According to a poll done a few years back by Angus Reid something like 80% of respondents were not aware of the fact that there are no laws whatsoever concerning abortion in Canada. What that means is that, in this country, an abortion can legally take place for any reason right up until birth. A fetus/baby does not have any recognition in law until it has fully emerged from the birth canal alive.
Prior to 2015 when Canada's governing party was the Conservatives, led by an Evangelical Christian (Missionary Alliance Church) two motions were drafted with one being put before our parliament (very much like the US Congress) that sought to open up the abortion debate. Both motions were brought forward by Conservative members of parliament.
The first motion called on Canada's parliament to establish a committee tasked with studying the point at which a fetus becomes a human being. It came to a vote and it was allowed to be a free vote for the ruling majority Conservatives. A "free" vote meant that party members were not whipped, a 'whipped vote' means that members are expected and pressured to vote a certain way. Because it was not a confidence vote (there was not spending attached to the motion) a defeat of the motion would not have triggered an election. The motion was defeated as even Prime Minister Harper voted against it.
The second motion called on parliament to condemn the practice of using abortion to terminate pregnancies where the fetus was female. The motion was the result of a study conducted by the Canadian Medical Association that found that male/female babies in certain ethnic communities skewed abnormally towards males, especially when the first child was already a girl. The inference was that certain communities with a historical preference to male children were using abortion to ensure that, when the first child was already a girl, that the second would be a boy.
Personally I thought this second motion was brilliant. It asked Canada's parliament to: "condemn discrimination against females occurring through sex selective pregnancy termination". How could a feminist not support this? Or is killing a fetus merely because its not male acceptable? I was looking forward to the vote, but then the Harper government refused to introduce it to parliament.
I'll have more to say on this issue and welcome any thoughts, comments or questions. I know there are a lot of Americans here who may not fully understand Canada's political system, so don't worry about asking....I studied political science and while there's still lots I don't know, I have what I consider to be a better than average grasp on how government works in this country.
Blessings.
Prior to 2015 when Canada's governing party was the Conservatives, led by an Evangelical Christian (Missionary Alliance Church) two motions were drafted with one being put before our parliament (very much like the US Congress) that sought to open up the abortion debate. Both motions were brought forward by Conservative members of parliament.
The first motion called on Canada's parliament to establish a committee tasked with studying the point at which a fetus becomes a human being. It came to a vote and it was allowed to be a free vote for the ruling majority Conservatives. A "free" vote meant that party members were not whipped, a 'whipped vote' means that members are expected and pressured to vote a certain way. Because it was not a confidence vote (there was not spending attached to the motion) a defeat of the motion would not have triggered an election. The motion was defeated as even Prime Minister Harper voted against it.
The second motion called on parliament to condemn the practice of using abortion to terminate pregnancies where the fetus was female. The motion was the result of a study conducted by the Canadian Medical Association that found that male/female babies in certain ethnic communities skewed abnormally towards males, especially when the first child was already a girl. The inference was that certain communities with a historical preference to male children were using abortion to ensure that, when the first child was already a girl, that the second would be a boy.
Personally I thought this second motion was brilliant. It asked Canada's parliament to: "condemn discrimination against females occurring through sex selective pregnancy termination". How could a feminist not support this? Or is killing a fetus merely because its not male acceptable? I was looking forward to the vote, but then the Harper government refused to introduce it to parliament.
I'll have more to say on this issue and welcome any thoughts, comments or questions. I know there are a lot of Americans here who may not fully understand Canada's political system, so don't worry about asking....I studied political science and while there's still lots I don't know, I have what I consider to be a better than average grasp on how government works in this country.
Blessings.