Mike SchoutenFor anyone in the pro-life movement, the headline “Montreal man who killed unborn child must spend 15 years in prison before parole eligibility” is going to catch our eye. Do pre-born lives matter after all?
On August 23, Erin O’Toole was elected as the new leader of the Conservative party. While O’Toole has made it clear that he does not intend to introduce abortion legislation, his victory gives a lot of room for the pro-life movement to work thanks to his commitment not to squash debate among his party members.
Canadians are watching with a keen eye as candidates for leader of the Conservative Party declare their intentions. This includes pro-life Canadians who want to know what a future leader is willing to do about Canada’s complete lack of abortion restrictions.
The Alberta legislature is considering a private member’s bill that would protect freedom of conscience for individual health care providers and health care facilities. Brought forward by MLA [Member of the Legislative Assembly] Dan Williams, Bill 207 is designed to give health care providers security to act according to their conscience in their professional capacity.
This weekend, we had the honour of planting 100,000 flags on the lawn of the Supreme Court of Canada to draw attention to the ongoing injustice of abortion in Canada. The sea of pink and blue flags is a humbling and sobering experience, as we consider that each flag represents one pre-born child whose life was taken, unprotected by our law. It is also a valuable opportunity to make visible those our society would like to forget.
Sex selection abortion happens [https://defendgirls.com/] in Canada. It impacts both boys and girls as families seek to create exactly the type of family they envisioned, but it disproportionately impacts girls. These stories are based on true stories, showing the very real decisions made based on sex preference, allowed by our complete lack of abortion law. We need a law.
As the election approaches, Conservative leader Andrew Scheer continues to be vague on the issue of pre-born human rights. “Instead of any clear statement, Scheer has chosen to fall back on not ‘re-opening’ the debate, as if this debate isn’t already happening all over Canada right now,” said Tabitha Ewert, legal counsel for We Need a Law. “We are not sitting around waiting for politicians to open this debate – it’s happening. Their choice is how they want to participate in this debate.”
According to a recent poll conducted by Angus Reid, Canadians are divided on the need for abortion laws in this country. This is not a new revelation; polls taken over the past number of years have shown similar results. There will always be slight changes in the percentages of Canadians who are either for or against laws restricting abortion and the latest numbers show a slight increase in those of us who have a desire for these laws.
This week, thousands of Canadians will gather on Parliament Hill again for the nation’s largest annual march: the March for Life. Other cities across the country will hold similar marches in solidarity, including a first-ever event in Toronto, Ontario.
