Like a boss.
Justin Trudeau says abortion rights trump MPs' freedom to vote their conscience
Women’s reproductive rights trump the freedom of Liberal members of parliament to vote their conscience on abortion, Justin Trudeau said, adding that it’s time that his party “actually defended rights.”
“I have had a lot of Liberals come up to me and say, 'I don’t quite understand, isn’t the Liberal party about freedom and about defending people’s rights?'" Trudeau said in an interview with CBC’s The Sunday Edition with Michael Enright.
“Absolutely it is. And the rights that women have fought for over decades to be in control of their own bodies and to control their own reproductive health is not a right I’m going to brush aside to defend the freedom of speech or the freedom to vote a particular way for an MP."
Trudeau has said that any Liberal MP, regardless of their personal beliefs, would have to vote against any proposed legislation that could limit a woman’s right to an abortion.
“If they vote in favour of restricting women's access to abortion, that’s taking away their rights. And that is something that we will not accept in the Liberal party. We are the party of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and that’s a serious, serious position that Liberals have to defend.
"It’s time the Liberal party actually defended rights,” he said.
Asked if his pro-choice policy would essentially kiss off the Catholic vote, Trudeau said that he too is Catholic, and that lots of Catholics were upset when previous Liberal governments legalized divorce and decriminalized homosexuality.
http://www.cbc.ca/m/news/politics/j...ps-freedom-to-vote-their-conscience-1.2763647