By Mark Penninga<\/span> Stephen Harper\u2019s decision to prorogue Parliament means the first session of the 41st<\/sup> Parliament will end this fall. We are about half way to the next forecasted election date (October 19, 2015). This is a good point to pause and consider the plight of Canada\u2019s pre-born children in Canadian law.<\/p>\n The first session saw the introduction of two motions that put the spotlight on the pre-born: M-312 by MP Stephen Woodworth and M-408 by MP Mark Warawa. Both motions were designed so that the vast majority of MPs could have easily supported them. Yet M-312 was voted down and M-408 was declared non-votable. Where does that leave us now? We are going into a new session of Parliament with no pro-life legislation on the table and a Prime Minister that seems to have succeeded in his strong arm tactics to ensure that \u201chis government will not reopen the issue.\u201d<\/p>\n This is the point where we may be tempted to grumble, move on to other issues, or give up on politics completely.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s not be so short-sighted!<\/p>\n The cause of pre-born justice has advanced more in the past two years than the entire decade before it. As I argued before, although we saw defeats in the votes, there were far greater victories<\/a> beneath the surface. The tide has changed. What was considered a settled issue not long ago is anything but. The media and a majority of Canadians are starting to get it. It is Parliament that is holding things up.<\/p>\n Although we would love to see Parliament at the forefront of positive change, we should know better. The sad reality of politics in a secular nation is that the Overton Window<\/a> has to advance to the point where an issue becomes so popular that a politician decides it is advantageous to their cause to jump on the band wagon and support it. Although we have a ways to go yet, we are certainly headed in that direction.<\/p>\n What this all means is that we should not define success simply by whether a bill is in Parliament or is passed by Parliament.<\/p>\n Perhaps an analogy will help explain this.<\/p>\n A crop farmer has the goal of harvesting a bountiful crop. But his or her work is not limited to the few days of the year where the crops are taken in. The work starts much earlier, when the land has to be cleared, the fields cultivated, the seeds planted, the crops fertilized and the weeds suppressed. A farmer who shows up to work at harvest time will surely be disappointed. The work has to be done well in advance. And even then it is not in his control. He can work hard but he has to rely on God for the rain, sun, and health.<\/p>\n Pro-lifers who show up just when legislation is in Parliament will also be disappointed. Most of the work is done far in advance. It involves knowing the land (analyzing where society is at, finding politicians who are open to taking up the issue etc.), fertilizing it (explaining to our society, not just pro-lifers, why the status-quo on abortion is wrong), combating the weeds (challenging the pro-abortion rhetoric in media, the arts, and anywhere it appears) and recognizing that success will depend on whether God softens hearts.<\/p>\n It is also important to keep in mind that we are called to be prudent. We have to know the ground we are working with, and only plant seeds that are suitable for the land. Don\u2019t plant corn in Whitehorse. The goals we set should be realistic. As with every other issue in public policy, change happens incrementally. We work with the support that already exists and then seek to build on it. Putting forward pro-life legislation that doesn\u2019t protect every pre-born child is not compromise<\/a>. It is a recognition that we are working in a sin-filled world. We can restrict evil but we can\u2019t eradicate it. Politics is not the answer to abortion. Christ is. The law is a tool that we are called to use to suppress evil while we are on this earth.<\/p>\n The point of all this is that if we choose to grumble and jump ship when we see Parliament chicken out then we are no different than the politicians who wait for an issue to be popular before they champion it<\/i>. Our job is not to be popular, politically correct, or in the spotlight. We are called to work in the field we have been placed in. It will take hard work and persistence.<\/p>\n God has given us our current Prime Minister and Parliament (see Romans 13). God has put us in a nation that has embraced individual autonomy over corporate responsibility. We can\u2019t change these things. But God has also given us opportunities to advance justice in the midst of this society. We can plant, fertilize, water, and weed. Are we going to seize these opportunities?<\/p>\n Here are some specific suggestions for how to advance the pro-life cause in the second session of the 41st<\/sup> Parliament:<\/p>\n Before the day is over, please do at least one of these things!<\/p>\n In the coming years we hope to see legislatures and Parliament pass laws that protect pre-born children. But God has not put us at that point in time. He put us here and now.<\/p>\n So let\u2019s get farming!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By Mark Penninga Stephen Harper\u2019s decision to prorogue Parliament means the first session of the 41st Parliament will end this fall. We are about half way to the next forecasted election date (October 19, 2015). This is a good point to pause and consider the plight of Canada\u2019s pre-born children in Canadian law. The first […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3014,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[276,277,282],"tags":[219,359,234,80,465,249,130,303,200,82,388],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.weneedalaw.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/473"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.weneedalaw.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.weneedalaw.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.weneedalaw.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3014"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.weneedalaw.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=473"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/test.weneedalaw.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/473\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2030,"href":"https:\/\/test.weneedalaw.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/473\/revisions\/2030"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.weneedalaw.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=473"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.weneedalaw.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=473"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.weneedalaw.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=473"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n\n
\n
\n
\n