Happy Birthday Canada! It’s July 1st, Canada’s national holiday. I know you’ve got BBQ’s and fireworks to get to, but please allow me to interrupt your celebrations for just a moment as I turn your attention to the 3 million Canadians who aren’t here to celebrate with us.
What do Canadians really think about abortion? Our politicians would have you believe that Canada is a pro-choice nation and that the issue is settled, with no need to be revisited in parliament. Is that the case? Since 1988, when the 1969 abortion laws were struck down with the Morgentaler Decision, Canada has been one of three countries in the world with zero laws on abortion. Despite individual hospital and provincial restrictions, abortion is legal in Canada throughout all nine months, for any reason at all – and in most cases, they are paid for by our tax dollars. (That’s right: essential dental care isn’t covered, but elective abortions are!) … And the vast majority of Canadians agree with this, so we have nothing to talk about in parliament and can go back to our burgers, right?
Hold the mustard! According to abortion polls (which admittedly vary widely, depending on how the questions are asked) by such firms as Angus-Reid, Ipsos-Reid, Abacus and Environics, only 30% of Canadians fully agree with the status quo which current government parties seek to uphold (no abortion restrictions and tax-funded coverage of almost all abortions). That’s right. At least 70% of Canadians are not in complete agreement with the unchallenged law as it currently stands!
– According to a 2011 Environics poll:
– 77% of Canadians believe abortion should be illegal in the 3rd trimester
– 58% believe abortion should be illegal in the 2nd & 3rd trimesters
– 92% believe that sex-selective abortions should be illegal
– 54% want tax payers covering only medically necessary/rape abortions (13% want no tax funding at all, with only only 30% agreeing with our current coverage)
– 70% would support legislation making it a separate crime to injure or kill a fetus during an attack on the mother.
(See also Environics, 2007; Angus-Reid, 2008)
So Happy Canada Day! Enjoy the festivities – but be ready to get back to our work when the day is done! It’s time to let Canadians know that if they are not at ease with tax-funded abortion on demand through all nine months, that they are in the majority, not the minority! And it’s time to make sure our government is speaking for us, not shutting pro-life voices out of parliament!
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For more polls and sources see:
Wiki Page: Abortion in Canada
Abortion in Canada: Thirty Years of Surveys Show Canadians Oppose Unrestricted Abortion
We Need a Law: Resources, Abortion polls
Thanks. What are the other two countries?
In the US, the Supreme Court allows the states to restrict the abortion of the viable unborn if they wish, but not to a meaningful extent. Does anyone know what states if any have zero current legislation under this SC guideline? Where can I find a summary of the laws of all the states under this guideline?
(I am not asking about laws that may have prevented abortions indirectly, such as laws setting medical standards for abortion clinics.)
North Korea and China. Not exactly the countries I’d nominate for the most free and just societies. 😛
http://www.weneedalaw.ca/resources/international-law
Though that may have just recently changed with France’s new law. Stay tuned.
It doesn’t sound like Canada is really much different than the USA. The people in government don’t care what the majority of the people in the country want.