Liberals fear nomination of single-issue candidate

Are anti-abortion partisans trying to 'hi-jack' Liberal nomination in Toronto? Members of the Canadian Liberal party are concerned that anti-choice Liberals are pushing an anti-choice candidate in a Federal by-election in the riding of Toronto-Danforth.

Liberals fear that pro-lifers are trying to take over weakened party. Trifon Haitas denies that he's a single-issue candidate, stating that abortion is only one of his concerns.

Vote New Democratic Party!

Women are not livestock

From the news: "Canadian fatwa condemns honour killings."

The Muslim cleric who declared his religious decision that "Honour killings are no part of Islam" admits that, unfortunately, fatwas like this don't change the rate of murders motivated as
"honour killings."

A Canadian imam issued a fatwa Saturday officially condemning honour killings and family violence. The edict is an official reminder to Muslims, coming from the Islamic Supreme Council of Canada and signed by 34 imams across Canada and the U.S.

The official decree was made in a Mississauga, Ont., mosque and was initiated by Calgary imam Syed Soharwardy, who founded the council. The fatwa condemned honour killings, domestic violent and misogyny as "un-Islamic."

It was made in response to the recent Shafia family murder trial in Kingston, Ont., in which a Montreal couple and their son were convicted of killing four female relatives.

Teen pregnancy rate drops 37% in Canada

Improved sex education and access to contraceptives under universal health care contributed to a drop of 37% in teen pregnancies between 1996 and 2006. The birth rate has dropped and the abortion rate has dropped, which means that better contraception is working.

Better access to contraception, higher quality sex education and shifting social norms have contributed to a 36.9 per cent decline in Canada’s teen birth and abortion rate between 1996 and 2006, according to a report released today by the Sex Information and Education Council of Canada.

Alexander McKay, Research Coordinator, Sex Information and Education Council of Canada, said:

“It’s important to look at teen pregnancy rates because they’re a basic fundamental indicator of young women’s sexual and reproductive health. While not all teen pregnancies are a bad thing, when we see [rates] dropping, it’s a fairly clear indicator that young women are doing increasingly well in terms of controlling and protecting their reproductive health,”

He went on:

“In comparison to the United States, we tend to have a more balanced, sensible approach to adolescent sexual health. Generally speaking what you find is that the more a society has an accepting attitude toward the reality of adolescent sexuality, the lower the teen pregnancy rate is. Canadians tend to have a more relaxed attitude towards adolescent sexuality than people in the United States.”

Mr. McKay said America’s emphasis on abstinence-only sex ed “tends to result in a higher percentage of teens becoming pregnant,” as does the country’s lack of universal health care. Poverty is another factor.

The report appears in the current issue of The Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality.

Canada does not need an abortion law

Abortion is adequately covered, along with other medical practices, by the Canada Health Act. Joyce Arthur points out that "Canada Does Not Need a New Abortion Law."

Canada’s previous abortion law was thrown out as unconstitutional in 1988 by our Supreme Court.
...laws have never stopped abortions, or even reduced them. A recent study by the World Health Organization found that overall abortion rates in the world are similar, regardless of whether abortion is illegal in a country or not. In other words, restrictive abortion laws are not associated with a low abortion rate. In fact, in countries where abortion is widely available – including Canada – there has typically been a decline in abortion rates over time, especially when contraception use rises.

Canada’s abortion rate is low compared to other countries in the world, and has been decreasing steadily since 1999. The most recent Statistics Canada report (for 2005) noted that out of 1,000 women of childbearing age, 14.1 have an abortion each year. That compares favourably to western Europe’s rate of 12, the lowest abortion rate in the world. In contrast, the American rate is 20, and U.S. women must navigate through a thicket of abortion restrictions. (The global average rate is 29 per 1,000 women, with the highest number of abortions occuring in countries where it's illegal, and in countries with poor access to contraception.)

It’s ironic that abortion laws are motivated by a desire to limit abortions, yet one of the best ways to reduce abortion is to liberalize or repeal anti-abortion laws. That’s not the only factor of course. The real key is to promote women’s rights, with particular attention to their reproductive rights. Most countries in western Europe enjoy a more pragmatic attitude towards sexuality and contraception, and strong support for women’s equality. Also, most abortions occur because women can’t afford to have a child, so governments can significantly reduce abortion numbers by building a more stable, prosperous society and making child-rearing economically feasible. There is no need for societies to defend fetal interests directly, as the best way to protect fetuses is to provide resources directly to pregnant women. When a pregnant woman is safe and healthy, so is her fetus.

Block Québecois accuses Harper of hidden agenda on abortion

BQ leader Gilles Duceppe said that a Conservative majority government would have a hidden agenda to re-criminalize abortion in Canada.

To support his argument, Duceppe referred to bill C-484, the unborn victims of crime act, a private member's bill presented by Alberta MP Ken Epp.

The bill would make it a crime to kill or injure a fetus.

Epp denies that C-484 would make a fetus a person, as pro-choice groups claim, arguing the bill opens the door to a challenge of legal abortions in Canada.

The Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada points out that under a Texas law similar to C-484, teenager Gerardo Flores was found guilty on two counts of murder and sentenced to life in prison for helping his girlfriend end her five-month pregnancy of twins.

Morgentaler wins right to go ahead in lawsuit in New Brunswick

The New Brunswick Court of Queen's Bench has decided to allow Dr. Henry Morgentaler to proceed with a lawsuit against the government over its long-standing refusal to fund abortions at his clinic. The NB government is considering whether to appeal the ruling.

Judge Paulette Garnett said Morgentaler, an Order of Canada recipient, should have legal standing to proceed with the lawsuit because the personal nature of abortions - and the fact the procedures are time-sensitive - make it difficult for women to take the government before the courts, said a justice official on background.

The province had argued Morgentaler could not have standing because only a woman who needed to use the clinic had the right to challenge abortion policy.

Bill C-484 re-ignites abortion debate

A private member's bill to make a fetus legally a person is re-igniting Canada's abortion debate.

On June 1, demonstrators took to the streets in Montreal to protest a private member's bill that managed to pass rather quietly through its second reading in the House of Commons on March 5.

The bill, tabled by Conservative MP Ken Epp as a private initiative, makes it "an offence to injure, cause the death of or attempt to cause the death of a child before or during its birth while committing or attempting to commit an offence against the mother." He says Bill C-484 is meant to fill a void in the Criminal Code that deprives expecting mothers of compensation for a heinous loss.

Opponents to Bill C-484, however, argue the Unborn Victims of Crime Act could implicitly confer legal status on a fetus, which has none under current legislation, and could once again create a conflict between the rights of the fetus and those of pregnant women. This has the potential to pry open the debate around Canada's abortion policy.

It was this same territory that the anti-abortion lobby explored 20 years ago in their battle to keep abortion in the Criminal Code. It took years of divisions and costly legal proceedings for the Supreme Court to rule a fetus did not have a legal status distinct from that of the mother.

As the bill is supported by dozens of anti-choice organizations, it has women's groups and abortion rights advocates nervous, but also concerns medical practitioners.

"It is really important to tell the members of the House of Commons that by no way - not by the front door, neither by the back door - do we want to reopen the debate about the criminalization of abortion with the consequences that we know for the concerned women and the medical practice," said Dr. Gaétan Barrette, president of the Fédération des médecins spécialistes du Québec (FMSQ) in a recent press release on the federation's website. Ten days after issuing their public statement, more than 25,000 people had signed a petition against Bill C-484 made available on the federation's Internet site (www.fmsq.org/c-484/e/anglais.html).

Read about it: "Canada's abortion debate reborn?" by Meg Hewings.

Pro-Choice Canada contest

In January 2008, Canadians everywhere will celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Morgentaler decision that decriminalised abortion in Canada and gave women the right to control their reproductive health. We want you to reflect and celebrate with us!

Tell us in your own words through an essay, song lyrics, a poem, a rant or a testimony why the pro-choice movement has been- and continues to be so important. Or, you may choose to express your pro-choice sentiments through a painting, a drawing, a photo or another form of visual art.

You can sign up here for the contest.

Canada and abortion

Prochoice Action Network says,

Canada is one of the very few countries in the world that has NO criminal law restricting abortion at all. We first liberalized our law against abortion in 1969; then our Supreme Court threw it out completely in 1988. And we've been doing just fine without it. In the 11 years since we began our great experiment, we've found that doctors and women exercise the right to abortion responsibly, without the need for any legal restrictions. We don't need gestational limits. We don't need waiting periods. We don't need parental or spousal consent laws. And we don't need restrictions on certain types of abortions.

Follow the link to read what that means for abortion in Canada.

Conservative Party can't hide its anti-choice agenda

The newly reconstituted Conservative Party has a not-so-hidden agenda to regulate, restrict, or re-criminalize abortion in Canada.

In a media interview on Wednesday, Conservative Leader Stephen Harper indicated that he would allow legislation against abortion in a second term, but not during a first term.

"Let's not forget that most of the new Conservative Party is simply the old Alliance party in sheep's clothing," said Joyce Arthur, spokesperson for the Pro-Choice Action Network. "Many of the Alliance MP's were anti-choice and still are, as proven by health critic Rob Merrifield's wish to pass a law forcing women to undergo third-party informed consent — a scheme for foisting anti-abortion propaganda onto vulnerable women."

Arthur pointed out that since 1996, anti-choice Reform and Alliance MP's have introduced at least eight different private motions trying to regulate abortion, most within the last couple of years. "With a new Conservative government, this pattern would not only continue, but likely escalate." Indeed, Harper said yesterday that he can't stop his MP's from introducing private motions and bills, and would allow free votes on such bills.