Life

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Teen pregnancy on the decline in Canada

Life

Written by Peter Jon Mitchell, senior researcher at the Institute of Marriage and Family Canada

Teen pregnancy rates continue to fall in Canada according to a study released May 27 by the Sex Information and Education Council of Canada (SIECCAN). The study, which is published in The Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality, compared pregnancy rates in Canada, England/Wales, Sweden and the US. In the 10 year period from 1996 to 2006, the teen pregnancy rate dropped in Canada by nearly 37 per cent. The rate is calculated by adding the number of women ages 15 to 19 who gave birth with those who had abortions. The number is expressed per 1000 women in this age group.

The Canadian teen pregnancy rate is 27.9, compared with 31.4 in Sweden, 60.3 in England/Wales and 61.2 in the US. The report’s authors acknowledge that many variables influence pregnancy rates, but as a promoter of sex education, they focus on the influence of sex ed and access to “reproductive choice” as significant contributors to the decline.

The decline in the teen pregnancy rate is good news, but what do the numbers really tell us?

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Quebec prepares for euthanasia hearings

Life

A 15-member all-party committee of the Quebec National Assembly charged with looking into the thorny issue of so-called “death with dignity” is seeking the views of Quebeckers on euthanasia and assisted suicide, the Montreal Gazette reported.

Groups and individuals have until July 16 to present their written submissions in advance of public hearings that will be held in 10 cities across the province this fall.

Monday, May 17, 2010

Hospital opens drop-off for abandoned babies

Life

Troubled mothers in Metro Vancouver who feel they are incapable of caring for an infant now have a place where they can anonymously and safely abandon their babies, the Vancouver Sun reported.

The Angel’s Cradle, as it is called, opened May 3 at St. Paul’s Hospital, which is run by a Catholic health agency. Funding for the drop-off was provided by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vancouver.

Monday, May 17, 2010

MP seeks to criminalize those who coerce women to abort

Life

Manitoba Conservative MP Rod Bruinooge wants to make it a crime in Canada for someone to try to coerce a woman into having an abortion, the National Post reported.

The Criminal Code already forbids the uttering of physical threats against pregnant women. But Bill C-510, a private member’s bill that Bruinooge introduced last month, would go further by criminalizing other forms of intimidation, such as threatening to take away her “financial support or housing” and “argumentative and rancorous badgering.”

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Maternal madness

Life

How an initiative to help mothers and children in the developing world became all about abortion

Written by Andrea Mrozek, manager of research and communications at the Institute of Marriage and Family Canada

When Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced that he would make maternal health a major initiative when Canada assumed presidency of the G8 in late June, the move garnered widespread approval. Since then, many have wondered how on earth a call for improved maternal and child health in the developing world evolved into a debate about abortion.

The following chronology outlines how the debate unfolded:

Christian Influence in Society

What does the Bible say about becoming involved with politics? Is there a reason why Christians should vote or care about an election?

HEARD AROUND

“Sarah Coyne, professor of family life at Brigham Young University, co-authored a recent study on media aggression and found that out of 120 hours of programming, an average of 52 acts of hostility (physical and verbal) are broadcast per hour on reality TV. Non-reality programming contained only 33 such incidents per hour. Coyne concludes, ‘[Programming is] producing this culture of being mean to each other,’ Coyne said. ‘We're setting up our culture to being overreactive.’ (The study was published in June's Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media.)”

[Pluggedin.com 7/6/10; USAtoday.com 6/29/10]

Listing of Pregnancy Care Centres

Pregnancy centres provide loving counselling, practical assistance and a variety of resources to pregnant women. For more information about these services available across Canada, please click here.

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What percentage of Canadian children from divorced families will see one of their parents divorce a second time?

	Almost 50 percent
	Almost 25 percent
	Almost 10 percent

Previous Poll Question Answer

In answer to our previous survey question, the number of Canadian children living in poverty is one in 10.

Todaysfamilynews.ca is a service of Focus on the Family (Canada) Association.
It is intended as a general, practical reference and should not be considered a substitute for professional medical, mental health or legal advice.

Christian Influence in Society

HEARD AROUND

Listing of Pregnancy Care Centres

Most read articles

Previous Poll Question Answer

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