Conservative Party of B.C. Leader John Rustad aimed at topping earlier pledges by the B.C. NDP as he presented his party's platform on reproductive health today.
Rustad said his party would fund two rounds of in vitro fertilization, one more than what the B.C. NDP had promised in its pre-election budget.
"What I'm hearing from families, what I'm hearing from health experts, is many times, one round is not enough, that sometimes it takes a second round...to be able to successful," Rustad said Friday (Oct. 11), added that the party would also fund one month of grievance leave following a miscarriage.
"For a woman who has the tragedy of having a miscarriage, it can be very emotional and very, very difficult for a woman."
The party also promised to expand the training of midwives, offer financial support for individuals looking to adopt children, and put additional research toward the treatment of cervical and ovarian cancer.
"All of this combined will make a huge difference for families right across this province, to make sure that families can be able to achieve what they would like to achieve, whether they will want to have children, whether they want to adopt children and also in terms of the care and compassion that should be there and needs to be there by government for those families," he said.
Rustad's pledge around cervical cancer has a personal dimension. His wife Kim overcame a diagnosis of cervical cancer, but this also meant the couple would not be able to conceive.
Rustad announced the policies in Vancouver, where Conservative candidate Elenore Sturko (Surrey-Cloverdale) was among the local candidates joining him. Each shared personal stories as part of the announcement.
"Unfortunately, for my wife and I, we were unable to have a child, but I know what it means for many, many people," Rustad said. "I know many people around the province want to be able to experience the same thing, so we are going to make some significant improvements for women's health and particularly in terms of helping families."
Sturko, who is a member of the 2SLGBTQ+ community, said she and her partner first became parents in 2011.
"Then we had twins in 2013 and both of our pregnancies were only possible as a result of (IVF)," she said adding that IVF was the difference between "being able to fulfill our dream of parenthood and not."
Sturko said a lot of anticipation and hope goes into trying to conceive, adding that she and her partner also experienced pregnancy loss.
"Many, many couples have gone through this, it's tremendously difficult."
The question of reproductive health may not be as prominent as housing and affordability this election, but it has come up on several occasions, particularly after now-former Conservative candidate Damien Scrase had commented on the related issue of abortion on social media before his candidacy.
Scrase said that the “most feverishly defended ‘right’ in this country is the right to kill babies," adding that you "will never see a Canadian get more animated by any other issue. It’s a bizarre sclerotic death-worshipping society.”
Rustad initially defended Scrase's comments, but eventually dropped him as a candidate. When asked about his own position, Rustad said at the time that his party won't re-open the abortion debate in noting that the federal government regulates the issue. He has publicly confirmed this position on several occasions.
On Sept. 10, Rustad also promised to maintain various B.C. services as they exist after B.C. NDP Leader David Eby had accused Rustad of being at "best ambivalent about reproductive freedom and at worst hostile to it."
When asked about his position on free birth control and abortion pills at Friday's announcement, Rustad said his party does not plan to make any changes.
"They will stay the same and be available here in British Columbia."
The B.C. NDP said in a statement that the Conservatives' plan "focuses on many things the BC NDP is already doing, including funding IVF treatment to help people have families" without mentioning the additional round.
"What the plan doesn’t include is any mention of access to abortion or contraception." it reads.
