Anti-Choice in Our Schools

New school year, new challenges and questions. For parents and students alike.

In Ontario, the Fraud government is trying to axe the "new" sex ed curriculum and is running into more trouble than it expected.

In Calgary, the school board has severed ties with a fake clinic that taught sex ed in PUBLIC schools.

A couple of other school boards in Alberta have done the same. @ABProchoice tweeted a thread of other anti-choice organizations that offer sex ed. I used Threadreader (very easy, even for TechnoDork) to compile the info more permanently.

The information comes from Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada's study of Fake Clinics' (aka Crisis Pregnancy Centres) websites updated. (The study was in 2016.)

I plan to get to work on compiling similar info for the rest of Canada, but if any reader knows of anti-choice groups teaching sex ed in a public school board or school, please let us know.

How to ID a Fake Clinic

What they do
Fake clinics, or "crisis pregnancy centres," exist to dissuade pregnant people from having abortions. They pretend to be medial clinics or helpful advice agencies.

They are not. They are the front line of anti-choice. Too often they are literal Christian missions out to deny pregnant people's rights, and ultimately to ban abortion.

They lie. About the stage of pregnancy ("too late to have an abortion"). About the risks of abortion. The consequences of abortion. They promise help that doesn't materialize. There have been many undercover exposés of what they do.

Because of their deception, they can be hard to spot -- which is part of their plan.

Name
The term "crisis pregnancy centre" has acquired quite a stink. So now they call themselves "pregnancy care centres," "pregnancy support services," or "pregnancy resource centres." They often use the words "choice" and "options."

Umbrella Group
In Canada, many belong to an umbrella group, Canadian Association of Pregnancy Support Services (CAPSS). (The "C" used to be "Christian.") CAPSS lists its members here.

Location/Signage
One of their tactics is to "co-locate" near real reproductive health clinics, sometimes using similar names. The hope here is that distraught "clients" might mistake the fake clinic for the real one. And people do.

Advertising
Real clinics rarely advertise. Transit ads saying "Pregnant? Confused?" are from fake clinics. Ads also target men as "victims of abortion."

Website
Check "services." The tell here is "post-abortion trauma counselling." Another tell is "self-administered pregnancy tests." Yes, the pee-on-a-stick kind because these are not medical clinics; they have no medical staff.

There may be a disclaimer. (You'll have to look hard for it.) It may say: "We do not refer for abortion or contraception." Or not.

There may be a statement about its mission: "We are a Christian organization..." Or not.

What to do
People have been known to carry sticky notes with "FAKE CLINIC" on them to slap on deceitful advertising. Similarly, "FAKE CLINIC" warning signs have been posted near their locations.

Inform your friends and colleagues. If you are at school, use handouts or bulletin boards. These outfits often target college and university students.

Check out local businesses' "partnerships." If you find a business or communal charity supporting a fake clinic, find out if the sponsor knows the real purpose of the seemingly innocuous "charity."

A US group called Expose Fake Clinics has other actions you can take. It is quite an activist group. You may not want to get so involved, but you can "like" honest reviews and report false advertising.

In Canada, Advertising Standards has an
on-line complaint submission process.

Fake clinics are deliberately deceptive rights-denying, discriminatory outfits. They need to be identified and called out for what they are.

Charitable Status Is Key: "100 Who Care" Update

I said back here that I would report on any replies from the "100 Who Care" groups I blogged about.

Only one has. And I had a private conversation with a member of another group in Atlantic Canada.

The first thing to know: not all groups operate the same way.

I got a reply from an organizer of 100 Women Who Care Ottawa, who used only her first name. In my initial email I advised that I would be blogging further on the topic so any responder should consider herself on the record. Since I'm not sure she she understood that, I won't use her name. (I'll send her a link to this blogpost and update as necessary.)

She said that the Ottawa group "votes with their money (instead of a global vote so one charity ends up with all the funds)." Members are free to write their cheques to any of the three charities selected to make pitches, as their "Charities" page shows.

I asked about vetting charities, specifically the fake clinic, First Place Options. She said:

We do indeed vet the charities to see if they fit our criteria, which you will find on our website. The steering committee struggled with this one, but in the end, we decided that if one of our members nominated them in good faith and if they met our criteria, we had no grounds to eliminate them because of our own beliefs.

As for whether members are given time to do their own vetting, she said charities are selected and announced at one (quarterly) meeting and make their pitches at the next. So, members have three months to decide which charity to support.

Good. That all seems reasonable and responsible.

A different story was told to me by a member from a similar group in Atlantic Canada.

She said that the charities selected to pitch are not announced in advance. The first members hear about them is at the pitch meeting.

I asked whether there was any discussion among members before voting. Nope. Just vote and all write cheques to the "winner."

What happens if individual members don't approve of the winner? She didn't know. As far as she knew, it hadn't happened.

Upshot: The Ottawa group has a better procedure both in informing their members of the nominees in advance and in allowing them to dissent from the majority decision.

The point -- and the big draw, I expect -- of such groups is efficiency. Busy people show up, listen to pitches from three randomly chosen local charities, vote, write cheques, and they're done.

I've since looked at websites for several such groups and the two common criteria for a charity's eligibility for nomination by a member are:

• Charitable registration, i.e. able to issue tax receipts directly to members; and

• Location and services must be local.

Nothing about ethics. Or lack of them.

The charitable registration is key.

So, I ask again: WHY are fake clinics -- whose aim is to dissemble and manipulate in the service of their anti-choice/anti-abortion mission -- allowed to be registered as charities?

How can striving to curtail a targetted population's rights NOT be political?

If you think it is, Canada Revenue Agency is holding an online consultation on "charities' political activities." Let them know what you think. The deadline is November 25, 2016.

The Uberization of Charitable Giving

Like most "disruptive" new ideas, at first the "100 Who Care" movement -- if it can be called that -- seems marvellously simple.

There's a good cause in your community. It needs a dose of cash. Call a few friends, who call a few friends, you get the idea. All get together and each writes a cheque directly to the worthy cause and BAM!

Done.

That's what a woman named Karen Dunigan did.

The first 100 Women Who Care group was formed in November 2006 by Karen Dunigan of Jackson, Michigan, USA. At their first one-hour meeting, the Jackson 100 Women Who Care group raised $10,000 to buy 300 new baby cribs for an organization in their city! Their membership has now grown to nearly 300 members and many other cities across the United States and Canada have formed groups as well.

Indeed, now there's an alliance of these 350 loose groups.

While it started with women, now there are men who care, kids who care, and people who care groups.

Here is an account from the Star on 100 Women Who Care Toronto.

In describing the meeting, the writer says: "Think Dragon’s Den meets crowdfunding."

Local charities -- they must be registered charities for the tax receipts -- are nominated by members. Three charities are chosen at random to make their pitch to the assembled group. They vote, one is chosen, and they all whip out cheque books and BAM! $10,000 (or $100 times the number of members) is raised.

Direct, efficient, laudable.

But there's a problem. We call it the uberization of charitable giving.

By cutting out vetting, oversight, and ethical guidelines, and relying solely on the charities' pitches -- and their government-sanctioned charitable status -- these groups may achieve efficiency at the cost of responsibility and accountability.

I'm sure everyone walks out feeling great, but do they all know exactly what they're supporting?

We have identified five fake clinics, aka crisis pregnancy centres, who have benefitted from these groups.

We reported a few days ago on 100 Guys Who Share - Yarmouth County who donated $11,600 to the Tri-County Pregnancy Care Centre.

Since then, we've found four more.

Women Who Care Norfolk were persuaded by a fake-clinic pitch. (Look how the work is described.)

Outstanding!  The Norfolk Pregnancy Centre will receive $14,600 to purchase additional programming material and expand their services into Delhi. This organization provides leadership, guidance and support to young women and men as they embark on a new phase of life.  Professional volunteers are available to offer assistance on an as needed basis.

[I wonder what a "professional volunteer" is.]

Women Who Care Stouffville chose the Markham/Stouffvillle Crisis Pregnancy Centre for a windfall gift.

Sunrise Pregnancy Centre was the recipient of a donation from Women Who Care Uxbridge

And Women Who Care Ottawa picked First Place Options, also the choice of the ill-fated fundraiser by the wives and girlfriends of the Ottawa Senators.

Given that Canada is overwhelmingly pro-choice, we have to question whether all these good, generous people understood that their hard-earned dough was going to anti-choice, anti-contraceptive, religious gangs who lie to and manipulate pregnant people out of choosing abortion as a response to a "crisis pregnancy."

Revisiting the Ottawa Senators' schmozzle, under the title Donor Beware, we pointed out that people need to check out what their money is supporting.

And the other important take-away is WHY THE HELL DO THESE FAKE CLINICS HAVE CHARITABLE STATUS AT ALL?

Most people see a charitable registration number and think "OK, fine. This group has been checked out by the government. It is accountable to the Canada Revenue Agency, who monitors its activities and finances."

And they write their cheques (under a bit of group pressure perhaps).

Maybe they all did know exactly what they were supporting. Great.

But we seriously doubt it.


ADDED (October 27/16): I wrote to the 100 Women Who Care groups in Norfolk, Stouffville, Uxbridge, and Ottawa to ask about their pre-pitch vetting. The email to Norfolk came zinging back with a fatal error. We wait on the others. I'll report.

UPDATE (October 31/16): 100 Women in Ottawa kindly replied with some more information. I want to wait a bit longer to see if any of the others do too.

Wham! Bam!

Oh boy, we've really got to work harder to raise awareness of what fake clinics are and do.

In August this year, a group of generous community-minded guys in Yarmouth, NS, got together to bestow money on a local charity.

Sadly, the winner of the windfall $11,600 was a fake clinic, called Tri-County Pregnancy Care Centre.

Here's how it works:

The 100 Guys Who Share – Yarmouth County, is one of more than 350 similar groups located worldwide that focus on coordinating funding for local, community charitable organizations. The group gathers for one-hour quarterly meetings to hear three short presentations on local charitable organizations. Members vote then each person writes their check for $100 directly to the winning non-profit chosen for a collective, impactful donation.

The three charities that presented at the first meeting were Parents Place, South End Community Youth Garden, and the Tri-County Pregnancy Centre.

The men’s group has grown to 116 members at last count. They have scheduled their quarterly event so that combined with the women’s initiative there will be good news in the community every six weeks throughout the entire year.

Members of the group can nominate any local charity. Three are chosen at random to make presentations.

From the website of the Halifax group, 100 Men Who Give a Damn.

"Bam!" indeed.

There might be drinking involved. More from the Halifax chapter.

under 60 minutes
Start the quarterly meeting with some heroic conversation, maybe visit the cash bar and be out the door in under 60 minutes. 

We’re all about giving smarter, not harder.

we don’t exist
We are a non-organization – no bank account, no fixed address, no opinion. Everything goes to the charity. 100%. Always. 

Otherwise, what are we doing this for?

So, it's fast -- and manly.

Too bad there's no vetting to ensure that their hard-earned dough is going to a real community asset and not an operation whose sole mission is to shame, guilt-trip, lie, and manipulate vulnerable people out of asserting their human right to autonomy and privacy.

It's hard to believe that in pro-choice Canada all 116 guys are anti-choice. More likely, the majority simply did not know what fake clinics are and do.

I'm going to write to the Yarmouth group and ask them if they understand where their money is going.

I'll report.


h/t Kathy Dawson

Fake Clinics Use Federal Money to Fund Summer Jobs for Apprentice Liars

A few days ago, we reported on fake clinics, aka crisis pregnancy centres, getting government funding.

We wondered what programs these lying liars could possibly qualify for.

So we went looking.

It's tremendously tedious but possible.

One has to search by department or agency.

We went to Service Canada looking for organizations that have received funding and found this or the downloadable/searchable PDF.

Golly gee, in 2015 the Canada Summer Jobs program gave our money to four fake clinics in Alberta.

• Calgary Pregnancy Care Centre: $12,782 (2 jobs)

• Lethbridge Pregnancy Care Centre: $5,817 (1 job)

• Central Alberta Pregnancy Care Centre Society: $6,038 (1 job)

• Cochrane Pregnancy Care Centre: $3,766 (1 job).

Congratulations, Canadian taxpayers. You/we funded five students just in Alberta just in one year to learn to lie to and manipulate pregnant people at religious fake clinics.

We looked further. The Calgary fake clinic has been receiving federal money to fund summer jobs every year since at least 2010, starting then at $11,000, going up to the present $12,782 (inflation?).

But we're just getting started.

We have identified 22 other fake clinics taking federal money to create summer jobs, some, like the Calgary gang, for several years.

We'll be delving into those in future posts, as time allows. (We do have to make a living. No taxpaying chumps are funding this research.)

Public Money for Fake Clinics (An ongoing series)

Here at DJ! one of our aims is to defund and disrupt the operations of fake clinics, aka crisis pregnancy centres (CPCs).

Their outrageous lies, manipulation, sneakiness, and slut-shaming are well documented. They've been around a long time in North America and are somewhat cannier here than they used to be thanks to relentless investigations.

But they're relatively new in Ireland, where just a few days ago, a counsellor at a CPC in Dublin was caught on tape telling an undercover reporter that abortion causes breast cancer. (It does not, in case that needs saying again.)

Of course in a "free" country, people can believe whatever they want and proselytize however they want.

What we object to is their unregulated and blithe lying while receiving public funding.

Today in our desultory ongoing series on public money for lying liars, we begin our reports on investigations into Ontario fake clinics.

Using the Canadian Revenue Agency's handy public listing of CPCs that have charitable status (65 of them! more than abortion facilities in Canada), we've been focussing on fake clinics that report government funding.

Many report smallish grants from regional or municipal governments. I don't much care about those. If the good people of Whereverville know about and are cool with their hard-earned tax dollars supporting these liars, fine by me. (As long as it's not MY region or municipality.)

What concerns me is federal and provincial money going to these outfits.

And one really stands out in that regard: the Haldimand Pregnancy Care Centre.

For the past five years, HPCC has reported federal funding every year.

2015: $7298
2014: $3762
2013: $3953
2012: $4069
2011: $3983

There are no further details on which federal programs this gang could possibly qualify for.

Let's take a closer look at 2015.

Its total revenue was $376,345, which is pretty rich for these operations.




Oddly, all of its expenses ($350,592) were listed as "other," with nothing for "charitable program" or fundraising.



It reported $215,803 spent on compensation and $66,889 on occupancy cost.



It boasts two locations. One in Dunnville (population as of 2011: 5,789), the other in Caledonia (2011 population: 9,999). For comparison purposes, Hinton, AB, with a population of 9,640, has a fake clinic with 2015 revenue of just under $120K.

Haldimand Pregnancy Care seems to suck up a lot of peculiarly accounted-for money.

And oh yeah, it is Christian. Its mission is “Building Families Through The Love Of Christ”.

As blogging is often a collaborative effort, we invite any interested and/or knowledgeable readers to help us identify what federal programs these liars are getting dough from. And what kind of political clout they might have.

Fake Clinic Update: Two Fewer In Canada, Irish Health Minister "Sickened"

Crisis pregnancy centres, aka fake clinics, are going through a bit of rough spot.

We reported on Hinton's fake clinic being turned down for a community grant. They'll have to downsize as a result.

In Campbell River, BC, the fake clinic closed down entirely in March.

So did the fake clinic in Prince Edward County, Ontario. (From Facebook.)

And charitable status revoked. (Looking forward to more news like this in upcoming months. Stay tuned.)

Meanwhile in Ireland, another undercover investigation reveals that -- surprise! -- fake clinics there tell the same bullshit lies.

But in a refreshing twist, Ireland's Health Minister appears to give a damn.

Health Minister Simon Harris says he's very "extraordinarily concerned" and "a bit sickened" by the reports. He says women in Ireland are entitled to factual and accurate information, and he's going to look into whether regulating the sector is an option for him.

Wouldn't it be grand if health ministers in Canada paid any attention to the lying liars and the misinformation and manipulation they spew?




h/t again to Kathy Dawson for the closures news

Fake Clinics Respond! With More Lies!

A couple of weeks ago, we reported on Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada's (ARCC) review of websites for 166 fake clinics, aka crisis pregnancy centres. (PDF link to entire study.)

LifeShite has since published a hilarious "rebuttal" that says, in essence, "sure, we lie, but we could lie a LOT more."

Some examples:

[Jared] White [executive director of Advokate Life and Education Services in Abbottsford, BC] said that the report’s numbers were misleadingly low. For example, the report notes that 24 percent of the centers “promoted sexual abstinence as the ideal solution for unwed women” on their websites. But White says, “I would think 100 percent would promote that” with women who get inside the door.

The report claims that 5 percent of centers claim there is “a possible risk” of breast cancer after abortion, which the report says has been “scientifically rejected.” But White commented,  “Again, I would have thought more centres than that would have claimed that there might be a link,” so the 5%-figure is far too low.

I don't need to tell DJ! readers that the abortion-breast cancer link is complete bullshit, do I? But White thinks more centres should be spreading more of this brand of manure.

Then there's a peculiar quibble with how the study posed questions.

Arthur’s report also claims that “48% [of the pregnancy centers] mentioned negative psychological consequences, primarily in the context of ‘Postabortion Syndrome’, which is not medically recognized.”

But this is not true. The question ARCC’s volunteers were asked was whether “sites claimed that abortion results in negative psychological consequences such as depression, suicidal thoughts, or ‘Post-Abortion Syndrome.’” So the 48-percent result could have been reached without a single reference to PAS.

A subsequent question specifically about Post Abortion Syndrome indicated only 20 percent of the websites – not 48 percent – even “mentioned” PAS.

This passage seems to say that they could have done quite adequate lying without mentioning PAS but that some websites throw it in anyway.

LifeShite of course does not mention the report's finding that a majority of fake clinics are registered charities, i.e. subsidized by the rest of us.

Global News, the only media outlet to report on the study, does care to inform its readers of that fact.

More than two-thirds (68 per cent) of the centres studied are registered charities, the report says. There are 66 charities dedicated to crisis pregnancies and pregnancy counselling registered with the Canada Revenue Agency. Many also get direct government funding.

The Global story includes a handy link to CRA's search results page, with more links, for the 66 fake clinics. Have a look. I find the paid employees sections interesting. Many people across Canada make a living from lying to pregnant people.

Speaking of lying, let's return to LifeShite for a couple more whoppers:

“We are just trying to help women in very trying circumstances,” Dr. [Laura] Lewis [of Canadian Association of Pregnancy Support Services] told LifeSiteNews. “We know whatever way they go, adoption, abortion, keeping the baby, they are making a life-changing decision. And if they choose abortion, we don’t put any obstacles in their way, but we could never facilitate it.”

As if manipulation, guilt-tripping, disease-mongering, and straight-up lying are not "obstacles" atall atall.

These centres don’t give women any help obtaining an abortion or contraceptive care because they can get that elsewhere, Lewis said.

Right. It's easy-peasy to get reproductive healthcare in PEI, say, or New Brunswick or Saskatchewan. Or any damned place away from cities.

According to this 2016 ARCC list of abortion clinics, including hospitals (PDF), there are 43 of them in all of Canada.

There are four times MORE fake clinics. There are MORE fake clinics registered as charities than abortion clinics.

The lying liars are doing pretty well. For themselves. As for pregnant people seeking factual, unbiased information and assistance, well, fuck them.

SHOCKER! Fake Clinics Lie

The Abortion Rights Coalition has released a major study into the online presence of Canadian fake clincs, or crisis pregnancy centres (full PDF report).

From the press release:

Anti-abortion counselling agencies in Canada often present misinformation on their websites or fail to disclose their anti-choice or religious agenda to prospective clients, according to a new study published today by the Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada.

Crisis Pregnancy Centres (CPCs) are anti-choice agencies that present themselves as unbiased medical clinics or counselling centres, and which often claim to provide women with non-judgemental information on all their options when faced with an unintended pregnancy. However, CPCs are not medical facilities, most are Christian ministries, they generally will not refer clients for abortion or contraception, and many promote misinformation about abortion. CPCs in Canada have no regulatory oversight; however, 68% of them are registered charities.

Researchers identified 180 CPCs in Canada, and looked at the 166 of them that have websites.

Results were not surprising. Well, not to those of us who have made it our mission to get these fake clinics regulated, defunded, and stripped of charitable status.

They lie about abortion risks; they promote sexual abstinence and adoption as ideal solutions to unwanted pregnancy; they fail to disclose their religious agendas; they do not reveal that they refuse to refer for abortion or contraception.

In fact, the Canadian study mirrors much of what was reported last year in a USian report, titled "Crisis Pregnancy Centers Lie." (PDF).

The situation in the US is much more dire. There are many, many more of these fraudulent operations and an astounding number of them get significant government funding.

The Canadian study reports on CPC funding (pp 29–30 of PDF). It seems that not much public funding goes to these places, but what does must be stopped.

A majority of them have charitable status.

Many CPCs also enjoy charitable tax status, which significantly increases their ability to fundraise (Arthur 2005). Out of the 180 CPCs we identified, 68% (122) had charitable tax status. However, Canadian groups should not be eligible for charity status if they disseminate biased or inaccurate information that is disguised as “education” or “counselling.” (Arthur 2005; Canada Revenue Agency 2013).

Coincidentally, Amanda Marcotte wrote recently about an analysis of USian CPCs' own data.

Nicole Knight Shine looked at the numbers and concluded they fail miserably at their mission -- if their mission is to dissuade women from choosing abortion.

Crisis pregnancy centers (CPCs) are billed as alternatives to abortion clinics, but new data suggests they largely fail at their mission, persuading less than 4 percent of clients to forgo abortion care.

Back to Marcotte:

The thing is that CPC centers know this. Shine’s numbers come directly from their own database, showing that they they are well aware that the vast majority of women who come in their doors will not be intimidated, much less persuaded, out of their abortions. So why do they keep plugging away at it, when they know full well they are terrible at what they claim they want to do?

It’s because preventing abortion has never been and will never be the actual goal of CPCs, no matter what their fundraising materials might say. The real purpose is to shame women for having sex and to spread stigma over abortion, contraception, and any non-procreative sexual activity. The vicious lies and guilt trips they lay on women are not the means to an end, but are the end itself. The point is not really “saving lives”, but making women feel scared, guilty, and anxious, as punishment for having sex.

It is this atmosphere in the US that makes the endless screwing around with abortion laws and restrictions possible and, seemingly, acceptable.

In Canada, we are -- so far -- successfully resisting any similar attempts to recriminalize abortion.

This new study demonstrates though that we must remain vigilant and aware of what anti-choice forces are up to. We must impede them any way we can. Regulate them, defund them, and strip them of charitable status.

And for anyone interested in reading or writing about abortion, the ARCC report is full of helpful links and resources.

Kudos to all involved.

*****************
On a personal note -- and in what might be a first for a "serious" study -- DAMMIT JANET!, a mere blog, is cited for our efforts in getting public funding yanked from a fake clinic in Ontario.

We are chuffed.




ADDED: This is the only media story on the report I've found: Global.

INCOMING! (And I totally missed it)

It's hot and I'm having a shitty day. So out of boredom and in need of distraction, I googled "fern hill dammit janet" and look what I found from Canadian (formerly "Christian") Association of Pregnancy Support Services, aka fake clinics/crisis pregnancy centres.

We are excited to be holding the first annual CAPSS National day of Prayer on Thursday, April 2, 2015

There's a lot a jeezuzy stuff, then things get specific. Joyce Arthur of Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada and I are targeted for prayer assaults.

Joyce's many crimes against truth, science, and good care for women are listed -- of course with an emphasis on how successful she'd been lately at fucking up fake clinics' work -- are listed.

Then there's me.

In November 2014, the Ontario Trillium Foundation rescinded the second half ($41,500) of a $83,000 donation to the Lambton, Ontario Crisis Pregnancy Centre due to complaints by Fern Hill of the Dammit Janet blogspot: http://scathinglywrongrightwingnutz.blogspot.ca/.  Fern Hill is the pen name for the blogger and her real identity is anonymous.  If you read through her twitter account she is bent on attacking every CPC across Canada and her current target is the Kamloops Crisis Pregnancy Centre.  Fern Hill and Joyce Arthur are collaborating together to get the charitable status of the Crisis Pregnancy Centres revoked.

In what's gotta be a first for this gang, that description is accurate.

And finally I'm getting my due recognition for it.

The page goes on to instruct the faithful on which particular failings Joyce and I need to improve.

Joyce Arthur & Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada

• For the Holy Spirit to hover over her and to move her towards her own healing journey
• For ARCC members’ eyes be open and see the truth about abortion
• For Joyce Arthur and ARCC members to experience firsthand the love of our Father
• For Joyce Arthur and ARCC members’ eyes to be open to the truth of abortion
• For God to open Joyce Arthur’s eyes to see that Centres and CAPSS does not give out anti-choice misinformation and harassment – that Centres and CAPSS are  not her or ARCC’s enemy
 
 



Fern Hill and her Dammit Janet Blog

• For Fern Hill to experience firsthand the love of our Father
• For Fern Hill’s eyes to be open to the truth of abortion
• That God will nullify the influence that she has
• That as people read her blog that they will read it in light of their own experience and have the courage to speak out

Interesting differences. Joyce gets both the Holy Spirit and "our Father." I get the attention of only "our Father." We both need our eyes opened.

But I love the third incantation for moi.

I'm sitting here feeling quietly INFLUENTIAL. And proud.

But this got me thinking of our old pal and sadly missed sister Vicious Abortion Crusader®, JJ who used to chortle when she was -- pretty regularly -- targetted for prayer assaults. If I were a praying gal myself, I'd lob a few in her direction. Wherever you are and whatever you're doing, JJ, we miss you.

Turnabout: WE Have Conscience Issues Too

This is good.

An Edmonton teenager and her mother have successfully filed a complaint with the Alberta Human Rights Commission, alleging the Edmonton Public School District’s use of a Christian fundamentalist abstinence education program infringed upon their rights as non-Christians.

And it should start a trend.

@fernhilldammit @Auragasmic @01CindyLee @blueskies366 "...infringed upon their rights as non-Christians." WHY HAVEN'T MORE PEOPLE SAID THIS?

— MsBlack (@InternetPerson6) July 10, 2014

A similar objection to sex-ed taught by religious nutbars, who, by the way, run fake abortion clinics in the schools' neighbourhoods, was based on the lies and distortions typically offered in such courses.

Why bother with facts and science and tolerance? Let's just cut to the chase and use their tactics against them.

In other words, you have fucking conscience issues, nutbars? So do we.

Take your Christian Sharia crap and stuff it.

UPDATE: CBC interview at 7:00 mark here.

UPPITY-DATE: Victory! Edmonton School Board will look for other providers. Squeaky wheel wins!

UPPITY-DATE 3: Power and Politics panel (50:43 mark) destroys any semblance of justification for religion in publicly funded schools.

Kansas? Louisiana? Nope. New Brunswick refers patients to religious counsellors

Imagine for a moment that you or a friend or rellie has a health concern. It's not (yet) 911-ambulance time, but you want some information on what your options are should it come to that.

All (?) provincial health ministries run handy tele-health lines with supposedly trained professionals ready to answer your questions with good, up-to-date info. In New Brunswick, this service is called Telecare.

Back in April, when we learned that the only private abortion clinic east of Montreal was closing, we predicted that there'd be some unintended consequences for the NB and PEI governments, both of which have stupid and illegal rigamaroles for abortion services.

The Morgentaler Clinic acted as a safety valve. For women who could afford it and arrange the travel, time off work, child care etc, the clinic provided an "out" for these two governments.

Fine, they could say, you want a "non-medical" abortion? Go to Morgentaler's and pay for it yourself.

Not anymore.

So what will the governments of NB and PEI say to women now?

Well, now we know.

Telecare NB is referring patients who need medical advice to anti-choice religious counsellors. (From Radio-Canada, via Google translation checked and improved by deBeauxO.)

Women who contacted the organization Telecare for information on abortion services in New Brunswick, claim that they were directed to pro-life services.

Telecare is an information and advice line on health within the Ministry of Health of New Brunswick.

Learning of the closure of the Morgentaler Clinic, Marilyn Merritt-Gray, a retired nurse, wanted to know what abortion services remain available.

She called Telecare, claiming that her daughter wanted an abortion.

The person who answered her call found in the system an organization which, it was explained to her, provides services to women facing an unwanted pregnancy.

It was BirthRight, a pro-life organization.

"I was shocked and angry! "- Marilyn Merritt-Gray, retired nurse.

Other women were given the same reference that Marilyn Merritt Gray received.

BirthRight offers free pregnancy tests, psychological support, housing help, transportation, child education, or assistance in finding a doctor.

But the organization will not present abortion as one of the possible options.

The Department of Health says an audit of the situation is underway.

According to Jaden Fitzherbert*, other women were referred not only to Birthright, but to CPCs (aka fake abortion clinics) in St John and Moncton.

Birthright is a bit different from other fake clinics in that it "has a philosophy of avoiding direct involvement in pro-life or pro-choice political advocacy."

The other two are forthrightly religious and up to their eyeballs in anti-choice activism, most notably as big players in the March For Life bunfest organized by New Brunswick Right to Life, located conveeeeniently adjacent to the Morgentaler Clinic.

Whether avowedly religious or not, all share a rabid anti-choice position and no medical qualifications whatsoever.

So, call a government agency looking for healthcare information and get directed to faith-based propaganda, masquerading as "counselling."

It's very like the situation commenter Beijing York related here, on a post on whether MDs should be allowed to let their religion trump patient care.

I brought up an example from personal experience where I suspected that I needed a psychiatrist and was told to seek a pastor or priest for guidance by the replacement physician at my on campus clinic.

It's shocking, insulting, and (bitterly) laughable. But completely predictable.

The New Brunswick government was and is totally unprepared to deal with the fallout from shutting off its only abortion safety valve. Its idiotic rules created the Morgentaler Clinic and those rules eventually closed it.

And now they're up shit creek.

In May, a new organization, Reproductive Justice New Brunswick attempted to warn NB lawmakers of the impending crisis.

Did they take any notice? Make any preparations? Obviously not.

I don't know what Reproductive Justice NB plans next, but if I were involved, I'd be organizing a raft of questions for Telecare operators, to be recorded for future reference (recording telephone calls is legal in Canada if one party -- in this case the caller -- knows about the recording).

Some questions for the Teleccare operators.

1. Is abortion legal in New Brunswick?

2. Is abortion covered under provincial health insurance?

3. How do I access this service?

4. Can you direct me to medically correct information on types of abortion and what to expect?

And so on.

If the government of New Brunswick gets away with this, what's next? Sending schizophrenic patients to exorcists? Referring patients for leeching?

*And why the heck is Radio-Canada the only media organization on this? Even there, there's a bit of a mystery. An earlier story appeared then disappeared, but not before an eagle-eyed ally nabbed it and ran it through Google Translate.

Abortion in NB: women looking for information are directed to pro-life clinics 
Updated Thursday, June 19, 2014 at 10 am PDT 02 

Women who contacted the organization Telecare for information on abortion services in New Brunswick, argue that they were directed to pro-life clinics. 

Telecare is an information and advice line on health within the Ministry of Health of New Brunswick. 

Jaden Fitzherbert contacted Telecare, she was sent to three organizations openly pro-life without giving any information about the services available abortion. 

Number Birthright, among others, suggested to the young woman. 

Birthright is pro-life organization says, but does not advocate for the cause. 

More details to come.

Which raises an interesting question: Are other media being muzzled? Does the Progressive Conservative Government of David Alward have a now not-so-hidden agenda on abortion?

Stay tuned.


ADDED, June 21/14: Here are the details of Jaden Fitzherbert's research.


ADDED, June 23/14: Where to get accurate info on abortion in New Brunswick.

UPDATE (July 4/14): There is now a crowdsourcing effort to at least continue the lease on the clinic. A first step in taking back control of women's rights in NB.

UPDATE (July 23/14): Informal poll on provincial health hotlines. Mostly acceptable. Only in New Brunswick (big surprise), Nova Scotia, and Manitoba do telehealth operators refer people seeking information on abortion to "fake clinics."

Anti-Choice Courier???

My sweetie, on his way over here, saw this and was so stunned he took a picture.



Hmm. Not so easy to read. Above the doors it says: "Supporting Crisis Pregnancy Centres...the most Important Deliveries of All"


Well, at least The Messengers are honest.

What's Important To Us

Providing excellent service and value for our clients.

Our firm is based on those two important principles The Golden Rule and Honesty.

Everyone, I and the staff at The Messengers International interact with, will be treated as we would like to be treated and we will always be honest in all of our interactions with everyone as well.

Pretty basic and simple.

We also support Crisis Pregnancy Centres, (With the most imporant deliveries of all). We believe a child before birth deserves the same respect as you and everyone else does.

Pretty basic and simple as well.

You have my promise on this,

Frank E. D'Angelo

I think people should know that this company is anti-choice.

LATER: I didn't realize when I wrote this that the owner is this jackass.

The First Law of Holes. . .

Fetus fetishists can't stop picking at the wound they were dealt in their MASSIVE failure when they tried to sue Joyce Arthur of the Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada for defaming two fake clinics in a report from FOUR years ago.

Here's another kick at the can, by a lawyer this time, desperately trying to spin a loss -- that they decided NOT to appeal, mind -- into a victory.

In Court, Arthur and the Pro-CAN argued that although the Report did reference the Vancouver CPCs and one of their executive directors, that the portion of the Report alleged to be defamatory was not talking about the Vancouver CPCs [crisis pregnancy centres] specifically. In fact, Arthur and Pro-CAN argued that this section of the Report talked about CPCs across North America. This is an important legal question because in order for the Report to be considered defamatory, there needs to be a target of the defamation. The Vancouver CPCs argued that they were the targets because they were specifically referred to in an appendix and because the Report as a whole was about CPCs in British Columbia, where they both operate. If, however, that section of the Report was found to be about CPCs in North America, of which there are approximately 4,200, then the sample is simply too large for any reasonable person to suspect that the Report is speaking about the Vancouver CPCs.

It’s a clever argument that has been used in many defamation cases in the past and unfortunately, it was successful in this case.

Not only clever but quick and effective, clearly.

But NOT, apparently, how the esteemed zygote zealot would have approached it.

As a lawyer, if I had a client seek my advice after being sued for making defamatory statements of fact, the first question I would ask is if the statements were true. If they were, that’s how we would defend the claim.

On no evidence whatsoever (buy hey, that's how they roll), he goes on to claim that Arthur's defense relied on that argument because it was the only one they had.

Well, duh. While we don't know what other arguments the team had up their sleeves, it's hard to imagine this simple defense of the truth wouldn't have been one of them.

But why roll out all that rigamarole and competing experts, especially the lying liars from the BAD (biased, agenda-driven) gang, when the whole butt-hurt exercise could be made to simply stop?

And as we pointed out, they continue to obsess over the general observations and conclusions in the report, while ignoring the damning demolition of the training manuals issued by the fetus fetishizing organization to which both fake clinics belong and presumably use to indoctrinate train their volunteers.

I am neither a lawyer nor a PR pro, but I would advise these people to STFU about this report. Their caterwauling and ridiculous attempts to spin a loss as a win are simply drawing more attention to it.

Which is a good thing. *evilsmiley*

Get the pdf of the whole report here and read Arthur's explanation of the case here.

Reverse SLAPP!

While Canadian fetus fetishists are desperately trying to replicate the admitted successes of their USian co-religionists, the truth is they're losing.

And the most recent loss is significant.

A couple of BC fake clinics Crisis Pregnancy Centres took Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada Executive Director, Joyce Arthur, to court alleging defamation in a 2009 report she wrote for the Pro-Choice Action Network.

Titled 'Exposing Crisis Pregnancy Centres in British Columbia', the report documents the deceptions and manipulations regularly practiced by these outfits.

To make a long story short, the fake clinics were butthurt* and wanted a public forum to whine in. And maybe make a little cash.

The judge was having none of it and tossed the suit. (Read Joyce's account for details and links.)

(Delish sidelight: losing side must pay costs. We're hoping for a maybe-think-twice-next-time sort of amount.)

When the suit was brought, many observers thought it smelled suspiciously SLAPPy. A SLAPP case, or strategic lawsuit against public participation, is 'intended to censor, intimidate, and silence critics by burdening them with the cost of a legal defense until they abandon their criticism or opposition.'

That kinda backfired, didn't it?

Here's Joyce on why they failed.

The defamation lawsuit backfired on the Christian Advocacy Society because, in my view, the anti-choice movement doesn't always have a firm grasp on reality. They tend to be quite insular, and so become convinced their position is far more reasonable and defensible than it actually is.

(That's Joyce being polite. Not to put too fine a point on it, fetus fetishists are delusional.)

Of course, the fake clinics spun it as a partial victory, claiming that while they didn't get to sue, the court ruled that Joyce didn't actually say anything bad about them specifically.

They have until September 25 to file an appeal. Ya think?

Two main takeaways.

One, this is just the latest in a string of defeats for the forced pregnancy mob in Canada. They've been losing legislatively at every turn, as Joyce lists in her article and as regular DJ! readers know and revel in. They're losing the public opinion war, most recently with the Fetal Gore Pron Gang's failed summer offensive -- and we mean OFFENSIVE -- postcard campaign targetting insufficiently 'pro-life' MPs.

Most importantly, while they occasionally grab the media spotlight in creepy and off-putting ways, as when Dr Morgentaler died a few months ago, polls consistently show that a majority of Canadians want everyone to shut the fuck up about abortion.

Second takeaway: The public spanking and (we hope) MASSIVE kick in the pocketbook for costs may deter other members of the Butthurt Band.

Such as Alyssa Golob, whose knickers got twisted when yelled at by an exasperated pub owner.

Third takeaway (OK, I lied): Isn't it grand to live in Canada?

Congrats, Joyce. And thanks. You've done a service for all of us mouthy sane people who call these lying liars out for fun and profit.


*LATER: I've been informed that 'butthurt' is a homophobic slur used by gamers when they have 'raped' an opponent. Well, I couldn't find documentation on that. Which is good, because it's a great phrase for exactly what it sounds like.

State Expropriation of Our Uteruses, Israeli Style

It just get more and more blatant.

Israel's two chief rabbis, Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi Yona Metzger and Sephardi Chief Rabbi Shlomo Moshe Amar, have come out in support of the controversial Efrat organization, which opposes abortion in Israel.
. . .
Organizers of the right-wing Jerusalem Conference, sponsored by Israel National News and the B'Sheva newspaper, recently announced their plan to award their "Jerusalem Prize" to Efrat.
. . .
The Efrat organization achieved notoriety in October after an 18-year-old, Raz Atias, threatened to kill his pregnant girlfriend and commit suicide. Atias was killed in a shootout with police on Oct. 19, while his girlfriend survived, in shock, but unharmed. It later turned out that the couple had been suffering great emotional distress after the girl was pressured by the Efrat organization not to have an abortion.
. . .
Two weeks ago, Israel Hayom published an investigative report describing the emotional manipulation that the organization's volunteers employ against vulnerable girls and women considering abortions.

The investigation found that Efrat receives extensive cooperation from municipal welfare services and hospitals, and that Efrat volunteers even work inside hospitals to persuade girls and women not to have abortions. Efrat has an army of 3,000 volunteers, and a budget of more than 12 million shekels [$3.2 million US] per year received from contributions in Israel and abroad.

Typical anti-choice tactics.

And the motive is pretty clearly political pronatalism.
Here's EFRAT's mission.

EFRAT, The Organization to Save Israel's Babies, receives no government assistance and is dependent upon private donations and contributions. Dr. Eli Schussheim, President of EFRAT firmly believes that our children are our future. "Saving our children is the answer to those who wish to destroy all Jews; adults, children and babies, born and unborn. By assisting women we are doing our part to increase the Jewish population in Israel."

Feminists plan to protest the award.

“The worst part is that they’re using the woman for demographics,” said protest organizer Tzaphira Allison Stern. “Why shouldn’t a woman have an abortion? Because we need the baby so there are more Jews, and so there are more Israeli soldiers, so we can defend the land and continue the occupation.”

Stern added that the organization works only with Jewish women, rather than with Arab, Druse or Christian women, which illustrates that they care only about politics and not about women’s health.

Have a look at all the cute presumably Jewish children on its website.

Jewish perhaps, but not many (any?) Ethiopian Jewish children.

Here is an account of what it's like to get an abortion in Israel.

I experienced this firsthand a few years ago, and I can confirm that a single woman in Israel seeking an abortion experiences a bureaucratic tangle of dizzying proportions that is nothing short of Kafkaesque.

And she's in a relationship but not married. How it is for married women?

But what happens to women who don’t get approval to abort? While waiting in one of the endless lines during the process, other good Jewish women carrying unwanted pregnancies told me that married women never get authorization. They have to prove nothing less than insanity or significant physical disability to get approval for an abortion.

Everywhere, it seems, women's uteruses are being expropriated by the state.

Fake Clinic, Fake Charity

Time for the Vicious Abortion Crusaders to saddle up!

Just like the Ottawa Senators fiasco of a few years ago, another fake abortion clinic has weaselled its way into a xmas charity intended to benefit several community groups.

This time in Kamloops.

Shirley Bosman was excited.

"Oh, this is good news," she said. "This is great news."

Bosman is the executive director of the Pregnancy Care Centre of Kamloops, one of five local charities to have been selected as the beneficiaries of 11th edition of The Daily News Christmas Cheer Fund.

The fund's selection committee completed the process last week and the five charities were notified on Friday.

Also selected were the Kamloops Food Bank; the Marjorie Willoughby Snowden Memorial Hospice Home; the New Life Mission; and the YMCA-YWCA Y Women's Emergency Shelter.

Now if the good people of Kamloops are aware that so-called crisis pregnancy centres are actually Xian-run anti-choice outfits that exist to lie, manipulate, shame, and guilt-trip women out of choosing abortion, fine. Go ahead and donate to the group 'charity' fund, knowing that one-fifth of your dough is going to religious zealots.

If they are not, they need to be wised up.

Judging from the comments, it seems quite a few people are well aware of the evil of these places.

For example, this from Cruick:

I will not support your cause this year. The Pregnancy Care Centre is a facade for an anti choice organization which only supports one option. I cannot believe that The Daily News has agreed to support this organization and thereby endorsing it as one which deserves our support. They do not provide information about birth control. They do not know about or refuse to give out information regarding "plan B" . They do not have medical professionals staffing their facility. There are so many worthy organizations deserving of our support, but this is not one of them. I am so disappointed. As a society we should be supporting organizations that promote Women's health and right to choose with all the facts provided by professionals.

There are lots more comments like that.

So, four other presumably worthy charities are going to lose out because of the inclusion of the fake clinic.

Let's help make sure that the generous people of Kamloops know what they're supporting. Maybe we'll be successful again in getting the clinic to remove itself because of the heat.

Win-win. More dough for real charities. More exposure of fake clinics.

Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada is on it.

So is the Kamloops Centre for Rational Thought. They've started a petition.

Remove Pregnancy Care Centre from Xmas Cheer fund.

In view of the fact that the Kamloops Pregnancy Care centre is an avowed anti choice organization which displays little concern for actual pregnant women and is in fact a vehicle for Proselytizing Christianity while denying women reliable information on options related to women's health we respectfully ask that the Kamloops Daily News withdraw it's Xmas Cheer fund support and redirect it to a more worthy and less controversial cause.
[Your name]

Lies and evil masquerading as 'charity' should not be rewarded.

Exposing Fake Pregnancy Crisis Centres in BC

Joyce Arthur in Straight Goods: 'Exposing Fake Pregnancy Crisis Centres in BC'

Most agencies that counsel pregnant women are actually anti-abortion Christian ministries. Their main goal is to stop women from having abortions. These centres are generally not medical facilities, and most of their "counsellors" are volunteers who are not medical professionals and have no recognized training in counselling. Some of these centres are called Crisis Pregnancy Centres or "CPCs", although many of them have different names.
. . .
Previous studies have shown that most CPCs misinform and try to intimidate women out of having abortions. Women describe being harassed, bullied, and given blatantly false information. Counseling techniques used by CPCs frequently induce anxiety and emotional trauma in women considering abortion. Many women say their confidentiality has been violated, and that mistreatment by CPCs has threatened their health.

We wanted to find out what these centres were doing and saying to women in BC, and whether they were engaging in the same type of deceptive or harmful practices. Indeed, we found that they tend to hide their true agenda from women, and dispense inaccurate information about abortion, some of it dangerous.

Download a PDF of the report here.

Here are her recommendations for action:

* Stop deceptive advertising and false representations of CPCs in the media.

* Remove CPCs from referral lists used by the medical profession or social services.

* Ensure that the medical profession and social services have accurate information so they can refer women for abortion appropriately.

* Create more pro-choice counselling in communities, both options and post-abortion.

* Lobby governments and public foundations to stop funding CPCs.

* Ask Canada Revenue Agency to revoke the charity status of CPCs that have it.

Ah, that second-last one reminds me. The Trillium Foundation hasn't got back to me about funding fetus fetishists. I'll get on it.

Great work, Joyce and the Pro-Choice Action Network!

UPDATE: May 15, 2011. Updated to fix link for PDF of the report.

We're an Anti-Abortion Center, Dammit!

The fetus fetishists are using our words again. Somewhere in Iowa, something called 'Choices Medical Clinic' is set to open its doors.

It is described like this:

The anti-abortion center will open in the spring and provide free health care to all women - though notably excluding contraceptives and abortions.

Anti-abortion center? OK.

But don't you dare call it a Crisis Pregnancy Center.

Still, some argue that excluding abortion as an option is misleading and doesn't give women all the information. Nationally, many crisis pregnancy centers have been accused of using deceptive tactics that prevent women from having abortions.

"The tactics that [crisis pregnancy centers] used to do that, unfortunately, are sometimes getting women in under the guise of its being a medical clinic," Thompson [pro-choice person] said.

But Owen [director of new outfit] said Choices Medical Clinic is not a crisis pregnancy center.

"I know some people would put us in the category of a women's crisis center," she said. "But we're different - we are a full-on medical clinic."

You gotta love it. Crisis Pregnancy Centers have such a stink attached that even the smarter fetus fetishists are shying away from the label.