A tense controversy over abortion rights may be brewing at U of T after a group of self-described pro-life feminists peppered St. George street with posters to kick off an awareness campaign at U of T.
“Abortion rights activists promised us a world of equality, reduced poverty,” the posters say. “A world where every child would be wanted. Instead, child abuse has escalated, and rather than shared responsibility for children, even more of the burden has shifted to women.”
A part of the Student Administrative Council-recognized campus group “Students for Choice,” “Feminists for Choice” have put forth their message that “no law makes the wrong choice right.”
“The main mission is to promote and ensure the equality and dignity of all human persons regardless of race, sex, religion, age, and most importantly stage of development,” said Robyn Malo, public relations officer for the group.
U of T Women’s Centre coordinator Sarah Ware was not impressed with what she says is the misrepresentation of the pro-choice movement. She says the word “choice” is key and advocates providing options for women as to whether they want to have sex or not, what sort of birth control to use, as well as the option to have a child or have an abortion.
Ware says the women’s centre will launch an awareness campaign about abortion, in part because she is worried the posters could create a climate that makes women considering abortion uncomfortable.
“These kinds of things can be very hurtful and they use language that can be misleading,” she said.
Malo says the basic thrust of the campaign is that access to abortion hasn’t given women positions of equality, nor has it reoriented the public to respect motherhood.
“The basic idea is that abortion has not rectified the situation.”
Longtime pro-choice activist Carolyn Egan mentions that when abortion is legal the complication rate is very low, but when it is illegal abortions still happen, and women get hurt.
“When it’s illegal—when women have to go to back-street abortionists—then clearly the risk of ongoing harm, the risk of death, becomes a reality for women,” said Egan, a member of the Ontario Coalition for Abortion Clinics.
Malo responded to the argument that the right to choose abortion is integral to women’s health.
“Abortion endangers the lives of very small females and women, so I don’t see how access to it in fact can protect the health of women, when it means that a lot of women are killed simply because of their stage of development.”
ABORTION FACTS
The abortion debate has become a hot topic on some campuses, especially in British Columbia where the Genocide Awareness Project erects displays on campus comparing abortion to the Holocaust. This has led to an intense debate on freedom of speech on campus which has been so heated that police or security officers must be present when the group is on campus.
Only about one in three Torontonians truly knows that Canada has no laws limiting the ability of pregnant women to secure abortions.
According to a 1998 World Health Organization report, 55,000 unsafe abortions take place daily—95 per cent of them in developing countries—and lead to the deaths of more than 200 women daily.
