Airdrie MLA Angela Pitt said her decision to abstain from voting on Bill 9 had nothing to do with the issue of the bill, but rather it was her way of standing up to the NDP’s distractions.

The Government introduced Bill 9 recently, which would create a mandatory 50-metre safe zone for women entering and leaving an abortion clinic.

(Photo Courtesy: Angela Pitt)

This safe zone is meant to protect women from facing harassment from anti-abortion protestors.

Pitt and other members of the United Conservative Party walked out of a debate on Bill 9 and refused to vote on it, prompting an outcry from the NDP on whether the party supported women’s rights.

Pitt said that there was more to the story, as she believes the Bill was nothing more than a distraction from the NDP on the real issues.

“At the end of the day, this is a bill that nobody has ever heard about prior to it being introduced, nobody’s really talking about it. It’s really just there as a political tool for the NDP and I’m refusing to participate in that kind of behaviour.”

Pitt said the recent budget, deficits and other economic issues should be front and centre, believing that the recent financial decision from the government is handicapping the future of the province.

Pitt said she is not against women’s reproductive rights as the NDP have accused, and in addressing the Legislature this week, she said the Bill was almost unnecessary as there are already rules in place to protect women at abortion clinics.

“There are very specific things that are covered by this bill currently in the forms of court junctions around abortion clinics. This is simply just a distraction piece by this government.”

Angela Pitt’s Speech In The Legislature – Bill 9

 

 

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