Here's What Canada's Abortion Rights Look Like & How Politicians Say They Could Improve

After the recent overturn of Roe v. Wade in the United States, abortion rights have been thrust to the forefront of minds in Canada and around the world.

And while access to abortion in the United States has taken a massive blow, abortion in Canada is a completely different beast.

As of 2022, there is no law that puts limits on access to abortion in Canada.

According to the National Abortion Federation of Canada, abortion is treated like any other medical procedure and is regulated through provincial and territorial health care laws.

However, the road to the current state was long.

The first law granting access to abortion was in 1969, which allowed abortion in some circumstances and would only be performed if a hospital committee decided it was necessary to save the pregnant person's life.

However, this still faced pushback and abortion-rights protests happened periodically across Canada in the ensuing years.

That is until 1988 when a landmark court case took place.

The case, R. v. Morgentaler, determined that Canada's existing abortion laws contravened the newly (1982) established Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

The Canadian Supreme Court determined that forcing someone to carry a pregnancy to term "unrelated to her own priorities and aspirations, is a profound interference with a woman's body and thus a violation of her security of the person."

It was decided that this violated the Charter right to "life, liberty and security of person."

From this point on, Canada was one of the few countries in the world with no federal laws restricting abortion.

Since then, there have been a few court cases and attempts to legally restrict access to abortions, but most have been struck down by legislators or courts.

Plus, access to abortion medications and procedures has only continued to open up into the 2020s.

However, many politicians and experts are quick to point out that the abortion debate isn't fully over in Canada.

While the right to an abortion is protected, there are a ton of inhibitions to access to abortions.

The biggest one pointed out by politicians is geographical.

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh has stated that access to an abortion really depends on where you live.

"There are so many people who can not access the right to an abortion because there are no services available," said the politician. "Whether it's in rural or remote communities or in some provinces where the services are not provided."

"We have to protect the right, and we have to defend access to that right," concluded Singh.

Justin Trudeau has also commented on the state of abortion in Canada, doubling down on his support for the right and how it might need to be changed in Canada.

"In Canada, we will always defend women's rights to choose and continue to work to expand access to the full range of reproductive health services across the country."