ABORTION - Support Paxton Smith and ALL WOMEN
Texas May 19, 2021 law has NO exceptions for rape or incest
“I am terrified that if my contraceptives fail, I am terrified that if I’m raped, then my hopes and aspirations and dreams and efforts for my future will no longer matter.
I hope that you can feel how gut-wrenching it is. I hope you can feel how dehumanizing it is to have the autonomy over your own body taken away from you.”
– Paxton Smith Texas Valedictorian
Think every Canadian has access? Read our summary here
WHAT CAN YOU DO IN 4 MINUTES?
“I cannot give up this platform to promote complacency and peace, when there is a war on my body and a war on my rights. A war on the rights of your mothers, a war on the rights of your sisters, a war on the rights of your daughters.” – Paxton Smith
And for Smith, the most meaningful reactions have come from concerned fathers who fear for their own daughters’ futures. – The Guardian
References
References
CBC – Abortion barriers in Canada are back in spotlight following passage of abortion bans in U.S.
Global News – Abortion Rules in Canada
Science Direct When there are no abortion laws: A case study of Canada
CBC Texas valedictorian ditches approved speech to speak out against new abortion law
WHAT?
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed into effect on May 19, the “heartbeat bill”.
It outlaws any abortions as early six weeks after conception, when many women are still unaware that they are pregnant, and has no exceptions for rape or incest. CBC
In Canada – Ontario does not fund abortions at every clinic, while New Brunswick does not fund abortions at clinics at all, only in hospitals. CBC
WHO?
“A war on the rights of your mothers, a war on the rights of your sisters, a war on the rights of your daughters.” – Paxton Smith
GOAL
Ensure we understand how dehumanizing it is for a woman to have the autonomy over her body taken away from her.
Ensure there is access in our country or community to safe and free abortions (EVEN in Canada it is not accessible)
Ensure our friends and family are also informed and can take action.
SOLUTION
Learn – watch the 3min valedictorian speech by Paxton Smith
Share – share our instagram and facebook posts
Pressure – your politicians to make it easier for women to control their bodies, their futures, their lives!
“I have dreams and hopes and ambitions. Every girl graduating today does. And we have spent our entire lives working towards our future, and without our input or consent, our control over that future has been stripped away from us,”
Paxton Smith
Access in Canada is not Uniform!
Abortion Access and Rights in Canada
CBC – Abortion barriers in Canada are back in spotlight following passage of abortion bans in U.S.
“What we’ve heard anecdotally is that their wait lists are so long,” Segal said. “Women face wait lists of five, six weeks — which, if you don’t know you’re pregnant right away, can mean that by the time you have your appointment, you’re ineligible for abortion in the province.”
Funding, distance to medical facilities and a patchwork of provincial laws all mean an abortion is not as easy to obtain in Canada as some may think.
“People often conflate the two, thinking that because it’s decriminalized, it’s very easy to access in our country — and it’s not the case,” said Frédérique Chabot, director of health promotion at Action Canada for Sexual Health and Rights.
“There’s been very little progress done to make sure that abortion is actually, in fact, accessible to everyone in Canada equally.”
Ontario does not fund abortions at every clinic, while New Brunswick does not fund abortions at clinics at all, only in hospitals.
in the case of New Brunswick, the “federal government has failed to penalize the province by withholding transfer payments.”
PEI only opened an abortion clinic in 2016. Before that, you had to leave the island to receive one.
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Global News – Abortion Rules in Canada
Abortion in Canada is unlikely to face the legal threats it is facing in the United States, but experts say there are still ways the right can be undermined.
After the 1988 decision, abortion was treated like any other medical procedure without a law governing it — and therefore it’s now up to provinces to regulate access.
“It’s one of the reasons why we can still say we have something of a patchwork access to abortion in Canada,”
Provinces have “tried to effectively recriminalize abortion by blocking access. Rather than going a strictly legal route to restricting access, they’ve tried to change the regulation threshold.”
Science Direct When there are no abortion laws: A case study of Canada
Regulating abortion as a healthcare service has not led to higher abortion rates.
Average gestational age at abortion is decreasing as access to services increases.
Initially Canadian provinces attempted to provide restrictive regulations and legislation, all of which have been revoked and largely replaced with supportive policies that improve equitable, accessible, state-provided abortion service.
Abortion rates have been stable over 30 years since decriminalization, and a falling proportion of abortions occur late in the second trimester.
Canada demonstrates that abortion care can safely and effectively be regulated as a normal component of usual medical care.