It’s a fight they say was already won decades ago. A protest has been held in Downtown Vancouver against a private member’s bill that aims to reopen the abortion debate in Ottawa.

Dozens of women and supporters, many dressed as handmaids from Margaret Atwood’s “The Handmaid’s Tale”, gathered at the Art Gallery to share their outrage. Ontario Conservative MP for Kitchener Centre, Stephen Woodworth, plans to introduce a motion tomorrow to take another look at whether fetuses have rights.

Joyce Arthur with the Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada speaks at the rally.

“Let’s send this motion back to the hell hole it came from!” she yells to a crowd. “Motion 312 is all about taking women back in time.  Putting them in their place. Relegating them to the role of mothers.  Well we are here to say no! We are not passive recepticles, and we are not handmaids.  We are human beings!”

“We don’t need separate protections for fetuses because we can trust pregnant women to make the best decisions for themselves, their families, and their pregnancies,” Arthur adds.

It’s been rumored the motion may get support from senior cabinet minister Jason Kenney but Prime Minister Stephen Harper has said it’s a debate he’s not interested in reopening.