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Rob Anders and his sign

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Update: According to this story, he has been forced to remove his “Defend Life” poster from his East Block office window.

Government Whip Jay Hill (Prince George-Peace River, B.C.), meanwhile, told The Hill Times that he read Ms. Crosson’s letter and asked his staff to look into the matter.

“My staff contacted Mr. Anders’s staff and informed them that it wasn’t an issue of the content of the sign, it was an issue that signs are not allowed in the windows,” said Mr. Hill.

“It’s a long-standing policy[…] It just makes eminent sense to me,” said Mr. Hill, adding that though he hasn’t seen the rules in writing, he believes the idea is to protect Parliament Hill’s integrity as an historical site.

Personally, I have no problem with such a “no-sign” policy, even if they just made it up. Post anything you like inside you office, leave the outside alone. That would be clean and fair. Provided, of course, that it applies equally to everyone, regardless of what’s on their signs.

About the strategy

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About officials and others reportedly boasting about their PR strategy, and about the fact that, as far as I can tell, most of the folks who wrote or phoned or emailed have been ignored…

I’m sorry: What else were you expecting? Protests and letters and phone calls and columns and what have you will not make one bit of difference – at least not officially. The people who are convinced Henry Morgentaler deserves the Order of Canada and who are in a position to make it happen already know what you think. And they don’t care. If anything, the sight of protests and the accumulation of letters is somewhat pleasant to them – gives them the impression they are being courageous. (I know. It is silly.)

So then… what? Same as what we were doing before this whole business came up. For my part, this means writing and talking and discussing the issue, hoping to convince women at least to think twice before having an abortion. Think about what abortion is, what it does to your body (to say nothing of what it does to that other body inside yours) and please avoid it – both for your sake and that of the little innocent being trapped inside you through no fault of his or her own. Not getting pregnant in the first place helps a lot. Understanding your body, how it works and what is likely to happen when you keep having unprotected sex helps keep Plan A on track. It’s not rocket science.

I am not discouraged – by the boasts, or opinion polls, or anything else. To me, doing anything that might help reduce the number of casual abortions is what matters. If I manage to convince one young woman that avoiding abortion is at least as important as making sure she’s ready to have kids before getting pregnant, it will have been worth it.

p.s. well, OK, some poll results are discouranging…

Hawks and abortion

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According to this writer, if you are not a pacifist, you can’t be pro-life.

I’m not a pacifist. And I’m pro-life. I don’t see why this is incongruous.

I don’t support every war. Were I told a particular war was being waged exclusively against civilians or exclusively against women and children, I’d oppose it. It seems to me that “just war” theory does not support every single combat mission.

Pro-lifers recognize the womb is a place of protection, and abortion makes it into a war zone against someone who is entirely helpless.

I’m open to hearing others’ arguments, and I’m aware of at least one pro-life group that is against any and all killing no matter where it occurs. In my mind, their position is extreme though I am happy to stand beside them to combat abortion.

Still, I stand by my “pro-war” pro-life position. Seems a bit simple-minded to me to imply war and abortion situations are one and the same.

Morgentaler never forced a woman to have an abortion

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Says letter-writer, here. Force on knifepoint? No, I’m sure he didn’t do that. But turn a blind eye to a woman’s insecurity, indecision, anxiety and pain? We know for a fact he did.

Need proof? Watch Vicki Green on 100 Huntley Street, on July 9, just before the half hour mark. Or here:

 [youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pd7EPz-2fX4]

I’ll ask the question I’ve asked before: What part of “I don’t want to do this to my baby?” didn’t he understand? (around 2.40 minute mark)

Making a return

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Congratulations to Gilbert Finn, former lieutenant-governor of New Brunswick, who will no longer be a member of the Order of Canada, should Morgentaler become one:

Finn, a renowned Acadian businessman and former president of the Université de Moncton, said he sent a message last week to Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Governor-General Michaëlle Jean informing them of his decision.

His wife was quoted on his behalf in the National Post saying simply, “He’s not in favour of abortion.” Few words, conveys the point. Like it.

Marginalizing us much?

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Not much news coverage to be found on yesterdays protest at the GG’s mansion. I did find this article in the Ottawa Sun.

It describes the crowd in attendance as “mostly geriatric” and “carrying a ceramic baby Jesus, wearing rosary beads and crucifixes and carrying signs.” What image are you getting in your mind’s eye right now? (My first thought: How did people grasping walkers and canes manage to also wield signs and ceramic babies?) Clearly, the writer was attempting to make this crowd seem as abstract as possible. We obviously can’t rely on the media to be objective.

Thank goodness for video, one of which is posted alongside the aforementioned article. It’s worth a watch, and probably provides far more objectivity. One young woman (Faytene Kryskow), after listing examples, states that she’s against abortion primarily “because it has hurt [her] friends.” She was rosary and walker free.

Affairs to remember

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We understand that casual sex is dear to you, but staying alive is dear to us.

–Rev. Sam L. Ruteikara, co-chair of Uganda’s National AIDS-Prevention Committee

When he puts it that way, suddenly I’m less reticent to speak out against casual sex. My culture teaches me casual sex is normal, even necessary. I’ve absorbed that to a greater or lesser extent. (Greater before, getting less by the day.) Would we stand for casual flings if we understood there was life on the line? Because in some places in the world there is, as this author from Uganda points out.

Our choices, their lives–whether unborn children here, or those dying of AIDS in Africa.

Get writing!

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The Constitution of the Order of Canada states that any Canadian has the right to make a request to consider the termination of an appointment to the Order of Canada:

A request to consider the termination of an appointment to the Order of Canada may be made by any person in writing to the Deputy Secretary, The Chancellery. After review, if the grounds for termination are considered to be insufficient or spurious, the Deputy Secretary, after consultation with the Secretary General of the Order, will send a reply to the person who made the request to that effect.

The Council is obligated to consider the request if the person in question has been convicted of a criminal offence, and/or has been sanctioned in the past. We all remember Morgentaler’s 10 month stint in jail, don’t we?

If you’re a Canadian, it’s your right to send in an official request. The Council has to respond personally to every Canadian who sends in a request regarding the termination of Morgentaler’s Order of Canada nod.

Get Writing!

Might you consider revoking the award?

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A quick follow-up on the demonstration at the Governor General’s. There were approximately 400 people there, I’d say. Young, old, women, men–people stretched along the road, with orange-yellow signs with big black print saying “Revoke” and “Disorder of Canada” and the like. Oh polite Canadians–we all moved over to keep the “fire emergency exit” free–and a woman from Silent No More spoke. Clapping at certain critical points. Many cameras there. An elderly gentleman played his bagpipes, which I very much appreciated. Because they are so loud and mournful, which is perhaps the right tone to take. But the whole protest was more mournful than loud. Now it was about 300 degrees with the humidity… but it was all very understated. It was as if we asked, “Might you consider revoking this award, please?” 

Then I carried my Revoke sign back to the office with me.

The most passion I heard was in the cab on the way over. Taxi driver says: “Where are you going?” We say “Rideau Hall.” He says “What for?” We say “To protest Morgentaler getting the Order of Canada.” He bursts out and says “How can that murderer get an award! I support you! I’m going to call my wife and tell her to go!”

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Andrea updates: Lifesite story here. They are saying 1,000 people came. Which is possible. I have a really hard time estimating these things, especially here, given that people were lining the street.

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Véronique adds: I don’t know, Andrea: CBC News said 400, which to me meant that at least 1,000 people must have been there.

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Andrea adds: I’m having a moment: I actually agree with the CBC.

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