NDP MP takes off Fourth of July in solidarity with ‘people who are pregnant’ in US
The North Island - Powell River MP said that healthcare must be provided to “people who are pregnant,” omitting the word “woman.”
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The North Island - Powell River MP said that healthcare must be provided to “people who are pregnant,” omitting the word “woman.”
New Democrat MP Rachel Blaney has decided to take a four-day weekend by closing her offices on July 4.
Blaney made the announcement on Sunday, extending her and her staff's long weekend by another day "in support of reproductive freedoms [and] in protest to the lack of access to abortion services" in the United States.
The North Island - Powell River MP also added that healthcare must be provided to "people who are pregnant," omitting the word "woman."
"I have instructed my staff to close offices on July 4, in solidarity with women in the USA & the world in support of reproductive freedoms & in protest to the lack of access to abortion services. Healthcare must include right to choose - people who are pregnant need to be safe," she tweeted.
I have instructed my staff to close offices on July 4, in solidarity with women in the USA & the world in support of reproductive freedoms & in protest to the lack of access to abortion services. Healthcare must include right to choose - people who are pregnant need to be safe.
— Rachel Blaney (She/Her) (@RABlaney)
Blaney has commented on American abortion issues in the past. In a June 24 tweet, she called the Supreme Court's decision to return abortion rights to the states "disgusting," and again said that "people who are pregnant need to be safe."
This is a change in vernacular for the MP, who used the word "woman" when discussing reproductive rights as recently as May of this year.
"Accessible services for abortion, birth control and contraception are basic rights for women. The liberals have not made this a priority. They may believe in the right to choose, but accessibility is key to that choice. Accessibility is necessary but not a priority for Liberals," she said.
Accessible services for abortion, birth control and contraception are basic rights for women. The liberals have not made this a priority. They may believe in the right to choose, but accessibility is key to that choice. Accessibility is necessary but not a priority for Liberals. https://t.co/6YlOEIxYvD
— Rachel Blaney (She/Her) (@RABlaney)
This was no error. Blaney used the word "woman" when discussing abortion rights throughout most of her professional career, telling MyComoxValleyNow, "For me, my position will always be the same, which is that a woman has the right to her body and what she has to make decisions about is nobody’s business but her own."
"When it comes to accessing abortion, this has been a challenge in our part of the world for a long time, you know, women having to travel quite a distance on their own dime to access services that every Canadian woman is supposed to be able to access," Blaney said.
"It’s shameful in this day and age, that a woman still doesn’t have the right, by logistics, to make a decision that she has every right to make."
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