Sunday 25 September 2011

Canada Backs Maternal Health Only in Countries Where Abortion Is Illegal

The screwed-up communications on abortion funding as part of Motherhood Steve's maternal health initiative continue.
Canada will fund an organization that provides family planning services around the world — but only in countries where abortion is illegal in most cases, CBC News has learned.
. . .
Planned Parenthood, which provides an array of sexual and reproductive health services, including abortions, abortion counselling and training for providers, is getting the federal funding after Oda let the agency's previous request sit on her desk for a year without a response, and after a Conservative MP told an anti-abortion group that the government wouldn’t be giving the organization any money.

Oda's decision to approve Planned Parenthood's proposal comes more than a year after Canada was embroiled in controversy over whether to fund abortions as part of a G8 commitment to improve maternal health in developing countries.

The proposal gets around the thorny issue of abortion by asking for money for sex education and contraception services, and does not include abortion services.

The funding is worth $6 million over three years for Planned Parenthood to work in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Mali, Sudan and Tanzania, where abortions are illegal except in cases where the mother's life is at risk.
Ain't that grand? Or would be when Bev Odious gets around to informing IPP.
A spokesman for International Planned Parenthood said Thursday that he was excited to hear about the funding, but that the group hasn't heard "a whisper" about it from the Canadian International Development Agency, Oda's department.

The funding proposal was resubmitted after the 2011 election, Paul Bell said. It had been revised one more time and the organization was waiting for a response.
. . .
In an email Thursday night, Oda's spokesman said CIDA told the group their proposal was approved.

"Today, International Planned Parenthood Federation has been informed that its application for funding has been approved under the Maternal, Newborns and Child Health commitment," Justin Broekema said in a statement.

The CBC link provides a good backgrounder to the whole idiotic story. In short, Canada, where there is NO law on abortion, gets all squishy squeamish about funding abortion in other countries where it is also LEGAL.

Big Daddy Steve and his misogynist minions can try to spin this as standing up for women and children. But Canadian women should be in no doubt. This government does ^NOT see women's issues as any kind of priority. See here for a list of Canadian women's groups gleefully defunded by the patriarchal Contempt Party.

ADDED: Fetus fetishists not happy. Big-mouth Brad Trost to issue statement this week.

5 comments:

Beijing York said...

I don't remember the total price tag for Harper's maternal health initiative, but it's got to be much more than $10 million. So who else is getting funding to deliver services in the developing world?

Also, CIDA's page makes it clear that they are focusing all their aid to 20 countries. So again, who is providing maternal health services to the other 15 countries?

fern hill said...

According to this, the focus is on 10 countries with over $2 billion pledged by Canada.

Christian said...

The Star(print edition)had a story earlier this week saying International Planned Parenthood hadn't received a dime since some time in 2009.

We know what these extremists are all about. I used to shake my head at America's misfortune under george bush. My how times have changed.

On a side note: Do anti-choicers consume eggs for any reason? I mean is anyone looking out for the chicken fetus? :)

Beijing York said...

My feeling are that they don't give a damn about animals, Christian. They already have dominion over them. Whether all anti-choicers recognize it or not, denying access to reproduction choice is about dominion over women.

Niles said...

Ms BY, if the comments on the link are any indication, the pro-forced birthers don't for a new york second care that Planned Parenthood does over 90percent of their work in not-abortions. Nor do they care the money is going to countries where abortions aren't legal, where mothers and born children are to receive aid.

On account that frees up monies PP will spend building abortuaries elsewhere.

In other words it seems, mothers and born children should suffer just-in-case a legal abortion might happen somewhere sometime.

Pro-life my glutimus maximus.

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