The October 8 issue of The Varsity contained an article by Carter West entitled “Be fair to Rona Ambrose.” Ambrose, West proposes, did not vote to reopen the abortion debate, but rather to investigate the question of when life begins. Pro-choice organizations and media outlets calling for Ambrose’s resignation, by this argument, are misguided. How exactly, West asks us, has Ambrose violated her responsibilities as Minister for the Status of Women?
The notion that Motion 312 was not aimed at reopening the abortion is erroneous. Abortion rights are so deeply entrenched in Canada that any MP hoping to call them into question must do so through a slow process. Stephen Woodworth, the MP who proposed the motion, has admitted that he is opposed to abortion and the consequence of the motion, had it passed, would have been the reexamination of the legality of abortion. Even Gordon O’Connor, the Conservative Party whip, admits that the Motion 312 was a piece of anti-choice legislation.
The outrage over Ambrose’s vote is rooted in the realization that, ultimately, the Minister for the Status of Women voted in favour of reopening the abortion debate. What, some might ask, is the harm in discussing fetal rights? Is honest debate no longer valued in Canada? Although these questions are valid, they fail to realize that abortion is necessary for gender equality.
Women and men are not physically the same: women get pregnant, and men do not. Pregnancy, unfortunately, is a tremendous liability in the modern workforce. Abortion is a means of affording a woman the right to choose whether or not she is prepared to accept that impediment to her career. Without abortion, women would be systematically disadvantaged in the workplace, and, consequentially, in life. If women and men are to have any semblance of equality of opportunity, abortion must remain completely legal. So long as reproductive rights are ‘honestly debated’ gender equality is under threat.
The problem with Ambrose’s decision to vote for Motion 312 is that the Minister for the Status of Women voted against the very equality she is supposed to protect. Ambrose has violated the trust of Canadian women, who only attained constitutional equality thirty years ago. If Canadians are, as West urges, to “be fair to Rona Ambrose,” it is only right that Rona Ambrose be fair to Canadians. Fairness, in this case, calls for Ambrose’s immediate resignation.
