Democracy Gone Astray

Democracy, being a human construct, needs to be thought of as directionality rather than an object. As such, to understand it requires not so much a description of existing structures and/or other related phenomena but a declaration of intentionality.
This blog aims at creating labeled lists of published infringements of such intentionality, of points in time where democracy strays from its intended directionality. In addition to outright infringements, this blog also collects important contemporary information and/or discussions that impact our socio-political landscape.

All the posts here were published in the electronic media – main-stream as well as fringe, and maintain links to the original texts.

[NOTE: Due to changes I haven't caught on time in the blogging software, all of the 'Original Article' links were nullified between September 11, 2012 and December 11, 2012. My apologies.]

Saturday, April 21, 2012

On the same issue, 25 years later

In the 80's, it was the Devine regime provincially and the Mulroney machine federally that moved the regina mom into political activism. The issue of reproductive rights got her involved in the women's movement of the day. And here she is, more than 25 years later, again working on that file.

On Thursday, April 26, the House of Commons is scheduled to debate MP Stephen Woodworth's Motion 312 which ultimately seeks to make abortion illegal. If passed, the abortion debate in Canada will officially be re-opened.

Yes, one year ago the Prime Minister said he wouldn't re-open the debate. But, do you trust him? Does any Canadian woman believe him? the regina mom doesn't.

That's why she's been working with the Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada to mobilize women across the nation. Already, more than 11,500 have signed our digital petition. It's heartwarming, really, to know that so many support the efforts of a few dedicated volunteers and, more importantly, the right of a woman to control her own body.

ARCC has now decided to initiate a signature drive on a hard copy of the petition. This will allow it be part of the public record via the House of Commons. ARCC has contacted various prochoice Members of Parliament of different political stripes for assistance. the regina mom encourages you to contact your Member of Parliament to see where s/he stands on the issue of women's reproductive freedom.

And, the regina mom would love it if you would help out, too. Arm yourself with information. Then, take a moment to print out the petition (PDF) on 8.5 x 14 paper, invite your family / friends / co-workers to sign it and then send it to the ARCC. We'll make sure it gets to a prochoice MP for presentation to the House.

*When abortions were illegal, women would use any means at their disposal to terminate a pregnancy. Coat hangers were easily accessible and often used. Women died as a result of botched abortions. The graphic, Never Again, is the ProChoice movement's statement that we will stand guard so that we will never again go back to those times.

Original Article
Source: rabble.ca
Author:  Bernadette Wagner 

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