Juno News - Feminist group wants pro-life pamphlets banned

00:00:00.000 the response to seeing something you don't like should never be to censor it but unfortunately

00:00:07.980 that's the precise response that so many people in the west have in this day and age we see this

00:00:13.520 phenomenon crop up most recently with pro-life imagery graphic materials images depicting

00:00:19.360 abortions or aborted unborn children used by pro-life groups and pamphlets and signs

00:00:24.940 to show people the reality and brutality of abortion i'm sure you've seen these signs before

00:00:32.020 in some form or another you don't need to be pro-choice to not want to see them and similarly 0.95

00:00:37.540 you don't need to be pro-life to believe that these are protected forms of free speech in canada

00:00:43.560 in fact if it makes you uncomfortable that is exactly why free speech exists we don't need

00:00:48.980 protection from things that don't make us uncomfortable we only need protection from

00:00:53.620 things that are offensive or difficult or challenging to our sensibilities or those of society

00:00:59.680 but the canadian center for bioethical reform a pro-life advocacy group has been dropping pamphlets

00:01:05.780 that have these images on them into people's mailboxes and communities around canada most

00:01:10.480 recently in windsor ontario one woman lauren crowley who works with an organization called

00:01:16.200 feminists for action got one and thinks that the government needs to legislate it so no one 1.00

00:01:22.120 else has to see one of these pamphlets crowley says in addition to frightening a child who might

00:01:28.260 come across those images you're also forcing those parents to answer questions or have conversations

00:01:34.220 that they might not be ready to have with that child which is in turn interfering with that guardian's

00:01:40.620 right to raise that child how they deem fit crowley has lobbied city councillors she's launched a media

00:01:47.260 campaign she's trying to get legislative action so the pro-life pamphlets can't be dropped in 0.99

00:01:52.060 mailboxes now if something were adopted by the city of windsor it wouldn't be the first time calgary has

00:01:58.540 a bylaw that prohibits dropping in anyone's mailbox a non-commercial pamphlet if they have a no flyers or no

00:02:05.500 junk mail sign on their box this is something that was enacted in response to pamphlets from the very same

00:02:11.980 organization the canadian center for bioethical reform but there have also been some free speech

00:02:17.340 victories when these sorts of materials have been challenged just recently a man in calgary had a

00:02:22.940 ticket issued by calgary transit ripped up when he threatened a constitutional challenge they said that

00:02:28.620 he was distributing materials without the consent of the city which in a free society you do not need

00:02:34.460 government consent to hand out pamphlets or materials on any political or public policy issue

00:02:40.860 abortion is no exception to this now obviously i'm pro-life i don't hide that i don't conceal that

00:02:47.180 but more importantly i'm willing to have a debate or discussion about this or any other issue with

00:02:51.980 people in the country who wish to and most pro-life activists are which is why they stand on street

00:02:57.180 corners and talk about abortion in the first place they want to have the debate but unfortunately there is

00:03:02.780 a contingent of the pro-choice opposition to these people that not just opposes but wants them shut down

00:03:10.380 wants them barred from having demonstrations on campus wants them barred from putting flyers

00:03:15.260 in people's mailboxes wants them barred from being able to advertise on buildings billboards bus

00:03:21.580 advertisements whatever the case may be this is not what a free society needs to do when it comes to

00:03:27.020 political or public policy issues we need to run into the debate not run away from it and there's a

00:03:34.220 reality to this that only those who are not confident about their beliefs want the debate about those

00:03:40.140 very beliefs shut down you have the right to look away you have the right to throw something out you

00:03:45.180 have the right to close your eyes but you do not have the right to redact the world around you

00:03:50.300 for true north i'm andrew lutt

00:03:59.340 you

Juno News - August 11, 2019