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Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Bringing closure to the York abortion debate
To Whom It May Concern:
On behalf of the Students for Bioethical Awareness at York University, I would like to thank you [Western Standard] for covering the threat to education and freedom of speech in the recent controversy surrounding a debate on abortion.
We are pleased to let you know that despite the attempts to shut down the debate by the York Student Centre, the university administration stepped in, enabling the debate to happen yesterday, Tuesday, March 18th.
The debaters were the originals, Michael Payton of York's Freethinkers, Skeptics and Atheists group and Jose Ruba of the pro-life Canadian Centre for Bio-Ethical Reform (CCBR). An estimated 130 people came to the 90 minute event, and many stayed after to continue with questions.
The response to the cancelled debate, and the turnout for the event demonstrates quite clearly that this is an issue that University Students do want to talk about.
Abortion is not settled in Canada and we are thankful that the York University administration recognized the importance of open dialogue on such important issues.
Please feel free to contact us further for more information.
Sincerely,
Margaret Fung & Maria Smolkova
Co-Presidents of Students for Bioethical Awareness
York University
Posted by Western Standard on March 19, 2008 | Permalink
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Comments
I am glad that the debate was allowed to go forward. I hope it was peaceful and people were allowed to state their positions without interruption.
I find it difficult to find any issue that should be off limits to debate in a democracy. Particularly at a university where the concept of intellectual debate and discourse is its central purpose in the first place.
So long as they are carried out civilly.
Unfortunately, we seem to be suffering a surplus of narcissistic totalitarians who know better what is good for us and when they are finally debated, they go for juvenile name-calling, emotional appeals, and non-sequitur evasions.
That's, of course, when they are not shouting down opponents or throwing pies in their faces.
Kudos to York Admin for recognizing their responsibility to Canadian society.
Posted by: h2o273kk9 | 2008-03-19 4:48:22 PM
Congratulations to the Western Standard for providing tangible support and encouragement to the young ladies of York University to debate this most fundamental freedom (right to life) issue.
Karol Karolak - I sympathize with the injustices you have endured and which you decry and explain with excellent insights and reference materials.
Unfortunately, I think your proposed novel "solution" actually plays into the hands of the Feminist child killers.
Having babies isn't the issue, forming families, enduring families, is the issue (i.e. of interest to society). Healthy safe happy children naturally arrive and are welcomed in such enduring families.
If I was to change laws, it would be to eliminate uncontested no-fault divorce, and then I would restrict or eliminate remarriage for divorced persons. Of course, I would make abortion illegal (first degree murder), but also allow no-fault no-questions asked "abandonment" of children at public hospitals available to parents who could not handle the responsibility of caring for their own child. I would also consider removing any/all "illegitimate" children born to prevously dovorced (and thus unable to remarry) women, and put those children up for adoption into normal married (one man and one woman) families.
Children need both parents.
Government should not intervene with any bias, except benefitting the child (and extracting-recovering costs from the irresponsible parents).
Normal people would have no problem and no contact with this kind of "government" but screw ups who presently abort or fail to properly care for their dependant children would find themselves in trouble for life, and their children taken away to receive proper care elsewhere at their joint expense.
Posted by: Conrad-USA | 2008-03-19 9:02:32 PM
There'll be a debate about this at McLaughlin college of York univ. in the coming days.
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Posted by: Paulo | 2008-03-21 11:20:13 AM
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