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Motion 312 was defeated Wednesday night by a two-thirds majority in the House of Commons. The motion was a back-door attempt to reopen the abortion debate, put forth as private member’s business by Conservative MP Stephen Woodworth, who proposed to set up a committee to study when life begins as defined in the Criminal Code.

The vote was not without controversy, as the Minister responsible for the Status of Women, Conservative MP Rona Ambrose, voted in favour of the motion—drawing strong criticism [PDF] from women’s rights advocates.