Welcome to the Church of Canada

Image via WikipediaFor a time it appeared the Harper government was pandering to the mushy middle of the Canadian voting public. Those who receive their political knowledge from 30 second sound bites and catchy slogans. In fact this pandering was even starting to alienate some of the social conservative voters who began to see Harper as too left wing. Those whose aim it is to ensure every womans uterus is registered as government property seemed especially perplexed at the lack of support they were receiving.

Times have changed. Currently there are two bills before the government, both intent on ensuring that the government, and it’s own particular brand of church values, and not the women involved make the decision on reproductive issues.

Bill C-484 is marketed as protection for those women who choose to continue pregnancy, yet it’s real intent to is to have foetus’s declared persons and thereby start the challenge to outlaw abortion. Real measures to combat violence against women are repeatedly brushed aside by those who support this bill. It will be remembered that this is the same government who cut the funding for and changed the mandate of SWC, so that they no longer can advocate for women. Some of whom were pregnant.

Those against this bill include;

the FMSQ

In the Federation’s opinion, over and above the virtues claimed for Bill C-484, a persistent attempt can be seen on the Conservative side to relaunch a debate that ended 20 years ago and to reopen the door to the criminalization of abortion. As far back as 1989, a Bill passed by the Commons but defeated by the Senate attempted to restrict abortion to instances where it was required for health reasons and to impose a maximum term of two years’ imprisonment on physicians who contravened the law.

LEAF

LEAF opposes Bill C-484 because it is little more than an attempt to grant
legal person status to unborn fetuses, while failing to provide any
substantial measures to address violence against women, including pregnant
women. The implications of this Bill are significant for women’s equality
and could affect women’s access to abortion.

Quebec National Assembly

Québec craint qu’Ottawa ne remette en question le droit des femmes à l’avortement, une fois ce projet de loi adopté.
Les députés des trois formations politiques n’ont donc pas hésité à voter à l’unanimité, jeudi, en faveur d’une motion dénonçant le projet de loi défendu à Ottawa par le gouvernement de Stephen Harper.
Vu de Québec, ce projet de loi, qui a déjà franchi l’étape de la deuxième lecture à la Chambre des communes, «pourrait engendrer de l’incertitude sur le statut du fÅ“tus», peut-on lire dans le texte de la motion.
Au moment du vote nominal, 100 députés étaient présents en Chambre, dont le premier ministre Jean Charest, et tous ont voté en faveur de la motion, présentée par la ministre de la Condition féminine, Christine St-Pierre. Personne ne s’est abstenu de voter.
Le projet de loi C-484, intitulé Loi sur les enfants non encore nés victimes d’actes criminels, a pour but d’alourdir les sentences aux auteurs de crimes contre des femmes enceintes.
Mais selon plusieurs, dont les médecins, les groupes de femmes et les centrales syndicales, il ouvre aussi la porte à la reconnaissance des droits du fÅ“tus, donc au débat sur la légalité de l’avortement.

In fact no organization which has as it’s mandate the protection of women has come out in support of this bill.

BILL C-537

Not content with hoping that bill will pass another has been introduced which places the right of religious practise over the rights of those needing health care. This bill would allow any health care practitioner to turn their back on a woman if they felt that helping her would endanger the life of an unborn foetus. This is already being practised in other countries with tragic results. One wonders if supporters of this religious bill would also support a practitioner walking away from a loved one because they don’t believe in blood transfusions.

Bill C-10

Further influence of the religious right can be seen in Bill C-10. A bill which would see religious dogma get government funding yet a movie which deals with gay parenting would not be eligible.

It would seem that the religious right would trade out rights and status for women and gays for rights and status for fertilized eggs. Just as some in Colorado are lobbying for

Parliament is not a place for preaching and pulpit banging. Religion belongs in churches. Your freedom of religion stops at others rights to freedom from religion. This the Country of Canada, not the Church of Canada Harper, his ministers and social conservative supporters would do well to remember that.