In Roman times, abortion and the destruction of unwanted children was
permissible. As our civilization has aged, it seems that such acts were no
longer acceptable by rational human beings, so that in 1948, Canada along with
most other nations in the world signed a declaration of the United Nations
promising every human being the right to life. The World Medical Association
meeting in Geneva at the same time, stated that the utmost respect for human
life was to be from the moment of conception. This declaration was re-affirmed
when the World Medical Association met in Oslo in 1970. Should we go backwards
in our concern for the life of an individual human being? The unborn human is
still a human life and not all the wishful thinking of those advocating repeal
of abortion laws can alter this. Those of us who would seek to protect the human
who is still too small to cry aloud for it's own protection, have been accused
of having a 19th Century approach to life in the last third of the 20th Century.
But who in reality is using arguments of a bygone Century? It is an
incontrovertible fact of biological science - Make no Mistake that from the
moment of conception, a new human life has been created. Only those who allow
their emotional passion to override their knowledge can deny it: only those who
are irrational or ignorant of science doubt that when a human sperm fertilizes a
human ovum a new human being is created. A new human being who carries genes in
its cells that make that human being uniquely different from any and other human
being and yet, undeniably a member, as we all are, of the great human family.
The entire fetus needs to grow into a baby, a child, and an old man, are time,
nutrition and a suitable environment. It is determined at that very moment of
conception whether the baby will be a boy or a girl; which of his parents he
will look like; what blood type he will have. His whole heritage is forever
fixed. Look at a human being eight weeks after conception and you, yes every
person here who can tell the difference between a man and a women, will be able
to look at the fetus and tell me whether it is a baby boy or a girl. Who will
pay for there abortions? With Medicare, of course, it is you and I. I know one
full pregnancy costs most than an abortion, but not much more. And it does not
cost more than three abortions that is what happens when the climate or choice
for life or death of the unborn child changes. Let us use this money for
constructive purposes, not destructive. It has been suggested that abortions on
request would enable the poor to secure abortion as easily as the rich but
regrettably, it has been shown that abortion-minded physicians in great demand
will respond to the age-old commercial rules, as has already happened in the
States and in Britain. Abortion on demand a women's right to choose not to
continue an unplanned pregnancy would prevent there being unwanted children in
this country, so we are told. This is the final and desperate emotional plea of
people anxious, at whatever price, to escape the responsibility for their
actions. Nobody here or in Canada, wants there to be unwanted children in this
city, and in this country, and also in this world. There is nothing more
pitiable or heat rending that an unwanted fetus becoming an unwanted baby or an
unwanted baby becoming an unwanted child, or an unwanted child becoming an
embittered adult. But few would think it right to kill or have killed an
unwanted baby to prevent it from becoming an unwanted child. Then how can they
think it right to kill an unwanted fetus, even more defenseless than a newborn
baby just because it may grow into an unwanted child. Once a women has
conceived, she already is a parent, be it willing or otherwise. The only way she
ceases it be a parent is by a natural death or an act of killing. Killing in any
form is not the solution to so-called unwanted human beings at any age. Hitler
thought this was right. Canadians surely do not. It is a permissive and
frightened society that does not develop the expertise to control population,
civil disorder, crime, poverty, even its own sexuality but yet would mount an
uncontrolled, repeat uncontrolled, destructive attack on the defenseless, very
beginnings of life. Let us marshal all our resources financial, educational,
those of social agencies, but above all, of human concern and passion for our
fellow humans. Let us by all means, make available to all, knowledge of
conception and methods of contraception. Let us offer ourselves as loving humans
to those already in this country who are unwanted by their natural parents. And
incidentally, I am sure I do not need acquaint you with some of the facts about
so-called unwanted children. The Children's Aid Societies in Toronto and in fact
in every major city across our country have many more potential parents anxious
and willing to adopt infants and young children than they have such children
available for adoption. Let us marshal our technology and humanity in the
service of the unfortunate.