PHOTO: 'Angry but determined': Roe v. Wade abortion ruling raising concerns among Canadian advocates β Jun 24, 2022
Although Canadian officials are promising to ensure abortion access and have committed some funding to that effort, experts say more needs to be done to reduce the stigma surrounding the procedure and incentivize provinces and territories to offer care.
βWhat happened in the U.S. is very scary, and itβs certainly something we have to be vigilant about,β said Insiya Mankani, public affairs officer for Action Canada for Sexual Health and Rights.
βAt the same time, we need to continue to make sure that there is better access to abortion across this country. And I think the federal government can certainly play a role in that.β
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday promised to defend abortion rights in Canada and around the world after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that guaranteed the constitutional right to an abortion.
He called the courtβs decision a βdevastating setbackβ for American women, who will now face tremendous disparities in access depending on which state they live in.Β Several states moved immediatelyΒ to ban abortions in the hours after the ruling.
βQuite frankly, itβs an attack on everyoneβs freedoms and rights,β Trudeau said from the Commonwealth summit in Kigali, Rwanda.
βIt shows how much standing up and fighting for rights matters every day, that we canβt take anything for granted.β

Abortion is decriminalized in Canada because of a 1988 Supreme Court decision, but no bill has ever been passed to enshrine access into law.
YetΒ access varies greatlyΒ across the country. Women in rural areas of some provinces β including Ontario, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba β are forced to travel to urban centres for surgical abortions.
Abortion pills can also be difficultΒ to obtain, as they are not prescribed by family doctors or walk-in clinics.
Though the U.S. decision is sending βshock wavesβ everywhere, the legal ability to have an abortion in Canada is not under threat, said Joyce Arthur, executive director of the Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada.
But her organization is concerned about Americans coming north for abortion care and is advocating for federal and provincial governments to help clinics with more funding because, as Arthur puts it, βeven a small number of Americans can overwhelm our system.β
Mankani could not say how many women advocates expect to cross the border for care.
Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino said last month he would be speaking with the Canada Border Services Agency to make sure its staff know Americans seeking abortions can come to Canada.
Dr. Martha Paynter, a registered nurse working in abortion care and a post-doctoral fellow with UBCβs contraception and abortion research team,Β told Global NewsΒ clinics across the country may see an increased demand.
βAnd of course, we will care for them,β she said.
But she warned Americans will face βsignificant costsβ as a result.
βThey do not have provincial health insurance and will have to pay for their care if they come to Canada to seek it,β Paynter said.
Not all parts of Canada are likely to see a surge from the United States.
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Western states like Washington, Oregon and California are moving to protect abortion rights and promote themselves as safe havens, while abortion rights bills have been passed in states like New York and the surrounding northeast.
That means British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec and the Maritimes are unlikely to see a βsignificantβ spillover, Dr. Dustin Costescu, an associate professor at McMaster University as well as a family planning and sexual health specialist,Β previously told Global News.
Yet the Prairie provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba β which already struggle with access β could see Americans coming from states like Idaho, North Dakota and South Dakota, which have banned abortion through βtrigger lawsβ that went into effect after the Supreme Court ruling.

Although the right to an abortion doesnβt exist in Canada in the same way it was once enshrined in Roe v. Wade,Β experts sayΒ a national law or similar legal precedent would likely backfire.
βIt is not within the Criminal Code, and that is actually a good thing because it means subsequent governments cannot overturn any ruling, suddenly making it very restrictive,β Mankani said.
βIt lives within the Canada Health Act as a piece of health care, because it is health care.β
Mankani says instead, the Liberal government should focus on fulfilling its election promise to create Canada Health Act regulations that would penalize provinces for failing to provide access to sexual and reproductive health services.
Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos told reporters in May such mechanisms already exist, but his officials were looking at reinforcing them in the coming months.
Last year, the Liberal government confirmed it had withheld about $140,000 of New Brunswickβs share of the federal health transfer because it does not fund abortions provided at a clinic in Fredericton.
Another priority, Mankani says, should be the creation of a government-run web portal that can direct women seeking an abortion to proper information, their closest provider or how to access abortion pills.

While Action Canada and other advocatesΒ provide similar services,Β she said these groups survive through donations and are a βstopgapβ for a more permanent solution.
βThe lack of access to accurate information in Canada is a huge barrier for people seeking abortion care,β she said.
Ottawa has providedΒ $3.5 million to Action Canada and the National Abortion Federation to improve their efforts to provide information and support to women seeking care.
Mankani says while the news out of the U.S. is βdevastating,β sheβs heartened that organizations and advocates are stepping up to ensure rights arenβt scaled back elsewhere.
βThere is that devastation, but there is certainly that hope for change as well,β she said.
with files from Globalβs Amy Judd, Amanda Connolly and the Canadian Press