Alberta anti-abortion party brings in more than $200K after years of inactivity

An anti-abortion party in Alberta that in 2020 had just $30 in the bank has raised nearly $217,000 in contributions this year.

According to Elections Alberta, in the first three quarters of 2021 the Pro-Life Alberta Political Association out-fundraised each of the Wildrose Independence Party, the Alberta Party and the Alberta Liberals. 

The amount, still leagues below the millions of dollars raised by the United Conservative Party and the New Democratic Party, is a seismic shift for a single-issue political organization that has been largely inactive for years.

Executive director Richard Dur credited the revival to two things: an unsolicited $20 donation in February from a supporter in Red Deer that motivated party organizers; and a growing frustration that anti-abortion views were not being addressed provincially.

"It's our aim then to make the right-to-life issue an issue that is talked about during an election campaign, when other political parties might perhaps rather ignore that issue," he said.

The fact that a controversial conscience-rights bill, known as Bill 207, died before reaching the Legislative Assembly in a UCP-dominated committee was also a motivator, Dur said.

"We would be naive to simply rely on something to happen there," he said.

Party reactivation

The party started as a 2017 takeover of the Christian-based, right-wing Alberta Social Credit Party, which formed government in the mid-20th century but fell into political irrelevance in following decades.

Initially, the reactivated party ran only one candidate during the 2019 election — garnering 60 votes in Calgary-Currie — and brought in no contributions between 2018 and 2020.

Its financial statement for last year shows cash holdings of $32.31.

But the first three quarters of 2021 the party brought in $216,814, with around 75 per cent of contributions being $250 or under.

The Pro-Life Alberta Political Association advertises on its website that because it is a political party, contributions up to $200 receive 75 per cent tax credit, far more than the approximately 25 per cent tax credit for a similar donation to a charity.

Charities are also barred from directly or indirectly supporting or opposing political parties or candidates.

Dur said the volunteer-run party does not aim to form government. It is still organizing but has started running radio ads and does not rule out putting forward candidates in the next election, he said.

Kathy Dawson, a board member with Alberta's Pro-Choice Coalition, which advocates for women's right to abortion, said she has a few concerns with the party, including its access to the province's list of electors. 

She said the group being able to advertise with no spending limits during non-election periods is also an issue.

"We've got enough misinformation on health out there without them jumping into the fray," Dawson said.

Abortion law

In 1988, the Supreme Court of Canada struck down criminal regulation of abortion as a violation of the charter — no law has been installed to replace it.

The party says one way to limit abortion would be to put in place measures provincially to deter the medical procedure, including elimination of public funding for it.

Provinces do have some control over health-care spending, but defunding abortion would be fraught with challenges, according to University of Alberta law professor Erin Nelson.

"If a province were to stop funding a service that is considered medically necessary, then they would face repercussions from the federal government," Nelson said.

The federal government can withhold funding if it deems a province is not complying with the Canada Health Act, she said.

Other party goals include requiring notification of parents or guardians when an abortion is scheduled for someone under the age of 16 and practices more commonly seen in the United States, such as requiring certain information be given to a pregnant person or obliging them to undergo an ultrasound pre-procedure.

Nelson said that would likely see pushback from health-care providers, who have a lot of autonomy in how to approach their practice.

"The idea that we would list an itemized checklist of what has to be told to a patient is not something that I have encountered before," she said.