![MLA for Abbotsford South, Bruce Banman, stands at a microphone in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia to deliever a Mother's Day speech. He has grey hair, parted to the side, glasses, a grey beard. He is wearing a charcoal-coloured suit jacket, a light blue button-down shirt, and a navy blue tie. This is a screencapture from the BC legislatures video feed, and because of that, Banman's name, riding, and political affiliation, Conservative BC, are watermarked as part of the image.](https://frequencynews-wpoffloadmedia.s3.ca-central-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/16171341/MLA-Bruce-Banman-in-BC-Legislature-1024x768.jpg)
Abbotsford South MLA Banman refutes anti-abortion ‘dog whistle’ accusation from NDP
Bruce Banman, MLA for Abbotsford South, said it wasn’t his “intention” to use anti-abortion rhetoric in a message in the legislature last week ahead of Mother’s Day.
“Moms are the embodiment of love, strength, and sacrifice. From the moment of conception through the journey of pregnancy and childbirth, and throughout the myriad of challenges and triumphs that follow, mothers serve as the nurturing force that sustains life and shapes the future,” the member of the Conservative Party of British Columbia said in his speech. The NDP government’s parliamentary secretary of gender equity and Chilliwack Kent MLA Kelli Paddon shared this section of Banman’s comment on social media afterwards. She told CIVL Radio that she wants to know where all BC Conservative candidates stand on a woman’s right to choose. Meanwhile, Banman affirmed that “it is a woman’s body and a woman’s choice,” and accused the NDP of politicizing Mother’s Day.