Local B.C. Conservative candidate is a threat to reproductive rights, says Leonard

COMOX VALLEY – B.C. NDP MLA Ronna-Rae Leonard is calling out Courtenay-Comox B.C. Conservative candidate Damon Scrase after his anti-abortion views became part of the provincial conversation on abortion rights last week. 

In a 2022 tweet surfaced by CKNW’s Jas Johal, Scrase said: “The most feverishly defended “right” in this country is the right to kill babies. You will never see a Canadian get more animated by any other issue. It’s a bizarre sclerotic death worshiping society.” 

In a separate tweet, Scrase said “nothing animates the unwashed masses more than killing unborn children.” 

“It’s terrifying to hear a local candidate in Courtenay-Comox sound so much like the right wing politicians stripping away abortion rights in the States,” said B.C. NDP MLA Ronna-Rae Leonard. “Advocating for taking away women’s rights is unacceptable for someone seeking to represent our community.”

Ironically, Scrase calls himself “a strong advocate for bodily autonomy and individual liberty” when it comes to vaccination rules, but still opposes the rights of women to make their own reproductive choices.

“It’s completely hypocritical for him to say he’s for bodily freedom while also saying that women who have abortions are killing babies,” said Leonard. “We can’t let the B.C. Conservatives and their anti-choice candidates put reproductive health care at risk.”

Scrase’s comments follow controversy when B.C. Conservative MLA Bruce Banman used anti-choice rhetoric in the legislature.

While the legal right to an abortion has been established in court, the provincial government is responsible for ensuring access to abortion through the provincial healthcare system. Some provincial governments have resisted funding abortion, which creates significant barriers to access. The B.C. NDP government started providing universal, no-cost access to Mifegymiso (the “abortion pill”) in 2018. The B.C. NDP also made prescription contraception free in 2023.