Today, the Vancouver Sun published my op-ed in honor of the 25th anniversary of the historic R v. Morgentaler decision, which struck down Canada's abortion law as unconstitutional and decriminalized abortion.
Today
marks the 25th anniversary of R v. Morgentaler, the Supreme Court decision that
decriminalized abortion in Canada. This landmark decision has undoubtedly
protected the health and saved the lives of countless women and changed the
legal landscape in Canada.
Before
Jan. 28, 1988, abortion was permitted only in very limited circumstances.
Hospitals with Therapeutic Abortion Committees could approve and provide
abortion care only in cases of life or health endangerment. In order to obtain
a legal abortion, women were forced to face an intimidating process of going
before a hospital committee to petition for care. This policy established
unequal access to abortion throughout the provinces and territories, and made
it particularly difficult for women outside major urban centres to obtain
abortion care.
It
is estimated during this time that 35,000 to 120,000 illegal abortions took
place each year. And we may never know the actual number of women who
sacrificed their lives and health through back alley or self-induced abortions.
The
battle for abortion rights was fought in Parliament, in the courtroom, and in
the streets. Just as they had done for voting rights and human rights, women
mobilized - this time around obtaining the right to have a safe and legal
abortion.
In
1970, 18 years before abortion was removed from the Criminal Code, the
Vancouver Women's Caucus organized the first national feminist protest to
liberalize the abortion law. The Abortion Caravan, as they were called,
travelled more than 4,828 kilometres from Vancouver to Ottawa, where 500 women
demonstrated for two days demanding legal access to abortion. And 30 women
chained themselves to the parliamentary gallery in the House of Commons,
closing Parliament for the first time in Canadian history. This relatively
small group of women stood up and demanded that all women have equal access to
abortion care. These 30 women gave a voice to Canadian women who were unable to
legally obtain the abortion care they needed.
Additionally,
Dr. Henry Morgentaler defied the law and opened the first Canadian freestanding
abortion clinic in Montreal in 1969. For the next 20 years, he continued to
fight the system and even served prison time for providing women with safe
abortion care. Dr. Morgentaler remained committed to liberalizing Canada's
abortion law and continued to speak out for women's reproductive freedom.
These
efforts were successful, and today Canada is one of only a few countries
without a federal law restricting abortion. The R v. Morgentaler decision has
been named as one of the most important and influential Charter cases and it
has made a critical difference in women's ability to control their bodies and
fully participate in society.
As
Justice Bertha Wilson - the first woman appointed to the Supreme Court - wrote
in her opinion in the case, "The right to liberty contained in s. 7
guarantees to every individual a degree of personal autonomy over important
decisions intimately affecting their private lives."
This
decision rightly removed the government from private medical decisions and is a
human rights victory for women. Just like giving women the right to vote,
strengthening aboriginal rights, or decriminalizing homosexuality, the right to
obtain legal abortion care was hard fought and extensively debated. Yet none of
these other rights are so constantly under attack or up for debate.
There
would be massive public outrage if politicians or groups called to revoke
women's voting rights. In fact, even to think about such a prospect seems
absurd. We should have the same reaction to those who wish to reopen the
abortion debate.
It
is critical to the lives and health of Canadian women that abortion is safe,
legal, and accessible. We must protect all the rights we've earned.
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