Regarding reproductive rights and the backsliding and what not, I'm thinking of two changes that were recently made, which I read about. I think you would probably know better than I would. In the charter of rights in Iran, they decided to change the word “rights” to “protecting women”. What did that represent? I was reading an article about that. When we see women as victims--victims of violence, victims of disease, victims of poverty, and all of that--then we want to go in with compassion, and that's a good reason to want to go in, but my main point is that women are not just victims. They are actors within their situation. They are the principal actors within their situation, and they have to be involved in the decision-making.
So when there is talk in Canada about being afraid of the words “rights” and “defending our rights”, we shouldn't be afraid of those, because empowering women is part of democracy.