Why Can Canadian Doctors Still Deny Access To Abortion—And Other Healthcare?

The practice of conscientious objection means doctors can refuse or deflect requests for a variety of services, including abortion—and in many provinces, they're not even obligated to provide a referral.

Tracey Lindeman
Updated July 22, 2021

Chantal had already performed all the mental gymnastics.

About eight years ago, the then-23-year-old woman from southern Alberta had accidentally become pregnant, and weighed her options. She settled on having an abortion, the best choice for her in that moment of her life. She booked an appointment with her doctor, one of only a small handful in her community, to request a referral—a requirement in Alberta then. When the time came to meet, she sat in his office and laid her cards out.

Continued: https://www.chatelaine.com/opinion/canadian-doctors-deny-access-to-abortion/


Abortion by telemedicine: an equitable option for Irish women

Abortion by telemedicine: an equitable option for Irish women

BMJ 2017; 357 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.j2237. Cite this as: BMJ 2017;357:j2237
Published 16 May 2017
Wendy V Norman, associate professor, Bernard M Dickens, professor emeritus of health law and policy

Reassuring study data support growing calls for reform

Women’s need for abortion is no less in countries where abortion is legally restricted. Globally, a quarter of all pregnancies end in abortion, with higher rates in countries with severe legal restrictions than in countries offering safe legal abortion.1 In 1969 the United Nations affirmed the rights of parents to determine the number and spacing of their children.2 Half a century later a key component of this right is not equitably accessible.

Continued at source: BMJ: http://www.bmj.com/content/357/bmj.j2237


Abortion pills accessed online are as safe, effective as clinics: study

Abortion pills accessed online are as safe, effective as clinics: study
Telemedicine may be option in countries where service is restricted, researchers suggest

CBC News Posted: May 16, 2017

Medical abortions done at home using pills and an online telemedicine service appear to be just as safe and effective as those done at legal clinics, a new study has found. And it's an approach that the Canadian health-care system may be able to learn from, the author of an accompanying editorial says.

To conduct the study, researchers analyzed the outcomes of 1,023 women in Ireland and Northern Ireland who sought medical abortion services through Women on Web, a non-profit organization that provides access to medications used to induce abortion, between 2010 and 2012. Outcomes were known for 1,000 of those women, and nearly all the women were less than nine weeks into their pregnancy.

Continued at source: CBC: http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/medical-abortion-telemedicine-1.4118688