N.B. advocates plan rallies, fundraisers to support U.S. and Canadian abortion access organizations
After a weekend full of rallies and protests across North America, the outrage after the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe V. Wade hasn’t died down.
Jenna Lyn Albert is planning for more in New Brunswick, where abortion access has been a challenging and divisive issue for decades.
“It's scary and it can feel helpless, and I think that's what a lot of folks are feeling is that - we're not sure what we can do,” they said.
Albert is planning a rally and fundraisers over the coming weeks, hoping to show support towards organizations on both sides of the border.
“Part of the proceeds will go towards folks in New Brunswick or in Atlantic Canada that are seeking help with abortion access and part of those funds will be going to some of the American organizations that are trying to support folks who do not have abortion access in certain states,” they said.
Access has been top-of-mind for many in Fredericton and all of New Brunswick, where abortions are limited to hospitals – and only hospitals in Moncton and Bathurst.
Clinic 554 – formally a Dr. Henry Morgentaler clinic – is slated to close, after trying to offer abortions, at a cost to the clinic and patients.
The Canadian Civil Liberties Association is challenging the restriction in court.
Registered nurse and Dalhousie University expert who specializes in abortion and reproductive care, Martha Paynter, reminds everyone that the procedure is health care.
“So, it is treated no differently than a knee replacement or a prescription for antibiotics,” she said.
Paynter says access has improved. In Nova Scotia, a provincial self-referral line gives patients the information they need to access a medical or surgical abortion.
Prince Edward Island opened a women's reproductive health centre in 2017, offering abortions.
But it doesn’t take away from the outrage so many are feeling, she says.
“This is a threat, not only to the body's inherent worth, but to democracy. You can't participate in civil society if you don't have control over the size of your family, when you get to go to education, what type of a job you're going to have and whether your body is safe,” she said.
The Campaign Life Coalition said in a statement after the ruling that it’s “only a matter of time before life will be winning in Canada too.”
Those who’ve been fighting for access for some time are promising to continue – despite it being exhausting.
“It's frustrating, as a person with a uterus in this province, as a queer person in this province, to keep shouting and screaming and fighting for it,” said Albert.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'I just can't believe that it took so long': Body found in wreckage 3 months after deadly fire
A man accused of arson in a January Old Strathcona apartment fire is expected to be charged with manslaughter after a body was discovered in the burned building late last month.
No proof man lied to brother about number of kittens born in litter, B.C. tribunal rules
A man was denied a $5,000 payout from his brother after a B.C. tribunal dismissed his claim disputing how many kittens were born in a litter.
Quebec police hand out hundreds of tickets to Hells Angels and other bikers before 'first run' meeting
Quebec provincial police handed out hundreds of fines to Hells Angels members and other supporting motorcycle clubs who met for their 'first run' in a small town near Sherbrooke, Que.
Feds hope to table foreign interference legislation next week: LeBlanc
Democratic Institutions Minister Dominic LeBlanc says he plans to table legislation this week to help the federal government address foreign interference, but he wouldn't say whether the proposal will include a foreign agent registry.
Auston Matthews skates ahead of Game 7, status unclear with season on the line
Auston Matthews was back on the ice with his teammates Saturday.
Snakes almost on a plane: U.S. TSA discovers a bag with small snakes in passenger's pants
According to an X post by the Transportation Security Administration, officers at the Miami International Airport found the small bag of snakes hidden in a passenger's trousers on April 26 at a checkpoint.
A Chinese driver is praised for helping reduce casualties in a highway collapse that killed 48
A Chinese truck driver was praised in local media Saturday for parking his vehicle across a highway and preventing more cars from tumbling down a slope after a section of the road in the country's mountainous south collapsed and killed at least 48 people.
Russia puts Ukrainian President Zelenskyy on its wanted list
Russia has put Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on its wanted list, Russian state media reported Saturday, citing the interior ministry’s database.
Work stoppage possible as WestJet issues lockout notice to maintenance engineers' union
A lockout notice issued by WestJet to a union representing aircraft maintenance engineers could result in a work stoppage next week.