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Saskatoon:
Unit3,844-51'"St.
EastSaskatoon,SKS7K5C7Tel:(306)975-4725
Toll
Free:1~88-844-BB86Fax:(306)975-4728
Email:
OUSEOFCOMMONS
CANADA
MauriceVellacott,M.P.Saskatoon-Wanuskewin
Ottawa:
5uile610,JusticeBldg.House
of
CommonsOttawa,'ONK1A
OAS
Tel:(61a)992-1899
Fax:(613)992-3085
_.maurio:evellacott.ca
FORIMMEDIATERELEASE
Vellacott'sexposeofCTV'sso-called"i!1vestigation"ofcrisispregnancycentres
January
26,2012,
Ottawa-
A
MemberofParliamentandfoundingboardmemberofacrisispregnancycentre
in
Saskatoon
is
concerned
that
CTV's
'investigative
reporting"
oncrisis
pregnancy
centres
in
Be
maybe
inviolationofthe
Canadian
Broadcast
StandardsCode
ofEthics,totheultimate
detrimentofvu1nerable
pregnant
women.."ItisCTV'sduty,
as
aCanadian
broadcaster,
totreatfairlyall
sides
of'a
controversial
issue,"
said
Maurice
Vellacott,
MP
forSaskatoon-Wanuskewin."It
isno
secretthatabortion
isa
controversialissue,Relyingalmostexclusivelyonviewsespoused
by
abortionproviders
and
abortionadvocacyorganizationsforastoryaboutpregnancyoptionsislikerelyingsolelyontheviews
espoused
bytobacco
companies
and
smokers'
rightsgroupsforastoryaboutwhetherto
take
up'smokingornot,"saidVellacott."It'sespeciallyconcerninginthiscasebecause
it
seemsCTV'sso-called"investigation'mayhavebeentriggeredbyabortionadvocateswhohavebeenintentonharmingthereputationofthe
crisis
pregnancycentresforyears,"Vellacottadded.TheCanadianBroadcastStandardsCouncil'sCodeofEtbicsstatesthat"thefull,fairandproperpresentationofnews,
opinion,comment
andeditorialistheprimeandfuridamental
responsibility
ofeachbroadcaster,"and"Recognizing
in.
ademocracythenecessityofpresenting
all
sidesof
.a
publicissue,
it
shallbetheresponsibilityofbroadcasterstotreatfairlyall
subjects
ofacontroversialnature."Thecodefurtherstatesthat"newsshallberepresentedwithaccuracyandwithoutbias,"and"shallnot
be
selectedforthepurpose
of
furtheringorhinderingeitherside
of
anycontroversialpublicissue...
2.
TheCTV"investigation"usedhiddencameras
and
senta
cry
employee.posingasapregnantwomanseekingadviceaboutheroptions,
to
twocrisispregnancy
centres
in
Be,
one
in
Surreyandone
in
Vancouver.Thereportgivestheimpressionthesecentresmisleadwomenbyexaggeratingthehealthrisksassociatedwithabortion.Thesectiononhealthrisksfocusedalmost
.
.
.Upon
seeing
CIV's
"investigative
report,"
Vellacottacting
onhisowninitiativedecidedto
investigate
thecircumstancesthatled
to
it
aspartofhisresponsibilityasaparliamentarian,tobecertainthatthebroadcast
regulations
arebeingfollowedproperly.
Thecrisispregnancy
centresthemselvesarecompletely
non-political
andnever
'becomeinvolved
in
anypoliticalcampaignsorlegislation.
1
entirelyonsomecommentsmadibyavolunteeratthecentre
in
Surreywhichthosewho
lim
thecentreconcedewereinaccurate."It'sofgreatconcernwhenpatientsaregiveninaccurateinformationabouttherisks;bannsandbenefitsofanymedicalprocedureandtotheextentthatC1Vexposed'wronginformation'it'stobewelcomed.Butsuchexposescan'tbeone-sided.Andyoucan'tappreciatetheextentofhowone-sidedthisreportwasuntilyou
know
whatCTVintentionally
omitted
fromthereport,"saidVellacott."Thereportignoredthescientificliteraturereferencedinthecentres'
brochureswhich
substantiatesthecentres'claimsthatabortionisassociated
with
increasedphysicalandpsychologicalhealthrisks,"Thereporterwastoldthatthisbrochurehadbeenreviewedandapproved
by
25professionalcounsellors,physiciansandmedicalresearchers.Noneofthiswasmentioned.
in
the
crv
report.."CTValsodeclined
to
interviewphysicians
with
expertiseinthearea
of
healthrisksassociatedwithabortionwhohadbeenwillingtocorroborate,onair,theclaimsmade
in
thebrochure.''Furthermore,
Dr.
DanReilly,anobstetrician/gynaecologistwhoalsoteachesethics
at
McMaster,wasinterviewedbyCTVandbrieflyappearedonthebroadcast,butonlyhiscommentsthatchallengedthevalidityofsomeofthecommentsmade
by
theSurreycentrevolunteerwere
aired.Dr.
Reilly's
writtenconfirmationoftheaccuracyofthehealth
risks
described
in
the
centre'sbrochurewaspassedontoCTV,butthosecomments
by
Dr.ReillynevermadeitintoCTV'sreport.AlsoleftoutofCTV
1
sreportwasthefactthatthecounsellorat.theVancouvercentrereceivedacompleteendorsementfrom
Dr.
Reillythather
comments
weremedically
.correct,
"CTV
choseto
air
Dr.
WendyNorman'scommentsaboutabortionbeing'very·safe,'neglecting.totelltheviewersthatDr.Norman
is
anabortionproviderandresearcherand'haspracticed.exclusively
in
theareaofabortionsince1997.•
5
Hercommentsto
cry
seemtobeatodds
with
theresultsofastudysheherselfco-authoredwhichfound
that
''Postaboitioninfectionaftertherapeuticabortion,althoughuncommon,mayhavedevastatingconsequencesincludinginfertility,ectopicpregnancy,andpelvicpainsyndrome.r"Noneofthiswasmentioned
in
the
CTV
report."CTVhasanobligation'totreatfairlyallsubjectsofacontroversialnature,'accordingtotheCBSC'sCodeofEthics.InlightofwhatCTVchosetoreportandchosetowithholdfromthefinalreportthatwas
aired,
it
isveryclearthepregnancycentreswerenottreatedfairly."CTVwentundercoverto
"see
forthemselves"whatkindofcounsellingwomenreceiveatthepregnancycentresafter•concerns,wereexpressedabouta"hiddenagenda'byGregSmith,theexecutivedirectorofOptionsforSexualHealth(Opt).formerlyknownasPlannedParenthoodof
Be.
SmithtoldCTVthatpregnantwomenweren'tbeinggiven"alltheinformationtheyneeded,
butonlybeinggivensomeof
it.,,7.
2
Thecrisispregnancycentresgiveinformationaboutabortiontothe.womentheycounselbutdonotmakeabortionreferrals.Thetwocentres"investigated"wereveryclearandforthrightaboutthisontheirwebsiteand
in
theirbrochurethattheygivetothewomentheycounsel.OptionsforSexualHealth(Opt),isaregisteredcharitywhich
in
2011received$1,433,347
in
provincialgovernmentfunding.s
The
organizationadvocatesfor
"readilyaccessible,readilyavailable,unrestrictedandunlimitedaccesstoabortionforallwomenthroughoutBritishColumbia"
including
"Classificationofabortionasan<essentialsendee';Increasedabortionprovideravailability;ProtectionofAccessZonelegislation.•
.9
VellacottwondershowmuchtheCTV"investigators"knewbeforehandaboutOpt'sadvocacyworkagainstthepregnancycentres."ApparentlyOptionsforSexualHealth(Opt)isnotsatisfiedwiththegrossfinancialadvantagetheyalreadyhaveoverthecrisispregnancycentres,
with
0/4
ofthisabortionadvocacygroup'sannualfundraisingrevenuecomingfromBCtaxpayers.Optalsoproclaims
in
itsannualreportthatitwilladvocateforthe
'Cessatio~oftheuseofpublicand
United
Wayfun
ds
forso-called"crisispregnancycentres?"
andthe
'Cessationofthedesignationofcharitablestatusforso-ctdled"crisispregnancycentres.
",10
(emphasisadded).
WasCTVawareofthis?"Vellacottasked.Inits2011
Annual
Report,Optstatesthatitscommitmenttotheabove-statedgoals
"is
consistentwiththemissiona/theAbortionRightsCoalitionofCanada(ARCC).whoseektoensurewomen
',1
reproductivefreedombyprotectingandadvancingaccesstoabortionandqualityreproductivehealthcare.OPTalsosharesthegoala/CanadianFederation/orSexualHealth(CFSH)tosupportawoman'sindividualrighttochooseandobtainanabortion.As
a
memberofInternationalPlannedParenthoodFederation(lPPF),CFSHworkstoensuretheeliminationofunsafeabortionsandtoincreasetherightofaccesstosafe,legalabortionsforallwomen.
,,11.
ARce's
executivedirector,JoyceArthur,authoreda2009reportentitled"ExposingCrisisPregnancyCentres
in
BritishColumbia"forthenowdefunctPro-ChoiceActionNetwork(pro-CAN).ThereportistheresultofaresearchprojectPro-CANbegan
in
2005
to
"expose"crisispregnancycentres-whattheabortion-rights:organizationcalls"fakeclinics."Thereportsaysthatthegoalofcrisisprer-ancycentresis"tostopwomenfromhavingabortionsandtoconvertwomentoChristianity."
t..
Pro-CANreceived$27,400forthisprojectfromStatusofWomenCanadawhenthefederal.Liberalswere
in
power,asrevealed
by
anAccesstoInformationRequest.Thepurposeof
Pro-
CAN'sresearch,asdescribedonitsapplicationforfunding,wasto:
"publiclyexposetheanti-womanandanti-feministagendaofCPCs...andbydoingso,worktomitigatediscriminatoryattitudestowardswomen...worktopromoteinstitutionalchangebyensuringthathealthorganizationssuchashospitals.clinics,anddoctors'officesdonotinappropriatelyreferwomentoCPC's,andinsteadhavefeminist-basedalternativestowhichtheycanreferwomen.
,,}3
''Theabortionmovement
in
Canadahasbeenverballyabusingthecrisispregnancycentresfor.
years,"Vellacottsaid.
"Are
wetobelieve
that
CTVknew
nothingaboutPro-CAN'scampaignagainstthecentres,aboutPro-CAN'slinkstoARCC,whosemissionisconsistent
with
thatof
3
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