'Each flag is a life lost': anti-abortionists colour downtown Winnipeg park
Anti-abortion supporters planted 100,000 pink and blue flags in a downtown Winnipeg park, saying each banner represents a life ended by abortion every year in Canada.
"It's a really stunning display of how we feel," said Janina Gunnink, 30, a co-organizer of the We Need a Law campaign, which is touring Canada to raise support for an abortion law.
"Every flag is a testament to a little girl or boy who was denied a welcome into our nation," Mike Schouten, director for WeNeedaLAW.ca, stated in a news release about the lifeTOUR event.
"It has been one year since we launched our first flag display. In the past 12 months it has been used in various forms over 30 times."
The Winnipeg display is set up in Memorial Park, across from the legislative building, and will be taken down at 4 p.m.
"Canada affords no legal protection for children in the womb, at any stage of pregnancy. This means that pre-born girls are targeted for abortion simply because they are female," Schouten said. "It also means that there is no justice for pre-born victims of crime.
"This puts Canada in only the company of North Korea and China. We are calling upon a newly elected government to act quickly in passing legislation that puts us closer into line with every other democracy in the world."
Not up for debate
The call for an abortion law in Canada doesn't sit well with Joan Dawkins, executive director of Women's Health Clinic in Winnipeg.
"Many levels of government have stated that abortion is not on the table for discussion," she said in a statement issued Thursday afternoon.
"Women's Health Clinic believes in safe, legal access to abortion services, as this is a healthcare issue. A loud, anti-choice minority tries to reopen this issue every year but we know that the majority of Canadians believe in a woman's right to choose.
"Reproductive healthcare is not up for debate."
