Winnipeg abortion provider bracing for increased demand from U.S. if Roe v. Wade overturned

An impending decision from the U.S. Supreme Court that may overturn the constitutional right to abortion in that country could increase strain on health-care providers north of the border, the executive director of Winnipeg's Women's Health Clinic says.

Abortion providers in Winnipeg already struggle to meet the demand from patients in this province, Kemlin Nembhard said.

"We always have more demand than we can meet, so having more of a demand from other people outside of the jurisdiction, particularly outside of Canada, that will put pressure on the system."

On Monday, federal Families Minister Karina Gould said if Roe v. Wade is overturned, women in states where abortion becomes restricted can get the procedure in Canada. 

But Nembhard said only women who can afford to make the trip will be able to access abortion in Canada, which will leave many women without options.

"That is not the answer, just to be sending people north," she said in an interview with Marjorie Dowhos, host of CBC Manitoba's afternoon radio show Up to Speed.

"The answer is to push their legislators to make laws that actually support the needs of the people."

More than a dozen U.S. state legislatures, including the one in North Dakota, have passed what are known as "trigger laws" banning abortion, which would come into effect if the landmark 1973 decision that allowed legal abortions in the U.S. were overturned. 

Five states have pre-existing laws banning abortion that were nullified by the Roe decision, which could come back into force. Other legislatures are prepared to pass more restrictions if Roe and the 1992 decision Casey v. Planned Parenthood were struck down.

The American news outlet Politico obtained a draft decision from the Supreme Court that suggests a majority of the justices are prepared to overrule the landmark Roe v. Wade decision.

Although the decision is not considered final until it is delivered in court, the leaked draft sparked immediate responses from both those who are anit-abortion and those who support legal access to abortion. 

Overturning Roe would not have any immediate effect on abortion access in Canada, but Nembhard said people in this country should not take it for granted.

"Even though it's a decision that's made in the States, that has an impact in terms of … the discourse that happens in Canada," she said.

Abortion in Canada

Abortion was illegal in Canada until 1969, when the federal government passed a law allowing the procedure, but only with the permission of a therapeutic abortion committee at a hospital.

"What happened, though, is that the Criminal Code did not require hospitals to have abortion committees, and it did not specify what the criteria was for granting permission," said Daphne Gilbert, a constitutional law professor at the University of Ottawa who specializes in reproductive rights.

"Some hospitals just rubber-stamped a request. Some would only grant permission if the woman's life was in danger from the pregnancy. So it was very unfair across the country."

That led to the 1988 Supreme Court of Canada decision in R. vs. Morgentaler, which found that the law violated Section 7 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which guarantees the right to life, liberty and security of the person.

The decision did not, however, say that people in Canada have a constitutional right to an abortion, just that the hospital committees were unconstitutional. 

Unequal access

Nembhard also said even though abortion is legal in every province and covered by Manitoba Health, that does not mean everyone has equal access to the service.

People living in urban centres like Winnipeg have much easier access to abortion than those living in rural and northern communities.

"You have to leave your family, leave your kids, lose a lot of work, have to pay for travel and your stay while you're in Winnipeg, versus somebody who lives in Winnipeg that can just make the appointment and come that day," she said.

Although Canada does not have a Supreme Court decision enshrining a right to abortion, it's unlikely that any laws banning the procedure would pass constitutional muster, Gilbert said.

Like Nembhard, Gilbert said the biggest impact of the U.S. Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade would be on the rhetoric used by abortion opponents in this country, many of which receive funding from American groups.

"I think you'll start to see a very public campaign, which will just further stigmatize abortion, which is already a stigmatized service, and it will make people feel more ashamed and reticent about talking about it."