Nov 2007
Newsletter November 2007PEACEFUL PROTEST -
Friday, January 25, from 1-1:30 pm in front of our MP’s office, Gary Goodyear, 1425 Bishop St. N. unit 3 and then onto Gerry Martiniuk’s office on Hespeler Rd., beside McDonald’s. Come join us in this peaceful witness for life!
S.O.S - Our office is in need of volunteers for Tues. and Thurs. afternoons 2-4 pm. Please call us if you can help!
From the President’s Desk
Dear Members,
With the lazy days of summer now behind us, the pro-life activities are in full swing.. Our Walk For Life at the end of September was very successful. From the proceeds, we are able to help many pro-life groups such as National Campus Life Network, who do not have charitable status and struggle to stay alive. Also, our national pro-life umbrella organization, Life Canada, has asked us for an increase in our membership fee to better offset their expenses. So starting in January 08, we will be raising our membership fee to $20. Thank-you dear members for your invaluable support. On behalf of the Board of Directors, I wish you a holy and happy Christmas.
Isabel Smith
Updates
Walk For Life
Thank-you to all the sponsors of this year’s annual Walk For life and especially the following who sponsored our ad in the newspaper: GOAD & GOAD LAW OFFICE, KAY D’ARCY REALTY, RED/CAM MFG.INC, ST. GREGORY CWL, ST. CLEMENT CHURCH, WEIDINGER HOLDINGS. And thank you to all of our members who pledged monies during our phone drive as well as to those who sponsored walkers. THANKS TO ALL WHO WALKED! It was a beautiful summer’s day. Please remember to collect the pledge money and send in your cheques to our office as soon as possible.
Life Chain
This peaceful and prayerful public witness to the sanctity of unborn life was held on Sunday, Oct. 1.on Hespeler Rd. Thanks to all who stood up for life!
Rockton’s World Fair
With the help of our faithful volunteers, our educational display was set up at the Rockton Fair. Attendance was better than ever. With so much hype about ‘global warming’ and the ‘threat’ that humans pose to the environment, we thought it was important to challenge that theory. A banner which stated ‘Save the Planet’s People’ was front and centre at our display. Thanks to Camilla Gunnarson for doing the graphics for that banner and to all the volunteers who staffed the booth on Thanksgiving weekend.
Religious Christmas Cards & Christmas Cakes
Cards are packaged 10 per box with a Scripture verse inside. They cost $7.50 per box or three boxes for $20.00. These deluxe fruitcakes cost $15.00 for the 1.7lb rectangular cake and $25.00 for the round 2.5 lb cake in a tin container. As in previous years, these items will be available at our Annual General Meeting or by calling our office. This annual fundraiser is in support of The Euthanasia Prevention Coalition and Campaign Life Coalition.
UPDATE ON THE HPV VACCINE (excerpts from LifeSite News.net)
The Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) vaccine is being proposed for a widespread, voluntary inoculation program in Ontario schools for girls as young as nine. It targets certain sexually transmitted strains of human papilloma virus associated with cancer and cervical warts. To be noted, is the fact that this vaccine under the name of Gardasil, is effective only against four strains of HPV and should not be seen as an alternative to a PAP test. This program raises a number of ethical dilemmas.
In March 21, 2007, the Harper Conservatives announced that Canada’s federal government 2007-2008 budget, included $300 million to be distributed to the individual provinces to fund the new HPV vaccination. This was cause for concern given the recommendation of the National Advisory Committee on Immunization in the Canadian Communicable Disease Report. The report said “Gardasil™ is recommended for females between 9 and 13 years of age, as this is before the onset of sexual intercourse for most females in Canada, and the efficacy would be greatest. While efficacy of the vaccine in this age group has not been demonstrated, (emphasis ours) the immunogenicity bridging data implies that efficacy would be high.”
As stated in the recommendation, the effectiveness of the vaccine in the target age group of young girls has not been scientifically established. Medical personnel have merely used results in adult test scenarios to predict positive results in a younger demographic.
Concerns
While supporting the effort to combat cancer, critics of Gardasil have a laundry list of concerns about the vaccine and the effort to have it required for 6th grade attendance – not the least of which is that Gardasil is a vaccination for a sexually transmitted disease associated with promiscuity and the intended age group for the mandatory vaccination is pre-teen girls.
In the U.S., the vaccine is being promoted as mandatory. Concerned Women for America (CWA) has voiced many of its concerns regarding the vaccination and the push to have it mandated for school age girls. Among other issues, they argue mandating such a vaccine for young girls is the state usurping the rights of parents to make such decisions for their children.
CWA also states such a vaccination could give a false sense of security to girls in making responsible and moral decisions regarding their sexual integrity and personal health. “There is concern that a vaccine involving STDs may give those receiving the immunization a false sense of protection against such diseases, particularly if they are not adequately informed about the vaccine's limitations. It is important, but unfortunately not required, that recipients receive a strong abstinence message so that they understand that the only real protection from the broad range of STDs comes from refraining from sexual activity prior to marriage.”
On October 5, LifeSite News reported on the following statement by the American College of Pediatricians: “The ACP is opposed to any legislation which would require HPV vaccination for school attendance for refusal to be vaccinated…is a serious, precedent-setting action that trespasses on the right of parents to make medical decisions for their children as well as on the rights of the children to attend school. In addition, this vaccine prevents a disease which is exclusively sexually transmitted; mandating it as early as 9 years of age places the medical provider in an ethical dilemma.
First, the administration of the vaccine requires explanation to both the parent and the child. Parents may have chosen not to introduce the subject of sexual activity to their nine year olds due to their physical and emotional immaturity. Also, most 9-12 year old children are not sexually active; many have not entered puberty. Forcing a parent to forsake his/her better judgment and discuss this information with the child would be inappropriate and unnecessarily intrusive.”
US Death Toll Associated with HPV Vaccine Jumps to 11 with 3,779 Adverse Reactions Reported (FDA) under the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act, detailing a total of as many as eleven deaths related to Merck's HPV vaccine Gardasil. Those deaths resulted between June 8, 2006 - when the vaccine received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) - and August 2007 when the latest data was available.
The adverse reports coming from the HPV vaccine are increasing daily at an alarming rate. A LifeSiteNews.net report, which scanned a publicly available database of adverse affects coming from the HPV vaccine, found 3,137 adverse effects reported on September 28, 2007. On Oct. 5, the U.S. Government's Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) listed 3,779 adverse effects. 52 of the cases were deemed "life threatening" and 119 required hospitalization.
In one case highlighted by Judicial Watch, a 17 year old girl who was vaccinated in June 2007, died the very day she was vaccinated. According to the report, she "was vaccinated with a first dose of Gardasil…During the evening of the same day, the patient was found unconscious (lifeless) by the mother. Resuscitation was performed by the emergency physician but was unsuccessful. The patient subsequently died."
Other serious reported side effects associated with Gardasil include paralysis, Bells Palsy, Guillain-Barre Syndrome, and seizures. Says one report: "Initial and follow-up information has been received from a physician concerning an "otherwise healthy" 13 year old female who was vaccinated with her first and second doses of Gardasil. Subsequently, the patient experienced…paralysis from the chest down, lesions of the optic nerve…At the time of the report, the patient had not recovered."
"In light of this information, it is disturbing that state and local governments might mandate in any way this vaccine for young girls," said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton.
Catholic Bishops Statement
In a memo distributed to Catholic school boards in mid September, the Ontario Conference of Catholic Bishops wrote: "This is a voluntary program, and parents have the final decision on whether their daughters should be vaccinated. We encourage parents to keep in mind some important considerations.
First, infection with HPV or other sexually transmitted diseases can occur only through sexual activity, which carries with it profound risks to a young person’s spiritual, emotional, moral, and physical health and may have other unintended and unwanted consequences. Sexuality is a great and powerful gift. Sexuality is appropriate only within marriage. Outside of marriage, abstinence is not only clearly the choice that leads to spiritual and moral wellbeing, but it is obviously the best protection against the risks of diseases.
Second, there is no consensus among those involved in public health in Canada that HPV vaccination is the most prudent strategy in terms of allocating health care resources to address the goal of preventing deaths resulting from cervical cancer. Further research is required. The Bishops of Ontario encourage parents to learn the medical facts concerning this vaccination. Although the HPV vaccination program properly leaves the choice of participation to parents, the Bishops of Ontario regret its introduction without further opportunity for further study of all of the effects of this program. The best interests of children demand that parents and guardians be fully informed before granting consent.
Parents and educators want to prepare children well for their future in all aspects of their lives. A proper education in chastity helps young people to embrace their sexuality with confidence and joy.
We ask that Catholic school boards include this message in the information package that parents receive concerning the program.”
Signed: James Wingle, President, OCCB