From Valarie Witzaney re: contraception is the cause.

Thanks to Janice Glover for her article "Canada is a Dying Nation" (C.I., July-Aug. 07, pp. 22-23). However, I have to disagree with her statement, "The fact is that Canadians are incredibly fertile; unfortunately, they choose to turn their backs on their fertility by killing their offspring. In doing so they are emptying our classrooms of children, etc ..."

At first, this seems like a factual statement. However, I wondered, so I did a little crude research. (If there are any demographers or mathematicians out there, feel free to correct me.)

In a Canadian population (2006) of 32.5 million, there were approximately 9 million women of child-bearing age (15-55). About 5% of them gave birth (340,000) or aborted (100,000) in 2006. [That leaves over 8.5 million women who did not give birth or abort in 2006.] Assuming only half of them are sexually active, and 20% are infertile, 3.6 million "fertile" Canadian women did not give birth or abort in 2006. Considering that studies show that 90% of Catholics use contraception, we can perhaps subtract another generous 10% who use natural fertility regulation.

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Janice Glover's assumption that Canadians are incredibly fertile seems to be contradicted by the fact that Canadians use contraception, including sterilization, at alarming rates. When these fail, surgical abortion is sometimes implemented. (This doesn't include the uncountable chemical abortions from hormonal contraceptives.)

Simply ask the US Supreme Court(1992) about the connection between abortion and contraception, "... for two decades (since Roe vs. Wade) of economic and social developments, people have organized intimate relationships and made choices that define their views of themselves and their places in society, in reliance on the availability of abortion in the event that contraception should fail."

So why is Canada a dying nation? Could it be because Canadians have lost sight of the value of the family, the wonderful gift of sexuality and fecundity, and the inestimable blessing of children? Yes, this lack of vision does lead to abortion. However, the root factor of the deplorable values in our Canadian society compared to previous history is, in fact, based on the easy access, acceptance and popular use of contraception, especially among Christians.

To see and understand this, one need not do this crude demographic number crunching. One need only look around at Sunday worship and count the children in comparison to couples of childbearing age. If we compared our parishes today to what they looked like 40 years ago, we would likely be shocked. Likewise, many of us are facing closures of small Catholic community schools. Is this because Catholic couples are aborting, when most of these Catholics claim to be pro-life? Instead, many Christians have contracepted and then been sterilized as a response to a culture that pressures them against family life.

One More Soul began for this reason. We promote the belief that children are the supreme gift of marriage, the benefits of natural family planning, and the virtue of chastity. The Church's teaching, in all its truth and beauty, urges us to proclaim this good news. God's plan for marriage and conjugal love is the foundation for strong families, the domestic church, and a light for a world in darkness.

As Pope John Paul II has said, "Married couples have been called to the exalted mission of co-operating with the Creator in the transmission of life; do not be afraid of life.... Children are the hope that continually blossoms, a project that starts ever anew ... They represent the flowering of married love which is found and strengthened in them."

Executive Director, One More Soul Canada

Denzil, SK