Abortion in Canada

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Abortion in Canada is legal throughout pregnancy and is publicly funded as a medical procedure under the combined effects of the federal Canada Health Act and provincial health-care systems.[1] However, access to services and resources varies by region.[2] While some restrictions exist,[1] Canada is one of the few nations with no criminal restrictions on abortion.[3][4] Abortion is subject to provincial healthcare regulatory rules and guidelines for physicians.[5][6] No jurisdiction offers abortion on request at 24 weeks and beyond, although there are exceptions for certain medical complications.[7][8]

Formally banned in 1869, abortion would remain illegal in Canadian law for the next 100 years.[9] In 1969, the Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1968–69 legalized therapeutic abortions, as long as a committee of doctors certified that continuing the pregnancy would likely endanger the woman's life or health.[9] In 1988, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled in R. v. Morgentaler that the existing law was unconstitutional, and struck down the 1969 Act.[10] The ruling found that the 1969 abortion law violated a woman's right to "life, liberty and security of the person" guaranteed under Section 7 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms established in 1982.[11]

In Canada, all surgical abortions are performed by a physician, with nurse practitioners, pharmacists and midwives able to provide medications for non-invasive medical abortions within nine weeks (63 days) of gestation.[12][13] Canada has had a relatively stable abortion rate since decriminalization; the rate of recorded abortion per 1000 women of childbearing age (15–44) was 10.2 in 1974, rising to 16.4 abortions per thousand women in 1997, and declining to 10.1 abortions per 1000 women in 2020.[14][15][16] However, these rates of abortion only reflect the number of abortions reported by abortion clinics and hospitals. They do not account for unreported abortions in these setting or count abortions induced by prescription drugs such as mifepristone and misoprostol taken at home, and so these official rates of abortion undercount the true rate of abortion.[15] Nevertheless, Canada has a low abortion rate overall compared to other countries,[3] with approximately 74,000 abortions reported in 2020. Roughly half of abortions occur among women aged 18 to 29 years and roughly 90% of abortions are performed within the first trimester (12 weeks).[17]

  1. ^ a b J. Cherie Strachan; Lori M. Poloni-Staudinger; Shannon Jenkins; Candice D. Ortbals (2019). Why Don't Women Rule the World?: Understanding Women's Civic and Political Choices. SAGE Publications. p. 115. ISBN 978-1-5443-1727-4.
  2. ^ Sethna, Christabelle; Doull, Marion (2013). "Spatial disparities and travel to freestanding abortion clinics in Canada". Women's Studies International Forum. 38. Elsevier BV: 52–62. doi:10.1016/j.wsif.2013.02.001. ISSN 0277-5395.
  3. ^ a b Sally Sheldon; Kaye Wellings (March 2020). Decriminalising Abortion in the UK: What Would It Mean?. Policy Press. pp. 104–105. ISBN 978-1-4473-5401-7.
  4. ^ Christine Ammer; JoAnn E. Manson (February 2009). The Encyclopedia of Women's Health. Infobase Publishing. p. 7. ISBN 978-0-8160-7407-5. Retrieved November 28, 2011.
  5. ^ Shannon Stettner; Kristin Burnett; Travis Hay, eds. (December 1, 2017). Abortion: History, Politics, and Reproductive Justice after Morgentaler. UBC Press. p. 224. ISBN 978-0-7748-3576-3. OCLC 1013541249.
  6. ^ Sheldon, Sally; Wellings, Kaye, eds. (March 23, 2020). Decriminalising Abortion in the UK: What Would It Mean?. Policy Press. pp. 107–. ISBN 978-1-4473-5402-4. OCLC 1145588167.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference auto1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ "Access at a Glance: Abortion Services in Canada | Action Canada for Sexual Health and Rights". Action Canada for Sexual Health & Rights. While abortions after 20 weeks are statistically very rare (<2.5% of all abortions), there are people in Canada who require abortion beyond 20 weeks for serious and important reasons. There are only three service locations in Canada that offer abortion up to 23 weeks and 6 days (one in British Columbia, one in Southern Ontario, and one in Quebec). No providers in Canada offer abortion care beyond 23 weeks and 6 days.
  9. ^ a b Victoria Bromley (2012). Feminisms Matter: Debates, Theories, Activism. University of Toronto Press. pp. 26–32. ISBN 978-1-4426-0502-2.
  10. ^ Radha Jhappan (2002). Women's Legal Strategies in Canada. University of Toronto Press. pp. 335–338. ISBN 978-0-8020-7667-0.
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference Morgentaler1988 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  12. ^ Cite error: The named reference auto was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  13. ^ Dunn, Sheila; Brooks, Melissa (2018). "Mifepristone". Canadian Medical Association Journal. 190 (22): E688. doi:10.1503/cmaj.180047. ISSN 0820-3946. PMC 5988520. PMID 29866894.
  14. ^ Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (October 25, 2010). "Pregnancy outcomes (live births, induced abortions, and fetal loss)". www150.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved May 5, 2022.
  15. ^ a b Canadian Institute for Health Information. "Induced Abortions Reported in Canada in 2020".
  16. ^ Shaw, Dorothy; Norman, Wendy V. (2020). "When there are no abortion laws: A case study of Canada" (PDF). Best Practice & Research Clinical Obstetrics & Gynaecology. 62: 49–62. doi:10.1016/j.bpobgyn.2019.05.010. PMID 31281015. S2CID 181481915.
  17. ^ "Statistics - Abortion in Canada" (PDF). Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada - Statistics Canada. 2020.