Jonathan Kay: First came Quebec-is-a-nation. Now comes A-fetus-is-a-thing
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Perhaps it was inevitable that the same Parliament that brought us the "Quebec is a nation" resolution in 2006 is now poised to bring us "A fetus is a thing." Or, as NDP MP Niki Ashton phrases it: "In the opinion of the House … a woman's right to choose abortion is a fundamental question of equality and human rights, both in Canada and around the world." Like the Quebec-as-a-nation resolution (originally conceived by Michael Ignatieff, and then brought to full bloom by the Bloc Québécois and then the Conservatives), this one would be a silly stunt whose only purpose would be to allow cynical politicians to preen for voters.
Intelligent people — including the majority of Canadians who believe there should be some limits placed on the availability of abortion in this county — realize that this issue cannot be reduced to a single sentence. While it is indeed true that "fundamental questions of equality and human rights" are an important moral consideration in regard to early-term abortions, other moral considerations enter the moral mix as a fetus progresses toward, and beyond the point of viability. This explains why not a single civilized country in the world (including Canada, where abortion policy effectively has been outsourced to doctors) countenances the routine performance of third-trimester abortions for reasons unrelated to rape, incest and maternal or fetal health. The notion that such a complex question of bioethics could be reduced to a slogan suggests that Ms. Ashton is either a three-trimester pro-choice absolutist, or someone who believes politics trumps bioethics. Either way, her proposed resolution would be an embarrassment to her party.
Much as Stephen Harper's Quebec-as-a-nation resolution was introduced as a strategy to head off similar ideas from the Liberals and BQ, this NDP stunt clearly was conceived as a means to out-pro-choice Justin Trudeau's Liberals: Last week, the Liberal leader declared that prospective MPs who do not toe the pro-choice line would be excommunicated from riding contests. The reaction from Canadian pundits generally was negative: Even The Toronto Star thinks it's a bad idea. Yet amazingly, NDP leader Thomas Mulcair suggested that Mr. Trudeau wasn't puritanical enough, because unlike the Liberals, the NDP won't even allow existing MPs to exhibit a shred of concern for the unborn.
One clue emerges from the 2012 U.S. Presidential election, which Barack Obama won on the strength of 55% of the female vote — in large part, many analysts believe, because of a series of idiotic comments about rape and abortion from GOP social conservatives. The Democrats did a good job of weaving these comments into the larger notion of a "war on women," and the Republicans have been playing defence on gender issues ever since. Canadian political strategists no doubt imagine similar dividends for leftist politicians willing to play the war-on-women card against Stephen Harper in regard to abortion.
The difference is that Harper — unlike, say, Todd "legitimate rape" Akin and Richard "gift from God" Mourdock — never talks about abortion, except to say that he doesn't want to talk about it. The notion that the Harper Conservatives are Bible-thumping hayseeds seeking to ban women from having abortions or wearing pants had some resonance a decade ago, when a desperate Paul Martin was playing this card. But it has zero resonance in 2014, except on the Facebook pages and Twitter feeds of paranoid, far-left culture warriors. And it is odd — to the point of eccentric — that Canada's two major left-of-centre political parties now are tailoring their platforms and political stunts to fight for this extremely narrow demographic.
In a way, it is patronizing, too. Women are no less capable than men of recognizing the complex moral character of the abortion debate. And the mere fact that the miracle of human development occurs within their bodies does not turn them into unthinking voting machines who mechanically punch the ballot for whatever man promises the greatest possible latitude to terminate a fetus.
jkay@nationalpost.com
— Jonathan Kay is Managing Editor for Comment at the National Post.
Much as Stephen Harper's Quebec-as-a-nation resolution was introduced as a strategy to head off similar ideas from the Liberals and BQ, this NDP stunt clearly was conceived as a means to out-pro-choice Justin Trudeau's Liberals: Last week, the Liberal leader declared that prospective MPs who do not toe the pro-choice line would be excommunicated from riding contests. The reaction from Canadian pundits generally was negative: Even The Toronto Star thinks it's a bad idea. Yet amazingly, NDP leader Thomas Mulcair suggested that Mr. Trudeau wasn't puritanical enough, because unlike the Liberals, the NDP won't even allow existing MPs to exhibit a shred of concern for the unborn.
One clue emerges from the 2012 U.S. Presidential election, which Barack Obama won on the strength of 55% of the female vote — in large part, many analysts believe, because of a series of idiotic comments about rape and abortion from GOP social conservatives. The Democrats did a good job of weaving these comments into the larger notion of a "war on women," and the Republicans have been playing defence on gender issues ever since. Canadian political strategists no doubt imagine similar dividends for leftist politicians willing to play the war-on-women card against Stephen Harper in regard to abortion.
The difference is that Harper — unlike, say, Todd "legitimate rape" Akin and Richard "gift from God" Mourdock — never talks about abortion, except to say that he doesn't want to talk about it. The notion that the Harper Conservatives are Bible-thumping hayseeds seeking to ban women from having abortions or wearing pants had some resonance a decade ago, when a desperate Paul Martin was playing this card. But it has zero resonance in 2014, except on the Facebook pages and Twitter feeds of paranoid, far-left culture warriors. And it is odd — to the point of eccentric — that Canada's two major left-of-centre political parties now are tailoring their platforms and political stunts to fight for this extremely narrow demographic.
In a way, it is patronizing, too. Women are no less capable than men of recognizing the complex moral character of the abortion debate. And the mere fact that the miracle of human development occurs within their bodies does not turn them into unthinking voting machines who mechanically punch the ballot for whatever man promises the greatest possible latitude to terminate a fetus.
jkay@nationalpost.com
— Jonathan Kay is Managing Editor for Comment at the National Post.