61-year-old mother of four-year-old conceived through donor egg and ex-boyfriend’s sperm admits she was “too old” when she had her daughter.

Oh hindsight. Always 20/20.

Two readers sent me this clip. I’m still catching up on stuff after my time in DC so I just got to this today. It’s well worth watching all ten minutes. So settle back with a coffee and enjoy.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKyljukBE70&feature=player_embedded]

My two cents: I am amazed by the early stages: The first hours and days of life in the womb. When a baby starts looking like a baby, well, we all know what a baby looks like. I’m not diminishing the wonder of the final product but it is absolutely astounding that we come from two cells.

I’d love to introduce a bit more marvel and magic into our thoughts on this. While there is a place for showing how graphic and disturbing abortion is (and the vast majority of our abortions happen in or after that rapid growth phase, when the baby is starting to have fingers and toes) I almost feel that by doing exclusively that, we are diminishing the awe and wonder and replacing it with disgust.

Perhaps when I do talks I will show this video. And I will say before showing it that there is nothing graphic about it, nothing offensive and that people should just kick back and enjoy the story that is their story, too, by some miracle of creation. Not everyone believes in God, but through this you might just catch a glimpse of a creator who sees us when we are just a cell or two, coming together in patterns and forms that even the world’s greatest mathematicians can’t understand. Makes me hopeful, that.

I’ve been on the road, hence the blogging hiatus. Was at a most interesting conference in Washington DC on the topic of how to reduce poverty. Some inspirational people there, including one Eloise Anderson. Without getting into details, suffice it to say I thoroughly appreciated both her ideas and her candour in expressing them.

I’ve been seeing quite a lot of abortion news… including the National Post cover page story on Friday about abortion rates decreasing and the debate in PEI.

However, I’ll just link to this TIME article about how Catholics are all pro-choice and how “radical” pro-lifers do more harm than good. But then I’ll link to this Newsbusters article, debunking the inaccuracies in the TIME article. Nice to see someone calling out the mistakes. (Makes my job a lot easier.)

Pro-life, pro-choice, pro-crazy… Sometimes you need to get away from it all. One of my life principles is to watch Blue Crush as often as possible. Yes, alongside other films like Nacho Libre, I make time for what is truly important.

So. Today, I link to this amazing accomplishment of Hawaiian surfer Garret McNamara–who recently beat a world record by surfing the largest wave in the world! Pretty wild. I watch it and can’t believe he wasn’t crushed by the sheer force of the water–but there at the end, out he comes, still standing. There’s an allegory in there somewhere, for someone. Enjoy.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nd2jtwviyC8]

A movie I will want to see. Not before I brush up on my modern British history, however, as one can’t be sure how Hollywood will slant the facts. However, love her or hate her, no one, absolutely no one, would claim Margaret Thatcher was not a strong woman.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDiCFY2zsfc&feature=youtu.be]

…can be found here. Or see below. That’s quite a list of pro-choicers who are unwilling to defend their views in public. To me, this marks the beginning of the end of the pro-choice movement. For to keep the movement alive you need to be willing to defend your values, even on hostile terrain, ie. outside the safe confines of the university womyn’s centre. Here’s why the pro-choice movement is at the beginning of the end–it has become lazy. Everyone agrees with us! We are the mainstream! There is a consensus! They are growing complacent just as pro-lifers are picking up steam, mobilizing for action and making strides in public opinion.

The other more troubling concern I have is that extreme forces (those who don’t believe abortion is debatable) will push their views on less excessive pro-choicers. What this amounts to is quashing democracy. Almost all things are up for debate in a democracy and certainly, abortion falls very much within the debatable. Saying abortion is not debatable is a complete and total cop-out.

i. Dr. Henry Morgentaler (declined to debate)

ii. Heather Mallick (“pro-choice” columnist for the Toronto Star) (no reply to invitation)

xii. Hon. Dr. Keith Martin (MP) (No reply to invitation)
xiii. Planned Parenthood Ottawa (Heather Holland – Executive Director- Declined to debate)
xiv. Canadian Federation for Sexual Health (no reply to invitation)
xv. Professor Sanda Rodgers (University of Ottawa) (declined to debate)
xvi. Professor Wayne Sumner (University of Toronto) (declined to debate)

Russia is country where abortion is used as birth control. But Russia ain’t exactly the home of flourishing women’s rights. There’s no connection between access to abortion and strong and empowered women.

Moscow – Women of all ages used to fill gynaecologist Lyubov Yerofeyeva’s Soviet state clinic, lined up by the dozen for back-to-back abortions. “It was more common to take sick days for an abortion than for a cold in those days,” she said. Two decades after the Soviet Union’s collapse, wider availability of contraception and a resurgence of religion have reduced the numbers of abortions overall, but termination remains the top method of birth control in Russia. Its abortion rate – 1.3 million, or 73 per 100 births in 2009 – is the world’s highest.

…At a peach-and-teal toned private clinic, Irina, 27, was having her second operation in a little over a year. Unmarried, with a mortgage and parents in a faraway provincial city, she said she cannot afford a child. “Besides, my boyfriend doesn’t want it,” she said – but admitted that they do not use any regular form of contraception.

Some of the photos from the debate. My “favourite” is the first one. From left to right you see one fellow who, I’m fairly confident, was calling out expletives. Then a neutral audience member. Then you see a distraught woman (likely by the pro-life message based on where she is sitting). Another neutral audience member. Then a woman laughing out loud, again likely at the pro-life message based on where she is sitting. And finally, you see a woman running interference, trying to keep the peace.

I’m getting on my way to speak about communicating life principles at the Medical Students for Life conference (closed to the public) here in Ottawa in an hour or two. However, I thought I’d do a quick debate report, from last night.

THE GOOD

It was well-attended. Stephanie Gray gave her tour-de-force. Logic and reason, whether you agree with her or not, are her tools. She was clear and concise and presented arguments as to the humanity of the unborn from conception onwards, and why doctors should not at any point kill.

Her opponent was a man of good humour. He was from the Atheist Society. And while abortion was clearly not “his thing” he gave a valiant effort where many, many would not tread. I know they tried and tried and tried to get others to debate the issue, but apparently pro-choicers are in retreat. Their big line these days is that abortion is “not up for debate.” So I went to Jovan Moralis, which was the fellow’s name, I do believe, and congratulated him for showing up last night. I suspect he is getting flak from both sides, because he didn’t keep the silent consensus some of his more radical friends espouse.

BTW, he actually showed a birth video. His point was that birth/labour is hard and women should not be forced to go through that. It was hard to watch. But at the end, a full-on baby popped out and…what do you know… most people kind of recognize the miracle in that. What I noticed was a brief flash that the camera made toward the mother’s face, and she looked, wait for it, overjoyed. In the words of one Brigitte Pellerin, most women do love their little parasites.

He did say at one point in trying to get his peeps to quiet down “I’m a fan of civility too,” by way of trying to get them to shut up. He should have been way firmer. But he was inexperienced, this was his first debate, so I will forgive him that.

During questions, this older (maybe 60ish) lady with an accent that may have been Trinidadian stood up and said something along the lines of “I’m old and you should all listen to me.” Miraculously, because she was spunky and kind, and perhaps because she did look like a grandmotherly figure, people did and no one swore at her. She said, why so much “pro-life” and “pro-choice”? Then she went on to say “I’m pro-purity” and she bemoaned the hyper-sexualized state of campus life. It is possibly the only time that I have ever heard someone stand up in a forum like that, ask no question at all, and I was rather grateful. She was a breath of fresh air, a moment of relief from what was otherwise a difficult, emotional evening.

THE BAD

Why do universities design dungeon-like auditoriums where there is no light, no beauty, no….nothing!? No time to download my photos this morning, but it’s a dark, unhappy place–universities today. I say that based on my next section more than the architecture, though the building doesn’t help.

THE UGLY

Friends, there were troubled folks there last night. People holding signs that said “pro-choice is pro-life” and “I hope the fetus you ‘save’ is gay.” (Yes! Why not?) Some of those people holding signs swore loudly *at Stephanie* throughout her presentation. Her presentation started and there was loud laughter at her, from the back. People shouted “liar” and “witch” and “this is bullshit” throughout.

When Stephanie made the point that personhood is an evolving, changing term and that women once were not designated persons, neither were black people, neither were Jews, some guy lost it, started shouting at the top of this lungs, “I am Jewish and this is bullshit.” I believe he may have been removed, I’m not sure. No one is quite sure why what was a passing comment set him off, but I get the feeling these folks live in a precarious world, and are wholly emotionally unequipped to deal with… much. They seemed angry. They were angry.

I showed up with my camera. To take photos, yes, not so much as a reporter but because I have a fancy new camera and I am learning not to use the automatic feature. I took photos, clicking away and at one point I was standing up taking some shots of Stephanie and Jovan in the cross-examination period. At some point here, some of the folks with signs started shouting so I turned the camera on them.

So we have people who came to a public debate, with signs, who subsequently started shouting. I took a photo or two of them, yes. And they see this and start gesturing at me to come on over. Mid debate. Sorry, no. Not gonna do that. They sent someone over, a lovely girl actually, who tells me they want me to stop taking pictures of them and further to delete the photos I have. I smile and nod, but inside I’m thinking “my camera, my choice.”

You don’t go to a public debate, with signs, make a big stink and then demand no photos. Sorry folks. I will post any that turned out later on.

I left the debate with my stomach in knots and a headache, which was thankfully relieved by a beer with friends.

Gotta run now, but there’s a short update from where I was sitting.

University of Ottawa Students for Life, in partnership with University of Ottawa Medical Students for Life, will be hosting Stephanie Gray, Executive Director of the Canadian Centre for Bioethical Reform, on November 11th 2011 at 7:30 pm for a debate on abortion in medical practice.

Ms. Gray will represent the pro-life side, while the pro-choice side will be represented by Jovan Morales of the Atheist Community of the University of Ottawa.

NEW LOCATION: Colonel By Hall, 161 Louis Pasteur, Room C03. The old room will still be used as the debate will be streamed into it for overflow.