Calgary – I arrived to picket at the Calgary abortuary on a sunny afternoon. The man I was relieving left word that he had spoken to an East Indian woman who sat alone in a car parked in the abortuary lot near the sidewalk where we picket. She was crying. Her husband was inside the building presumably arranging an abortion.
Noticing her obvious distress, the male pro-lifer was looking at the woman in the car. She turned and spoke to him through the open window. Unable to hear what she said, he asked her if she was “with child.” Through tears, she nodded “Yes.” Suspecting her husband had her there for a sex-selection abortion, he asked, “Are you here because your child is a girl?” Again she nodded “Yes,” and buried her face in her hands. “We will pray for you,” he offered in consolation. Her husband returned to escort her into the abortuary.
The deed is done
I didn’t see the woman enter the building, but I was there when she came out. As the car slowly proceeded from the parking lot, the husband hesitated a moment and spoke to a pro-lifer who was holding a “Choose Life” sign. “She isn’t pregnant anymore,” he said.
His wife seated beside him was sullen and motionless. As the car turned onto the street, for a fleeting moment her head turned and our eyes met. Words cannot express what I saw in those eyes. I have been a nurse for 15 years and have witnessed the deepest, darkest pits of pain and suffering, but never in those years have I seen such brokenness on a human face. For that short moment I shared her anguish and ached for her.
The pain quickly transformed to a burning anger. The popular slogan “right to choose” echoed in my head. For this woman, whose choice was it? She obviously wanted her baby girl but was helpless to prevent the killing of her child.
She was first a victim of a culture that places more value on male children, and she was likely powerless to defy her husband’s will.
Secondly, she was a victim of those directly involved in the procedure.
Thirdly, she was a victim of the Canadian government, whose lack of legislation permits this to go on in the name of “human rights.” She was thrice victimized by the “right to choose.” It appeared that the rights of all those responsible for this abortion were respected, except those of the mother and child.
