Sex-selection abortions set for debate
OTTAWA, ON—Pro-lifers are eager to get behind a motion before the House of Commons that calls on MPs to condemn sex-selection abortions, even though its sponsor insists it "has nothing to do with the abortion debate."
The sole intent of M-408, says British Columbia Conservative MP Mark Warawa, is to condemn the decision of some Canadian couples to opt for an abortion when an ultrasound reveals that their unborn child is a girl.
"This is not something that needs to be studied. We know it's happening," he says. "It's violence against women; it's discrimination against women."
Warawa decided to draft the motion after watching a TV news report in June that showed Canada is not immune to this global phenomenon. He says he is confident it will receive the unanimous support of MPs when it comes up for debate next spring, since its wording reflects the stated opposition of every national party toward sex-selection.
"I've had overwhelming support to my motion," says Warawa. "Environics did a poll in the spring, showing 92 per cent of Canadians oppose sex-selection. I can't think of anything else that 92 per cent of Canadians would agree on."
The Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists of Canada has also condemned the practice.
But Warawa worries that this consensus could be shattered if pro-lifers try to promote M-408 in the public's mind as seeking to curtail abortion.
"This [session of] Parliament has made it very clear that they do not want to debate the abortion issue," says Warawa, who calls himself pro-life. "So if my motion is interpreted as an abortion motion, it will not succeed. And we will end up indirectly giving a green light for this discrimination against females to continue."
Even so, pro-lifers are embracing M-408 as a further opportunity to educate Canadians on the abortion issue.
"It keeps it in the national consciousness, because it's going to have to be something that's talked about and discussed," says Mike Schouten, director of WeNeedaLAW.ca. "And it falls right in line with our mission, and that is to have abortion restricted."
Andrea Mrozek, who blogs at ProWomanProLife, also believes that abortion's staunchest defenders will not be swayed by the argument that sex-selection discriminates against females.
"They don't defend women's rights. They defend abortion, and call it 'abortion rights,'" she says. "It's all about abortion access. I don't think they're going to care that it's a female in the womb."
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