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There were many things throughout the federal election which caused me grief. The most egregious and offensive, however, were the ignorant (in some cases) but more often dishonest comments about abortion and the Harper/Conservative position on abortion. More specifically, there were four themes that sent me into orbit: abortion is a charter right in Canada; “Canadians” support a “woman’s right to choose”; Stephen Harper is a radical social Conservative who would repeal that right; the Conservative Party harbours (and muzzled) secret radical Christians who would make abortion illegal. Point one, abortion is a charter right, was Paul Martin’s desperate pitch to voters throughout the last week. His hysterical, cheap, dishonest and cowardly rants about “a woman’s right to choose” surely hit a new low in dirty politics. Mr. Martin is a lawyer by training and must know that the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms does not include the right to an abortion. It is not written into the Charter nor, as yet, read in by our Supreme Court. The 1988 Morgentaler decision did not read in the right to an abortion. It struck down the then-existing law because it was not applied equally across the country. It did find that Parliament had a legitimate interest in protecting the fetus and invited the government to fix the law. At the time, Mr. Martin declared himself “personally against abortion on demand” and urged Prime Minister Mulroney to bring in a law. The House of Commons did pass another law which did not pass the Senate. As a result, we currently have no law restricting abortion at any stage of pregnancy but there is no charter right. In fact, section 7 of the Charter guarantees the right to life. We just don’t agree in Canada that life applies to all human beings. We exclude the youngest, most vulnerable members of the human family. The second lie was the assertion that abortion is a Canadian value. Of course, Mr. Martin could never use the word “abortion.” He prefers the code “women’s right to choose.” In fact polls show considerable unease among Canadians for our current policy on abortion: abortion at any stage of pregnancy and almost always paid for by taxpayers. Gallup Canada, which has polled on this question since the early 70s, has consistently found over 60% of Canadians support some legal restrictions on abortion. More recently, polls by Leger Marketing and Environics have found similar results. So whose values was Mr. Martin, a Catholic, reflecting? On to our new Prime Minister. I have met Mr. Harper a couple of times, interviewed him both on radio and for print stories, followed his career through the Reform Party, his stint at the NCC, his run for the Alliance leadership and his most recent achievements as head of the Conservative Party. I am thrilled that he won the election. I have never, in the past almost two decades, heard him claim to be pro-life. I absolutely believe the answer he gave Kevin Newman in an interview the week before the election. He said he would not bring in legislation on abortion. Newman said, “So to be clear, you support a woman's right to choose?” Harper replied, “I've always said my views on the abortion issue are complex, I don't fall into any of the neat polar extremes on this issue.” Newman then pressed him to explain and Harper replied, “No, I don't need to because I'm not proceeding with an abortion agenda.” I believe that like most Canadians, Mr. Harper does have a complex view on abortion. Most Canadians are not comfortable with the ever increasing number of abortions in Canada. They don’t like abortion on demand. They do not like paying for them with tax dollars. On the other hand, they don’t want to be in the position of telling women in crisis pregnancies that they can’t have an abortion and they are unaware of the many and serious physical and mental health problems associated with the procedure. Mainly, they just wish the whole issue would go away. I think Mr. Martin knows all this too (and probably agrees with it) but had no qualms of conscience lying about his opponent. Finally all those secret Christian fanatics waiting to jail women who have abortions. Most of those “outed” by Mr. Martin and the Liberal Party on its website were well known for speeches and bills advocating the protection of all human life. They spoke openly in the House of Commons on bills ranging from euthanasia to stem cell research and other human reprotech issues. They responded to candidate surveys and attended pro-life functions. They were, however, bound to the party policy which unfortunately promises not to introduce legislation to protect life. Furthermore, as MP Garry Breitkreuz pointed out, Mr. Martin’s caucus included seven MPs who spoke publicly at the annual March for Life in Ottawa. It also included many others, including a few Cabinet ministers and parliamentary secretaries who were pro-life. So, the former Prime Minister believes it is fine for Liberals to be pro-life but not Conservatives. It is interesting that political discussions about abortion in Canada begin and end with lies. Paul Martin made the election a campaign about values. In his case, the ultimate value, the one he made his top priority at the end, was a lie. Canadians did not buy in. |
