Stephen Woodworth on ‘abortionism’

Yesterday afternoon I emailed Conservative MP Stephen Woodworth, author of Motion 312, to ask if he had any thoughts on Mark Warawa’s concerns. He responded as follows.

I haven’t had the opportunity to catch up on what Mr. Warawa said this morning. Also, as you know, I never disclose private conversations. However, as M-408 clearly meets the Parliamentary criteria for voteability, I am concerned that the subcommittee members might have succumbed to the philosophy that elevates abortion above all democratic ideals, including even the fight against gender discrimination, the independence of private members’ business, and the privilege of Parliament to collectively express an opinion about an international issue such as sex selection.

As you know, I found it very odd and dangerous that this “abortionism” philosophy, which elevates abortion above democratic principles, led those who spoke against M312 to shelter our subsection 223(1) definition of human being, a law by which the State is empowered to designate certain individuals as non-human without any regard for their actual character as a human being. This is the very epitome of an anti-democratic law, so it would not surprise me much that an “abortionism” philosophy might seek to over-ride Parliamentary rules, to reduce backbench independence and to deprive Parliament from expressing an opinion on an important issue.