3, d alee ae

“COD, 4- STORK
rc eae coe a

Goce ool Ct eet

Three Ring Circus |

Ladeeeez aaand Gentlemen...prepare yourselves for
the fight of the century! In this corner...weighing in at

pens, I can imagine it being very disconcerting in
the least.

 

 

 

An Open Letter
on Abortion:

Mr. Brian Dickson

Chief Justice

The Supreme Court of Canada
Wellington Street

Ottawa, Ontario

KIA 0J1

Dear Mr. Dickson:

Regardless of my personal
views on the abortion issue, there
are a few things that are confusing
me in regard to the function of the
Supreme Court and parliament.

Inthe first instance, was it the in-
tention of the government of
Canada, in introducing the new
Constitution and the Charter of
Rights, that this would result in
some of the laws passed in parlia-
ment being struck down? I under-
stand that this was indeed the case.
If so, then they have created an in-
strument which is more powerful
than parliament. If the Supreme
Court, on the other hand, brings
down a judgement because of the
Charter of Rights, then it is clear
that this same instrument is also of
greater power than the Supreme
Court. What appears to have been
created in the new Constitution and
particularly in the Charter of Rights
is an instrument which is more
powerful than either of the two
most powerful bodies in the
country; namely, what has been
created is a form of god. As I have
been reading the various judge-
ments reported in the newspapers
where the judges essentially plead:
"The Charter made me do it." The
picture that has been forming in my
mind is that of a gold casket con-
taining the Constitution and the
Charter of Rights mounted on a
high hill in Ottawas with all the
politicians, judges and liberals
bowed down before it while the
lawyers pass through the crowd
taking up a collection. When a na-
tion has given up its faith in the pos-

 

well over a thousand gory pamphlets...PRO-LIFE!!!

And in this corner...the self-proclaimed
realists...PRO-CHOICE!!! Let the battle begin.

Sound familiar? Did someone forget something? You
bet. With everyone taking sides on the abortion issue, no
one seems to stress that this is a very complex issue in
which there can be no black/white good/evil lines drawn.
I will be the first to agree that Bill Vanderzalm has the
IQ of a Ritz cracker, but it is not possible to evaluate
something as contentious and delicate as the abortion of
a human life without seeing both points of view.

What this country and all the world needs is a com-
prehensive and detailed policy on abortion. While it is
medically and morally difficult to decree the time at
which life begins, certain practical considerations must
be kept in mind. For example, a cousin of mine was born
three months premature, in other words, her mother was
six months into term. It should be pointed out that, while
dangerous and frowned upon, abortions have been per-
formed in the sixth month of pregnancy. Now, I must
point out that my cousin was most definitely alive, and
is now a healthy, happily married 21 year old. If her
mother had decided that a baby was inconvenient at that
time, my cousin would have just been a twinkle in her

cest.

mother’s eye. Also, in some cases abortions have resulted
in live births, at which point the attending physician was
forced to commit infanticide. Although this rarely hap-

sibility of a real God, a false god is
usually erected to take his place.
Unfortunately, false gods have a
nasty tendency of deceiving their
followers.

I have read the article "Here
Come the Judges" in Maclean’s. I
am certain that if I were to get to
know any one of you personally that
I would like and respect you. But
there is no way that I want a body
such as the Supreme Court of
Canada to have the Kind of power
that it now appears to have. The
English language simply fails me
when I try to express how strongly
I feel about this. When I heard of
your decision on the abortion issue
last week, for the first time in my
fifty-two years, I could not feel at
home in the country of my birth. I
suddenly realized that what I had
been rejecting was in fact true -
decisions will now be based on
legality and not necessarily on
morality; that, in fact, there no
longer is a clear basis for morality
in this country.

In my experience, when a couple
realizes that the wife is pregnant
they rejoice and celebrate the oc-
casion. Immediate plans are made
as to how to accomodate this new
person coming into their lives. The
unborn child is loved and cherished
long before it is born. And when a
couple I know lost their child
through a miscarriage, they

genuinely grieved the loss. That, I
believe, is the human reaction to
conception and child birth. We
should mourn the fact that in our
society the conception of a child is
considered little more than a
nuisance by many. We also recog-
nize that many parents are so unfit
to have children that it is more mer-
ciful not to let the child come into
being. That is the inhuman situa-
tion in our society. Therefore trot-
ting out abortion on demand under
the guise of the dignity of women
and hailing it as a victory for
feedom is a gross distortion of
human values. How quickly the
false god has deceived us. Had it
been said that the situation in our
country was such that a growing
number of persons no longer want
to take responsibility for their
sexual activities; that in many cases
the parents have such potential for
abuse that it is more merciful to kill
the unborn child; that children are
not taught adequate moral stand-
ards; that, in fact, the whole drive
behind the pro-choice movement is
the decadence and lack of love in
our society, and that providing freer
abortion was seen as being the best
solution to this problem, then I
might have been better able to ac-
cept your judgement. But to at-
tempt to disquise the abortion issue
as being something honourable and
being even remotely connected to

Gruesome details aside, there are definitely
cases where abortion is necessary, such as if the
mother’s life is threatened. In instances where
rape or incest are involved, carrying the fetus to
full term could be psychologically damaging, and
has led to suicide attempts in the past.

In situations such as these, it is obvious that an
abortion would be deemed necessary, but it is my
opinion that abortions should not be used just as
a form of birth control, as that is the epitome of
carelessness .and is by any standards barbaric.

Now, back to the idiot child premier...His
policy on abortion needs one hell of a lot of
rethinking. What it does is discriminate against
low income mothers or those on welfare.
Whatever the Premier’s policy is, women who
can afford abortions can get one on demand, for
any reason, while those who cannot afford them
are stuck, even if they are victims of rape or in-

As you can now see, the issue is much more
complicated than a yes/no position, so maybe
people will begin to take a more rational and less
reactionary stance.

by Dean MacPherson

human dignity and worth and
having anything really to do with
freedom is symbolic of the blind-
ness that besets this whole issue. It
is this blindness that frightens me
more than the actual possibility of
abortion clinics in my neighbour-
hood. Who is safe when the bases
for judgement are so uncertain? I
may be safe with you but what
about the man who may take your
place? As a veteran of World War
II, you know what it is like to
sacrifice for real freedom. Do you
want to give place to the proponents
of pro-choice under the same ban-
ner of freedom? You may very
well have given the victory you and
many others won, as a result of
World War II, back to Hitler; abor-
tion was one of the main tools used
in shaping the super race. As the at-
tached article by Trevor Lautens of
the Vancouver Sun points out:
What is permitted today may be-
come compulsory tomorrow.

It is not my intention to be
judgemental of individual women
actually seeking an abortion. I am
sure there is alot of need for com-
passion for many of them I am
merely attempting to establish a
principle.

Yours sincerely,
Al Harms

 

DCSS Rally
“Disorganized"

» The rally the student society
coordinated Monday morning
during the ‘study period’ was a
reflection of complete disorganiza-
tion on their behalf. The poor tur-
nout by students can be attributed
to the complete absence of any sort
of publicity campaign to inform
students of the upcoming rally.
The president of the student society
was absent and no one bothered to
account for where she was. - Not
one speaker had any sort of speech
prepared and no one outlined the is-

 

sues. Clarification of issues is es-
sential for students to understand
the situation. The march to Bill
Day’s office was not the
brainstorming of the student
society, it was initiated by two
female spectators. It was an oppor-
tune situation with the media
present to have the student’s side
heard, but the total lack of organiza-
tion by the student society quickly
eradicated that.

If the student society should
choose to have further rallies they
should begin with a concentrated
effort to get organized. The presi-
dent or any member of the society
missing should be accounted for.

Speeches should be prepared prior
to the event and one speaker should
be responsible for outlining the is-
sues. The student society should be
responsible for outlining the issues.
The student society should have
their own plan of action and should
take advantage of the congregation
of students by having volunteers go
through the crowds with petitions.
Microphones should be roving
through the crowds as it was impos-
sible to hear questions being asked
by the student body. The student
society must take their respon-
sibilities seriously and inform the
student body in a coherent manner.

Suggestions for a more balance

presentation would definitely in-
clude representatives from both the
faculty and administration: More
flash and color should be utilized for
the sake df the media. A public an-
nouncement of the next student
sociey meeting would also be
beneficial. i

If the student society is planning
on more rallies in the future, for the
sake of Douglas College’s reputa-
tion, please try to organize a unified
presentation.

 

Sincerely,

Tammie Mitchell,
Bethany Edwards
Prospective educators