Statement made on 26 May 2010 by Senator Lucie Pépin (retired)
Hon. Lucie Pépin:
Honourable senators, Cardinal Marc Ouellet spoke out against abortion, even for victims of rape. Ninety-four per cent of Quebecers do not agree with this statement made by the Primate of the Catholic Church of Canada.
Monsignor Ouellet also called for the abortion debate to be reopened. Some people agree with him, as the latest pro-life march demonstrated.
We live in a democracy. It is natural that not everyone will agree. Some people are against any form of termination of pregnancy, and others want to grant legal status to the foetus. However, one person's opposition to abortion must not deny the right of another person to have one.
As a Canadian woman who participated in the movement to legalize contraception and abortion, I am shocked that we have been hearing more and more calls to restrict access to abortion.
A debate over the right to terminate a pregnancy will undo nearly 50 years of collective efforts. We worked tirelessly so that Canadian women could have more control over their bodies. Women were trapped for much too long between the state and the church, and had little control over their own reproductive functions. They had to make babies and keep quiet. Contraception was a sin, and abortion was both illegal and dangerous.
Many Canadian women consider the right to terminate a pregnancy a given. As I understand it, they are not ready to put their lives in danger, as in the past. Banning access to abortion would only force women to have unsafe, life-threatening illegal abortions.
Instead of trying to re-open this outdated debate on access to abortion, we could be devoting our energies elsewhere. Despite the wide availability of contraceptive methods, teen pregnancy rates remain high. Abortion is often used as a method of birth control. More education, much more education, is needed. We need to inform people and raise awareness. We should be focussing our efforts on ensuring that abortion is used only as a last resort.
What can we do to ensure that women are less likely to resort to this extreme measure when contraception is readily available? In my opinion, instead of remaining divided on this and using scare tactics on one another, we should be joining forces to resolve this serious and vital issue. However, the right to abortion must not be changed.