Michael Ignatieff’s Liberals say Stephen Harper’s maternal health initiative is dead – and Hillary Clinton had a big hand in killing it.
“In its current form, it does look D.O.A., that is quite clear,” a senior Ignatieff official told The Globe today. Indeed, the Liberals are feeling some vindication and they have Mrs. Clinton to thank for that.
At the closing press conference of the G8 foreign ministers meeting yesterday, the U.S. Secretary of State said a maternal health initiative is meaningless without including access to abortion. And British Foreign Secretary David Miliband sided with Mrs. Clinton’s position.
The Liberal official noted how dramatically things have changed in a week.
“Last week the Liberals were accused of being ‘anti-American’ by the Conservatives. Why? Because they said Stephen Harper’s maternal health initiative should stay clear of George Bush-style policies and make sure all options regarding reproductive health were available.”
He was referring to the Liberal motion on maternal health the Grits lost after some of their own MPs opposed it. It was an embarrassment for them.
The Tories did not support it, criticizing the Liberals for being anti-American because the motion was critical of the former U.S. president’s policies.
Today, the opposition questioned how the Conservatives would characterize the current Secretary of State’s views on the subject.
“Does that make her anti-American?” the official asked, wondering if it also makes Mr. Miliband anti-American.
The Liberals are also asking what this does for Mr. Harper’s signature initiative. “Strange for the host of a meeting to launch something that will isolate his own country on the world stage.”
The official added that the Clinton rebuke shines a “blinding light on the fact that Stephen Harper was improvising in order to shore up his dismal credentials with women.”
The Prime Minister’s Office has not responded to queries on whether they will reframe the plan as a result of Mrs. Clinton’s remarks. A meeting of G8 development ministers is planned next month in Halifax during which the initiative will be discussed.
(Photo: Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press)
