Abortion activists on P.E.I. weigh in on Roe v Wade reversal

The U.S. Supreme Court recently overturned a landmark abortion rights decision — and the news hit close to home for activists on P.E.I., where the issue of access to abortion was fought for decades.

At the end of June, the Supreme Court overturned the Roe v Wade ruling, which provided a legal protection for abortion across the United States — undoing nearly 50 years of legal precedent.

Colleen MacQuarrie, a professor of psychology at UPEI who researched the impact of restricting abortion access on the Island, said the decision didn't come as a surprise.

"It was like one of those horrible things you see coming from years away. But when it actually did come to pass, it was almost like a confirmation that you can never rest easy when your human rights have been violated. Even when you make wins," she said.

"Whatever you have to push against to obtain your human rights, that system didn't go away … So we still have a patriarchy that would benefit from women's lack of bodily autonomy. Unless and until we start to dismantle things like patriarchy and colonialism, there will always be a threat to bodily autonomy of women, precariously vulnerable people." 

It took abortion rights activists 30 years to secure access to abortion services on the Island.

The biggest shift in P.E.I.'s abortion politics came in 2016, when the pro-choice group Abortion Access Now announced plans to sue the province. Wade MacLauchlan, who was premier at the time — and has a background in constitutional law — announced within days that his government didn't plan to fight the legal challenge.

By 2016, plans for the Women's Wellness Program & Sexual Health Services centre in Summerside were underway, and it opened at the beginning of January 2017.

But for those on the front lines — on both the anti-abortion and pro-choice sides — the fight didn't stop there.

"The issue has never been off the table for us. Protecting human life and supporting women in their pregnancies and young families as they choose life for themselves and for their children is a preeminent issue in all of our days," said Pat Wiedemer, executive director of the P.E.I. Life Association.

"It's never an issue where we can stop thinking about it … Why are we not more intentional in helping young mothers and young families do both — you know, continue your education, if that is the case, and say yes to the life of the child. Death can never — can never — be an answer to the social injustices of our world today … All those things can be fixed but we cannot bring back life again."

But she did say the ruling out of the U.S. has given a renewed sense of optimism to the organization.

"Well yes, I'm absolutely hopeful … Seriously, life wins. Life always wins. I am absolutely convicted that life will take in our case a turn for the better," she said.

"Here in Canada, we are living in a lawless situation right now. We need to have a law that protects humanity. We're in a difficult time but I do not see this as a time for despairing. Quite the opposite. There are so many signs of life."