Happy Choice in Canada Day!
Today is the 20th anniversary of the Morgentaler Decision, which struck down Canada's abortion laws and made Canada one of the only countries in the world without legal restrictions on access to abortion. This was a fantastic acheivement, and we should be celebrating choice today!
However, we must never think that the fight for choice is over. Women across Canada are routinely blocked from accessing abortion services (services which have been deemed medically necessary by the Canada Health Act) by anti-choice doctors who abuse these women’s trust by refusing to help them find services. Women are told terrible myths about abortion and what will happen to them if they choose to have one. Women in Prince Edward Island have no access to abortion services, and access in New Brunswick, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, the North, and most remote areas in Canada is severely restricted. There are exceptions in reciprocal billing regulations between provinces that force women who are out of their home provinces to pay exorbitant fees in order to access abortion services. Hospital operating rooms and clinics lack the funding necessary to provide enough hours of service, and some provinces (illegally) refuse to fund clinics at all. Anti-choice organizations posing as “crisis pregnancy centres” use persuasive tactics to “counsel” women into carrying pregnancies they do not want to carry. Hospitals I contacted are terrified of having their status as abortion providers revealed to the public. There are countless other examples of rights being violated and negative behaviour toward reproductive choice being perpetuated.
Today, let's celebrate our right to choose and thank those who fought, and continue to fight, for the protection of that choice. As we celebrate, let us also be aware that the right to choose alone does not guarantee that choice is always available. The fight is not over.
(x-posted to
ljforchoice)
However, we must never think that the fight for choice is over. Women across Canada are routinely blocked from accessing abortion services (services which have been deemed medically necessary by the Canada Health Act) by anti-choice doctors who abuse these women’s trust by refusing to help them find services. Women are told terrible myths about abortion and what will happen to them if they choose to have one. Women in Prince Edward Island have no access to abortion services, and access in New Brunswick, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, the North, and most remote areas in Canada is severely restricted. There are exceptions in reciprocal billing regulations between provinces that force women who are out of their home provinces to pay exorbitant fees in order to access abortion services. Hospital operating rooms and clinics lack the funding necessary to provide enough hours of service, and some provinces (illegally) refuse to fund clinics at all. Anti-choice organizations posing as “crisis pregnancy centres” use persuasive tactics to “counsel” women into carrying pregnancies they do not want to carry. Hospitals I contacted are terrified of having their status as abortion providers revealed to the public. There are countless other examples of rights being violated and negative behaviour toward reproductive choice being perpetuated.
Today, let's celebrate our right to choose and thank those who fought, and continue to fight, for the protection of that choice. As we celebrate, let us also be aware that the right to choose alone does not guarantee that choice is always available. The fight is not over.
(x-posted to
ljforchoice)