OTTAWA, Ontario (LifeSiteNews) — A law that would allow for “free” contraceptives, including abortifacients to any Canadian who wants them, is close to becoming law after it passed a key Senate vote late last week.
Bill C-64, introduced earlier this year by Health Minister Mark Holland as “An Act respecting pharmacare,” is one vote from becoming law.
Holland has been pushing for passage of his so-called “pharmacare” legislation, which would provide free contraceptives and abortion pills to anyone without any amendments.
Last Thursday, the bill passed second reading in the Senate “without amendment” from committees making recommended changes.
The bill has faced setbacks in the Senate and sharp criticism from various groups over its vague text and unclear construction.
As reported by LifeSiteNews, Campaign Life Coalition (CLC) said Bill C-64 is nothing more than a plan to spread the “big lie” that women do not have control over their fertility unless they are “popping” contraceptives.
Recently, the Canadian Generic Pharmaceutical Association raised new concerns, observing that many “aspects” of the bill have not “been articulated and will not be determined until after Bill C-64 receives Royal Assent, which presents a challenge.”
In a statement, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce said it was “disappointed to see” Bill C-64 move to a “final vote without any amendments,” warning that the bill could lead to private insurers dropping coverage and potentially forcing the plan on all Canadians.
“The legislation itself, which is only two pages long, raises more questions than answers,” noted Kathy Megyery, who serves as the senior vice-president and general manager, Quebec, for the Chamber.
“And this is only the first step of national pharmacare, which will eventually be expanded to cover all categories of drugs. With the valued workplace insurance of 27 million Canadians at risk, not to mention the risk of federal creep into provincial areas, we cannot accept this level of ambiguity from policymakers.”
Megyery added that the Senate “must amend C-64 to reassure Canadians – consistent with the Minister’s public statements – that they will not lose access to the medicines they take through their workplace benefits plans to stay healthy.”
Holland wrote last week in a letter to senators that the pharmacare bill would be a “public” program administered through a public plan that would cover the full costs of the contraceptive drugs.
He expects the bill to be passed into law as soon as Thursday.
Most Canadians already have drug coverage either via their work or a provincial program, which allows employers to opt out of contraceptive prescriptions in their plans.
Holland’s bill will allow for “universal access to contraceptives,” including the “morning-after pill,” a point that the Liberals have pushed many times. The aim of the bill is for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s cabinet to make a new “national universal pharmacare” program.
Trudeau’s “pharmacare” bill also promotes drugs for at-home chemical abortions, which are typically done through the ingestion of drugs like mifegymiso. In January, CLC reported on a 19-year-old Canadian girl who died after taking mifegymiso.
The use of contraception, including the morning-after pill and abortion-inducing drugs, is gravely immoral, as the Catholic Church has always taught. The Church also proclaims that the right to life of every innocent person from conception to natural death is a truth knowable by reason and contained in natural law.