada?; 4. Why do women have abortions?; 5. But isn't abortion a woman's right and a private choice?; 6. How does abortion impact a woman's life?; 7. What is "post-abortion survivor syndrome"?; 8. What is the Church's position on abortion?; 9. Are there alternatives to abortion?; 10. As citizens, what can we do to promote a culture of life?.

It concludes solidly in two respects. First, it lists a range of resources, equally available for anglophones and francophones and, secondly, mobilizes interested individuals on how to take action, either alone or collectively, in ten ways.

Second

The second publication is a timely document issued by the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, "Pastoral Letter on Freedom of Conscience and Religion".

As it notes at the outset, both in Canada and abroad a disturbing trend of "bias, prejudice, hate propaganda, discrimination, and persecution because of religious beliefs" is raging.

At home, we are not unfamiliar with the many assaults to people and groups for their faith. We see, in Manitoba, civil servants reprimanded or fired for not officiating in same-sex "marriages," in Quebec, parents compelled to have their children sit in on Ethics and Religious Culture courses that have watered down the Christian faith, and in Ontario, the provincial government legislating schools - including Catholic ones, to sponsor "gay-straight alliance" clubs.

Finally, both documents are fully referenced - via either endnotes or footnotes, and are available in either French or English from their respective issuers.

In conclusion, I think that a study of these two documents is important as it will better inform and prepare oneself for the trying times we are currently experiencing.

The “silencing of the pro-life message” – the suppression of the pro-life message on Canadian university campuses, in Canadian schools, in the media generally, on the sidewalks in front of abortion facilities, must be decried, must be opposed…But most importantly, it must be understood for what it is: a symptom of the fact that Christendom is no more. And when we realize this frightful but ultimately liberating truth, we have to understand one additional thing: that Christendom is no more because the faith of Christians everywhere has dimmed. In short, the silencing of the pro-life message began with a silencing or dimming of the Christian message within our own hearts, and a return to moral sanity in our land will begin with a rekindling of that Faith.

Four arrests took place today at CarletonUniversity after students, who belong to a pro-life group called "Carleton Lifeline", tried to set up their pro-life display. The University had offered them a room and a display table but their photos were not allowed in the quadrangle where they would be the most visible.

"The truth about the killing of children in their mothers' wombs is once again being hidden in a back room, while the reality of what happens in every abortion continues daily", said Jim Hughes, National President of Campaign Life Coalition (CLC). "Truth is the first casualty in every war and in this war on the unborn the truth is being suppressed."

Universities which have always prided themselves as being institutions of free thought have now become facilities where only the most liberal thoughts are allowed to be presented," said Mr. Hughes.

CLC asks the public to contact the dean of the University and demand that the students be released and that their display be given the same respect as other topics at the University.

Contact:

Dr. Roseann O’Reilly Runte
President and Vice-Chancellor
Tel: 613 520-3801 

Email: presidents_office@carleton.ca

Media Contacts:

Mary Ellen Douglas, CLC National Organizer (Kingston) 613-389-4472
Alissa Golob, CLC Toronto office 416-204-9749

Here's yet another case of free speech being suppressed at a Canadian University.

This issue concerns us at Quebec Life Coalition because we like to think that a university should be a good place to debate a whole range of subjects, including abortion. We now know that to be totally untrue.

I think it's high time universities frankly discuss this problem with free speech, and the lack of it on canadian campuses, which is becoming something of a cancer at the heart of academia. Once free speech is gone, can we really trust what comes out of universities? Can we really believe that students are getting a liberal education, an education in critical thinking, if what really happens at universities, despite the assurances of well-meaning administrators, is that thuggish student unions enforce their ideologies by shutting down events using brute force?

More here: the Heckler's Veto

And more, from LifeSiteNews.

There's a new Facebook group supporting free speech for undergrads at McGill University. The creators, though not necessarily pro-life, understand the chilling effect a proposed motion submitted for the next assembly of the McGill undergraduate student union will have on debate at the McGill campus. 

The motion, which if passed will basically disallow any group that is against abortion from gaining official club status, will be voted upon at the SSMU cafeteria at 3480 McTavish on Wed. February 10, between 5 and 9pm.

Here's the Facebook page, which includes a copy of the motion.

By the way, all this pro-life activity that these censorious Student union types at McGill seem to be having apopleptic fits about, has been going on at U of Toronto and at other Canadian universities lately without a hitch.

In other censorship news, it looks as if a few people clicked on the much-abused "inappropriate content" flag in Youtube and knocked the videos of the infamous "Echoes of the Holocaust" Jojo Ruba presentation at McGill off the air (only a handful of the original 19 videos remain online)...

(Click here for the background info...)

Fortunately, there are other video-publishing platforms out there, and we've put the videos back in the public domain, where they belong (minus a few, which we'll be adding asap). Here's the new Quebec Life Coalition Channel, and here's the first video of the series: 

Part 1 of 19 - Echoes of the Holocaust presentation hosted by Choose Life McGill disrupted by abortion advocates Oct. 6 2009 from Georges Buscemi on Vimeo.

Choose Life, a pro-life club at the university of McGill, had its club status suspended by the McGill student union on November 12.

The club therefore no longer has a budget to work with and room reservation privileges and other perks. The suspension came in response to Choose Life’s October 6 invitation of Jojo Ruba of the Canadian Centre for Bioethical reform (see the previous QLC bulletin for details). Margaret Sommerville, McGill University’s eminent bio-ethicist, had this to say about the Choose Life suspension in a November 20 letter to the Montreal Gazette:

...the MSA president said that Choose Life members’ freedom of speech could be restricted, because they “were using questionable statistics from questionable sources” to make the case against abortion. So, the MSA president is saying that if we don’t like the statistics or the sources some people use, we need not bring evidence to rebut their claims; rather, we may intentionally silence them. I thought that was called censorship. It’s deeply concerning that anyone would imagine, even for a second, that challengeable statistics or sources constitute a valid justification for shutting down free speech, let alone someone who is the president of the students’ association at McGill.

MSA spokespeople say they want, as we all do, a safe environment and peace on the campus. But, in a democracy, “good” oldfashioned Maoist “harmony” achieved through suppression of any dissenting voices cannot achieve that.

 And the National Post’s Barbara Kay had this to say: 

The suspension of Choose Life is a witchhunt and a very serious breach of McGill's supposed dedication to free speech for all comers. Ms Woolf claims that "we take complaints seriously" but also noted that the suspension was the result of exactly four student complaints to Equity. Four disgruntled individuals took down an advocacy club! Is this SSMU's idea of democracy?

Disturbingly, this kind of kind of censorship and illeberality coming from student unions is getting to be a big problem all over Canada and in the US. Students from B.C., from Alberta, Lakehead university and York in Ontario, etc. etc. all have faced problems with their respective student unions or university authorities.

Now the McGill student union are asking Choose Life to consult with them on what events and what opinions they can express so that they can respect the "equity policy" and gain their club status back.

Natalie Fohl, president of Choose Life, sent along this update to pro-lifers:

At the Students' Society (SSMU) Council meeting November 12, the student representatives and executives voted against a motion to outright revoke Choose Life's club status. That basis for this motion was that our events target and harass women, and that we spread false information. Specifically, at the Silent No More Awareness Campaign event, there were pamphlets available that cited the link between abortion and breast cancer and one of the sites listed in the footnote has since changed its information to say that no such link exists. Thus, our opponents argue that we are threatening students' health and safety.

Another motion was brought up, and passed 16-11, to suspend our club status until we work with the Student Equity Committee to agree on a way we can share our message while working within the SSMU's governing policies. Of course, this presumes that we have breached them with our past events in some way. In addition to the reasons listed above in support of the other motion, the Echoes of the Holocaust event and use of graphic images were of particular concern. Presumably, they would like us to agree not to use graphic images again. I haven't met with them again yet, so I don't know exactly what other limitations they would like us to agree to. Among the privileges that come with club status is the ability to book rooms in the students' society building and elsewhere on campus...

As for us at QLC, we don't know what the solution is. These students are kids, after all. They can't be expected to understand that at a university maximum debate and maximum free speech is expected.

We don't expect the kids to understand, but we expect the grownups to do something. For while McGill authorities think everything is ok, under the surface, working at the student level and the union levels is an insidious nexus of individuals and groups who aren't satisfied with free speech and open debate but want to force feed their views and squelch dissent. 

What to do? Concerned alumni should band together and pressure McGill authorities to act on this. And we encourage Choose Life to re-invite Mr. Ruba, just like McGill president Heather Munroe Blum encouraged them to do. We know all this nonsense has been hard on Choose Life members, who, at the end of the day, only wanted to help student mothers and their babies, but the fight that they got is theirs to fight. And whether life is respected and future children make it out of the womb depends in large part on whether the pro-life message makes it to university students' ears. Choose Life members, you have been given a good and noble fight, please take it up, as burdensome and tedious as it may be.

A final thing: is there no debating society or some other (small "l") liberal club at McGill? What about the “Conservative McGill” club? Would it not be appropriate for them to take up the freedom of speech issue, inviting Mr. Ruba over if Choose Life can't? How about forming a coalition of free-speech loving clubs at McGill: they can all host Jojo Ruba together in solidarity with Choose Life; they don't even have to agree on abortion, just on free speech.

Whereas the CBC hasn't been, I've been unforgiveably quiet about recent events involving Choose Life , McGill's pro-life club, whose status as an official club with a small budget and room reservation priviledges and other perks was recently suspended by McGill's student union as retaliation for the club's Oct. 6 invitation of Jojo Ruba of the Canadian Centre for Bioethical reform (see the Choose Life McGill information page for the backstory).

Basically, I held off because this kind of censorship and illeberality coming from student unions all around Canada (and in the US) is getting so regular and so predictable it's downright boring.

Now the McGill student union are asking Choose Life to consult with them on what events and what opinions they can express so that they can respect the "equity policy" and gain their club status back. Note to Student Union members: an equity policy cannot enforce equality of opinion on any matter, especially moral, especially at a university whose mandate is to seek truth through vigourous debate.

What hogwash--what absolute craziness. And this is a student council: these kids are going to want to be MPs and leaders some day. Very scary indeed.

I don't know what the solution is. These students are kids, after all. They can't be expected to grasp the sublime irony contained in the act of censoring a group while simultaneously attending an eminent place of learning such as McGill, a place where maximum debate and maximum free speech is expected.

I don't expect the kids to understand, but I expect the grownups to do something. For while McGill authorities think everything is ok, under the surface, working at the student level and the union levels is an insiduous nexus of individuals and groups who aren't satisfied with free speech and open debate but want to force feed their views and squelch dissent. If from the right there's a creationism lobby infiltrating centres of learning and tainting scientific debate about evolution, from the left there's a relativism lobby infiltrating universities and tainting rigourous debate about moral issues. And that has to worry McGill authorities, who know that the credibility of an institution such as theirs rides on its committment to, and delivery of, an environment where open debate is not only possible but welcome. And they're far from that situation right now. We have documentary proof of that.

What to do? Concerned alumni should band together and pressure McGill authorities to act on this.

And I encourage Choose Life to re-invite Mr Ruba, just like McGill president Heather Munroe Blum encouraged them to do. I know all this nonsense has been hard on Choose Life members, who, at the end of the day, only wanted to help student mothers and their babies, but the fight that they got is theirs to fight. And whether life is respected and future children make it out of the womb depends in large part on whether the pro-life message makes it to university students' ears. Choose Life members, you have been given a good and noble fight, please take it up, as burdensome and tedious as it may be.

A final thing: is there no debating society or some other (small "l") liberal club at McGill? What about the Conservative McGill club? Would it not be appropriate for them to take up the freedom of speech issue, inviting Mr. Ruba over if Choose Life can't? How about forming a coalition of free-speech loving clubs at McGill: they can all host Jojo Ruba together in solidarity with Choose Life; they don't even have to agree on abortion, just on free speech.

Update: The debate was a rousing success: University of Victoria Debate Overflows Capacity.

Brushing aside the usual mewlings about the Canadian Centre of Bioethical Reform compromising the "emotional safety" of students and creating a "discriminatory and unsafe environment", University of Victoria bioethicist Eike-Henner Kluge, who will debate CCBR's Stephanie Gray on October 21 at the Unversity of Victoria, understands what a university actually is:

A university is a place where ideas are examined to see whether they are tenable,” said Kluge. To interfere with that examination process is to undermine the very concept of a university.

I wish these illiberal and petulant students understood that by stifling the truth and debate they are slowly sucking the life from their universities, killing society's capacity to think critically in the womb, so to speak...

Update: Binky on the McGill free-speech fiasco and university illiberality in general:

SHOCKING, BUT HARDLY a surprise, given 50 years of student & faculty radicalism on the modern un-diversity campus. So the modern jobs-training & ideology centre known as McGill is now one big Professor Alisnky sex & tolerance re-education centre, where all the happy little Isms run free and frolic in the fields…

UPDATE-4 (Feb. 2, 2010):

Incredible...yet more censorship. It looks as if a few people clicked on the much-abused "inappropriate content" flag in Youtube and knocked the videos of the infamous "Echoes of the Holocaust" Jojo Ruba presentation at McGill off the air (only a handful of the original 19 videos remain online)...

(Click here for the background info...)

Fortunately, there are other video-publishing platforms out there, and we've put the videos back in the public domain, where they belong (minus a few, which we'll be adding asap). Here's the new Quebec Life Coalition Channel, and here's the first video of the series: 

Part 1 of 19 - Echoes of the Holocaust presentation hosted by Choose Life McGill disrupted by abortion advocates Oct. 6 2009 from Georges Buscemi on Vimeo.

UPDATE-3: Welcome National Post readers.

UPDATE-2: Choose Life digs its heels in.

UPDATE: Welcome LifeSiteNews readers.

Also, according to Choose Life president Natalie Fohl, tonight, SSMU VP Clubs & Services Sarah Olle and Deputy Provost Morton Mendelson are hosting a Controversial Events Townhall, Thursday October 8, at 5:30pm - 7:00pm in the Lev Bukhman room of the SSMU Building (2nd floor, 3480 McTavish). You can see the different reactions of the SSMU and Professor Mendelson to our event, "Echoes of the Holocaust" here. Clearly, they have different opinions on free speech--please come to share yours tonight.

More coverage here and here.

***

Here's the entire series of 19 10-minute videos of the Oct. 6 disrupted presentation of Jojo Ruba's "Echoes of the Holocaust" presented by the Canadian Centre for Bioethical Reform and hosted by Choose Life McGill.

(Police arrive at part 8)

UPDATE: The videos have been censored at YouTube. Here they are at another site.

Here, finally, are the videos. I'll be posting them as I upload them. Sorry for the delay.

I wanted to say this first, though:

The protesters on this video refuse to recognize the full humanity of the unborn, which is why they'll never understand what Choose Life president Natalie Fohl and other people who fight for human rights for all humans are doing. Where the protesters see oppression, we see emancipation (of the unborn from death when they just happen to be unwanted). Where they see hate, we see love for all humans, including the unborn. The presentation that's been hijacked last night might have shown those protesters the humanity of the unborn, and how tragic it is that the denial of their personhood has led to their wholesale slaughter, just as the denial of personhood of the other unfortunates of the 20th century has led to their liquidation. I'm sorry they can't see these obvious parallels between human rights struggles in the past and the struggle for the recognition of the unborn as persons--but displays like last night's show that the truth that the unborn have an inalienable right to life is so manifest that the only way to oppose it is by physical force. And truth being stronger and more persistent than physical force, we'll surely see a time (maybe not in our lifetimes, but surely there will be a time) when that truth is recognized, cherished, celebrated.