By Rebecca Groen (The Cascade) – Email
Print Edition: February 29, 2012
“In this speech I’m not going to say that we should take away women’s rights,” began John Sutherland at a speech hosted by UFV’s Life Link on February 21. His speech entitled “Canada Isn’t Pro-Choice: Why I Wish it Was” attempted to shed some light on the heated abortion debate. “Why is informed choice so important when it comes to consumer goods and not when it comes to abortion?” he queries. “People are given more information when purchasing a car than when seeking abortion.” His main premise was that to be pro-choice should mean to be pro-informed-choice.
In his speech, he quoted some interesting statistics. Thirty out of every 100 possible births end in abortion, mainly to single women in their first trimester of pregnancy. Contrary to popular belief, Canada currently has no legislation surrounding abortion. In 1969, Prime Minister Trudeau made abortion legal to women if their case was examined by a panel of doctors. In 1988, the Supreme Court of Canada struck down that law, calling on Parliament to enact a new one. Since then, however, anything that has come into Parliament even with rumours of re-opening the abortion debate has been struck down.
To be committed to informed choice when it comes to abortion would require changes to the way the procedure is done here in Canada. First of all, legislation would have to be introduced and passed into law. This legislation would have to be followed, and in order for that to happen effectively, the “hearts and the minds of the people must be changed.” The term “pro-choice” would take on a new connotation. “Information is crucial to help women make an informed choice.”
