Pro-choice supporters make presence felt at the National March for Life
ACTIVISM / A small group with colourful signs, lots of energy and strong voices
Noreen Fagan / Ottawa / Friday, May 14, 2010
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Pro-choice supporters stood peacefully on Parliament Hill as thousands of anti-choice supporters gathered for the 2010 National March for Life.

The march began at Parliament Hill and continued down Elgin St, where pro-choice supporters lined up against barriers holding signs and chanting slogans.

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March for Life & pro-choice presence

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Reader Comments


 
a little re-education for the right-wing...
[from oxford dictionary]: CHOICE: (noun) 1. an act of choosing. 2. the right or ability to choose. 3. a range from which to choose. if you don't want an abortion, don't get one! if you don't want to be gay, or have a same-sex marriage, then don't! if you don't want to smoke marijuana, don't! you have every right to decide what is best for your own life, but that's the extent of it. that right does not extend to other people's lives, nor should it.
Ethan, Vancouver BC
05/14/10 5:53 PM EST
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anti-abortion but pro-choice
I've always thought of myself as being against abortion, I think we, as a society, need to do more to make it easier for women to give birth then give their baby up for adoption, however when faced with the thought of a loved one of mine considering an abortion I came to realize that I could not make that choice for her therefore I also couldn't decide for any other woman either so it turns out I'm pro-choice too. I still think abortion is a poor option but then I acknowledge that many women may be in a position where abortion is the lesser of two evils where they cannot emotionally, socially, financially or mentally handle giving birth to a baby then giving it up for adoption yet keeping the baby themselves would cause major problems in their life for themselves and/or their family. It helps that I just don't believe a fetus is a person until they are born, however if the fetus is old enough to survive on its on outside the womb then I think they should be treated as good as born and not aborted unless the life of the woman is at stake and I realize that such very late term abortions only happen in such extreme circumstances as it is. I'm rather annoyed with Harper arguing that pro-choice folks shouldn't re-open the abortion debate when he's the one who did so by banning abortion for women in developing countries, how is that not opening the debate? Its especially reckless considering that every 8 minutes a woman in a developing country dies from an unsafe abortion, if Harper really were about saving the lives of women and children he would be funding safe abortions not banning them.
Rich, Toronto Ontario
05/14/10 8:32 PM EST
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The Right to Choose Murder?
No one should have the right to snuff out an innocent life. And I wish the fat hairy femi-nazi ogres would stop tying their murderous campaign to gay equality. Abortion supporters and pedophiles are the same...trying to ride the gay equality coat-tail to mainstream acceptance. Society is increasingly supporting fetal rights and against the baby hating sluts and dykes who want to harm them.
ron, Vancouver Bc
05/14/10 9:43 PM EST
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odds
So Noreen, where did you study journalism? Twelve thousand plus people congregate for a cause and you photograph the fifteen people unconnected to the event? Helllllllo??
CD, Toronto ON
05/14/10 11:41 PM EST
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Reasons
I was at the march in Victoria. There were no official pro-choice people, but the ones just walking past us on the sidewalks sure weren't peaceful. There were lots of middle fingers and people telling us we should have been aborted.
Sam, Victoria BC
05/15/10 4:57 AM EST
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What about the BABY's choice?
Why do people who say they are pro-choice not consider the Human Right of the baby they carry to enjoy life? Why do they place so little value on other humans? This video proves what type of "character" protests babies' right to be born. Loud. Brazen. Profane. Deceived. Pregnancy is not a disease. Pregnancy is ALSO the consequence of a CHOICE. Why should another person be given an unwarranted death sentence because of another person's judgment on their intrinsic "value"? Don't these "protesters" realize that THEY THEMSELVES might have been legally terminated if their mother or father had made a different "choice"? Furthermore, following their own line of logical thinking, when their own personal "value" is no longer an issue, they too could be "terminated" in the future. Dark. Dark days. Dark days indeed are ahead when following that pro-choice worldview.
Grannie, Hamilton ON
05/15/10 9:18 AM EST
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oh, you silly anti-choicers...
the "what if you had been aborted?" defense is such laughable nonsense. if i had been aborted, no one, not you, or my parents, or anyone else for that matter would be the wiser. who would know any different? i sure as heck wouldn't have the consciousness to understand that i didn't exist. not only that, but the world is already suffering from massive over-population. if you really want to protect innocent lives, why don't you adopt a child from an impoverished/war-torn country? children are dying EVERY DAY around the world, but it seems the "pro-life" movement is only concerned about the unborn ones. you want to talk innocent life? let's start with the baby sheep/cow/unborn chicken on your dinner plate. such hypocrites.
Ethan, Vancouver BC
05/15/10 5:13 PM EST
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Harper did not ''ban'' abortion
We're (the nation) is just not funding it in 3rd world nations. Besides they are expensive and I'd rather see the money helping Canadians. I would also like to say that this attempt by the left-wing to reopen the debate is pointless, unproductive and stupid. How is it that the legal rights in other nations have any bearing on our own laws? Women have the right to an abortion in this country, nobody wants to take it away from them. So where is the debate coming from? The right of a foreigner to get an abortion as payed for by us???? Now I myself support the right to choose and abortion. However I do believe there are questions that the ''pro-choice'' movement should address: 1. is the phenomenon of women in some cultures to test the fetus's gender and try to abort it if it is female. This does, in fact happen more frequently than the ''pro-lifers'' would like to admit. 2. In light of new technologies being developed it is only a matter of time before we can test a fetus's genome for various things like the genetic predisposition for addiction, aggression, homosexuality...none of these things will determine 100% that a child will be homosexual or drug addicted or aggressive. But is it OK for a woman to get an abortion if her child might be ''gay'' or have a predisposition towards addiction, simply because she wants too. These were not considerations 40 years ago but they are now and should be addressed.
So much hystera on both sides., Edmonton Alberta
05/15/10 7:30 PM EST
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Harper did reopen the debate
Those who claim that the left-wing in Canada reopened the debate on abortion conveniently are overlooking the fact that it was Harper who reopened the debate when he banned funding safe abortions for women in developing countries. If he didn't want to reopen the debate he would have just left well enough alone and funded the complete package of maternal health improvements. Every 8 seconds a woman in the developing world dies fro man unsafe abortion, I find that figure shocking personally and it underlies the importance of providing safe abortions for women in developing countries, especially ones where the rate of sexual violence is very high or the very poor ones where contraception isn't widely available and mothers have to face the reality that another baby would mean even less already scarce resources for their existing children. Abortions are normally considered a part of the maternal health package by the UN and other international agencies, when Harper changed the status quo and banned funding safe abortions for those who needed them he reopened the abortion debate. I don't know how you can blame others for responding to this for reopening the debate. Pay attention to what Harper does and not what he says, just because he says he doesn't want to reopen the debate doesn't mean that he hasn't, true I suppose it isn't a debate until the other side responds but how could they not respond to this attack on choice for women in need in developing countries? Too many people are willing to believe anything Harper says, in spite of reality, for some reason I'll never understand.
Rich, Toronto Ontario
05/15/10 7:52 PM EST
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correction to my previous post
A woman dies every 8 minutes in the developing world fro man unsafe abortion, not 8 seconds like I wrote in my last post. Regardless its still a shocking number of pointless deaths and many thousands more will die from Harper's refusal to fund safe abortions for those women, where the laws of the country involved permit. I can only hope more rational countries than Canada step up to the plate and cover our lack of funding of safe abortions.
Rich, Toronto Ontario
05/15/10 7:57 PM EST
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Re: Grannie and Ron, respectively
Towards Grannie, in Hamilton: I will make the assumption that if you are making a statement like 'pregnancy is a result of choice' then rape and rape culture, including the systemized sexism and racism which leads to unwanted (unwanted for the person carrying) pregnancies) has never touched your life. Congratulations- though I'm sure that's not true. Let's check our privelage and our assumptions, shall we? On the topic of sexism, Ron, in BC: Your unbridled display of sexism and devotion to the strict gender binary are a great example of the character behind the whole anti-abortion movement- "Get back into the kitchen". Well, we hear you loud and clear, and that's why we're standing alongside your rallies- because we want your oppressive sentiments far away from our lives, our bodies, and our freedom.
Perseid, Ottawa ON
05/15/10 11:52 PM EST
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What exactly are we debating?
What is this debate actually about? I mean women have the right to abortions in this country. So what is the big deal? This is ridiculous because it centers around the actions and decisions of non-Canadians living out side of this country. No one has said that women in third world nations can not have an abortion. We just aren't funding it. Women have the right to full control over their bodies, but keep in mind that any funding we give is generous considering that we really don't have to give anything at all if we don't want to. The governments primary responsibility is Canadians everyone else is secondary. The real problem that's worth protecting here is not the PM it's the misogynist and barbaric cultures that these third world women live in.
Mike, Barrie Alberta
05/16/10 1:14 AM EST
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Type O
In last sentance I meant to say, ''protest'' not ''protect''. I wouldn't want to protect the barbaric values of another culture.
Mike, BArrie Ontario
05/16/10 1:22 AM EST
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choice is a queer issue
There can be no doubt that Harper, who has ties to the right wing christian fundamentalist anti-choice movement is wedging open the issue of access to safe legal abortions in this country. Even the Toronto Star's coverage has recently shown we are clearly headed in that direction. Providing international aid for women's health and not including the full range of reproductive choice options makes that aid failure prone and hypocritical. Finally, choice is a queer issue. Lesbians and bisexual women need access to safe legal abortions in a variety of situations. Most importantly for women to be allowed to control our own bodies and make our own health choices is an issue very closely linked with our rights to be queer, and to be full citizens. Make no mistake, queer women of all the varieties under the rainbow will be at the forefront of the fight back against the attack on women from the Harper government. I hope our brothers and allies are standing with us.
Robin, Toronto Ontario
05/16/10 10:27 AM EST
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Be Strong Be Pro-Choice
Why push your anti-abortion agenda on the rest of us? My understanding is the majority still back abortion rights for a mother who does not want the pregnancy. My mother had an abortion after two children in the 1980's. She is a millionaire (who lived in a castle in England)who does not give a royal shit about you pro-choice trailer park trash and your swamp church religion. Hooray for Mommy
Bryan Charlebois, Toronto Ontario
05/17/10 10:15 AM EST
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Double-standard
I will take the time to listen to a bunch of (mostly) *men* pontificate about what rights a woman should have over her own body and reproductive choices -- under the guise of caring about "unborn children" -- on the very *day* that these same groups start trying to dictate to men about whether they can whack off or not. Hey, there's babies goin' to waste, there, too! Also, why is it that so many of these sanctity-of-life Mary Moralizers are all so gung-ho on bringing back the death penalty? Hypocrisy much?
Nathanial, Slocan Valley BC
05/17/10 2:01 PM EST
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Fetal Rights NOW!
There is nothing hypocritical about supporting innocent life and demanding capital punishment for murderers. Leftists know this but refuse to admit they are wrong as usual. Once a woman is pregnant then society has an automatic stake in control of her body. Don't like it?...then use a condom.
ron, Vancouver Bc
05/17/10 10:32 PM EST
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Ron, let me Google that for you...
****http://lmgtfy.com/?q=gay+rights+pro+choice+intersections **** As for your colourful descriptions. ie: "fat hairy femi-nazi ogres" / "murderous campaign" / "Abortion supporters and pedophiles are the same" / "baby hating sluts and dykes" .... if we're getting under your skin we must be doing something right!
Jenn Farr, Ottawa Ontario
05/18/10 5:03 PM EST
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What's with the hairy armpitted women?
I went to these things before and the pro-choice ones are often women with hairy armpits.
Howard, Ottawa Ontario
05/20/10 2:04 PM EST
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