Do you have a conscience? Is it important to you to have one? In a free society, is it worth protecting your right to have a conscience?

My son is six years old. In the normal process of parents trying to teach their children to think and to coax them beyond their current parameters of thinking, I like to ask him questions about different things. He is at the point where he will tell me, if he knows the answer, not to ask him such easy questions. Though I haven't asked him yet, I suspect that the questions above would fall into that category - yet the right answer to those questions seems to have escaped a large majority of our politicians today, especially when it comes to the issue of abortion and conscience protection.

As many of you already know, Senator Raymond Perrault has introduced Bill S-11, which would provide job security for health care workers who don't think killing babies is a morally acceptable practice and who, therefore, refuse to participate in abortions. He spoke to his bill at second reading on April 13. The bill remains at second reading.

One of the most interesting things about the current legal situation is that it demonstrates the acceptability of open discrimination against nurses by Canadian governments. Both Canadian Alliance MP Maurice Vellacott and Senator Perrault have pointed out in the House of Commons and the Senate that doctors who have problems with abortion are protected (by the Code of Ethics of the Canadian Medical Association); that is to say, they are not forced to perform abortions or refer clients to people who do perform them. Yet, the federal government, in opposing conscience legislation in the House has explicitly and intentionally chosen not to treat nurses with the same degree of dignity.

Actually, that may not be quite true. The response to Mr. Vellacott's conscience bill given by Yvon Charbonneau, the Parliamentary Secretary to Minister of Health, was so weak that it could only be the result of somebody who had decided that the issue was one of so little importance that it didn't deserve competent research and preparation. But that kind of attitude is also one that indicates gross lack of respect for Canada's nurses.

You can write to the Senators in your province expressing your support for the bill to increase the odds that it will be supported when it comes up for a vote at the end of second reading. For a list of the Senators in your province, call Campaign Life Coalition in Ottawa at (613) 729-0379 or email them at clclobby@cyberus.ca.

Democratic accountability bill

Last year, Bloc Quebecois MP Daniel Turp introduced several private member's bills which would increase the government's accountability to Parliament regarding the ratification of international treaties. Bill C-214 was drawn for debate and declared votable. The government opposed it, claiming that sufficient accountability exists due to the fact that implementation of the terms of treaties invariably requires domestic legislation which does have to travel through Parliament. All opposition parties were supportive of the bill, nevertheless it was defeated by the Liberals with a vote of 151 to 110.

Somebody I know has purchased the Internet address www.modernfeminism.com. I'm sure he'd be willing to sell it at a reasonable cost to anyone who was willing to put it to good use - and that doesn't mean turning it into a shrine for status of women minister Hedy Fry. A word search on the home page, might include the words "Fry'd at Beijing+5," "Quebec university blacklist," "running scared," "paleolithic," "abortion rules," and "lesbianism forever." Modern feminism, indeed. But if you do want to explore the opportunity of taking ownership of that website, I'll pass you on to the necessary party if you email me at lydia@travel-net.com.

And talking about the death of feminism, radicals who were watching the news on June 19 probably didn't sleep well that night. The Alberta human rights tribunal issued a ruling that day in favour of a men's group who charged that a family violence brochure in the province discriminated against men by giving the impression the men are the only perpetrators of domestic violence and that women are the only victims. Women's groups which give deference to reason and solid data over hate-mongering propaganda have been objecting to the anti-male rhetoric surrounding the lucrative domestic violence industry for years.

At long last, the data as well as the stories of real people behind the statistics are beginning to be recognized in public policy. As long as the Liberals remain in power federally the battle for equity against the entrenched anti-male interests will be uphill, but the cracks are beginning to form in the foundation of the feminist political establishment.