Conservative MP Cheryl Gallant is getting herself into hot water again, this time drawing a parallel between abortion and the beheading of an American man working in Iraq.

The Western Catholic Reporter, in an article on an anti-abortion rally on Parliament Hill last month, quotes Gallant as saying the world was horrified at the murder of American contractor Nicholas Berg. He was beheaded by terrorists, and video of the incident was posted on an al-Qaeda affiliated website. 

"She compared the killing to the abortions performed in Canada over 35 years and said it is 'absolutely no different'," the article said.

Stephen Harper responded immediately from Calgary, but refused to condemn his MP's remarks.

"Cheryl Gallant is a very strong pro-life MP, and this is the rhetoric that the pro-life movement often uses," Harper told reporters in Calgary. "It's their business. I don't think it's particularly effective in changing public opinion."

He added he recognizes that abortion is here to stay in Canada.

"Abortion is going to go on one way or the other, and I think it's part of life, rightly or wrongly," he said. "I wouldn't say I like abortion, but I think abortion is a reality that is with us."

The Western Catholic Reporter article also said Liberal MP Paul Steckle, co-chair of the all-party Parliamentary Pro-Life Caucus, attended the anti-abortion rally as well. Steckle said that without the abortions performed over the last 35 years, Canada would have 3.5 million more people.

"So let's not go on killing those children who can become our future," he was quoted as saying.

Gallant has already caused her party leader trouble this election campaign.

On Saturday, the Ottawa-area MP said she thinks Canada's newly amended hate law -- which added "sexual orientation" to the list of groups protected from hate propaganda -- should be changed back.

"The danger in having sexual orientation just listed, that encompasses, for example, pedophiles," Gallant said. "I believe that the caucus as a whole would like to see it repealed."

Harper tried to defuse that Monday, saying that while he would like to see some amendments, he doesn't plan to change the law.

"I don't intend to repeal this legislation," he said. "I think it's perfectly reasonable to have these protections in law."

This is not first controversial remark from Gallant. In April, 2002, she was forced to apologize for a comment she made in the House of Commons, telling Foreign Affairs Minister Bill Graham to "Ask your boyfriend" about Mideast policy.

The remark was picked up by Commons microphones. After a firestorm of criticism, Gallant released a statement saying the remark "was inappropriate."

The next year, in June 2003, she apologized to the Commons after TV cameras caught her mouthing an obscenity at Graham during question period.

The latest gaffe comes as the Conservatives face criticism after a number of MPs expressed contentious opinions on topics such as abortion, bilingualism, and the death penalty.