Speech of Sentor Lucie Pepin on the 30th Anniversary of Bill C-150 and the Canadian Abortion Rights Action Leaque (CARAL)
krisf...@gmail.com
League (CARAL)
Friday, October 22, 1999
Honored Guests and Colleagues,
Whether Canadians realize it or not, with the passage of Bill C-150 on
May 14th 1969, our lives were changed irrevocably. This is a very
uplifting story - a story of committed individuals across Canada who
worked long and hard to bring about greater acceptance, freedom and
equality for all of us.
A well-known quote by Margaret Meade comes to mind when I look back on
our struggle for legal access to safe abortion.
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can
change the world, indeed, it's the only thing that ever has."
While the group involved was not small, we were certainly committed. I
am very proud to have been part of this process - to see real change
take place as a result of our efforts - efforts which seemed so
natural and necessary at the time. It stands out among the most
important - if not the most important - endeavour of my life. I have
been asked to talk to you tonight about how the passage of Bill C-150
has effected Canadian society. I will begin by telling you what I saw
when I started practicing as a nurse and how I became involved in
efforts to legalize contraception and abortion.
I grew up in rural and very Catholic Quebec. Coming from a large
family and educated in a convent, I have always been fascinated by the
lives of the women around me - their dreams, their suffering, their
stories and accomplishments.
As a nurse, I specialized in obstetrics and gynecology. As a student
nurse, I was a volunteer, helping women in labour at home prepare for
the doctor's arrival and the delivery. At that time and in those
communities, women had their children at home. A family of five was
considered small.
Complications during labour were frequent and only the most serious
cases finished with a trip in the back of the doctor's car to the
nearest hospital. By that time it was often too late for a cesarian.
Which to save - the baby or the mother? The Church was clear - save
the baby. The Church was clear on many points - women sinned if they
refused sexual relations with their husbands or any other form of
contraception. The State was also clear. Contraception was illegal and
so was abortion. Between the State and the Church, options were non-
existent for these women. With no control over their reproduction, how
could women take any control of their lives?
Many of us working in the health services were feeling very
uncomfortable with the status quo. It became impossible to continue
practicing our professions without working for change. So I jumped in,
along with many other doctors, nurses and committed citizens who
equally fueled with a sense of injustice.
We opened birth planning clinics. We were illegal but we were
tolerated. We organized campaigns to lobby both provincial and federal
governments on the need to legalize contraception and decriminalize
abortion. As public opinion began swinging during the 1960s,
particularly in Quebec where the social revolution was incredible, we
had our window of opportunity.
Bill C-150 or the "Omnibus Bill", as it is known, passed in 1969. This
legislation has done many things for many people. In deference to
former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, it began the process of removing
the State from the bedrooms of the nation.
Sexual preferences, reproductive choices and activities were relegated
to the private domain, provided they involved consenting adults.
For women, doors were opened in a radical way. There were choices.
Finally women gained a modicum of control over their lives, no longer
relegated to a life of endless pregnancies, health risks, children
that they did not have the resources to take care of. This new freedom
proved a stepping stone for many other freedoms and options that have
altered women's place in our society - self-esteem, education, jobs, a
voice, empowerment.
The Omnibus Bill, however, was not the end of the story. The 1969
reform focused on medicalization. Reproductive decisions - especially
those dealing with contraception and abortion - were medical
decisions, while the moral and political content was downplayed. The
Omnibus Bill legalized contraception and therapeutic abortion, but it
assigned doctors the control over women's reproductive decisions.
While Bill C-150 opened the door for greater access to abortion, the
old mentalities, values and beliefs remained among health
professionals. They had to be convinced that this was not simply a
medical decision - it was a question of rights and equality. That it
affected every aspect of a woman's life.
And the lobby was on again. In 1974, the Canadian Alliance for the
Repeal of the Abortion Laws was formed. For 25 years, CARAL has been
lobbying Parliament to legalize abortion on demand. Abortion clinics
were established, first in Quebec and slowly in other provinces. Dr.
Morgentaler led the way. We sensitized doctors and members of
therapeutic abortion committees to women's rights and to what should
constitute "therapeutic abortions". We studied and analyzed women's
access to legal and safe abortion across Canada.
In the 1980s, the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms radically
changed Canada's discourse around abortion. From a discussion of
medical procedures and medical decisions, it became a discussion of
rights - the rights of the foetus and the rights of the woman. In
1988, the Supreme Court of Canada struck down Canada's abortion law,
ruling it unconstitutional. It infringed on women's right to "life,
liberty, and security of the person".
But the story does not end in 1988. In the early 1990s, lobbies were
organized against proposed federal and provincial legislation aimed at
putting reproductive decisions back in the hands of doctors rather
than in the hands of women. With the defeat of Bill C-43 in the Senate
in 1991, abortion would finally be treated like any other medical
procedure, governed by provincial and medical regulations.
And even today, thirty years on, issues of equal access still haunt
us, preventing some women from fully exercising their reproductive
rights in Canada. Protection of patients and practitioners is an issue
of great alarm and escalating importance. Significant rates of teenage
pregnancy continue despite our hard won battles. And abortion is used
as a contraceptive despite easy access to contraception.
There is still work to be done, education to be undertaken, vigilant
monitoring to do, sensitization and awareness to build. Regardless of
what remains to be done, we must recognize how far we have come from
the days when I was a nursing student in rural Quebec.
It is difficult to convey, in such a brief time together, the complex
road we have traveled in securing safe and legal access to
contraception and abortion. The important thing tonight, is to
celebrate 30 years of collective effort, commitment, insight and
success!
The 1969 Omnibus legislation began a process of radical reshaping of
our society and a great leap forward for women. We have people among
us tonight who have been instrumental in bringing about that change -
people who have devoted their careers and their lives to this process
of change. Not to mention the exceptional accomplishments of the
Canadian Fertility Society.
This is a wonderful story to reflect on for many reasons. First of
all, for the freedom it brought in the lives of women and men, and for
what it has helped women accomplish in Canada.
But more than that. Through the eyes of Margaret Mead, this story
proves once again that radical change is possible, that people can
make a difference in the lives of others, that injustice can be
overcome. At the end of the millenium, I think this is very much
something we need to hear, and a story we need to rejoice in. So let
us continue our celebration tonight - the celebration of our
collective efforts and of our outstanding heroes.
Thank you.
Senator Lucie Pepin
http://sen.parl.gc.ca/lpepin/index.asp?PgId=97
krisf...@gmail.com
40th anniversary of the birth-control pill
Forum organized by the Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists of
Canada
Friday, October 20, 2000
Like many women of my time, I began my career as a nurse in the 1960s.
As a student nurse, I was a volunteer, helping women in labour to
prepare for the doctor's arrival and the baby's delivery. At that
time, women had their children at home and a family of five was
considered very small.
Complications during labour were frequent and only the most serious
cases finished with a trip in the back of the doctor's car to the
nearest hospital. By that time, the doctor had to perform a cesearian
section - the question then was - Which to save - the baby or the
mother? - More often than not, saving the baby came first. Back then,
women sinned if they refused sexual relations with their husbands or
any other form of contraception. Contraception was illegal and so was
abortion. Between the State and the Church, options were pretty slim
for women. With no control over their reproduction, how could women
take any control of their lives?
Many of us working in the health sector were feeling very
uncomfortable with the status quo. It became impossible to continue
practising our professions without working for change. So I jumped in,
along with some doctors, who were convinced that something has to be
done and that women should be able to control and plan their family. I
was involved in setting up one of the first birth planning clinic in
Quebec and then helped set up a first network of clinics across the
country. (We were illegal but we were tolerated).
Then we organized campaigns to lobby the federal government to
legalize contraception and decriminalize abortion. We lobbied the
provincial government to give women the right to sign their own
medical authorizations. As public opinion began swinging during the
1960s, particularly in Quebec where the social revolution was
monumental, we had our window of opportunity...And the rest is history..
It was an exciting time. I am very proud to have been part of this
process - to see real change take place as a result of our efforts -
efforts that seemed so natural and necessary at the time. It stands
out among the most important, if not the most important, endeavours of
my life.
krisf...@gmail.com
a view of early childhood education and daycare that I find
objectionable. She is not alone in this, however, the view that the
government is assuming 'custody' of children through providing
extended hours or ages education, this view shows us just where her
heart is. She thinks the State knows best.
krisf...@gmail.com
protected under our provincial human rights legislation since 1982."
-Lucie Pepin
http://sen.parl.gc.ca/lpepin/index.asp?PgId=100
"Aussi, l'orientation sexuelle (tout comme le fait d'être enceinte)
est-elle protégée en vertu de notre loi provinciale sur les droits de
la personne depuis 1982."
Now that's funny. I know what she meant, but still....maybe she
shouldn't use 'sexual orientation' and 'pregnancy' in the same
sentence.