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Anti-abortion group doesn 't hold higher moral ground Dear Sir: I would like to respond to two letters published in the March 3lst edition of the Beaver. DJ. Dooley's letter claims that a woman's right to an abortion IS questionable", and Mrs. Maureen Murray writes that "Catholics should be worried about compulso- ry sexual health eduction," and fur- ther she claims that the Abortion Services Task Force's report, "denies freedom of speech ... and is contrary to the Charter of Rights." I cannot speak for the Task Force, but I can speak for Planned Parenthood Ontario, which supports the recommendations of the Task Force. I would like to mak.e the follow- ing points. First, Planned Parenthood supports a woman's right to an abortion. The fact that there is not a specific law guaran- teeing abortion services as a right does not make it questionable. Abortion is a legal health service. There are no laws guaranteeing individuals the specific "right" to a tonsillectomy either, but neither .does it make anyone's right to this health service "questionable". Also, DJ. Dooley uses the "prin- ciples" of democracy to support his/her anti choice stand. Please Mr./Ms. Dooley don't forget that the most fundamental principle of democracy is majority rule. In Canada, 76% of the population sup ports a woman's right to choose. Second, Planned Parenthood supports a mandatory sexual health curriculum. Why? The incidence of adolescent pregnancy and the spread of sexuality transmitted dis- eases is still alarmingly high. Does anyone believe that teenagers want to get pregnant or be infected with a life-threatening disease? Of course not. The chief reason these things happen at all is because of igno- rance. A proper sexual health curricu- lum would teach students just that - sexual health, in other words, "the Facts of Life". Knowing about your body, disease, reproduction and what specific behaviours (absti- nence, condom use, etc.) to use to avoid problems is everyone's right. Perhaps in a perfect world children would learn about these issues from And ifthey think they've got a buddy in Bob Rae, guess again. Even he knows something's got to give. Fred Upshaw, president of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU): his group won't even talk about any kind of concessions including staff reductions. Stay tuned Fred. Ierhapsthermstdiscouragingthingtoermrge from thismeetingisthanotoneof these union leaders representing an incredible 900.000 publicly-paid workers. can see hewtitingonthewall.Whatrnakesthesepetople think theyareimmumfromthe cum economic realities? If they want to play hardball and withdraw services and the like, we suggest they do so and watch the reaction of the Ontario taxpayer who has had enough. That's right Liz, what do you think business and industry has been doing the past few years just to survive? Sid Ryan, Ontario president of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE): his group would be willing to consider wage freezes but job cuts or wage cuts were out of the question. Welcome to the 1990s Sid. The response from the union types was predictable and typical. A few examples Liz Barclay, president of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation: "A social contract is a euphemism. for job cuts and cutbacks." And didn't you just love the little get together held by Ontario Premier Bob Rae and a group of provincial public sector labor leaders on Monday. In one comer we had our premier spouting euphemisms and dancing around the issue of the deficit and the provincial debt Why all this fancy semantic footwork? For one reason and one reason only, Rae didn't have the guts to face these union leaders and give them the straight goods. Like it or not people, your members are going to face cutbacks because there's no more money in the pot and it's as simple as that. But that would have been too easy for our Bob. Better to waffle (there's an old NDP word) than to lay your cards on the table. When you have governments ignore the impact of more taxation on seniors and on businesses that drive the economy. you have problems-big, problems and it's going to require some creative thinking to find solutions. Neither of these situations chroni- cled here, showed any kind of creativity on the part of government. It's the same old song of Tax, Tax, Tax. People are fed up with this one-note fiscal policy and they're demanding better. anadian taxpayers are mad as hell and they‘re not going to take it any more. That's the message they're sending: governments at all levels and woe bctickt those public officials who don't listen. Angry taxpayers in British Columbia protested when the province wanted to put a luxury housing surcharge on property taxes to those who held homes felt to he luxuri- ous. The trouble with the plan was this: the government didn't do their homework as to what group would be most severely hit by such a punitive tax, It turned out that long-time homeowners. mostly seniors. would see their taxes rise so dramatically. that many of them could be forced to sell their homes because they could no longer pay taxes on the homes they owned. The provincial treasurer was forced to kill the idea. Is no one in government thinking? Obviously not. Flash across the country to Quebec where small business owners stormed the Montreal City Hall over a plan to further tax their operations with a special new busi- ness tax. Just what the doctor ordered in a recession-cum-modest recovery. - 's":'ii),r'("i's/, _ A; ' T F , ., 's/r-; /iriy,riydi"l'; 'yt, 'tgrryiiiir;,"r: Tvet Iv. KIN-1'! Hm“! ‘Lll'vrllw WHY IMP (WI 845-3824 Fax: 845-3085 l y,l',' mm /\dr-uu; 845-2809 Time to listen EDITORIAL Weappteciatethatthefatnily wasuukrstress,butthis Asour CEO.pointedout,rtooneneedfearofbeing was not reason enough for the accusations levelled at the turned away in an emergency, and it would appear that this hospital. To state that "going to the press" was the means was not the case with Mrs. Lindsay. justifying the end, is appalling. The description of Mrs. The hospital is dealing mostefficiently with thedifficul- Lindsay as being "stranded" was misleading, as she was ty caused by the renovation and is to be congratulated, not apparently receiving excellent care in the Tuscon hospital. castigated. their parents. However, the reality is that most parents do not teach their children a great deal about sexual health. And Catholic parents aren't any better at it than anyone else. Planned Parenthood only wants everyone to be in possession of the facts so that they can make informed decisions and act respon- siblv. Mrs. Murray claims the report denies freedom of speech and free- dom of conscience. In fact. we would argue these are issues about beliefs. The curriculum issue is about access to factual information. No one questions the existing, math, or geography curricula on freedom AsasmallgroupofvolunteerswiththePatientEscat Service at O.T.M.H, we feel we cannot ignore the adverse publicity received by our hospital as a result of the Grove's family approaching the Toronto Star and the Oakville Beaver. We deplore the scare mongering headlines that have appeared. Dear Sir: The Oakville Chapter of the Heart and Stroke Foundation con- ducted its annual person-to-person campaign in February raising funds for research and for health promo- tion. As we continue to make real gains against our #1 cause of death Hospital received bad rap when woman was stranded Heart and Stroke Foundation says thanks Our understanding is there is only one specific unit at PHONE“ ALONE WWW-55E #5180 '), SPEAK YOUR MIND Got a gripe? Give us a call. Readers are invited to express their opinion on a topic of their choice by calling 845-5585, box 5250. All callers are allowed 45 sec- onds to express their opinion and must provide their name, address and phone number for verification. A cross section of the responses will be published in next Wednesday's Oakville Beaver. The Oakville Beaver was out- standing in its coverage of the cam- paign and your publicity of our cause is appreciated. Many church- es included Heart and Stroke bul- vices providers by the anti choice extremists. Because of this harass- ment the Task Force has recom- mended that the government issue injunctions to limit the protest to 500 feet from the clinics and not to allow protests to take place at all at individuals' homes. No one in of speech grounds. In closing, may I add that the main reuon the abortion services task force was formed was to address the concerns of many women who felt that abortion ser- vices have become loo limited One of the primary reasons for the limitation of services has been the constant harassment of abortion ser- and diiability in Canada, the sup- port of the community has been gratifying. " its,"iifsis"'f4e'ssaTCes' The on". Beaver welcomes your comments. All loner: must be signed and include the what‘s was: and phone number. Letters shouId be typed. dout*rspaard and Messed to: um to the saw. The Ooh/m. Beam. 467 - Rd., 0.1mm, Ont. UK MM 'ititts5, ln addition. families must give consideration to the fact that health problems are often amounted when the elder- ly travetandthus,must beprepamdtodeal withthetxmse- quences. O.TM.H. to which she could be admitted for the special treamentandnursingtequimi, thusexaxrbatingheImot_ Iem WM _ ',ltt iiied Adve alion: 845 845-9742vor 845-9743 Unfortunately, all parts of the town were not covered. Well over 1,000 canvassers were needed and we fell short. A knock on every door is projected for February IM. The Oakville Chapter of the Heart and Stroke Foundation wish- es to thank all who worked and all who contributed. Canvassers and organizers did their part, faced as they were with cold weather and deep snow. The Oakville and Milton Real Estate Board provided additional can- vassers late in the campaign and their support is recognized. tltt letins with their weekly service notices during the month of February. The community was fully informed. Ontario is free to exercise their beliefs openly and freely if this form of terrorism is allowed to coo- tinue, This ruthless anti choice minonty has effectively shut down legal healtn services in many Ontario communities. and severely limited it in others. They defend their tactics because they believe they hold the higher moral ground. They are mistaken. In a democracy everyone is entitled to their own individual beliefs. To protect this fundamental right we cannot toler- ate the notion that anyone's beliefs are superior to others. Patti Barrow Human Resources Chair Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada Name Withheld by Request :ii's'ecsses"L's'giiit Jeff Gill President, Robert Glalbey /lthrtllslrrq (Hulda! Norman Alexander mum Geoff Hill Circulation Director Teri Cane Qff1ce Manager Tim Cole. Production Manager Ian Oliver Publislu'r vrK4s",, ' 'ff ’ School bus sharing plan overdue , Having set out on the path to increased efficiency, why not start the, otherventure which the Coalition suggested - combining purchasing and other administrative functions with other boards, not just Halton Separate School Board, but adjoining boards, such as Peel, Hamilton Wentworth, Kitchener Waterloo, etc. Who knows what additional money could be freed up for improving the quality of education in Halton! _ Dear Sir: _ So, Halton Board of Education is finally talking with the Separate School Board about sharing buses! About time! Taxpayers' Coalition urged this in the fall of 1991, and again last January in our budget presen- tation. This will save money, probably substantial amounts. Blame UN resolutions In any case those people really committed to peace and co-exis- tence in the Middle East would be better served by leaders who honestly and sincerely appreciated the needs of all the parties to the conflict' today, rather than twisting and abusing one-sided UN reso- lutions from the past. Israel violated no international law nor did it violate any intema- tional boundaries, when in self-defens. she gained the guardianship of the West Bank of the Jordan and the Gaza Strip. The likening of Israel's crisis of survival during the Six Day War to Iraq's aggres- sion against Kuwait is a distortion of reality that bears no resem- blance to the truth. The argument put forward by Mr. Kafieh comparing Israel to Iraq, bringing up the so-called double standard for the diplomatic treatment of Israel, would be laughable if it weren't such a ridicu- lous bit of disinformation. Dear Sir: In regards to Cord Kolle's article, "Squabbling debaters", that appeared in your March 26th edition. I feel I must take one of the participants in the debate to task. Happy Program The 10 most popular TV shows of the 1950s A. Godfrey's Talent Scouts I Love Lucy You Bet Your Life Dragnet The Jack Benny Show A. Godfrey and Friends Gunsmoke The Red Skelton Show December Bride I‘ve Got a Secret " LETTER OF THE DAY WW WEEKLY FOCUS WELco {9/10 (iiiliiijtliir/ Beaver, chhmm All mm rowodm conunl " 19m a la! qun NIWI. M 37mm ttt , HIll/T horn Network CBS CBS C BS NBC CBS CBS NBC NBC B Roger Love Taxpayers' Coalition, Halton wa/WMI yuan LO " tr VAT E 'ii?iiifig', ht w, y, WI wt " Irvin Mintz st-tata-sa wed my gt, qMtrttr.l ,ttfhvt Minor trrtxrrough Th " wn "1inde Wick, Mum" y so I gtra V / ., f3 Ypril Ali '// ‘9 I93