April Reign

Speak your mind even if your voice shakes

abortion

Anti-pregnancy people launch campaign!

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New blog site launched today with this press release

Birth Pangs — Save Lives! Regulate Pregnancy!

For Immediate Release 02 February 2007

Anti-pregnancy people launch campaign!

Berlynn
(OTTAWA) A radical group of anti-pregnancy extemists launched their political campaign to eliminate pregnancy with a new website this week. Birth Pangs will be an organizing centre of support in their call for legislation to end pregnancies in Canada.

April Reign, the group’s spokesperson said, “The facts show that carrying a pregnancy to term is more dangerous than other medical procedures. And then there are the post-partum issues: depression, sleepless nights, teenagers.”

Indeed, pregnancy can cause women to suffer physical and psychological damage. The risks of stretchmarks and post partum depression are high. Many go into it at an extremely young age when thoughtless adults assure them they are making the right choice. Many have pregnancy thrust upon them.

Rates of death, also known as maternal morbidity, are between four and five per 100,000 births. “Though this number may seem low,” said Reign, “These lives could have been saved if we had laws against pregnancy.”

The group will initiate a pan-Canadian lobby campaign early next month.

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Blog for Choice Day

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Today is the 34th anniversary of Roe v Wade.

While this is predominately a celebration for American women, I believe that women worldwide can share in the celebration.

In the words of Virginia Woolf, “As a woman I have no country. As a woman my country is the whole world.”

The topic this year is a simple one, “why I am pro-choice.”

I am pro – choice because I believe children have a right to know they were wanted. That they weren’t born because of some imagined obligation to church or to god or because some law ruled their mother had to carry them to term.

I am pro – choice because I do not believe that my daughters have less right to decide their futures than my sons.

The simple answer is I am pro choice because I could not be anything else.

I have written to this subject before here, here,and here
to name a few.

I would say to sum up those posts that abortion is a woman’s right. A human right.

A society which would seek to suppress human rights is neither democratic nor just.

And human rights are not up for discussion or debate, they just inherently are.

technorati tags: Blog for Choice

Nuance, it’s the new black!

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Nuance used to be a good word

Dictionary meaning:
1. A subtle or slight degree of difference, as in meaning, feeling, or tone; a gradation.
2. Expression or appreciation of subtle shades of meaning, feeling, or tone: a rich artistic performance, full of nuance.

New meaning:
1. Riding the fence with a picket up your ass (see E. May abortion policy)
2.Trying to save corporate face by changing a policy but pretending not to..

example

Royal Bank has changed its U.S. dollar account policy and will now let dual nationality Canadian customers open the accounts as long as they meet standard residency and other requirements.

Canada’s biggest bank issued what it called a clarification of its policies “due to confusion” surrounding the issue.

A brief statement from the bank said it asks for proof of citizenship and residency for any individual client wanting to open a U.S. dollar account.

“With some exceptions, RBC will provide a U.S. dollar account to dual citizens of sanctioned countries as long as they meet our ‘know your client’ and ‘anti-money laundering’ requirements, which include proof of residency in Canada,” the bank said.

An RBC spokesman in Montreal said the bank “just nuanced our position to a certain extent.”

nuance

And so it ends..

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notebook

I had a bad feeling about this year, and I was unfortunately right about that.

Personally I lost a mom, a cat, two jobs, and had two serious health scares.

Politically saw the election of Harper and crew, a renewed and emboldened attack on women’s rights and freedoms, the realization that though the wheel was invented, many still want to put corners on it and have a nuanced discussion over who should be using it, continued death and destruction by the powerful who stand to gain more.. upon the many who have nothing left to lose, and the death of a puppet who had turned on his masters. [Read more…] about And so it ends..

Problem Solved?

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I was thinking more of the interest lately some “progressives” have been showing in the disingenuous remarks made by Elizabeth May. The responses made to those who reject the notion that anyone has the right to take a “nuanced” approach to their reproductive rights has been interesting to say the least.

We have been accused of being Green bashers, dinosaurs, radical, reactionary, Stalinist, unable to see shades of grey ( I love that one. As if there are shades to human rights. )

These same defenders of Ms Mays’ right to call women frivolous, have no qualms about trying to shut down discussion when women — remember us guys? we’re the ones with the wombs — express their discomfort and displeasure with the fact that those so willing to score political points and street cred with their reputed support of feminism and feminists are unwilling to show actual support of so fundamental an idea as reproductive freedom.

This even as they claim that their voices are being silenced.

We are allowed to be feminists just as long as we are nice little feminists who listen when the boys tell us what feminism means, how feminists should act and what issues we should see as meaningful.

Our anger is being used against us in ways that must have even the nastiest of misogynists gaping.

As if anger is an inappropriate response when ones rights are seen as fodder for debate. As if anger is inappropriate when one is asked to repeat a tour of duty. As if anger is inappropriate when the speaker of the words cozies up to the friends of the people who do this.

Anger is neither inappropriate nor enough. It is not time for nuances nor debates.

It is time to choose up sides, you believe that women have the right to live as autonomous human beings or you do not. You believe our society is better served when all people are free and equal or you do not. You believe that women’s voices are important or you do not.

You believe the behaviour shown in the shirt above is an appropriate response to women defending what has been shown to be important not only to women’s health but also to society as a whole, or you do not.

“Why Canada needs the NDP”

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Taking up the challenge from Accidental Deliberations.

I have lately had some issues with the party, nevertheless, to highlight the good;

We need a party which believes that human rights are the fundamental building block of democracy and any functioning society.

We need a party with a strong commitment to women’s rights, up to and including the right to reproductive choice.

We need a party that recognizes that “gay rights” are “human rights” and that who you choose to share your bed with does not make a difference.

We need a party that believes that everyone has an equal right to education, healthcare, a liveable wage.

We need a party that believes that all children have the right to good quality daycare and are willing to put their budget where their beliefs are.

We need a party that doesn’t cause an 11 year old to ask such questions as, why does that party think they should say what I can do just because I’m a girl, or why does that party keep making promises but never keeps them or what does that party stand for?

A party which instead creates comments like, I can’t wait till I’m 12 so I can become a member, how come they are the only party that comes to our door? How come the other candidates won’t talk to me just because I’m a kid?

For all the things we need to change the NDP is still the only party that really represents the values Canadians time after time identify as being important to them.