Women favour rights of unborn children

Joanne Byfield

By GLEN ARGAN
WCR Editor
Edmonton

Women and youth are showing greater support for the unborn than the general population, says Joanne Byfield.

That is one finding of the recent Environics survey on abortion-related issues and it's not at all surprising to Byfield.

The survey found that 34 per cent of women want human life to be legally protected from the point of conception compared with 26 per cent of men.

In fact, she said, the opposition to abortion among women is well-known in the pro-life movement, but denied by the media and the abortion rights movement.

Byfield is vice-president of ALIES (Alberta Life Issues Educational Society), the organization that runs the Back Porch counselling centre across from the Morgentaler clinic.

The strong pro-life sentiments among the 18-to-29 age group "are really encouraging," she said. These are people who have often witnessed the direct effects of abortion in the lives of their friends.

"Things seem to be changing a bit," said Byfield, a long-time stalwart of the pro-life movement. "Maybe we're starting to see a move to more respect for human life."

Amanda Philips, ministry coordinator for the Back Porch, said many women who come to the house often have never heard of any options to abortion.

One 17-year-old mother of two who recently took a 10-hour bus ride with her boyfriend to have an abortion in Edmonton accidentally dropped in at the Back Porch, Philips said. After receiving some information from volunteers at the house, she decided to keep her baby and was happy with her choice.

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