Canadian abortion advocates call U.S. ruling to ban safe abortions ‘dystopian’

A local sexual health clinic says it’s prepared to take in Americans seeking a safe abortion as they lose their constitutional right amid the U.S. Supreme Court ruling to overturn Roe v. Wade.

The protection for abortion was a fundamental and deeply personal change for Americans’ lives after nearly a half-century under Roe v. Wade. The court’s overturning of the landmark court ruling is likely to lead to abortion bans in roughly half the states.

Michelle Fortin is the executive director at Options for Sexual Health and says before the ruling, some Americans would already make their way up north to access an abortion since it was more accessible than in their state. 

“People already do that in terms of access because our system might be a little bit quicker,” she said. “But the reality is that part of our fight here is to ensure that our access to equitable abortion services, and beyond, is ensconced here in our provincial and federal laws.”

Related Article: Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade, allowing states to ban abortions

Joyce Arthur, an executive director at Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada, agrees that Canadian abortion care isn’t perfect, adding the country needs to reinforce its own front door.

“Politicians are already saying that American women are welcome to come up to Canada. And they are, but … without adequate access here in Canada, it’s going to be difficult,” Arthur said. 

As an example, Fortin told CityNews, “An Indigenous woman in northern British Columbia, seeking to terminate an unplanned pregnancy is going to have to travel big distances, is going to have to jump through hoops to find a provider because there’s still stigma attached. So there are physicians who aren’t necessarily broadcasting that this is part of their practice.”

“Until everyone who has an unintended pregnancy that wants to terminate it has access, we’re going to keep fighting,” she added. 

Arthur adds she worries about the increased wait times and reduced access for Canadians. 

“What we really need is a permanent infusion of funding for sexual and reproductive health care in Canada, including abortion care across the provinces, but it can be expanded and ensure that we have care for Canadians and can help Americans,” she said. 

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A few years ago, Friday’s ruling was unthinkable. But the culmination of decades of efforts by abortion opponents made possible by an emboldened right side of the court fortified by three appointees of former President Donald Trump.

Pregnant people considering abortions already had been dealing with a near-complete ban in Oklahoma and a prohibition after roughly six weeks in Texas. Clinics in at least eight other states — Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Kentucky, Missouri, South Dakota, Wisconsin and West Virginia — stopped performing abortions after Friday’s decision.

However, Fortin says she is hopeful the progressive West Coast States in the U.S. will have their own state law preventing the restriction of abortion, which would ease travel and medical costs for Americans and keep Canada’s abortion system from being overrun.

The ruling came as no surprise to Fortin, but she still calls the decision ‘devastating’ to the number of generations south of the border who have witnessed their health care, including abortion, change. 

Arthur adds she was ‘heartbroken’ as people who valued Roe v. Wade so they could pursue careers, education, and plan their families, have had this right stripped away. 

“Now it’s all in jeopardy,” she said. 

Fortin’s biggest concern is the possible criminalization of abortion, “not just the person who has an abortion, but people that support it.”

“Physicians and other clinicians that support perhaps an atopic pregnancy that must be terminated. And if they live in the wrong state, it means that they could be charged with something for delivering health care to the person who’s pregnant,” she explained. “It’s hard to believe, it’s dystopian.”

Since the election, abortion-rights supporters, including President Joe Biden, expressed dismay and pledged to fight to restore the rights.

“It’s a sad day for the court and for the country,” Biden said at the White House. He urged voters to make it a defining issue in the November elections, declaring, “This decision must not be the final word.”

According to statistics analyzed by The Associated Press, the decision is expected to disproportionately affect minority women who already face limited access to health care.

It also puts the court at odds with a majority of Americans who favoured preserving Roe, according to opinion polls.

Surveys conducted by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research and others have shown a majority in favour of abortion being legal in all or most circumstances. But many also support restrictions, especially later in pregnancy. Surveys consistently show that about 1 in 10 Americans want abortion to be illegal in all cases.