Michael Ignatieff is urging Prime Minister Stephen Harper not to exclude
abortion and contraception from his plan to become an international champion of
women's and children's health.
The Liberal leader sought assurances
Tuesday that Harper's agenda to improve the lot of women and children in the
world's poorest countries will include funding for all reproductive health
services.
"Women are entitled to the full gamut
of reproductive health services and that includes termination of pregnancy and
contraception," Ignatieff told a Liberal-sponsored roundtable discussion on
foreign aid and international development.
Harper is hosting the G8 summit in
June and he's vowed to use the opportunity to launch a major initiative to
improve the health of women and children.
Ignatieff urged the Harper government
not to follow the lead of the United States, which in the past has cut funding
to some aid organizations that promote the use of contraceptives and abortion.
The Liberals subsequently issued a
news release expressing fear that Harper is already going down the American
path. It cited a petition filed in the House of Commons by Conservative MP Brad
Trost urging the government to cut funding to the International Planned
Parenthood Federation.
And it cited a pro-life newspaper
report that the Harper government has all but eliminated funding for Canada's
member on the IPPF, the Canadian Federation for Sexual Health.
The release went on to list a series
of anti-abortion comments from various Conservative MPs, dating as far back as
1990. Most of the quotes were unrelated to Canada's foreign aid policy.
The latter tactic was risky in so far
as a good number of Liberal MPs hold equally strong views against abortion,
including Toronto MP John McKay, who co-chaired Tuesday's roundtable
discussions.
Late Tuesday, Liberal MP Paul Szabo
said he was caught off guard by the announcement and claims Ignatieff doesn't
have a consensus for the stand among Liberals.
"I am a pro-life MP and there are
many of my colleagues in the Liberal caucus who will protect the unborn in their
decisions as Parliamentarians, and should matters come before the House they
will continue to act accordingly," Szabo told the anti-abortion website,
LifeSiteNews.
Nevertheless, Ignatieff said foreign
aid involving women is "the last place to start playing politics" or injecting
ideology.
"We don't want women dying because of
botched procedures. We don't want women dying in misery. We want women to be
able to care for themselves better and then look after their kids better," he
told reporters later.
"These are simple objectives and
let's keep the ideology out of this and move forward."
A spokesman for Harper said the
Liberal leader is the one who is needlessly politicizing the issue.
"This has nothing to do with
abortion, in any way, shape or form," said Dimitri Soudas, accusing Liberals of
"fear-mongering" and raising "red herrings."
Soudas said Harper and the other G8
leaders have "one clear objective and that is saving lives of vulnerable
children and mothers in the developing world."
"Stirring up old debates with a
purpose of fear-mongering, with a purpose of playing cheap politics, is very,
very unfortunate on this particular issue. And that's what we think he's doing."
Jolanta Scott-Parker, executive
director of the Canadian Federation for Sexual Health, said it's true that most
of her organization's federal funding has dried up. But she said that's due to a
variety of reasons, not necessarily its position on abortion.
"Certainly, it is not easy to access
funding under this government but I think that is true across the
(non-governmental organization) sector," she said.
Still, Scott-Parker said she's
somewhat concerned that Harper's initiative on maternal health may not include
funding of groups that support a woman's right to abortion services and
contraceptives.
"Would I be a little worried? Yes.
But they haven't said yet so let's give them the opportunity to specify that
they will take a broadly based approach to this issue."