Albertans' reproductive rights are under threat. Here's why.

At a townhall event for UCP party members, Danielle Smith said she plans to transfer much of Alberta’s hospital operations away from the province’s health authority, AHS, to organizations like Covenant Health. At first glance this might not seem like a big deal, but it is.

Covenant is a faith-based (Catholic) healthcare provider and doesn’t provide certain services, citing religious grounds. Abortions, MAiD, gender-affirming care and emergency contraception are all off-limits. Smith seemed to express a particular focus on shifting hospital operations in rural communities. Doing so risks the creation of ‘deserts’ across the province lacking access to these services. To be clear, there are already vast areas in the province where many of these services are difficult to access. Smith’s plan would make the issue worse.

Yes, this is legal in provinces across Canada, but the story doesn’t end here.

Let’s rewind. In late-2023, Preston Manning led a review of Alberta's COVID-19 response. Miffed by vaccine mandates, Manning and his panel recommended changes to the provincial Charter, the Alberta Bill of Rights. This week, a draft of the revised Bill of Rights was leaked — apparently.

An anti-abortion news website — LifeSiteNews — says it got a leaked draft of the document from an anonymous UCP-connected source. They say it includes the following passage:

"All living persons within Alberta have the God-given right to life. A living person includes all persons at all stages of life from conception, gestation in the womb, to birth and throughout their life up until natural death."

So what’s on the line if these words become law? Abortion (from conception, gestation in the womb) and assisted dying (up until natural death) are directly in the crosshairs. So is emergency contraception. Albertans’ freedom to undergo IVF would also be threatened.

An unnamed UCP MLA told LifeSiteNews that they hoped the draft passes into law with minimal, if any, changes. They also expressed fears that the draft will be “watered down”. If we’re to take LifeSite at its word, is this a bit of an implicit verification of the document’s authenticity?

As the draft has garnered widespread attention, political distancing is in full swing.

National Post correspondent Tyler Dawson received this comment from the provincial Justice Minister’s office:

"This document is not a draft of the Alberta Bill of Rights or an official document related to it in any way.”

Let’s debrief. Yes, this is a sensational story with shocking implications. But is it any more so than pulling the province out of Canada’s Pension Plan? Many will be quick to assert that Smith would, were she to follow through here, have a legal fight with the feds on her hands. I’ll direct their attention to every Premier’s best friend, the notwithstanding clause.

Circulating far beyond what I believe was its intended audience, the draft has the potential to become a national story. I assume we’ll see swift backing away from the Smith government — from the draft. But what about the plan to transfer hospital operations to a Catholic organization? I expect they’ll be leaning into that one.