More letters

A6 - The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, September 25, 1996

Just say no to planned parenthood

Dear Sir:

This is in regard to an ad in the Sept. 4 issue
of The Terrace Standard. Planned Parenthood
wants to open an office in the Terrace area, this
should be very alarming to all the citizens of
Terrace.

Planned Parenthood is a birth con-
tol/population curtailing organization which
originated as a family planning clinic in 1932,
The primary objective of this organization has
always been that sex should be freely and wide-
ly enjoyed regardless of age and with no moral
or values restrictions. Planned Parenthood only
has one solution to an unplanned pregnancy,

Committed to reducing teen

Dear Sir:

I’m responding to the letter regarding the Ter-
race branch of the Planned Parenthood Associa-
tion of B.C. (PPABC). PPABC is a voluntary,
private, non-profit, family planning agency sup-
ported by the United Way, community organi-
zations and individuals.

Its objectives include:

* providing non-judgmental confidential
counseling and birth control services.

* increasing awareness of all possible meth-
ods of contraception to enable individual ap-
propriate choices about family planning,

* encouraging planned pregnancies.

* to prevent sexually transmitted diseases and
their consequences, including infertility,

that is the abortion clinic.

Planned Parenthood also takes over and
removes the parent’s responsibility to educate
children on matters of sexuality. This organiza-
tion has a long, colourful history of handing out
contraceptives and procuring abortions without
the parent's knowledge.

1. Why is the publicly funded Skeena Health
Unit promoting a controversial special interest
group with your tax dollars?

2. Is Planned Parenthood an independent orga-
nization or will it be backed administratively by
the Skeena Health Unit?

3. In an age of hospital cutbacks, where do

* encouraging individuals to develop
responsible decision making, including the deci-
sion not to have sexual intercourse,

* helping individuals seek appropriate profes-
sional health care,

There were 15,086 patient visits recorded at
the 27 PPABC clinics last year. More than 50
per cent of all patients were over 20 years of
age. While the majority of visits are for con-
traception care, six per cent of palicnts re-
quested pregnancy tests. As 66 per cent of these
tests were negative, these visits provided further
opportunities for contraceptive counselling and
preveation of unintended pregnancies.

The need for contraceptive services in Terrace
is supported by local statistics.

they find money for this position? What ser-
vices could possibly be needed that are already
not available here that Flanned Parenthood
would provide,

4. Is the Skeena Health Unit or the public ful-
ly aware of what Planned Parenthood teaches
and promotes?

We suggest that all concerned citizens voice
their opposition by calling the Skeena Health
Unit at 638-2220. Further, we suggest you voice
your concern now to our MLA, Helmut Gies-
brecht, at 635-4146 or fax him at 635-2195,

Sharon Vanderlee, Co-president,
Terrace Pro Life Education Assoc,

oregnancies

Education is essential in order to make young
people aware of the consequences of un-
‘protected sex, to help them explore values and
to help them feel comfortable about their
sexuality. Through appropriate education,
adolescents should develop the knowledge and
confidence to make decisions related to their
sexual behaviour, including ihe decision not to
engage in sexual intercourse.

PPABC is committed to the promotion of op-
limal reproductive bealth and to reducing the
high rates of sexually transmitted disease, abor-
tions and teen pregnancies in B.C.

Dorothy Shaw, President,
PPABC, Vancouver, B.C.

There's too
much secrecy .

Dear Sir:

I write with concern about the increasing
secrecy being kept by both our school board
trustees and our city councilors.

As was revealed at recent school board amal-
gamation meetings, the Terrace school board pub-
lic meeting’s are just a formality. The real issues
are discussed privately out of the public eye,

And our city council is reviewing new arena
proposals among themselves and with pro-second
Sheet of ice friends but without feedback from
anti-second arena and user pay proponents,

Let’s take back our power and vote for openness
these coming elections.

Rob Ashwell,
Terrace, B.C,

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638-7890

2701 Kalum Street, Terrace

Prickly
issue

Dear Sir:

The Sept. 11 issue carried
an article “Loaded gov’t
money truck a problem for
Giesbrecht’’ which requires
some clarification. In the ar-
ticle I give an example of a
porcupine study funded by
Forest Renewal B.C. and
which has been questioned
by a number of iocal resi-
dents.

These locals do not have
years of formal education to
support their criticism but
rather they have years of ex
pericnce in our forests and
are fairly knowledgeable
about the habits of por-
cupines,

The issue of damage to
timber stands from por-
cupines has been around for
some time and various solu-
tions have been attempted
without success. Some of
the past attempts have been
the subject of ridicule by the
locals with experience in the
bush.

First let me say that the
cost of the study is $500,000
not the $5 million stated, I
have no idea where the $5
million figure came from —
and $500,000 has always
been the figure I have used.

The individual doing the
research has since pointed
out that about $280,000 of
that is for the cost of spac-
ing so a major portion of the
amount will not be lost even
if the study does not pro-
duce a workable solution.

The FRBC board’s deci-
sions, even though the
agency is arms length from
the government, reflect on
the government, If members
of the public are concerned
about some approvals, I get
to hear from them.

My worry is that if FRBC
has vast sums to work with
and they feel the pressure to
spend it all, they might not
do the due diligence in ap-
proving applications. Re-
search projects by academ-
ics are especially vulnerable
to critical comment from the
general public.

The jury is still out on this
particular project. I have no
desire to get calls critical
about an arms length
agency's decisions of which
I have no control. If FRBC
accumulates a surplus which
is more money than their ca-
pacity to handle and if they
are compelled to spend it,
then Pll hear more com-
plaints from peopte.

That is unacceptable be-
cause J have many people
asking for assistance for
other just as worthwhile
projects which have general
public approval.

Helmut

Giesbrecht,
MLA, Skeena

(Editor’s note: The $5
million in the Sept, 11 arti-
cle was an error.)

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