Why They March: Because We're Winning

Fetus fetishists are marching again today on Parliament Hill.

This year's theme is #RU4Life, a play on the abortion drug RU486's name, which is now up for approval by Health Canada.

I find this choice perplexing.

Last year's theme was gendercide. It was in the news at the time, largely thanks to Warawa's Wank, a private member's motion condemning gender-selective abortion (as if anything could be done about it). And the issue was garnering some media attention as many "conditional pro-choicers" needed to express their ambivalence -- "I'm pro-choice but. . . "

Warawa's motion blew up real good, providing the necessary victim-fuel for last year's efforts.

But why RU486 this year?

It is but one method of abortion and not well known. It is used very early -- up to 9 weeks' gestation only -- avoiding the fetishists' beloved gore of late abortion.

While the zygote zealots try to characterize it as particularly nasty, calling it "human pesticide", and dangerous, it is safe, effective, and has been widely used around the world for nearly 30 years.

Of course antis really really hate all medical abortion. It's quick and relatively cheap. Any physician can prescribe it, making it especially useful for rural and remote access.

But what they really hate is that it's private. Women don't need to run the gauntlet of clinic harassers to get and use it.

No invigorating slut-shaming opportunities for them.

Perhaps they expected RU486 to be in the news as gendercide was last year. Last fall there were reports that Health Canada was, then wasn't, then was too considering its approval. (Now we hear that there will be no decision until 2015.)

So a miscalculation on their part?

Even so, it's hardly the barn-burner that gendercide can be in a skilful spinmeister's hands.

This is what I think. Consciously or unconsciously, the fetus fetishists recognize that they've lost the war.

Canada is a staunchly pro-choice country with 90% of us supporting abortion in all or some cases.

There is no way that abortion will be recriminalized and they know it.

So they've fallen back on fighting rear-guard skirmishes like this one on RU486 -- "this far, no further."

As more and more Canadians support abortion rights and a new generation rises up to take on the battle for equal access, the choice of this year's theme is an outright admission of defeat.

We'll continue to oppose their every effort of course, but we may be closer to total victory than we realize.



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First, links to counter claims that RU486 is dangerous. Some fact sheets on its safety: here, here (pdf), and my favourite, pointing out that it's safer than Tylenol.

Here's Campaign Lie's fact sheet. Note that there are five sub-heads, one given over to its "macabre lineage" to Nazi Germany -- yep, they went there -- and that one is placed higher than safety concerns. That's how little they've got in the way of actual "facts."

I like this comparison on safety. In its first year of use, Viagra was linked to 522 deaths, while fetus fetishists themselves can link RU486 to 15 deaths over nearly 30 years of use. There are risks associated with anything of course, but it's telling, isn't it, that antis show such cavalier disregard for owners of wayward willies compared to their solicitous protection for owners of vagrant vaginas.

They're planning a Tweet-fest today using the hashtag #WhyWeMarch. I'm planning on doing a little geurrilla co-option with offerings like: "Because it's mandatory at my Catholic school" and "Because my Ontario tax-payer funded Catholic school pays for a day-trip to the Hill. Day off! Yay!"

I will also be reporting, as usual, on their inflated attendance claims.

So, whether you're going to the Hill, participating in a local event (there's a rally in PEI today), snarking from your keyboard, or just watching the fun, take heart.

The good gals and guys are winning.

deBeauxOs chirping in: I'm investigating if the obnoxious gotcha that the StunTV moppet tried to spring upon the Radical Handmaids at the March4Lies made it onto their network. Will blog that tomorrow.