Abortion Rights in Canada are Under Attack

Forced-birth groups are testing their strategy

Dr. Jen Gunter
Nov 28, 2025

My friends in Canada, and anyone else who cares about human rights and not descending into fascism, The National Post sounded a right-wing dog whistle about abortion, and you need to pay attention. We have lived this in the United States, and trust me when I tell you, this is how it starts.

The cause for alarm? The National Post, a right-wing national rag, ran a piece featuring an undercover forced birther allegedly visiting four clinics, claiming she was 22 weeks pregnant and trying to arrange an abortion. The videos were highly edited and apparently filmed two years ago, when the person who made them claimed to have been pregnant. I make no excuses for not taking the word of someone who shoots clandestine videos about abortion. When someone publicly admits to misleading multiple people, their word is meaningless.

Continued: https://vajenda.substack.com/p/abortion-rights-in-canada-are-under


Dear Canada, Pierre Poilievre is Coming for Your Reproductive Rights

A letter to my fellow Canadians

Dr. Jen Gunter, The Vajenda
Apr 25, 2025

Dear Fellow Canadians,

On Monday, you will be heading to the ballot box (many of you have already voted, which is terrific). There are many issues at stake, but I want to talk about the one issue that rules them all: abortion.

Why does abortion rule them all? It is the canary in the coal mine. When a government thinks it can criminalize abortion, it’s a way to “other” half the population, and othering is an important part of fascism. Once one human right can be taken away, others quickly follow. Abortion is often the easiest entry point, because it comes with the misogynistic implication that women who want an abortion are lazy or thoughtless or “loose” or had “it” coming (“it’ can be so many awful things here; if you are a woman you know).

Continued: https://vajenda.substack.com/p/dear-canada-pierre-poilievre-is-coming


Canadian-born gynecologist plans to return to Canada after raising concerns Trump is dismantling U.S. health care

Kristy Kirkup, Globe and Mail
April 8, 2025

She is seen as an online rock star in the realm of women’s health, and now Dr. Jen Gunter says she is planning to leave the United States and move back home to Canada amid rising tensions around reproductive rights.

The best-selling author and gynecologist shared an interview on her Instagram account on Tuesday that she conducted with her hometown paper, the Winnipeg Free Press, on her plans.

Continued: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-gynecologist-dr-jen-gunter-plans-to-return-to-canada-after-raising/


Are ‘herbal abortions’ safe? Doctors warn against viral TikTok trend following Roe v Wade overturn

Rachel Ann Rodrigues
Jul 08, 2022

Abortions induced by ingesting unregulated herbal concoctions can be dangerous, but do-it-yourself recipes for self-regulated miscarriages have been doing the rounds on TikTok, and doctors are warning against it.

These controversial and potentially fatal videos have been gaining momentum since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade on June 24 - a landmark ruling that dismantled the constitutional right to abortion.

https://www.sportskeeda.com/pop-culture/are-herbal-abortions-safe-doctors-warn-viral-tiktok-trend-following-roe-v-wade-overturn


Ireland – This woman died because of an abortion ban. Americans fear they could be next.

I think maternal mortality will go up,” said the expert who wrote Ireland's official report on the death of Dr. Savita Halappanavar, who was denied an abortion.

July 4, 2022
By Patrick Smith

After the Supreme Court’s historic decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, some doctors are highlighting the 2012 death of a pregnant woman in Ireland and warning that the same thing could happen on a large scale in the United States.

Dr. Savita Halappanavar, a 31-year-old Indian-born dentist, died in 2012 in Galway, on Ireland’s west coast, after she was denied an abortion by doctors who cited the country’s strict laws, despite there being no chance of her baby’s survival, according to Ireland’s official report on the case.

Continued: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/woman-died-ireland-abortion-ban-warning-americans-roe-v-wade-rcna35431


If You Think Abortion’s Bad, Try Childbirth, Jen Gunter Tells U.S. Politician

Many of the side effects of abortion cited by its opponents are actually more true of labour and childbirth.

By Maija Kappler
07/22/2020

Note to the many people out there spreading misinformation about reproductive rights: you do not want to get into a Twitter fight with Dr. Jen Gunter.

On Wednesday, Republican congresswoman Debbie Lesko took to Twitter to discourage the use of Mifegymiso, the two-pill combo that terminates a pregnancy.

https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/jen-gunter-abortion-us-politician_ca_5f173056c5b615860bb88e22


USA – They’re Doctors. They’re Also Incredibly Effective—and Dangerous—Anti-Abortion Activists.

They’re Doctors. They’re Also Incredibly Effective—and Dangerous—Anti-Abortion Activists.
Your OB-GYN could be one of them.

Marisa Endicott
June 4, 2020

In April 2019, when meetings like this still took place, Diane Foley took the stage in Indianapolis, looking out into the faces of anti-choice advocates and doctors who were gathered for their annual conference. The Health and Human Services official began her presentation: “Opportunities for Collaborative Engagement in Policy Development.” The bland, policy-wonkish title belied its almost-revolutionary substance: nothing less than a major shift in American health care—and a threat to the more than 4 million primarily low-income people who rely on a key government program for family planning and other care.

Title X, which Foley oversees as the head of the Office of Population Affairs—and which also includes the government’s teen pregnancy program—offers health care providers more than $286 million in funding each year. Just a month before her presentation, a new rule passed that would, for the first time, prohibit Title X recipients from performing abortions on-site or even providing abortion referrals. This effectively shut out a quarter of all clinics that were getting funding—including Planned Parenthood, which has traditionally received some $60 million a year from the program and provides more than 2.4 million patients with a slew of services, from birth control to cancer screenings to wellness exams.

Continued: https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2020/06/american-association-pro-life-obstetricians-gynecologists-aaplog-anti-abortion-doctors-june-medical-supreme-court-decision/


USA – Here’s How Conservatives Are Using Civil Rights Law to Restrict Abortion

Here's How Conservatives Are Using Civil Rights Law to Restrict Abortion
Here Are the Details of the Abortion Legislation in Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and Elsewhere

By Abigail Abrams
January 1, 2020

Six states passed laws in 2019 banning abortions once a “fetal heartbeat” is detected, which can be as early as six weeks into pregnancy. While most of these new laws were challenged in court and are temporarily blocked, the trend has continued: another 10 states introduced similar bills in 2019 and more are expected this year.

The sudden success of these measures is not an accident. They are the result of a concerted new strategy by abortion opponents, researchers have found.

Continued: https://time.com/5753300/heartbeat-bill-civil-rights-law/


This life-threatening pregnancy complication is the next frontier in the abortion debate

This life-threatening pregnancy complication is the next frontier in the abortion debate
Ectopic pregnancies can be deadly if left untreated. But abortion opponents are telling another story.

By Anna North
Sep 11, 2019

Ectopic pregnancies can be deadly.

The condition happens in about 2 percent of all pregnancies, when a fertilized egg implants somewhere outside the uterus — usually in the fallopian tube, a tiny structure connecting the uterus to the ovary. If the pregnancy continues to grow and develop, the tube can rupture, and the pregnant person can hemorrhage and die.

In most cases, the only way to treat an ectopic pregnancy is to terminate it with medication or surgery. But now, some abortion opponents are arguing that patients with ectopic pregnancies can simply be monitored until they miscarry — or even that such pregnancies can be carried to term.

Continued: https://www.vox.com/2019/9/11/20859034/ectopic-pregnancy-abortion-federalist-intrauterine-ohio-surgery


Decoder: Why abortion is more than a political debate

Decoder: Why abortion is more than a political debate
Abortion is wrapped up in politics in many nations including the U.S. But one in four pregnancies ends in abortion, making it a global health issue.

July 3, 2019
By Maggie Fox

Abortion is one of the most common medical procedures globally.

It is grist for a raging political debate in the United States, nearly half a century after the highest court in the country ruled that women have the right to choose whether or not to end a pregnancy.

Continued: https://news-decoder.com/2019/07/03/decoder-abortion/