the Abortion Debate in Canada

photo found here

It is 2012 and abortion laws are all the buzz in North America. In the US, some states want to subject women to compulsory and invasive procedures in order to further a growing campaign against reproductive rights. This so-called war on women, which encompasses much more than reproductive rights in North America,  is spreading to Canada.


Despite Prime Minister Harper's public pre-election assurance that he and his party would not re-open the debate on abortion, backbencher Stephen Woodworth submitted a private members bill requesting they do just that. The debate took place last Thursday in the house of commons, and for the first time ever, a conservative party member disagreed with another member, delivering an unusually pro-choice speech. Conservative MP Gordon O’Connor stated "I do not want women to go back to the previous era where some were forced to obtain abortions from illegal and medically dangerous sources. This should never happen in a civilized society,” O'Connor said. “I cannot understand why those who are adamantly opposed to abortion want to impose their belief on others by way of the Criminal Code.” 


Usually a party that discourages dissent, I was truly shocked to see such a publicized division in the Conservative party, but then again, the PM announced that he would oppose the motion, too.


Nevertheless, Woodworth spent the majority of his time speaking about fetuses and how we must revisit the possibility that a fetus is a person. On why he wanted to have the debate, he asserted:

photo of Stephen Woodworth found here

"It certainly allows us to have an honest discussion about the abortion question. How can we honestly discuss all of the complicated issues around abortion if we cannot decide whether or not a child is a human being before the moment of the complete birth?" 

Note how Woodworth uses the word "child," evoking the same tired regurgitated imagery offered by the unabashed anti-choice groups. Further, from his statement, it seems he is unfamiliar with time limitations already in place by each province. The Northwest Territories, Nunavut, and the Yukon provide a very short time period for a woman to receive an abortion, only up to 12 weeks, for instance. The provinces of British Columbia and Alberta perform abortions up to 20 weeks, whereas Ontario will perform abortions up to 24 weeks.


But I digress...


According to CBC news, Woodworth further argued that Canadians do not accept when life begins, claiming that we do not believe that"birth is a moment of magical transformation that changes a child from a non-human to a human being." Woodworth continued to say, as quoted in the Globe and Mail, that “most Canadians know that our existing definition dishonestly misrepresents the reality of who is a human being. When you consider a child before birth, do you see a new human life with a beating heart and 10 human fingers? Or do you see the child as an object and an obstacle, even a parasite?”


Pathetically, and as female MPs recognized, the word "woman" did not enter Woodworth's so-called argument more than a handful of times. This lack of recognition for the woman whom are essential to the existence of the fetus illustrates Woodworth's blindness to the fact that women are people—not potential people, not zygotes—real, living people. 
Fortunately, there was clear dissent from both the official opposition and the Liberal party. NDP critic for women's issues, Niki Ashton used her turn to denounce the debate, "In Canada, in 2012, a woman's right to choose is not up for negotiation." She further stated that "We should not return to using coat hangers (or) vacuum cleaners." Liberal MP Hedy Fry mirrored this opposition to re-opening the debate, "This is shameful. This government is being disingenuous." Fry called the proposal "totally untenable and unconstitutional.”


Woodworth and other anti-choice campaigners must understand that women are fully human. Now that women are recognized as legal persons, although it is often difficult to tell, we are entitled to human rights. These rights allow us to dictate whether or not we will conceive, house, birth, and raise offspring. We have a right, as women, to bodily autonomy and to have that right recognized and respected. We also have a right to access comprehensive sexual health education, this includes access to information about abortion and contraceptives. We have the right to be trusted with decisions about our own bodies. In Canada, these reproductive rights are held in very high regard and Canadian women are willing to fight to keep them.  With this in mind, such a debate transpiring in Canada, in the year 2012 is shocking and frankly, embarrassing.


The debate is available online here