People like to say that abortion has been in the news. There have been numerous columns recently about Harper's G8 initiative and the abortion debate.
We talk about the debate. Not the procedure itself.
There is mention of "maternal health". And that's great. But what about the unborn child?
As columnists have the debate about the debate, concluding that there will be no debate, I don't see a lot of pro-lifers getting in to explain the abortion procedure, nor to affirm the equality of the unborn child.
No doubt, this mediatic state of affairs is far better than it was ten years ago when no one said anything about this issue. It somewhat represents an ever-so-slight shift to the right. Just an inch. But still.
However, I sense that nobody really wants to get into the nitty-gritty of it all.
I think that one of the problems is that many of the Parliamentary initiatives that touch upon fetal rights only skim the issue around the edges. When you debate coerced abortions, or maternal health initiatives, you're not talking about the deliberate killing of unborn children.
I think that if we're going to have a real abortion debate in this country, we need a member of the Pro-Life Parliamentary caucus to present a bill that goes right to the heart of the matter. I think that a pro-life Liberal MP should present a bill banning the practicing of decapitating and crushing the heads of babies.
Understand that women would still be allowed to have abortions.
But it would be a bill that would give some consideration to the unborn child.
And feminists would have to squirm as they defend what goes on during an abortion.
It'd be fun to watch.
And we would finally get to the heart of the matter: of what happens to the unborn child.
In their little world, feminists make no bones about not giving a crap about fetuses. As Joyce Arthur says "fetuses are not that important".
However, the average Canadian is not like a feminist. They might be shocked to find out how abortions are done.
And for the first time, feminists would have to defend them. Which I don't believe they have ever done in this country.
Now, the bill might lose. However, as a public relations tactic, it could only advance the pro-life cause. Who's going to examine the head-crushing issue and conclude they should be more pro-abortion? Not that many. But a LOT of Canadians will wake up to the reality of abortion for the first time in their lives and not like what they see. Oh, a lot of them might not want to criminalize abortion, or even head-crushing.
But they might decide against it for themselves. Or persuade someone else not to do it. Or not want their tax dollars to pay for it, especially in elective cases.
It's still an uphill legislative battle for us. I have no illusions. But if we keep plugging at it, it will only get better for us. And we'll stop talking about the debate, and start DOING the debate.
We must press on. When you negotiate the price of something, you always set your price high in anticipation that others will attempt to lower the price. I believe it's the same with abortion. Perhaps instead of trying to bargain too low-- going for the lowest common denominator, we should try to address issues that directly address that of fetal rights.
