MP Trost. So predictable.

How many ways can we say I told you so?
See the latest on CBC News.

I may have to start a "Trost Watch." Perhaps I'll add to this post every day.
Sept. 29: See this article in the Globe and Mail

Prime Time Abortion

Check out my guest post on Abortion Gang about Grey's Anatomy and Cristina Yang's character having an abortion. It's not the first prime time abortion (that was Maude) but it is one of very few.

Here are two things I didn't say in my Abortion Gang post.

First, I love being a guest on Abortion Gang. This is an inspiring group of young, fantastically well-informed reproductive rights activists and it's a pleasure to be part of this particular flock every once in a while. It's nice that they let me guest blog in spite of the fact I can in no way be considered a "young" activist. Thanks.

Second, the part I left out because it didn't really fit is about how this episode will be received by the public. I wonder if we will have to face endless debates about what Cristina's decision means? Will the anti's say she is selfish to put career over family, and that this decision will bring about the end times? Will we have to explain to them that Cristina is a fictional character, and the actions of individuals, fictional or not, are generally not responsible for end of world scenarios? Will others use it to suggest that it means that women cannot have it all, challenging that particular promise of feminism? Will we have to explain to them that whether or not women can have it all, they certainly will only have what they want and the whole point was Cristina did not want a baby? I wonder how it will spin, or if it will spin at all? Remember when Murphy Brown had a baby "out-of-wedlock" and then VP Dan Quayle got involved and said she was setting a bad example? Remember when the pundits had to point out that Murphy Brown was a TV character? That was good fun.

Only time will tell.

The Limits of Free Speech

A thoughtful article by Joyce Arthur of Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada has been posted on RH Reality Check about the limits of free speech in the context of abortion. This is a compelling argument that would, if adopted, enable the law to protect targeted individuals and groups such as abortion providers. Thanks for adding this perspective into the debate, Joyce.

Another Pro-Choice Comic Book

I'm delighted to have found another pro-choice comic book to join "Think" (see www.thinkprochoice.com) in the fight against anti-choice crazy.

Have a look at this great comic book about CPCs and their underhanded tactics in San Francisco. In "What Every Woman Should Know", Susie Cagle reveals the ways in which CPCs use the pretense of a medical facade to trick women into hearing their religious, anti-abortion propaganda. Well done!

There are many CPCs in Canada, and we could easily switch a few words here and there are use this for our purposes here.

It is more than generous (and unfortunately accurate) to say at the end that they aren't completely useless. Yes, if you are pregnant and want help with having a baby or creating an adoption plan, these places could potentially help you. But, as Cagle wisely points out, they don't really exist for that. They exist to deter women from choosing abortion as an option.

Let's help this great work get some attention.

We've Gone to Australia!

Every once in a while, I get really excited by an order that comes in for the play. I was super-excited to ship the play to Ireland, and now, today, I'm shipping to Australia! How wonderful to think of one's work going across the world like this.

Other writers often ask me why I self-published and have lots of other questions about self-publishing. I think why I self-published is pretty obvious. The title alone makes a publisher balk, and given the topic, not many would want to risk taking this on. Also, I wanted full editorial control. I didn't want a publisher telling me what to tell my women to say or telling me to add a monologue I didn't want to add.

In the old days, self publishing was also called "vanity publishing." It was often not very good. Works were marred by a lack of professionalism, spelling and editing mistakes. I would urge anyone interested in self publishing to get an editor and go through all the stages that a regular publisher would take you through. Your work will be better in the end.

And I have control of the work from end to end, including distribution. I've learned so much about the business of books. It's been a wholly good experience. Yet, I'm considering changing things up a bit. I'm considering still keeping a very small supply of hardcopy, but also selling digitally. Thoughts? I would welcome them.

Boycott Kelowna the week of September 24.

This just in, Kelowna joins Ottawa as another city in Canada to have proclaimed a pro-life week. See this article for more information.

Kelowna, renowned for its beauty and wine, is perhaps less well known as a conservative stronghold. But indeed this is a bastion of Christian fundamentalism, the heartland of domininists, submissive wives and alleged "family values." The Conservatives didn't drop Stockwell Day into this riding for no reason. They knew he couldn't lose there. If it's something in the water, you can bet I'm going to rethink my next purchase of Kelowna peaches, and wine too, for that matter. In fact, I think I'll start a personal boycott right now. Too bad for you, Quail's Gate, Mission Hill, Cedar Creek, Grey Monk Estates and St. Hubert. (For a full list of Kelowna wineries to boycott, see this link.) Let's all boycott all things Kelowna for the week of September 24, and maybe longer. Why not? There's plenty of good wine elsewhere. There's lots of sun in Osoyos and I think the beach might even be prettier. Take that, Kelowna.

Kelowna General Hospital performs abortions, as well it should. Abortion is a necessary medical procedure. But the folks at City Hall and their local anti-choice groups would like to see that change. (That is, until they need one themselves. That's always a game changer. Or one of their daughters needs one. Another game changer. Although in my experience they have the abortion, rationalize that God said this would be all right just this one time and just for them, and go right back to picketing.)

Once again, as we are seeing all over the US, Canada and now Great Britain, the hard right and people in search of a fraction of their votes is selling women out to win elections. They are trading women's rights to self-determination for the favour of a fringe minority who think the blob like bundle of cells she would currently rather be without is more important than the woman (without whom it would not exist). Taking control of a woman's body away from her, whether it is through violence, rape, or by regulating her reproduction, is to enslave a woman. It's misogyny.

What if they declared a "No rights for People From Saskatchewan Week" or "Anti-Toronto Week?" It wouldn't fly. I want to see the line in the proclamation that says, "In order to assert our hatred of women, Kelowna declares the week of September 24 a week where we work towards rolling back women's rights." At least be honest about it. And you women out there, and you men who get it, for goodness sakes, speak up. You have nothing to be ashamed of, and a lot to lose.

You may well ask, why didn't I call for a boycott of something in Ottawa. Like what? Politics? Most of us boycott that already, but if you want to, go ahead and boycott beaver tails.

Bring an end to the insanity while it still exists in small backwater pockets of this country. (Take that, Ottawa.) Let's not let it spread. It is a pox upon our nation. Boycott Kelowna. Send email to mayorandcouncil@kelowna.ca