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CBC’s Wish List Re-Opens Abortion Debate, Infuriates Abortion Activists

By Hilary White

OTTAWA, June 14, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) –The CBC has inadvertently allowed pro-life Canadians a voice on abortion, a rare opportunity in Canada’s largely pro-abortion media landscape. Online abortion advocates are complaining that the “Great Canadian Wish List,” a contest described by the CBC as a way for Canadians to express what they hope for the country, has been “highjacked” by “right-wingers,” “anti-choicers” and “fetus fetishizers”...in other words, Canadians wanting an end to abortion.

Since abortion has been legalized in Canada, politicians and news editors have asserted that the issue is closed despite the consistent poll results showing that as many as 70 per cent of Canadians want at least some restrictions on abortion. Efforts to close the debate, however, are starting to crack with the advent of blogging and online discussion groups.

Worried that the pro-abortion hegemony in Canadian media is under threat, abortion advocates are urging their supporters in online chat groups and mailing lists to vote for the alternate wish, “that Canada would remain pro-choice.” Joyce Arthur, among Canada’s leading abortion crusaders, complains, “‘Abolish Abortion’ is the #1 wish by a wide margin, which may indicate growing confidence within the anti-choice movement, and their increased hopes for a chance to re-open the debate and recriminalize abortion.”

The contest will end July 1, Canada Day, with the winner being announced on air. As of this writing, the top three wishes on the list are, in order, “Abolish Abortion in Canada”; “I wish that Canada would remain pro-choice;” and “For a spiritual revival in our nation.”

The CBC has posted an unsigned editorial on the top wish, saying, “We should never forget what happens when there’s no access to abortion.” On one list group, “Arthur” warns her fellow abortion advocates, “Unfortunately, we can't really afford to be complacent about abortion rights anymore in this country.”

Suzanne Fortin, author of the pro-life blog Big Blue Wave, writes, “No, when pro-lifers mobilize to win a contest, it's not ‘hijacked’. It's called winning. Leftists may live their own bubble when it comes to ideas about competition, but most people understand that when there's a contest, you're not entitled to win just because you are left-wing. You are entitled to win when you mobilize. And yes it is fair, because that's what a contest is all about.”

*Note: To vote for the wish to end abortion you must register for the popular online network "Facebook" (http://www.facebook.com), and then go to CBC's "Great Canadian Wish List" page, where you will have the option to vote for any of the wishes listed, or to write up a new wish.  A detailed set of instructions is available here: http://www.bigbluewave.ca

Read the pro-life editorial and comments:
http://www.cbc.ca/wish/2007/06/editorial_1.html

Read the pro-abortion editorial and comments:
http://www.cbc.ca/wish/2007/06/editorial_2.html

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