Mr. Woodworth slammed MPs who opposed his private member’s motion for being preoccupied with abortion “no matter the consequences,” after M-312 was defeated on Wednesday, Sept. 26.
“The MPs who spoke in favour of shielding subsection 223(1) [of the Criminal Code] from 21st century science and modern understanding, were quite willing to say that their personal preoccupation with abortion is more important than the need for our laws to honestly reflect reality,” he told media at the National Press Theatre on Sept. 27.
Mr. Woodworth had remained calm throughout the intense media attention that his motion generated in the first weeks of the fall session, but showed signs of anger following the defeat of his motion, condemning Criminal Code of Canada subsection 223(1) as “the most vile and unjust law in Canada.”
M-312, which was defeated by 203 votes to 91, would have established a special parliamentary committee to review subsection 223(1), which states that human life begins at birth.
Mr. Woodworth suggested the NDP whipped their caucus vote on the motion, and chastised the party for “blind arrogance” and “intransigence of the worst sort.”
However, the anti-abortion activist cooled his rhetoric when his relationship with Prime Minister Stephen Harper (Calgary Southwest, Alta.) and Chief Government Whip Gordon O’Connor (Carleton-Mississippi Mills, Ont.) was raised.
Mr. Harper has repeatedly promised that his government would not reopen the abortion debate in Canada, and last April Mr. O’Connor rejected M-312 in a speech before the House of Commons.
“I cannot understand why those who are adamantly opposed to abortion want to impose their beliefs on others by way of the Criminal Code. There is no law that says that a woman must have an abortion,” Mr. O’Connor said in April.
Mr. O’Connor and Mr. Harper were seemingly immune from Mr. Woodworth’s ire, however.
“There’s no question I like, admire, and respect Mr. Harper,” said Mr. Woodworth, who said that he warned Mr. O’Connor that he was going to speak out against opponents of M-312 following the vote. He described the Chief Government Whip as “professional.”
“I consider him a friend, believe it or not,” said Mr. Woodworth, who rejected suggestions that the Conservative Party was coming apart at the seams over divisions between social conservatives and moderate members of the party.
“One commentator said the NDP whipped their vote—if we do that, we’re actually weakening our caucus by suppressing dissent, when in fact our source of strength is our diversity,” Mr. Woodworth said.
While Mr. O’Connor publicly reminded the Conservative caucus that the government had promised to not reopen the abortion debate, more than half of Tory MPs voted in favour of the motion. M-312 was supported by 87 Conservatives and four Liberals.
Right to life or anti-abortion groups rallied to pressure MPs to support M-312, and the Parliamentary mail service was flooded with letters from activists to MPs in the week prior to the vote on M-312. The Evangelical Christian Fellowship participated in the letter writing campaign. The organization represents 40 denominations across Canada, accounting for 2 million evangelical Christians—roughly half of Canadian evangelicals.
Don Hutchinson, legal council for the Evangelical Christian Fellowship of Canada, rejected the suggestion that the defeat of M-312 had closed the abortion debate. He said the Supreme Court’s 1988 decision left the issue open for the debate.
“It hasn’t been a silent issue for 25 years, it’s been an issue that’s been before the public, however it has been an issue that has not been fully debated,” Mr. Hutchinson said. ”This is a debate that has not gone away. It has been ongoing in public and in parliament for 25 years, and studies, recommendations, and consideration by parliament would be an appropriate action, rather than the hurling of rhetoric.”
Cabinet ministers who voted in favour of the motion included Citizenship and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney (Calgary Southeast, Alta.), Status of Women Minister Rona Ambrose (Edmonton-Spruce Grove, Alta.), International Trade Minister Ed Fast (Abbotsford, B.C.), National Revenue Minister Gail Shea (Egmont, PEI), Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz (Battlefords-Lloydminster, Sask.), and CIDA Minister Julian Fantino (Vaughan, Ont.), and ministers of state Diane Ablonczy (Calgary-Nose Hill, Alta.) and Alice Wong (Richmond, B.C.).
Mr. Kenney announced his intentions to media prior to the vote on M-312, saying it was time for a “respectful debate” on the issue.
The Citizenship and Immigration minister is one of Mr. Harper’s most reliable ministers. An architect of the Conservatives’ strategy to appeal to ethnic Canadians in the 2011 election, he also chairs the Cabinet Committee on Operations, which is responsible for daily planning of the government’s agenda and communications.
A devout Catholic with a Machiavellian reputation, Mr. Kenney’s decision to champion M-312 led National Post columnist John Ivison to suggest that the minister is vying for the support of social conservatives in a future leadership race to succeed the Prime Minister.
“The conclusion, rightly or wrongly, is that as leader he would legislate on the issue, though he has never said as much,” Mr. Ivison observed.
Asked about the prospect of Mr. Kenney as a future Conservative Party leader, Mr. Woodworth told The Vancouver Observer that while he does not discuss private conversations with other members, he was certain that Mr. Kenney would fight for the rights of unborn children.
“[I] know enough of Mr. Kenney’s character, background, and beliefs to know that he, like me, would be an advocate for enshrining in Canadian law the equality and dignity and worth of every human being,” Mr. Woodworth said in an interview with Vancouver Observer reporter Beth Hong.
NDP Deputy Leader Libby Davies (Vancouver East, B.C.) said the fact that so many members of the Conservative caucus voted in support of M-312 was an indication that abortion would continue to be an issue.
“A third of the Prime Minister’s Cabinet voted for the motion, so I think that sends the message that we can expect to see this kind of thing again,” said Ms. Davies, who expressed dismay at Ms. Ambrose’s decision to vote in favour of M-312.
“As the minister responsible for the Status of Women, I think there’s a very clear expectation that she will uphold the rights of women in this country,” Ms. Davies said.
NDP Status of Women critic Niki Ashton (Churchill, Man.) said that Canadians had moved on from the abortion issue after it was finalized in 1988, when the Supreme Court of Canada struck down existing abortion laws as unconstitutional Charter violations.
The Supreme Court’s ruling in R. v. Morgentaler struck down existing ‘therapeutic abortion committees’ as a violation of women’s Charter right to security of the person. The Mulroney government was unsuccessful in passing laws to regulate abortion following the ruling.
“If you go by what the courts decided, it’s been settled,” Mr. Ashton said. “The disconcerting part is that the Prime Minister agreed with that statement, yet he also allowed his caucus to challenge that very understanding.”
Following the vote on M-312, Mr. Woodworth said he would continue to fight against the current legal definition of human life, and urged Canadians to do the same. He intends to travel the country speaking out against Canada’s abortion laws.
“That issue was never closed. It’s not closed now, and it never will be closed, if we in Parliament continue to stick our collective heads in the sand. I want Canadians to remember that no great issue is ever determined by a single vote in the House of Commons,” Mr. Woodworth said. “It remains for the Canadian people to rise up even more strongly in defence of laws which honestly reflect reality and in defence of human rights which are so shamefully violated by subsection 223 (1).”
Meanwhile, Conservative MP Mark Warawa (Langley, B.C.) introduced a motion on Thursday, following the defeat of Mr. Woodworth’s motion, calling on the House to condemn discrimination against females in sex-selective pregnancy termination.
Original Article
Source: hill times
Author: Chris Plecash
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