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Canada Abortion

The House of Horrors: A Foundation for Limits on Abortion

Diane Weber Bederman | Posted 04.18.2013 | Canada Living
Diane Weber Bederman

Whenever I write or talk about abortion and mention the possibility of a slippery slope, I am told that the slippery slope discussion is a straw dog. There are rules after all! But rules are only as good as the people who follow them and the institutions that are set up to oversee them. There is an assumption of honesty and human goodness. In the case of the Philadelphia House of Horrors there was a breakdown on both fronts. Abortionist Dr. Gosnell has no ethical/moral core and the overseers in Philadelphia dropped the ball for 17 years. Anyone who assumes Gosnell's clinic is a one-off is blinded by ideology. Those who refuse to look at limits in abortion are stuck in the rut of Manichean thinking.

Harper's Dilemma

CP | Bruce Cheadle, The Canadian Press | Posted 03.27.2013 | Canada Politics

OTTAWA - Former MP Paul Szabo remembers the day he jammed a stick in the spokes of his own majority Liberal government's bill on reproductive technolo...

Not All Abortions Are Born Equal

Daniel Alexandre Portoraro | Posted 03.27.2013 | Canada Politics
Daniel Alexandre Portoraro

There is no justification for aborting a fetus because one simply doesn't like its sex. Unfortunately, however, those who often elect to have abortions based on the sex of the fetus do not do so out of whimsy; rather, their decision is based upon cultural backwardness. These types of abortions do nothing to strengthen cultures. They weaken them, and allow them to continue to operate in a barbarically chauvinistic mindset that might have had its time in the Middle Ages, but today, is absolutely repugnant; especially in Canada.

Waterloo Should Not Stifle Free Speech

Samuel Mosonyi | Posted 05.19.2013 | Canada Politics
Samuel Mosonyi

At the University of Waterloo last week, Conservative MP Stephen Woodworth was scheduled to speak to a group of students at an event organized by the Students for Life campus club. Unfortunately, a group of students shut down Mr. Woodworth's speech by shouting him down, until he was left with no choice but to cancel the event.

No Shock Tactic Should Disrupt Free Speech

Diane Weber Bederman | Posted 05.15.2013 | Canada Politics
Diane Weber Bederman

It is sadly becoming normal for guest speakers to be disrespected in places that we call "higher learning." Dressed as a vagina, Ethan Jackson felt right at home spewing what he believes to be well thought out highly educated views. They demand respect while denigrating the views of others, like Mr. Stephen Woodworth.

The Women Who Paved the Way for Abortions

Lindsay Pyfer | Posted 05.08.2013 | Canada Living
Lindsay Pyfer

This Women's Day I'm honoring a wise friend and foremother, Cecilie Scott. In mid-December, she called me to her bedside. In a hoarse voice, Cecilie recounted a story she hoped to write before she died about the lengths to which women were forced to go to end their pregnancies before Roe v. Wade became the law of the land in 1973.

25 Years Later, The Debate Still Rages

CP | Gerrit De Vynck, The Canadian Press | Posted 03.29.2013 | Canada

OTTAWA - Canadians don't want to revisit the age-old abortion debate, Canada's minister for the status of women said Monday as activists on both sides...

Why Every Mother Should Receive Child Benefit Payment

Bill Haines | Posted 03.17.2013 | Canada Alberta
Bill Haines

Here is a true story that never made the headlines. Their marriage was in trouble, harsh words were spoken and now they feel they cannot go back. Her husband leaves. They have one child and now she finds out she is pregnant. With her husband gone and not much family support, the economic presures to the government's free elective abortion are overwhelming. Unless, we the people, say we care, because we do.

Why Is Canada Rewarding Anti-Abortion Activists?

Nick Van der Graaf | Posted 01.09.2013 | Canada Politics
Nick Van der Graaf

The awarding of the Queen's Jubilee medal to two chronic clinic harassers is a travesty. Linda Gibbons, 65, and Mary Wagner, 39, have been given medals for repeatedly attempting to invade abortion clinics and "counsel" patients not to end their pregnancies. They are regularly sent to jail for their actions. They are also assiduously cultivating public martyrdom.

Eight Insights from the 2012 U.S. Election, So Far

Ali A. Rizvi | Posted 01.05.2013 | Canada Politics
Ali A. Rizvi

2012-11-05-electionbannerreal.jpg There are very few things in life that simultaneously fill you with both cynicism and exhilaration like the American presidential election. And 2012 is certainly no exception. As the election cycle draws to a close, here's a look back at some of the most valuable insights from the year.

3 Ont. Tories Sponsor Conference To 'Defund' Abortions

CP | Keith Leslie, The Canadian Press | Posted 12.10.2012 | Canada Politics

TORONTO - Ontario's Liberal government accused the Progressive Conservatives Wednesday of trying to reopen the abortion debate after three Tories spon...

New Study On Free Birth Control Shows Drastic Change In Abortions, Teen Birth Rate

CP | Lauran Neergaard, The Associated Press | Posted 12.04.2012 | Canada Living

WASHINGTON - Free birth control led to dramatically lower rates of abortions and teen births, a large study concludes. The findings were eagerly antic...

My Motion Got Stuck on One Word: "Abortion"

Stephen Woodworth | Posted 12.02.2012 | Canada Politics
Stephen Woodworth

The word "abortion" seemed to cast a hypnotic spell over MPs who spoke against Motion 312 in the Parliamentary debate, causing them to suspend thoughtful analysis and abandon time-honoured Canadian values and institutions. Canadians across our land are beginning to realize the damage to our democratic institutions and principles being done by those whose single-minded, intransigent and extreme preoccupation with protecting our abortion practices leads to abandon essential Canadian ideals.

We Don't Need Rona Ambrose to Represent Women

Kathleen Finlay | Posted 11.28.2012 | Canada Politics
Kathleen Finlay

Many saw Rona Ambrose's vote as the opening salvo in an effort to unwind the long-established principle of a woman's right to choose, and a terrible betrayal by Ambrose, who should now be called the minister in charge of turning back the clock. None of this was terribly surprising, since women seem to have been coasting on autopilot when it comes to protecting the rights we have gained, much less advancing the cause of equality and fairness going forward.

Rona Ambrose's Vote Sucker-Punched Women

Colleen Westendorf | Posted 11.28.2012 | Canada Politics
Colleen Westendorf

Wednesday evening was a perilous moment for every person with a uterus in Canada and elsewhere. In a country where we are applauded for not having legal restrictions on abortion, Parliament voted on M312, which was defeated 203-91. Though the motion claimed to be in the interest of equality for everyone, nowhere did the word woman, womb, fetus, uterus, or (heaven forbid) vagina appear in the motion. The person who should have been fighting the hardest Wednesday night was the Minister for the Status of Women, Rona Ambrose. Instead she sucker-punched everyone in this country who hopes and expects to be treated in accordance with their charter rights and as a person, by voting yes.

Motion 312 - Don't Blame Stephen Harper or the CPC

Kathleen Smith | Posted 11.25.2012 | Canada Alberta
Kathleen Smith

Stephen Harper has stayed true to his word, maintaining his stand that the issue of abortion will not be reopened in Canada so long as he is Prime Minister. That being the case, how did we reach the point where the blame for Motion 312 and it's implications on the reproductive rights of women in this country are perceived to be solely with Stephen Harper and the CPC?

Motion 312: How B.C. MPs Voted

The Huffington Post B.C. | Jesse Ferreras | Posted 09.27.2012 | Canada British Columbia

Most British Columbia MPs voted down a controversial motion to reopen a debate on when human life begins, but the only members from the province who s...

Pro-Choice or Pro-Life, Canada Needs a Clear Ruling on Abortion

Brent Rathgeber | Posted 11.26.2012 | Canada Politics
Brent Rathgeber

One of the most contentious issues facing the 41st Parliament is Motion 312. My feelings on the abortion issue are complex and have evolved over time. I have come to the conclusion after years of deliberation and inner debate that I am both Pro-Choice and Pro-Life.

'Pro-Life' Flag To Fly At Kelowna Schools

The Huffington Post B.C. | Andree Lau | Posted 09.18.2012 | Canada British Columbia

A recent flag flap and online threats will not deter a pro-life group from flying their banner in Kelowna next week. Controversy over flying a pro-...

Even Harper Knows Motion 312 Won't Pass

Jennifer Prosser | Posted 11.17.2012 | Canada Politics
Jennifer Prosser

The Prime Minister himself has said he will not open the abortion debate. This goes as far as the PMO working to strongly encourage members of parliament to vote against MP Steven Woodworth's bill -- that asks our government to review the definition of when a child become a human being -- though that doesn't look to be stopping some members. If Prime Minister Harper is not interested in opening the abortion debate, and if this was only a private member's motion to create a committee -- the least threatening and most common of all government workings, then what makes Motion 312 important?

To Win as a Party, Republicans Must Lose This Election

Ike Awgu | Posted 10.24.2012 | Canada Politics
Ike Awgu

If Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan win in November the religious fringe of the Republican Party will solidify its place in Republican politics. The Party needs to lose, and loose badly, so it can remove from its tent the intolerant and credulous whose presence has begun to rot the bowels of a once great institution.

'Pro-life' Flag To Fly Over Kelowna City Hall

CBC | Posted 10.17.2012 | Canada British Columbia

Kelowna is set to become the first city in British Columbia to fly a "pro-life" flag over city hall. The flag will fly during the last we...

Why Canada Needs an Abortion Law Now

Mary Ellen Douglas | Posted 09.10.2012 | Canada Politics
Mary Ellen Douglas

The most recent Ipsos Reid/Postmedia poll finds that most respondents favour maintaining some form of abortion license, but dig a little further and it's clear that there is a lack of understanding about the legal reality in Canada.

Union Leader Slams Tory MP Over Abortion Debate

CBC | Posted 08.25.2012 | Canada Politics

The CAW has chosen a side in the abortion debate. The union is making it clear, it is pro-choice. In an open letter to Prime M...

Anti-Abortion Protester Loses Appeal On Criminal Charge

CP | The Canadian Press | Posted 08.08.2012 | Canada

OTTAWA - One of the country's most active anti-abortion protesters lost an appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada on Friday.By an 8-1 margin, the justi...