Charles Lewis: Can we reframe the discussion on abortion and assisted dying? – National Post

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Change the debate into something in which both sides can find common ground like helping make alternatives possible

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The debate over life issues in Canada is in a deep rut. Round and round it goes and the only thing that changes is there are more abortions and more deaths by euthanasia or medical assistance in dying or MAID as the government calls it.

In the abortion debate there are two sides. Neither has formulated anything in years that could be called a fresh argument or solution. Nor has common ground been found on a mass scale.

For many, particularly for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his allies, abortion is almost the definition of feminism. It is as much of a right as voting or free speech. To talk about the reduction of abortion by any legal means is akin to hating women.

On the other side, as was pointed out in a recent Chris Selley column, there are those who try to compare abortion with the Holocaust. I agree with Selley that this is a terrible tactic, mainly because the Holocaust as well as the Holodomor, the slaughter of the Armenians, the mass killings in Rwanda and other such nightmares are events driven mainly by racial or even class hatred.

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The debate over life issues in Canada is in a deep rut

Assuming you agree with the beliefs of some pro-life groups, that abortion is no different than having a national program to destroy certain groups, it has to be asked: What do you have to show for it? The answer to my mind it is very little.

Comparison is often a dead end. It forgets that several things can be tragic without being like one another. As Selley pointed out, women have abortions for all kinds of reasons everything from not wanting a child to pressure from family and friends to get rid of it.

It could be argued that strategies such as making comparisons have helped reduce the number of abortions, except the numbers do not bear this out. The number of abortions in Canada has remained little changed over the past 10 years.

In 2007 there were 98,762 abortions. After a few years of decrease, the total shot up to 108,844 in 2011. The numbers then declined through the next few years to roughly 94,030 in 2017 and 85,195 in 2018 the last year for which statistics are available.

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Along with this, euthanasia has rocketed and the government just recently increased the number of Canadians who are eligible to have their lives ended by lethal injection.

According to the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition, in 2019, there were 5,631 assisted deaths reported in Canada, up from 4,467 in 2018, accounting for two per cent of all Canadian deaths. This represented an increase of 26.1 per cent over 2018, with every province experiencing a steady growth in the number of cases of assisted suicide since its introduction into law in 2016.

In Ontario, which releases figures at a faster pace, there was a 33 per cent increase in euthanasia deaths from the year before.

The reality is that we are living in a culture in which the vast majority has little trouble with the ending of lives.

I have spent years writing in opposition to MAID and speaking out against its evils, and at least from a statistical or legislative standpoint, I have nothing to show for it. Worse, it keeps expanding with little public outcry.

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It is possible that a few here or there may have changed their minds about euthanasia or abortion through persuasion but there is no way to tell.

Those searching for a way to keep their babies or continue living have few options.

The only answer as far as I am concerned is to change the debate into something in which both sides could find common ground.

The Conservative party, as Selley pointed out in his column, risks a serious rift over abortion.

The way forward on abortion, I believe, is it to start talking about helping women in need.

The model for this is the New York-based Sisters of Life, which has a centre in Toronto. I am sure most of the sisters would love to see abortion made illegal, but in the meantime what they are doing rises above the rhetoric.

They not only provide counselling but also material goods for those who need a place to live and food. Many of these women are single and fear isolation and a future of low-paying jobs. Some have found hostility in boyfriends and husbands are who not interested in having a child.

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Who in their right mind could oppose helping women and their babies?

The stories are numerous. I have written before that a rich society such as ours could afford to help women not only with the basics but with all kinds of education. Why not create dormitories for single mothers with day care so they can improve their prospects?

As for MAID, the answer is to start building more hospices and to train a cadre of experts to bring palliative care into the home. At the moment there is a dire lack of palliative care in this country. At last estimate only 30 per cent of those who seek it either in an institution or at home can find it.

I am sure that even those who support MAID could not possibly object to a real alternative. Not all who support MAID want to end their lives in this way but they believe Canadians should have a choice. Right now, there is not much of a choice.

In 2010, Cardinal Marc Ouellet, then archbishop of Quebec City, urged that both sides work together to at least reduce the number of abortions. He spoke about reframing the discussion to lending a hand to pregnant women who wanted to have their babies but were facing obstacles.

His comments were pretty much ignored. Maybe now is the time to try again.

Charles Lewis is the former religion editor of the National Post.

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Charles Lewis: Can we reframe the discussion on abortion and assisted dying? - National Post