Breaking Down Barriers: The Quest for Equitable Abortion Access in Canada

By Annie Ding, The McGill International Review
Sep 25, 2023

It’s been just over a year since Roe v. Wade was overturned in the United States, removing the constitutional protection of abortion rights in the country, and marking a significant setback in reproductive rights. While Canada has often been viewed as a leader in comprehensive abortion access, it’s not as black and white as it may seem. The impact of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization reverberates beyond U.S. borders and fueled anti-abortion sentiments worldwide. To provide some context, the Dobbs case involved a Mississippi state law that banned most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, which directly challenged Roe v. Wade and women’s established right to choose abortion before the fetus reaches viability (usually at approximately 24 weeks). The Supreme Court’s ruling in this case thus undermined the precedent set by Roe v. Wade, and opened the door to states across the country to further restrict abortion access, furthering fuel for anti-abortion groups across the country.

Contrary to mainstream narratives, Canada is not a stranger to these anti-abortion sentiments. Abortion access is nowhere near as seamless as it is often cited as in comparison to the U.S. 

Continued: https://www.mironline.ca/breaking-down-barriers-the-quest-for-equitable-abortion-access-in-canada/


Australian women’s access to abortion is a postcode lottery. Here’s what needs to change

May 30, 2023
Danielle Mazza

When the American legal precedent protecting women’s right to an abortion in the United States, Roe versus Wade, was overturned last year, women around the world felt anxious.

In Australia, despite abortion being legal, there was increasing concern about women’s ability to access abortion. This led to a Senate inquiry into universal access to reproductive health care. This inquiry has now concluded.

Continued: https://theconversation.com/australian-womens-access-to-abortion-is-a-postcode-lottery-heres-what-needs-to-change-206504


Five years after Ireland’s historic abortion referendum, access to care is still ‘patchy’

By Niamh Kennedy and Emily Blumenthal, CNN
Thu May 25, 2023

In 2018, the Irish public voted overwhelmingly to repeal the country’s Eighth Amendment, overturning one of the strictest abortion bans in the European Union. There were scenes of jubilation as the referendum result was announced, with many in Ireland seeing it as a historic step that would give women control over their own bodies.

But five years on, although abortion is free and legally available in Ireland up to 12 weeks of pregnancy – after that allowed only in exceptional circumstances, if there is a risk to the mother’s life or the fetus is not expected to survive – the abortion system is still far from where campaigners and charities would like it to be.

Continued: https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/25/europe/ireland-abortion-referendum-5-years-intl-cmd/index.html


Australia – Women share difficulties and stigma around accessing abortion care with Senate inquiry

By political reporter Georgia Hitch
Feb 25, 2023

Feeling shamed and judged, travelling hundreds of kilometres and ending up significantly out of pocket: these are some of the issues raised by women in their own words with abortion access in Australia.

The stories were gathered by Monash University as part of an ongoing research project into what barriers, or enablers, there are for people seeking abortions.

Continued: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-02-26/senate-inquiry-universal-reproductive-healthcare-abortion-access/102018234


35 years after Morgentaler, abortion still not available for all in Canada

Thirty five years after the landmark Morgentaler decision the fight continues to ensure that the right to abortion is accessible to all.

by Frederique Chabot and Jill Doctoroff
January 27, 2023

Abortion was decriminalized in Canada 35 years ago this Saturday, January 28. 36 years ago, if you wanted an abortion, it meant sitting in front of a panel of doctors, usually men, who would decide if your abortion was “necessary.” That is, if you could access such a hospital. Not all hospitals created those committees, effectively refusing to provide abortion care at all. If such a committee did deem your story good enough to warrant an abortion—many did not—delays could span weeks.

Today, the legal hurdles are gone, but access is still a privilege not everyone in Canada has, and another question looms: Could what happened in the U.S. happen here too?

Continued: https://rabble.ca/health/35-years-after-morgentaler-abortion-still-not-available-for-all-in-canada/


Global implications of overturning Roe v Wade

US decision must not derail international trend towards liberalisation of abortion law

BMJ 2022; 378 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.o2025 (Published 18 August 2022)

Susheela Singh, Gilda Sedgh

Given the United States’ extensive global influence—including on sexual and
reproductive health programmes—how might the recent US Supreme Court decision
overturning the federal right to abortion1 affect the global trend towards expanding
access to safe and legal abortion? This important question is considered from
different perspectives and for different geographies by three linked articles
(doi:10.1136/bmj.o1844, doi:10.1136/bmj.o1908, doi:10.1136/bmj.o1945).234
Although the reverberations of the Supreme Court decision are just beginning to
play out, it is crucial to raise awareness of the potential for negative
consequences outside the US—and to explore ways of averting such effects.

Continued: https://www.bmj.com/content/378/bmj.o2025


Canada – The 30-year struggle for abortion access in P.E.I. shows how hard this fight can be

Let us not take for granted our right to access abortion services

Rebecca Viau · for CBC Opinion
Posted: May 17, 2022

I have been on the front line of P.E.I.'s fight for abortion access. I saw firsthand the harm done when access to abortion is limited or restricted.

In 2014, I had stepped forward in the movement and became a beacon of sorts, a public face for people to connect to. Once someone connected with me seeking to access abortion services, I would mobilize the community-organized support network that could help them find the treatment they needed in a timely manner. Because abortion services weren't available on P.E.I. until 2017, anyone seeking an abortion had to travel off-Island for treatment.

Continued: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/pei-abortion-becka-viau-1.6454849


Half of U.S. Women Risk Losing Abortion Access Without Roe

By Weiyi Cai, Taylor Johnston, Allison McCann and Amy Schoenfeld Walker
May 7, 2022

Around 64 million women and girls of reproductive age live in the United States, and more than half of them live in states that could seek to ban or further restrict access to abortion if the Supreme Court were to overturn Roe v. Wade.

Many of the millions of people who live in these states would be able to seek legal abortions elsewhere, but the barriers to access — including financial resources, time off work and child care — may be hard for some to overcome.

Continued: (please try to use your free stories first as I can only share so many unblocked links over a month) https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/05/07/us/abortion-access-roe-v-wade.html


Why is the South the Epicenter of Anti-Abortion Fervor?

Sarah Varney, Physician’s Weekly
Aug 2, 2021

Not so long ago, laws governing abortion in Massachusetts and Rhode Island were far more restrictive than those in the Deep South, as state legislators throughout New England regularly banned the procedure, no matter the circumstances, during the 1960s and ’70s.

Nowadays, however, the American South represents a hub of anti-abortion fervor, home to a series of laws and regulations that have eroded Roe v. Wade, as liberal states in the Northeast and elsewhere have enacted laws to codify that landmark 1973 Supreme Court decision.

Continued: https://www.physiciansweekly.com/why-is-the-south-the-epicenter-of-anti-abortion-fervor


Italian pro-abortion doctor postpones retirement as search continues for his replacement

Italy legalised abortion more than 40 years ago but many doctors refuse to perform the procedure

By Alvise Armellini
26 July 2021

An Italian doctor has postponed his retirement because there is no one else to carry out abortions in his region.

Italy legalised abortion more than 40 years ago but many of the doctors who work for the national health service refuse to perform the procedure.

Continued:
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2021/07/26/italian-pro-abortion-doctor-postpones-retirement-search-continues/