Anti-abortion arguments have no reason to exist in Quebec politics, according to Premier François Legault. All of his MPs are pro-abortion, he said Wednesday.
“There shouldn’t be any,” said the elected member of the Coalition avenir Québec (CAQ) when asked about the possibility that candidates in the general elections in October will revive the debate on abortion. The U.S. Supreme Court is set to overturn Roe v. Wade, which provides constitutional protection for the right to have an abortion.
In Quebec, the Conservative Party of Quebec has already announced the candidacy of Roy Eappan, a doctor who has already expressed anti-abortion opinions on a blog. “I am pro-life. I will not kill babies or adults, as prescribed by Hippocrates,” he wrote in 2015.
None of the 76 deputies of the CAQ is opposed to abortion, assured François Legault on Wednesday, heading at a rapid pace towards the Blue Room. Last February, his party pleaded “good faith error” when faced with the donations of three elected officials to groups that discourage the use of this medical procedure.
According to the leader of the Liberal Party of Quebec, Dominique Anglade, “we must not compromise on women’s rights”. Anti-abortion candidates, “we should not accept that,” she said Wednesday in the National Assembly.
“I can assure you of one thing, it is that in my political formation, we will not have any candidate who will question the rights of women,” she added.
According to Québec solidaire co-spokesperson, Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, the political context in the United States must force the Québec government to react. “Are there requests from American women to come and have abortions here?” That’s an excellent question. We must not at all exclude helping these women, ”he said.
“But, before going any further, we need a serious quantified assessment of the potential impacts of this decision on Quebec,” he continued. It’s necessary […] ensure that women in Quebec have fair and full access to abortion, which is not the case as we speak. In several regions, access is too difficult. »
Further details will follow.