Legalization of abortion in Canada has been a contentious matter for roughly over a hundred years. This article aims to capture the brief history of anti-abortion laws in Canada and how the abortion access options have attempted to mitigate the ripple effects of the long-standing orthodox abortion norms.
Legal Status Of Abortion
Abortion was formally a crime in Canada until in 1969, prior to which Section 251 of the Criminal Law Amendment Act stipulated doctors must only resort to abortion as a procedure if the pregnancy was likely to cause danger to women’s life or health. And this was done upon the approval from a committee of doctors. In all other circumstances, abortion remained illegal.
The abortion trial of Emily Stowe led to a reform. It was an impartial liberalization as it did not allow women to opt for abortions themselves and also levied penalties for medical officers who participated in other abortions.
In around 1988, for the first time in the history of Canada, abortion was fully legalized in the landmark decision of R. v. Morgentaler stating penalization for abortion as unconstitutional and a sheer violation of a woman’s personal bodily choices. To say, abortion has not been classified as a constitutionally protected right until now nor any Canadian court has declared so.
Today, Canada is an abortion-friendly country mainly because of the Morgentaler benchmark ruling. Decriminalization of abortion had undeniably broadened the scope of ever-evolving human rights jurisprudence by reaffirming women’s right to Security of the Person enshrined under section 7 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
The Concept Of Fetal Rights
In the wake of the liberalizing abortion legislation in Canada, Tremblay v. Daigle is a cornerstone case concerning fetal rights and abortion controversies in Canada. In this case, the plaintiff prevented Daigle from aborting the child by obtaining a provincial court injunction based on the notion that fetus is a juridical person.
Afterward, Daigle appealed Supreme Court of Canada and was permitted to get an abortion on the grounds that the fetus has no legal status in the light of Canadian Common Law or Civil Law of Quebec. Even more so, this also implied that men are not permitted to obtain injunctions ceasing their partners to exercise their legal right to have an abortion.
The Legal Line – How Is The Abortion Service Administered In Canada?
Abortion falls into the provincial healthcare regulations and access to abortion varies from one province to another. Under Canadian Law, the Canada Health Act (CHA) regards abortion as a publically-funded medical procedure offering surgical and medical abortion options. A woman can have avail abortion services by showing their Ontario Health Card at a hospital or clinic. Consent of the aborting person is mandatory to perform abortion.
However, the non-invasive medical abortion (abortion done through the abortion pill) was allowed in July 2015 by the Federal government. It is notable that CHA does not disapprove of the abortion cases even if they are not for therapeutic reasons. Just like other medical and surgical procedures, abortion is also an insured medical service inscribed by this well-founded standards act.
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