EDITORIAL: Liberals use abortion as political football

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You don’t need a pollster to tell you that Justin Trudeau’s government’s popularity is reaching new heights.

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Liberals’ fears of losing the next election can be clearly felt in the social media posts of high-profile cabinet ministers.

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They again express the fear that a conservative government under Pierre Poilievre would restrict women’s right to abortion.

Conservative Saskatchewan MP Cathay Wagantall has tabled a private lawmaker’s bill that would require judges to consider the physical or mental harm a crime may have caused to a pregnant woman when reaching their verdict.

Although this seems like a fairly innocuous proposition, particularly as private members’ bills rarely become law, it has been interpreted by some pro-abortion advocates as a measure that would limit a woman’s right to an abortion.

Wagantall, who is anti-abortion, says that’s not the motivation behind her bill.

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“It focuses on pregnant women who are being attacked by a third party intent on causing injury or death to that person,” she said.

Abortion advocates oppose her on the grounds that in violent crimes she grants rights to a fetus, which is currently not the case.

Women’s Minister Marci Ien responded, saying it was an insidious way of restricting abortions.

“We are not a government that is luring people into places that would limit women’s access to abortion in our great country,” she said.

That’s far fetched. When we can’t have a discussion about pregnant women in Parliament without making the old anti-abortion strawman argument, that shows how desperate Liberals are.

If Trudeau were sincere in his beliefs, he would legislate abortion rights. There is no law protecting a woman’s right to an abortion, just no law prohibiting it. The Liberals could have changed that in the meantime, but decided against it.

Nonetheless, Poilievre would be wise to follow the path to victory charted out by his successful predecessor, former Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Canadians have no interest in social conservatism and the interference of politicians in their private lives. They value good government, fiscal conservatism, and intelligent management.

Liberals know this. That’s why they keep making abortion a central issue. It’s a cynical ploy and it’s wearing off.