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A Statement on Roe v Wade from Pro-Life Women in Canada

June 21, 2022 by admin 1 Comment

Today the US Supreme Court officially released a decision overruling Roe v. Wade. While this is an American decision with no implication for Canadian law, some politicians north of the border have already politicized the issue. For all of the undersigned women, however, overturning bad law marks a point of immense encouragement. We speak out because those leaders who defend abortion do not speak for us. We speak out in defence of all human beings from their biological beginnings until death. We speak out because defending and advocating for women also means defending and advocating for our preborn children.

The following outlines some of what we believe as regards the possibility of overturning Roe v. Wade:

  • Roe v Wade was bad law because it fabricated a constitutional right that did not exist.
  • Roe v Wade and Planned Parenthood v Casey aided the falsehood that women need abortion in order to achieve equality with men. This had the consequence of idealizing male biology and pressuring women to mimic a man’s ability to walk away from sex seemingly consequence free while, for many of them, still facing the horrendous consequences of abortion.
  • Women’s ability to be pregnant and carry a child is not a disability to overcome, but a reality to treasure.
  • A woman who has made the choice to end her pregnancy understands how difficult this can be.
  • Supporting “a right to choose” both ignores what that choice entails and does nothing to address the circumstances that led to that decision, but instead allows society to ignore them. By supporting women’s choices in the abstract, we minimize the very real difficulties women face and discourage real solutions.
  • There is much more work to do for the pro-life community and society at large to truly support women. We need to change hearts, allay fears, and provide courage alongside practical and emotional support. This work is ongoing and will continue.
  • Social and cultural change is needed to allow for the well being of both mother and child alongside attaining legal protection for every human life from its biological beginnings until natural death.
  • It is a good thing when unjust laws are overturned. Therefore, we are deeply encouraged and hopeful that future laws will no longer adhere to an immoral, reprehensible standard that harmed so many women and men and killed so many children.

We, the undersigned, are women who stand united in opposition to abortion. We see the end of Roe v Wade as encouraging, yet find our voices inadequately represented in the public square. We pledge to ensure that this changes in the future as we make this joint statement.

 

Contacts

Tabitha Ewert – 604 220 1258
Jakki Jeffs – 519 820 3399 (cell) 519 821 9604 (office)
Andrea Mrozek – 613.241.4500 ext. 503

Current Signatories

The following 1101 women have signed up. The list will be updated daily.

  • jean greer - Grandmother (AB)
  • Jules - Administrator (MB)
  • Minnie Hoogstra - Mother, grandmother (BC)
  • Sr. Jane Ducharme - retired teacher, Religious Sister (ON)
  • Adrian Koster - (ON)
  • Adriana VanderBrugghen - Mom grandma great grandmother (MB)
  • Adriana Speelman - Mother of 3, Grandmother of 8, Bookkeeper (ON)
  • Adrienne Mugwanya - (BC)
  • Agnus-Mariae Lucas - Teacher and Missionary (MB)
  • Aida Changanaqui - (AB)
  • Albany - Engineering technologist (BC)
  • Albertha Bosch - Mother of Three, Director of Communications (ON)
  • Aleana Vanspronsen - Childcare provider (BC)
  • Alessandra Williams - Dental administrator, mom (BC)
  • Alice Hoogerdyk - Mother and Controller (AB)
  • Alice Horrocks - mother, mathematician (PE)
  • Alicia Zalit - Mentor and mother of 3 (BC)
  • Aliena Vandenberg - Mom (AB)
  • Alissa Golob - (AB)
  • Alissa Paley - Registered Nurse (AB)
  • Allison Rivas - (AB)
  • Allison Scott - Mother and Registered Nurse (AB)
  • Aloma Rodrigues - Mother (ON)
  • Alyssa Holstock - Mom (ON)
  • Amanda VanAndel - Mother (ON)
  • Amanda DB - Mom & Nurse (ON)
  • Amanda Overduin - Mother (ON)
  • Amy Benton - Daycare Teacher (BC)
  • Amy Klassen - Public School Teacher (BC)
  • Amy KOTTELENBERG - Nurse (ON)
  • Amy Shrupka - Mom and teacher (MB)
  • andrea dresselhuis - Nurse researcher (BC)
  • Andrea Edgar - (BC)
  • Andrea Kettle - Mom (QC)
  • Andi - HealthCare (AB)
  • Andrea Bekolay Perron - Mom (QC)
  • Andrea Hiebert - Mom and Teacher (BC)
  • Angela - Mom/grandma (BC)
  • Angela Desmond - Nurse/mom (NB)
  • Angela Hulst - Administrator (AB)
  • Angela Rooke - Lactation Consultant (AB)
  • Angelina Jans - Educational Assistant (ON)
  • Angie Essery - Disabled Daughter whose older brother lived because my mom said no to a father who told her to abort. (ON)
  • Angie Kohlen - Mother, Grandma, Great Grandma (BC)
  • Angie S - (AB)
  • Anita Schouten - Mother and Grandmother (BC)
  • Anita Vermeulen - Mother and grandmother to many blessings (ON)
  • Anita Marguerite Taylor - Mother/Grandmother (ON)
  • Ann Staines - Retired (ON)
  • Ann Stevenson - Elder Care (AB)
  • Ann - Mother, grandmother (BC)
  • Ann E Sullivan - Retired (ON)
  • Ann M - Mother, Grandmother, Former RN (N/A)
  • Ann Stel - MOM (ON)
  • Ann-Marie Desharnais - Wife Mother Grandmother Great-grandmother Daughter Sister Aunt (MB)
  • Ann-Marie Desharnais - Mother. Grandmother Great grandmother (MB)
  • Anna Hiebert - Primary Teacher (ON)
  • Anna Marchand - Wife, friend, aunt (ON)
  • Anna McFarlane - Trades (BC)
  • Anna - Mom of 3/Registered Nurse (AB)
  • Anna - Grandma (BC)
  • Anna Kim - Mother (ON)
  • Anna M - ECE, mother, farmer (ON)
  • Anna Nienhuis - Policy Analyst & Editor (BC)
  • Anna Maria Di Ponio - (ON)
  • Anna Maria O\'Hagan - Wife, mother and grandmother (BC)
  • Anna-Marie Barendregt - Mom (BC)
  • Annabel Pitsiaeli - Mother (BC)
  • Anne Booker - Mother (SK)
  • Anne Shiley - Wife (ON)
  • A. Francis - School Administrator (ON)
  • Anne - (ON)
  • Anne - Mom. Retired. (BC)
  • Anne - dairy farmer (AB)
  • Anne Grace - Student at university (ON)
  • Anne Waggoner - retired teacher (ON)
  • Anne-Marie Sikkema - Wife/Mom/Grandma (ON)
  • Anneke Kerkhof - Mother of many (BC)
  • Annette Veenendaal - Mom (MB)
  • A Hazelhoff - Office Manager (AB)
  • Annette Nobel - Mother and Grandmother (ON)
  • AnnetteVanGrootheest - Consultant (ON)
  • Any way - Librarian (SK)
  • Antonia Kampen - Domestic Engineer (ON)
  • Aria - Mother of 4, homemaker, hairdresser (AB)
  • Arianne Jansen - Farmer mother of 4 (ON)
  • Arlene Medemblik - Mom (ON)
  • Arlene - Mom, Grandma, School bus driver, and senior companion (AB)
  • Ashleigh Hantrey - (ON)
  • Ashley Klyn - Mom (ON)
  • Ashley Scholefield - Icu RN (SK)
  • Ashley K - Social worker (BC)
  • Athena - Homemaker (BC)
  • Audrey Dube - Retired church administrator (SK)
  • Audrey Janzen - Mom and Education Assistant (BC)
  • Audrey Lemieux - Mother, Educator (ON )
  • Audrey Orchard - nurse (BC)
  • Aura Zamora - Disabled Mother (ON)
  • Ayumi Igarashi-Nakazato - (MB)
  • Babette Zach6 - Receptionist (MB)
  • Bailey Ewald - Lab tech (AB)
  • Balita Diaz - Teacher (ON)
  • Barb VanRaalte - Mom and Grandma (AB)
  • Barbara Romanek - Mom, Grandma (ON)
  • Barbara Cassidy - grandmother (ON)
  • Barra Gots - Wife, Mom, Grandmother, Great-grandmother, Retired Fisheries Biologist (ON)
  • Beckee Smith - Mom of 7 (AB)
  • BEHRENZ CHANDRA - Registration Clerk (SK)
  • Bella Desa - Mom (ON)
  • Berna Najm - (ON)
  • Bernadette - Mother of 8 (ON)
  • Bernice McMahon - Educator (AB)
  • Bernice Wubs - (BC)
  • Bernice - Homemaker (AB)
  • Bernice Brouwer - Bio and adoptive Mom of 6 (ON)
  • Bernita Van Hierden - Mom, Grandma, Farm Administrator (AB)
  • Beth - Business Executive and Mom (ON)
  • Betty Breukelman - Grandmother (ON)
  • Betty Hargreaves - Administration (ON)
  • Betty Scherger - Mom (AB)
  • Betty Thompson - (SK)
  • Betty Thornley - Mother, Grandmother (ON)
  • Betty Ann Braun - Musician (BC)
  • Betty Barrett - Mother-of 3 - GrandMother- of 7  Great GrandMother  of 14 (ON)
  • Beverley Ellis - Mother, (BC)
  • Bev Pattenaude - Retired (ON)
  • Bobbi-Jo Haynes - Mother (ON)
  • Bobbie Joe Dunford - Mum (BC)
  • Boeve Jane - Self employed (BC)
  • Bonita Doesburg - Self employed (AB)
  • Bonnie Strohschein - Retired (AB)
  • Bonnie Way - Mom (BC)
  • Brenda Virtue - Retired ICU/Emerg RN (ON)
  • Brenda - Counsellor (MB)
  • Brenda Ewald - wife, mother, grandmother (BC)
  • Brenda Ann Schubert - wife, mother, grandmother (BC)
  • Brenda Kondra - Mother, Grandmother (SK)
  • Brenda Lobbezoo - Mom/homemaker (AB)
  • Brittany Greydanus - Mother (ON)
  • Brittany Reid - Homemaker (ON)
  • Bronwyn Gray - Grad Student (BC)
  • Brooke Dias - (BC)
  • C Thompson - Self employed (ON)
  • C. Jones - Retired (ON)
  • Caitlin Citton - Pet Care (ON)
  • Camilla Gunnarson - Small business owner (ON)
  • Candice Malcolm - Mum and journalist (BC)
  • Carla van der Breggen - Medical office assistant (MB)
  • Carlene Wall - Business Owner (MB)
  • Carmel Dear - CCBR Intern (BC)
  • Carmelina S. - Teacher (ON)
  • Carmella S - Homemaker and Mother (BC)
  • Carol Brandt - ECE III (MB)
  • Carol - Retired (AB)
  • Carol Baker - Mother/Grandmother/Systems Analyst (AB)
  • Carol Gaboury - prefered to add no title (ON)
  • Carol Renaud - Wife, Mother and Grandmother (ON)
  • Carole Irwin - Retired home care worker (ON)
  • Caroline - Health worker (ON)
  • Caroline Dubois - Clerk (MB)
  • Caroline Gainey - Mom, teacher, Gran (ON)
  • Caroline Kralt - Mother, new grandmother, part-time florist (ON)
  • Caroline Noorloos - Mother of 7 (ON)
  • Caroline Heikoop - Mother (AB)
  • Caroline VanGrootheest - mother, grandmother, daughter, teacher (ON)
  • CQ - Mom (ON)
  • Carolyn - Teacher, mother (AB)
  • Carolyn Crummer - Cashier (ON)
  • Carolyn Haan - Mom, Grandmother, retired Pharmacy Assistant (ON)
  • Carolyn Machan - retired (BC)
  • Cassie Lamoureux - Mom (MB)
  • Catharine Kavanagh - Young Professional (AB)
  • Catharine Klop - Teacher (BC)
  • Cathay Wagantall - Member of Parliament (SK)
  • Catherine Benoza - Mother & Educator (ON)
  • Catherine Vajdik - Mom (MB)
  • Catherine Sinke - Mother Grandmother (ON)
  • Catherine Butler - mother, grandmother (ON)
  • Catherine D. - Mother, Wife, Human Services (AB)
  • Catherine T - Mother, Home-wducator (ON)
  • Cathy Bieman - (ON)
  • Cathy Dienesch - Executive Assistant (ON)
  • Cathy Jager - Grandma (ON)
  • Cathy Scheper - Mom (ON)
  • Cathy - (ON)
  • Cathy F Molto - Mother (ON)
  • Cayle - Mom (MB)
  • Cecile Kanis - Mom and Oma (BC)
  • Cecilia - Mother (ON)
  • Cecilia Lowe - Grandmother (ON)
  • Celeste Woitowicz - Mother of 4 Grandmother of 7 (ON)
  • Celia - Mother (BC)
  • Chandre Hulst - Mom (AB)
  • Chantel - (ON)
  • Charity Watson - Mom of 5 (AB)
  • Charity - Mother (ON)
  • Charity Wielinga - Farmer (ON)
  • Charlayne Mallare - Claims Specialist (BC)
  • Charlotte Dombowsky - Self employed (SK)
  • Charlotte Holland - retired principal (MB)
  • Charlotte Kamminga - Homemaker, Mother, Crafter (MB)
  • Charmaine Van Maren - Editor, Mother (ON)
  • Chelsea E - Mom of 4, wife, sister, daughter, friend (SK)
  • Chelsey - Mom and Teacher (BC)
  • Cherie Buikema - Mother of 6 beautiful children (ON)
  • Cheryl - Mother, Grandmother (NS)
  • Cheryl Doiron - School Librarian; Mom; Sister; Daughter; Wife (MB)
  • CHERYL MACDONALD - MOTHER & GRANDMOTHER/RETIRED SECRETARIAL/CURRENT FARM LABOURER/SEAMSTRESS (ON)
  • Cheryl Roberts - Mother & Retired Nurse (AB)
  • Cheryl Schatz - Mother (BC)
  • Cheryl Stewart - personal support worker (ON)
  • Christin - Mother and Writer (AB)
  • Christina Hopman - Teaxher (AB)
  • Christina King - (ON)
  • Christina Schutten - Mother of 7, Grandmother of 27 (ON)
  • Christina E - Mother of 7, Administrative Executive (BC)
  • Christine Lee - Mom (ON)
  • Christine Bos - Mom (ON)
  • Christine Mason - Retired (BC)
  • CS - Wife, mom, grandma (ON)
  • Chrystal Dulmage - Psychotherapist (ON)
  • Cindy Kuntz - Mom and Grandma (AB)
  • Cindy Geiger - Retired Senior Mom Grandma Wife (AB)
  • Cindy Harasen - Mother (ON)
  • Cindy Kwok - Nurse (ON)
  • Ciska Verloop - Mother (BC)
  • Carmencita Musni - Mom (ON)
  • Claire Mackness - Nursing Student (ON)
  • Clara Creglia - (ON)
  • Clare Hansford - Mother of 5, grandmother of 9 and teacher (ON)
  • Clarice Flewelling - Mother & Grandmother (ON)
  • Claudia Francis - Domestic engineer (ON)
  • Colette Nantais - Legal secretary mother grandmother (ON)
  • Colleen Arsenault - Retired (PE)
  • Colleen Cudney - Mother (ON)
  • Colleen Storey - Mom of 8; grandmother of 13 & 1 on the way (BC)
  • Colleen Pritchett - (BC)
  • Corinna Bulthuis - Mother (BC)
  • Cornelia Lyanga - Retired (ON)
  • Courtney - (ON)
  • Crystal Vanderveen - mom (MB)
  • Cynthia Onderwater - mom (BC)
  • Cynthia Perry - Associate, Sisters of Charity I.C (NB) (NB)
  • D KleineDeters - Mother of 5. Grandmother of 15 (BC)
  • Dahnae Ford - Mom to 8 including one pre-born child. (BC)
  • Dale Barr - Nurse, Mom and Mimi (ON)
  • Damaris Rey - Civil Engineer (ON)
  • Danielle Pettie - Mother (BC)
  • Darcy Engel - Retired Healthcare worker (SK)
  • Darleen - (MB)
  • Deanna Belanger - Mother (AB)
  • Deb Versteeg - Homemaker (MB)
  • Debbie Hipkiss - Receptionist (AB)
  • Debbie Wilker - Social Worker (BC)
  • Debbie Blokker - Mom of 6 grandmother to 18 (ON)
  • Debbie Ouwersloot - Personal Support worker and SAHM (ON)
  • Debbie Swaving - Mother, Grandmother (ON)
  • Deborah Mullan - VP of Sales, Mother (AB)
  • Deb Van Ember - Mom (AB)
  • Deborah Underwood - (SK)
  • Deborah Woelders - Mother, grandmother, Administrator/Board Member (BC)
  • DEBRA Boot - NURSE (ON)
  • Denie Heppner - Retired (AB)
  • Denise Mans - Mother (AB)
  • Denise VanDyk - Mother; Book keeper (ON)
  • Denise Chun - Mother and Teacher (ON)
  • Denise Ravensbergen - MOM teacher (ON)
  • Denyse I O\'Leary - science writer (BC)
  • Devin Vanleeuwen - Daycare Worker (ON)
  • Diana Thompson - (AB)
  • - Mother (ON)
  • Mrs - Mum (AB)
  • Diane Dengler - Retired (SK)
  • Diane Neels - Mom (AB)
  • Diane Pamenter - Wife, Mother, Grandmother (N/A)
  • Diane Watts - Researcher (ON)
  • Dianna - Mother (AB)
  • Dianne McVitty - Retired obstetrical nurse (ON)
  • Dianne Prekaski - Retired (SK)
  • Dianne Poisson - (ON)
  • Dianne Wood - Mother, Grandmother (N/A)
  • Didi Andrews - Mother (N/A)
  • Dina Lodder - (ON)
  • Doerthe Rosenow - Mother, bookkeeper (BC)
  • Dolores Mckernan - Mother (ON)
  • Donna Murphy - Catholic (ON)
  • Donna Siemens - Mom & Retired Registered Nurse (BC)
  • Doreen Yung - Mother, Therapist (BC)
  • Dorothea Charters - Mother (ON)
  • Dorothy Kloepfer - mother and grandmother (ON)
  • Dorothy Wilchynski - (SK)
  • Dorothy Vogel - homeschooling mom of 9 Oma to 18 (ON)
  • Dorothy-Ann Wilcox - Grandmother Farmer? manager (ON)
  • Dr. Jane M Hosdil - BSc, MD (ON)
  • E Young - (PE)
  • Ebelien Wattel - (ON)
  • Eileen Ramsay - Mother, Grandmother, Retired Insurance Broker (ON)
  • Elaine Arnsby - :Mother and Grandmother (ON)
  • Elaine Cavalier - (ON)
  • Elaine Jacobi - Mom of 4, Office Manager (AB)
  • Elaine Murphy - Retired (ON)
  • Elaine Tomajko - (ON)
  • Elaine S - Mother and doctor (ON)
  • Eleanor Verkoeyen - (ON)
  • Eleanor Boeringa - (ON)
  • Eleanor P. - Wife, mother, homeschool teacher (ON)
  • Elisabeth V - Mom and Oma. Previous RN. (PE)
  • Elise Adolphe - Educator (ON)
  • Eliza Benterud - Mom, Company Administrator (BC)
  • Eliza Trotter - Campus Ministry Director (ON)
  • Elizabeth Boille - Mom, grandma (MB)
  • Elizabeth Flitton - Secretary (BC)
  • Elizabeth Predy - Retirtr (SK)
  • Elizabeth Saipe - Teacher (AB)
  • Elizabeth Tan - Homemaker/Homeschooler (ON)
  • Elizabeth Tanguay - Labour and Delivery nurse (ON)
  • Elizabeth Borhi - Mom, grandma. (BC)
  • Elizabeth Doucette - (ON)
  • Elizabeth H - Mother of 3 , grand mother of 2 and retired (ON)
  • Elizabeth Loch - Grandmother (BC)
  • Elizabeth Smith - Teacher (ON)
  • Elizabeth V - Mom, Nurse (AB)
  • Elizabeth Vandergriendt - Mother (BC)
  • Ella Jans - Mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother. (ON)
  • Elly Oskam - Homemaker, Church Administration (AB)
  • Elsa Van Harten - Nurse (ON)
  • Elsje Vreugdenhil - Mom and grandmother (MB)
  • Elvira Dizon - Religious (ON)
  • Elyse Vroom - Office Manager (BC)
  • Elyssa Currey - Ballet Dancer/Teacher (ON)
  • Emilie - Social Services (ON)
  • Emily - Student (ON)
  • Emma Kuizenga - Realtor and Mom (ON)
  • Emma Tolsma - Insurance broker (BC)
  • Emma I - Teacher (SK)
  • Emmy Lou Canedo - Photographer (BC)
  • Ena Malvern - Mother (ON )
  • Erica Feunekes - Mother, health care assistant (BC)
  • erika vossebelt - Post secondary Student (AB)
  • Erma Vietorisz - Mother, Grandmother, Retired Teacher, (BC)
  • Estelle April - Mom (SK)
  • Ester da Silva - Mother, grandmother (ON)
  • Esther Gardner - Mom, Grandma (BC)
  • Esther Johnson - Client care coordinator/Mother (AB)
  • Esther VanManen - Mother, wife and Business partner (ON)
  • Ewert Esther - Mother (BC)
  • Evelyn Kerkhoff - Mother (BC)
  • Evelyn Kooistra - Mother, Grandmother (ON)
  • Evelyn Nieuwenhuis - Mother/Teacher (ON)
  • Evelyn O Cortes - (ON)
  • F De Vuyst - retired teacher and mother (BC)
  • Farren Roy - Housewife, mother of 7. (SK)
  • Faye Sonier - Lawyer (ON)
  • Faytene Grasseschi - 4 My Canada, Executive Director (ON)
  • Fiona Jansen - Wife, Mom, Manager (BC)
  • Flora Zhong - (BC)
  • Follie Vanleeuwen - Mother (N/A)
  • Fran - Mother and Grama (ON)
  • Fran - Retired Mom of 6 children (ON)
  • Frances Ludwig - Mom - Grand and great grandma (ON)
  • Frieda Krahn - Grandmother, Retired Teacher (BC)
  • Gabriella Grabetz - Teacher (ON)
  • Gail Schulte - Mother of 3 (AB)
  • Gary Flewelling - Retired Auto Worker, Father & Grandfather (ON)
  • Genevieve - Mom, Grandmother. Pastor. Partner Services for a non-profit. (ON)
  • Genevieve Carson - Teacher, mom, grandmother (ON)
  • Georgette McIntosh - (ON)
  • Georgine Willemsma - mother (ON)
  • GERALDINE GRACEY - mom (ON)
  • Gerlinda Beintema - Accountant (ON)
  • Gertrude Kwong - Mom (ON)
  • Gilberte McGrath - Great Grandmother (ON)
  • Ginny Roth - Mother and Public Affairs Consultant (ON)
  • Gisela Finch - (BC)
  • Gisela Macphail - Physician to the Marginalized, Mom (AB)
  • Gita Banks - (ON)
  • G. Bron - Teacher (AB)
  • Gloria Faber - Mother (BC)
  • Grace Bennett - Not for Profit Charities (Semi-retired) (BC)
  • Grace Ginty - Homemaker (ON)
  • Grace Lenting - Mother and grandmother (ON)
  • Grace Post - Grandmom (BC)
  • Grace Anema - Retired Mother & Grandmother (BC)
  • Grace Van - Grand mother (BC)
  • john dam grace dam - (BC)
  • Grażyna Taracha - Engineer (ON)
  • H Palma - Mom (ON)
  • H. Faye Wall - Mother, Grandmother, Great grandmother (AB)
  • Hailey McLean - Mother, wife, sister, daughter, employee, friend…human (ON)
  • Hana Mrozek - Grandmother of three wonderful girls (ON)
  • Hannah Balogh - Stay at home mom (BC)
  • Hannah Gutjahr - Mother (BC)
  • Hannah VanderLaan - Mom (ON)
  • Hannah Van Manen - Mother (ON)
  • Hannah Z - Educator and Mom (MB)
  • Heather Cucan - Retired (ON)
  • Heather Leung - Occupational Therapist (BC)
  • Heather Schultz - Education Assistant (AB)
  • Heather Volk - Mom + Grandma (AB)
  • Heather - Mother, Self-employed (ON)
  • Heather Berghuis - Teacher (ON)
  • Heather Schutten - Mom (ON)
  • Heddie Driegen - Mom and Grandmother (BC)
  • Heidi Geernaert - (BC)
  • heidi loewen-steffano - Mother (MB)
  • Heidi Riley - Mother of 6 and Homeschool educator (SK)
  • Heidi Wellum - Mother of 4 (ON)
  • Helen Ingold - Interior Designer (SK)
  • Helen - Admin (ON)
  • Helen Bysterveld - Farmer, wife, mother, Oma, volunteer (BC)
  • Helen Dietrich - Retired Science/Biology teacher (ON)
  • Helen Lewis - Wife,mother CWL president (ON)
  • Helen \'t Hart - RN (ON)
  • Retired teacher - (ON)
  • Helena Szakowski - (ON)
  • Helena Fleming - (ON)
  • Helena H Jiménez - Mom (ON)
  • Helena Karabela - Mother, Grandmother, Oakville Trustee of Halton Catholic District School Board (ON)
  • Hélène Bernardin - Mother of 4 and Grandmother of 4 (MB)
  • Hennie Stam - Mother and Grandmother (BC)
  • Henrietta O\'NEILL - Mother of six (ON)
  • Henrietta - Mom (ON)
  • Hermina Brouwer - House cleaner (ON)
  • Hetty Jagersma - Grandma (BC)
  • Hilda Spanninga - Personal Support Worker (ON)
  • Hildegard Krieg - Mother and Grandma (BC)
  • Hilly Riedstra - Grandma (MB)
  • Holly Mayfield - Retired grandmother of 12 (BC)
  • Hon. Carol Skelton - Retired MP. Mom, Grandma and Great Grandma (SK)
  • Julie Hunter - Nurse, mother, grandmother (ON)
  • Ina Hofstede - Mother, grandmother, foster-grandmother, nanny (AB)
  • Ingrid Jajou - Mom & Office manager (ON)
  • Irene Baron - Mom, cleaner (ON)
  • Iry Lee - Mother (ON)
  • Isabella Bland - Mother (ON)
  • Ivana - Retired teacher (ON)
  • Jackie Gomes - Grandmother (ON)
  • Jackie Vossebelt - Mom (AB)
  • Jaclyn Kooiker - Part-time EA, Full-time Mom (MB)
  • Jaclyn Fixsen - Nurse, mom (AB)
  • Jacqueline Miles - Mom, Grandma, retired Xray Technologist (MB)
  • Jacqueline Engelen - Teacher, Mom (ON)
  • Jamie Den Boer - Homeschool mom (AB)
  • Jan Lesperance - Retired (ON)
  • Jane Beggs - Executive Assistant (ON)
  • Jane Hinan - Mom (ON)
  • Jane Pollock - (AB)
  • Jane Vandergaag - Mom, homemaker, secretary (BC)
  • Jane Veldhuizen - Wife, mother and teacher (AB)
  • Jane Breukelman - Mom (AB)
  • Jane Wagner - mom (BC)
  • Janelle Andrusiak - Mom (AB)
  • Janelle Vossebelt - (AB)
  • Janet Baker - (AB)
  • Janet Smith - Mother/Grandmother/retired Educator (ON)
  • Janet Vander Kooi - Pastor’s wife, mother of 7, mother-in-love to 7, grandma to 13+, 3✝️ (AB)
  • Janet Desroches - Mother, retired social worker (ON)
  • Janet McKenzie - Administrator, Hamilton Right to Life; Mother, Grandmother (ON)
  • Janet Schouten - Mom (BC)
  • Janet Schutten - Mother, grandmother (ON)
  • Janice Fiamengo - Retired university professor (BC)
  • Janice Jordaan - Ward Clerk (MB)
  • Janice Otten - Mom (ON)
  • Janice Rounding - Retired. Mother and Grandmother, Aunt and Great Aunt. (ON)
  • Janice W - Wife, Mom, teacher (ON)
  • Janine Filmer - Special Needs Education- retired (BC)
  • Jani - Engineer (BC)
  • Jannet Kuri - (ON)
  • Jared Ayer - HR professional (ON)
  • Jean Greer - (NB)
  • Jean - Mom (SK)
  • Jean Gairdner - Mother, grandmother (ON)
  • Jean Hedley - Retired (ON)
  • Jeanette Devries - Mom and Bookkeeper (BC)
  • Jeanette Van Ginkel - Mother/Nurse (ON)
  • Jeanne Lauzon - Retired teacher (ON)
  • Jeanne Lefebvre - (AB)
  • Jeanne Maxim - Mother, grandmother (AB)
  • Jeannette Lee - Church Custodian. Retired Medical Laboratory Technologist (ON)
  • Jeannine Bourgard - Rn (ON)
  • Jeannine Sorin - Administrative Assistant (MB)
  • Jenna de Korte - (AB)
  • Jennifer Pauley - (PE)
  • Jennifer Tucker - (ON)
  • Jenn - Christian Life coach (ON)
  • Jennifer Darwent-Amato - mom, educator, (ON)
  • Jennifer Neufeld - Mom, Wife, Regenerative Farmer (AB)
  • Jennifer Onderwater - Mom (BC)
  • Jennifer Otten - Mother, Farmer (AB)
  • Jennifer Snell - Mother RN (ON)
  • Jennifer Van Dyken - Mom (ON)
  • Jennifer wright - Wife, mother, grandmother, great grandmother . (ON)
  • Jentina - (BC)
  • Jesintha Kondra - Mother of 5 (SK)
  • Jess Van Warby - (ON)
  • Jessica - Mother of 5 (MB)
  • Jessica Scheurkogel - Stay home mother (AB)
  • Jessica Veldman - Mom (AB)
  • Jessica - Mother (ON)
  • Jessica Campbell  - (MB )
  • Jessica DiVincenzo - Custodian (ON)
  • Jessica Kerr - (AB)
  • Jessie Cooper - Marriage and Family Therapist (ON)
  • Jo-Anne Tynan - Logistics Manager (ON)
  • Joan Armstrong - Retired mom of 4 (MB)
  • Joan Janzen - Journalist, mother (SK)
  • Joan Finstad - mom & Grandma (BC)
  • Joanna Mertz - Healthcare worker (AB)
  • Joanna Wieske - Stay at home Mom (ON)
  • Joanna Simpson - Mother, Retired Business Woman (ON)
  • Joanne DeBoer - Mom (MB)
  • Joanne Voorhorst - Mom and farmer’s wife (AB)
  • Joanne Byfield - Mother, Grandmother, Journalist (AB)
  • Jocelyne Postma - Mother, Educator (BC)
  • Jody Koerssen - Mom and Bookkeeper (ON)
  • Joelle Vanleeuwen - (ON)
  • Johanna Klop - (BC)
  • Johanna Rozendaal - Mam & grandmother (BC)
  • Johanne Brownrigg - Mother (ON)
  • Jolanta Galazka - Mom, grandmother ,retired RPN (ON)
  • Jorina - (ON)
  • Joselyn Gille - Employee (MB)
  • Josie Olaguera - Mom (BC)
  • Josie B - Mom of two (BC)
  • JoujiBF - Mom (ON)
  • Joyce - (AB)
  • Joyce Balaberda - Personnel Manager (SK)
  • Joyce Popma - Mom of 9, Grandma (BC)
  • Joyce Fabbro - Retired RN. Mother of four daughters. (ON)
  • Judith McRae - Artist (AB)
  • Judith Vasquez - Mother of 5, DRE (MB)
  • Judith Lynn Morris - Retired (ON)
  • Judy Hannaford - Retired trade-show owner (AB)
  • Judy Slomp - Mom, Gramma, Homemaker (AB)
  • Judy Tenbrinke - Mom of 5 (AB)
  • Judy Zwart - Christian (AB)
  • Judy De Martin - Mother (ON)
  • Julia Hernandez - Accounting (MB)
  • Julia Oswald - Mom (AB)
  • Julia Toet - (MB)
  • Juliana - mom (BC)
  • Julie A Bouwers - Teacher (ON)
  • Julie Smulski - Mother (ON)
  • June C Loebach - mom and grandmother (ON)
  • J Vasquez - (MB)
  • Kaitlyn V - Mother (BC)
  • Kaitlynn Vandenberg - Mother (AB)
  • Kara D - Mom (AB)
  • Karen Bandstra - Administrator (BC)
  • Karen Glanz - Mom and Grammie (BC)
  • Karen Hohmannnn - Grandmother..Gigi (BC)
  • Karen Martin - A Mom a professional working single parent (AB)
  • Karen Rayner - Accountant (ON)
  • Karen - Retired (MB)
  • Karen Taylor - Mother of 9, grandmother of 11 (ON)
  • Karen Zegers - Mom (ON)
  • Karin Manser Raber - Anthropologist and Mom (AB)
  • Karissa - Mother (BC)
  • Karlene Klassen - Mother (ON)
  • Karyn VanDooren - Artist, Mother (ON)
  • Kassi Feenstra - Mom (ON)
  • Katarina Veldhuizen - Mom (ON)
  • Katelyn - Mom and teacher (BC)
  • Kateri Keras - Volunteer Coordinator (BC)
  • Katharine Mahon - Retired (ON)
  • Katherine - retired teacher and writer (BC)
  • Kathie Garahan - Mother, Pro-Life Activist (ON)
  • Kathie Hogan - Grandma (ON)
  • MK Mulhall - Mom, Grandmother, ret. Librarian (ON)
  • Kathleen Finamore - (ON)
  • Kathleen Braden - Aerospace Engineer, Capt (Ret'd) (ON)
  • Kathleen Denninger - Aunt, Godmother, Children's Caregiver (N/A)
  • Kathryn Dakin - Transportation dispatcher (AB)
  • Kathryn Van\'t Foort - Mother (BC)
  • Kathryn Wood - Mom of 4, Grandmother of 8 (BC)
  • Kathy - mom and grandma (AB)
  • Kathy Stamos - Mother, retired foster parent (ON)
  • Katie Kelm - Farmer (ON)
  • Katina Giesbrecht - Mother of 3, artist and designer (BC)
  • Katlyn Vander Kooi - Veterinarian Technician (AB)
  • Katrina Breukelman - Assistant Branch Manager (BC)
  • Katrina Vander Kooi - Mother, HCA (AB)
  • Kay - Retired R.N. (NS)
  • Kay Durocher - retired teacher (ON)
  • Kayleen Martens - wife, mom, grandmother (BC)
  • Keith Percy King - Teacher (SK)
  • Kelley Van Dyk - Mom (ON)
  • Kim Currie - (ON)
  • Kim Richter - Mom (AB)
  • Kim - Nurse/Mother (AB)
  • Kirsten Bethlehem - (ON)
  • Klazina Van den Bosch - (BC)
  • K Huny - Dietitian & mom (BC)
  • Krista Droogendyk - Mom, Homemaker, Teacher (ON)
  • Krista Huver - Teacher (ON)
  • Kristen Bylenga - Bookkeeper (BC)
  • Kristen Cucan - (ON)
  • Kristen Marchel - Mother (NB)
  • Kristen Boverhof - Mom (ON)
  • Kristin Zekveld - Teacher (ON)
  • Kristin Swaving  - Mother, prolife advocate (ON)
  • Kristine Stringham - Mother/Masters student (AB)
  • Kristy Vandergaag - Mom (BC)
  • Krystal Mercer - Homemaker, (SK)
  • Kyla - Youth Services Officer (ON)
  • L Wiliams - Data analyst (ON)
  • Larissa Kaneza - Human Resources Advisor (QC)
  • laura baron - Stay at home mom (ON)
  • Laura Mejia - SAHM, entrepreneur (ON)
  • Laura Wilson - Tax Professional (AB)
  • Laura - Teacher (ON)
  • Laura Hudson - Stay at home mom (AB)
  • Laura Klaassen - Mom, Teacher (BC)
  • Laura Klassen - anti-abortion activist (ON)
  • Laura Moore - Daughter, Sister, Girlfriend, Musician, College Student (BC)
  • LauraE - Student (ON)
  • Laureen Houle - Mom (AB)
  • Laurel Pinske - (BC)
  • Lauren Darroch - Marketing professional and author (MB)
  • L. H. Witten - (BC)
  • LAUREN POORT - Nursery Owner (ON)
  • Laurena Hensel - (BC)
  • Laurenne Wattel - (ON)
  • Laurens Roth - retired (ON)
  • Laurie Eberhardt - Mother, Operations Manager. Priests For Life Canada (ON)
  • Laurie J - Consultant (BC)
  • Laverne Hudson - Retired (MB)
  • Laverne Kundert - Mom (AB)
  • Lea Krol - Mom (BC)
  • Leanne Kikkert - Mom and poultry manager (ON)
  • Leanne Van den Bosch - Mom, bookkeeper (BC)
  • Lee-anne Alter - Wife Business Support Officer & Stepmother (ON)
  • Lena Schuck - Mom of 8 (SK)
  • Leo & Dinie Oldenburger - (AB)
  • Leona VandenBrink - Teacher (AB)
  • Lesley Vandas - (BC)
  • Leslie Knott - Self employed (ON)
  • Lia Milousis - B.Soc.Sc., J.D.(2020), lawyer (ON)
  • Ligia Reyes - Mom (ON)
  • Lilias Statham - Grandmother, retired teacher (BC)
  • Lillian Dumas - Retired teacher (AB)
  • Lillian Mickla - Grandma, mom (AB)
  • Linda Boven - Administrator (ON)
  • Linda Chiupka - Catholic Administrator (MB)
  • Linda Menon - Retired (AB)
  • Linda Perron - Mother, Grandmother, retired Teacher (ON)
  • Linda Tyler - EAL teacher (BC)
  • Linda Darwin - Grandmother (ON)
  • Linda Flikweert - Mother (ON)
  • Linda Gagnon - Family Physician (NS)
  • Linda Smith - Mother, Teacher (BC)
  • Sr. Linda Dube - (ON)
  • Lisa Bosma - Mother (AB)
  • Lisa Smith - Mother of 3, Forester (NT)
  • Lisa Tyson - Mom (ON)
  • Lisa Woods - Community health worker (BC)
  • Lisa Beth W. - Home maker (ON)
  • Lisa Cossar - Retired Teacher (ON)
  • Lisa Van Maren - Mother and grandmother (ON)
  • Lise W - Data analyst & mother of 2 (ON)
  • Liz Rebello - Teacher/mom (ON)
  • Liz Jager - Mom, grandma, teacher (ON)
  • Liza Farrell - Mom & School Bus Driver (ON)
  • Lois Duncan - (ON)
  • Lois Watson-Lyons - (MB)
  • Loretta Vandenberg - Mom, pastry chef (ON)
  • Lori Bos - Administrative Assistant/Mom (AB)
  • Lori Pilkey - Mom (BC)
  • Lori Straw - Mother, Grandmother, Retired Business Woman (BC)
  • Lorraine Bolton - (ON)
  • Lorraine MacPherson - Retired nurse (ON)
  • Lorraine Milne - Business Owner and mother of 4 (ON)
  • Lorraine - Mom, Grandmother, Professional driver (ON)
  • Lorraine F Young - Mother and Grandmother (AB)
  • Lorraine Marguerite Ross - Retired (ON)
  • Louisa Steele - mother (AB)
  • Louisa Slingerland - Mom (AB)
  • Louise Arsenault - (NS)
  • Louise Boyde - Retired teacher (ON)
  • Louise Drinnan - RMT (AB)
  • Louise Hart - House wife (SK)
  • Louise Harbour - Executive Director (ON)
  • Louise Myshak - Optometrist (BC)
  • Luanne Kok - (MB)
  • Luz Gálvez - Mother (N/A)
  • Lydell Bradley - Direct Support Provider (group home) (SK)
  • Lydia H - Recreation therapist (BC)
  • Lydia M - seamstress, mom, grandma (BC)
  • Lydia VandeStroet - Student (AB)
  • Lynanne Sparling - Ece (ON)
  • Lyndsie St Onge - (SK)
  • Lyne Archambault - Retired (QC)
  • Lynette Sacco - Therapist (MB)
  • Lynn Jeffs - Retired Educator (ON)
  • Lynn - Forest and conservation worker (NB)
  • Lynn Hurl - Real Estate agent mom of 3, grandmother, sister (SK)
  • Lynn Vankammen - Mom (BC)
  • Maaike Rosendal - Mother and International Pro-life Speaker (ON)
  • Madeleine Roberts - Student (ON)
  • Madeline Dumont - Mom (MB)
  • Madeline Robins - Retired Social Worker (ON)
  • Mae Pellan - Retired (BC)
  • Magdalene Vanderlinde - (BC)
  • Maggie Van Seters - Mom (BC)
  • Majorie Van Vugt - Home maker (AB)
  • Marcia McGuire - Mother, lawyer (ON)
  • Margaret P. - Retired (ON)
  • Margaret VanderWel - (ON)
  • Margaret Jean Morris - Mom, Grandma, Great-Grandma (SK)
  • Margaret Mountain - (ON)
  • Margaret Bom - Mother, Grandmother (ON)
  • Margaret Dykstra - (BC)
  • Margaret Morris - Grandma, Gr-Grandma (SK)
  • Marge Ludwig - Teacher, mother of 8 (ON)
  • Marguerite Sumeraj - Retired businesswoman (ON)
  • Maria Bassi - Retired Teacher and Family Caregiver (ON)
  • Maria F. - Mom, insurance adjuster (ON)
  • Maria Maio - Home maker (NS)
  • Maria Sajan - Student (ON)
  • Maria - Grandmother (ON)
  • María Fernanda Abondano Bernal - International Medical Graduate, wife & mother of 3 (ON)
  • Mariah Currie - Registered Nurse. Wife. Mother. (ON)
  • Marian Meinen Gagne - Mother, grandmother (ON)
  • Marian Neels - Teacher, mother (BC)
  • Marian S - Mom (AB)
  • Mariane Louis Seize - Mom and grand mother (ON)
  • Marianne Ahern - Specialist Nurse (BC)
  • Marie Welton - Dance Teacher Babysitter (BC)
  • Marie Connolly - Mother (N/A)
  • MARIE LUIS - Mother, Grandmother (ON) (ON)
  • Marie-Claire Mahon - Mother (ON)
  • Marie-Paule Wilkinson - Mom (ON)
  • Marieka Gritter - Mom (AB)
  • Marielle Pion - Wife (ON)
  • Marietta Linde - Mother (ON)
  • Marietta Van Middelkoop - Night nanny (ON)
  • Mariette Kersten - Mother (ON)
  • Marijke Ezinga - Homemaker (BC)
  • Marijke Vanderveen - Mother (BC)
  • Marilyn Currie - Mother (SK)
  • Marilyn Krochak - Wife, mother, grandmother (MB)
  • Marilyn Robinson - Community Service (MB)
  • Marilyn Langlois - Mother, Grandmother, retired EA (ON)
  • Marilyn Lowe - Wife, Mother, Grand-mother, Nurse (MB)
  • Marilyn Phillips - Mother, Grandmother, Musician (SK)
  • marion Wilson - Wife, Mom of 4, grandmother of 8, retired counselor (ON)
  • Marisa Brown - Retired office administrator (BC)
  • Marj Pachniosky - Aunt, retired Nurse (ON)
  • Marlaina MacRobbie - RECE (ON)
  • Marlene DeBoersap - Retired Teacher (ON)
  • Marlene Guliker - Mom (BC)
  • Marlene Bjorgan - Grandma (ON)
  • Marlene Borchardt - Wife and mother (SK)
  • Martha Klyn - Nurse and mother (BC)
  • Martha Otten - Farmer mom grandma (AB)
  • Martha DeGelder - Retired (AB)
  • Martha VanHoffen - Mother, grandmother, aunt, respecter of life and the right of the child to have a chance at life! Ontario (ON)
  • Martha Cecilia 4085 Martincic - Mother (ON)
  • Mary Assaf - Retired teacher, mother of 4, grandmother of 9 (ON)
  • Mary Froeneweg - Great grandmother, retired (ON)
  • Mary Groeneweg - Retired (ON)
  • Mary Lenting - Mother/grandmother (ON)
  • Mary Reis - Senior HR Manager (ON)
  • Mary Riendeau - (SK)
  • Mary Wagner - (BC)
  • Mary - Retired (ON)
  • Mary Benninger - Mother of four, grandmother of 12 (ON)
  • Mary DeBoer - Administrator/Bookkeeper (ON)
  • Mary Epoch - Mom, grandma, greatgrand, retired (ON)
  • Mary Hardy - Retired (BC)
  • Mary Togretz - (ON)
  • Mary Anne (May) Mackness-Devine - Wife, Freelance Visual Artist & Graphic Designer, Retail Employee in children\'s fashion (ON)
  • Mary - Mom, Grandmother, Executive Director of a charity serving women (ON)
  • Mary Lou - Retired (ON)
  • Mary-Alice Boyer - Accountant, mom, grandmother (BC)
  • Mary-Ann Van Den Assem - Mom (ON)
  • Maryanne Mohle - (ON)
  • MaryAnne Brown - Mother/Educator (ON)
  • Maryke Vos - (ON)
  • Mathilda - Mother of 6, substitute teacher (BC)
  • Mathilde Lorraine Klassen - A Mom, a grandmother, a great grandmother, and retired. (BC)
  • Maureane Dupuis - Grandmother, Mother, RMT, Doula (AB) (AB)
  • Maureen Goodick - Retired from Veterans Affairs Canada (PE)
  • Maureen Charron - 71 year old mom & grammy because my mom refused to let the doctors abort me for her health (N/A)
  • Maureen Donohue - Retired Teacher (ON)
  • Maureen K. - Mother and Teacher (BC)
  • Maureen Ward - Mother, Grandmother, Great Grandmother (ON)
  • Maxine Dale - Retired School Secretary (BC)
  • Meagan Vandergriendt - Mom (BC)
  • Meagan Zylstra - Receptionist (MB)
  • Sr. Elizabeth - Religious Sister (ON)
  • Meg Scott - Carpenter (AB)
  • Megan Swaving - (ON)
  • Melanie Reinhardt - Senior executive (BC)
  • Melanie Sotelo - Medical Technologist (ON)
  • Melanie - Mother, Hairdresser (ON)
  • Melanie Harthoorn - Nurse (AB)
  • Melanie Miedema - Wife, Mother, Nurse (ON)
  • Melanie Reimer - Mother (MB)
  • Melinda Burns - (N/A)
  • Melissa - Mother (AB)
  • Melissa McCracken - Mother (AB)
  • Melissa Van Den Assem - Small business owner, customer service representative (ON)
  • Meredith Legiehn - Teacher (ON)
  • Michelle Batterink - Mom (ON)
  • Michelle Dick - Mother of 4 on earth, 1 in heaven (BC)
  • Michelle Koster - Music Teacher (AB)
  • Michelle Mailloux - (ON)
  • Michelle Neels - Mother (BC)
  • Michelle S - (ON)
  • Michelle - Financial field (ON)
  • Michelle Archibald - (AB)
  • Michelle Miller - retired school teacher (AB)
  • Michelle Nordeman - Homemaker (ON)
  • Michelle Romero - Mother (ON)
  • Michelle S. - (NB)
  • Michelle VanderGugten - Early Childhood Educator (ON)
  • Milli Caswell - Teacher (BC)
  • Milly Saville - Retired tutor & Great-Grandmother (BC)
  • Miranda King - Pro-life Activist (ON)
  • ML McPherson - Ret RN (ON)
  • Monica Glazier - Homemaker (ON)
  • Monica MacKenzie - Mother/Grandmother (SK)
  • Monica Ostafichuk - Mom (AB)
  • Monica Silva - ECE (BC)
  • Monika Devereaux - Government worker (BC)
  • Monique Campeau-LeBlanc - Retired teacher, mother and grandmother (ON)
  • Monique Jeanson - Grand mother (MB)
  • Monique Graafland - (MB)
  • Monique Potvin - retired (QC)
  • Mrs Cathy Kroeker - Grandmother (MB )
  • Muriel Mccash - (N/A)
  • Murielle Boudreau - Mom (ON)
  • Myrna Perez - Mother, CPA (ON)
  • Nancy McMillan - Receptionist (BC)
  • Nancy Opden Dries - Disability Services Worker (AB)
  • Nancy Simms - Retired business owner and CEO (BC)
  • Nancy - Mother, Grandmother & G. G. Grandmother (ON)
  • Nancy Scarangella - Retired College Teacher, Mom, Grandmother (ON)
  • Nancy Tremblay - (AB)
  • Nancy Winslow - Mother, retired Regional Niagara employee (ON)
  • Naomi Hunt - (BC)
  • Naomi LeBlanc - Pro-Life Activist (ON)
  • Natalie Parton - Housewife and mother (AB)
  • N HOOGSTRA - Female (BC)
  • Natalie Sonnen - Mother, educator, former executive director of LifeCanada (BC)
  • Natalie Z - Mother (AB)
  • Natasha Hutten - Sahm (ON)
  • Natasha Veenendaal - Full-time Mom; project coordinator (AB)
  • Nathalie Casey - Mother (QC)
  • Nathene Arthur - Musician, teacher (AB)
  • Nel Hart - (ON)
  • Nellie - Retired nurse and mom (BC)
  • Nerissa Bysterveld - Mother of 4 (AB)
  • Netty VanAssen - Aunt (AB)
  • Netty Vanleeuwen - Mother, Foster Parent (ON)
  • The Wiendels Family - Self employed (ON)
  • Nicola Bartel - Executive Director: Non Profit Charity (BC)
  • Nicole den Toom - Farm Employee (AB)
  • Nicole Kamphuis - Mom (ON)
  • Nicole Pletz - Mother, Home Stager (ON)
  • Nicole Roukens - Mom (AB)
  • Nicole Van Dyke - Mother of 4; RN (AB)
  • Nicole Van Wijk - Mom/Nana (BC)
  • Nicole Scheidl - Lawyer (ON)
  • Niki Pennings - Mom/Farmer/Foster Parent (ON)
  • Nikola - (ON)
  • Noelle DeCourcy - Retired (NS)
  • Noemí Padilla - Mom (ON)
  • Norah Madden - Mother, retired Teacher (ON)
  • Noreen Chase - Retired teacher (BC)
  • Norm Pemberton - retired (ON)
  • Norma Dawes - Retiree (ON)
  • ODonnell Sonya - Momma (ON)
  • Olivia Blair - Homeschool Mom (AB)
  • P. Sibbick - Disabled (ON)
  • Pam Zimmer - (SK)
  • Pamela Vander Kooi - Dental Assistant/ Mom (AB)
  • Paramor Cynthia - Tax professional and mother of 4 (SK)
  • Pasqualina DiVizio - (ON)
  • Pat Gervais - Mother/Grandmother/Homemaker /Business Owner (SK)
  • Patricia Bootsma - Pastor (ON)
  • PATRICIA KIRKEY - RETIRED PSW (ON)
  • Patricia Niles - H.S. Teacher (NB)
  • Patricia Pagé - Grandmother (AB)
  • Patricia Cooper - (ON)
  • Patricia Maloney - Mother, RunWithLife blogger (ON)
  • Patricia Sky - Dept Head Special Education Emeritus (ON)
  • Trish Maher - Mom, customer service (ON)
  • Patti Ikegami - Formerly IT Manager & Mom (BC)
  • Patti Harrison - Customer service rep (ON)
  • Paula Docksteader - Nurse (PE)
  • Paulette D. Pitre - grandmother (ON)
  • Paulina Lee - Lawyer (AB)
  • Pauline Bekesza - Teacher (BC)
  • Pauline Bulthuis - Homemaker (BC)
  • Pauline MacDonald - Mother and grandmother (ON)
  • Pauline Dehaas - Mother, grandmother, great grandmother (AB)
  • Pauline Guzik - Grandmother (ON)
  • Pauline Neels - Mom and teacher (BC)
  • Peggy Hlisic - Pastor (ON)
  • Petra ter Haar - Mom/grandma (BC)
  • Prema D\'Souza-Sequeira - Mother (ON)
  • Priscilla Little - QA Tester, Mom and Grandma (AB) (AB)
  • Ruth Pallek - (ON)
  • Rachel Cannon - Mom (BC)
  • Rachel Hancock - Director (ON)
  • Rachel Kooiman - (BC)
  • Rachel Tesfaye - Educator (ON)
  • Rachel B - Mom (BC)
  • Rachel Di Fonzo - Mother, Grandmother (ON)
  • Rachel Phillips - Office Manager (ON)
  • Rachel R. - Author (NS)
  • Rachel S - Homemaker (ON)
  • RS - Administration (BC)
  • Ramona Stevens - Farmer (BC)
  • Ramona - Wife and mom (AB)
  • Rebecca Feenstra - Mother of 5 (ON)
  • Becky Thalen - Office admin (ON)
  • RC - Teacher (AB)
  • Rebekah Bredenhof - RMT; Mother (ON)
  • Regina Gedge - Mother, Grandmother of Adopted Child (ON)
  • Regina Gedge - (ON)
  • Remona Powell - Teacher/mom (BC)
  • Renata Friesen - Mom, kinesiologist (BC)
  • Renee - Mom (BC)
  • Renita Seguin - Retired (ON)
  • Rhonda Heins - Mom (AB)
  • Rhonda Vandenbos - Administration (MB)
  • Ria Vanleeuwen - Mother (ON)
  • RVL - Mom (ON)
  • Rike Wedderburn - Mom (BC)
  • Rita G. - Grandmother (ON)
  • Rita Issigonis - Family physician (retired) (AB)
  • Rita Krabbendam - Mother Grandmother Greatgrandmother (BC)
  • Rita Kuik - Mom (MB)
  • Robin Fry-Phifer - Not applicable (ON)
  • Robyn Campbell - Mother (AB)
  • Ronny Speijer - Stay at home grandma. (ON)
  • Rosa Martinez - Administrator and Mom (ON)
  • Rosalie Slingerland - mom, grnadma and now great grandma (AB)
  • Rosalind Wittal - Retired teacher (SK)
  • Rosanna Pocobene - Accountant (ON)
  • Rose Wiegers - Homemaker (BC)
  • Roseann King - Designer (SK)
  • Rosemary Connell - (ON)
  • Roxanne Millard - Teacher / cashier / Mom (BC)
  • Roxy Millard - Student (BC)
  • Ruth Hunt - Nation Builder (BC)
  • Ruth Wierenga - Mom, Grandmother (BC)
  • Ruth Meerveld - High SchoolTeacher (ON)
  • Ruth Trekofski - Retired (BC)
  • Ruthann Attia - Mother (ON)
  • Ruthanne Adolphe - Aunt (AB)
  • Samantha Leonard - Teacher (ON)
  • Sandra Vanderveen - Grandmother (BC)
  • Sandra P. Q. - Vacation Rental Management (ON)
  • Sandra Vega - Mama (ON)
  • Sandy Vroom - Mother (BC)
  • Sara Haar - Mom / special ed assistant (BC)
  • Sara Wiegers - Mom (AB)
  • Sara Chang - Daughter, Writer (BC)
  • Sarah Jones - Mom and author (AB)
  • Sarah Martin - (AB)
  • Sarah VanHartingsveldt - (ON)
  • Sarah Wuthrich - Mother (BC)
  • Sarah Bourdeau - Cashier (ON)
  • Sarah Hewlett - Bookkeeper, Mother, Choir Director, wife of a priest (BC)
  • Sarah Kamp - Educational assistant (BC)
  • Sarah Small - Office Administrator and Mom (ON)
  • Teacher - (BC)
  • Sascha Neufeld - Youth worker (BC)
  • Savaya Hofsink - Christian mom (BC)
  • Shamin Dsouza - Executive Assistant (ON)
  • Shannon Gmach - Mom, Educator, Farmer (ON)
  • Shannon Swaving - Mother (ON)
  • Sharlene Reinink - (ON)
  • Sharon Hofsink - Educator (ON)
  • Sharon Langendoen-Arndt - Volunteer Coordinator-Administrator (ON)
  • Sharon Lowe-Davy - Minister (ON)
  • Sharon Roy - Mom (ON)
  • Sharon Teitsma - Mom and House Cleaner (MB)
  • Sharon Uhryn - Domestic engineer (SK)
  • Sharon Pasivirta - Mother/Grandmother (BC)
  • Shauna Stam - Mom (AB)
  • Shaylene Cannon - Student, waitress (BC)
  • Sheila Oegema - Mom, Grandmother (SK)
  • Sheila Van Delft - Teacher (BC)
  • Sheila Harding - Physician (SK)
  • Shelby Voorhorst - (AB)
  • Shelly Zorn - Mom (AB)
  • Shelly Dombowsky - Exec Assistant (SK)
  • Sheryl C. - Mom; teacher (ON)
  • Sheryl Patterson - Small business owner (AB)
  • Sheryl Mclaren - Physician (BC)
  • Sibylle VP - Mom of 6 (ON)
  • Sigrid Lefebvre - retired farmer (BC)
  • Simone Deboer - Daughter, sister, mom, aunt, grandma (ON)
  • Siska Stel - Mom, Grandma, Great Grandma (BC)
  • Skye C. - Homemaker (AB)
  • Sockee Mendiola - Grandmother (N/A)
  • Sonya Scaglione - Teacher, Mother (BC)
  • Sophie McGuire - MA (ON)
  • Stacey - Teacher (BC)
  • stella Gentil-Perret - retired (SK)
  • Stella Mott - Mother, Teacher (N/A)
  • Stephania - Registered Nurse (ON)
  • SH - Homemaker (ON)
  • Steph M - Mom of 3 (ON)
  • Stephanie Britton - Previous RN (BC)
  • Stephanie Dumas - Mom & educator (BC)
  • Stephanie Gray Connors - Mother, author, public speaker (N/A)
  • Stephanie Lorinda Vanderpol - MOM (BC)
  • Stephanie Van Esch - Mom (ON)
  • Sue Doerksen - (MB)
  • Susan Smith - Mom & Grandma (ON)
  • Susan Charabin - Mother (educator, nurse, therapist, driver, “Jane of all trades”), BSc (SK)
  • Susan Kranabetter - grandmother, mom (BC)
  • Susan Rock - Registered nurse retired from employment (ON)
  • Susan Thomas - Mother (ON)
  • Susan Vroom - Mom of 10 (BC)
  • Suzana Kovacic - Wife, Mother, Scientist (BC)
  • Suzanne Atkinson - Mother and Grandmother (ON)
  • Suzanne Fortin - (ON)
  • Suzanne Rose - Mother (AB)
  • Suzie Ryan - Mother of 7 Grandmother of 27 (NB)
  • Sydney Van Grootheest - Mom (ON)
  • Sylvia Schouten - Teacher and Mom (ON)
  • Sylvia - Domestic engineer (AB)
  • Sylvia Heald - FertilityCare Practitioner (ON)
  • Sylvia Riddell - Retired Library Technician (BC)
  • Bissonnette - Librarian (QC)
  • Tamara Gill - Mom of 4 (BC)
  • Tamara Wieske - Daughter, Wife, Mom of 6 on earth and 2 in glory (AB)
  • Tara-Lee Oostenbrug - Mom (AB)
  • Taunia Phillips - Catholic teacher (ON)
  • Teresa Borda-Chan - Mother (ON)
  • Teresa Buonafede - Retired Homeschool Mom (ON)
  • Teresa Chan - Accountant (ON)
  • Teresa Lammers - Retired (ON)
  • Terri Van Andel - Wife,Mom, gramma retired educator (ON)
  • Terry-Mae Sinclair - Retired, mother of three living, grandmother of 11, four are step grandchilren (BC)
  • Tershia Lambrechts - Grandmother (BC)
  • Tessa Littlejohn - (AB)
  • Thea Ewald - Retired teacher (BC)
  • Theresa Novecosky - Grandma (SK)
  • Theresa Owen - Wife, mother and Entrepreneur, (ON)
  • Theresa Wynia - Office Manager (ON)
  • Theresa Bergsma - Child of God, retired, Wife, Mom of 4 and Grandma of 15. (MB)
  • Theresa Kim - Educator (ON)
  • Theresa Rowinski - Mother, grandmother (ON)
  • Theresa Y - Mother (BC)
  • Therese Raso - Mom and Grandmother (BC)
  • Therese Weiler - Mother of 6 grandmothwr and greatgrandmother (ON)
  • Timbrel Penner - Mom (AB)
  • Tine Pannenkoek - Homemaker (BC)
  • Tracy B - Team Leader (ON)
  • Tracy Sedens - Mother (AB)
  • Tracy Worby - Homemaker & Mother (SK)
  • Trinity Thibault - University Student (SK)
  • Trish Smith - Mother, teacher (ON)
  • Ulrika Drevniok - (BC)
  • Ursula Van Oosten - Retired Educator (ON)
  • Val Leffers - Mom,School bus driver, EA. (AB)
  • VHenkel - N/A (AB)
  • Valerie Edwards - Mother and Retired Registered Now urse (SK)
  • Valerie Lozier - God\'s servant, wife, mother (AB)
  • Vanessa Heard - Wife, mother, grandmother (BC)
  • Vanessa Montague - Anti-abortion activist (ON)
  • Vanessa Otten - Human Rights Advocate (ON)
  • Venera Fazio - retired (ON)
  • Veronica Burke - Mom, daycare worker (MB)
  • Vicki Gunn - Executive Director CHP Canada (ON)
  • Vicki-Lyn Vandenberg - Nurse, Mom, wife (ON)
  • Vickie MacCarville - Daycare support staff (PE)
  • Vicky Renton - Life giving mom. (SK)
  • Victoria Labadia - Mother, Grandmother, Registered Nurse, Health Informatician and Retired School Teacher (ON)
  • Kelly - Childcare educator (AB)
  • Virginia Brothers - Retired (ON)
  • Virginia Hawkshaw - Retired Special Care Aide (AB)
  • Virginia F. - Mom (BC)
  • Vivian Huctwith - Retired teacher (ON)
  • Vivian Symchysn Henry - retired (AB)
  • Anita W - Mom, Grandmother (ON)
  • Wanda Woroschuk - Retired (SK)
  • Wendy Bultje - Administration (AB)
  • wendy warner - Retired Registered Nurse (SK)
  • Wilissa Neels - Mom & kitchen designer (BC)
  • Wilma Gringhuis - Mother, grandmother (ON)
  • Wilma Makkinga - Grandmother (AB)
  • wilma Nichols - Retired Teacher (BC)
  • Wilma Slingerland - Caregiver (AB)
  • W. Vanderhorst - Mom & grandma (BC)
  • Y. R. Grossi - Mother, Grandmother (ON)
  • Yoli - Pro-life advocate - mother, grandmother, sister, aunt (ON)
  • Yvonne MacNiven - Office Manager (ON)
  • Yvonne Slaney - Personal support worker (ON)
  • Yvonne - Mom, retired teacher (ON)
  • Yvonne Jacobi - mom, teacher (BC)
  • Yvonne V. - Mom (MB)
  • Zofia Broniek - Mother ,Grandmother. (ON)

 

Filed Under: All Posts, Featured Media, Featured Posts, Feminism

The Mythical Gender Dichotomy in the Abortion Debate

June 7, 2022 by Lia Milousis Leave a Comment

Last summer, I was privileged to listen in on two fascinating online debates between pro-life and pro-choice activists.

The first debate was hosted by Harvard Right to Life and Massachusetts Citizens for Life. It featured Stephanie Gray Connors, an astoundingly articulate pro-life activist, gifted apologist, published author, and founder of the Love Unleashes Life ministry. The pro-choice representative was infamous ethicist Dr. Peter Singer, who is often known for his controversial comments about disabilities, including asserting that parents should be permitted to euthanize children with disabilities like Down Syndrome and spina bifida.

The second debate was a joint effort by three student clubs—the Health and Medical Law Society, Students for Free Speech York U, and Youth Protecting Youth—at York University. Maaike Rosendal, who works for the Canadian Centre for Bioethical Reform, similarly did an extraordinary job communicating the pro-life position with compassion, clarity, and conviction. The pro-choice representative was Dr. Fraser Fellows, a now retired late-term abortionist.

While I of course appreciated the lengthy and in-depth debate, I couldn’t help but notice that there was a clear gender division. In both debates, the pro-life movement was represented by a female speaker and the pro-choice movement was represented by a male speaker. This seems to run completely contrary to the mainstream mythology that the pro-life movement is filled with grouchy old Catholic men wanting to force their beliefs and rosaries onto women (seen, for instance, in the “keep your rosaries off my ovaries” chant) and that the pro-choice movement is filled with female feminists who are resisting male oppression (see, for example, the “no uterus, no opinion” slogan).

I do not find the fact that these debates featured female pro-life speakers and male pro-choice speakers as inherently problematic or particularly surprising. As someone who has been involved with pro-life activism for over a decade, my experience with the abortion debate is that women make up the vast majority of the pro-life movement (contrary to the stereotypes peddled by abortion advocates). And, as someone who has been a student of this issue for the better part of 13 years, I’m also very alive to the fact that men have been intimately involved in promulgating and perpetuating the practice of abortion (including the all-male group of judges in the Supreme Court of the United States Roe v Wade decision, the mostly male group of judges in the Supreme Court of Canada R v Morgentaler decision, the mostly male politicians who will have crafted the permissive abortion regime in Canada, and the many male abortionists who have performed countless abortions over the course of their careers – including the venerable Henry Morgentaler himself).

And so, we return to these two debates. I think these two debates make it quite clear that there is no such thing as the mythical anti-abortion male mob seeking to enslave the bodies of the pro-abortion female freedom fighters. Stephanie Gray Connors and Maaike Rosendal are eloquent, articulate, and passionate pro-life women who have committed their lives to being a voice for the pre-born, including taking a stand in public debates against the pro-choice men who seek to preserve the status quo on abortion.

In short, contrary to how pro-choice activists and pro-abortion feminists have tried to frame this debate, there are women and men on both sides of the issue. To frame the issue of abortion as being about women only—women’s rights, women’s interests, and women’s efforts—is patently untrue and deliberately misrepresentative of the depth and breadth of the issue.

I am not someone who believes that only women should have a voice on the issue of abortion, which has severe consequences on men and women across the country.

If there can be pro-choice men like Dr. Peter Singer who defend abortion access and pro-abortion men like Dr. Fraser Fellows who perform abortions, then there can also be pro-life men who work to protect vulnerable pre-born children and promote a culture of life.

This is not simply a woman’s issue. It is ultimately a human issue.

This is not simply about women’s rights. It is ultimately about human rights.

Filed Under: All Posts, Featured Media, Featured Posts, Feminism, Other, Political Tagged With: abortion, abortion debate, men, misogyny, pro-choice, pro-life, pro-woman, women

Ten Years Later: A Reflection (Part 2)

February 14, 2019 by Lia Milousis Leave a Comment

#6: Because abortion is a gruesome medical practice.

I suppose this reason is a branch off of the first reason I listed in Part 1—which was that the unborn child is human—but I wanted to be more specific.

Any surgical abortion—whether at 12 weeks, 22 weeks, or 32 weeks—involves the violent and gruesome dismemberment and decapitation of an unborn human being. For those who don’t believe me, I would highly recommend that you listen to the testimony of Dr. Anthony Levantino, a former abortion provider who performed over 12,000 abortions in the first and second trimester.

Listen to him describe the procedure. And then explain to me how abortion is justifiable.

 

#7: Because I am a feminist.

Modern-day feminists have made reproductive rights and support of abortion one of the key tenets of third/fourth wave feminism. In fact, while I was completing my degree in Women’s Studies, many of my feminist classes would periodically erupt into debates over whether it was even possible to be a “pro-life feminist”.

I find discussions of these quite fascinating, because really what they demonstrate is an extreme form of historical amnesia. It seems as though the entire modern-day feminist movement has literally forgotten—either intentionally or unintentionally—the fact that the very first feminists were extremely pro-life. In fact, the women who founded feminism were adamant that, in order to effectively argue that all human life, male and female, was equally valuable, you also had to argue that all human life, born or unborn, was also equally valuable. So being pro-life and being pro-woman were belief systems that were inextricably linked and intertwined for early day Western feminists.

The summary of feminism’s historical connection to the issue of abortion is that the women who founded the feminist movement were adamantly opposed to abortion as a medical practice. The reasons for this were three-fold:

  • The founders of feminism believed that abortion ended a human life, and therefore that abortion was morally reprehensible. In light of the fact that feminists were advocating for the equal valuing of all human life, regardless of gender, this stance is understandable and intellectually consistent.
  • Early feminists noted that women were often pressured to have abortions against their will. This pressure was either direct, and was often exerted by male partners and other patriarchal figures in women’s lives, or it was indirect, which can be seen in the pressure that many women faced to have abortions for economic reasons and because of economically non-ideal circumstances. In both of these cases, the founders of feminism recognized that these external and/or internal pressures actively undermined women’s autonomy, women’s agency, and women’s ability to act as empowered, equal human beings.
  • Finally, early feminists believed that women’s empowerment did not have to rely on the oppression of others—in other words, the right to control one’s body could not include the right to destroy someone else’s body.

It was Frances Wright who famously said:

“whenever we establish our own pretentions upon the sacrificed rights of others, we do in fact impeach our own liberties, and lower ourselves in the scale of being!…”

And it was renowned feminist Elizabeth Cady Stanton who, in 1873, said:

“When we consider that women are treated as property, it is degrading to women that we should treat our children as property to be disposed of as we see fit.”

So, one of the main reasons why I am still pro-life is because I hold a traditional feminist worldview. And, as the founders of Western feminism aptly pointed out, this necessitates adopting a pro-life feminist ethos.

Does this mean that you cannot be a pro-abortion feminist? Absolutely not. But it does mean that your feminist worldview will be inconsistent, illogical, incomplete, and, as we are seeing more and more today, tyrannical in its attempt to justify the oppression of others to attain the supposed empowerment of women.

So my dear feminist colleagues, pro-life and pro-choice: you would do well to remember that “whenever we establish our own pretentions upon the sacrificed rights of others, we do in fact impeach our own liberties, and lower ourselves in the scale of being!…”

 

#8: Because I oppose sexism.

Let’s talk about sex-selection abortion. In my most recent video addressing the issue of abortion, I said the following:

“Sex selection abortion is the epitome of misogyny.

It is a practice that says only boys are welcome into society.

The notion that abortion empowers women is something that I must question:

How can abortion empower women when it promotes blatant discrimination?”

Sex selection is the practice of using medical techniques to choose the sex of offspring. While sex-selection by definition and in theory can apply to male or female children, it is almost exclusively used to discriminate against female children and choose male children. Sex-selection abortion is when an abortion is performed solely because of the child’s sex. Again, while sex-selection abortion in theory can be used to target male and female children, research indicates that it is used around the world to systematically target female children.

Typically, when we think about sex-selection abortion, we think about East Asian countries, usually China or India, where there is a strong preference for male children. We often think about research that has revealed that China has seen the sex ratio at birth move from approximately 106 males per 100 females in the 1960s and 1970s, to almost 112 males per 100 females in the 1990s[1], with recent research showing that the sex ratio at birth “is over 130 [males for every 100 females] in several Chinese provinces from Henan in the north to Hainan in the south.”[2] The research is equally dismal when it comes to countries like South Korea, where, in 1992, the sex ratio at birth in some cities was already 125 males for every 100 females.[3] And so, because of this East Asian focus, when we think about why sex selection is taking place, we often point to deeply rooted sexist beliefs in countries like India, where scholars have stated that sex-selective abortion “is only the latest manifestation of a long history of gender bias in the country, apparent in the historically low, and declining, population ratio of women to men.”[4]

However, the notion that sex-selective abortion is only a phenomenon in countries like China, India, and South Korea is a very ethnocentric idea. Researchers state that, while certain cultures practice sex-selective abortion more frequently, sex-selective abortion is a phenomenon that takes place around the world. Take, for instance, my country, Canada. Studies indicate that 92% of Canadians are against the practice of sex-selective abortion. And yet, there is already research that proves that sex-selective abortion is being practiced quite regularly in Canadian society.[5]

Now, the natural ratio of males-to-females at birth is already slightly male-biased, resting at around 1.05 male children for every 1 female child. However, findings that were published by the National Bureau of Economic Research who that, while “the sex ratio for first births among first generation South and East Asian immigrants to Canada is only slightly higher than the norm at about 1.08, the ratios become increasingly skewed for each subsequent birth where all previous children are female. For example, the sex ratio for third births to Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese immigrants who already have two daughters is 1.39. For Indians, that ratio is 1.90—almost two boys born for every girl.”[6]

This is not simply a Canadian problem. Research from around the world indicates that sex-selective abortion is taking place, particularly within specific immigrant population groups. The trends of sex-selection and sex-selective abortion that have been noticed in Canada and Australia have also been identified internationally, including in England and Wales[7], Nepal[8], Bangladesh[9], Pakistan[10], Taiwan[11], Japan[12], Vietnam[13], Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Georgia[14][15], Albania, Kosovo, Montenegro, and Macedonia[16], Brazil[17], and in the United States[18].

What these findings make clear is that, while the age-old existence of male preference is particularly strong in certain countries, the relatively modern phenomenon of sex-selective abortion is occurring around the world.

Now, a discussion of why sex-selective abortion is occurring cannot take place without considering the role that abortion laws—or a lack of abortion laws—has on the practice. For example, in many ways, Canada’s laws in relation to the issue of abortion have actually created an environment in which these types of phenomenon can occur. While “[s]ex-selective abortion has historically been considered an Asian phenomenon”, Professor Lena Edlund, associate professor of economics at Columbia University, notes that “a variety of factors, including the affordability and ease of access for abortion and sex determination services, as well as Canada’s deep-rooted respect for diversity, have enabled sex-selective abortion to ‘take on a life of its own and persist’ in spite of public condemnation.”[19]

Canada has the most liberal abortion laws of any Western nation; more specifically, Canada has no laws restricting abortion. What this means is that, by law, you can have an abortion at any stage of a pregnancy, all the way until the moment of complete birth. You can also have an abortion for any reason or no reasons at all, meaning that having an abortion because of sexist beliefs and historical male preferences is permitted. While there was a legislative effort to have Canada officially decry the practice of sex-selective abortion, this was viewed as being a “pro-life” or “anti-choice” effort and was shut down (despite the fact that 92% of Canadians do not agree with the practice of sex-selective abortion.)

Now, Canada is one of only three nations that do not have laws on the issue, the other two being China and North Korea (although, technically, China does have restrictions on sex-selective abortion; they are just not effectively enforced).

So what this means is that, while Canada is in theory trying to foster support for reproductive rights and support a women’s right to choose, as it is often called, what is really happening is that Canada’s lack of laws regulating abortion are creating a perfect storm for the introduction, adoption, and perpetuation of the misogynistic practice of sex-selective abortion. As one researcher wryly pointed out, while Canada has made it “illegal for prospective parents to select embryos for in vitro fertilization based on gender […] it is perfectly legal for parents to choose to destroy a 19-week-old fetus [..] for precisely the same reason.”[20]

And so, ladies and gentlemen, I work closely with pro-life activists on a regular basis to ensure that this type of blatant misogyny does not continue being perpetrated through the sexist practice of sex-selection abortion.

 

#9: Because I oppose ableism.

In the summer and fall of 2017, it was announced by news outlets around the world that Iceland had “cured” Down Syndrome.[21] Perhaps under different circumstances, this would be considered joyous news. However, when we consider the precise way in which Iceland “cured” Down Syndrome, it becomes apparent that this was not some sort of medical breakthrough, but rather a nation-wide manifestation and implementation of eugenics.

This is how Iceland “cured” Down Syndrome. In the early 2000s, they introduced a prenatal genetic test that screens for chromosomal abnormalities, the most common of which is Down Syndrome. The test, which is extremely accurate, is optional, but medical professionals are required to provide information about the importance and availability of this test to every pregnant woman in Iceland. The vast majority of women choose to take the test, and, when test results come back positive for Down Syndrome, 100% of women opt to have an abortion. In fact, doctors in Iceland report that only 1-2 children with Down Syndrome are born every year or two.[22] And even these children are only born because of the imperfect accuracy of the test. In a country were 100% of children diagnosed with Down Syndrome are aborted, it is terrifying to imagine what the fate of these children would have been had the medical technology been slightly more accurate.

To be clear, Iceland is not the only country that demonstrates this type of blatant discrimination against individuals with Down Syndrome. “According to the most recent data available, the United States has an estimated termination rate for Down Syndrome of 67 percent (1995-2011); in France it’s 77 percent (2015); and [in] Denmark, 98 percent (2015).[23] Some estimates, however, have stated that the termination rate in North America is significantly higher, close to 92 percent.

Now, perhaps your first instinct was to say, “Ah, but these women are making this choice to have an abortion. They are not being coerced. So, if this is the decision they want to make, so be it.

But we must remember, dear readers, that choices do not take place within a vacuum. If 100% of women in Iceland are choosing to abort unborn children diagnosed with Down Syndrome, the next question must be: Why?

Consider this: Our world has historically demonstrated consistent disregard, discrimination, and hatred against disabled individuals. Whether through the circus freak shows of the past, where “normal” people like us would pay money to gawk at and mock differently-abled individuals, or through the widespread institutionalization of disabled individuals, we see that our society has continuously oppressed and persecuted disabled individuals, labeling them as the “other”, deeming them “abnormal”, and ostracizing them as a result.

So forgive my skepticism, but when I hear that 100% of women are choosing to have abortions when they discover that their children will likely have Down Syndrome, it is within this historical context that I consider this information. I am not suggesting that women are the unique perpetrators of violence towards disabled people. Rather, I am saying that, in a society that has consistently discriminated against disabled individuals, it is unsurprising to see members of society—from the researchers who created this prenatal genetic test, to the healthcare professionals who share the results, to the parents who choose to have an abortion—continue to perpetuate these problematic narratives that ultimately convey the message that it is better to be dead than to be disabled.

Disability rights activists and experts have noted this. Consider this quote from disability rights scholar Chris Kaposy:

Some of the common motivations for selective termination reflect inaccurate assumptions about living with Down syndrome or parenting a child with Down syndrome. In the empirical study I have been discussing, 83& of respondents who had terminated were motivated by a belief that Down syndrome would be excessively burdensome for the prospective child. In contrast, a study that asked people living with Down syndrome about their lives revealed that 99% are happy with their lives. Among prospective parents who had terminated, 73% believed that the burden of having a child with Down syndrome would be too great for their other children. Again, in contrast, research involving parents of children with Down syndrome shows that 95% of parents with other children say that their children with Down syndrome have good relationships with their siblings. Over 90% of the children themselves say they have feelings of affection and pride for their siblings with Down syndrome […] These divergences suggest that perceptions about parenting a child with Down syndrome are distorted by stereotyped ways of thinking.[24]

We must also consider what message this is sending to disabled individuals. Consider the words of disability rights activist Thomas Shakespeare:

As a result of the popularity of genetics, disabled people risk once more being defined as medical abnormalities and invalids, rather than as citizens, or victims of injustice. They see measures being implemented to prevent the birth of others with their conditions. They might think of whether their own parents would have taken advantage of such technologies. They might consider differential treatment of fetuses with and without disability to be discriminatory: in UK, termination is illegal after the 24th week of pregnancy, except in case of severe abnormality. No matter if these late terminations are very rare: the message has been sent that it is better to be dead than disabled.[25]

Now, I want to be clear: I have nothing against medical technological advancements, and I have nothing against seeking to improve the health, wellbeing, and quality of life of any and every member of society. However, I reject the notion that the sudden proliferation of prenatal genetic testing and the subsequent widespread termination of individuals with chromosomal abnormalities is a phenomenon that was born out of a genuine desire to improve the lives of disabled people. Research states that “the majority of disability arises not from genetic causes but from lifestyle, disease and other environmental factors.”[26] Research also reveals that “[e]ighty-five percent of adult disability is caused after the age of 13, and more than ninety percent of infant disability is because of social and not genetic causes.”[27]

Let us not deceive ourselves. It is not good will or philanthropic intent that fuels this sudden desire to “cure” disability. It is simply a new manifestation of old-fashioned hatred, discrimination, and ablesim. As one writer put it, if the word “cure”, which “for centuries meant ‘the care of souls’ has now come to mean ‘making sure that people with Down Syndrome are never born’”[28], then we are indeed a pitiful society.

So no, Iceland has not “cured” Down Syndrome. It, like the many other Western, developed nations, has simply created a systemic, state-run machinery that has been given the power, by medical, political, and social forces, to determine who is valued and who is not, who gets to live and who does not.

And I, for one, want to be on the right side of history: condemning ableism, combatting sexism, and promoting a pro-life ethos that treats all human beings—male and female, disabled or able-bodied, born or unborn—with equal value.

 

#10: Because I oppose eugenics.

As I have written about previously, eugenics has played a disturbing role in the rise and proliferation of both birth control and abortion. This was largely due to the influence of Margaret Sanger, who was the founder of Planned Parenthood, which today is the largest abortion provider in North America and a prominent advocate and provider of abortions in developing nations in the Global South. It was Margaret Sanger who really ushered in eugenics and married it with the movement from reproductive rights. It was Margaret Sanger who spoke about the need to export birth control to the “biologically less endowed stocks” of humans in India. It was also Margaret Sanger who made the following statement:

Every feeble-minded girl or woman of the hereditary type, especially of the moron class, should be segregated during the reproductive period. Otherwise, she is almost certain to bear imbecile children, who in turn are just as certain to breed other defectives. The male defectives are no less dangerous… Moreover, when we realize that each feeble-minded person is a potential source of an endless progeny of defect, we prefer the policy of immediate sterilization, of making sure that parenthood is absolutely prohibited to the feeble-minded.[29]

If that isn’t enough, Margaret Sanger made this statement as well:

Every single case of inherited defect, every malformed child, every congenitally tainted human being brought into this world is of infinite importance to that poor individual; but it is of scarcely less importance to the rest of us and to all of our children who must pay in one way or another for these biological and racial mistakes.[30]

These are the words of Margaret Sanger, who is considered the founding mother of birth control, Planned Parenthood, and, by extent, abortion.

So this, ladies and gentlemen, is the eugenics mentality. It is a mentality that believes only certain individuals with certain characteristics and body types belong in our society. It is also a mentality of entitlement, a mentality that believes that, somehow, we as individuals, as parents, as “normal” members of society, have the right to decide which lives are valued and which lives are not, who gets the ability to live and who does not. If this eugenics mentality sounds familiar, that’s because our society has faced this enemy before. Historically, we have seen it manifested as the colonization of Indigenous peoples lands, the violence and racism directed at racial minorities, and the systemic extermination of Jewish, disabled, and homosexual individuals in Nazi Germany. Sex-selective abortions—and other discriminatory forms of “pregnancy termination”—are simply the latest manifestation of this ancient eugenics mentality.

This is a mentality that pervades, infects, and taints the pro-abortion/pro-choice movement. And it is one that I will not support, condone, or participate in. As I said above: I, for one, want to be on the right side of history.

 

BONUS: #11: Because Justin Bieber is pro-life.

Yes, this is true. And yes, this definitely used to be one of the tactics I used to use to get young people in schools to be pro-life. Whether it was effective or not is completely irrelevant. It’s hilarious and 100%. I’ve never been a fan of Justin Bieber’s music (just a personal preference kind of thing), but I’ve always been a fan of his pro-life stance (because he knows that abortion isn’t a “personal preference kind of thing”).

Also: If you made it all the way to the end of Part 2 of this article, I thought you deserved a good chuckle (especially since I probably would’ve skimmed the article myself)! So if you read all the way through both Part 1 and Part 2, well done! You are a champion!

 

So there you have it. 10 hours of reading later, you now know my top 10 reasons for still being pro-life. I would love to hear what your reasons are!

Cheers, everyone. Stay logical, stay consistent, and stay pro-life!

 

[1] Junhong, C. (2001). Prenatal Sex Determination and Sex-Selective Abortion in Rural Central China. Population & Development Review Population and Development Review, 27(2), 259-281. Retrieved from http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1728-4457.2001.00259.x/epdf

[2] Canadian Medical Association Journal (2011). The impact of sex selection and abortion in China, Indian and South Korea. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/03/110314132244.htm

[3] Ibid.

[4] Sen, G., & Snow, R. (1994). Power and decision: The social control of reproduction. Boston, MA: Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies, Dept. of Population and International Health, Harvard School of Public Health.

[5] Vogel, Lauren. “Canadian Medical Association Journal.” Sex selection migrates to Canada. Canadian Medical Association Journal, 16 Jan. 2012. Web. 20 Oct. 2014. <http://www.cmaj.ca/content/184/3/E163.full?sid=7d6004f8-2ab2-43df-b481-4109358bd7bc>.

[6] Ibid.

[7] Dubuc, S, & Coleman, D (2007). An Increase in the Sex Ratio of Births to India-born Mothers in England and Wales: Evidence for Sex-Selective Abortion. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1728-4457.2007.00173.x

[8] Lamichhane et al. (2011) Sex-Selective Abortion in Nepal: A Qualitative Study of Health Workers’ Perspectives. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1049386711000132

[9] Bairagi, R (2001), Effects of Sex Preference on Contraceptive use, Abortion and Fertility in Matlab, Gandladesh. https://www.jstor.org/stable/2673835?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents

[10] Abeykoon, A.T. (1995) Sex preference in South Asia: Sri Lanka an outlier. https://www.popline.org/node/294235

[11] Lin, M., Liu, J., & Qian, N. (2014) More Missing Women, Fewer Dying Girls: The Impact of Sex-Selective Abortion on Sex at Brith and Relative Female Mortality in Taiwan. https://academic.oup.com/jeea/article-abstract/12/4/899/2318674

[12] Rohlfs et al. (2010) Causal effects of sex preference on sex-blind and sex-selective child avoidance and substitution across birth years: Evidence from the Japanese year of the fire horse. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0304387808001284

[13] Bélanger, D. et al. (2003) Are Sex Ratios at Birth Increasing in Vietnam? https://www.cairn-int.info/resume.php?ID_ARTICLE=E_POPU_302_0255

[14] Michael, M. et al. (2013) The Mystery of Missing Female Children in the Caucasus: An Analysis of Sex Ratios by Birth Order. https://www.cairn-int.info/resume.php?ID_ARTICLE=E_POPU_302_0255

[15] Hohmann, S., Lefèvre, C., & Garenne, M. (2014) A framework for analyzing sex-selective abortion: the example of changing sex ratios in Southern Caucasus. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4208631/

[16] Guilmoto, C. Z. & Duthé, G. (2013) Masculinization of births in Eastern Europe. http://www.demographie.net/guilmoto/pdf/Pop%20Soc%202013%20English.pdf

[17] Dias Prto Chiavegatto Filho, A. & Kawachi, I. (2013) Are sex-selective abortions a characteristic of every poor region? Evidence from Brazil. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00038-012-0421-6

[18] Almond, D. & Edlund, L. (2008) Son-biased sex ratios in the 2000 United States Census. http://www.pnas.org/content/pnas/105/15/5681.full.pdf?inf_contact_key=1d19450156b07754154e59989576eebbd91b1411acd41c37e01fd3f6d879323c

[19] Supra, note 5.

[20] Soupcoff, M. (2012, April 18). A 10-cell organism is “protected” from sex selection. A fetus isn’t. Retrieved from http://news.nationalpost.com/news/marni-soupcoff-a-10-cell-organism-growing-in-a-petri-dish-is-protected-from-sex-selection-a-9-ounce-fetus-growing-in-a-womb-isnt

[21] Quinons, J., & Lajka, A. (2017). “What kind of society do you want to live in?”: Inside the country where Down syndrome is disappearing. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/down-syndrome-iceland/

[22] Ibid.

[23] Ibid.

[24] Kaposy, Chris. “A Disability Critique of the New Prenatal Test for Down Syndrome.” Kennedy Institute of Ethics Journal 23.4 (2013): 299-324. Project Muse. Dec. 2013. Web. P. 306-307.

[25] Shakespeare, Thomas William. “Choices, Reasons and Feelings: Prenatal Diagnosis as Disability Dilemma.” ALTER – European Journal of Disability Research / Revue Européenne De Recherche Sur Le Handicap 5.1 (2011): 37-43. Science Direct. Web. P. 39.

[26] Ibid.

[27] Peters, Yvonne, and Karen L. Lawson. Ethical and Human Rights Implications of Prenatal Technologies: The Need for Federal Leadership and Regulation. Winnipeg: Prairie Women’s Health Centre of Excellence, 2002. University of Ottawa. Web. P. 7.

[28] Camarata, S. (2018). Iceland “Cures” Down Syndrome: Should America Do the Same? https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-intuitive-parent/201801/iceland-cures-down-syndrome-should-america-do-the-same

[29] Sanger, M. (1922). The Pivot of Civilization. Brentano’s: USA. P. 101-102

[30] Ibid at p. 273-274.

Filed Under: All Posts, Featured Posts, Feminism, Reproductive Technologies Tagged With: ableism, choice, documentary, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Eugenics, feminism, feminists, Frances Wright, human, Human Life Matters, human rights, Hush, Justin Bieber, Laura Klassen, Margaret Sanger, my body, my choice, pro-choice, pro-life, pro-life activism, pro-life feminism, pro-woman, sexism, true choice, women

Pro-life feminism vs. pro-abortion hypocrisy

January 21, 2019 by Lia Milousis 5 Comments

Recently, as part of a personal feminist book-a-thon, I read F-Bomb: Dispatches from the War on Feminism by Lauren McKeon. I was particularly intrigued and interested in reading the book for two reasons. First, I know Lauren McKeon personally. She and I spent a fair amount of time together for an article that she wrote about me in Toronto Life Magazine. Second, I had been notified that her book talked about me and a number of my fellow pro-life activists. All that to say: I was curious to read what she had written and what her take was on my overtly pro-life feminist stance.

The book was engaging and well written, although I found myself slightly irritated for most of the book because there were no sources provided. (Call me a nerdy university student, but if you’re going to make grandiose claims and rather outlandish accusations, you’d better back them up with evidence.)

Then I came to Chapter 8, which is titled “Teen spirit: Clinic closures, access attacks, and the pro-woman rebranding of today’s anti-abortion activists.” And this is where things went downhill.

I had hoped that, unlike most pro-abortion feminists, McKeon would have taken time to truly get to know the pro-life feminist movement. She had been relatively fair for the duration of the book, having the decency to humanize her opponents prior to critiquing them (which is an approach that I found quite effective and engaging). Unfortunately, McKeon’s evaluation of pro-life feminists such as myself fell woefully short.

Things really fell apart for me when she made the following accusation:

“The linguistic pairing of anti-abortion and pro-women messaging is like a conversational escape hatch for those who don’t want to admit they’re limiting women’s rights, even though they are” (McKeon, 2017, p. 201).

*sigh*

In case you are wondering, this is one of the most overused “arguments” that pro-abortion advocates like to level at pro-life individuals.

Pro-tip for all of you pro-abortion individuals out there: This argument is really, really weak, so you might want to try mixing things up a bit.

There are two key claims that work together to create this rhetorical mess:

First, there is the accusation that, by opposing abortion, pro-life people are “limiting women’s rights”. If you believe that a woman has the right to exercise coercive control over the body of another human being, and if you believe that a woman has the right to ask a physician to end the life of this other human being, then sure—you got me! I’m limiting a woman’s rights! But in order to make that claim, you would need to show me where, in any legal or constitutional document, women are actually guaranteed these “rights”.

Spoiler alert: You won’t find any legal or constitutional document protecting these “rights” because these “rights” do not exist.

Second, there is the assertion that, by limiting women’s “rights”, pro-life people are doing something wrong. Now, in order to highlight how ludicrous this claim is, allow me to layout a hypothetical situation:

Let’s say, for the sake of argument, that I attack someone on the street. You call the police. The police arrest me. I accuse you and the police of limiting my rights. I am implying that you have done something wrong. Do I have a fair point?

Absolutely not.

While I may have the right to liberty, the Criminal Code provisions against battery and assault directly limit my right to liberty. In fact, these limitations are necessary in order to ensure that you and other citizens have your right to liberty. If these limitations were not in place, all manner of rights would be infringed upon. Therefore, in order to ensure social order, peace, and stability, limitations are placed on our rights on a regular basis. And it is undeniable that, while these limitations may restrict my personal right to liberty (which I interpret subjectively as bad), they create greater collective liberty in society (which we acknowledge objectively is good).

So just because pro-life people want to limit women’s “right” to forcibly control the body of another human being (which we have already established is not actually a right in the first place), does not automatically follow that pro-life people are doing something bad—or that we are creating “a way for society to control women”, as McKeon later asserts (McKeon, 2017, p. 201).

But this wasn’t the only stale, pro-abortion, isolationist tactic that McKeon relied upon. She also played the age-old you-can’t-call-yourself-a-feminist-if-you’re-anti-choice card, stating that the “anti-abortion movement’s women’s rights makeover” is “at odds” with the “wider feminist movement” because “[f]eminism, after all, generally works to broaden what we can do and achieve, not restrict it” (McKeon, 2017, p. 218).

As overused and unimaginative as this accusation may be, I think it is one of my favourite, primarily because it beautifully highlights the absurd degree of hypocrisy—and the painful lack of logic—within the “pro-choice” movement. Here is what that argument is really saying:

“You can’t choose to be a feminist. Real feminists support choice! And you, obviously, don’t support choice. And since I am a real feminist who supports all women’s choices, I’m not going to allow you to choose to identify as a feminist. I don’t support that choice because I am a real feminist who actually supports women’s choices….” (and so the idiocy continues).

My hope is that, as you read and re-read those lines, you will see the glaringly obvious double standard that “pro-choice” feminists have created, with the express purpose of excluding, ostracizing, and demonizing pro-life feminists. If you don’t see the hypocrisy in that line of “reasoning” (if you can call it that), then you will have successfully rendered me speechless (for all the wrong reasons).

Before I close, there is one last statement I’d like to highlight from the epilogue of McKeon’s book. McKeon is in the midst of appealing to her (she presumes) sympathetic readers and reminding them of how she hopes “we can learn to listen more to the other side” (McKeon, 2017, p. 269). And then she says this:

“But I do believe we have to let go of our liberal superiority, the belief that clearly reprehensible views aren’t powerful enough to gain mass traction” (McKeon, 2017, p. 269).

Now, to be fair, McKeon has discussed many views throughout her book, so she is not leveling this statement exclusively at pro-lifers. But there is something so beautifully ironic about McKeon counseling her readers to “let go of [their] liberal superiority”, while she simultaneously puts on a brilliant display of her own sense of liberal superiority by blanket-labeling entire segments of the population—including all pro-lifers—as holding “clearly reprehensible views”.

My pro-life feminism may be a reprehensible view to her, but it is a justifiable and logically consistent view to me. And the fact that she and other radical pro-abortion feminists like her feel entitled to exclude me and my fellow pro-life feminists from their supposedly inclusive, tolerant spaces tells me that their version of feminism is undeniably deceptive, elitist, and hypocritical. And that seems “clearly reprehensible” to me.

Filed Under: All Posts, Featured Posts, Feminism, Political Tagged With: abortion, feminism, hypocrisy, Lauren McKeon, pro-abortion, pro-life, pro-life feminism

Eugenics, Margaret Sanger, and the sordid history of the pro-abortion movement

January 10, 2019 by Lia Milousis 5 Comments

I am back again with another article about—you guessed it—the unendingly problematic book Yes Means Yes: Visions of Female Sexual Power & A World Without Rape. This time, I bring you a criticism from Tiloma Jayasinghe’s essay “When Pregnancy is Outlawed, Only Outlaws Will be Pregnant.” The essay is really more about pregnancy than it is about abortion. The author’s criticism is that, through various laws and public policies, certain types of women (eg. low-income women, drug-dependant women, etc.) are monitored more closely when they become pregnant, such that the very act of them becoming pregnant borders on criminality.

As I was reading through this essay, I found myself writing “Fair point” in the margins. To be perfectly honest, I suspect that my response was less a reflection of my agreement with the author’s critiques as it was a reflection of my relief that, finally, someone in the book was writing something semi-coherent (which meant that I no longer felt the need to scrawl rant after rant in the margins.)

But then, rather predictably, Jayasinghe wrote something so shockingly hypocritical that it bordered on being amusing:

“Anti-abortion groups are clearly ‘pro-life’ only for certain kinds of life (white and middle to upper class) and are really, in fact, anti-sex” (Friedman & Valenti, 2008, p. 268).

Now, evidently, this statement is made after a long line of “arguments” that are meant to build up to this grand finale. However, regardless of the context, this claim is so blatantly false—and so bloody ironic—that, knowing what I do about the history of the pro-abortion movement, I felt compelled to respond. (The only other alternative was for me to write another rant in the margins of the book, and unfortunately, I had run out of space.)

Now, I could respond to this claim by going on and on about the plethora of ways that pro-life individuals help women from all walks of life, regardless of their racial or socio-economic backgrounds. I could take Jayasinghe’s bait and argue at length about why pro-lifers have the moral high ground.

But if I did this, I would be playing Jayasinghe’s game. I would be conceding the underlying premise: namely, that pro-abortion individuals actually have the moral high ground, and that pro-lifers need to somehow level the playing field. And quite frankly, that is a premise that I will never agree to for many reasons. The pertinent reason in this situation, however, is because the pro-abortion movement was founded on eugenics, and therefore has no right to claim moral superiority.

Jayasinghe’s accusation is essentially that pro-life people are racist, classist, and pro-eugenics, that we prefer certain racial and socio-economic groups to others. The beautiful, hypocritical irony of this claim is that, not only is that objectively untrue about the pro-life movement, but it is also objectively true about the pro-abortion movement.

Eugenics has played a disturbing role in the rise and proliferation of both birth control and abortion. This was largely due to the influence of Margaret Sanger, who was the founder of the organization that we now call Planned Parenthood (which today is the largest abortion provider in North America and a prominent advocate and provider of abortions in developing nations in the Global South).

It was Margaret Sanger who really ushered in eugenics and married it with the movement from reproductive rights.

It was Margaret Sanger who spoke about the need to export birth control to the “biologically less endowed stocks” of humans in India.

It was also Margaret Sanger who made the following statement:

Every feeble-minded girl or woman of the hereditary type, especially of the moron class, should be segregated during the reproductive period. Otherwise, she is almost certain to bear imbecile children, who in turn are just as certain to breed other defectives. The male defectives are no less dangerous… Moreover, when we realize that each feeble-minded person is a potential source of an endless progeny of defect, we prefer the policy of immediate sterilization, of making sure that parenthood is absolutely prohibited to the feeble-minded (Sanger, 1922, The Pivot of Civilization, pg. 101-102).

If that isn’t enough, Margaret Sanger made this statement as well:

Every single case of inherited defect, every malformed child, every congenitally tainted human being brought into this world is of infinite importance to that poor individual; but it is of scarcely less importance to the rest of us and to all of our children who must pay in one way or another for these biological and racial mistakes (Sanger, 1922, The Pivot of Civilization, pg. 273-274).

These are the words of Margaret Sanger, who is considered the founding mother of birth control, Planned Parenthood, and, by extension, the pro-abortion movement in North America.

Everything that Margaret Sanger and her pro-birth control, pro-sterilization, and pro-abortion colleagues did was informed—tainted—by this toxic mentality. It was a mentality that believed only certain individuals with certain characteristics and body types belonged in society. It was also a mentality of entitlement, a mentality that believed that, somehow, we as individuals, as parents, as “normal” members of society, have the right to decide which lives are valued and which lives are not, who gets the ability to live and who does not. This is the pro-eugenics mentality. And, like it or not, this mentality was the foundation of the pro-abortion movement.

And so, ladies and gentlemen, this is why it is so rich to have pro-abortion feminists like Tiloma Jayasinghe accuse pro-life advocates of holding pro-eugenics beliefs. If Jayasinghe and the rest of the diversity-loving, inclusion-promoting, abortion-on-demand-supporting radical feminists want to find the people who hold ideas about reproduction that are tainted by racism, classism, and eugenics, they need only look in the mirror and in the archives of the pro-abortion movement.

I rest my case.

Filed Under: All Posts, Ethics, Featured Posts, Feminism Tagged With: classism, Eugenics, feminism, Jessica Valenti, Margaret Sanger, pro-abortion, pro-choice, racism, Tiloma Jayasinghe, Yes Means Yes

Settle down or ‘lean in’?

January 7, 2019 by Andrea Mrozek Leave a Comment

Women! Settle down sooner! As someone who received this advice often enough, it’s worth mentioning why it’s unhelpful. Women certainly are not exempt from making wise relationship and life decisions, but there’s no point in gearing this advice exclusively to women when men need it too–along with just about every aspect of our culture. In this article, published in National Review, I touch on why it’s harder than many think to simply settle down. 

Filed Under: All Posts, Featured Media, Feminism, Motherhood Tagged With: birth control pill, feminism, Kate Millett, National Review, Sheryl Sandberg, Working women

Kavanaugh is all about Roe v. Wade

October 2, 2018 by Andrea Mrozek Leave a Comment

This is a great little video clip about Lila Rose, done by The Atlantic, one of my favourite magazines.

I enjoyed the clip–it says why you can be a feminist pro-lifer.

But I’m posting it here primarily because it also does something else.

In the thorny, divisive terrain of the hearings over Supreme Court nominee Justice Brett Kavanaugh, I had a recent conversation with a friend who, speaking of Christine Blasey Ford’s allegations of sexual assault against him said this: “If she’s not telling the truth, I don’t know why she would do this.”

My friend is a good woman, and not at all involved in pro-life anything.

So why might there be reason to question Ford’s testimony?

If you watch to the end of the Lila Rose video clip, it concludes with her saying she believes she’ll see the end of legalized and culturally accepted abortion in her lifetime.

And for those on the other side, so to speak, this is the great fear. The fear becomes more real when any pro-life justice takes that empty seat on the Supreme Court.

This article, also from The Atlantic, features a woman whose rapist apologized to her after she reached out to him years later. It’s a story of redemption, and worth reading in its own right. But at the end, the author writes this:

My rapist promised to pay it forward, this horrible thing he’d just learned about himself. I have no doubt, judging by the admirable life he’s led, he will. And I will keep my promise to him never to reveal his name.

But you know what? If he were being confirmed for the Supreme Court; if his decision over what would happen to my daughter’s body, should she become inadvertently pregnant, would tip the scales away from Roe; if one of the key aspects of his job as a judge would be to show and to have shown good judgment over the course of his life, you better believe that I, like Ford, would come forward and tell the committee. Even if it meant going into hiding, as she’s had to do. Even if it meant getting death threats, as she’s received.

The life of my daughter is at stake. Her bodily autonomy is at stake. As a mother who grew up being groped at house parties in the ’80s, I want to make sure that whoever is passing judgment on the next generation has, at the very least, judgment to pass.

This is not a statement about the veracity of either side in the Kavanaugh hearings. What it is is an explanation for those who are not at all even thinking about Roe v. Wade.

I don’t believe we can really underestimate the extent to which some people will go to ensure no pro-life justice ever gets that seat. It can’t be Kavanaugh. It can’t be anyone who might tip the scales away from Roe.

Both sides believe their children’s lives are at stake–and that mentality sheds light on why this particular nomination has been so gruesome.

Update: This article by Jonathon Van Maren also points to abortion as the source of the vitriol.

 

Filed Under: All Posts, Featured Posts, Feminism, Free Expression, Political

The danger of a single “anti-choice” story

September 13, 2018 by Lia Milousis 2 Comments

“Show a people as one thing, as only one thing, over and over again, and that is what they become.” – Chimimanda Nzogi Adichie

Recently, thanks to a video that was circulated around on Facebook, I was re-introduced to the work of Chimimanda Nzogi Adichie, a renowned Nigerian author and feminist. I had first studied her work during my days in feminist academia. This is where I first learned about her idea of the single story.

In simplified form, Nzogi Adichie’s idea of the single story is this: when media, popular culture, and other societal forces work together and create a single story, a monolithic representation of an entire group of people, the nuance and heterogeneity that exists within the group is erased and they become known by that single story and only that single story.

If we take a moment to pause and consider the world we live in today, we will realize that single stories are being sold to us every day by news outlets, social media, and any individual who has a vested interest in targeting and undermining a specific group of people.

I see this happening to political groups and religious groups, racial minorities and sexual minorities. And, to some extent, these single stories are being noticed and exposed. However, there is a single story that I see perpetuated in almost every area of mainstream society. This is the single story about pro-life or “anti-choice” individuals.

The singly “anti-choice” story goes something like this:

All “anti-choicers” are, as the name suggests, anti-choice. They do not care about life, but rather only care about limiting women’s reproductive freedoms and controlling women’s bodies. “Anti-choicers” are almost exclusively old white Catholic men who shake signs in women’s faces and scream that women who have abortions are murderers. They are all sexist and misogynistic creeps who refuse to respect women’s bodily autonomy, and they only really care about children until they are born. “Anti-choicers” are heartless and compassionless, not to mention deceptive, ignorant, and hateful. In short, they are horrible people. All of them.

This is the single story of the pro-life movement. And it is this single story that erases all of the difference and nuance, diversity and heterogeneity within the pro-life community.

The truth of the matter is that the pro-life community is comprised of millions of diverse individuals who differ in culture, gender, race, class, sexuality, ethnicity, nationality, and religion. For example, despite being rather small at the time, the pro-life club at my university was comprised of students who stand in stark contrast to the “old, white, Catholic man” stereotype that the single “anti-choice” story perpetuates. We had students who were secular/atheistic, LGBTQ2+, Muslim, and racialized/people of colour. Most of our club members were also female students.

The problem with the single “anti-choice” story is that it fails to represent the beauty and diversity that exists within the pro-life movement. Instead, it creates a fraudulent representation of “anti-choicers” and projects that on all pro-life individuals. The end result is that mainstream society develops a false understanding of the pro-life community, remains ignorant and blind to the reality of who pro-life people are and what they represent, perpetuates this deceptive discourse using everything from university professors to media outlets, and then uses this ignorant, deceptive, and monolithic representation of “anti-choicers” to justify perpetrating hatred, aggression, and violence against pro-life individuals.

The single “anti-choice” story has been used to justify the recent Bubble Zone legislation in Ontario that limits free speech for pro-life individuals (which was justified by claiming that “anti-choicers” are all violent).

The single “anti-choice” story has also been used to argue that physicians and healthcare providers who have religious/moral objections to providing certain services (such as abortion and birth control) should be forced to go against their convictions and provide the services. This is justified because “anti-choice” physicians and healthcare providers are viewed as being religious fanatics who are trying to force their beliefs on other people, which follows the faulty depiction of all “anti-choicers” as Catholic (or even just religious). Unfortunately, there is no space made for the truth, which is that pro-life physicians and health care professionals are autonomous men and women from a variety of religious or secular backgrounds who choose, for personal, professional, or religious reasons, not to engage in certain practices/provide certain services (and who have a constitutionally protected right to do so, according to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms).

The single “anti-choice” story fuels confusion, misinformation, and deception. It creates division, isolation, and polarization. Perhaps more than anything else, it breeds stupidity, idiocy, and ignorance. By creating a two-dimensional, monolithic representation of pro-life individuals, pro-abortion pundits are able to avoid answering difficult questions, engaging in constructive conversation, and addressing important concerns that pro-life people raise when discussing the issue of abortion (and other issues that fall within the pro-life worldview). Not only is this lazy, but it actually does a disservice to the pro-abortion camp.

The single “anti-choice” story creates a generation of ignorant, uneducated, radical pro-abortion activists who have memorized meaningless rhetoric but lack arguments with substance. And, when we consider the importance of the abortion debate in protecting human rights, addressing crisis pregnancies, and supporting women in need, this ultimately harms the men, women, and children whose lives are affected by abortion is life-altering (and life-ending) ways.

This must stop. We must put an end to the single “anti-choice” story, not only by holding pro-abortion groups and mainstream media outlets accountable, but also by actively contributing to the multitude of diverse pro-life stories that exist internationally.

So if you are a pro-life individual, stand strong. Be proud of your pro-life stance. Share your story. And let the diversity of the pro-life movement be seen.

Filed Under: All Posts, Featured Posts, Feminism, Free Expression, Political Tagged With: anti-abortion, anti-choice, bubble zones, Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, Chimimanda Nzogi Adichie, conscience rights, diversity, feminism, Ontario, pro-abortion, pro-choice, pro-life, pro-woman, single story

Men, women and abortion

August 31, 2018 by Andrea Mrozek 1 Comment

Jonathon Van Maren drew my attention to this letter seeking advice about whether a woman can ethically keep a child her boyfriend doesn’t want in the New York Times. He comes down hard on selfish and stupid men, which may very often be the case. However, we as women have taught men this is a legitimate option by so often taking it.

Women are always the ones who attach to “what has begun to grow inside us” sooner, as the NYT letter writer puts it (Although she writes this in the context of not having attached to what is growing inside her, yet). Men are by default more distant from their children, one could argue, until they are born. In contrast with a mother who is breastfeeding, men are more distant from their children even after they are born. A sad story I’ve heard more than once includes men who were angry with a pregnancy, but happy with the child who is born, or men who are angry at a pregnancy, demand an abortion, but then change their minds, often when it is too late.

This mentality, by the way, starts with the birth control pill. For hundreds of years women have had the means to prevent pregnancy but the Pill wins for its efficacy, and created a world in which pregnancies while on the Pill were not normal, but accidents. This is why, by the way, the Pill increases abortion use instead of diminishing it. In this domain, one of the greatest myths is that pro-life women like myself have to be pro-birth control pill because this is, so we are told, what prevents the unwanted pregnancies such that no one ever needs to get an abortion. That the facts on the ground show the opposite is never mentioned. If the birth control pill diminished abortion, we would have seen a sharp decline in abortion after the Pill’s normalization in the 60s, but this is quite obviously not what happened.

Part of the culture change of making abortion unthinkable includes women teaching men by our actions. We bear the greater burden in pregnancy and we understand what is happening within our bodies. Pregnancy after sex is normal and possible–and if all men and women believed this and knew it to be the case, there would be a great deal more caution involved in who we go to bed with. Which might avoid the conundrum of learning your boyfriend of several months “never wanted children” and is now demanding a woman at the tail end of her fertility have an abortion.

There is so very little about modern sexual ethics that makes any sense. And certainly, I’d argue, these ethics are more unfair to women than men. This is why women need to be the ones to reject them.

 

Filed Under: All Posts, Featured Posts, Feminism

Feminism, rape culture, and the pro-life movement

August 22, 2018 by Lia Milousis Leave a Comment

In my previous post, I mentioned that I had recently finished reading Yes Means Yes: Visions of Female Sexual Power & A World Without Rape. Well, I am back to discuss another one of the incredibly problematic accusations that was made in this book. And yes, we are going to be focusing once again on Jill Filipovic’s essay “Offensive Feminism: The Conservative Gender Norms that Perpetuate Rape Culture, and How Feminists Can Fight Back.” (Prepare yourselves.)

In addition to misquoting religious texts and accusing “anti-choicers” of trying to “give a fetus rights that no born person even has” (Friedman & Valenti, 2008, p. 19), Filipovic also decided to draw illogical comparisons between sexual assault and abortion. This is what she said:

“Sexual assault is not only a crime of violence and power, but also one of entitlement. So long as men feel entitled to dominate and control women’s bodies, sexual assault will continue. While issues like reproductive justice may initially seem unrelated to sexual assault, they are a crucial aspect of women’s bodily autonomy and integrity – legally forcing a woman to carry a pregnancy for nine months and give birth against her will and without her consent, or coercing certain kinds of ‘unfit’ women into not reproducing, are deeply troubling uses of women’s bodies to serve the needs, ideologies, and desires of others” (Friedman & Valenti, 2008, p. 26).

Filipovic then went on to claim that “anti-choicers” were actively supporting rape culture:

“We need to situate sexual assault within the greater cultural battles over women’s bodies, and recognize that anti-rape activism cannot be separated from action for reproductive freedom, anti-racism, LGBT rights, and broader equality; and that the opponents of those movements are the same people who have an interest in maintaining rape culture” (Friedman & Valenti, 2008, p. 27).

Now, there are many, many things that could be said in response to these claims. For example, it is intellectually dishonest to claim that pro-lifers are “legally forcing a women to carry a pregnancy for nine months and give birth against her will and without her consent”. As a pro-life woman, I have no interest in forcing women to give birth. However, I am interested in ensuring that the state does not sanction abortion, which allows doctors to systematically dismember an unborn human fetus/being/child. This has nothing to do with “forcing” women to give birth and everything to do with “forcing” men, women, and physicians to abstain from participating in the destruction of human beings.

But Filipovic’s accusation goes much deeper than this. The real claim that Filipovic is making is this: by opposing a woman’s bodily autonomy, “anti-choicers” are supporting rape culture. So let’s examine this claim.

As a pro-life woman, I would like to clearly state, once and for all, that I believe in, support, and advocate for a woman’s right to bodily autonomy. I mean, let’s be serious. I am a woman. I love women. I believe in women’s rights. I studied feminism. I am a traditional feminist. I am thankful for my bodily autonomy. I support the bodily autonomy of other women. Capiche?

However, there is a massive difference between supporting a woman’s right to bodily autonomy and supporting a woman’s right to exercise autonomy over the body of another human being (ie. the human fetus). This is where pro-life and pro-abortion advocates diverge.

You see, pro-abortion advocates believe that a woman not only has the right to control her own body, but that she also has the right to control the body inside her body (ie. the body of the human fetus). (Side note: This is why the “My body, my choice” slogan should really be “Our bodies, my choice.”).

However, as a pro-life advocate, I reject this belief. I reject the idea that another individual has the right to assert control over, perpetuate violence against, and threaten the existence of another individual. And do you want to know a secret? This is perfectly in alignment with my stance as a traditional feminist who combats rape culture!

When a man rapes a woman*, he is asserting control over and perpetuating violence against another autonomous individual. In simplified terms, he is violating the woman’s bodily autonomy.

As a pro-life woman, it is my belief in bodily autonomy (among other things) that fuels my opposition to sexual assault. And it is also my belief in bodily autonomy (among other things) that fuels my opposition to abortion.

Now, before people begin to freak out and make all sorts of unfounded accusations against me, let’s make one thing perfectly clear: I am not suggesting that abortion and sexual assault are similar. However, what I am saying is that Jill Filipovic’s claim is absolutely false.

Do “anti-choicers” actively support and maintain rape culture by “opposing” a woman’s bodily autonomy? Absolutely not. As I demonstrated, the pro-life worldview is premised on the equal distribution of human rights and bodily autonomy to all human beings, born and unborn. This is what fuels our opposition to abortion. This is what fuels our opposition to human trafficking. And this is what fuels our opposition to rape culture.

One final point: The connection between rape culture, abortion services, and businesses like Planned Parenthood is a lot more problematic than you might think. I would recommend that you watch this video and this video. The reality is that, through our activism, pro-life people have been actively combatting rape culture. And realistically, if you truly want to combat rape culture, you too must oppose the insidious way that abortion is used by Planned Parenthood to cover-up sexual abuse, sexual assault, and sexual exploitation.

 

*Note: I recognize that rape and sexual assault do not always follow this construction. However, in light of the fact that the vast majority of sexual assault is perpetrated by men against women, this is the construction that I have chosen to use.

Filed Under: Featured Posts, Feminism Tagged With: anti-choice, bodily autonomy, feminism, human trafficking, Jessica Valenti, Jill Filipovic, Planned Parenthood, pro-abortion, pro-choice, pro-life, rape, rape culture, reproductive justice, reproductive rights, sexual abuse, sexual assault, Women's rights, Yes Means Yes

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