In a recent article, Kelly Bowden and Tiffany Butler suggest that an abortion law would turn the medical issue of abortion into a political issue. They advocate for a continuation of the status quo, where Canada has no abortion law at all. This argument makes the false assumption that abortion is not already a political issue. Prime Minister Trudeau is quick to bring it up at any opportunity, requiring pro-abortion views from his MPs and using abortion-based fear tactics to put his Conservative opponents on their heels.
Abortion cannot be relegated to the realm of medical issues for two reasons. First, it involves deep moral and ethical questions about when life begins. We are currently well out of line with science, international standards, and moral values. Second, abortion is never a medical necessity. Inducing early labour to protect the health and life of a mother is fundamentally different than ensuring a child is dead before delivering them. Palliative care for non-viable newborns is surely much more in line with Canadian values than live-birth abortions.
Canada absolutely does need an abortion law, for medical, political, and moral reasons.