The motion by MP Niki Ashton, the NDP's status of women critic, was scheduled to be put forth on May 15 but was cancelled. The motion was to call on the House of Commons to affirm "a woman's right to choose abortion" as a "fundamental question of equality and human rights, both in Canada and around the world."

Ashton's goal is the have the Conservative government change its 2010 international maternal health policy to allow for funding for overseas abortions.

Federal NDP staff said it as a matter of prioritizing and that the cancellation of Ashton's motion was because the party wanted to discuss cuts to the CBC this week.

Pro-life activists had welcomed the motion as they saw it as a chance to reopen the abortion debate. The National Campus Life Network posted a YouTube video thanking Ashton for bringing forth the motion to show that it is not a closed debate.