Foreign Affairs Committee on March 21st, 2023

[Rachel Bendayan, Liberal, Outremont, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Dr. Asogwa, I have a few questions for you. I apologize for the technical difficulties that we may have had on this end, but I think all is in order now.

Your testimony certainly piqued my interest, but prior to that, I also did look up some of the statements you've made publicly. You've stated that abortion should be illegal in all cases. I believe you've stated that it is never necessary to save a mother's life and that it should not even be a recourse in the case of rape.

Is that a correct description of your position, Dr. Asogwa?

[Dr. Nkechi Asogwa]

As I said, in Africa we treasure life. Pregnancy is a blessing. What we need to do is offer a solution in any crisis situation—

[Rachel Bendayan, Liberal, Outremont, QC]

Dr. Asogwa, I'm sorry to interrupt, but I will interrupt. Dr. Asogwa, we too treasure life. In the case of a woman's life being at risk, do you believe that she should have access to an abortion in order to save her life?

[Dr. Nkechi Asogwa]

When a woman's life is at risk, it is, medically speaking, allowed to take the life of the baby in the womb. That's medically speaking, but how many times is that needed? It's on very rare occasions. Essentially—

[Andréanne Larouche, Bloc, Shefford, QC]

Mr. Chair, there are still problems with interpretation. We can't hear what Dr. Asogwa is saying.

[Rachel Bendayan, Liberal, Outremont, QC]

I'm going to check with the chair of our committee for one second.

Is interpretation working?

[The Chair, Liberal, Ali Ehsassi]

There are connectivity issues. The interpreters are trying their best, but it is on and off.

[Rachel Bendayan, Liberal, Outremont, QC]

Dr. Asogwa, I will come back to you in a moment, as soon as we can.

Perhaps I can ask Ms. Datta-Ray what your opinion is, or your view, given what you've just heard. Are there cases in which, for a variety of reasons, a woman's life is at risk and an abortion may be necessary in order to protect a life, in your opinion?

[Mohini Datta-Ray]

Absolutely, unequivocally, I think that abortion is an important part of health care that needs to be accessed, whether it's to save the parent's life or it's a choice that she would like to access. Absolutely, there are many instances. I've never heard that it is rare. There are many instances when abortion is the recourse that's needed to save the mother's life.

[Rachel Bendayan, Liberal, Outremont, QC]

Thank you.

I would like to return to Dr. Asogwa.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ali Ehsassi]

I'm sorry; you have my apologies for interjecting.

Dr. Asogwa, can we just ask that you turn off your camera? Sometimes that helps in terms of connectivity.

[Dr. Nkechi Asogwa]

Okay.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ali Ehsassi]

Thank you; I'm terribly sorry about that.

Please proceed.

[Rachel Bendayan, Liberal, Outremont, QC]

Thank you.

Doctor, we'll try again with a new question.

A tweet of yours from about a year ago describes President Biden as a butcher, as opposed to President Putin, because of President Biden's pro-choice position. I understand that this was in the first week of the invasion of Ukraine by Russia. Has your position changed since then?

[Dr. Nkechi Asogwa]

I would like to please go back to what you said. Abortion due to medical reasons to save the life of a mother is a rare situation. It's called for about 0.05% of the time. Usually, most of the time we're talking about abortion for social reasons and not to save the life of the mother. That's my position, and that's the position of most people who care about life.

Yes, in that situation we're mentioning, especially about [Inaudible—Editor]

You still can't hear me.

[Andréanne Larouche, Bloc, Shefford, QC]

No, there's no interpretation, Mr. Chair.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ali Ehsassi]

I can hear it.

[Dr. Nkechi Asogwa]

Can you hear me?

[The Chair, Liberal, Ali Ehsassi]

Dr. Asogwa, I'm terribly sorry. With respect to this question, we will ask that you provide written submissions to us. That would be very much appreciated.

[Dr. Nkechi Asogwa]

Okay, thank you very much.

[Rachel Bendayan, Liberal, Outremont, QC]

Perhaps, Mr. Chair, with the time remaining, I could ask a question of the other witnesses.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ali Ehsassi]

It is now five minutes past, so even factoring in the time that you lost, I think you should be good. Thank you.

We next go to Mr. Bergeron. You have four minutes.

[Stéphane Bergeron, Bloc, Montarville, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

You have probably heard the extremely troubling testimony from Ms. Vasylenko on what's happening in Ukraine right now. That leads me to tell you about an article by a young student at the University of Montreal, which appeared in La Presse on February 22. The author quoted a statement by Ms. Pramila Patten, the UN Secretary General’s Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict. I quote: “When women are held for days and raped, when there's a series of genital mutilations, when Russian soldiers have Viagra on hand, it's clearly a military strategy.“

Obviously, we’re talking about Ukraine here, but we could be talking about many other military conflicts where sexual violence is used as a military strategy, such as in Tigray. Have you heard reports on these types of situations, Ms. Anderson and Ms. Datta‑Ray? Do you have examples of countries able to manage the situation or to set up justice systems for victims of sexual crimes in times of war?

[Julia Anderson]

On the latter question, I can't speak to any justice initiatives to address sexual-based violence. Certainly what you are reporting is consistent with what we've heard.

We've made a strong case that the Government of Canada should make the case that as part of the essential package of interventions in humanitarian crises, SRHR is critical and central. It's often thought of as “additional”. Women's health in general—right down to obstetric care, but certainly access to contraceptives and abortion—is considered “extra”, and so we've called for this to be part of the package of essential services that are delivered in any crisis situation.

[Stéphane Bergeron, Bloc, Montarville, QC]

Ms. Datta‑Ray, did you want to add something or can I move on to the next question?