Abortion

Abortion is the deliberate killing of a child in the womb of the mother. (Note: surgical or medical interventions, designed to prevent the death of the mother, i.e., in cases of tubal pregnancy or cervical cancer, which result in the unintended and undesired death of the preborn child, are not abortions.)

1. In terms of your personal views, do you consider yourself

a) pro-life
b) pro-choice
c) pro-abortion
d) pro-life with exceptions (for life of mother, rape and incest)

2. When does human life begin?

a) conception (fertilization)
b) implantation

3. Would you initiate any public discussion on the issue of abortion or initiate any legislative measures to end abortion?

No

4. Would you stand in the way of any initiative - from one of your own MPs or from elsewhere - to ban or restrict abortion?

No

5. If you were given the opportunity to vote on legislation to ban abortion that came before Parliament by way of the democratic process, would you vote in favour of it or against it?

Yes, except in cases of threat to mother's health.

6. Abortion is an elective procedure that has become a matter of social choice. Would you support measures to end taxpayer funding of abortion and to classify abortion as non-medically necessary in the Canada Health Act?

Yes

7. Would you support measures to protect the freedom of conscience of health care workers who are pressured to take part in abortion and other medical procedures in violation of their consciences?

Yes

8. Is abortion primarily a criminal issue (federal jurisdiction) or a health issue on which you would defer to the provincial legislatures? (This is a crucial question because Members of Parliament claim it must be dealt with provincially while provincial politicians call it a federal matter.)

Health issue primarily

Euthanasia

9. Do you believe the current law pertaining to euthanasia and assisted suicide is satisfactory?

No

9. A) If not, how would you change the law?

There should be a clearer definition between active/passive euthanasia.

10. Would you work to strengthen legal protection for the elderly and disabled and other vulnerable people through improved access to palliative care? (The federal government can participate in these efforts through the funding of research and education and by setting up national standards.)

Yes

Reproductive and Genetic Technologies

11. Do you support the Canadian Alliance Minority Report of the Standing Committee on Health on Assisted Reproduction?

Yes

12. Would you support a permanent extension of the three-year ban on embryo research proposed in the Minority Report?

Yes - if adult stem cell research is not productive.

At the same time, would you undertake vigorous promotion of adult stem cell research as a viable and practical alternative?

Yes

13. Do you believe the government should permit any experimentation on embryos, even prior to 14 days gestation, as the draft government legislation currently proposes?

Not while adult cell research is possible.

Governance

14. When a politician's conscience (and therefore presumably the position he verbalizes when running for leadership) and his constituents' wishes collide on an issue about which the elected official holds strong views (for example: child pornography), do you believe that the politician should stand behind his conscience or vote according to his constituents' wishes?

Constituent's wishes

Explain: I have found a majority in my constituency agree with my convictions.

15. A) If your response places higher priority on conscience over constituent wishes, please tell us whether abortion is one of those issues about which you hold sufficiently strong views to make this question applicable?

B) What about euthanasia?

Grant Hill