More SHRIEEEKKK needed for the perfect storm ….

Many fundamentalist fanatic, rightwingnutter and fetus fetishist bloggers are on SHRIEEEKKK mode today. It’s rumoured that Dr Henry Morgentaler will be awarded the Order of Canada on July 1st. Normally, only the Governor General’s staff and the recipients know in advance who will be receiving these awards.

It would appear that someone in The same-old same-old New™ Government leaked the information to Lifeshite. Pro-choice groups have observed over the years the multitude of slurs that anti-choice organizations have spewed about Dr Morgentaler. And of course, we have seen how some PredaTories view Her Excellency Michaëlle Jean.
All that would be required for fundamentalist fanatic, rightwingnutter, and fetus fetishist heads to irrevocably explode would be if Tomson Highway and his partner were to be married by the Honourable Madam Justice Louise Arbour, at Rideau Hall on Canada Day. Just saying.

The gentleman receiving the Performing Arts Award in that photograph is Peter Boneham and yes, that is k.d. lang in the background.

UPDATE: An article in today’s Globe and Mail seems to confirm that it’s official. It provides a timeline that succinctly sets out Dr Morgentaler’s role in ensuring that women have the right to choose. Controversy has occasionally been sparked by the Order of Canada awards, starting with its creation in 1967.

First posted at Birth Pangs.

Ultra-Cruelty

Because we at Birth Pangs think women are studip want to help women fully understand the consequences of their decisions, we have proposed that women seeking a pregnancy undergo Mandatory Obstetric Photography or MOP.

We confess outright that we stole the idea from the fetus fetishizers who, under the rubric of 'informed consent', force women to undergo ultrasound before terminating a pregnancy.

There's a good round-up of the state of play of this incrementalist attack on women's rights in the US here.

In all, 17 states considered more than 30 ultrasound bills this year, a record level of legislative activity on any abortion issue, according to the Guttmacher Institute, an abortion-rights research group. In two states, Florida and Missouri, Oklahoma-style bills were narrowly defeated, and experts on both sides of the issue say they expect many more ultrasound bills next year.

In most cases, while the woman may be forced to pay for this completely unnecessary and invasive assault, she is not forced to look at the ultrasound. In a grand concession to the fact that women might just be regular human beans capable of rational thought, a woman may sign a statement affirming that she had been given the opportunity to view it.

Except in Oklahoma.

Abortion Is All About Men

Another glimpse into the misogynist, fetus-fetishizing so-called mind. Abortion is all about men".

Linking to a LifeShite story about a young Welsh woman who died after a chemical abortion at six weeks, Mr. Kicking Abortion's Ass writes:

Pro-aborts read. Nod. Eyes Glaze Over. Ask, “What’s the problem? She’s gotta die so I may have my freedom of choice.”

Abortion: what a great invention for selfish men.

“Honey, you’re going to the abortion clinic tonight and you’ll like it, dammit. If you don’t, I’ll kick you in the stomach and kill that clump of cells.”

No law against coercion. No law against harming an unborn child.

Abortion: what a great invention for selfish men.

They really think like that. Abortion was 'invented' for men. Because unless a 'selfish' man coerces and/or threatens her, a woman would just naturally follow her gord-given essence and never ever nohow noway consider terminating a pregnancy.

By the way, expect this story -- here's a link to the BBC on it -- to have legs like a centipede with the fundy crowd.

The inquest on Thursday heard how Miss Jones, a Christian who had an active social life with the church, had decided to terminate her pregnancy because she had concerns for her boyfriend and his family who were Muslims.

The concerns are unspecified -- and there is no mention of any kind of coercion -- but it's enough that she was Christian and he is Muslim.

And, according to the inquest, it was mostly a case of over-stretched medical services that caused Miss Jones's death.

Following the procedure, she went on holiday, despite medical advice not to.

She cut short her break after feeling ill and returned to Bristol, where she was a student, and admitted herself into Southmead Hospital.

Blood tests showed she needed a blood transfusion, however she was left waiting for the blood when another emergency broke out on the ward and her condition deteriorated resulting in her needing life support.

MORE: You think we're pissed? Go read Unrepentant Old Hippie

(First published at Birth Pangs.)

We're a Pro-Choice Country

From a somewhat surprising source, this headline and deck:

We're a 'pro-choice country'
Poll: 91% of Canadians support women's right to abort pregnancies but are split on who should foot the bill

The online Angus-Reid poll was conducted June 4 and 5 of 1,000 adult Canadians .

91 per cent.

The article quotes Carolyn Egan, of the Ontario Coalition for Abortion Clinics:

"Canada is very solidly a pro-choice country. There is no doubt about that," she told the Sun yesterday. "I think there is a minority in this country who feel abortion is wrong ... but I think we're moving beyond (the debate)."

And we not moving back, no matter what sneak attacks on women's rights the fetus fetishists attempt.

(First published at Birth Pangs.)

More Support for the Kicking Abortion's Ass Bill!

Woowee! Off to update our Activist Page. Another heavy-hitter has come out in support of Ken Epp's sneaky backdoor attempt at creating fetal rights, Bill C-484, aka The Kicking Abortion's Ass Bill.

What heavy-hitter, you ask?

The Centre for Reproductive Loss. (And no, we didn't forget the linky; the Centre seems not to have a web presence.)

Here's its mouthpiece messenger:

In related news, advocates of private members bill C-484, the Unborn Victims of Crime Bill, received further support in form of the Centre for Reproductive Loss, which, for over fifteen years, has provided grief care support services to bereaved mothers and fathers whose lives have been affected by miscarriages, stillbirths, infertility and other related losses.

The centre released a statement giving their support to the bill,

"The traumatic loss of a woman's unborn child by assault or violence intentionally inflicted upon her child, whom she holds dearer than even her own life, can give rise to serious health complications and consequences," read the statement.

The statement detailed the many sufferings only a mother who has experienced the loss of an unborn child can understand: "The additional traumatic nature of this loss can intensify, compound and prolong her grief. She may suffer from a profound clinical depression or manifest post-traumatic stress disorder. As well, her ability to have other children may be seriously compromised, should she survive the attack, as indeed this may have been the one and only time she would be able to conceive."

Give that guy a really loud microphone

Oh, look. Mr. Kicking Abortion's Ass is at it again. Referring to the sad story deBeauxOs mentioned yesterday, the lying liar uses this headline:

Another Unborn Victim and Mother Die; Pro-Aborts Shrug Shoulders Vow to Press On Approving of Double Homicide

He quotes some of the LifeShite article including this:

Current Canadian law has no legislation regarding the unborn. Hence, White will escape unpunished for the murder of his child.

That's a lie. He has been charged, is in custody, and if found guilty, will serve time. That is not escaping punishment.

But note also -- not even LifeShite claims 'pro-aborts' did any shrugging of shoulders over this story. Nor did it claim 'pro-aborts' approve of double homicide.

We at Birth Pangs usually prefer to giggle at our enemies opponents, but this is a bit much.

Looky here at his conclusion:

I’m sure the cold, heartless butches will be gnashing their teeth about this one and the bad PR this is going to have for their inalienable right to prevent women from giving birth. They’ll be screeching something about the baby not being worthy of protection and how the family is just overreacting to a clump of cells.

I know it makes us puke to hear them speak, but we must encourage them to keep talking. Everytime they utter a word in opposition to C-484, the more fanatically pro-abort they sound.

So hand them the mic and turn it up real loud.

Actually, this is pretty funny, considering it comes from the guy who coined the cute nickname we have co-opted, The Kicking Abortion's Ass Bill. Ya think it's sweethearts like this that Ken Epp is attempting to distance himself and his bill from?

[T]his Bill, if it becomes law, will enhance the rights of women, and certainly not jeopardize their freedom of choice on the question of abortion. I have had to remind pro-life supporters of this very point. This Bill is not what some of them are thinking, hoping or wishing it would be.

Yeah, well, that's a lie too. This bill is exactly what the no-choicers think, hope, and wish -- a sneaky backdoor attempt to create fetal rights.

We at Birth Pangs will certainly keep talking about this. And we'll happily share our microphone with Mr. Kicking Abortion's Ass. Much as Ken Epp wishes he'd STFU.

(First published at Birth Pangs.)

Any difference between abortion criminalizer and vulture?

What’s the difference between vultures and C-484 supporters?

None.

Vultures are carrion scavengers. C-484 supporters, and this one in particular, have become obsessively concerned with dead pregnant women.

Members of the Vulture Culture display photographs of them. They feed off the tragedy of their deaths. They fabricate lies and spin propaganda around the violent and brutal murder of these women. They revel in all the gory details and plot retribution because that discourse is familiar to them.

Feminist organizations have, over decades, opened shelters for women and children escaping domestic violence. They have advocated for the rights of women and children for safety, and for protection from those who batter them. They have worked with elected officials to change laws and with municipal police to improve their staff training and their services.

But according to the screed from a Blob Blogging Wingnut, feminists do not care about Amanda Power or her pregnancy or her death. Note the absence of any substantive documentation for the spurious statements SHE makes. Abortion criminalizers, under the camouflage of their suddenly awakened and overweening concern for violence against women, are supporting C-484. In a bid to create media-savvy optics, they have recruited grieving family members as props in their campaign to deny that this bill will provide them with an opportunity to limit women’s reproductive choices.

That’s the thing about vultures. They stink so much, they can’t distinguish their own stench from the rot that surrounds them.

First posted at Birth Pangs.

C-484: Is the Fat Lady Warming up Her Pipes?

We at Birth Pangs have not yet been terribly impressed with Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion's commitment to women's rights.

But if he stands by the promise he made today at a press conference, we'll change our tune.

Stephane Dion vowed today that Liberals will block passage of a Tory bill that some fear might re-open the dormant abortion debate.

"I want to give my word to all the women of Canada that the Liberal Party of Canada is against to reopen woman's right to decide as a debate," the Liberal leader pledged.

. . .

Although the bill specifically exempts abortion, pro-choice advocates fear it would give legal status to the fetus and would, thus, be a step towards recriminalizing abortion.

Dion indicated that he shares the view that the bill would reopen the abortion debate and vowed: "We will not allow that to happen."

He is, of course, referring to Ken Epp's private member's bill, C-484, aka The Kicking Abortion's Ass Bill.

We would like to think that M. Dion is taking this stand for the right reasons. But, given the Liberal penchant for power, we wonder if he read the story about how UK MP Harriet (Hardwoman) Harman whipped the recent vote there to block moves to lower the time limit for abortion.

According to one account, women Labour MPs formed a ‘human corridor’ to channel their colleagues into the ‘No’ lobby. One Labour MP claimed to have heard one of Ms Harman’s team shout: ‘Vote against us and the sisterhood will never let you forget it.’

Rest assured, M. Dion, the Canadian sisterhood will never let you forget it either.

h/t to choice joyce at BnR

(First published at Birth Pangs.)

We *heart* Quebec, Part deux

Again, we get further proof that our sisters and allies in Quebec totally get the danger posed by Bill C-484, aka The Kicking Abortion's Ass Bill. (Our deBeauxOs does a round-up of Quebec organizations and bloggers opposed to the bill here.)

Yesterday, there was a kick-ass demonstration in Montreal. La Presse reports that there were 1,500 protesters.

At babble, poster martin dufresne gives a first-hand account:

The demo was TREMENDOUS!!! Between 1,000 and 1,500 people, bilingual speeches and chants, walking and almost dancing to Aretha's RESPECT and local feminist bands on the sound system, applauded by onlookers. The organizers were a kick-ass group of young feminists and despite the pouring rain it was easily the most empowering demo I have seen in decades. A local sexploitive sect (Raelians) tried to crash the event, insinuating itself in the march, with their website plastered on their garish pink get-up: it was a hoot seeing these fifty-something men, bluetooth in ear, with pink t-shirts proclaiming "FEMININITY is the future of humanity". They were booed and finally pelted with a few chocolate cream pies.

The post also helpfully includes this translation from La Presse story:

Dueling sounds

On the front steps of St-Jean-Baptiste church, organizers used a megaphone to denounce the "Religious Right". The church bells started ringing and went on for more than five minutes. A few of the demonstrators entered the church to play the djembé.

Fun.

(First published at Birth Pangs.)