Many Canadian Women Face Obstacles Accessing Abortion Services, Opinion Piece Says

Main Category: Abortion
Article Date: 30 Jan 2009 - 2:00 PDT

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"[C]hallenges to accessing abortion care in Canada still exist" more than two decades after the landmark Canadian Supreme Court ruling that decriminalized the procedure in the country, Vicki Saporta -- president and CEO of the National Abortion Federation -- writes in a Toronto Star opinion piece. The ruling, R. v. Morgentaler, was decided 21 years ago this week. Saporta writes that although abortion is covered under Canada's health insurance program, access is "variable" across the country, with no abortion services available in some provinces and limited access for women in rural areas.

According to Saporta, abortion is the "only time-sensitive and medically necessary procedure excluded from the list of services on the inter-provincial billing agreement," which makes it challenging for women not living in their home territory or province to access an abortion. Saporta continues that the policy forces women who are attending school in another province or have recently moved to either pay the full cost of abortion care out-of-pocket or "incur the additional expenses traveling back to their home province in order to obtain a publicly funded abortion." She writes that it is "important that we do not lose sight of the women who continue to face these obstacles in order to obtain the abortion care they need," adding, "We must continue to work together to ensure that women have the same access to abortion care whether they live in an urban center or a small town" and regardless of what province they live in. She concludes, "We must remain vigilant in preserving reproductive freedom so that we never have to return to the days of back alley abortions where our sisters, mothers and friends had to risk their health -- and sometimes even their lives -- to end an unwanted pregnancy" (Saporta, Toronto Star, 1/28).

Reprinted with kind permission from http://www.nationalpartnership.org. You can view the entire Daily Women's Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery here. The Daily Women's Health Policy Report is a free service of the National Partnership for Women & Families, published by The Advisory Board Company.

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