Windsor
On June 4, 1988, the Windsor-Essex County New Democrats for Life published a half page open letter in the Windsor Star, making a public demand for changes to the Party’s abortion policy.
The advertisement called on party leaders, MPs, and MPPs or MLAs, to cease advocating “pro-choice.” It was signed by 18 people. Another group of as many people who helped draft the statement in a March meeting refused to go along with those who wanted the statement made public. They joined other NDPers critical of the action, claiming it might divine the party which has supported abortion on demand provincially since 1965 when leader Stephen Lewis attempted to introduce legislation in the Ontario legislature. Federally, the NDP has stood for abortion on demand since 1967. Current party leader Ed Broadbent favors the widest available abortion policies possible.
Windsor NDP MPs Dave Cooke (Windsor Riverside), Howard McCurdy (Windsor Walkerville) and Steven Langdon (Essex Windsor), are playing the incident down. Naturally they opposed publishing the dissenting ad.
For many years small groups of pro-life NDPers in various provinces have attempted to bring about changes, working within party guidelines and got nowhere. They know that as long as publicity is shunned, pro-life NDPers will dutifully fall in line to vote and support the killing of the unborn.
There is another Ontario annual meeting in Thunder Bay June 25th.
