Last week, several days after Prime Minister Stephen Harper reiterated that he would not reopen the abortion debate, the governor of South Dakota signed legislation that would ban almost all abortions in that state.

Many other jurisdictions in the U.S. are discussing limitations and bans. Even in liberal Europe, there is no country with such a permissive attitude towards abortion as Canada.

Which should oblige us all to analyze our position on this life-and-death issue. Once again, I state clearly and loudly that I am pro-life. As to why, here is just a sample of reasons.

The proposition that abortion is acceptable because a woman can do what she likes with her own body is absurd. The inherent assumption is flawed, in that a woman cannot do what she wants with her body. She cannot, for example, sell her organs for transplant purposes or obstruct the public way.

Further, the argument is not about what she can or cannot do with her own body because it is not just her body that is involved. Within her is an unborn child, unique at conception and a distinct character and soul. If the contents of her womb were mere tissue, there would be no discussion.

But no mother ever tells people with delight that she "felt the tissue kick today" or announces that she has chosen a name for her tissue. Nor does she speak of her "fetus." It's a baby. It is referred to as a fetus by pro-abortionists because it's easier to kill what one has dehumanized.

We invariably hear people who favour what they describe as "choice" say they would prefer there to be fewer abortions. Yet if abortion is merely the removal of tissue without any moral or emotional consequences, there is no reason for there to be fewer of them.

We deny, we disguise, we kill.

Clearly, it is a life. A life whose sex can be determined even before implantation, a life which at 17 days has its own blood cells, which two days later is developing eyes and the day after has an entire nervous system established. A life that at 28 days is forming arms and legs, at 30 days is developing ears and nose and at 49 days is a miniature person with complete fingers and toes.

So convinced are we now that this is a genuine life that in Britain some pro-abortion doctors want anesthetic to be administered to unborn babies before the procedure. In Canada, however, medics who object to performing abortions risk losing their jobs. Several have already paid that price.

This has nothing to do with so-called unwanted babies. There are legions of couples who want to adopt children. Even if there weren't, we still do not have the right to take an innocent life simply because we are larger and more powerful. That is the style of the thug and the fascist.

Nor is there a population problem. In fact, Europe and North America have a crisis of under-population. Where starvation occurs, it is the fault of the greedy West rather than the over-populated developing world. Again, even if there were a problem, it would not give us the right to kill.

We have to provide care and help for mothers in need and guarantee community support for children from conception to birth to adulthood to death. We have to know that the human person, which should be at its safest in the womb, is now, obscenely, at its most vulnerable.

God forgive us. And God change the minds and hearts of our politicians!