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In the letter, Monsef calls on Scheer to defend Canadian women’s access to reproductive health services and to work with the Liberal government to protect legal abortion in Canada and across the world.

“Canadians — and Canadian women in particular — deserve to know whether or not the Conservative Party of Canada would take us backwards by restricting or undermining a woman’s right to choose,” Monsef says in her letter.

Scheer’s press secretary Brock Harrison said Thursday Monsef’s letter to Conservatives is a show of “desperation as the election gets closer.”

“As they know, Mr. Scheer will not reopen this debate as prime minister and will instead focus on issues that unite Canadians.”

Advocates on the front lines who have been fighting for women’s reproductive rights in Canada have mixed reactions to the use of abortion access as a political strategy.

It’s also a bad look to call yourself a pro-choice government and not fill these gaps

Joyce Arthur, executive director of the Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada applauded Trudeau and the Liberals for taking a strong stand against politicians who support movements that seek to erode reproductive rights for women in Canada.

“I think it’s fantastic. I don’t think it’s ever happened before — I’ve never seen that kind of strategy before and I’m just so glad to see it, because it’s so inappropriate for these anti-choice MPs to be going to these marches, and often many of them are speaking at them as well,” she said.

“It’s just so wrong and they’ve been doing this for many years… the leaders of the Conservative party should be limiting that activity and I’m glad to see the Liberals are also trying to call them out for it.”