Abortion In Canada
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Abortion in Canada is legal at all stages of pregnancy and is publicly funded as a medical procedure under the combined effects of the federal
Canada Health Act The ''Canada Health Act'' (CHA; ''french: Loi canadienne sur la santé'') is a statute of the Parliament of Canada, adopted in 1984, which establishes the framework for federal financial contributions to the provincial and territorial health in ...
and provincial health-care systems. However, access to services and resources varies by region. While some non-legal barriers to access continue to exist, Canada is one of the only nations with absolutely no criminal restrictions on abortion. Abortion availability is, however, subject to provincial health-care regulatory guidelines for physicians. The general rule is that few providers offer abortion care beyond 23 weeks and 6 days, but there can be exceptions in certain cases. Formally banned in 1869, abortion would remain illegal in
Canadian law The legal system of Canada is Legal pluralism, pluralist: its foundations lie in the English common law system (inherited from its period as a colony of the British Empire), the Napoleonic Code, French civil law system (inherited from its New Fra ...
for the next 100 years. In 1969, the ''
Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1968–69 The ''Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1968–69'' (french: Loi de 1968–69 modifiant le droit pénal) was an omnibus bill that introduced major changes to the Canadian ''Criminal Code''. An earlier version was first introduced as Bill C-195 by then-M ...
'' legalized therapeutic abortions, as long as a committee of doctors certified that continuing the pregnancy would likely endanger the woman's life or health. In 1988, the
Supreme Court of Canada The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC; french: Cour suprême du Canada, CSC) is the Supreme court, highest court in the Court system of Canada, judicial system of Canada. It comprises List of Justices of the Supreme Court of Canada, nine justices, wh ...
ruled in ''
R. v. Morgentaler ''R v Morgentaler'', 9881 SCR 30 was a decision of the Supreme Court of Canada which held that the abortion provision in the ''Criminal Code'' was unconstitutional because it violated women's rights under section 7 of the ''Canadian Charter of R ...
'' that the existing law was unconstitutional, and struck down the 1969 Act. The ruling found that the 1969 abortion law violated a woman's right to "life, liberty and security of the person" guaranteed under
Section 7 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms Section 7 of the ''Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms'' is a constitutional provision that protects an individual's autonomy and personal legal rights from actions of the government in Canada. There are three types of protection within the se ...
established in 1982. In Canada, all surgical abortions are performed by a physician, with
nurse practitioners A nurse practitioner (NP) is an advanced practice registered nurse and a type of mid-level practitioner. NPs are trained to assess patient needs, order and interpret diagnostic and laboratory tests, diagnose disease, formulate and prescribe m ...
,
pharmacists A pharmacist, also known as a chemist (Commonwealth English) or a druggist (North American and, archaically, Commonwealth English), is a healthcare professional who prepares, controls and distributes medicines and provides advice and instructi ...
and
midwives A midwife is a health professional who cares for mothers and newborns around childbirth, a specialization known as midwifery. The education and training for a midwife concentrates extensively on the care of women throughout their lifespan; con ...
able to provide medications for non-invasive
medical abortion A medical abortion, also known as medication abortion, occurs when drugs (medication) are used to bring about an abortion. Medical abortions are an alternative to surgical abortions such as vacuum aspiration or dilation and curettage. Medical ...
s within nine weeks (63 days) of
gestation Gestation is the period of development during the carrying of an embryo, and later fetus, inside viviparous animals (the embryo develops within the parent). It is typical for mammals, but also occurs for some non-mammals. Mammals during pregna ...
. Canada has had a relatively stable abortion rate since decriminalization; the rate of recorded abortion per 1000 women of childbearing age (15-44) was 10.2 in 1974, rising to 16.4 abortions per thousand women in 1997, and declining to 10.1 abortions per 1000 women in 2020. However, these rates of abortion only reflect the number of abortions reported by abortion clinics and hospitals. They do not account for unreported abortions in these setting or count abortions induced by prescription drugs such as
mifepristone Mifepristone, also known as RU-486, is a medication typically used in combination with misoprostol to bring about a medical abortion during pregnancy and manage early miscarriage. This combination is 97% effective during the first 63 days of p ...
and
misoprostol Misoprostol is a synthetic prostaglandin medication used to prevent and treat stomach and duodenal ulcers, induce labor, cause an abortion, and treat postpartum bleeding due to poor contraction of the uterus. Misoprostol is taken by mouth wh ...
taken at home, and so these official rates of abortion undercount the true rate of abortion. Nevertheless, Canada has a low abortion rate overall compared to other countries, with approximately 74,000 abortions reported in 2020. Roughly half of abortions occur among women aged 18 to 29 years and roughly 90% of abortions are performed within the first trimester (12 weeks).


History


Early history

During the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, abortion before the “
quickening In pregnancy terms, quickening is the moment in pregnancy when the pregnant woman starts to feel the fetus' movement in the uterus. Medical facts The first natural sensation of quickening may feel like a light tapping or fluttering. These sensat ...
” (15–20 weeks) was legal in the
British North American British North America comprised the colonial territories of the British Empire in North America from 1783 onwards. English colonisation of North America began in the 16th century in Newfoundland, then further south at Roanoke and Jamestown, ...
colonies. British Canada like other colonies followed British laws that began restricting abortion rights with the ''
Malicious Shooting or Stabbing Act 1803 43 Geo 3 c 58, commonly called Lord Ellenborough's Act and sometimes referred to as the Malicious Shooting Act 1803 or the Malicious Shooting or Stabbing Act 1803,Smith and Hogan. Criminal Law. Eighth Edition. Butterworths. 1996. Page xxiiGoogle ...
'', that made performing or attempting to perform a post quickening abortion a death penalty offence. Full prohibition came with the ''
Offences Against the Person Act 1837 The Act 7 Will 4 & 1 Vict c 85, sometimes called the Offences against the Person Act 1837, was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It amended the law relating to offences against the person. It was one o ...
'', that removed the death penalty clause, while making the procurement of any
miscarriage Miscarriage, also known in medical terms as a spontaneous abortion and pregnancy loss, is the death of an embryo or fetus before it is able to survive independently. Miscarriage before 6 weeks of gestation is defined by ESHRE as biochemical lo ...
unlawful. Abortion was formally banned in "
Canada law The legal system of Canada is pluralist: its foundations lie in the English common law system (inherited from its period as a colony of the British Empire), the French civil law system (inherited from its French Empire past), and Indigenous la ...
" in 1869, two years after the country's formation. That prohibition was continued in the ''
Criminal Code A criminal code (or penal code) is a document that compiles all, or a significant amount of a particular jurisdiction's criminal law. Typically a criminal code will contain offences that are recognised in the jurisdiction, penalties that migh ...
'' until 1969. Anyone who procured a miscarriage for a woman was liable to imprisonment for life, while a woman who procured a miscarriage for herself was liable to imprisonment for two years. As in other countries, illegal abortions were still performed, and some cases charged that this led to the deaths of women. The
abortion trial of Emily Stowe The abortion trial of Emily Stowe was a famous early Canada, Canadian judicial decision on abortion in Canada. The case involved Dr. Emily Stowe, one of Canada's first female Physician, doctors. Stowe was acquitted, which was a rare outcome for a ...
(1879) is one early example. Another such case, '' Azoulay v. The Queen'', reached the Supreme Court in 1952. In both cases, the alleged abortion provider was ultimately acquitted of responsibility for the woman's death. Abortion rights activists like Marilyn Wilson, former executive director of the Canadian Abortion Rights Action League, say, "Illegal abortions were common, but often of poor safety. Several hundred women per year died from botched abortions."


Liberalisation of abortion laws


Chief Coroner Shulman

The movement to liberalize Canada's abortion laws began in the 1960s. Former Chief
Coroner A coroner is a government or judicial official who is empowered to conduct or order an inquest into Manner of death, the manner or cause of death, and to investigate or confirm the identity of an unknown person who has been found dead within th ...
of
Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
Morton Shulman Morton Shulman (25 April 1925 – 18 August 2000) was a Canadian politician, businessman, broadcaster, columnist, coroner, and physician. He was born in Toronto, Ontario in 1925 to a Jewish family. He first came to fame as Ontario's Chief Coron ...
recalls that in the sixties, abortion could be legally performed only to save the life of the woman, so there were practically no legal abortions. He stated that the pregnant daughters of the rich were sent to reliable physicians who did abortions for cash. He estimated that these physicians did twenty to thirty abortions per week. Women who were not rich were left to perform an
abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pregn ...
on themselves or go to what he called a "nurse" abortionist. Their method was commonly pumping
Lysol Lysol (; spelled Lizol in India) is a brand of American cleaning and disinfecting products distributed by Reckitt, which markets the similar Dettol or Sagrotan in other markets. The line includes liquid solutions for hard and soft surfaces, air ...
into the woman's womb. The mortality rate was high and the infection rate over 50%. He added, "By the time I became Chief Coroner, I had had the unpleasant experience of seeing the bodies of some dozens of young women who had died as a result of these amateur abortions."Shulman, Morton. ''Coroner,'' pp 58–61 Fitzhenry & Whiteside, 1975. Chief Coroner Morton Shulman decided to publicize deaths from illegal abortions. He instructed his coroners to call a public inquest into each abortion death. He describes one case that he believes was the turning point, that of 34-year-old Lottie Leanne Clarke, a mother of three children, who died of a massive infection in 1964 after an illegal abortion in spite of medical treatment and antibiotics. At the inquest into her death, the jury recommended that the laws about therapeutic abortion be revised. Shulman added that a federal government committee should review the question of abortion and the law. Newspapers published editorials recommending the reform of the abortion law. In 1965, the Minister of Justice,
Guy Favreau Guy Favreau, (May 20, 1917 – July 11, 1967) was a Canadian lawyer, politician and judge. Born in Montreal, Quebec, the son of Léopold Favreau and Béatrice Gagnon, he obtained a Bachelor of Arts and an LL.B. from the Université de Mon ...
, wrote to Shulman that the recommendation would be considered in the program to amend the
Criminal Code A criminal code (or penal code) is a document that compiles all, or a significant amount of a particular jurisdiction's criminal law. Typically a criminal code will contain offences that are recognised in the jurisdiction, penalties that migh ...
. The eventual amendment closely followed the recommendations of the coroners' juries.


Partial de-criminalisation

In 1967, Justice Minister
Pierre Trudeau Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau ( , ; October 18, 1919 – September 28, 2000), also referred to by his initials PET, was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 15th prime minister of Canada The prime mini ...
introduced a bill which included an amendment to the provision of the ''Criminal Code'' which prohibited abortions. The bill, known as the ''
Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1968–69 The ''Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1968–69'' (french: Loi de 1968–69 modifiant le droit pénal) was an omnibus bill that introduced major changes to the Canadian ''Criminal Code''. An earlier version was first introduced as Bill C-195 by then-M ...
'', continued the basic prohibition on abortions, with the potential life sentence. However, the bill made an exception for abortions performed in a hospital with the approval of that hospital's three-doctor therapeutic abortion committee. The committee would have to certify that the pregnancy would be likely to endanger the life or health of the pregnant woman. The term health was not defined, and therapeutic abortion committees were free to develop their own theories as to when a likely danger to "health" (which might include psychological health) would justify a therapeutic abortion. This same bill also legalized homosexuality and
contraception Birth control, also known as contraception, anticonception, and fertility control, is the use of methods or devices to prevent unwanted pregnancy. Birth control has been used since ancient times, but effective and safe methods of birth contr ...
, and would be the subject of one of Trudeau's most famous quotations: "The state has no business in the bedrooms of the nation." When he introduced the bill in 1967, Trudeau was Minister of Justice in the government of Prime Minister
Lester Pearson Lester Bowles "Mike" Pearson (23 April 1897 – 27 December 1972) was a Canadian scholar, statesman, diplomat, and politician who served as the 14th prime minister of Canada from 1963 to 1968. Born in Newtonbrook, Ontario (now part of ...
. In 1968, Pearson retired and Trudeau succeeded him as prime minister. The bill did not pass before the 1968 election, but was re-introduced by
John Turner John Napier Wyndham Turner (June 7, 1929September 19, 2020) was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 17th prime minister of Canada from June to September 1984. He served as leader of the Liberal Party of Canada and leader of t ...
, Minister of Justice in the Trudeau government. Parliament passed the bill in 1969. In the 1970 federal statute revision, the provision was re-numbered as s. 251 of the ''Criminal Code''.


Badgley report

In 1975, a Committee on the Operation of the Abortion Law was appointed "to conduct a study to determine whether the procedure provided in the Criminal Code for obtaining therapeutic abortions asoperating equitably across Canada", and to make recommendations "on the operation of this law rather than recommendations on the underlying policy". The Committee, known as the Badgley Committee after its Chair, Dr. Robin F. Badgley, reported in January 1977. It found, quite simply, that "the procedures set out for the operation of Abortion Law are not working equitably across Canada". In large part, this was because the intent of the law was neither clear nor agreed upon. Access to abortion as set out in the Criminal Code was not available for many women due to variations in distribution of hospitals and doctors, and in whether Therapeutic Abortion Committees were set up and in doctors' interpretations of "health" for women, ages of consent, and parental notification requirements. The report recommended better family planning to reduce the number of unwanted pregnancies, but their main conclusion was that abortion services were not being delivered as required.


Difficulties in access before decriminalization

By 1982, there were 66,319 legal abortions in Canada."Abortions more difficult to obtain, groups say Women must travel, borrow for procedure." Ann Rauhala. ''The Globe and Mail.'' Toronto, Ont.: January 30, 1987. pg. A.1 Interpretation of the 1969 law varied widely between doctors and hospitals, leading to uneven access. The standard was the physical or mental well-being of the woman, to be decided by a hospital's Therapeutic Abortion Committee. However, there was no requirement for a hospital to have a TAC to evaluate women. Only about one-third of hospitals had one. Some committees took a liberal stance and allowed most requests, while others blocked almost all requests. Access to legal abortions was easy in major metropolitan areas, but much harder outside large cities. In the province of
Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island (PEI; ) is one of the thirteen Provinces and territories of Canada, provinces and territories of Canada. It is the smallest province in terms of land area and population, but the most densely populated. The island has seve ...
, the lone Therapeutic Abortion Committee shut down, and there were no legal abortions in the province after 1982."Abortion access widely varies across Canada." Joan Bryden. ''The Ottawa Citizen.'' January 30, 1988. pg. B.6 The Therapeutic Abortion Committees often took days or weeks to make their decisions, pushing a pregnancy further along than it would have been otherwise. The women were not seen by the committee, and had no right to appeal a decision. Advocates for abortion rights believed that the choice should be made by the woman, rather than a panel of doctors. Because of the lack of facilities in smaller provinces and rural areas, women were often forced to travel to major cities at their own expense. In
Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...
, there was only a single gynaecologist who performed abortions. Many women had to buy expensive plane tickets to Toronto or Montreal to get an abortion. Other women chose to travel to the United States, where abortions became available at many private clinics after the ''
Roe v. Wade ''Roe v. Wade'', 410 U.S. 113 (1973),. was a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that the Constitution of the United States conferred the right to have an abortion. The decision struck down many federal and st ...
'' decision in 1973. In 1982, 4,311 Canadian women travelled to the United States for an abortion.


Constitutional challenges to the abortion law

In defiance of the law, Dr.
Henry Morgentaler Henekh "Henry" Morgentaler, (March 19, 1923 – May 29, 2013), was a Polish-born Canadian physician and abortion rights advocate who fought numerous legal battles aimed at expanding abortion rights in Canada. As a Jewish youth during World War ...
began performing abortions at his clinic in Montreal without approval of a therapeutic abortion committee. He challenged the constitutionality of the abortion law on two separate occasions. The Supreme Court of Canada dismissed his first constitutional challenge in 1975, brought under the division of powers and the ''
Canadian Bill of Rights The ''Canadian Bill of Rights'' (french: Déclaration canadienne des droits) is a federal statute and bill of rights enacted by the Parliament of Canada on August 10, 1960. It provides Canadians with certain rights at Canadian federal law in rel ...
'', but in 1988, the Supreme Court allowed his second challenge, brought under the ''
Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms The ''Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms'' (french: Charte canadienne des droits et libertés), often simply referred to as the ''Charter'' in Canada, is a bill of rights entrenched in the Constitution of Canada, forming the first part o ...
''. The Court held that the abortion law was inoperative. Morgentaler eventually brought a third constitutional challenge, to a provincial law restricting access to abortions. He was successful in that challenge as well. Morgentaler's struggle prompted a nationwide movement to reform Canada's abortion laws. In 1970, as part of the
Abortion Caravan The Abortion Caravan was a feminist protest movement formed by The Vancouver Women's Caucus in 1970 which travelled across Canada from Vancouver to Ottawa to advocate for increased access to legal abortion. A 1969 amendment to the Canadian Criminal ...
, 35 women chained themselves to the parliamentary gallery in the
House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...
, closing Parliament for the first time in Canadian history.


First Morgentaler challenge: 1975

In 1973, Morgentaler stated publicly that he had performed 5,000 abortions without the permission of the three-doctor committees, even going so far as to
videotape Videotape is magnetic tape used for storing video and usually sound in addition. Information stored can be in the form of either an analog or digital signal. Videotape is used in both video tape recorders (VTRs) and, more commonly, videocassett ...
himself performing operations. The Crown prosecution service of Quebec prosecuted Morgentaler three times, and each time juries refused to convict him despite his outright admission that he had performed many abortions. The Crown appealed the first acquittal. In 1974, the
Quebec Court of Appeal The Court of Appeal of Quebec (sometimes referred to as Quebec Court of Appeal or QCA) (in French: ''la Cour d'appel du Québec'') is the highest judicial court in Quebec, Canada. It hears cases in Quebec City and Montreal. History The Court wa ...
overturned the jury's verdict of acquittal in the first case, substituted a guilty verdict, and returned the matter to the trial judge for sentencing. Morgentaler then appealed to the Supreme Court of Canada on several grounds, arguing that: * the ''Criminal Code'' provision was unconstitutional under the division of powers; * the provision was inoperative under the ''Canadian Bill of Rights''; * the Court of Appeal did not have the authority to overturn the jury verdict of acquittal; * the defence of necessity was available; * s. 45 of the ''Criminal Code'', which provided that a medical practitioner was not criminally liable for performing surgical procedures, was available as a defence. In 1975, the Supreme Court dismissed his appeal by a 6–3 decision: ''Morgentaler v The Queen''.''Morgentaler v The Queen'', [1976
/nowiki> 1 SCR 616.">nowiki>1976">''Morgentaler v The Queen'', [1976
/nowiki> 1 SCR 616./ref> The Court was unanimous that the provision was valid criminal law, and therefore within the constitutional authority of the federal Parliament; it did not intrude on provincial jurisdiction over health. The Court also held unanimously that the law did not infringe the ''Canadian Bill of Rights''. The Court gave those rulings from the bench, with written reasons on these points later given by Chief Justice
Laskin. However, the Court split 6–3 on the issues of necessity and s. 45 of the ''Criminal Code'', which provided that a medical doctor who performed a surgery according to reasonable medical standards was immune from criminal liability: * Six members of the Court, for reasons written by Justice Pigeon Columbidae () is a bird family consisting of doves and pigeons. It is the only family in the order Columbiformes. These are stout-bodied birds with short necks and short slender bills that in some species feature fleshy ceres. They primarily ...
, held that the ''Criminal Code'' provisions respecting Crown appeals authorised the Court of Appeal to substitute a guilty verdict. * Six members also held, for reasons given by Justice Pigeon and Justice Dickson, that the defences of necessity and s. 45 did not apply to the criminal offence of procuring an abortion. * In dissent, three members of the Court, for reasons written by Chief Justice Laskin, would have held that the defences of necessity and s. 45 were available and therefore properly considered by the jury. As a result, the Supreme Court upheld the conviction entered by the Court of Appeal and remitted the matter to the trial judge for sentencing. The trial judge imposed a sentence of eighteen months imprisonment. Public outcry over the decision caused the federal government to introduce an amendment to the ''Criminal Code'' (commonly known as the Morgentaler Amendment) taking away the jurisdiction of appeal courts to substitute a conviction for a jury's verdict of acquittal. Following the third jury acquittal, the Quebec government declared that the law was unenforceable and no further charges were brought.


Second Morgentaler challenge: 1988

Upon his release from prison in Quebec, Morgentaler decided to challenge the federal abortion law in other provinces. Over the next ten years, he opened and operated private abortion clinics across the country in direct violation of the law. Following a fourth jury acquittal in 1984, the Ontario government appealed the decision. The Ontario Court of Appeal set aside the acquittal and ordered a re-trial. Morgentaler, in turn, appealed to the
Supreme Court of Canada The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC; french: Cour suprême du Canada, CSC) is the Supreme court, highest court in the Court system of Canada, judicial system of Canada. It comprises List of Justices of the Supreme Court of Canada, nine justices, wh ...
. In a landmark decision, the Supreme Court declared in 1988 the entirety of the country's abortion law to be unconstitutional: R v Morgentaler">''R. v. Morgentaler''.''R v Morgentaler'', [1988
/nowiki> 1 SCR 30.]
By a 5-2 decision, the Court held that section 251 of the Criminal Code was of no force or effect because it violated Section Seven of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, section 7 of the ''Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms''. Section 7 states that: "Everyone has the right to life, liberty, and the security of the person, and the right not to be deprived thereof, except in accordance with the principles of fundamental justice." The Court also held that the infringement could not be justified under s. 1 of the ''Charter'', which in some cases allows a government to provide a reasonable justification for an infringement. There was no single majority judgment. Chief Justice Dickson, Justice Beetz, and Justice Wilson all wrote decisions finding the law to be unconstitutional, but for varying reasons in support. Justice McIntyre wrote the dissenting opinion. Chief Justice Dickson held that " rcing a woman, by threat of criminal sanction, to carry a fetus to term unless she meets certain criteria unrelated to her own priorities and aspirations" infringed the woman's right to
security of the person Security of the person is a basic entitlement guaranteed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the United Nations in 1948. It is also a human right explicitly defined and guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights, th ...
, as protected by s. 7 of the ''Charter''. Justice Wilson found that the law "asserts that the woman's capacity to reproduce is to be subject, not to her own control, but to that of the state" which similarly breached the right to security of the person. Having found that law infringed the right to security of the person, the majority then considered whether that infringement was consistent with the principles of fundamental justice, which is the second branch of s. 7 of the ''Charter''. The judges in the majority agreed that the procedural requirements to obtain an abortion, as set forth in the law, were especially troublesome. Only accredited or approved hospitals could perform abortions, which imposed a barrier to local access. The law also specified that women wanting an abortion were required to obtain approval from a "therapeutic abortion committee" in a hospital. The committee was composed of at least three physicians appointed by the hospital's board of members, and did not include the practitioner who was to perform the procedure. The court found that the committee requirement was deeply flawed, in part because of the long delays caused by the committees and that in many hospitals, the committees were merely committees on paper and did not actually approve abortions. Chief Justice Dickson held that "the structure -- the system regulating access to therapeutic abortions -- is manifestly unfair. It contains so many potential barriers to its own operation that the defence it creates will in many circumstances be practically unavailable to women who would ''prima facie'' qualify..." Noted barriers included a lack of hospitals with committees, doctors who did not wish to refer matters to committees, the lack of a standard meaning for "health" leading to inconsistent standards among committees, and geographical and financial differentials in treatment. He concluded the provision violated the principles of fundamental justice. The majority of the court in ''Morgentaler'' did not find it necessary to consider whether there was a substantive right to abortion under Section 7. Justice
Wilson Wilson may refer to: People * Wilson (name) ** List of people with given name Wilson ** List of people with surname Wilson * Wilson (footballer, 1927–1998), Brazilian manager and defender * Wilson (footballer, born 1984), full name Wilson Ro ...
was of the opinion that such a right existed, but the other judges in the majority made their decision on procedural grounds, relating to the insufficiencies in the committee process.


Attempts at a new law

Following the 1988 Supreme Court decision, the Mulroney government made two attempts to enact a new abortion law. In the spring of 1988, the government first attempted to find a compromise solution that would give easy access to abortion in the early stages of pregnancy and criminalize late term ones. The motion in the House of Commons was defeated 147 to 76, voted against by both MPs who opposed easy access to abortions and those who opposed adding any abortion rules to the Criminal Code. The Supreme Court decision became an important issue in the 1988 federal election later that fall. Both the Progressive Conservative and
Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...
parties were sharply divided on the issue and neither party advanced a concrete platform on the abortion issue. Prime Minister
Brian Mulroney Martin Brian Mulroney ( ; born March 20, 1939) is a Canadian lawyer, businessman, and politician who served as the 18th prime minister of Canada from 1984 to 1993. Born in the eastern Quebec city of Baie-Comeau, Mulroney studied political sci ...
declared he was opposed to "abortion on demand", but gave no details on what that meant legally. Liberal leader
John Turner John Napier Wyndham Turner (June 7, 1929September 19, 2020) was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 17th prime minister of Canada from June to September 1984. He served as leader of the Liberal Party of Canada and leader of t ...
stated that MPs should be allowed to vote their conscience, but refused to give his own opinion on the issue. NDP leader
Ed Broadbent John Edward "Ed" Broadbent (born March 21, 1936) is a Canadian social-democratic politician, political scientist, and chair of the Broadbent Institute, a policy thinktank. He was leader of the New Democratic Party from 1975 to 1989. In the 200 ...
had a firm position that abortion is a medical matter, not a criminal one, and should be left to a woman and her doctor. The Mulroney government was returned in the 1988 election. In 1989, the government introduced a much stricter bill in the House of Commons. If enacted, it would ban all abortions unless a doctor ruled the woman's life or health would be threatened. Anyone found in violation of the law could be imprisoned for up to two years. The House of Commons passed the new bill by nine votes, with the cabinet being whipped in favour and most anti-abortion members supporting it. In June 1990, a teenager from Kitchener, Ontario, was injured during a botched abortion performed in a man's home. Several days later, a Toronto woman, Yvonne Jurewicz, died from a self-induced, coat-hanger abortion. . A 20-year-old Toronto woman has died after performing an abortion on herself, probably with a coat hanger, police say. Yvonne Jurewicz of Westminster Ave. was found dead Monday night in her west-end apartment. An autopsy performed yesterday revealed Jurewicz bled to death after aborting, said Detective Sergeant Thomas Imrie, who is heading the investigation. These cases were reported in the news and the latter case was discussed at multiple levels of government. Speaking in the
Legislative Assembly of British Columbia The Legislative Assembly of British Columbia is the deliberative assembly of the Parliament of British Columbia, in the province of British Columbia, Canada. The Legislative Assembly meets in Victoria, British Columbia, Victoria. Members ar ...
, New Democratic MLA
Darlene Marzari Darlene Marzari (born July 6, 1943) is a former Canadian politician. She was elected as a Vancouver alderman under the TEAM banner in 1972 and remained on city council for a number of years. She served as MLA for the riding of Vancouver-Point Gr ...
pointed out:
For our purposes, though technically speaking the bill has not been proclaimed, Bill C-43 is, in the minds of the public and in the minds of women, now law. In fact, while we're dancing on the head of a pin and counting ourselves as angels, a woman in Toronto has died—she bled to death—three weeks ago. Her name was Yvonne Jurewicz, she was 20 years old and was probably afraid to go to the doctor and afraid to go to the hospital after she tried to abort herself. This is the sad fact of Bill C-43. While we debate the minor points of whether or not the Lieutenant Governor or the Governor-General of Canada has picked it up, we know that young women in this country are under the impression they will be considered criminals if they show up in an emergency ward door hemorrhaging.
Reform Party MP
Deborah Grey Deborah Cleland Grey, (born July 1, 1952) is a retired Canadian member of Parliament from Alberta for the Reform Party of Canada, the Canadian Alliance, and the Conservative Party of Canada. She was the first female leader of the Opposition in ...
, who supported the bill, denied that this death, the first known death from illegal abortion in Ontario in twenty years, could have anything to do with the publicity surrounding the passing of Bill C-43. But in Ontario, the connection was made. Richard Johnston,
MPP MPP or M.P.P. may refer to: * Marginal physical product * Master of Public Policy, an academic degree * Member of Provincial Parliament (Ontario), Canada * Member of Provincial Parliament (Western Cape), South Africa * ''Merriweather Post Pavilion ...
suggested to Premier
David Peterson David Robert Peterson (born December 28, 1943) is a Canadian lawyer and former politician who served as the 20th premier of Ontario from 1985 to 1990. He was the first Liberal officeholder in 42 years, ending the so-called Tory dynasty. Backgro ...
that Ontario announce it would not start any third-party prosecutions against women or doctors, to prevent any further tragedies and to reassure doctors that they could go on providing services to the women of Ontario. A few months later, the bill failed in the Senate on a tie vote. Under the rules of the Senate, a tie meant the measure was defeated. The defeat was somewhat unexpected since it was the first time since 1941 that the Senate, whose members are appointed, had outright defeated legislation passed by the House.
Eike-Henner Kluge Eike-Henner Kluge is the first expert witness in medical ethics recognized by Canadian courts. Dr. Kluge has acted as an expert witness in Alberta, British Columbia, and Ontario. He is known for his work on contentious medical ethics issue such as ...
the director of the Canadian Medical Association ethics and legal affairs viewed that the bill was flawed ethically. Kluge drafted an analysis for a Senate committee about Bill C-43 and his presentation may have swayed two votes to change resulting in a tie vote which resulted in the Senate not passing the Bill C-43. /sup> In the wake of the controversy surrounding passage of the Goods and Services Tax the Progressive Conservative government did not wish to provoke a contest of wills with the Senate and announced it would not re-introduce the legislation. The fact that no subsequent government has re-visited this decision has led to the unique situation of Canada having no abortion law whatsoever. Abortion is now treated like any other medical procedure, governed by provincial and medical regulations.


Later cases relating to abortion

The court in ''Morgentaler'' did not consider the question of whether the unborn were included in the "everyone" who have the right to life. At that time, another case before the courts would have raised that issue; it was brought by Joe Borowski, a former member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba. However, after the ''Morgentaler'' decision, the Supreme Court held, in ''
Borowski v Canada (AG) ''Borowski v Canada (AG)'', 9891 S.C.R. 342 is the leading Supreme Court of Canada decision on mootness of an appealed legal issue. The Court declined to decide whether the fetus had a right to life under sections 7 and 15 of the Canadian Ch ...
'', that his case was
moot Moot may refer to: * Mootness, in American law: a point where further proceedings have lost practical significance; whereas in British law: the issue remains debatable * Moot court, an activity in many law schools where participants take part in s ...
since ''Morgentaler'' had struck down the provisions Borowski was challenging. Two further cases, ''
Tremblay v. Daigle ''Tremblay v Daigle'' 9892 S.C.R. 530, was a decision of the Supreme Court of Canada in which it was found that a fetus has no legal status in Canada as a person, either in Canadian common law or in Quebec civil law.Dunsmuir, Mollie. 1991 Reviewe ...
''''Tremblay v. Daigle'', [1989
/nowiki> 2 SCR 530.">989">''Tremblay v. Daigle'', [1989
/nowiki> 2 SCR 530./ref> and ''R. v. Sullivan'', relied on the born alive rule, inherited from English common law, to determine that the fetus was not a person: Sullivan could not be charged with murder of a fetus and Tremblay could not seek standing in court as the guardian of a fetus. The 1989 Supreme Court of Canada case of ''Tremblay v Daigle'' is one of the most widely publicized cases concerning abortion in Canada after the law prohibiting abortions was overturned by the Supreme Court of Canada. Daigle's ex-boyfriend obtained a restraining order against her having an abortion. While the restraining order was issued in
Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
, it was legally restricting Canada-wide. The Supreme Court of Canada ruled that only the woman could make the choice; the man had no legal say in a woman's choice to terminate a pregnancy or carry it to completion. Daigle had already had a late second-term abortion before the Court ruled on her case. While the case was fast-tracked, the progress was so slow that Daigle would have been in the third-trimester had she waited for the ruling to be handed down. Daigle had an abortion in the United States while the case was before the Supreme Court of Canada. This was not made public until after the ruling, although it was not unexpected. This is in contrast to the ''
Roe v. Wade ''Roe v. Wade'', 410 U.S. 113 (1973),. was a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that the Constitution of the United States conferred the right to have an abortion. The decision struck down many federal and st ...
'' case in the United States where Roe had carried the pregnancy to term. That case, however, was different from the ''Tremblay'' v. ''Daigle'' case in that it was about whether abortion was legal. In the ''Tremblay'' v. ''Daigle'' case, the question was whether a male partner has a say in whether a woman can obtain an abortion ruling. Two further cases addressed the "interest in the fetus". In ''
Dobson (Litigation Guardian of) v. Dobson ''Dobson (Litigation guardian of) v Dobson'', 9992 SCR 753 was a landmark decision by the Supreme Court of Canada on a pregnant woman's legal duties in tort law. It was the first time the Supreme Court of Canada had to consider this issue. The maj ...
'', a grandfather attempted to act on behalf of a child born with cerebral palsy, supposedly resulting from a car accident in which the mother was the driver. He attempted to sue the mother with negligence in driving. The mother was in favor of the suit succeeding as it would have provided her with funds to raise her disabled child; her insurance company was defending the suit through subrogation. Citing the case of ''Kamloops v. Nielsen'', the Court decided that courts cannot impose a
duty of care In tort law, a duty of care is a legal obligation that is imposed on an individual, requiring adherence to a standard of reasonable care while performing any acts that could foreseeably harm others. It is the first element that must be establis ...
on a pregnant woman toward her fetus because it would interfere with the exercise of her autonomy rights during pregnancy and faced difficulty in defining a standard of care in pregnancy. Only a legislature can do this. In ''Winnipeg Child & Family Services (Northwest Area) v. G. (D.F.)'', the Supreme Court determined that a pregnant woman addicted to solvents could not be civilly committed for treatment.


Accessibility and methods

Surgical and non-invasive
medical abortion A medical abortion, also known as medication abortion, occurs when drugs (medication) are used to bring about an abortion. Medical abortions are an alternative to surgical abortions such as vacuum aspiration or dilation and curettage. Medical ...
s in Canada are provided on request for any reason, are confidential for all ages and funded by Medicare; to those who are covered by provincial/territorial medical care plans (depending on the province or territory, this always includes Canadian citizens and permanent residents, but may vary on inclusion of international students, workers, and protected persons or refugee claimants). For those not covered by a medical care plan (e.g. Americans in states that prohibit abortion after the decision in ''
Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization ''Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization'', , is a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the court held that the Constitution of the United States does not confer a right to abortion. The court's decision overruled both ''R ...
''), the federal government has committed to letting them obtain abortions in Canada without restriction. However, this will be contingent on them being able to pay for travel costs and the procedure themselves. Nationally, abortion is legal through all nine months (40 weeks) of pregnancy, nevertheless no providers in Canada offer care beyond 23 weeks and 6 days. Restrictions are based on professional medical guidelines, resources available (equipment, trained personnel) and individual facility mandates makes access to all types of services vary by region within each province and territory. Each province and territory regulates and funds their own healthcare system. The federal government provides funding to each province and territory, provided they comply with the requirements of the ''Canada Health Act''. One of those requirements is comprehensiveness, which means that all insured health services defined by the Act must be covered by a provincial or territorial health plan for that province or territory to receive federal funds. Abortion is not specifically mentioned in the ''Canada Health Act''. It is simply included in the broad definition of "insured health services", just like other medical and surgical procedures. One-third of hospitals perform surgical abortions, and these perform two-thirds of surgical abortions in the country. The remaining surgical abortions are performed by public and private clinics. Medical abortions are available in Canada using medications such as
methotrexate Methotrexate (MTX), formerly known as amethopterin, is a chemotherapy agent and immune-system suppressant. It is used to treat cancer, autoimmune diseases, and ectopic pregnancies. Types of cancers it is used for include breast cancer, leuke ...
, or
misoprostol Misoprostol is a synthetic prostaglandin medication used to prevent and treat stomach and duodenal ulcers, induce labor, cause an abortion, and treat postpartum bleeding due to poor contraction of the uterus. Misoprostol is taken by mouth wh ...
, and/or
mifepristone Mifepristone, also known as RU-486, is a medication typically used in combination with misoprostol to bring about a medical abortion during pregnancy and manage early miscarriage. This combination is 97% effective during the first 63 days of p ...
. Mifepristone used in combination with misoprostol (brand name Mifegymiso) was approved for use in Canada when prescribed by a doctor on July 29, 2015. In 2017 the approval expanded to include prescribing abilities to
nurse practitioners A nurse practitioner (NP) is an advanced practice registered nurse and a type of mid-level practitioner. NPs are trained to assess patient needs, order and interpret diagnostic and laboratory tests, diagnose disease, formulate and prescribe m ...
,
midwives A midwife is a health professional who cares for mothers and newborns around childbirth, a specialization known as midwifery. The education and training for a midwife concentrates extensively on the care of women throughout their lifespan; con ...
and
pharmacist A pharmacist, also known as a chemist (Commonwealth English) or a druggist (North American and, archaically, Commonwealth English), is a healthcare professional who prepares, controls and distributes medicines and provides advice and instructi ...
based on provincial regulations, and it may be dispensed by pharmacists directly to the patient. Nationwide information is provided by advocacy associations such as the
Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada The Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada (ARCC) is a Canadian abortion rights organization which was founded in 2005. Headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, it is currently the only political group in Canada which is engaged in pro-abortion ...
and
National Abortion Federation The National Abortion Federation (NAF) is the professional association of abortion providers. NAF members include private and non-profit clinics, Planned Parenthood affiliates, women's health centers, physicians' offices, and hospitals who together ...
that maintain detailed lists of abortion clinics by province and the maximum gestational period that the clinic will provide abortion types up to. These sites also provide information on how to obtain medication involving medical abortions, how to obtain financial support for travel/accommodation expenses, after-treatment supplies, child care and various other needs.PDF
/ref>


Accessibility by province and territory


Politics

As of 2020, all federally represented
political parties in Canada This article lists political parties in Canada. Federal parties In contrast with the political party systems of many nations, Canadian parties at the federal level are often only loosely connected with parties at the provincial level, despite ha ...
, as well as their leaders, support continued legal abortion access in Canada. While elected members of the
Bloc Québécois The Bloc Québécois (BQ; , "Québécois people, Quebecer Voting bloc, Bloc") is a list of federal political parties in Canada, federal political party in Canada devoted to Quebec nationalism and the promotion of Quebec sovereignty movement, Que ...
,
New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party (NDP; french: Nouveau Parti démocratique, NPD) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic: * * * * * * * * * * * * t ...
, the
Liberal Party of Canada The Liberal Party of Canada (french: Parti libéral du Canada, region=CA) is a federal political party in Canada. The party espouses the principles of liberalism,McCall, Christina; Stephen Clarkson"Liberal Party". ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' ...
, and the
Green Party of Canada The Green Party of Canada (french: Parti vert du Canada) is a federal political party in Canada, founded in 1983 with a focus on green politics. The Green Party is currently the fifth largest party in the House of Commons by seat count. It el ...
nearly universally support
abortion rights Abortion-rights movements, also referred to as pro-choice movements, advocate for the right to have legal access to induced abortion services including elective abortion. They seek to represent and support women who wish to terminate their pre ...
and all these parties' MPs would be expected to vote against any hypothetical Bills that would restrict or limit abortion rights in any way, the
Conservative Party of Canada The Conservative Party of Canada (french: Parti conservateur du Canada), colloquially known as the Tories, is a federal political party in Canada. It was formed in 2003 by the merger of the two main right-leaning parties, the Progressive Con ...
has both members who favour abortion rights and members who oppose them and has stated that members would be allowed to vote their conscience on any vote concerning abortion. In the past, more Conservative members have been against abortion. The Conservative Party has had to wrestle with combining the conflicting social policies of its two predecessor parties, the moderate Progressive Conservative Party and the more right-wing
Canadian Alliance The Canadian Alliance (french: Alliance canadienne), formally the Canadian Reform Conservative Alliance (french: Alliance réformiste-conservatrice canadienne), was a centre-right to right-wing federal political party in Canada that existed u ...
, which merged in 2003. Many
socially conservative Social conservatism is a political philosophy and variety of conservatism which places emphasis on traditional power structures over social pluralism. Social conservatives organize in favor of duty, traditional values and social institution ...
Alliance supporters were angered at the prospect of
Belinda Stronach Belinda Caroline Stronach (Born May 2, 1966) is a Canadian businesswoman, philanthropist and a former Member of Parliament (MP) in the House of Commons of Canada from 2004 to 2008. Originally elected as a Conservative, she later crossed the fl ...
, who favoured abortion rights, winning the
leadership election A leadership election is a political contest held in various countries by which the members of a political party determine who will be the leader of their party. Generally, any political party can determine its own rules governing how and when a l ...
in early 2004, while in contrast some Progressive Conservative supporters objected during the 2004 federal election to the new party's perceived openness to legislation that would restrict abortion rights. In the March 2005 policy convention, in a narrow vote, the party voted to not introduce legislation on the subject of abortion (members can still introduce
private members bill A private member's bill is a bill (proposed law) introduced into a legislature by a legislator who is not acting on behalf of the executive branch. The designation "private member's bill" is used in most Westminster system jurisdictions, in whi ...
s on the issue), although it condemns sex-selective abortions. The party's stance on abortion is frequently voted on at the party's policy conventions.
Motion 312 Motion 312 was a motion introduced to the Parliament of Canada by Stephen Woodworth, MP for Kitchener Centre, in 2012. M-312 called for the formation of a committee "to review the declaration in Subsection 223(1) of the Criminal Code which state ...
was introduced by Conservative MP Stephen Woodworth in 2012, calling for a House of Commons committee to determine when human life begins, but was defeated 203–91. In 2013, Conservative MP
Mark Warawa Mark Warawa (May 7, 1950 – June 20, 2019) was a Canadian politician. Formerly a businessman and loss prevention officer as well as a city councillor in Abbotsford, British Columbia from 1990 to 2004, Warawa was the Member of Parliament for La ...
introduced a motion condemning discrimination against females through sex-selective abortion. In 2021, Conservative
Cathay Wagantall Cathay Wagantall (née Cathy Caswell; born March 7, 1956) is a Canadian politician who was elected as a Member of Parliament in the House of Commons of Canada to represent the federal electoral riding of Yorkton—Melville during the 2015 Canadi ...
introduced a private member's bill that would prohibit a medical practitioner from performing a sex-selective abortion. Although the bill was defeated 248-82, a majority of Conservative MPs voted in favour of the bill. Until recently, the Liberal Party had a few anti-abortion MPs, such as Liberal MP
Paul Steckle Paul Daniel Steckle (born 10 May 1942) is a former Canadian Member of Parliament for Huron—Bruce and a member of the Liberal Party of Canada. Political positions Born in Zurich, Ontario, Steckle served as a Councillor in Stanley Township, O ...
introduced a bill that would have made abortion after 20 weeks gestation a criminal act in June 2006. Current Liberal Leader
Justin Trudeau Justin Pierre James Trudeau ( , ; born December 25, 1971) is a Canadian politician who is the 23rd and current prime minister of Canada. He has served as the prime minister of Canada since 2015 and as the leader of the Liberal Party since 2 ...
has required that all Liberal party candidates will have to vote according to the party's abortion-rights policy since he assumed leadership of the Liberal Party in 2013. Although the issue of abortion rights has popped up from time to time in federal elections as a
wedge issue A wedge issue is a political or social issue, often of a controversial or divisive nature, which splits apart a demographic or population group. Wedge issues can be advertised or publicly aired in an attempt to strengthen the unity of a populatio ...
, the issue is consistently rated as a low priority for most Canadians. The
Christian Heritage Party of Canada The Christian Heritage Party of Canada (french: Parti de l'héritage chrétien du Canada), also referred to as CHP Canada, is a minor social conservative and Christian right federal political party in Canada; it was founded in 1987, the brainch ...
claims to be Canada's only stated anti-abortion federal political party, but has never had a member elected to parliament. On October 19, 2012, anti-abortion protester Patricia Maloney expressed concern over 491 cases of live-birth abortions between 2000 and 2009. The finding reported to
Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; french: Statistique Canada), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and cultur ...
did not include detailed information on how long each fetus survived after removal or how many would have been possible to save. Canada, unlike the United States, does not specifically have a law confirming or denying the legal rights of a baby who survives abortion. On January 23, 2013, Conservative MPs
Wladyslaw Lizon Wladyslaw Lizon ( pl, Władysław Lizoń; born June 27, 1954) is a Polish Canadian former politician. He was a Conservative member of the House of Commons of Canada from 2011 to 2015 who represented the Greater Toronto Area riding of Mississauga ...
,
Leon Benoit Leon Earl Benoit (born July 7, 1950) is a Canadian politician. Career Benoit was a Conservative Party of Canada Member of Parliament in the House of Commons of Canada, representing the riding of Vegreville—Wainwright from 2004 to 2015, Lakel ...
, and
Maurice Vellacott Maurice Vellacott (born September 29, 1955) is a former Canadian politician. He served in the House of Commons of Canada from 1997 to 2015 as Member of Parliament (MP) for Saskatoon, Saskatchewan variously as a member of the Reform Party, the ...
wrote a letter requesting that the RCMP investigate how many of the 491 live-birth abortions meet the definition of homicide set forth in the Criminal Code. When CBC and The Canadian Press used the phrase "investigate all abortions performed after 19 weeks gestation", Vellacott accused the media outlets of false reporting and acknowledged that abortion in Canada is fully legal. The CBC / Canadian Press story was subsequently corrected. The move drew approval from Dr. Eike-Henner Kluge, former director of ethics and legal affairs for the
Canadian Medical Association The Canadian Medical Association (CMA; french: Association médicale canadienne, AMC) is a national, voluntary association of physicians and medical learners that advocates on national health matters. Its primary mandate is to drive positive ch ...
, who said that doctors should "do the best
hey Hey or Hey! may refer to: Music * Hey (band), a Polish rock band Albums * ''Hey'' (Andreas Bourani album) or the title song (see below), 2014 * ''Hey!'' (Julio Iglesias album) or the title song, 1980 * ''Hey!'' (Jullie album) or the title s ...
can for what is now a person in the eyes of the law". However, Dr. Douglas Black, president of the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, said that the situation is not one of homicide, but rather allowing fetuses "to pass away, depending on what the circumstances are, sometimes in their mom's arms".


Opinion polls

* In a poll conducted by the ''
National Post The ''National Post'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet newspaper available in several cities in central and western Canada. The paper is the flagship publication of Postmedia Network and is published Mondays through Saturdays, with ...
'' in November 2002, 78% of respondents answered "yes" to the question: "Should women have complete freedom on their decision to have an abortion?". * In an April 2006 Leger poll, 34% of respondents said they found abortion "immoral", behind paedophilia, extramarital affairs, prostitution, alcohol abuse, sexual relations before the age of 16, pornographic films, and blasphemy. * In a June 2008
Angus Reid Strategies Angus Reid (born December 17, 1947) is a Canadian entrepreneur, pollster, and Sociology, sociologist. He is the chairman of the #Angus Reid Institute, Angus Reid Institute and CEO and founder of Angus Reid Global. He is director of the Reid Campb ...
poll, almost half of respondents (46%) believe abortion should be permitted in all cases. Roughly one in five Canadians (19%) would subject abortion to greater restrictions than now, 22 percent would allow the procedure only in cases such as rape, incest and to save the woman's life, and seven percent would only permit abortion to save the woman's life. Among provinces,
British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
and
Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
have the highest percentage who are supporting abortion-rights, and the
Prairies Prairies are ecosystems considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and a composition of grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the ...
have the highest percentage who are anti-abortion and younger, wealthier, and university-educated respondents are more likely to uphold the legality of abortion. * In a March 2010 EKOS poll, a majority of Canadians (52%) describe themselves as "pro-choice" while just over one in four (27%) describe themselves as "
pro-life Anti-abortion movements, also self-styled as pro-life or abolitionist movements, are involved in the abortion debate advocating against the practice of abortion and its legality. Many anti-abortion movements began as countermovements in respons ...
". One in ten respondents (10%) describe themselves as neither "pro-choice" nor "pro-life", and 11% did not respond. *In an
IPSOS Ipsos Group S.A. () (an acronym of ) is a multinational market research and consulting firm with headquarters in Paris, France. The company was founded in 1975 by Didier Truchot, Chairman of the company, and has been publicly traded on the Pa ...
poll conducted in 2017, 77% said abortions should be permitted, which is higher than the global average of 71%. A majority of Canadians (53%) said abortion should be permitted whenever a woman decides she wants to abort, while 24% favoured access under only some circumstances, such as when a woman has been raped. A further 7% believed that abortion should only be permitted when a woman's life is in danger, and 5% believed the procedure should be illegal under any circumstance; 11% said they were unsure. *In a 2020 DART & Maru/Blue Voice Canada poll, 75% of Canadians said they were “satisfied” with Canada's abortion policies and 25% were not satisfied. The strongest satisfaction was found in Québec (85%), followed by British Columbia (75%), Ontario (72%), Alberta (70%), Atlantic Canada (68%), and Manitoba and Saskatchewan (70%). Satisfaction with Canada's policies were nearly identical across gender and age groups, with slightly higher favourability amongst middle and high-income Canadians as compared with those earning less than CDN$50,000 (78% vs. 74%). In the poll, 71% of Canadians said that the government should not re-open the issue, and just 10% said they should re-open it; 8% professed indifference. Canadians were almost equally split on whether they thought the government should even discuss creating a regulatory framework for abortion. 70% of Canadians said they found abortion acceptable, vs. 10% who found it unacceptable; 11% professed indifference, and 10% said they didn't know. *In a 2020 IPSOS poll, support for abortion rights were slightly stronger than in 2017: 59% of Canadians said that abortion should be permitted whenever a woman wants one, with 18% saying it should only be permitted under limited circumstances (such as after rape), and 6% saying it should only be legal if the mother's life were in danger; just 4% said it should not be legal under any circumstances, while 13% either said they didn't know or that they preferred not to express an opinion. *A 2022 poll by Research Co found that 44% of Canadians believe that abortion should be legal under any circumstances, 37% think that abortion should be legal only under certain circumstances, and 10% think that abortion should be illegal in all circumstances. Support for legal abortion under any circumstances was highest in Quebec (50%), then Saskatchewan and Manitoba (47%), British Columbia (46%), the Maritime provinces (43%), Alberta (40%), and Ontario (39%). Support for legal abortion under any circumstances was highest among self-identified NDP voters (57%), followed by Liberal voters (48%), and Conservative voters (32%).


Abortion rights movement

The
abortion rights movement Abortion-rights movements, also referred to as pro-choice movements, advocate for the right to have legal access to induced abortion services including elective abortion. They seek to represent and support women who wish to terminate their pre ...
in Canada focuses on establishing abortion as a component of provincial health care plans, to ensure it is available in all regions, especially for those who couldn't afford it otherwise. Dr.
Henry Morgentaler Henekh "Henry" Morgentaler, (March 19, 1923 – May 29, 2013), was a Polish-born Canadian physician and abortion rights advocate who fought numerous legal battles aimed at expanding abortion rights in Canada. As a Jewish youth during World War ...
was widely seen as the one individual personifying the Canadian abortion rights movement, but organizations such as the
Canadian Abortion Rights Action League Canadian Association for Repeal of the Abortion Law (CARAL) was a coalition of abortion rights activists, created in 1974, to protest the incarceration of Dr. Henry Morgentaler, who was jailed for providing safe, yet not legalized, abortions in Can ...
(CARAL),
Canadians for Choice Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
, and the
Pro-Choice Action Network The Pro-Choice Action Network (Pro-CAN) is a Canadian abortion rights advocacy group based in Vancouver, British Columbia. Founded in 1987 as the BC Coalition for Abortion Clinics, the group changed to its current name in 1998. It began publishing ...
also contributed significantly to advancing the abortion rights movement in Canada. CARAL folded, and has been replaced by the
Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada The Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada (ARCC) is a Canadian abortion rights organization which was founded in 2005. Headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, it is currently the only political group in Canada which is engaged in pro-abortion ...
, whose focus is on the objectives mentioned above.
Feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...
or
pro-feminism Pro-feminism refers to support of the cause of feminism without implying that the supporter is a member of the feminist movement. The term is most often used in reference to men ("male feminists") who actively support feminism and its efforts to ...
organizations also contribute to promote the abortion rights approach. The Canadian affiliate of
Planned Parenthood The Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. (PPFA), or simply Planned Parenthood, is a nonprofit organization that provides reproductive health care in the United States and globally. It is a tax-exempt corporation under Internal Reve ...
, now known as the
Canadian Federation for Sexual Health Canadian Youth for Choice (CYC) is a pro-choice youth advocacy group based in Ottawa, Ontario.Mathieu, Emily. (June 26, 2007).Canadian youth on road for sexual health" ''Toronto Star.'' Retrieved September 25, 2007.Legatos, Jasmin. (August 13, 200 ...
, is also in favour of abortion rights, and while it does refer pregnant women to abortion providers, it does not have a history (unlike its American counterpart) of engaging in widespread litigation in favour of legalized abortion.


Anti-abortion movement

The
anti-abortion movement Anti-abortion movements, also self-styled as pro-life or abolitionist movements, are involved in the abortion debate advocating against the practice of abortion and its legality. Many anti-abortion movements began as countermovements in respons ...
, which self-identifies as the pro-life movement, disapproves of the lack of any legal restrictions on abortion in Canada and of abortions being funded by provincial health care programs, even if the abortion is not for therapeutic reasons. A medical reason for obtaining an abortion is no longer required in Canada since the 1988 removal of abortion from the Criminal Code. The anti-abortion movement in Canada is represented by the
Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
, Prolife Alberta, The Wilberforce Project,
Campaign Life Coalition The Campaign Life Coalition (sometimes shortened to Campaign Life) is a Canadian political lobbyist organization founded in 1978. Based in Hamilton, Ontario, the organization advocates for socially conservative values. Campaign Life Coalition opp ...
,
REAL Women of Canada REAL Women of Canada () is a socially conservative advocacy group in Canada. The organization was founded in 1983. REAL stands for "Realistic, Equal, Active, for Life". The group believes that the nuclear family is the most important unit in C ...
, We Need A Law, Abortion in Canada, Action Life (Ottawa), Inc., among other organizations. Anti-abortion rallies or Marches for Life occur annually in Ottawa and in some provincial capitals, drawing thousands of people, although many of these marches were cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.


Violence towards abortion providers

* In 1983, Henry Morgentaler was attacked by a man wielding garden shears; the attack was blocked by feminist activist
Judy Rebick Judy Rebick (born August 15, 1945) is a Canadian writer, journalist, political activist, and feminist. Early life Born in Reno, Nevada, Rebick and her family moved to Toronto when she was 9. She became a socialist activist in the 1970s, joining th ...
, who was standing nearby. * In 1992, Morgentaler's
Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
clinic was firebombed and sustained severe damage. The event occurred at night, so no one was injured, although a nearby bookstore was damaged. Appointments were switched to another clinic in Toronto and no abortions were prevented. * On November 8, 1994,
Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
doctor Garson Romalis was shot in the leg.Violence and harassment at U.S. abortion clinics
" ''ReligiousTolerance.org''.
* On November 10, 1995, Dr. Hugh Short of
Ancaster, Ontario Ancaster is a historic town in the city of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, located on the Niagara Escarpment. Founded as a town in 1793, it immediately developed itself into one of the first important and influential early Kingdom of Great Britain, Bri ...
, was shot in the elbow. * On November 11, 1997, Dr. Jack Fainman of
Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...
was shot in the shoulder. * On July 11, 2000, Dr. Garson Romalis was stabbed by an unidentified assailant in the lobby of his clinic.


See also


References


Further reading

* * *


External links

* Richer, Karine
Abortion in Canada: Twenty years after ''R. v. Morgentaler''
Parliament of Canada, Law and Government Division. PRB-08-22E.
List of abortion clinics in Canada
at the Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada
List of abortion clinics in Canada
at the National Abortion Federation {{DEFAULTSORT:Canada, Abortion in Health law in Canada History of human rights in Canada Women in Canada Abortion by country