Canada – Right-wing extremism is connected to being anti-choice – but we can win on abortion rights

As we see the growing restriction of abortion in the US, it is important that we remain vigilant of a growing anti-choice movement on the right.

by Joyce Arthur, rabble.ca
February 8, 2024

Canada has done well without any abortion law or restrictions since 1988, leaving abortion care under the same medical regulations as other healthcare. Indeed, abortion care follows the same pattern around the world regardless of law – people who want abortions have them as early as possible, while a small number of later abortions will always be needed for compelling social or medical reasons. Laws trying to regulate abortion are redundant and restrictions are harmful.

Abroad, Canada has a reputation as a socially liberal western democracy that guarantees reproductive rights and minority rights such as for gender expansive people. The Liberal government under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has a self-declared feminist foreign policy and has often spoken out in favour  of abortion rights.

Continued: https://rabble.ca/health/right-wing-extremism-is-connected-to-being-anti-choice-but-we-can-win-on-abortion-rights/


Canada has zero pro-choice Conservative MPs, watchdog says

Abortion rights group places remaining 15 Conservatives on list of anti-choice MPs after vote on ‘fetal rights’ bill

Tracey Lindeman in Ottawa
Thu 3 Aug 2023

A vote on a controversial bill meant to expand “fetal rights” in Canada has left the country without a single pro-choice Conservative MP, according to an abortion watchdog organization.

This week, the Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada (ARCC) placed the last remaining 15 Conservatives on its list of anti-choice MPs after they voted in support of Bill C-311, dubbed the Violence Against Pregnant Women Act.

Continued: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/aug/03/canada-abortion-rights-pregnancy


Canada – How pro-life bias is limiting reproductive healthcare access in rural Ontario

Right-to-life groups are increasing stigma and barriers to preventing and eliminating pregnancies

By Mary Baxter
August 2, 2023

After the condom broke, Amanda’s* boyfriend hurried to the drugstore to get the morning-after pill. Anxiety eddied as Amanda waited for him to return. The teenage couple had experienced pregnancy scares before but had never resorted to emergency contraception. A baby couldn’t be in the picture yet, Amanda knew.

In 2018, Amanda was 19 years old. The teen from Chatham-Kent, a rural municipality in southwestern Ontario, had dropped out of high school in Grade 11. They struggled with mental health and lived with their parents. They were unemployed. Their boyfriend, the same age, hit them.

Continued: https://broadview.org/abortion-access-rural/


Canada – City heading to court over rejected anti-abortion Hamilton bus advertisement

Christian group’s ad ‘not compatible’ with ‘safe, inclusive and welcoming transit system,’ city argues; Association for Reformed Political Action contends ‘no legitimate and pressing reason to censor’ it

By Teviah Moro Spectator Reporter
Thursday, July 20, 2023

The stage is set for a court battle this fall between the city and anti-abortion activists over a rejected Hamilton bus advertisement.

The Association for Reformed Political Action (ARPA) Canada and local member John Boekee argue the city should be ordered to accept the ad that it turned down in 2021 or reconsider it with court instructions.

Concerned that ARPA’s judicial review could set a “dangerous precedent” for advertising in Canadian cities, a national pro-choice group has also entered the fray.

Continued: https://www.thespec.com/news/hamilton-region/city-heading-to-court-over-rejected-anti-abortion-hamilton-bus-advertisement/article_fa8053a5-833f-5d2b-a8b0-f666dfdc8eaa.html


Can I Get an Abortion While Traveling Abroad?

From Canada to Australia, here are the countries that assist foreign visitors with unwanted pregnancies.

By Olivia Young
Published on 7/20/2023

When I was 25 and traveling in New Zealand, another American confided in me that she might be pregnant and didn't want to be. New Zealand's abortion laws were restrictive at that time, especially for a tourist with no local medical network. She would’ve had to fly 7,000-plus miles back to the states to terminate the pregnancy in her home country had the test come back positive. It didn't.

Seven years on, with abortion now criminalized in 14 states, discovering an unwanted pregnancy while abroad could be the best-case scenario for an American. While Roe v. Wade's polarizing demise made the Land Of The Free one of the least abortion-friendly countries in the Global North, the general shift to telehealth amid COVID made abortions easier than ever to get outside the US. Since 2020, New Zealand has deemed it legal to prescribe abortion pills over the phone.

Continued: https://www.thrillist.com/travel/nation/abortion-while-traveling-abroad


Canada – Her obituary requested donations to an abortion clinic. It’s a final political act for some

Since Roe v. Wade was overturned, a number of people have made donations to the pro-choice movement in Canada

Natalie Stechyson · CBC News
Posted: Jul 18, 2023

At first glance, Kathleen Dyer's obituary might seem like any other.

Beneath the photo of a smiling, older woman, we learn the basics: Dyer, who was living in Halifax, died on June 14 at age 84. She is survived by her husband, her son and his wife, and two sisters-in-law. But it's the third and final line that stands out: In lieu of flowers, Dyer asked for donations to the Nova Scotia Women's Choice Clinic.

The clinic, which performs medical and surgical abortions, doesn't know Dyer, except that she had once sent them a donation. And Dyer, who dedicated her life to supporting her husband and raising her children, wasn't a known abortion advocate.

Continued: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/abortion-donations-canada-1.6909124


A year after Roe fell, where does anti-abortion rhetoric stand in Canada?

Sean Previl, Global News
June 24, 2023

Advocates for safe abortion access and reproductive health are warning that one year after the fall of Roe v. Wade, similar anti-abortion and anti-rights rhetoric is bubbling up in Canada.

And they say more needs to be done to not only educate people on the resources and services out there, but to continue efforts to protect essential health care like abortion, access to birth control and other aspects of sexual and reproductive health.

Continued: https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/other/a-year-after-roe-fell-where-does-anti-abortion-rhetoric-stand-in-canada/ar-AA1cYh4l


The state of reproductive rights in Canada

It’s been one year since Roe v. Wade was overturned in the United States. In this piece, we look at abortion rights in Canada, accessibility issues and the future of abortion protection across the country.

by Stephen Wentzell
June 22, 2023

On June 24, 2022, the world watched in horror as the clock turned back decades in the U.S. in real-time as the Supreme Court overturned the Constitutional right to abortion access.

The move returned the right to abortion to the state level, overruling two landmark cases — Roe v. Wade (1973) and Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992).

While the criminalization of reproductive rights in the U.S. has been a cause for concern north of the border, experts like Martha Paynter, author of Abortion to Abolition: Reproductive Health and Justice in Canada, have sought to dispel misconceptions about abortion access in our country.

Continued: https://rabble.ca/health/the-state-of-reproductive-rights-in-canada/


Canada – Conservative bill defeated amid concerns it would promote fetal rights

By Staff  The Canadian Press
Posted June 14, 2023

A controversial Conservative private member’s bill intended to make violence against pregnant women an aggravating factor during court sentencing was roundly defeated in the House of Commons, as other parties said they feared it would reopen the debate on abortion.

The bill was supported by nearly all members of the Conservative party, including Leader Pierre Poilievre who declared himself to be “pro-choice” during his leadership campaign.

The Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada had urged MPs to vote against the bill on the grounds that it promotes fetal rights, even though there is no mention of fetal rights in the text of the bill itself.

Continued: https://globalnews.ca/news/9769739/conservatives-violence-against-pregnant-women-fetal-rights/


Republicans’ abortion bans are nothing like those in Europe

Yes, even the 12-week ones.

By Rachel M. Cohen
Jun 6, 2023

Republicans scrambling to address mounting backlash to abortion bans have landed on what they hope they can market as a moderate political compromise: limiting abortion after 12 weeks of pregnancy.

Over the last month, Republicans in North Carolina and Nebraska have passed 12-week abortion bans, a dramatic reduction in access for states that previously allowed abortion up until 20 weeks and 22 weeks, respectively.

Continued: https://www.vox.com/23741997/republicans-12-week-abortion-bans-europe-roe-dobbs