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OTTAWA, March 8, 2013, (LifeSiteNews.com) – Pro-life former Congressman Ron Paul told reporters in Ottawa on Friday that discussions on abortion should focus on the rights of the unborn child.

Speaking during a media availability at the Manning Networking Conference, the former Republican presidential candidate acknowledged that the issue of abortion is “difficult” for him as a libertarian, because he so strongly emphasizes individual rights and bodily autonomy.

“Yet I think that all liberty depends on life,” he said, responding to a question by Sun News Network's Faith Goldy. “So, the question isn’t so much whether the individual has the right…to take the life of a fetus. The question is, well does the fetus have rights? And I’ve come down on the side to say that it does.”

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“The libertarian position is you can’t commit aggression against any other person, and as a physician and an OB doctor, believe me, I had legal responsibilities to the unborn,” he added. “If I did something wrong, I could be sued for this.”

Dr. Paul was the headline speaker at the Manning Conference, organized by the Manning Centre for Building Democracy. Founded by former Opposition leader Preston Manning, the Centre is dedicated to building up Canada’s conservative movement.

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During the press conference, LifeSiteNews.com asked Congressman Paul his view of Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s position against opening debate on abortion, even though Canada has had no law on the deadly procedure since 1988.

“I believe in laws that protect life,” he responded, “and obviously since I had a legal, moral responsibility to protect life, I would have trouble saying that a baby a minute before birth has no rights.”

“Where did they get those rights in that one minute of birth?” he asked. “Do they all of a sudden qualify for the protection of the law? I don’t think so.”