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Abortion not on Canadian PM’s Agenda Now or in Future

Harper Says Abortion “has not been my issue in my entire career”

by Hilary White

OTTAWA, February 28, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Prime Minister Stephen Harper, in an interview with Canada’s leading weekly newsmagazine, Maclean’s, has again insisted that he will do nothing to change the legal status of abortion in Canada.

“In my entire career, I've made it clear that I have no intention of getting into the abortion issue. It has not been my issue in my entire career. And it won't be in the future,” he said.

Throughout the last election campaign, the Liberal party attempted to revise their previously successful strategy of accusing the opposition of a “hidden agenda” of social conservatism. The plan worked well during the 2000 federal election when Stockwell Day was shredded in the media for his traditional values, even though Day himself rarely brought it up.

The charge could not stick to Harper, however, who repeatedly said that abortion would not be an issue of his government. Far from harbouring a hidden agenda, Harper did everything he could to distance himself from his large support base of “small-c” conservatives during the election.

In response to the “hidden agenda” he told Maclean’s, “There's no evidence that it's true. And it will become very apparent now that I am prime minister that this argument was a lie. And it will not be me having to explain this next time. It will be the other party, when it engages in misrepresentation.”

Harper’s announcement in Maclean’s is no surprise to pro-life advocates who were disappointed with his stated promise to do everything in his power to stop abortion from coming to the floor of the House.

He told reporters January 17, “The Conservative government won't be initiating or supporting abortion legislation, and I'll use whatever influence I have in Parliament to be sure that such a matter doesn't come to a vote.”
 
Numerous polls have shown that, despite strong mainstream media support for abortion on demand, a majority of Canadians do not support the status quo situation and would welcome restrictions.

The national pro-life organization Campaign Life Coalition, has repeatedly emphasized that Harper is not pro-life and that it is only through cooperative, courageous action by individual pro-life MPs from all the parties that legislative protection of the unborn will come about.

In every election CLC has been encouraging support and voting for individual pro-life candidates as opposed to voting for a party or leader since none of the parties in Parliament are pro-life.

Read related LifeSiteNews.com coverage:
Conservative Leader Harper Vows to Shut Down Abortion Debate in Canada's Parliament
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2006/jan/06011707.html

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