Access to abortion services in Ontario rose in five- year period after mifepristone arrival: study

The Globe and Mail (BC Edition)
7 Apr 2025
KRISTY KIRKUP, HEALTH REPORTER OTTAWA

Access to abortion services at the local level in Ontario substantially increased within a five-year period after a drug known as mifepristone became available for use in Canada in 2017, according to newly released findings.

A study published Monday in the Canadian Medical Association Journal sheds light on how mifepristone dispensed by local pharmacies in the country’s most populous province changed access to services.

The drug, approved for use by Health Canada, blocks the hormone progesterone, which is needed for a pregnancy to continue. Cramping and bleeding then begins that empties the uterus. It is commonly dubbed the “abortion pill.”

Continued: https://globe2go.pressreader.com/article/281625311126579

07.04.2025

News

Research

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Canadian Medical Association

Canadian abortion group says it may have to shutter after losing government funding

Hannah Alberga, The Canadian Press
Jan 28, 2025

A national group that helps people who have trouble accessing abortion services says it may be forced to shut down in several months after Health Canada declined to renew its funding for the upcoming year.

Abortion Care Canada says it had sought $1.3 million from the federal government's Sexual and Reproductive Health Fund for the next fiscal year but will get nothing, despite having received about $2.2 million in total since the fund was established in 2021.

Continued: https://www.timescolonist.com/health/canadian-abortion-group-says-it-may-have-to-shutter-after-losing-government-funding-10144887

Health Canada issue public advisory for abortion, morning after pills sold on ‘Dr. Pooja’ websites

Tara De Boer
Tuesday, May 16

Health Canada put out an advisory on Tuesday warning against purchasing unauthorized prescription drugs from the website “Dr. Pooja,” which sells abortion and "morning after" pills.

The agency says Canadians should not buy or use any unauthorized health products from “Dr. Pooja” websites, as the drugs could be ineffective, expired, mislabelled, subject to recalls, or counterfeit versions of authorized products.

Continued: https://www.ctvnews.ca/mobile/health/health-canada-issue-public-advisory-for-abortion-morning-after-pills-sold-on-dr-pooja-websites-1.6401547

16.05.2023

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Nearly 40 per cent of Canadian abortions rely on pill that is at centre of U.S. legal battle

'We don’t want people believing that what they’re hearing in the United Sates is the case here,' says UBC researcher

Sharon Kirkey
Published Apr 15, 2023

Doctors in Canada fear the extraordinary legal battles over abortion pills unfolding in the U.S. could shake confidence in the safety of medical abortions here.

The country’s largest pro-life organization hopes the court rulings do just that, and lead to more “kitchen-table” conversations about a drug it considers a “human poison.”

Continued: https://nationalpost.com/news/nearly-40-per-cent-of-canadian-abortions-rely-on-pill-at-centre-of-legal-battle

Canada – Doctors brace for a nationwide shortage of abortion pills

Mifegymiso manufacturer says supply chain to blame for second shortage in 3 months

Marina von Stackelberg · CBC News
Posted: Feb 16, 2023

A nationwide shortage of the abortion pill is expected next week⁠ — just months after previous shortage of the drug forced some patients to get surgical abortions instead.

"When our hands are tied, it's really frustrating to not be able to give the standard of care," said Dr. Emily Stuart, an abortion provider on Vancouver Island.

Continued: https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/abortion-pill-shortage-1.6750183

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/

Ontario promised to overhaul abortion care – but clinics say they’ve been left out

By Jasmine Pazzano, Global News
Published December 7, 2022

Ontario’s abortion care system has been in a state of disrepair for years, and last December, Queen’s Park decided to do something about it, committing to overhaul the way it funds its clinics.

The news came as a relief to people working at some of the province’s imperiled abortion centres. It also came as a surprise. Until a reporter asked them about it, none of the six clinics Global News spoke with knew about the plans.

Continued: https://globalnews.ca/news/9280521/ontario-abortion-overhaul-health-care-clinics/

Ultrasounds no longer required in Quebec before getting abortion pill

Selena Ross, Lillian Roy, CTVNewsMontreal.ca
July 4, 2022

A group of Quebec doctors has successfully pushed for a big change to how abortions are given in the province, widening access to abortions by medication.

Until now, Quebec has required patients to have ultrasounds before obtaining the two-pill regimen that induces a medical abortion.

Continued: https://montreal.ctvnews.ca/mobile/ultrasounds-no-longer-required-in-quebec-before-getting-abortion-pill-1.5973986

04.07.2022

Quebec College of Physicians

ultrasound for abortion

ultrasound requirements

Health Canada deflects complaints about ads for ‘abortion-pill reversal’

Medical groups have condemned the treatment as unproven and potentially unsafe, but Alliance for Life argues there is good evidence reversal works and is safe

Tom Blackwell, National Post
Jul 07, 2021

Health Canada has essentially rejected two complaints about an anti-abortion group promoting a controversial process to “reverse” medical abortions, as the niche issue earns growing attention from both sides in the heated abortion debate.

The matter is one for provincial regulators to tackle, said federal officials this week after deciding to take no action on the advertising grievances.

Continued: https://nationalpost.com/health/health-canada-deflects-complaints-about-ads-for-abortion-pill-reversal

Canada doctors group breaks silence on “unproven” abortion ‘reversal’ treatment

openDemocracy’s investigation prompts Canada’s Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists to speak out against this controversial ‘treatment’

Joni Hess, Annie Burns-Pieper

26 March 2021

Canada’s national society of obstetricians and gynaecologists has issued a
statement warning that so-called ‘abortion pill reversal’ treatment is
“unproven” and can also cause “serious complications” for patients.

The statement – the first by a Canadian medical association to address this
topic – was issued in response to findings from an openDemocracy investigation that
reveals how this controversial ‘treatment’ is spreading from the US around the
world.

Continued: https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/5050/canada-doctors-group-breaks-silence-on-unproven-abortion-reversal-treatment/