Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Soloman weighs in on "Maternal Health Debate"

Today on the Soloman Show Evan hosted a panel with Carolyn Bennett, Paul Dewar, and Mike Lake to address the "Maternal Health Debate" (Evan today indicated his intention to address this several more times in the future). Solo's Question of the day webpoll was "Should the Canadian government support access to safe abortions around the world?" If you were playing the "take a shot each time Evan, Carolyn or Paul reference George Bush" Drinking Game at home, you likely passed out before the panel was finished.

The Tory MP was explaining the government initiative to save millions of lives of women and children in impoverished nations abroad by providing the most essential needs like clean water, food, and inoculations. Evan kept interrupting with points like "why are you avoiding maternal health?" or "why are you ignoring saving lives?" Even though the overwhelming majority of deaths in women and children are from malnutrition, no access to clean water, and disease; Evan repeatedly suggested that addressing the major killers of women and children was avoiding the issue of maternal health. Right, let's take resources away from the programs that can save the greatest number of lives and divert them to 3rd world abortion clinics? How does that make any sense?

Evan was assisted on his left flank by Carolyn Bennett, who has gone completely nuts on this issue. Carolyn, I am pro choice, and I think you've become maniacal! Why don't we poll Africa's poor and ask "what would you rather have? 1) food and water, 2) access to abortions". At one point she went so far as to say we need to provide safe foreign abortions to protect the lives of children. To her, the funding should go above clinical services, and include building roads to abortion clinics. I can't make this stuff up! How many bags of wheat would it cost to build that road from Mombasa to the "Happy Abortions Clinic"?

E-Solo really framed the question more pleasantly than simply funding foreign abortions. He used the word "support" instead of "fund". I ran a similar poll, and 98% of respondents voted no to funding foreign abortions in an economic recession. Evan's crowd predictably went 82% yes this is something we should be spending money on.  And has the world been flipped tuned upside down when the NDP critic makes more sense than the Liberal?  It was also ironic how Evan accused the Tory MP of "playing politics" with maternal health.  Excuse me Evan, who is playing politics here?

Send your complaints to politics@cbc.ca, but keep it civil. I would not put it past E-Solo to put the more emotional responses up on the TV screen.

5 comments:

  1. My answer to Evans " Evans, solution to your needs from the way you are playing games with the life of the unborn let the coalition party do it. let your brave liberals do the job how about that?"
    You see Iceman, the liberals had three majority governments and frankly they showed no emotion for anyone let alone women in distress why, they were too busy pocketing the money that was suppose to go to hospitals. So now, they want the conservatives to clean their mess.

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  2. This Evan guy - once in a while, he will try (and it doesn't always work for him) to get to the bottom of something in a close-to non-partisan way, but I think he has to consciously make the effort. Most times, as in this case, his partisan bias was effortless!

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  3. PMSH is not going to force an issue that is illegal in some recipient countries and the US and other donor countries are against.

    Why would the US pony up for 3rd world abortions when their own health care reforms excluded paying for abortions.....?

    this is just foolish 1990's warn out Liberal divisive fear mongering politics,
    it was stupid then, and it is even more stupid now.

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  4. Bra, not only should abortion be fully legal up to birth, the right should be extended to parents up to 30 years after birth...just incase their child is born a capitalist.

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  5. thanx for the suggestion of a marxian 30 year plan, pol pot.

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