The United Kingdom has an abortion law based on gestational age which protects children from the twenty-fourth week of development. This is not set in stone and with the medical advances in recent years enabling babies to survive as young as twenty-three weeks there are once again calls to lower the limit as to when abortions remain legal.
There is something refreshing about the latest abortion debate in the UK. Especially when we observe it from this side of the water where we have no restrictions. In Canada the only time abortion seems to be debated at a political level is when our lawmakers are demanding greater access (think Justin Trudeau and New Brunswick Liberal leader Brian Gallant), and this in spite of our Supreme Court instructing government to find a balance between the rights of the woman and those of her child.
Canada’s passion to maintain, even expand, unrestricted access to abortion is rivaled only by North Korea and China. While it is encouraging to see other developed nations debate various protections for children before birth, at the same time it’s a serious indictment on our country where the rights of pre-born children are completely ignored and trampled on.
It’s time we learn something from other advanced civilizations. A civil and informed dialogue would be a good beginning.