A year after Roe fell, where does anti-abortion rhetoric stand in Canada?
Global News
One year since the overturning of Roe v. Wade, there is concern "anti-rights" rhetoric is surfacing in Canada while some say the decision emboldened views that already existed.
Advocates for safe abortion access and reproductive health are warning that one year after the fall of Roe v. Wade, similar anti-abortion and anti-rights rhetoric is bubbling up in Canada.
And they say more needs to be done to not only educate people on the resources and services out there, but to continue efforts to protect essential health care like abortion, access to birth control and other aspects of sexual and reproductive health.
When the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the 1973 ruling that guaranteed the constitutional right to abortion, there were concerns among experts Canada may need to act as a “safe haven” for Americans impacted. Some advocates also warned the country could struggle to keep up with any increase in demand for sexual health services and abortion care.
One year later, those same advocates say an influx of Americans crossing the border did not really happen, in part due to abortion access remaining in some U.S. states neighbouring those with bans, as well as the fact many people from low-income households can’t afford to come north.
“We haven’t seen that influx because there’s a network set up in the U.S. already to help people access American clinics,” Joyce Arthur, the executive director of the Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada, said.
She added there is the risk of it changing if a national ban were put in place in the U.S., but “hopefully that will never happen.”
Despite that influx not taking shape, the fall of Roe has had a different long-term impact.
According to Action Canada for Sexual Health and Rights, there has been a growing amount of “anti-gender equality” and “anti-choice rhetoric” taking shape. Kelly Bowden, the group’s director of policy and advocacy, said this has been seen in terms of book bans, attacks on drag storytime events, and what she said were attempts to undermine sexual health curriculums.