04) "WE WILL NOT BE SILENT, WE WILL NOT GO BACK"

By Larry Wasslen, Ottawa

     Pro‑choice activists rallied May 17 on Parliament Hill to stand up to the annual anti-choice "March for Life" organized by Campaign Life Coalition, whose goal is the abolition of abortion rights in Canada.

     Approximately 300 people gathered across the street at the Terry Fox Monument, then marched forward onto the Hill with colourful placards, chanting "Not the church and not the state women must decide their fate" and "my body, my right, my choice (women), her body, her right, her choice (men)". They were young and old, women and men, rallying together for women's fundamental reproductive rights and to counter MPs, Senators, Knights of Columbus, Evangelical Fellowship and other religious groups who want to abolish a woman's right to choose.

     The counter-demonstration was organized by Planned Parenthood, Canadians for Choice, and the Radical Handmaids, a newly formed grassroots group of women engaged in their communities, schools and unions in the national capital region. Organizers are particularly concerned about Conservative backbench MP Stephen Woodsworth's Motion 312. Aimed to convene a special parliamentary committee to review the definition of "human being" (Subsection 223(1) of the Criminal Code of Canada) to determine if it should be extended to include fetuses, this motion is another attempt by the right wing to attack women's reproductive rights, including the right to abortion.

     Shelley Melanson of Canadians for Choice, and a member of the Radical Handmaids, said she wanted to bring a message to Canadian youth that what they are being taught in some schools and churches is inadequate and inaccurate concerning abortion rights. For example, promoting abstinence instead of providing comprehensive sex education where health, protection and facts are discussed, teaching students that women who seek abortions are promiscuous, whereas even when using the pill one can still get pregnant, etc.

She wants youth to understand that Canada is a pro‑choice society, that this issue has already been fought for and won decades ago. Melanson said the real issue is how we can ensure more access to health services for women across the country.

     Katrin, another Radical Handmaid activist, specifically mentioned the new threat brought forward by the Woodsworth private member's motion. Her group has used social media and word of mouth to encourage people to come out in support of women's reproductive and sexual rights. Katrin was active in the Occupy Ottawa movement, and credited that movement with her inspired activism. She stated that if women were covered by hate crime legislation the anti-choice speeches at the "March for Life" would qualify as hate speech. The "March for Lifers", she said, were not just anti‑choice but clearly anti‑woman, putting a fetus before a woman in the hierarchy of human rights.

     Sandrine, a long‑time feminist, pro‑choice activist, and one of the founding Radical Handmaids in Ottawa, said: "I am here today because it is imperative that wherever there is an attempt on fundamental human rights in our society we be there together and strong to name it, denounce it and fight it."

     When asked about the "March for Life" Sandrine added, "it is important to understand that the anti‑choice political movement is not at all about life. It is about the control of women's sexuality, her bodily integrity and fundamental human rights. Generations of women, and men, before us fought to achieve the rights of women to personhood, education, health and reproductive rights including abortion rights. It is up to us, today, to defend these rights. We will not be silent and we will not go back."

     Demonstrators then marched to the Human Rights Monument on Elgin Street.

(The above article is from the June 1-15, 2012, issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $30/year, or $15 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $45 US per year; other overseas readers - $45 US or $50 CDN per year. Send to People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 706 Clark Drive, Vancouver, BC, V5L 3J1.)