The United States has been under attack with severe anti-abortion state bills designed to practically eliminate legal abortion in those states.
You might come to the conclusion that abortion rights are in way better shape in Canada than the United States.
Having covered American and Canadian politics, there is a yes-and-no answer that is worth having a column to explain and contrast policies in the side-by-side neighbours.
Roe vs. Wade gave the United States the edge in that federal abortion rights have existed since 1973. Canada doesn't get that federal standard until 1988 in what is known as the Morgentaler ruling. The Supreme Court of Canada said the then-abortion law violated women's Section 7 Charter rights to "life, liberty and security of person" and that the law "clearly interferes with a woman’s physical and bodily integrity."
The Conservative Party in Canada, whether in power with Stephen Harper or as the opposition party under Andrew Scheer, has been in the record as not wanting to reopen the abortion debate. There are backbenchers who feel otherwise but they haven't convinced their leadership to change that stance.
Prince Edward Island eases abortion restrictions (2015)
Abortion definitely an issue in New Brunswick election (2014)
In Canada and the United States, the battle is being fought on the state/provincial level. Provinces control health care though they receive money from the federal government for health care.
Prince Edward Island was in a land of its own until 2016. The province had refused to provide that form of health care on its land. The province would reimburse medical costs but not travel costs to places such as Halifax (NS) or Moncton (NB). The province sets medical abortions at 9 weeks and surgical abortions to 12 weeks, 6 days. Those requirements apply to abortions in the province.
Up until February 5, 2018, Nova Scotia required a physician referral to schedule an abortion. That was particular onerous for younger women who might not be able to find a physician that would support an abortion.
In 2014, New Brunswick required a woman to have written certification from 2 doctors that the procedure was medically necessary and the abortion must be done by an obstetrician/gynecologist in approved hospitals (only in Moncton and Bathurst). Currently, the province will only fund abortions at hospitals, not clinics.
Ontario funds abortions at some clinics, but not all of them.
Travel is a consideration for a lot of remote areas in Canada. Even in not so remote areas, travel is a concern. In the entire province of Alberta, there are lone clinics in each of the two largest cities: Edmonton and Calgary.
The anti-abortion crowd in Canada might be quieter but they do exist.
Politically, the difference is that the U.S. law is federal. Those who want to overturn Roe vs. Wade know that large U.S. cities (and their states) will still have abortion access. They want to have the right as individual states to install draconian laws against abortion.
The proposed laws are often drafted to make having an abortion across a state line a significant problem, especially if the female hasn't reached the age of majority.
In Canada, the law is still federal but provinces have a wide range of control from access, limits on number of weeks, and covering costs.
The United States prohibits federal Medicaid funding of abortions thanks to the Hyde Amendment. Canada will generally pay for abortions, an advantage thanks to the single-payer health care system.
Those who have financial means and/or live in large cities won't have to worry about abortions. Those without financial means and/or in rural areas will struggle more.
The abortion pill was supposed to be a benefactor for girls and women where access was limited. Access to the abortion pill is often lacking in the areas where it is most in need.
Canada has a major advantage over the United States: stability of the Supreme Court. Conservatives know that the Supreme Court of Canada will never overturn the 1988 ruling. The appointments of several Supreme Court justices in the United States under controversial circumstances tips the court in a direction where political, not legal, rulings are likely or possible.
Women's rights are better protected in Canada under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The United States is a state short of approving the Equal Rights Amendment.
We saw under the Harper Government that even though Harper appointed the vast majority of justices that the Court ruled unanimously against the Harper Government on key decisions. That lack of bias doesn't exist on the United States Supreme Court.
CanadianCrossing.com Prince Edward Island coverage
CanadianCrossing.com health care coverage
Ireland legalised abortions in a referendum about a year ago. The government later made the procedure free for Irish women. Those women and girls in Northern Ireland have it more like Alabama's new law; those able to travel to England can get an abortion. Poland has one of the most extreme takes on abortion in Europe.
Here is to hoping abortion, birth control, contraception, and women's health care become medical issues, not political footballs.
video and photo credit: Full Frontal with Samantha Bee/TBS
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