UCP Leader Jason Kenney dismisses the NDP government’s proposed legislation to establish a safe buffer space around abortion clinics as political theatrics; nothing more than a ploy to distract Albertans from the ballooning deficit.
However, I think Kenney is merely demonstrating a complete and utter lack of compassion for women who are enduring a physically and emotionally arduous and challenging experience that will likely impact the rest of their lives.
Perhaps Kenney is unaware, but juggling more than one major issue at a time is well within the realm of possibility. In fact, attempting to address multiple matters is essentially what we expect our government to do. Trying to address one problem does not have to mean attempting to distract from another. Nothing much would ever get done if our government was expected to worry about only one issue at a time.
Besides, by declaring his intent to abstain from voting on sensible legislation to protect a woman’s basic rights, Kenney is essentially siding with groups that would gladly regress to a time when abortion was illegal and women died in unsanitary back alley clinics.
If anything, seems as though Kenney is the one posturing to score political points with a base that thinks banning abortions will actually work despite declaring bans never work because where there’s a will, there’s a way.
Anti-abortionists also seem to think their right to free speech is somehow going to be infringed upon despite the fact that nowhere in the legislation will they be prohibited from expressing their opposition. They will still be able to protest all they want until they turn blue in the face, just at a respectable distance that protects women from harassment who are seeking abortions or even just information or perhaps advice from a clinic.
Who knew that a government proposal to create a protective 50-metre buffer around abortion clinics so patients and medical staff can enter without facing threats and intimidation would be so controversial?
Anti-abortionists should bear in mind that the best way to reduce the number of women seeking the operation is not by banning the procedure.
I truly do not believe there is anyone among the pro-choice camp, myself included, who actually favours abortion. Being pro-choice by no stretch of the imagination means being pro-abortion.
That being said, I think the best way to address the issue is to provide adequate education combined with easy access to contraceptives and supportive family planning; not by shaming, protesting, threatening, or otherwise intimidating women.
On that note, I think abstinence-only “education” hinders an adolescent’s ability to make smart decisions and actually results in higher youth pregnancy rates, as clearly evidenced by states in the U.S. that teach such curriculums, yet boast the highest numbers of pregnant teens in the country.
Meanwhile, parading around clinics protesting abortions does nothing, in my mind, to reduce the number of operations sought, and only adds to the emotional stress and turmoil a woman is already going through. Some might even be coping with the post-traumatic stress of rape; the last thing I think they need is a condescending pep talk.
Unfortunately, it seems unlikely Kenney has any intention of recognizing — let alone acknowledging — this reality.
What a shame that the UCP’s leader, given the chance, passed on the opportunity to stand up for women’s rights and instead deflected the issue back to the deficit.
- reprinted from Sundre Round Up, a Great West newspaper
