Choice in the news: our government is NOT pro-choice

I am often asked why a reproductive rights group is necessary in a pro-choice city like Vancouver, in a pro-choice country like Canada. We are needed. The anti-choice groups are organized and slowly chipping away at access to reproductive services thanks to the help of our anti-choice government. That's something most people don't know: Stephen Harper and the conservatives are not pro-choice. This has been in the news recently and I figured I would point it out as a friendly reminder that just because abortion is legal in Canada, doesn't mean we still don't have many battles to fight to defend our reproductive rights.

There has been much talk in the news lately about Stephen Harper and the conservatives as they head into the G8 summit with a proposal for international maternal health. They originally said contraceptives would not be included in this plan ( http://www.theglobeandmail.com/blogs/bureau-blog/conservatives-accused-of-willfully-ignoring-contraception-research/article1503743/). Now because of the backlash (I'm proud of you Canada!) they have changed their stance to something just as bad but more confusing: that they are "not closing doors against any options, including contraception". They then go on to say that any discussion of abortion is out of the question (http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2010/03/18/birth-control-maternal-health.html), which seems like closing a door against that option, if you ask me. Basically Stephen Harper is silencing his pro-choice country by using confusing wording so that it isn't always immediately obvious that he is not pro-choice. He isn't. If he was, contraceptives and abortion would be included in a maternal health initiative plan.

Family planning and maternal health are two sides of the same coin, basic public health research supports this. Safe abortion, access to contraceptives, and comprehensive sex education save the lives of women. 61% of women seeking abortion are already mothers. If a mother chooses to have an abortion to better take care of herself and her children, why are we not supporting them in this by 1) preventing unwanted pregnancy in the first place, and 2) making sure abortion is safe so that she can continue to mother her children? And what if the mother's life is at risk during a pregnancy? In some cases abortion may be the only option. But if this is her choice we will just stand by and watch her suffer? We need to support women and families, not judge them. I am embarrassed by my government.

- Justine Spencer

GAP came and we showed them UBC is pro-choice

Today the Genocide Awareness Project (GAP) was brought to campus by UBC's anti-choice group Lifeline. These are large, graphic images comparing abortion to genocides such as the holocaust and Rwanda. Needless to say, this is horrific, disturbing, offensive, and inaccurate.

We got the word out just in time for pro-choice students and community members to gather and protest this awful display. Among the enthusiastic crowd was a wonderful group of pro-choice students from UVic who came all the way from Victoria to show their solidarity. The protest was very successful. We handed out lots of accurate information and received a heartwarming amount of positive feedback and support from the passers-by. We greatly outnumbered them and I think it's safe to say we dominated their hateful message with our positive message of human rights, justice, knowledge, and compassion.

It's terrible that GAP was able to come to UBC in the first place. I don't think it's a stretch to call it harassment, and UBC students should not be subjected to harassment on their own campus. At our next meeting, SRR will discuss writing letters and taking action to prevent this display from returning. If you'd like to be part of this discussion, or just to talk about this powerful day, our next meeting is this upcoming Monday at 1pm in SUB 245.

A quick update on SRR other than the protest: before the break, we had our first pro-choice movie night and watched "Vera Drake". It was well attended and for anyone who missed it, I suggest you rent it because it's an amazing movie apart from sending a powerful message. SRR will host another movie night in about a week (exact date TBA), to show the documentary "Lake of Fire". A discussion will follow, since this is an intense and thought-provoking movie. During our meeting on March 22 we will be writing letters to Stephen Harper about the upcoming G8 summit to encourage him to include abortion in his discussion of international maternal health.