Canada pledges $3.5M for abortion access, training providers amid Roe v. Wade fallout
Global News
"Sexual and reproductive rights are human rights, plain and simple," said Canada's Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos in announcing more abortion access funding.
The Liberal government says it is giving $3.5 million for two projects to help improve access to abortion services in Canada.
The funding stems from a year-old budget pledge to spend $45 million over three years to help organizations make sexual and reproductive information and services more available.
“In 2022, in this country, sexual and reproductive rights are human rights, plain and simple,” said Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos at a press conference.
“The situation now ongoing in the United States does remind us that we cannot take our rights for granted.”
The funding comes as the U.S. Supreme Court’s expected reversal of the landmark Roe v. Wade case brings renewed attention to abortion access on both sides of the border, and the day before the annual anti-abortion “March for Life” demonstration on Parliament Hill.
Action Canada for Sexual Health and Rights will use the federal money to expand programs that provide accurate information about sexual and reproductive health and referrals, as well as help cover women’s travel and accommodation costs.
The National Abortion Federation will use funding to give women seeking abortion services financial and logistical help, as well as train health-care providers in providing those services.
“What is the point of having a right to something that is impossible to access?” said Frederique Chabot, director of health promotion for Action Canada at the press conference.
