"Abolish Abortion", the Number One Wish for Canada

[rwebb]

By the way, if you're in the Central time zone, tune in to CBC Radio One right now and hear what Margaret Summerville is saying about resspect for human embryos. If you're west of Central Time, tune in to Ideas at 9:05 to hear the whole hour-long program.

I just mention it because people here are always saying that CBC never presents the conservative point of view. Not true.

[SUZANNE]

They present the conservative point of view: in a biased fashion.

Margaret Somerville is not a social conservative.

[rwebb]

They present the conservative point of view: in a biased fashion.

Margaret Somerville is not a social conservative.

Not conservative enough, eh? Did you actually listen to what she had to say, about SSM for instance? (P.S.: I guess not -- wrong time zone. I'll let you know if they post this as a podcast, as I think they will.)

See ya tomorrow. Gotta go.

[Paycheck]

Matter of fact, I have never heard a father to be use the term "fetus". He always says my wife is going to have a BABY.

Going to have, not already has. But again, if he wants to call it a baby, I think that's just fine. Their relationship is part of what makes it valuable, i.e. a person.

So, that old man shoved somewhere in some government retirement facility has no family or friends to speak of. He has no relationship with anyone. Threrefore I suppose he is value-less which makes him a prime target for euthanasia.

[bulldog905]

They present the conservative point of view: in a biased fashion.

Margaret Somerville is not a social conservative.

Not conservative enough, eh? Did you actually listen to what she had to say, about SSM for instance? (P.S.: I guess not -- wrong time zone. I'll let you know if they post this as a podcast, as I think they will.)

See ya tomorrow. Gotta go.

Fox News has many more liberals on than CBC has conservatives.

And there is no one who pretends that Fox does not have a Republican bias.

If Webb is just not being disingenous about the leftist slant of the CBC, he's pretty thick.

[SUZANNE]

They present the conservative point of view: in a biased fashion.

Margaret Somerville is not a social conservative.

Not conservative enough, eh? Did you actually listen to what she had to say, about SSM for instance? (P.S.: I guess not -- wrong time zone. I'll let you know if they post this as a podcast, as I think they will.)

See ya tomorrow. Gotta go.

There are non-social-conservatives who oppose SSM. The acid test for social conservatism is their position on the right to life of unborn children. If they oppose most or all, they can be considered "social conservative".

To the best of my knowledge, Margaret Somerville favours legalized abortion.

[SUZANNE]

This has got to be THE most biased article on the whole issue I've seen yet...



CBC falls flat on its Facebook
By JENNY YUEN

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Facebook may be the in place to blog nowadays, unless, maybe, you're pro-abortion.

About a month ago, the CBC encouraged Canadians to participate in the Great Canadian Wish List , an unmoderated public forum on Facebook on how to improve the country.

Anti-abortionists overwhelmed the site with calls to revoke abortion rights. But when pro-choice bloggers blogged back, some found their access to the site denied.

Chris Kelly, chief privacy officer of Facebook, Inc. , says some pro-choicers were denied access because they were spamming the site, violating its user terms and conditions.

"We have a variety of rules around how often you can message and how many posts you can make," he says.

Judy MacDonald , one pro-choice voice, says she only posted "a few times" before receiving a warning message from Facebook site administrators to stop or lose her account.

"The CBC had to trust Facebook's standards for use, which turned out to be punishingly restrictive," she says.

CBC spokesperson Jeff Keay says the network knew that the contest "had the potential to head off in all directions" but defends it as a "cutting-edge experiment" in social networking.

A wish to return to the traditional definition or marriage finished fourth on the list. The CBC aired a few short clips about the top wishes on Canada Day.

Says Joyce Arthur, spokesperson for the national Pro-Choice Action Network , "It's an experiment that went badly. A slugfest between pro-choice and anti-abortion groups is not something that Canadians want to see on Canada Day."

http://www.nowtoronto.com/issues/2007-0 ... nbrief.php


I was also cited for spam. I just didn't do it often enough to get my account revoked.

And I loved how they didn't get the pro-life side of things. And I love how Joyce Arthur seems to speak for all Canadians.

[Paycheck]

Bahahahaaha

They just can't make up their minds. First, our victory is meaningless, then it's not, then it is, then it's not.

They are just soiling themselves with worry.

[Ockham22]

but it never has any extrinsic value if no one values it. In other words, no one else regards him/her as a person -- in fact, no one regards him/her at all.

Perhaps the saddest thing I've ever read.

So many...so lost.

[SUZANNE]

CBC's Wish List results push comfort zones

By Jim Coggins


These ultrasound images appear -- with a comment about CBC's Great Canadian Wish List -- at socon-or-bust.blogspot.com
WHEN Canadian Broadcasting Corporation reporter Mike Wise came up with an idea to get Canadians talking, he had no idea what to expect. He certainly didn't expect abortion to be the primary issue Canadians wanted to talk about.

Wise and the CBC launched the Great Canadian Wish List June 28 in association with Facebook and a youth group called Student Vote.

Facebook was founded in 2004 as a website where Harvard University students could talk to each other. It quickly expanded to other universities and high schools, and now has 28 million users worldwide, including three million in Canada. Users register, and then join various groups and discussion forums.

CBC established the Great Canadian Wish List forum and invited users to post a wish for Canada's future and have others discuss it ("Make a wish, tell your friends, build a list"). The results of the discussions would then be reported on Canada's birthday, July 1.

In his introductory post to the list, Wise said the Wish List "wants to harness the power of . . . fibre-optic cable to get people talking about the country's future." He said he was hoping for ideas such as John A. MacDonald's dream in 1867 to build a national railroad -- and he said he hoped people would "take this opportunity to make wishes that push the limits of our collective comfort zone."

Pushing the limits of the collective comfort zone was precisely what happened. Right from the beginning, Wilfrid Laurier University student Dave Gilbert's wish to "abolish abortion in Canada" soared to first place and remained there throughout the discussion period.

Altogether, 32,000 Canadians participated in the forums, making 1,600 wishes. Of these, 9,543 joined the discussion of Gilbert's wish. The second most popular wish was Kirsten Van Houten's "wish that Canada would remain pro-choice," with 8008 participants. In addition, 832 joined the discussion of the 13th wish for "recognition of personhood before birth," and 595 joined discussion of the 18th wish (a virtual repetition of Gilbert's) to "end abortion in Canada."

Not all who joined discussion of a particular wish supported it. Pro-choice supporters joined the discussion of Gilbert's wish, and pro-life supporters joined the discussion of Van Houten's wish. The discussions became so heated that Gilbert and Van Houten made an agreement to try to defend the other's supporters from abusive comments.

In third place, Jacky Leung's wish "for a spiritual revival in our nation" drew 4,508 participants. This was balanced somewhat by the 22nd wish, that "Canada Were Atheist," which drew 544 participants.

Continue article >>
Kara Lynn Turton's wish to "restore the traditional definition of marriage" came fourth with 4,485 participants, and Jonathan Baarda's wish to "abolish same sex marriage" came 27th with 494 participants. However, the wish that "Canada should keep abortions and gay marriage legal" came seventh, with 2308 participants, and the "wish same sex marriages will continue to be legal" came 11th, with 1072 participants.

Other popular topics included lower tuition fees, the environment, health care and political reform.

Some online critics of the wish list complained that it had been "hijacked by special interest groups" and that some groups were "cheating" by mounting campaigns in support of their sites, joining multiple times and encouraging Americans to join.

Pro-life Catholic blogger Suzanne Fortin of Ottawa mobilized people to keep "abolish abortion" in top spot. Pro-choice groups did the same.

However, Wise told CC.com that Facebook had expected its users to mount campaigns, and that the problem of users joining more than once had been resolved. He also noted that the 32,000 participants included only 832 Americans and 272 people from other countries and there was no discernible pattern of them supporting one side or the other.

While critics pointed out that the Wish List results differ significantly from public opinion polls, Wise insisted the format was never intended to be a scientific poll and that to some extent it measured "depth of feeling." He suggested the exercise demonstrated there are "large pockets of strong feeling" on both sides of the various issues.

Noting that most of the Wish List's participants were fairly young -- from high school to their 30s -- Wise said the strong showing for pro-life views demonstrates that "that issue is not closed in a lot of people's minds. It will be interesting to see if anything comes of that politically."

Wise is an elder in Glenview Presbyterian Church, though he said he was careful not to let his personal opinions intrude in the process. He said many critics thought the CBC might try to control the results, but the comments were not censored or moderated. Almost 300 participants even subscribed to a wish to "abolish the CBC."

On the whole, Wise was very pleased with the result. "The participation levels were great," he said, adding that the discussions "for the most part were serious and on topic."

http://www.canadianchristianity.com/nat ... 07cbc.html

[BlawBlaw]

The prochoicers would call me names and if I responded in kind then they would insult me more.

[BlawBlaw]

That's because the women you talk to value their fetuses, and if they consider them to be babies (persons) I would fully support them in that. But I bet you very few women planning an abortion say they're carrying a "baby".
....
Their relationship is part of what makes it valuable, i.e. a person.

The moral status of a fetus is not relative to the hopes, wishes and opinions of the woman carrying it unless you are a moral relativist.

It is what it is and no one's opinion will change that, although a woman has her own interests to advance at the expense of the fetus.

[BlawBlaw]

If you dont like abortion .... dont have one.

If you don't like beating rsf with a baseball bat, then don't. However, if it would give you some satisfaction, then have at 'er!

[moufflon]

first time I saw the site - I have been away from the blogs for a while ... thanks ... Abolish Abortion - hopefully it will happen ....

also do not reject Margeret Somerville's "non social conservative help on this issue" - as a liberal she is surprising against same sex mrriage & abortion to a degree... socons can work with her to a point...

even in pop culture, people are beginning to question the right to abortion ... eg. this pop song out of Quebec ..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKCRHhmHvjg


I have heard others in english but cannot remember the authors or titles ..

[BlawBlaw]

Here is what Somerville had to say:

Did the Supreme Court rule that the Charter guarantees access to abortion? No, it ruled that only reasonable limits on access, consistent with the Charter's guarantee of the rights to life and security of the person, were allowed. So, for example, access to late-term abortion on demand could be refused through the setting of gestation limits.

Has the Supreme Court decriminalized abortion? Not from a technical legal point of view. It held simply that the abortion provision, as it stood, was unconstitutional, but clearly stated that Parliament could craft a criminal provision that would be constitutional. In short, limits can be placed on access to abortion, including through the use of criminal law, without contravening the Charter.

http://www.garrybreitkreuz.com/publicat ... cle586.htm

She strikes me as a moderate who believes in access to abortion, but not unfettered access. That is in line with the middle-third opinion.