Jason Kenney Responds To Questions Over Abortion Access In Alberta After Roe v. Wade Leak
He accused the opposition of trying to create a political controversy.
Jason Kenney in the Legislative Assembly. Right: Rachel Notley in the Legislative Assembly.
Alberta Premier Jason Kenney was asked to condemn the potential overturning of Roe v. Wade in the U.S. and "reaffirm" the province's commitment to a women's right to choose during an assembly session.
During the session on Tuesday, May 3, NDP Leader Rachel Notley posed the question to Kenney following the leak of a Supreme Court draft that suggests the landmark ruling that protects the right to choose an abortion in the U.S. will be thrown out.
"I'm hoping the premier can stand today and reaffirm, to those concerned Albertans, our commitment to a women's right to choose. Will he join me in condemning this attack on reproductive rights?" Notley asked.
However, Kenney said the decision to overturn Roe v. Wade is a matter for the "American legal and political system."
"There has been no change in policy with respect to that procedure in Alberta and none has been proposed," he added.
Notley pushed further, but Kenney stopped short of a commitment that the United Conservative Party government would never reduce access to abortion in the province.
"Individuals can have individual views about that [...] but what the leader is trying to do is to invent a political controversy that does not and has not existed in Alberta politics," Kenney responded.
Kenney has been linked to anti-abortion views in the past. In an interview with CNN as a university student, Kenney was labelled an "anti-abortion activist."
In 2018, before being elected as premier, Kenney said he "won’t be bringing forward any legislative measures on abortion."