The media coverage of the last few days has made much of the decision of the Legault government to cancel an event organized by a pro-life group to be held at the Center des Congrès de Québec. In the wake of the concerns expressed by many about the importance of freedom of expression, a right protected by the Canadian Charter and too often abused, it is however for Chantale Daigle that I had a thought.
The decision of the Legault government was certainly clumsy, even unwise, freedom of expression being a foundation of democratic societies. Undermining them may not only be legally unacceptable, but also socially counterproductive. However, the current debate around freedom of expression obscures another equally important issue, namely the right of women to reproductive autonomy, their right to life, liberty and security, a right which also stems from the Charter and which we take for granted, but which nevertheless remains seriously threatened.
In 1988, the Supreme Court certainly invalidated the criminalization of abortion in Canada in the famous decision Morgentaler. In 1989, it also confirmed the absence of legal personality of the fetus and incidentally, the right to abortion of the woman in the judgment Daigle c. Tremblay. Yet it was not until 2018 that the offending provision of the Criminal Code – section 251 – was officially repealed.
Thirty years ! Thirty years for the Canadian government to dare to expressly reaffirm what the Supreme Court of Canada had clearly established.
It is also clear that in 2023, access to abortion services is still highly unequal across the country. In the regions and within marginalized communities, the lack of services is often evident, forcing women to travel long distances to access abortion. This reality is cause for concern. In this sense, we should be pleased with the field work carried out by organizations such as Action Canada for Sexual Health and Rights or the National Abortion Federation of Canada.
A weakened right, a choice to be reaffirmed
Today, it is therefore about this right, weakened, that it seems important to me to position ourselves. In this tragic era where, very close to us, the end Dobbs of the United States Supreme Court last year overturned the 1973 precedent Roe v. wade so as to significantly restrict women’s right to abortion, it is appropriate to stand up. Because now, it is indeed about fifteen American states which have banned abortion on their soil. The medical techniques used in the context of abortions, and in particular access to the abortion pill, have even been successfully challenged by a coalition of pro-life activists in the context of an action brought before an American court in Texas where the judge officiant was openly known as an ultraconservative.
Although an appeal has been filed by the Biden administration and the fate of the case remains pending, the distressing and shameless manipulation to which the American justice system is currently subjected, in defiance of women’s rights, must be strongly condemned.
Also, although in Quebec, the Legault government has put its feet in the dish, I like to think that the intention was noble. Reaffirming the importance of the right to abortion for women is essential. The Quebec legislator has also done so in connection with pregnancy for others in Bill 12, which was adopted on May 31 by the National Assembly of Quebec and seals the reform of the law of filiation. I applaud, loud and clear, this choice. Because that’s what it’s all about: a choice, that of the woman to dispose of her body as she sees fit.