ONTARIO, June 12, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) — Pro-life Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) leadership candidate and member of Parliament (M.P.) Derek Sloan said boldly on social media Tuesday that abortion is “not health care” in response to news that the Canadian government will use taxpayer money to fund abortions abroad.
“Abortion is not health care. I will end all Canadian funding for abortion in foreign countries and redirect that money to make sure seniors receive proper care here in Canada,” said Sloan on Twitter.
Sloan tweeted his message with a link to a Global News report regarding an announcement Tuesday that the Canadian government, under pro-abortion prime minister Justin Trudeau, will fund $8.9 million of taxpayer money to international abortion organizations.
The majority portion of the funding, $4.9 million, will go to Marie Stopes International, which is a global organization that provides contraception and abortions in 37 countries.
LifeSiteNews reached out to Sloan asking him to expand on his June 9 Twitter message. He replied by saying again that “pregnancy is not a disease” and that the Trudeau “handout” for abortions abroad should be used for senior care instead.
“Abortion is not health care because pregnancy is not a disease. The $8.9 million handout from the Trudeau Liberals is just part of the $850 million per year they devote to abortions in other countries,” Sloan told LifeSiteNews.
“I know a majority of Canadians will support redirecting that money to care for our seniors that have been grossly neglected by the LTC system as revealed in recent news reports.”
Sloan’s June 9 tweet received both positive and negative replies.
One person with the Twitter handle @DocMCohen, whose profile identifies him as a rural medical doctor, replied to Sloan saying he should stop trying to “to turn clicks into votes.”
“Fortunately, abortion as an essential health service is something doctors & patients decide on, not uninformed MPs trying to turn clicks into votes on a doomed leadership run. When was the last time your work served your riding instead of your Lil' Stephen Miller brand?” said @DocMCohen.
Another Twitter user with the handle @Elise_ekd, who claims to be a health and education advocate, accused Sloan of promoting the “death of women” for his comments.
“Well then — you are actually supporting the death of women. History has shown that women will seek and get abortions. Safely. Or not,” said the user.
There were also Twitter users who supported Sloan.
Campaign Life Coalition (CLC)’s political operations director, Jack Fonseca, replied to Sloan’s tweet with a positive message, saying taxpayer money should not be used to fund abortions.
“Not one red cent of Canadian taxpayer money should be funneled to kill black babies in Africa. Our racist Prime Minister should be ashamed of himself. Thank you, Derek!” said Fonseca on Twitter.
The Twitter user with the handle @ticknor_donald and who identifies himself as an “Executive member in the Conservative Party of Canada, Legion Sergeant-at-Arms,” tweeted a reply to Sloan with an image of a baby saying, “Abortion is Murder!”
“I have a child I love, so my words have value. 99% (approximation) of people that get abortions Pregnant woman are not rape victims. Rape is the favourite argument used to advocate abortions. Babies in the womb have a central nervous system, hence, they feel all the pain when murdered,” said @ticknor_donald.
As part of his platform, Sloan published a 12-point pro-life plan. He recently spoke about his proposals with CLC’s Fonseca as part of the 2020 Virtual March for Life.
Sloan’s plan includes a ban on sex-selective abortion, a ban on partial-birth abortion, freedom of conscience for health care workers, and a review of the current euthanasia and assisted suicide legislation.
Last week, Sloan came under fire for saying Trudeau is legislating “child abuse” with Bill C-8, which, if passed, would prohibit parents from seeking to help their children overcome gender confusion.
This remark prompted former M.P., Cabinet minister, and CPC leadership candidate Peter MacKay to blast Sloan’s position on Bill C8 as “reprehensible.” Sloan fired back , noticing that MacKay’s language mirrored similar condemnations from Trudeau’s communications director.
The CPC will be hosting its first round of leadership debates on June 17 (French debate) and the English debate on June 18 in Toronto.
The debates will be live-streamed at the CPC website conservative.ca starting at 7 P.M. ET and will be moderated by the Leadership Election Organizing Committee (LEOC) co-chairs, Dan Nowlan and former M.P. Lisa Raitt.