U.S. court’s plan to overturn abortion rights could exacerbate inequities in Canada

A drafted U.S. Supreme Court decision that would overturn Americans’ right to abortion could drive some people to seek the service in Canada, activists said Tuesday, warning the development could exacerbate inequities on both sides of the border.

Only the most privileged Americans — those with a passport and the means to take time off work, arrange child care and pay for travel — would be able to come up to Canada to get an abortion, said Joyce Arthur, executive director of the Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada.

“For sure, people can travel, maybe even up to Canada if necessary. But there’s so many limitations in that,” Arthur said.

“These kinds of things — restrictions, bans — they always impact the most disadvantaged people, the most marginalized people. We’re talking women of colour, poor women who have no options.”

While the decision from the Supreme Court of the United States has not yet been finalized, Arthur said those working in the field have for the past several years expected Roe v. Wade would eventually be overturned.

A draft document obtained by Politico on Monday suggested the court could reverse the landmark 1973 case that legalized abortion nationwide. It was written by conservative justice Samuel Alito and four other justices reportedly agreed with it, which would be enough for a majority. The court confirmed the document’s authenticity Tuesday.

Thirteen states have so-called trigger laws that would immediately ban abortion if Roe v. Wade is overturned, and would presumably go into effect if the Supreme Court majority votes for the draft in late June or early July.

North Dakota, south of Manitoba and Saskatchewan,is the only one among those states that borders Canada.

Arthur noted an increase in demand on Canadian clinics could also put pressure on already strained resources.

“Our clinics are smaller, we have fewer of them,” she said. “We don’t have the capacity to take on a huge influx of American people.”

The executive director of Women’s Health Clinic in Winnipeg agreed.

“It’s important to keep in mind that as a country that is one-tenth of the size of the United States, there is no way that we meet the need of the amount of abortions that people are going to need,” Kemlin Nembhard said.

Americans have already travelled to her clinic to access the service in some cases, Nembhard said, but it’s not a sustainable solution.

“We are actually only funded to provide a certain amount of abortions per year of which we usually provide one quarter to one third more than we actually get funded for,” she said.

Frederique Chabot, director of health promotion at Action Canada for Sexual Health and Rights, said the idea that abortion is readily accessible in this country is something of a myth.

“There’s a lot of public support for abortion and there’s health-care providers who are dedicated to increasing access,” she said. “We have some things to celebrate in Canada, but for many people that doesn’t necessarily translate real access.”

Many abortion clinics are in large urban centres, so those in rural and remote Canadian communities face some of the same barriers Americans would when trying to get an abortion — the logistical challenge of making an appointment, taking time off work and travelling.

And while abortion is largely covered by provincial or private health insurance plans, some people who live in Canada aren’t covered, such as international students and migrant workers.

“That means that they are facing bills of hundreds, if not thousands of dollars to access abortion,” Chabot said. “And if people from the U.S. would travel across the border to access abortion here, it would be similarly expensive.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 3, 2022.

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