Canada – Oosterhoff’s extreme anti-choice views should be a ‘bridge too far’ in politics

Joyce Arthur, Rabble.ca
March 25, 2021

Sam Oosterhoff should be expelled from Ontario Premier Doug Ford's caucus because he opposes key human rights.

Oosterhoff is an elected member of provincial parliament (Niagara West), serves in the Ontario Progressive Conservative government as parliamentary assistant for the minister of education, and is vocally "pro-life." You may have heard about his most recent media scandal -- speaking at an anti-choice event even though one of the organizing groups had compared abortion to the Holocaust.

Continued: https://rabble.ca/columnists/2021/03/oosterhoffs-extreme-anti-choice-views-should-be-bridge-too-far-politics


Canada – Niagara MPP Oosterhoff headlining event after organizer compared abortion to Holocaust

Niagara West MPP said in 2019 that he would like to make abortion 'unthinkable'

Christine Rankin · CBC News
Last Updated: March 16, 2021

Ontario MPP Sam Oosterhoff says he still plans to be the featured speaker at an anti-abortion event, despite one of its organizers comparing abortions to the Holocaust, where six million Jewish people were murdered by Nazis.

The event is being hosted on Wednesday by anti-abortion groups, including the University of Ottawa Students for Life, Carleton Life Network and University of Waterloo Students for Life, in collaboration with National Campus Life Network.

Continued: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/oosterhoff-anti-abortion-event-1.5950046


Canada – Why Are We Still Talking About Abortion?

Abortion is one of the most polarizing topics at play around the world.

By Melissa Parker
December 23, 2020

Politicians, lawmakers, scientists, the healthcare industry and women in particular, and humanity as a whole, have a stake in the legalities surrounding abortion and the right to choose them.  Here in Canada, abortion is legal, safe and covered through our health care infrastructure – though, difficult to find in some rural communities.  Current legislation allows Canadian women have the right to access abortion procedures up to 24 weeks of pregnancy with medical emergency abortions available after that window.  These late-term abortions, while legal, are rare and based on necessity but may require travel to another province or the USA.

In Canadian politics, Erin O’Toole, the new Conservative leader, has publicly
announced that he would not allow his party to open the discussion on abortion
law in our country.  This is a far cry
from the previous leader, Andrew Scheer who slyly skirted the conversation
indicating that “he” wouldn’t reopen the discussion but his MPPs were free
to.  Under Scheer, more than 40
conservative leaders across the country openly shared their agendas to make
abortion illegal again, including MPP Sam Oosterhoff – it will be interesting
to see how open they will be under new leadership and too early to say when the
topic will arise again.

Continued: https://londonfuse.ca/opinion-why-are-we-still-talking-about-abortion/


Canada – Photo with anti-LGBTQ+ politician was ‘colossal’ mistake, says Toronto brewer

Photo with anti-LGBTQ+ politician was ‘colossal’ mistake, says Toronto brewer

By Alastair Sharp in News, Politics
October 3rd 2019

A Toronto brewery co-founder says her own trade group made a “colossal, tone-deaf mistake” in meeting with a Ford government politician who has vowed to fight abortion rights and same-sex marriage.

Mandie Murphy, who co-founded Toronto's Left Field Brewery, tore into Ontario Craft Brewers (OCB) in an open letter dated Tuesday and posted on the brewery’s website. Her concerns were echoed by two other breweries: Sawdust City Brewing Co., another OCB member based in Gravenhurst, Ont., as well as Hamilton’s Merit Brewing.

Continued: https://www.nationalobserver.com/2019/10/03/news/photo-anti-lgbtq-politician-was-colossal-mistake-says-toronto-brewer


Canada – Restrictions on safe medical abortions don’t help anybody

Restrictions on safe medical abortions don’t help anybody
Pregnant people deserve options to regulate their own bodies

July 8, 2019
This article discusses abortion. The author has chosen to remain anonymous.

Until the day I needed one, I’d never planned to get an abortion in my life. I was 21 when I called the Women’s Clinic at KGH in tears, asking to make an appointment.

That’s the same age that Niagara West MPP Sam Oosterhoff was when he promised to make abortion “unthinkable in our lifetime” at a March for Life rally alongside fellow Conservative MPPs Christina Mitas and Will Bouma. I was horrified when I saw Premier Doug Ford had responded to Oosterhoff’s comments by saying that he embraced a diversity of views within his caucus.

Continued: https://www.queensjournal.ca/story/2019-07-08/postscript/restrictions-on-safe-medical-abortions-dont-help-anybody/


Canada/USA – I’m so damn tired of debating abortion rights…

I’m so damn tired of debating abortion rights…

By Toula Drimonis
May 27th 2019

If you’re a firm believer in people’s right to determine their own reproductive destiny and find yourself extra-angry these days, you’re not alone. The recent backsliding on women’s rights we’ve witnessed in Alabama and seven other U.S. states, has many of us reeling. This strict new legislation basically criminalizes the procedure and treats anyone seeking an abortion or attempting to administer one as a criminal who could face life in prison. But this didn't just happen. The groundwork for this gigantic step backwards for reproductive freedom was initially taken two years ago.

After Donald Trump won the U.S. presidency, I vividly remember waking up the next day in a bit of an exhausted daze. I had stayed up late, watching the results trickle in, desperately hoping that what was materializing before my eyes would turn out to be a bad dream.

Continued: https://www.nationalobserver.com/2019/05/27/opinion/im-so-damn-tired-debating-abortion-rights


How abortion rights work in Canada — and whether they could be put at risk

How abortion rights work in Canada — and whether they could be put at risk

By Maham Abedi, National Online Journalist, Breaking News Global News
May 24, 2019

Abortion in Canada is unlikely to face the legal threats it is facing in the United States, but experts say there are still ways the right can be undermined.

Several states are facing international criticism over legislation that moved to limit abortions. The new laws will almost definitely be blocked while legal challenges play out. The U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Roe v. Wade said a woman has the right to choose whether to have an abortion.

Continued: https://globalnews.ca/news/5310984/abortion-rules-canada/