It’s sad to realize that all parties now in the House of Commons are now aligned together against the Supreme Court, in opposition to debate on the issue of abortion.

Mr. Trudeau’s recent edict—that all Liberal candidates must be pro-abortion—is merely a mirror-image of the NDP’s narrow-minded lack of diversity (remember Bev DesJarlais? Her opposition to same-sex marriage cost her the party’s endorsement); and both are sustained by the Prime Minister’s dictatorial insistence on preventing Parliament from addressing the issue.

All three leaders are now marching in lock-step—and in opposition to the sentiments of the majority of their constituents: reliable polls have shown that 65-70 percent of Canadians believe there should be some restrictions on abortion.

The Supreme Court’s 1988 decision did not establish a “right” to abortion; it merely declared that the legislation must be administered equally in all parts of the nation. That decision struck down the last faint vestiges of protection for pre-born children, but it also asserted clearly that Parliament has a legitimate interest in protecting unborn babies, and that Parliament is the only proper venue in which such policy should be crafted.

But how can that responsibility ever be met, if debate is not to be allowed?

My own vote will be decided on this issue: like Dr. James Dobson, I have pledged never to cast my vote for anyone who would allow even one innocent baby to be killed, unless the life of the mother (and therefore also that of the pre-born child) is really at risk.

Section seven of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms states unequivocally that, “Everyone has the right to life, liberty, and security of the person, and the right not to be deprived thereof except in accordance with the principles of fundamental justice.”

Note that the Charter says “everyone,” and that the right to life is not limited to those who have been arbitrarily defined as “persons” by an antiquated Supreme Court definition: “having emerged alive from the birth canal and drawn the first breath.”

Until 1929, when a higher authority corrected them, the Supreme Court of Canada had decreed that women were not “persons.” It’s time for Parliament to redress the absurd idea that a pre-born child is not a person.

If the parties now in the House are too cowardly to address the issue—something the Supreme Court said, more than a quarter of a century ago, that they should do—well then, it’s time to put somebody in Parliament with the courage to “grasp the nettle” and face up to their responsibilities. The only federal political party with that kind of courage is CHP Canada. Learn more at www.chp.ca

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