Friday, October 4, 2013

Canada won't fund abortions in cases of war rape, child marriage

 (cbc.ca) - International Development Minister Christian Paradis says the government will not fund overseas projects that allow war rape victims and child brides to obtain an abortion.

The Conservative government's position on the matter was unclear last week after it backed initiatives to tackle sexual violence and forced marriages at the United Nations.

But Paradis says the government's policy would follow the same logic as that behind Canada's $3-billion G8 funding commitment for maternal and child health — no money should go towards abortion services.

At the time, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said none of the those dollars would go toward abortion services because there were enough other worthy initiatives to support.

"We've been clear in Muskoka, so you can think the same logic will apply here," Paradis told reporters after a speech Friday.

"There are plenty of measures that can be taken and Muskoka demonstrated that and we'll follow it in a consistent way with Muskoka."

That's a change from comments made by the president of the Canadian International Development Agency in 2010. While Canada has never directly funded abortions, Margaret Biggs told a committee that the agency would continue to fund aid groups who might provide referrals for abortion services.

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