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Dr. Leslyn Lewis

TORONTO, March 10, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) – Dr. Leslyn Lewis, a pro-life nominee in the running for leadership of the Conservative Party of Canada, says that if elected leader she will ban coerced and sex-selective abortions, increase funding for pregnancy crisis centres, and end federal funding for international abortions.

The flurry of pro-life intentions was announced in messages sent via Twitter on March 7. Lewis, a Toronto-based lawyer, began her message saying the media’s portrayal of a conservative “hidden agenda” is “the most common attack made by our opponents.” 

She then added these types of attacks are maddening, saying, “The most frustrating thing is that it works — especially against people like me who are #ProLife. It’s time to take that weapon away by being absolutely crystal clear on abortion.” 

Lewis’ Twitter message said directly that as party leader she would “Ban the misogynistic practice of sex-selective abortion, criminalize coerced abortions, increase funding for pregnancy centres, and end funding for international abortions. That’s it. Nothing hidden about it.” 

Jack Fonseca, political operations director for Campaign Life Coalition (CLC), told LifeSiteNews that CLC welcomes Lewis’ plan to protect preborn life. 

“We are super-pleased that Dr. Lewis has put out such a robust pro-life platform, and so early in the leadership race too,” Fonseca said. “Life issues need to be front and centre, and we appreciate her not being afraid to talk about them.”

Lewis is the only female candidate in the running with pro-life views. She, along with Conservative Member of Parliament Derek Sloan and Jim Karahalios, are the lone candidates who have received Campaign Life Coalition’s endorsement for their pro-life and pro-family views. 

Lewis added that her actions would be “sensible pro-life policies that the majority of Canadians support.” 

Fonseca noted to LifeSiteNews that he welcomed the fact that Lewis, as well as the two other pro-life candidates in the running, have committed to ending oversees funding of the abortion industry by the Canadian government. 

“Every Conservative in the party should be applauding Dr. Lewis for pledging to end Trudeau’s $1.4 billion pledge to fund abortions in Africa,” said Fonseca. 

“We likewise thank Derek Sloan and Jim Karahalios for also pledging to end the targeting of black babies for termination by this immoral Primer Minister that we’re suffering under.” 

In June 2019, the Trudeau-government announced it would commit up to a total of $1.4 billion annually of Canadian taxpayer dollars by 2023 to fund “sexual, reproductive, and maternal health.”

Fonseca noted that many voters would welcome Lewis’ plan to ban sex-selective abortions, as well as to punish those who force women into abortions. 

“We are certain that Canadians would also support her plan to bring forward government legislation to punish those who coerce women to abort their babies,” Fonseca said. 

Indeed, a recent poll showed that a majority of Canadians are opposed to late-term and sex-selective abortion and would support making these practices illegal.

Fonseca said that this idea is similar to a private member’s bill (which failed to gain traction), introduced by former Conservative MP Rod Bruinooge in 2010, titled, “An Act to Prevent Coercion of Pregnant Women to Abort” (Roxanne’s Law). 

Asked about better funding for pro-life crisis pregnancy centres, Fonseca said it’s “a great idea” but “with the caveat that it can be done in a way that doesn’t make the centres vulnerable to pressure from a future pro-abortion government.”

Fonseca added that “as pro-lifers and Christians, I think we always have to be on-guard about inadvertently giving the purse strings to government such that in the future it’s able to demand that we violate our consciences.”

“That said, I applaud Dr. Lewis for her intention to create more pro-life resource centres to help abortion-vulnerable women in crisis pregnancies.” 

Of the pro-life candidates, Sloan has the support of pro-life and pro-family advocate Richard Décarie, who was recently barred from running as a candidate by the Conservative Party of Canada’s Leadership Election Organizing Committee (LEOC).

Eight candidates met the first deadline and were approved to run by the LEOC. They are Marilyn Gladu, Rudy Husny, Jim Karahalios, Leslyn Lewis, Peter MacKay, Erin O’Toole, Rick Peterson, and Derek Sloan.

CLC is urging all pro-life, pro-family Canadians to do what they can, such as purchasing a Conservative Party membership, to ensure that Lewis, along with the other two pro-life candidates, Karahalios and Sloan, make it onto the final ballot. 

Fonseca noted the ranked ballot voting process means each of the three CLC supported pro-life candidates have “a far greater chance of winning if all three of them stay in the race,” adding it is “for that reason, I encourage pro-lifers to donate to all three candidates, if at all possible.”

The next deadline for the conservative candidates is March 25. They must submit an additional 2,000 signatures along with $300,000 to stay in the race. The leader will be announced at the June 27 party convention in Toronto. 

To be eligible to vote in the Conservative Party leadership election, the deadline to sign up for a membership to vote is April 17.

March 11, 2020 correction: An earlier version of the report mistakenly called Lewis a Conservative Member of Parliament. She is not an MP. LifeSiteNews regrets this error.