Oxymoron of the day: ProWomanProLife

Since I read this post a few days ago, abortion issues have been on my mind. After reading it, I came across an opinion article on the Ottawa Citizen’s website, and I basically want to have a shot at the authors’ throats.

They have a website, called ProWomanProLife , that is perpetuating the myth that one can be both pro-woman and pro-life – which, as all members of Feministing know, is fundamentally impossible.

My favourite parts of their site so far include the following two quotes (emphasis mine):

From "The Plan" page:

"In the long term, ProWomanProLife aims to develop a nationwide network of mentors, “big sisters,” who can speak confidently to their views on why abortion is not a woman’s right , and help other women to understand the same."

From "The Women" page (Brigitte Pellerin’s bio):

"She refuses to be called a feminist but has never let her gender limit her ambitions. Being a woman is not a curse, so why insist on trying to behave like a man?"

There is so much wrong with Brigitte Pellerin’s claim that I can’t even touch on that right now.

Most importantly, how is it that they can claim that abortion is not a woman’s right? It is our body, and abortion is an elective medical procedure that a woman can choose if she so wishes. No one forces Jehova’s Witnesses to have blood transfusions, since it is against their religious beliefs. No one is forcing those who oppose abortion to have one. But it is legally available and covered by public health care for women who choose it, so that they won’t die from using other means to terminate an unwanted pregnancy.

Without getting into a horribly long-winded post, the bottom line is this: the goal of ProWomanProLife is to reduce demand for abortions in Canada to zero. In order to do that in Canada (as well as in the States, where the abortion issue is far more pressing and controversial), we need two things.

The first is comprehensive sex education for all students in every school board . This means teaching them that condoms don’t cause cancer/impotence, mean you’re a slut, etc. It means not scaring them into abstinence until marriage, which will only last for a little while anyway.

The second is nationally available, affordable, and effective birth control for women, starting in their early teens and continuing until they decide they want to have children.

That is the only way you’re going to redue the need for abortions in Canada to anywhere close to zero.