This spring, MP Rod Bruinooge introduced Bill C-510 which proposes to make it a crime to coerce a woman to have an abortion. The law was inspired by Roxanne Fernando, who was brutally murdered for refusing to have an abortion.

ARPA Canada whole-heartedly endorses this legislation both for what it would accomplish in protecting women who desire to safely carry their baby to term and because it is an important first step in encouraging Canada's Parliament to change the absurd status-quo of having absolutely no laws protecting the unborn at any stage or in any circumstances. You can help change this by engaging the discussion, both with our elected leaders and in our communities.

By James Zekveld - contributed to www.ARPACanada.ca: Nobody likes a hypocrite. Public office often invites hypocrisy. The people who go into office want to keep a good image and sometimes it is just easier to fake it than accept the consequences of what you have done whether public or private.  One temptation for people of any age is to separate the private and the public.  There is a supposed separation between faithfulness to country and faithfulness to private relationships.  A country should expect a faithful person, not just a faithful leader.

The Dutch government was shaken up in last week’s general election. Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende’s Christian Democratic coalition was soundly defeated when it lost 20 of its 41 seats. The Liberal Party (VVD) is now the largest party, with 31 seats and only 20% of the vote, followed closely by the Labour Party.  But most surprisingly of all, the Freedom Party, under the leadership of Geert Wilders, grew from 9 seats to 24, capturing 15.5% of the vote.

ARPA Note: After reading the interview below, check out some of the resources from the Middle East Reformed Fellowship, an organization that is devoted to bringing Christ to the Middle East.

Maclean’s talks to writer Ayaan Hirsi Ali about living under a fatwa: (May 21 2010) - Born Muslim in Somalia, Ayaan Hirsi Ali grew up in Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia and Kenya, fleeing to the Netherlands at the age of 22 to escape an arranged marriage. Ten years later, she was elected to the Dutch parliament. A prominent feminist and critic of Islam, she received numerous death threats when she renounced her faith following the 9/11 terrorist attacks. [Read the interview, including her thoughts on how Christians and "liberals" are responding to Islam in the West here.]

In yesterday's Globe & Mail, Ray Pennings, Senior Fellow and Director of Research at Cardus, writes a response to Marci McDonald's latest book 'The Armageddon Factor: The Rise of Christian Nationalism in Canada',  echoing earlier remarks that he delivered at an ARPA Canada Parliament Hill event, arguing faith, rather than posing a threat to the country's political process, is in fact the oxygen of civic life.

The policy analyst addresses McDonald's anti-theist fear-mongering and appeal to the American concept of the separation of church and state, noting the former Maclean's bureau chief ignores Canada's founding values and denies the important contributions of the country's religious communities to the public good of the nation:

Busting the abortion myths: There are two such myths in Canada: One is that there is a general consensus on the issue and the other is that late-term abortions are rare. Both are wrong

By MARGARET SOMERVILLE, Montreal Gazette, June 2, 2010: It's an oft-repeated truism in ethics: "Good facts are essential for good ethics." So surely we need the facts about an issue as ethically fraught as abortion. Yet not only do we not have them, but they are intentionally not gathered or, if some are or might be available, access to them is denied. That allows two myths that favour the pro-choice stance on abortion to be propagated: That late-term abortion is rare and that there is a consensus in Canada on the public-policy regime that should govern abortion (which, at present, is the complete absence of any law). Read more

ARPA Note: 28 Days on the Pill is filmed and produced by TNL Productions, an independent Canadian producer. The film does a good job of discussing a topic that few Christians dare talk about: does the birth control pill cause abortions? Although the answer is still debated by many in the Reformed community, many more aren't even aware that there is an issue. Please consider watching this with some friends to encourage biblical worldview thinking on sexuality.

By André Schutten (From EFC's Activate CFPL): In conversation with a friend, the topic of the legality of abortion came up. Although my friend has been a licensed practicing nurse for a few years, he was shocked to find out that in Canada an abortion can be legally procured throughout all three trimesters, up until the moment of birth. It took a few minutes to convince him that I was deadly serious (pardon the pun). I think my friend’s ignorance of the reality that is Canada’s refusal to protect its unborn citizens is indicative of the vast majority of Canadians’ understanding on this point. Perhaps, that “misunderstanding of Canadians” has something to do with our elected leaders’ refusal to “re-open the abortion debate.” [Keep reading this article here.]