Abortion and the right to life was a topic audience members wanted to know about in regards to how the candidates stood during the Skeena-Bulkley Valley riding all candidates meeting at the R.E.M. Lee Theatre April 20.
New Democrat and incumbent MP Nathan Cullen said he wanted to make his response perfectly clear after being questioned about the right to life.
“I’m a pro-choice candidate,” he said. “I believe... it’s a woman’s right to choose. I’ve stood clearly on that position from the time I first got nominated through the last three elections and stand here clearly today.”
Rod Taylor from the Christian Heritage Party said the right to life issue is why he got involved in politics.
“I stand in defence of unborn life,” he said.
“The killing of...human beings in Canada every year is something that has stained our land...we have innocent blood on our land,” Taylor said later that evening, adding that abortion affects the workforce and creates empty classrooms.
Green Party candidate Roger Benham had a different view.
“I am sick to death about hearing murdering babies,” he said, saying that he got a woman pregnant when he was 25. “Thank God we decided to get rid of it.”
“Really, we do silly things when we’re young....and I’m sorry, but a lot of us men are bloody selfish when it comes to having sex,” he continued. “We think it’s nice enough to have a condom on and lo and behold...we get with a woman who looks like the back end of a bus.”
Taylor fired back a rebuttal to Benham’s comments.
“No human being is the back end of a bus, and that includes the unborn child in the womb,” he said.
“We need to show compassion to the young and we need to teach them good choices.”