In Context: 5 Web Perspectives On A Story In The News

Abortion debate in PEI

(CBC) P.E.I. is the only province in Canada that does not allow abortions.

Women must travel to Fredricton or Halifax to have the procedure. The last time this issue was debated was during the 1990s but now a new pro-choice group, the P.E.I. Reproductive Rights Organization has brought the issue up once again. Founder of the group Kandace Hagen doesn't want other women to go through the same trouble she did - travel time and financially. Hagen went to a private Halifax clinic where it cost her almost $1,000 for the procedure. Hagen told CBC, "Every person across Canada should have the same accessible health care. That's all we're saying. That's not what the reality is right now."

Both opposing groups, pro-life and pro-choice, rallied outside of Charlotte's Province House Nov. 19. Conservative health critic James Aylward says the province has too small of a population to offer this costly procedure. P.E.I. Health Minister Doug Currie will listen to both sides of the debate. However, on Nov. 9, Currie said, adding abortion services to PEI will come with attached costs.

1.

Abortion in Canada: A time line

CBC
The CBC put together a timeline that runs from 1892 to 2009. It shows the back and forth debate on the rights of women to have abortions in almost the past 120 years. The most crucial date being Jan. 28, 1988 when the Supreme Court of Canada allowed access to abortion across the country. One of the most influential people involved with abortion rights in Canada is Dr. Henry Morgentaler, who began his clinic in 1969 in Montreal. For 20 years he dealt with legal battles, having his clinics raided in 1970 and firebombed in 1992. In 2008, to the displeasure of many pro-life groups, Morgentaler received the Order of Canada at the age of 85. Another doctor worth mentioning is Dr. Garson Romalis, who survived being shot by a sniper in 1994 for performing abortions.

2.

The pro-life option

LifeCanada
This organizations gives abortion statistics from 2003 to 2008. They say the evidence given in British journal Lancet in 1986 demonstrates having an abortion can lead to breast cancer. LifeCanada say every year $80 million in tax dollars are spent on 100,000 abortions. They say this money can be better spent on life-saving health services. This website links to other organizations who can help women with their pregnancy. Adoption is promoted as an alternative. The organization refutes the reasoning that having an abortion performed can save a woman's life. Instead, there are articles from 2002 on the post-fertilization effect of chemical abortions and a case study from 2002 stating the increased morality rate of women after having abortions. The website includes letters to Health Canada in regards to the morning-after pill.
A constant side bar on the website displays their motto, "To promote the sanctity of all human life from fertilization to natural death through public education. To advocate for the preborn, the disabled, the infirm and the elderly who are uniquely created by God."

3.

A long standing abortion clinic in Canada

The Morgentaler Clinic
This clinic was founded by Dr. Henry Morgentaler over 40 years ago. The website uses simple language to explain an abortion procedure step-by-step and what to expect following an abortion. It also tells you how many weeks along in pregnancy when a medical versus a surgical abortion can be performed. The site answers important questions including do you need a doctor's referral, do you parental permission, if it will hurt, will you be able to have children after having an abortion. The website underlines the importance of: your choice, your right.

4.

The political implication of a Harper majority on abortion right

Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada

Joyce Arthur says the Harper government can restrict rights and access to abortion with their majority. Arthur says since 1987, 43 anti-choice private member bills and motions have not passed in the House of Commons because of a lack of a Conservative majority. Such bills which could be reintroduced are: 

·       Establishing legal personhood for fetuses, thus making them separate victims of crime as they are considered "human being" in the Criminal Code.

·       Criminalize abortion after 20 weeks of gestation.

·       Criminalize "coercing" women into abortion.

·       Make abortion providers provide false information on abortion leading to breast cancer, infertility and post-traumatic dress disorder. 

Arthur says the Conservative government could also reintroduce bills based on ones in the U.S., such as forcing women to view the ultrasound before having an abortion, requiring parental consent, mandatory counseling from a pro-life religious organization and require the woman to notify the biological father before abortion.