July 19, 2000
The abortion question - THE COMMENTARY
By Joseph Planta
VANCOUVER -- I was heading to dinner last week, when Babak Khorram, the self-styled expert on all things “right,” took me to task on my position on abortion. Knowing that I am amember of the Canadian Alliance, he criticised me on my pro-choice stance on the subject of abortion. Mr. Khorram, has made it a hobby into discrediting my political affiliation with the Canadian Alliance, by saying I wasn’t a true right-winger, by supporting abortion. Well I must conclude that Mr. Khorram must be sniffing something from the den of ignorance. My support of the Canadian Alliance is not given whole-heartedly. If he’s read The Commentary, which his comments show he doesn’t and he’s admitted to it, he’d know I joined the CA, to participate in ‘direct democracy’ through the voting for the new leader, which to sincerely and truly affect the democratic process, would be participation in ideas like this.
I reject the position’s taken by certain Alliance MP’s John Reynolds and John Cummins on such issues as anti-Semitism and refugee’s. I reject the foaming at mouth, by these true right-wing zealots like Mr. Reynolds and Randy White, who cater exclusively to the cheap seats with their hang ‘em high attitudes. With Stockwell Day’s emergence into the forefront of national affairs, I was taken in by their attempt to broaden their constituency from just these Prairie hicks, to a group that included a good chunk of Canada. Now, even I don’t believe that this is the party for all Canadians, but it is true that there is a constituency out there who have been disaffected and disenchanted by the politics of the last 10, 20 years.
Sure, the Alliance is rampant with this far-right group of anti-abortionists. Sure, they were inclined to support Stock Day, rather than Preston Manning, and a further sure to the fact I too like them supported Day. My God, (wrong example to use here,) just because the Christian right and I supported the same guy, Mr. Khorram expects me to hold the same ideals? Come on.
I hold the pro-abortion stance for the simple reason I believe consistency is of utmost importance. Mr. Khorram and I both agree to the fact that should a woman be raped or if the pregnancy shall do untoward harm to the mother, than abortion shall be the route to go. I’ve held that stance for years, and with further thought, it is clear that if you make abortion readily available for those peoples, than you should make it available in general. I’m not comfortable with this regulating some are calling upon to limit abortion for those extreme cases. I am not in favour of a double standard. Abortion should be availible, period, or not at all.
I shall not try to paraphrase Trevor Lautens, because to do so would do injustice to the eloquence and grace of the man’s prose, but for time constraints I just have to. He said in his Vancouver Sun column of last Saturday that his kids came at inopportune moments. He said that the timing was off, but that eventually everything works out, as he loves his children no less. Sure, I believe that, but if you’re going to ban abortions because of that, then you’ll only encourage rasher forms of baby extermination. You’ll have these booths crop up on highways, where out back you’ll be able to get an abortion using a coat hanger or something. As brilliant as Mr. Lautens is, I must disagree with him. Abortion is a reality just like drug use and gay sex. Sure, it’s deplorable in some circles, but they are simply burgeoning factors in our growing society. We, as a society, may not be maturing, but we are certainly learning from our pasts and developing society as it changes us. These are harsh realities, but we must face them.
I only accept abortion as it is the only means we have available to us. If we were so competent, forgiving and generous, all unwanted babies would have homes. Alas, fairy tales don’t come true. I certainly hope teen mothers or mothers of any age, who don’t want kids, look elsewhere rather than at abortion for the solutions. Society seems constipated into finding a solution. Khorram and I finally came to the conclusion that even though Mr. Day is pro-life, he’s only bringing the issue to the public realm, for us to decide. Good on him for that, at least for now.
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