For immediate release
Ottawa, ON – Ottawa is ready to talk about abortion – something the pro-life movement has been asking for!
It’s taken a leak of a U.S. Supreme Court decision, but suddenly Members of Parliament are jumping at the chance to talk about their personal thoughts on abortion. “This is a great opportunity to talk about abortion in this country,” says Tabitha Ewert, legal counsel for We Need a Law. “We need to start with the basics, like the fact that Canada has no abortion restrictions whatsoever and that we’re the only democratic country in the world without an abortion law. Members of Parliament need to talk about that, and then move into specific, actionable policies we can implement to protect pre-born human rights.”
The CBC has been eager to join the conversation, publishing many articles on abortion. They accurately point out the reality that abortion is not a “right” in Canada. “In the 1988 Morgentaler decision, the Supreme Court struck down the previous scheme around abortion as it was an arbitrary and unfair process. But they never said women had a right to abortion and they clearly expected Parliament to pass new legislation,” explained Ewert. “Abortion became a political wedge issue with many politicians doing what they can to even avoid the topic. The result is that Canada remains in the extreme position of being the only democratic country in the world with no abortion restrictions. Abortion is legal at any point during the pregnancy and for any reason – including for sex selection.”
We Need a Law is a national campaign that seeks to mobilize Canadians in order to pass laws that protect pre-born children. “This issue doesn’t need to be polarizing in Canada. Canadians have a lot of common ground on what kinds of laws touching on abortion they support,” explained Ewert. “Canadians might prefer a pro-choice label, but that doesn’t mean unrestricted abortion. Canadians support laws that ban sex selective abortion or late term abortion. We can start where the majority of Canadians agree.”
And all that needs to start with a conversation. The draft decision leaked in the U.S. has given us an opportunity to talk about abortion. Ewert advises Members of Parliament: “Don’t just stick to platitudes, but actually talk about the issue and specific policies. Supporting a “woman’s right to choose” may sound easy, but when that means disproportionately targeting women at the earliest stage of life through sex selective abortion it is antithetical to woman’s rights. And promoting abortion does not deal with many of the difficult circumstances that pregnant women face in this country. We need to have a real conversation and come up with real solutions that promote human rights for all human beings. I’m excited to see more MPs join this conversation.”
– 30 –
For further comment please contact
Tabitha Ewert (EDT) at 1-866-410-9625 // [email protected]