Saturday March 8th aka International Women’s Day. How did the predominantly male parliament recognize this upcoming event? By voting, either through direct action or abstention, to allow the clock to be turned back on women’s reproductive rights.
Those who like to spin sentiment as truth say that those crazy radical feminists are on the war path against mommies again. Bullshit!
This about protecting the rights of all women. Especially those who chose to become pregnant. Feminists have studied, lobbied and fought for years for protections for women. Now this same government who so happily dismantled SWC is claiming to have women’s interests at heart? Bullshit!
The same laws that are being put forward here are being used to prosecute women in the United States of America. And other countries with similar breeding laws are also making criminals out of women. Women who’s pregnancies are not the stuff of Anne Geddes books. This is protecting women? Bullshit!
Mark Hasiuk in his rush to do a hatchet job on Joyce Arthur writes;
Sadly, for a relatively small number of pregnant women, life’s final scene ends with a violent act usually perpetrated by their closest male ally. Bill C-484 will recognize the sanctity of human life in its most innocent and vulnerable form, and further punish some of society’s most despicable offenders.
In their opposition to the bill, pro-choice activists seek to deny justice for abused women who weighed their options and chose life.
Perhaps Mr. Hasiuk should have become a butcher rather than a writer. Being a writer generally requires one research the facts. The fact is that Bill C-484 contains a provision that any lawyer worth his salt could use to get his client off. To wit;
(2) An offence that would otherwise be an offence under paragraph (1)(a) may be reduced to an offence under paragraph (1)(b) if the person who committed the offence did so in the heat of passion caused by sudden provocation within the meaning of section 232.
Combined with the fact that courts already have provision to take violence against a pregnant women more seriously, combined with the fact that Canada does not (as yet!) have consecutive sentencing. Combined with this statement “(5) It is not a defence to a charge under this section that the child is not a human being.” and statements such as these from reproductive fascists, “If passed this bill . . . would be a key step in recriminalizing abortion.” To say that this bill is about protection not about criminalizing abortion is grade A, 100%, unadulterated BULLSHIT!
To the Liberal politicians who stood in the house today and voted for this, and for those like Dion who ducked the responsibility to defeat it, I say shame! Shame on you for marking International Women’s Day by resurrecting the concept of biology as destiny.
It is hard to choose priorities–too bad you chose Harper Government™ ones.
*sigh*
I don’t even want to write about it yet, nothing comes to mind but a very creative string of expletives.
I don’t understand why they can’t see what everyone else can, or do they just not care?
Great! I don’t know what the latest is in your neck-o-the-woods, but there are whispers among the supreme court nominees that slowly, the American protection for women (Roe V. Wade) will slowly be dismantled. This is, of course, a result of years of Bush policy and cronyism in his nominations.
As a result, all the unfortunate women facing pregnancy in the U.S. — all they have to look forward to is finding some way to afford health insurance coverage. Women’s day, my bum. What a joke.