Pregnancy centers and anti-choice candidates, abortion clinics without funding: if it has not invested the political milieu in such a clear-cut manner as in the United States, the anti-abortion movement remains very present in Canada and Quebec. Overview of an ideology that works in the shadows, but which has some very real impacts on the lives of Canadian women.
In New Brunswick, abortions are paid for by the government only if performed in a hospital. The policy, the only one of its kind in the country, led to the closure of the last abortion clinic in the province in 2020, leaving women with only three hospitals to go to for a pregnancy termination.
“In places in Canada where access to abortion has been reduced, it is in part because of the reluctance of certain elected officials or their anti-choice opinions”, maintains the executive director of the Coalition for the right to Abortion in Canada, Joyce Arthur.
Reached in Vancouver, she does not believe that the right to abortion in Canada is threatened as in the United States, where a document leaked by the media Politico on Monday evening presents a draft decision of the Supreme Court to overturn the judgment Roe v. Wade, who protects American women’s right to abortion. But according to Mme Arthur, the anti-abortion movement in Canada “can do a lot of damage through stigma and misinformation and can create an atmosphere of silence around abortion.”
Although in a less radical way than in the United States, this ideology also invites itself in politics. According to a survey conducted in October 2021 by the Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada, 74% of the Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) caucus are opposed to abortion. And of the 159 members of the Liberal Party, five are anti-choice or have expressed positions in this direction in the past.
The CCP leadership also sent a note to its deputies on Tuesday urging them not to comment on the leak of the Supreme Court document, while the party is in the midst of a leadership race. The only woman in the running among the six aspirants, Leslyn Lewis is also the only openly anti-choice candidate. “In a way, it’s a good thing that the Conservatives are afraid to talk about this issue, since it demonstrates the strength of our pro-choice policies”, believes Joyce Arthur.
She still notes the involvement of certain anti-abortion groups in the leadership race, including one of the largest in the country, Campaign Life Coalition, offered its support to Leslyn Lewis. Mme Arthur says these groups mobilize on behalf of anti-choice candidates and in return, “they expect them to take action. [pour restreindre le droit à l’avortement] “. She deplores that such groups would have contributed in particular to the election of Andrew Scheer and Erin O’Toole as the head of the CPC, as well as that of Doug Ford as premier of Ontario.
It should be noted that during the last election campaign, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau promised to regulate access to abortion services under the Canada Health Act. A promise that has still not been implemented.
Quebec not left out
Last February, the leader of the Conservative Party of Quebec, Éric Duhaime, presented an anti-abortion candidate for the next provincial elections, the Dr Roy Eappen. The latter said he did not want to legislate on the issue, but rather talk to people to “change their opinion”.
The anti-abortion movement in Quebec is also present in anti-choice pregnancy centers which, under a neutral exterior, dissuade the women who consult them from having recourse to abortion. According to the Federation of Quebec for the planning of births, there would be between 15 and 30 in activity on the territory.
In February, an investigation by Urbania revealed that two CAQ deputies had financed such centers. The Minister for the Status of Women, Isabelle Charest, then invoked an “error in good faith” to justify this funding.
Proof, according to the director of the Montreal pro-choice organization Grossesse-Secours, Josiane Robert, that “we are not immune to that”. For her, the battle is far from won: “We must continue to mention that abortion is a fundamental, legal and safe right”.