August 8, 2008

Dr. Henry Morgentaler's award of the Order of Canada for his
work in helping women procure safe abortions reminds
Canadians that the debate is far from over.

Few of us are removed. If not directly affected, we know
someone who has had an abortion. This is not neutral
terrain; either you favour a woman's choice to have an
abortion or you find it morally repugnant.

No wonder. Abortion is about the raw stuff of life:
motherhood, choice, politics, and religion.

Although I'm not particularly religious, I do respect the
sanctity of life. It doesn't matter whether it's our
soldiers in Afghanistan, a murderer on death row in a Texas
prison, or an unborn baby: Principles can't be selective,
they must be universal.

Despite my belief in life, I would kill if I had to. I
would kill someone in self-defense. Despite my reservations
concerning our mission in Afghanistan, I would be the first
to call in the troops if Canada were under attack. And
despite the fact that I am not a pregnant woman, I can
imagine a justifiable abortion.

However, the third case is not like the first two. Whereas
self-defense is homicide (the killing of a person by
another), abortion is not. The fetus is not a legal person
under the Criminal Code. Charges of murder can only be laid
in the death of a person. Section 223[1] of the Criminal
Code says that fetuses are not "human beings" until they are
born.

Of course, the law can be changed. But unless the law is
changed, we live under the rule of law. It's one of the
values that define Canadians.

There are legal precedents for changing the status of
non-persons. Women were not persons under the British North
America Act of 1867. As non-persons, they were the property
of men. They could vote. Alberta's Emily Murphy worked for
twelve years to change the law and in 1929, women legally
became persons.

I don't mean to suggest that the former status of women was
the same as the fetus but it does demonstrate a principle.
If fetuses were to become legal persons and human beings
under the law, they could not be killed. Of course, their
conversion to personhood would impinge on the rights of
pregnant persons carrying the fetus, who also have legal
rights.

To insure the safety of the fetus, the state would have to
register and monitor each fetus; a task that would require
disclosure of the pregnancy of the mother. Testing of all
fertile women would be necessary. Given the private nature
of pregnancy, that would require some prying into the
personal lives of women.

But I'm not sure we are ready for that level of state
intervention. After all, women are persons too. Would they
accept a level of intrusion and loss of liberty that men
would not be subject to? Such a change in law suggests a
bleak future.

It reminds me of the dystopian future of Margaret Atwood's
chilling novel, The Handmaiden's Tale. Her story presents a
totalitarian theocracy that has forced a certain class of
fertile women (handmaidens) to produce babies for elite
barren couples.

And if even such intervention was not done by a totalitarian
state but instead by a caring and loving culture supported
by government, how likely would that be? I see little
evidence that the Canadian government is moving towards the
support of women and children, such as daycare. When we
can't even provide for children who now have legal status as
human beings, a caring intervention on the scale required to
monitor women seems unlikely.

Pious beliefs aside, Canadians don't really seem to care
that much about the welfare of children. Since 1998, when
parliament resolved to eradicate child poverty by 2000,
poverty has actually increased. Canada has a dismal record
when it comes to infant mortality. In a United Nations list
of 25 industrialized countries, 22 of them have lower
under-five mortality rates than Canada.

The occasion of Dr. Morgentaler's award provides an
opportunity for Canadian to discuss deeply-held convictions.
More importantly, it tests those convictions with action.

But here's where the greatest hypocrisy lies: those who
would impose their beliefs on others (your faithful scribe
included) are the least affected. Unless you are a pregnant
woman, the choice of abortion is not yours to make. Few of
us who have strong opinions one way or another are directly
involved.
 

David Charbonneau is the owner of Trio Technical.
He can be reached at dcharbonneau13@shaw.ca

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