Will Canada help American abortion rights activists

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30th Jul, 2022. 03:35 pm
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people with stringent abortion laws are looking for services beyond borders.
Canadian abortion facilities are out of the question for many.
barriers to access remain, particularly in Canada’s northern regions.

Following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, people in states with stringent abortion laws are looking for services beyond their local clinics, including beyond the country’s northern border.

While some Americans may be looking to Canada for a remedy to some of the restrictions on abortion rights in the United States, seeking abortions in the country may not be the most convenient option.

Experts argue that travelling across the border to obtain care in Canadian abortion facilities remains out of reach for many abortion-seekers in the United States.

Indeed, Liza Fuentes, a senior research scientist specialising in abortion and contraceptive access at the Guttmacher Institute, a research and policy organisation that advocates for abortion rights, believes that looking to Canada isn’t a “silver bullet” or long-term solution to the erosion of rights in the United States.

“People are going to obtain abortion care in the manner that is best for them given the circumstances,” Fuentes says. “Pre-Roe, did people leave the country to obtain abortion care? Of course, they did. But who are we talking about? We’re talking about the people who have the most amount of resources to be able to arrange travel in a way that is safe and effective.”

While 13 U.S. states border Canada, financial concerns may prohibit many Americans from crossing the border to seek abortions, especially given that over half of abortion recipients in 2014 lived below the poverty line.

Travelling over the Canadian border could be too expensive for the average abortion seeker who must pay for aircraft tickets, gas, hotel, and other fees. Child care costs may also be a factor, considering that about 6 in 10 women who have abortions are already moms, according to 2019 statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Fuentes also points out that for people without passports, travelling worldwide to seek abortions is impossible.

“People who are undocumented are going to be left behind,” she says.

Even though Canadian abortion clinics near the U.S. border accept American patients, Dr Angel Foster, a professor and former chair of women’s health research at the University of Ottawa, predicts that people in the United States seeking abortions in states with restrictions will still be more likely to travel within the United States for their care.

“The reality of who has abortions in the United States and who was most affected by these bans, these are not people who are going to be travelling to Canada,” she says.

Although abortion is not a crime in Canada, it is nevertheless controlled at the provincial and territorial levels, and barriers to access remain, particularly in Canada’s northern regions.

Even in Canadian provinces, Foster claims that some people in need of abortion care at later gestational ages, such as after 20 weeks of pregnancy, have been unable to obtain it.

She adds, that some Canadians have relied on travelling to the United States to offer that care, which may be jeopardised in a post-Roe world.

Will Canada help American abortion rights activists

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