Iggy’s abortion challenge

If Ottawa is truly serious about helping women around the world, the Conservative government should establish programs aimed at providing safe abortions, says Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff. "We don’t want to have women dying because of botched procedures," Ignatieff said Tuesday. "We don’t want to have women dying in misery." Ignatieff’s challenge to the federal government follows last week’s announcement by Prime Minister Stephen Harper that women and children would be the focus of his government’s attention at an upcoming G8 summit this summer. Predictably, Conservatives were not impressed by the Liberal leader’s request, which would be a tough sell to the party’s rank-and-file members. Though he wouldn’t say whether or not safe abortions would be included in Ottawa’s maternal health program, Dimitri Soudas, a spokesman for Harper, said it was "sad" and "pathetic" that the Liberals were using women’s health as a "political football."

Toronto Star