A little over two weeks ago, I shared a very personal experience publicly. It was perhaps the first time a woman told her abortion story in Canada’s House of Commons.
The reactions were rapid and intense. I received a lot of messages of sympathy, especially from many women who said thank you.
It would be wrong to claim that all the messages received were benevolent. Many of the comments contained hateful comments, full of anger and malice. Some even said I should be ashamed of myself — or worse.
These messages specifically reminded me why I made this statement in the House. I remember that today, as the anti-choice movement, galvanized by Canadian resources, moves toward the national capital of Quebec.
The importance of breaking the silence when women’s rights are threatened. The urgency of carrying women’s voices regardless of the place we occupy in our democratic institutions. Because here, abortion is a right.
South of the border, this right was swept away by six judges. Thus, women and future generations in the United States will no longer have the right to have an abortion under penalty of prison.
When you lose a right, it is very difficult to regain it. Look at the example of Poland.
Some countries reduce the right to abortion in more insidious ways. Look at Italy, where the government just changed laws to allow anti-abortion groups to intervene in abortion clinics to influence women’s decisions.
These frightening developments often make me think of my own story.
How would my life be different if I didn’t have free choice? I would not have had the freedom to choose the life I aspire to here in Canada. A life serving my community: first in the cultural sector, then as a municipal councilor, deputy and minister, the first of Latin American origin.
It is so easy to become complacent and claim that we are immune to external disruption. Yet these alarming threats are not only occurring elsewhere. They also occur here.
As politicians and citizens, we are all entitled to our personal point of view. However, all political parties have their reason for being. And they have a duty to express clear positions on social issues.
When it comes to women’s right to choose, some parties in Canada maintain ambivalent positions. They blow hot and cold.
They perpetuate the uncertainty and fragility that women feel regarding the protection of their fundamental rights.
Some elected officials in the House of Commons even welcomed the invalidation of Roe v. Wadewhich made abortion illegal in several US states.
The federal government recently announced that contraception would be covered in the first stages of the national pharmacare plan, allowing greater agency for 9 million women. Several elected officials opposed it.
In politics, it is common to navigate and procrastinate on subjects. On the other hand, on an issue as fundamental as the right of women to freely dispose of their bodies, all political parties must be clear with Canadians.
We need to invest in women’s health groups and clinics that support women in family planning. We must ensure access to sexual and reproductive health care. And we must expand access to abortion across the country.
In my opinion, we must not fall into the false protection of legislating on the uterus. Because legislation can restrict a woman’s freedom to dispose of her body.
The choice of whether or not to carry a pregnancy to term is a fundamental condition of a woman’s autonomy, and only she is able to make this decision. The government has no place there.
More than ever, we must stand up and protect this freedom which is the fruit of feminist struggles. Much remains to be done, because even today, 40% of women in the world live in countries where abortion is illegal. And every year, 39,000 women die because of unsafe abortions, according to the World Health Organization.
Because let’s not forget, women’s right to choose is also a question of emancipation and equality between men and women.