Canadian Senate reverses anti-abortion bill

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On Jan. 31, the Canadian Senate, a non-elected body composed entirely of members of the two major capitalist parties, defeated legislation to reimpose criminal penalties for most abortions.

The Senate's vote against Bill-C-43 was the first time in 30 years that it overturned a bill passed by the House.

The Tory government had sponsored this anti-abortion bill, which passed the House by a vote of 1140 to 131 last May. Heavy government pressure was applied to Tory senators to ensure their support. It had seemed certain that the Senate would rubber stamp the legislation.

The big business media have tried to downplay the extent of the unexpected pro-choice victory. They claim that antichoice legislators who wanted even more restrictive legislation (Bill C-43 allowed abortions when the woman's health would be gravely affected) were responsible for the defeat of the bill. Yet, a series of amendments to impose additional restrictions were defeated overwhelmand JONI JACOBS Today women comprise 11 percent of the military. Nearly 400,000 women serve in the active armed forces, in the National Guard, and in the reserve. Many of them are Black women-almost 50 percent in some branches.

Civilian life has taught these women that, without a decent job, they face a very real threat of poverty and even homelessness. Yet the education that provides a living wage is increasingly inaccessible.

The military is the largest vocational training ground in the U.S. Women enlist in the armed forces primarily to receive training for eventual employment in the civilian sector.

Many women also enlist to escape meaning and suffocating traditional jobs. Unfortunately, they find that the military cruelly repeats the same discrimination found in civilian life.

Women (along with Blacks and other oppressed nationalities) get the worst jobs in the military—just as in the rest of society— serving as clerks, secretaries, nurses, or in other traditionally "female," and therefore, less "valued" jobs.

Women receive less training and fewer promotions in the military. Only 0.9% of the top 1000 officer's jobs, and 0.8% of the top 15,000 senior enlisted positions are filled by women.

Women also suffer the additional burden of child care. A number of women were torn away from nursing babies and small children when they were ordered to Saudi Arabia. Meanwhile, the government and military made no provisions for the care of these THE LIGHT FOR ingly-each receiving only two to four votes.

Despite the media propaganda barrage, pro-choice supporters recognized that it was their continued visible presence in the streets that resulted in the victory. News of the Senate vote was greeted with pro-choice victory demonstrations in Montréal, Toronto, and Vancouver.

While expressing elation over the vote, Ontario Coalition for Abortion Clinics spokesperson Cherie MacDonald explained that the fight to ensure all Quebequois and Canadian women access to abortion is not over.

"We can't leave the struggle to the courts and medical authorities and groups which focus only on lobbying." MacDonald told Socialist Action, . "We still need to mobilize people. Even if people don't see a current emergency, there still is one. Women who couldn't get abortions before, still can't get them."

"We want to be prepared," she added, "when the next real crisis arrives. We're putting more emphasis on links with other activist pro-choice groups bi-nationally. We're also making more links on a provincial level to discuss problems with access and harassment."

Fight for funding

MacDonald explained that pro-choice supporters are demanding that abortion be declared an essential health service under the Canada Health Act. They demand that transfer payments (payments from the federal government to the provincial governments designed to equalize health and education benefits) be withheld from provinces which refuse to treat abortion like any other medically necessary health procedure.

Pro-choice supporters are also demanding that all provinces fully fund existing abortion clinics and take the initiative in setting up new ones where none currently exist. MacDonald pointed out that this is especially important in the poorer provinces, where massive unemployment has left many women unable to afford abortions.

MacDonald stated that the federal government has cut back on health and education transfer payments to the provinces to totally eliminate these payments by 2005. She stressed the need for feminists to oppose Canadian intervention in the Middle East and demand that money for military spending be redirected to meet human needs-including the need for adequate funding for abortion and other health services.

Although some provinces continue to try to prohibit abortion clinics, Dr. Henry Morgenthaler, who in the past was prosecuted for performing abortions and is a national leader of the pro-choice movement, has taken the initiative in challenging these restrictions. Successful legal challenges have resulted in clinics in both Newfoundland and Nova Scotia remaining open.

Anti-choice forces are in disarray. Operation Rescue has not mounted any clinic assaults for some time. They are now focusing on electing anti-choice Liberals in the hope that a new Liberal Party government will introduce restrictive legislation.

Demonstrations are planned for late May in cities and towns throughout English Canada and Quebec, demanding that fully funded abortions be readily available to women in all provinces.

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