By Mark Penninga
In late September, MP Mark Warawa introduced Motion 408 in the House of Commons. It read, “That the House condemn discrimination against females occurring through sex-selective pregnancy termination.” Six months later a House of Commons sub-committee ruled that M-408 could not proceed to a vote. After a failed subsequent appeal, Warawa chose to introduce a new bill rather than appeal the decision one final time.
Our immediate reaction may be disappointment. What good did all of our petitions and letters do if the motion never even came to a vote, let alone passed? But step back, look at the facts, and be encouraged. M-408 has had a momentous impact on advancing pre-born human rights in this nation:
1) Over 500 mainstream newspaper articles have covered Warawa’s motion in the past month alone! Laws don’t change overnight. First the Overton Window has to shift. It shifts as a result of awareness. In the past year we have seen the Overton Window take a full step towards protecting pre-born children, thanks largely to M-312 and M-408.
2) The Liberal party is putting forward a motion that would give freedom to MPs to speak in the House of Commons without being muzzled by their parties. This comes as a result of the outcry after Warawa was muzzled when he wanted to defend M-408. If this passes it will make it much easier for the truth to get through the over-sensitive filters of Canada’s political parties. For those who aren’t convinced about the Overton Window theory, this is yet more evidence that once an idea shifts from extreme to popular, we can expect to see policy makers capitalizing on the popularity by making it law.
3) M-408 opened eyes and hearts to the realization that being pro-abortion is ultimately anti-women. How can a society that believes in equality under the law not condemn the killing of girls simply because they are girls? The pro-abortion rhetoric about “choice” and “rights” may have been sufficient to convince the previous generation, but it’s losing credibility very quickly today. Feminists like Lucky Gill (Global Girl Power), see this and have come to M-408’s defence.
4) Never before has the mainstream media sided with the pro-life cause to such an extent as M-408. The muzzling of Warawa and the breaking of Parliamentary rules to deny M-408 a vote opened the eyes of the mainstream media to see the injustice. One after the other, newspaper editorials and journalists jumped to the defence of Warawa. “Everyone from the NDP to the National Post is cheering on the brave dissenters who defied the Great Dictator” lamented a bitter Margaret Wente in the Globe and Mail.
5) Pro-abortion forces are getting scared. They openly criticized the positive reception that the pro-life cause is receiving. They are also sounding the alarm about the young and enthusiastic pro-life movement and the aging and asleep pro-abortion movement.
6) The pro-abortion lobby is showing just how extreme it is. The intentional killing of 200 million girls through abortion should be a travesty to feminists. Yet, out of fear of doing anything that would protect the preborn, the pro-abortion lobby condemned M-408. Given that 92% of Canadians oppose gendercide, it’s no surprise that Canadians are becoming increasingly shocked at the lengths to which pro-abortion MPs and activists will go to promote the destruction of life.
Yes, we are disappointed to see that M-408 did not go further. And yes, Parliament is showing incredible resistance to discussing preborn human rights. But don’t let that fool you. The tide has turned. Hearts and minds are changing. Millions of lives have been scarred by abortion and see through the rhetoric of choice. There will come a time, not too long from now, when Parliament will want to deal with this because they know the Canadian public is hungry to address the injustice. In the mean time, we need more courageous MPs who introduce bills and motions and more Canadians who stand behind them through efforts like WeNeedaLAW.ca. If we keep up our efforts, and with the Lord’s blessing, I’m optimistic that we will see an abortion law pass within a decade.
We will press on. Will you join us?