ProWomanProLife

You are here: Home / Archives for York University

Channeling my idle banter

by Leave a Comment

Folks. This is going to be a busy weekend. Why? Because at ProWomanProLife we are not all about idle banter. This weekend, I am going to attempt to do something useful. I will direct my idle banter at specific individuals in the form of letters. Three letters.

1. A letter to York University Vice-president Robert J. Tiffin, who disagrees with the attempt of the student union to ban pro-life clubs. This letter will be one of support, encouragement. A little “thank you for the common sense,” if you will

(Update: This letter indicates less support, more questions for a letter to Mr. Tiffin.)

2. A letter to the York University Federation of students. This one will not be a letter of support and encouragement. But I promise not to swear and since they claim abortion is an issue of women’s rights, I must, of course, challenge that idea

3. A letter to the Advertising Standards Council. To say hello–and add that I did not find Life Canada’s ad campaign offensive, and it was above all, truthful

Now I tell you this because:

a. you may like to “join me” this weekend in this letter writing bonanza, putting your pens to paper to “express yourself” like Madonna. (Many of you may prefer to just express yourself, no Madonna. That’s fine too.)

b. having told you this I will actually do it.

Does one letter change the world? No. Do three? Probably…not. But fighting for life is a fight for freedom, which is worth much more than a couple of hours on a weekend. “For our freedom and yours!” –that’s the Polish side of me talking. Sometimes I quote Madonna, sometimes Thaddeus Kosciuszko–pay attention and bear with me.

So here’s to a good weekend, a small turnout for what I have heard is a union-funded Bill C-484 protest in Montreal on Saturday, and a return to sunshine on Sunday.

York U ain’t for learnin’

by Leave a Comment

York U is working hard, even over summer break, to ban pro-life groups on campus.

________________________

Tanya scratches her head:

Gilary Massa, YFS vice-president external, defends the motion by saying that pro-life organizations seek to deny women of their basic human right to choose.

 

 “Anti-choice groups come onto campuses and take away the right a woman has to her own body, to determine what she can do,” Massa said.

First, I always am skeptical of a body that insists on calling a pro-life organization “anti-choice.” It pretends abortion to be the only valid ‘choice.’  (Note to pro-abortionists: Choice and abortion are NOT synonyms.)

 

Second, no pro-life group can come on campus and take away a woman’s right to anything. It can, however, offer information that would not be available anywhere else. (That makes pro-abortionists like Massa sound pretty anti-choice.)

 

Third, I can’t seem to find abortion under the women’s rights section of Human Rights Commission website, though I did find all sorts of other good things. (When exactly did someone decide abortion was an actual right of Canadian women?)

A sad day for Ms. Holloway

by Leave a Comment

Kelly Holloway of the York University Student Centre banned an on-campus abortion debate a couple weeks back. It’s back. And on York’s campus. The debate, “Abortion – A Woman’s Right or a Moral Wrong?” will happen today, Tuesday the 18th, 5:30-7:00pm, Curtis Lecture Hall E, Keele Campus. The unfortunate reality is that those who should go, won’t. Kelly’s probably got a date with America’s Top Model. When you’ve got a hard and fast No Thinking rule, best to keep it consistent.

______________________

Andrea stands corrected: I’ll leave our readers to guess which ProWomanProLifer knows her pop culture, but I’ve just been told America’s Top Model is on Wednesdays, not Tuesdays. PWPL apologizes for the error.

_____________________

Véronique clears her throat: That would be America’s NEXT Top Model. Not that I watch these things. Really. It conflicts with American Idol. I mean, it conflicts with some of the serious documentaries I watch on very serious channels. Seriously.

Carleton University abortion debate, this Wednesday

by Leave a Comment

The question: Is abortion a woman’s right or a moral wrong?

The date: Wednesday, March 19th, 7-9 pm

The place: 103 Steacie Building, Carleton University, Ottawa

Stephanie Gray from the Canadian Centre for Bio-Ethical Reform will represent the pro-life side and the Carleton Debate Society will present the pro-choice side. Guess the ladies of Planned Parenthood called uncle after the last round against Jojo Ruba in December 2006. Now I think this debate will go ahead: The student union can hardly afford to cancel it, given all the negative publicity York U just received.

Still, our friendly totalitarian, Kelly Holloway of the York University Student Centre is busy justifying just how and why she shut down the abortion debate at York in the Ottawa Citizen today. Read all about it! here…

___________________________

Véronique adds: Read the letter. I’d hate to see what an un-friendly totalitarian sounds like.

My question is if the student union is not accountable – specifically – to conservative pundits, are they accountable to liberal pundits?

If moral considerations pertaining to abortion are personal, what makes yours righter than mine?

What makes an “entitlement” to an environment free of harassment and intimidation weightier than a right – a Charter right I must add – to freedom of expression?

Who decides?

Why?

I don’t need an answer today…

___________________________

Tanya adds: Kelly Holloway says,”York University can make its own decisions and, if the York University president wishes to host a debate organized by these anti-choice campaigners, the university will have to take responsibility for that.”

I’m happy to see they are attempting in some way to show students there are responsibilities to be accepted for choices made. Does anyone else think they may be nullifying this lesson just a tad by advocating for consequence-free sex?

York U calls for absolute free speech…

by Leave a Comment

…at McMaster.  

Recently, the York Federation of Students cancelled an on-campus abortion debate just five hours before its scheduled start time. Gilary Massa, vice-president equity for YFS, told Maclean’s the debate would be discussing taking away women’s rights. She also compared an abortion debate to one about whether or not beating women should be allowed.

But don’t go thinking the YFS is pro-censorship. The day after the debate’s cancellation, Massa led York delegates to McMaster University to protest that institution’s infringement on free speech.

The YFS and several other student unions rallied to condemn McMaster for censoring a controversial poster containing the phrase “Israel Apartheid” and a violent graphic. The various student unions called for McMaster to allow absolute free speech on its campus.

I’m gestating on this one…give me a moment

by Leave a Comment

What a letter.

I wasn’t sure how to title this post: “No need to debate abortion, but a definitive need to speak clear English” or how about “Pro-choice letter writer admits we are all just in various states of gestation…the quintessential pro-life point” or finally, “Yes! I’m in a state of gestation too.”

One small point on this letter to the editor: A debate can’t occur in isolation, in someone’s mind. That’s not a debate, that’s solitary contemplation. And women and men don’t contemplate abortion unless they are challenged to do so. Let me reiterate a point I’ve made before: An unexpected pregnancy is a very bad time to contemplate one’s views on abortion for the very first time.

Muriel Beauroy’s views are profoundly anti-woman, and I might add, contrary to making an informed choice.  

But keep up the good work, incoherent pro-choicers! Only makes my job a whole lot easier.

_____________________

Brigitte scratches her head in acute puzzlement:

To those who bemoan the conscience of many women on this matter, I would simply remind them that at any given moment vast numbers of women are in a state of gestation, visibly or not, to term or not. This is quite natural and private.

So we don’t need to bemoan the conscience (or, more aptly, lack thereof) of women because vast numbers of them are gestating even as we speak? Well, if that’s the pro-choice position, things are looking up indeed.

Meta