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So-called ‘abortion bill’ M312 has little chance of passing but continues to receive support from cabinet minister Jason Kenney, few others

None of the party leaders — not even Stephen Harper — support it, it has little chance of passing and yet it's getting a lot of attention.

On Wednesday evening, Canada's lawmakers will vote on Tory MP Stephen Woodworth's private members bill which, if passed, would require a Parliamentary committee to study the point at which a baby becomes a human being.

While Bill M312 wouldn't change Canada's abortion rules, many believe that it's a clandestine attempt to re-open the pro-life/pro-choice debate.

[ Related: Proposed review of existing abortion rules likely won't pass first stage ]

"I am very disturbed by this back-door attempt to re-open an abortion debate in Canada," Green Party leader Elizabeth May wrote in a statement.

"The Green Party opposes any possible move by the Harper Conservatives to diminish the right of a woman to a safe, legal abortion. We fully support a woman's right to choose."

The Liberal Party have also come out against the Bill with an on-line petition asking the Tories to take their "hands off reproductive rights." The petition page has over 103,000 Facebook likes.

Meanwhile, the New Democrats called a news conference Tuesday morning where they singled out immigration minister Jason Kenney who is one of the very few MPs to have announced that he will vote in favour of the bill.

"It comes as a surprise in a sense that we know that [Kenney] is very close to the Prime Minister," MP Niki Ashton said according to the Globe and Mail.

"The question here is why he's choosing to stand up against the government's wishes."

The debate about M312 has also sparked protests outside the confines of Parliament Hill.

LeadNow.ca has started a 'contact your MP' campaign which has seen over 48,000 email messages sent from their site. There have also been protests and demonstrations across the country.

[ Related: Are the Harper Conservatives becoming gay-friendly? ]

Past 'abortion' votes discourage by the Harper government:

We've been down this road before.

In April 2010, Conservative MP Rod Bruinooge tabled a private members bill criminalizing "coercing" a woman into abortion.

According to the Globe and Mail, Bill C-510 was handily defeated but had the support of 87 Tory MPs, including several cabinet ministers, even though Harper made a "strong recommendation" that they vote against it.