Trudeau says he’s ‘deeply disappointed’ by US ‘backsliding’ on women’s rights

Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau said Thursday that he is “deeply disappointed” by some American states’ moves to further restrict access to abortion.

“Obviously we are deeply disappointed by the backsliding on women’s rights that we’re seeing in some places around the world, including some American states,” Trudeau said at a news conference in Paris just a day after Alabama’s governor signed a law that bans nearly all abortions, according to Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

{mosads}Trudeau emphasized that Canada “unequivocally” supports a woman’s right to choose, and said women “will always have an ally and a defender in Canada.” 

Abortion at any stage of a pregnancy has been legal in Canada since 1988, according to The Pew Research Center. 

“It’s a shame that we increasingly see conservative governments and conservative politicians taking away rights that have been hard-fought over many, many years by generations of women and male allies,” Trudeau said.

Trudeau’s comments came just a day after Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey (R) signed into law the most restrictive abortion policy in the U.S. The law would ban abortions in virtually all instances, including for victims of rape and incest. Abortion would only be legal in the event that it’s necessary to save a woman’s life. Someone who provides an abortion in Alabama could face up to 99 years in prison.