Liberals looking at Canada Health Act to ensure abortion right protected: Trudeau

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says his government is looking at using legislation to ensure the right to a safe and legal abortion will be permanently protected in Canada.

“(The) minister of health and minister of women and gender equality . . . (will) look at the legal framework that exists around reproductive health and services like abortion,” Trudeau told reporters before the Liberals’ weekly caucus meeting in Ottawa.

During the election, the Liberals promised to establish regulations under the Canada Health Act to ensure publicly funded abortion services no matter where someone lives.

Related: ‘We are going backward’: U.S. abortion debate worries Canadian advocate

Trudeau’s comments comes two days after an unprecedented leak of a draft decision from the United States Supreme Court that would strike down the historic 1973 Roe v. Wade case, which ensures the right to legal abortions in that country.

“Roe was egregiously wrong from the start,” the draft opinion says, leaving state governments to regulate abortion laws.

On Tuesday, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said while he is confident Canada’s abortion laws are safe, he has concerns about access to services and wants the federal government to ensure these rights are protected.

Singh said he wants the government to make sure patients don’t need to drive hundreds of kilometers to reach a clinic or hospital.

“That’s where we should be putting our efforts. The law is very strong in Canada. The right is protected but the access is something we need to improve,” he said.

Abortion has been decriminalized in Canada since a 1988 Supreme Court decision, but no bill has ever been passed enshrining that right into law.