Women are rising up across the country since Wednesday demanding the resignation of Status of Women Minister Rona Ambrose.
Ambrose infuriated women by voting in Parliament in favor of a motion that would have eventually led to recriminalizing abortion in Canada by establishing in the criminal code at what point in a woman's pregnancy the fetus becomes a human being, and making any abortion past that point a criminal act or the worst kind.
Motion M-312 was proposed by Conservative backbencher Stephen Woodworth of Kitchener, Ontario, a fervent Roman Catholic, but it was defeated, by a vote of 203 to 91.
What took everyone by surprise was that 91 MPs -all but four of them Conservatives - had voted in favor of the motion, a much larger number than expected, especially since Prime Minister Stephen Harper had personally voted against the motion.
Harper may have been surprised too when 10 of his cabinet ministers and two parliamentary secretaries broke with him and voted for the motion, including most surprising of all, Rona Ambrose, the minister who represents Canadian women.
No more than 38 to 45 MPs had been expected to vote for the motion, not 91.
Ninety-one is more than half the Conservative caucus. It means that even though the "pro-lifers" lost the vote, they will be a force to be reckoned. Harper also has other problems.
The Quebec Federation of Women leaders are saying Ambrose is no longer fit to represent Canadian women and have demanded her immediate resignation from cabinet. The Quebec Federation of Family Planning is every bit as adamant. They too have considerable clout.
Ambrose, who is from Alberta, poured oil on the fire she had created for herself, by later explaining to reporters that she had voted for the Woodworth motion to prevent selective abortion of baby-girls in Canada.
She did not explain the link between defining a human being and selective abortions.
She may have been aiming her criticism at women in Canadian ethnic communities but she did not go that far in her accusations.
However her message was as clear as rock water in Canada's cultural communities; they too are now also calling for Ambrose's head.




