Nancy Ruth is a great pro-choice supporter but she is also a Conservative Senator. Her advice to feminist leaders to "shut the fuck up about abortion" so as not to threaten Harper's initiative on maternal health is no doubt her honest opinion about how best to advance women's rights under this profoundly anti-feminist, anti-choice government, but she is very very wrong.
It's not the first time I 've heard such advice from women inside the political system. Way back in the early 80's women inside the NDP government in Manitoba warned us not to demonstrate against the government because they were certain that pro-choice ministers and feminists inside the government were working on the QT to support the Morgentaler clinic, which opened first in Manitoba because Dr. Morgentaler thought it would be a friendly government. Meanwhile, the cops not only busted the doctors, they arrested nurses and did it when patients were in the clinic. Don't worry these excellent NDP feminists said, we will work it out. Fortunately, the pro-choice movement in Manitoba didn't listen and instead built the biggest movement possible even breaking the Manitoba Federation of Labour from the NDP government on this issue.
If Harper is successful in maintaining his position of refusing to support abortion as part of maternal health without a fight, he will assume that the pro-choice movement is no longer able to mount an effective opposition and he may very well move against abortion nationally. But even more important, how can we accept freedom of choice for ourselves and not speak out when our government is denying it to women around the world? Estimates are that 70,000 women a year die from botched abortion and hundreds of thousands needlessly suffer the physical and psychological wounds of back street abortions. Canadian women fought for decades to stop this injustice in our country, we can do no less for women around the world.
Nancy Ruth is working very hard to advance women's rights within the terrible restrictions of this government. I don't envy her that job but that's not the job of women's rights advocates. Our job is to fight for women's rights here and globally. If Harper backs down on supporting family planning as a result, he will be shown to be vindictive, small minded and anti-feminist and he will be shamed and humiliated on an international level. I doubt he will be that stupid.
Some women in this discussion express a fear that abortion could become an election issue. Harper knows as well as I do that the vast majority of Canadians are pro-choice. If abortion is an election issue, he will lose the election. So to that I say, bring it on.
What is it about Nancy Ruth that makes so many feminists hold her in awe? Is it the fact that she is wealthy and powerful?
This woman ran twice for the Ontario legislature as a Mike Harris Conservative. Did pro-choice women vote for her then? She also tried to get nominated as a Conservative candidate for the House of Commons back in the days of Brian Mulroney's government. Pause for a moment to consider how much misery the policies of Harris and Mulroney caused to women, and ask yourself what kind of woman would seriously want to carry the flag for those policies.
"Nancy Ruth is working very hard to advance women's rights within the terrible restrictions of this government," says Judy. What exactly is she doing for women these days besides trying to get the words of the national anthem rewritten and telling women to shut up about abortion?
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As I mentioned Nancy Ruth is a Conservative and so was Laura Sabia, the founder of the National Action Committee on the Status of Women. So was Pat Carney who basically gave up her post in Cabinet to vote against Mulroney's bill criminalizing abortion. Pat Carney defeated that bill. Over the years Nancy Ruth has contributed a lot of money to feminist causes and has advanced, in the context of her conservative politics, the status of women even when it was unpopular in her own circles. I disagree with her on many things but choice on abortion is not one of them. On this she has been unfailing in her support. Just last week she donated matching funds to an emergency fund in honour of Norma Scarborough, a leader of the pro-choice movement.
I am tired of debates that wipe out a person's life history because of disagreements. I disagree profoundly with Nancy Ruth. I don't know how she can live with herself being part of the Conservative caucus under Harper and I think she is wrong about the advice she has given on this issue. But I have no doubt that she believes her position is in the best interests of the women's movement nor do I have any wiish to write off the good work she had done in her life.
I have no reason to doubt that either. But the issue is not her sincerity.
Every time people talk about the good work Nancy Ruth has done for women, it comes down to her having given money to this cause or that organization. Her credentials depend entirely on her having been born rich.
That's why Ruth got the Order of Canada, several honorary degrees, and many other awards, while Norma Scarborough didn't. And yet she doesn't deserve to be mentioned in the same breath as Norma.
get back in the kitchen
That's very true but there are hundreds of rich women who have done nothing to support women's rights and others who donate money anonymously so they don't have to take any flack. Sure Nancy Ruth gets recognized because she is rich and I agree that there is no comparison between her and Norma, who was a dear friend. Obviously, we are not going to agree about this but just because someone is rich and obnoxous doesn't mean they haven't done good work