Happy Anniversary!

Happy anniversary SRR! Today marks 23 years since Canada's abortion law was struck down by the Supreme Court as unconstitutional after a long battle by Dr. Henry Morgentaler. This date marks an important landmark in women's rights in Canada, and the importance of women being able to access safe, legal abortion cannot be stressed enough.

In 1969 Parliament passed a bill allowing some abortions to be performed in hospitals as approved by a Therapeutic Abortion Committee in the event of endangerment to a woman's life or health. As a result, abortion access was applied unevenly across the country; while some hospitals would approve almost all abortions, others would allow very few, and abortion was largely unavailable to women outside major cities. After many years of hard work by abortion provider Dr. Henry Morgentaler, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that the 1969 law was a violation of section 7 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. According to Chief Justice Brian Dickson, "Forcing a woman by threat of criminal sanction to carry a foetus to term unless she meets certain criteria unrelated to her own priorities and aspirations, is a profound interference with a woman's body and this a violation of her security of the person."

But as the recently defeated Bill C-510 illustrates, the fight to ensure a woman's right to control her body is far from over. As we look to our past and celebrate this historic landmark, we must continue to affirm our commitment to fight for reproductive rights. I would like to thank Dr. Morgenaler for his invaluable contributions to women's rights, and encourage all supporters of reproductive rights to continue their fantastic work!