NEWS RELEASE

May 27, 1996    For Immediate Release

REFERENDUM ON TAX-FUNDING FOR ABORTIONS OPPOSED BY LIBERALS

"Government won't even allow MPs to vote on the issue in Parliament!"

Ottawa - Garry Breitkreuz, MP for Yorkton-Melville, led the debate today in the House of Commons on his Private Members Motion 91, calling for a national binding referendum on tax funding for abortion. The Liberal government, represented by the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice, Gordon Kirkby, MP for Prince Albert-Churchill River, refused to allow a vote on the motion or to refer it to the Standing Committee on Health. We spend $125,000 per hour keeping this House of Commons running and the government won't even allow a vote on this issue. This whole hour was a waste of time and taxpayers money", stated Breitkreuz.

In a plebiscite held during the 1991 provincial election in Saskatchewan, two-thirds of the voters opposed public funding for abortions. A January 1995 poll conducted in Alberta produced similar results with 73% of women and 69% of men opting for de-funding abortions." In November 1995, the Environic's Focus Ontario survey found that 57% of respondents do not think that the Ontario Health Insurance Plan should pay for abortions. Breitkreuz also reported that as of this morning he had received 109 petitions with over 2,790 signatures of voters who support Motion 91. "It's pretty clear that the majority of Canadians don't support Medicare paying for voluntary medical services like cosmetic surgery, in-vitro fertilization, sterilization reversal, annual physicals and abortions."

Breitkreuz also commissioned a Library of Parliament research paper which found that approximately 100,000 therapeutic abortions are being performed each year in Canada. About 70,000 abortions are performed in hospitals at a cost of $500 each or about $35,000,000 per year. Another 30,000 abortions are performed in free-standing clinics at a cost of $250 each or about $7.5 million. Physician fees were calculated in 1992/93 fiscal year to be $9.1 million. "Using taxpayers' dollars to fund abortions actually contravenes Section 3 of the Canada Health Act because an abortion does not 'protect, promote and restore physical and mental well-being', that abortion does not 'prevent disease' and is not an 'illness'. Over 98% of all abortions are not 'medically required'. In fact, research shows that abortion is not therapeutic; it is actually harmful to a woman's mental and physical health."

"It is wrong for a government to avoid talking about sensitive issues. The essence of what we do in this House of Commons should be to fully debate all issues of concern to Canadians. The job of government is to carry out the will of the people. If we cannot decide the issue here, it should be referred to the people of Canada in a referendum, not simply avoided," concluded Breitkreuz.

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For the complete text of the debate on Motion 91 please call the Office of Garry Breitkreuz, M.P.:

Yorkton: (306) 782-3309

Ottawa: (613) 992-4394

Motion 91 reads: "That, in the opinion of this House, the government should enact legislation which would require that a binding, national referendum be held at the time of the next election to ask Canadians whether or not they are in favour of federal government funding for abortions on demand."

"Motion 91 is not just about abortion, it is about democracy. It's about giving voters a real say in how they want their scarce health-care dollars spent. It's about voters deciding which health-care procedures they consider "essential". It's about voters making these tough decisions for themselves, not having politicians and bureaucrats make these decisions for them."