Three prolifers out of 12 shows prolifers can’t be ignored
OTTAWA (CCN)
Prolife activists are divided on whether all three prolife candidates are worthy of support in the Conservative keadership race.
The division came apparent after the third prolife candidate, former House Speaker Andrew Scheer, announced his candidacy Sept. 28, with an array of some of the staunchest prolife MPs in caucus behind him. In all, he has about 20 MPs and Senators who have pledged support.
Campaign Life Coalition political strategist Jack Fonseca said “problematic comments” Scheer made in his initial news conference and in subsequent interviews have made them reconsider.
WeNeedaLaw.ca director Mike Schouten has also pulled expressed concern whether the “door is being closed to allowing a conversation in the House of Commons as to whether preborn children should be protected.”
But Alissa Golob the founder of a new prolife activist group RightNow said on her blog prolife organizations “need to have better political acumen so that prolifers do not get led astray by withholding support from one of the most solid candidates to enter the race so far.”
Campaign Life gives the former Speaker of the House and Catholic father of five a perfect prolife voting record but it is urging its members to support MP Brad Trost or former MP Pierre Lemieux, who had earlier announced their intentions to run.
Scheer, 38, told journalists he if he were to become Prime Minister subjects like abortion or redefinition of marriage would “not be opened by the Government of Canada.”
Trost has promised not only to tackle abortion but also the redefinition of marriage. Lemieux is also running on a prolife and pro-traditional marriage platform. So far, about 12 leadership candidates are running, with a few more still musing about throwing their hats into the ring.
Fonseca said Scheer’s comments “mimic Stephen Harper’s policy of not reopening the abortion debate.
“We know that Stephen Harper used that policy in quite a pro- abortion matter,” he said. “Harper meant by not reopening the debate, shutting down the debate.”
Schouten, however, recognized the Conservative Party has a policy not to legislate on abortion. “There’s no way I expect Andrew Scheer to champion abortion legislation himself,” he said.
“Andrew Scheer is not wrong when he says that the caucus as a whole and the Party’s policy statement declare that the Party does not want to re-open the abortion issue,” Golob said. “So let’s change that!”
Just as the group LGBT Tory was successful in getting the pro-traditional marriage plank removed from the party policy, “let’s do the same with the abortion policy,” she said.
With a federal election three years away, the goal of her organization is to get as many prolife candidates elected as possible.
“Let’s say the Conservatives win 180 seats in the next federal election and of the 180 MPs, 30 of them are in cabinet,” Golob said. “That means 150 other Conservative MPs would be allowed to introduce a private members’ bill on this. He also never said that he would whip his cabinet not to vote for pro-life motions or bills nor did he say he himself would not vote for them either.”
She also pointed out Scheer has said he would allow MPs to vote their conscience on divisive issues-something the other parties do not do-and that he would respect the long-standing tradition of MPs’ freedom regarding statements and private member’s legislation in the House.
Schouten said his concern is ensuring every candidate maintain their integrity “while at the same time leading a party that has a diverse set of views on this topic.”
While Lemieux has not had a high profile since an initial announcement he was running, “Brad Trost’s tactic seems to be to really force these issues into the debate and using different ways to do that, by calling out Andrew Scheer for not being prolife or socially conservative enough,” Schouten said.
Schouten said he is pleased Scheer and Trost have told journalists they will support MP Cathay Wagantall’s private members’ Bill C-225 Cassie and Mollie’s Law that would make it an additional crime to harm or kill an unborn child during a violent attack on the mother.
Prolife Conservative Party members will be able to vote for all three candidates because the party is issuing a ranked ballot. Schouten said he hopes they rank high up in the voting.
Fonseca said the fact three prolife candidates out of 12 are running shows it’s false to “claim prolifers make up a tiny proportion of the population can be ignored.”
“For too long prolifers have been told to get the back of the bus, to get in the closet and stay there,” he said. “I think we’re coming into our own. Their presence shows we’re tired of the closet, we want to have a seat at the table and right to advocate for our values, and make a case for why it’s the best public policy.”
