Statement made on 21 March 2011 by Senator Lucie Pépin (retired)
Hon. Lucie Pépin:
Honourable senators, I will be speaking to the inquiry by Senator Poy concerning the choices of women throughout the world. I thank her for reminding us that, in some societies, inequality between men and women is still the norm.
I concur with Senator Poy on a number of the aspects of her inquiry. However, I will concentrate on maternal health, an aspect I am more familiar with.
The concern of Canadian women is to maintain the gains we have made. In certain parts of the world, the very principle of equality has not been established or is ignored. Women often have no control over their bodies and their social choices are very limited.
This was the situation of Canadian women until recently. Contraception was only legalized in 1969, and it was not until January 1988 that the Supreme Court decided that Canadian women had the freedom to choose abortion and control their own fertility. This freedom of choice, which women won with respect to their bodies, brought about changes in their lives. It was the impetus for becoming more active in society. It changed our socio-economic role.
Today, millions of women aspire to this same freedom. Unfortunately, they will not obtain it if they do not control their own fertility and if their lives are reduced to a series of pregnancies they cannot afford.
Senator Poy referred to data from the Guttmacher Institute, indicating that maternal mortality would be reduced by 70 per cent if the global need for modern contraception were met.
According to the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada (SOGC), almost 40 per cent of all pregnancies in the world are not planned. Approximately 200 million women want to delay or prevent pregnancy but are not using effective contraception.
Each year, nearly 50 million women resort to abortion and the procedure is often carried out in unsanitary conditions. Non-medical abortions are responsible for 13 per cent of maternal deaths. Generally speaking, many of these deaths are a result of haemorrhaging, infections or unsanitary abortions. Thousands of women are dying each year from preventable and treatable illnesses. It is shocking to learn that, in sub-Saharan Africa, one out of every 16 women still dies during childbirth. In North America, the ratio is one out of every 3,700 women. Family planning through contraception can eliminate two-thirds of all unwanted pregnancies and three-quarters of all unsafe abortions.
If we really want to help women in other countries, the way we help women here, we must give them access to contraceptive devices and information on reproduction. Responsible sexuality requires sensible advice. HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases make such education even more necessary.
It is impossible to consider overcoming development challenges without ensuring the survival and well-being of mothers. We must put more emphasis on how important healthy mothers are to a society. No society can hope to progress if its mothers are not healthy, for they are a great asset.
When a mother is sick or dies, her contribution to the household and society is lost. The education of her children is compromised. We know that millions of children die each year because they have lost their mothers. Any effective development strategy must involve a commitment not only to meeting the contraceptive needs of women but also to providing universal access to reliable obstetrical care for women. Unfortunately, it is still common for women to die during childbirth.
The SOGC has also stated that 35 per cent of pregnant women in developing countries do not have any contact with or access to health care professionals before giving birth and only 57 per cent give birth in the presence of a qualified caregiver.
In Ethiopia, for example, only 5.7 per cent of deliveries are attended by a qualified caregiver. Having a qualified caregiver attend the birth is the most effective method of preventing maternal death.
The first stage in life is birth. The first universal human right should be the right to give birth and to be born without risk. This is a simple question of common sense.
Experience in several countries like ours has proven that it is possible to make risk-free birthing a universal right. Unequal access to health care is also linked to the unequal status given to women in some countries. The persistence of local customs and a lack of political will justify a complete lack of mobility in the indicators of maternal, neonatal and infant and child health. Very often, however, the reason is a lack of resources.
Most developing countries simply do not have the resources to invest in their health systems. Those states could well develop policies that guarantee universal access to essential health services. However, if resources are inadequate, it is difficult for them to implement the policies.
It is the job of the international community to support the countries financially that attempt to offer every mother and every child universal access to care. We must also motivate countries that lag behind to recognize the importance of the health of mothers and children in their social and economic development. If we want to improve maternal health, we must ensure that women's autonomy and education is also strengthened.
The Prime Minister of Canada has recently taken some steps in the right direction, namely with the Muskoka Initiative on Maternal, Newborn and Child Health. I want to congratulate the Government of Canada and encourage it to keep listening to specialists who know that reducing maternal mortality means acting on the many profound causes of child and maternal mortality.
Any initiative to keep mothers alive depends on timely access for women to high-quality obstetrical care, access to qualified care during delivery and access to contraception and family planning resources.
I also invite the Prime Minister to give more support to the training of health professionals in developing countries to better meet the existing needs of pregnant women and newborn babies.
Fighting for your rights can be both frustrating and tiring, but it can also be very joyous. In Canada, we have been lucky enough to experience a few happy events that made us equals. I hope that all women will someday have an opportunity to be seen as people and not as inferior beings.
Today, we have enough knowledge to protect the lives of millions of women and children. To succeed, we must ensure that the fate of these women and children is no longer ignored or met with indifference.
We can take up this cause and work together so that every mother, every child, no matter where they live or their social situation, will have the chance to live.
I thank Senator Poy for giving us the opportunity to express our solidarity with the millions of women who still do not have the opportunity to achieve full equality of the sexes. It is a human right that calls us to show greater solidarity.