Noon Rally at Parliament Hill in support of abortion funding for developing countries 16 October, 2010

Ottawa, Ontario -- (ReleaseWire) -- 10/14/2010 -- To re-focus attention on the restrictions Canada is placing on funding for maternal health in developing countries, a coalition of social activist organizations and individuals will meet at 11:00 am at Minto Park, Ottawa on 16th October, and from there, march to Parliament Hill. Speakers will seek to inform and educate onlookers about the suffering these restrictions will perpetuate.

"The Harper Government's refusal to fund abortions as part of a G8 initiative to improve the health of mothers in developing countries turns a blind eye to the tens of thousands of women who die each year from unsafe abortions," said Simon Parcher, President of Humanist Canada. "Access to abortion services is fundamental to women's health, both at home and abroad" Parcher added.

Stephen Harper has publicly remarked on the "pressing need for global action on maternal and child health." Yet the Canadian government's plan in this area is in opposition to goals for maternal health support set at previous G8 summits and ignores these facts available from the World Health Organization:

* Over 20 million women a year worldwide risk unsafe abortions
* Over 220,000 children a year are orphaned when their mothers die from unsafe abortions
* 5 million women and girls are hospitalized each year due to complications from unsafe abortions
* Unsafe abortion is the only cause of maternal mortality that is entirely preventable

Representatives of both the U.S. and the U.K. governments have stated that any international effort to boost maternal health must include access to contraception and abortion. Canada's current stance against funding abortion is a reversal of over three decades of support for a procedure that has come to be internationally accepted as an essential part of family planning, particularly where access to contraception is difficult.

The partners in the Choice at Home - Choice Abroad march call upon Canadians to educate themselves about the necessity of reproductive choice and the need to empower women in developing countries to escape the cycle of poverty. Postcards addressed to the ministers responsible for the maternal health funding initiatives will be distributed on the hill after the march.

Join the Choice at Home - Choice Abroad march, meet us at Minto Park at 11 a.m. or on the hill at noon, this Saturday, Oct. 16th:

Humanist Canada
The Humanist Association of Ottawa
Centre for Inquiry - Ottawa
Action Canada for Population and Development
Canadians for Choice:
The Carleton University Graduate Students Association
Pro-Choice Coalition of Ottawa

For more information on this press release visit: http://www.releasewire.com/press-releases/choice-at-home-choice-abroad-60554.htm

First International Atheist Convention "Atheists without Borders" in Montreal this weekend.

Ottawa, Ontario -- (ReleaseWire) -- 09/30/2010 -- Atheist Alliance International (AAI) in collaboration with Humanist Canada (HC) announce their joint convention, to be held October 1st, 2nd and 3rd, 2010, uniting atheists and humanists in an international movement transcending political and cultural borders.This will be the first ever explicitly atheist convention in Montreal, as well as the first North-American AAI convention held outside the U.S.A. The event, organized with local support from Atheist Freethinkers and CFI Montreal, will welcome hundreds of participants and be held at the Delta Centre-ville Hotel on 777 University St. in the heart of the city.

This bilingual event will feature a plethora of both anglophone and francophone convention speakers. A partial list of those confirmed so far includes: anthropologist Daniel Baril speaking on the evolutionary origins of religion; Philippe Besson, French freethought leader; Daniel Dennett, celebrated philosopher and author of Breaking The Spell; Belgian historian of atheism Serge Deruette; Belgian philosopher and secularism advocate Nadia Geerts; Louise Mailloux, founder of Citizens' Collective for Equality and Secularism; famous evolutionary biologist and Pharyngula blogger P.Z. Myers; Jeremy Patrick, legal expert on blasphemy legislation; screenwriter and comedian J.D. Shapiro; Skeptical investigator Karen Stollznow, a.k.a. SkepChick; Rodrigue Tremblay, economist and author of The Code for Global Ethics.

The 2010 Richard Dawkins Prize will be awarded to Susan Jacoby, author of Freethinkers: A History of American Secularism. Several other activities will take place in conjunction with the convention: for example the September 30th party to mark International Blasphemy Rights Day and underline the importance of freedom of expression; and an evening of stand-up comedy on Comedy Night.

About Humanist Canada
Humanist Canada (also known as HC or the Humanist Association of Canada) has been Canada's voice for Humanism since 1968. It is a national not-for-profit charitable organization promoting the separation of public policy from religion fostering the development of reason, compassion and critical thinking for all Canadians through secular education and community support, and the acquisition of reliable knowledge through scientific research.

For more information on this press release visit: http://www.releasewire.com/press-releases/international-atheist-convention-comes-to-canada-58950.htm