Every year the religious come to Parliament Hill hear speeches, cheer on supporters, and then march to protest our abortion law. In previous years we have discovered the Roman Catholic church in Ontario have bused in thousands of students from their separate school system to help bolster the numbers.
There have been a few protesters for the pro-choice side in previous years and we were out to support them again this year, in spirit if not in numbers, as the anti-choice numbers far out numbered us. Still our contingent was larger this year and theirs was much smaller than the 20,000 claimed. The arguments the anti-abortion protesters used are all appeals to emotion, it is clearly a matter of personal choice for women and, finally reason not religion should be used for government.
Protesting by itself is not an effective tactic for us, but it is the meeting of like minded-individuals that we must connect to form communities. In my own case, as I was busing it downtown I met a pro-choice supporter who accompanied CFI Ottawa to the protest. She may not end up being a CFI supporter but we did make a positive connection.
The media was there and we were warned they were from the SUN network with a video camera and reporter. I let Seanna Watson (CFI Education Director) handle that one and she will be writing a post on this interview.
Canada does not have an abortion law.
“Jan. 28, 1988: The Supreme Court of Canada strikes down Canada’s abortion law as unconstitutional…. Abortion is now treated like any other medical procedure and is governed by provincial and medical regulations.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/abortion-rights-significant-moments-in-canadian-history-1.787212