Media coverage over the past few days has been instrumental in the Legault government’s decision to cancel an event at the Center des Congrès de Québec organized by a pro-life group. However, given the concerns expressed by many about the importance of freedom of expression, a right protected by the Canadian Charter and all too often abused, I thought of Chantale Daigle.
The Legault government’s decision was certainly clumsy, even unwise, since freedom of expression is a foundation of democratic societies. Erosion of them can be not only legally unacceptable, but also socially counterproductive. However, the current debate on freedom of expression obscures another equally important issue, namely women’s right to reproductive autonomy, their right to life, liberty and security, a right which also emerges from the Charter and which we take for granted, but nevertheless it remains seriously threatened.
In 1988, the Supreme Court famously invalidated the criminalization of abortion in Canada morning coins. In 1989, in the judgment, it also confirmed the lack of legal personality of the fetus and, moreover, the woman’s right to abortion daigle c. Tremblay. But it was not until 2018 that the illegal provision of the Criminal Code – Section 251 – was officially repealed.
30 years ! It was thirty years before the Canadian government dared to explicitly affirm what the Canadian Supreme Court had clearly stated.
It is also clear that access to abortion services in 2024 is still very unequal across the country. In the regions and in marginalized communities, the lack of services is often evident, forcing women to travel long distances to access abortions. This reality is cause for concern. With that in mind, we should be content with the fieldwork of organizations like Action Canada for Sexual Health and Rights or the National Abortion Federation of Canada.
A weakened right, a decision that needs to be reaffirmed
So today it is about this weakened right, on which I think it is important for us to position ourselves. In this tragic time when the end is very close to us Dobbs The US Supreme Court last year overturned the 1973 precedent Roe v. wade In order to significantly restrict women’s right to abortion, it is appropriate to take action against it. Because now there are actually about fifteen American states that have banned abortions on their territory. The medical techniques used in connection with abortion, and in particular access to the abortion pill, have even been successfully challenged by a coalition of pro-life activists in a lawsuit in an American court in Texas, where the sitting judge was openly known as a ultraconservative.
Although the Biden administration has appealed and the fate of the case is yet to be determined, the disturbing and shameless manipulation the American justice system is currently undergoing in disregard for women’s rights must be condemned in the strongest possible terms.
Even though the Legault government in Quebec put its feet in the bowl, I like to think the intent was noble. It is essential to reaffirm the importance of abortion rights for women. The Quebec legislature has also done so in relation to the pregnancy of others in Bill 12, passed by the Quebec National Assembly on May 31, sealing the reform of the descent law. I applaud this election loud and clear. Because that’s what it’s all about: the woman’s decision to dispose of her body as she sees fit.
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