Work on women's rights must go on

Re: “Kenney, Notley not far apart on abortion rights,” Opinion, May 10

Columnist Rob Breakenridge could not be more wrong in his recent column. He relies on a stale cliché, that abortion rights are a “settled issue,” and that Kenney has preserved the “status quo.”

The status quo isn't good enough. Access to abortion in Alberta before 2015 was extremely poor, and my government worked hard to change that. We passed legislation to prevent harassment outside abortion clinics. We provided full public coverage for the abortion pill, a critical step toward access in rural Alberta. We were also working to provide clinical abortion services outside of major cities.

The Kenney government halted this work.

We have a long way to go, but Kenney refuses to move.

We don't need to recite Jason Kenney's lifelong hostility to women's rights.

Upholding the right to abortion is more than landmark court decisions.

It takes work every day by health providers, community organizations and elected representatives to ensure that rights translate into accessible services. Only the NDP can be trusted to advance women's health care.

Many Albertans have taken access to abortion for granted. Perhaps Breakenridge is one of them. But those who would roll back the clock on women's rights have never rested. The news coming out of the U.S. will embolden these groups in Canada.

Albertans deserve a government that strengthens public health care and expands access in every community. I commit that an NDP government will take up this work every single day.

NDP Leader Rachel Notley, Edmonton