Abortion in Canada —Legal for Decades But Hindered by Stigma

While abortion in Canada has been legal for decades, procuring one is difficult for many. Credit: Gayatri Malhotra/UnsplashBy Juliet MorrisonOttawa, Jul 19 2022 (IPS) Toronto resident Miranda Knight describes her abortion experience as relatively simple. After finding out she was pregnant on a Wednesday in 2017, she booked an appointment at an available clinic and got one for the following Monday. She had the procedure that day and left the clinic by noon. But Knight’s experience is not the reality for all. As Canada’s most populous city, Toronto has several access points to abortion. Despite abortion being legal nationwide since 1988 and officially treated like any other medical procedure, many other parts of the country do not have access points. The United Nations has highlighted this disparity. A 2016 report from the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women encouraged the Canadian government to improve the accessibility of abortion services nationwide. According to the Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada (ARCC), fewer than one in five hospitals offer the procedure. ARCC Executive Director Joyce Arthur said access could be a real struggle for those living outside cities or far from the US border. Most access points are found within less than 150 kilometers of a town, where most Canadians live. “As soon as you’re away from the city, or up north, you often might have to travel for services, sometimes hundreds of kilometers, and even sometimes for ...
Source: IPS Inter Press Service - Health - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Tags: Editors' Choice Featured Gender Health Human Rights Inequality North America Population TerraViva United Nations Women's Health Abortion Canada IPS UN Bureau IPS UN Bureau Report Source Type: news