Jamil Jivani agrees with Leslyn Lewis: Abortion deserves an adult conversion

Canadians are being forced into a conversation about
the sensitive topic of abortion and not because
of anything that's happening in our own country.
We're being forced into this because of what's
happening in the United States where the supreme
in Court has overturned Roe v.
Wade and Canadians because of how much
American media we consume, how much attention
we pay to American politics.
We're kind of being forced to have this
debate to some degree in our country, too.
I think we got to ask ourselves, what
type of conversation do we want to have?
Is it one where we respect the fact that people
are going to come from different perspectives and try to
overcome divisions so that we might find some common ground
on something that is so deeply personal for so many,
or do we find a lack of balance and start
to mirror the rhetoric of the United States?
Unfortunately, our Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, is
having the opposite of the impact I
think most Canadians would like.
He wants to import the American culture wars and
treat those who disagree with him as if they
are bad people, as if they are enemies, as
if they are opponents that he must vilify.
It's unfortunate, but he is bringing
this approach to even his policymaking.
Prime Minister Trudeau has pledged to take
away the charitable status of organizations that
disagree with him on abortion.
Crisis pregnancy centers and other groups that he
deems to be antiabortion may lose their charitable
status, their ability to issue a tax receipt
when receiving a donation, which will, in effect,
destroy many of these organizations.
And he's got to be really careful about this.
There's a part of the American culture wars that
is having a real ugly side right now, and
he risks inciting the same type of harassment, vandalism,
and arson against crisis pregnancy centers in Canada that
we're seeing in the United States.
By vilifying these organizations, he is putting people
at risk in the United States right now.
The Wall Street Journal has documented dozens of
examples where over the last few weeks alone,
crisis pregnancy centers have been attacked.
One of the most notable instances was in Buffalo,
New York, very close to the Canadian border, where
a crisis pregnancy center was lit on fire.
It's difficult stuff.
It's scary for many people who work in these
organizations, and that is why vilifying them in the
way that Trudeau has is concerning to many.
We've seen, even just since Friday when the
decision was made public by the Supreme Court.
The New York Post is also reporting
attacks over the weekend in Colorado.
There's one particular group called Jane's Revenge
that is going after these organizations and
spray painting a slogan that says, if
abortion isn't safe, neither are you.
That's a threat.
Now, the other part of Trudeau's framing on
this issue is to behave as though all
women perceive abortion in the exact same way.
He treats women as a monolith as if
this diverse group of people who make up
over half of the human population couldn't possibly
have different points of view than him.
And we know that's not true.
It's not true in the United States, where 60%
of women, according to Gallup polling data, believe abortion
should be illegal in some or in all circumstances.
It's not true in Canada either, where we literally
just saw a few days ago, over 300 prominent
women sign a letter saying that they oppose abortion
and would support the overturning of Roe v. Wade.
These are prominent Canadian women in public life with
important jobs and critical roles in our democracy.
And we've seen even Canadian conservative leadership candidate,
Leslyn Lewis, the first black woman to run to be
leader of a political party at the federal level,
is saying the Prime Minister's approach is wrong and
she's asking for an adult conversation.
Well, I agree with her.
I don't come into this with a judgmental attitude
toward people who view this issue one way or
the other, to be honest with you.
I've seen personally, I've seen
professionally how complicated this is.
And that's why it really bothers me when
people vilify those on the other side of
what is such an important and sensitive debate,
an important and sensitive dialogue.
It deserves better.
It deserves an adult conversation.
And we cannot follow the
example of Prime Minister Trudeau.