I could not have asked for a worse day to have to face anti-choice propaganda. I woke up to killer cramps, rain, and a vicious wind (I'm on the east coast of Canada, for those who have been and can relate).
In my second class, I was subjected to a lecture on how our recently written essays were not very good. To escape I went to the washroom and taped to the mirror was a black poster, with red writing. I cannot remember exactly what it said but gave various definitions of "people". First it gave the definition from pre-1918 Canada when women were not considered people. Then, it gave an excerpt from the Canadian Indian Act, where Native peoples were not given people status within Canada (or something to that extent). Then it chillingly gave a quote from the Reichstag stating that the Jewish population were not considered people. Lastly - as you can guess - it gave a quote from a Manitoba court ruling that stated that "the unborn child is not protected as a person under the Canadian Constitution". Then it pithily added "history seems doomed to repeat itself".
Obviously I'm preaching to the converted but there are so so so many things wrong with this. Comparing a woman's agency over her own body to the abominations of the Holocaust? Using cases of descrimination against women to justify taking away their reproductive rights? I still feel sick. But undeniably the worst thing about it was that there was no organization name on it. I am subjected to this idiocy while I go to the washroom and yet they give me no chance to retaliate? Plus, they used so much tape that I could not peel it off of the glass. Cowards. I will, however, be writing an op-ed piece for my school paper.
Several hours later, after a blood donation that went awry and kept me incapacitated at the clinic for three hours, I was safely back in bed when I heard some anti-choice talk in the hallway (my room assignment this year, much to my chagrin, is on the wellness floor. This means it's substance free. I support a person's choice not to drink. I support that 75% of them are part of the "Christian Fellowship Society" but I do not support me having to listen to their opinions). I dragged my groggy self out of bed and listened to them condemning the FOCA and Obama. And claiming that a woman can get an abortion at any stage in pregnancy in Canada. True that R v. Morgentaler did eliminate any abortion laws but no doctors in Canada will perform an abortion after 16 weeks, unless the woman's life is at risk.
I wanted to tell them this. I wanted to tell them that sure it's legal but some provinces don't give funding for it (in Nova Scotia, where I go to school, it is only partially funded). The access is terrible so that if anyone in P.E.I. or Nova Scotia needed an abortion they would have to go the the only hospital in Halifax that offers it. I wanted to ask the three men standing there why they deserved an opinion on what a woman does with her body? And most importantly I wanted to ask why, if they are so pro-life, I did not see any of them at the blood-donor clinic tonight (I was there for its duration)? Instead, I told them that I didn't need to hear conversations about abortion outside of my door, that they should go into their rooms to discuss, and that I was pro-choice. I'm full of regret now and needless to say, feeling very frustrated.
I know nothing I've said is a new topic to feministing but I appreciate the outlet for my venting. It gives my best friend and boyfriend the night off
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I thought that there was a clinic in Montreal where people are referred to when they want an abortion past 16 weeks. Maybe I am mistaken.
Wasn't it nice when Dr. Morgentaler got awarded the Order of Canada a few weeks ago? That was cool. Way to stick it to anti-choicers.
I know what you mean about access to abortion on the East coast. I went to a seminar on it a few years ago. In my province, there is only one hospital that performs abortions. There are so many hoops that you have to go through that most women have to go to the Morgentaler Clinic, meaning they actually have to pay out of pocket for a medical procedure...IN CANADA, for crying out loud...bastards. I'm glad that Dr. Morgentaler is suing the province to get them to pay for abortions done at the clinic. I really hope he wins.
I am suprised to hear about the lack of access on the East Coast. I guess I just assumed it was as easy to find an abortion provider in the rest of Canada as it is in Quebec. We have CLSC that offers great information and that can either provide an abortion or can direct you to a place that can (depending of their size). I know girls who had abortions and did not have any problem finding a provider...Granted in Quebec, we do not have a lot of anti-choice people, while they are there, the government is mostly very liberal and give women access to what they need (although I think that Plan B is till over the counter here...but then I had not problem obtaining it at my local pharmacy when I needed it). I don't know I must admit I am not the most inform person on the subject, but I will definitely look into it.
I also learned recently that since January 2008, the Quebec government is funding all abortions without limitations. Good to know.
Heather Mallick did an article on the situation in New Brunswick sometime last year for CBC.ca. Here is a link to the article: http://www.cbc.ca/news/viewpoint/vp_mallick/20070420.html
Thank you for the link. It was highly educational. I had no idea. I guess I had the (very) naive assumption that if abortion rights were not that much in danger, then it was relatively easy to have access to a provider. Those two things rigts/access were going hand in hand in my head. I was wrong. Totally wrong. Thank you again for opening my eyes. I haven't stayed for long periods of time in other provinces and assumed that most Canadians were as liberals as here (although we have our share of close-minded assholes here too)
wow. I feel dumb now.
Thank you for the link. It was highly educational. I had no idea. I guess I had the (very) naive assumption that if abortion rights were not that much in danger, then it was relatively easy to have access to a provider. Those two things rigts/access were going hand in hand in my head. I was wrong. Totally wrong. Thank you again for opening my eyes. I haven't stayed for long periods of time in other provinces and assumed that most Canadians were as liberals as here (although we have our share of close-minded assholes here too)
wow. I feel dumb now.
Those "history seems doomed to repeat itself" ads were up on my campus in Alberta too. They really bothered me, because they were just nonsense from what I could see. I hope that the creator and the posters of those realize that most of the groups they mentioned are still extremely marginalized in society today and still do not always have full rights to personhood. There have also been a large amount of pro-life posters on campus, from both a large organization and the campus chapter. "The Human heart starts beating at 21 days...Choose Life." Yay for the bio lesson. They really bother me. "More than 90% of women regret their abortions" No one provides sources for these statistics!!
I'm fortunate enough to have rather good access to abortion in AB, but the whole attitude around it here is still rahter...hostile. I am also glad that morgantaler was awarded the order of Canada and that he's still out fighting for change in the east coast.
I don't think you are dumb or naive. Most Canadians would probably think that rights and the ability to exercise them are the same all across the country.
I've never encountered anything like that on my campus, but I live in Montreal, and my school's student body is both apathetic and generally liberal. It's occasionally frustrating, but at least I don't need to put up with posters like that.
Also, I hear you on the awful weather. The other night, walking home, I felt like the wind was going to blow me over.
If you couldn't take it down, "grade" it. Give it an F for untrue facts, no source, and no name on the paper.
Mikki, are you at the UofA? I've seen similar ads, too. :(
hey Rachelike,
I'm sorry to hear you had to put up with that.
I'm a Canadian myself, although from Manitoba. I also go to a university that is PROFOUNDLY liberal - U of Winnipeg - I don't believe we even have a pro life org at our school.
I just wanted to correct your remarks on timeframes/access to abortion within Canada. It's not 16 weeks across the board :
Nunavut/Yukon - 12 weeks
NWT - 14 weeks
BC - 20 weeks
Alberta - 20 weeks
Manitoba - 16 weeks
Ontario - 24 weeks
Quebec - 23 weeks
NB - 16 weeks
Nova Scotia - 15 weeks + based on ultrasound results
PEI - 15 weeks + - based on ultrasound results
Nfld and Labrador - 15 weeks
neither SK or PEI have facilities, government pays for women to travel to Alberta, for SK, or off the island for PEI.
Cheers
I forgot to mention that yes, the access on the East Coast is totally abhorrent.
When people ask me why I still care about the issue (since "it's available everywhere", duh!), I just point them to the East Coast.
People find it hard to believe that rights are still being violated in our nation, even though it happens every day under a number of different issues.