I’m genuinely interested in reading The Handmaid’s Tale and only then seeing the movie. Which is to say it may be a while before I can actually comment on the movie. I gather it’s a dystopian book/film in which women are forced to bear children for others at the hands of  religious (Christian?) authoritarians.

The reality is that secularism is demanding a new subordination of women. Doctors are calling for payments to be legal in Canada for reproductive material–eggs, sperm and for surrogates.

As it is, many people in Canada wait indefinitely to have children, resort to reproductive tourism in other countries or import eggs and sperm from the United States, where compensating donors is legal, the group says. Canadians are at a disadvantage “in terms of managing their own fertility care,” said Sherry Levitan, a lawyer and member of the society’s board.

The article discusses how very few women are willing to be donors or surrogates simply out of altruism (duh) so this kind of activity will need to be coerced via payments. I see this as a call for a new dystopia, where women who have no money are compelled to sell their bodies and/or parts for those who do have money but no children.

Watch Breeders, people, before we walk this path. Men can donate sperm endlessly at virtually no cost to their own health, but this is absolutely not true for women. Having children cannot be commercialized.

If you want an abortion in Canada, there’s no need for counselling or a referral. You simply go and get one and this happens for about one in four pregnancies in Canada today.

If, however, you are experiencing conflict about an unplanned pregnancy, you may decide to get help from a Crisis Pregnancy Centre. These are the only places that pay attention to you, help you think through your decision and offer support. These centres are under attack these days because they don’t refer for abortion, which honestly, if you are in a CPC you already knew you didn’t need an abortion referral (and the other side likes to talk about how pro-lifers do not trust women). So some people want them to be shut down.

Pat Maloney of Run With Life has written a rebuttal to some of the more egregious attacks. It’s here.

If we pretend to be pro-choice in this country, then we need to defund abortion and ensure that this kind of counselling remains available. Until we defund abortion, we are not pro-choice–we are placing an economic incentive on abortion and making it easier/more accessible. Some people need counselling and benefit from it, and to borrow a phrase from the pro-choice movement, “if you are against this kind of counselling just don’t go get it–ha!” (And no, not every centre is perfect; they are staffed by human beings, after all. But they offer a service to their communities and countless times I’ve been happy to refer to our local centre, First Place Options.)

This sentiment, that life doesn’t always go according to plan, is the quintessential pro-life message. 

Enjoyed this ad. 

Imagine the Planned Parenthood version. And then consider which you prefer, which is more interesting/exciting/meaningful. 

Oh thank goodness. This column by Barbara Kay is exactly the response everyone needed to Ashley Csanady, National Post columnist, who calls herself a reporter.

Csanady recently wrote that VP Mike Pence was perpetuating “rape culture” by not dining alone with women who are not his wife. Right. 

For the record, I have worked with men who have strict rules about what they will and will not do with women who are not their wives. These rules included but were not limited to not travelling solo with a woman. I have also worked in totally secular environments with men with no such standards. My personal (survey of one) record: uncomfortable moments with men conducting themselves inappropriately come to a tally of two in secular environments. The tally is zero in the Christian environments, plus they promoted me to management. Not exactly what anyone can call sexism. 

What we need here is dialogue. I’ve found myself having cordial conversations on Facebook with friends who think that Mike Pence thinks women are all sexual objects. I have explained that Mike Pence has these rules not because he views women as sexual objects, but rather because he views himself as a sinful man; he sees family culture is not thriving, there are so many mistakes made that lead to family breakdown which is totally painful and completely avoidable, so he takes steps to ensure this doesn’t happen to him and furthermore, that he is above reproach. 

Hats off to Mike Pence and all the other men like him. They are reaping their reward in a happy family life–which is not something that can be said of everyone today, sadly.   

This whole discussion reminds me of the Party of One song from the new Muppets–when she dines alone. One of my faves.