The topic of abortion has recently returned to the news in the United States. According to some media, the Supreme Court is preparing to overturn Roe v. Wade since 1973, which provides constitutional protection for the right to abortion throughout the United States. In Canada, this right is protected, but the battle to get it is long, explains Louise Desmarais, activist for the right to abortion.
In 1969, Prime Minister Pierre-Elliott Trudeau’s omnibus law put an end to secret abortions that had been going on for 100 years. “All contraception is in the Criminal Code, Louise Desmarais recalls, and abortion is forbidden, whatever the reason.”
The fight for the right to abortion will begin after the adoption of this law. A therapeutic abortion committee, consisting of three doctors, authorizes the abortion, which must be performed in a hospital. Pierre-Elliott Trudeau thought he was solving the problem of secret abortion, but war broke out between the anti-abortion movement and feminists.
” All anti-abortion doctors will systematically boycott the creation of abortion committees. […] In 1970, only 181 abortions were performed in Quebec, and only one in a French -speaking hospital. “
In 1973, the judgment of the U.S. Supreme Court confirmed and legalized abortion in all states. “In 1973, there began to be trials on Dr. Morgentaler, the memorial of Louise Desmarais. This will be an extraordinary mobilization tool to put the problem on the table. “
During this time, bus trips were arranged for women to have abortions in New York State.
” The battle for feminists will be the battle for access to abortion services. “
From 1977, lawsuits against doctors ceased, until the Supreme Court of Canada ruled abortion in 1988.
” The Supreme Court recognized that under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, women’s right to safety and health in Canadian law is unacceptable to women. “
Now, is the right to abortion in Canada threatened? “In the opinion of many, no, [car] unlike the United States, here every province cannot legislate [en matière de criminalité]. […] Only the federal Parliament can play a part in the Criminal Code, ”explains Louise Desmarais, who however points out that access to abortion is not the same everywhere in Canada.
Source: Radio-Canada
