Abortion clinics in Canada brace for US patients

FILE - Information pamphlets hang on the back of a door in a procedure room at the Women's Health Clinic, which offers reproductive care, including abortions, in Winnipeg, Manitoba, June 28, 2022. (Photo: Reuters)

Medical facilities in Canada that perform abortions are preparing to accept patients from states in the United States that prohibit the procedure. The U.S. Supreme Court's decision invalidating the constitutional right to abortion in the United States is also being used to extend abortion services in Canada and provide other assistance to pregnant women.

The Supreme Court of Canada decriminalized abortion in 1988, fifteen years after the famous Roe v. Wade decision, legalized abortion in the United States.

In certain rural regions of the second-largest country in the world, abortion services are inaccessible for hundreds of kilometers. Still, they are offered in hospitals and medical centers in most major urban areas.

Now that Roe v. Wade has been reversed, the 13 U.S. states bordering the Canadian border can permit, restrict, or prohibit abortions.

Winnipeg is the capital of Manitoba, which shares a border with North Dakota, a state predicted to restrict abortion access.

The director of clinical programs at the Women's Health Clinic in Winnipeg, Blandine Tona, anticipates that American patients will attend the facility, as they did before the coronavirus outbreak. According to her, some Americans are closer to Winnipeg than to places where abortion is still allowed.

The author of Abortion to Abolition, Reproductive Health Injustice in Canada, Martha Paynter, is uncertain about the number of potential excursions across the border to get abortion services.

Paynter, who holds a doctorate in nursing, stated that Americans face financial and logistical barriers while attempting to receive medical care in Canada. She said, however, that the circumstance offers an incentive to increase abortion access nationwide.

"It seems doubtful because you would have to pay for travel and obtain a passport – it would be quite a process." "She stated, "Nonetheless, I believe we should prepare. This is an excellent reminder of the importance of remaining alert and expanding access."

British Columbia, the westernmost province of Canada, has a border with the states of Washington, where abortion services will remain readily available, and Idaho, where a state law will shortly ban the operation if it survives judicial challenges.

Michelle Fortin, executive director of Options for Sexual Health, formerly Planned Parenthood Association of British Columbia, stated that potential immigration issues, such as requiring passports and crossing an international border, cause the majority of Americans who seek abortion services to travel to the closest U.S. state that permits it.

However, she stated that nobody would be turned away in Canada, and many Canadians are also looking to provide other forms of assistance.

"Therefore, I believe that any American who presents with an unintended and unwanted pregnancy would be served, "She stated, "I doubt there will be a significant influx. I am aware that many Canadians are searching for ways to assist Americans in accessing abortion services.

Fortin stated that most of this assistance is monetary to assist Americans with travel, child care, and other costs. She said that this might potentially involve bringing abortion drugs into the United States, similar to what has been done for years with other less expensive prescriptions in Canada.

Publish : 2022-07-02 08:12:00

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