Today Canadian women have the right to choose whether they want to carry their pregnancy to term or whether they choose to seek an abortion. Abortion has a long history in Canada, and the rights that we have today are due to the efforts and advocacy activities of many individuals and organizations.
1869: Abortion is banned in Canada
1892: Abortion and the advertisement and distribution of contraception are made illegal in Canada.
1960s: Canadian women and physicians fight to have abortion decriminalized.
1969: Abortion becomes decriminalized for women whose cases are approved by a therapeutic abortion committee (TAC – a committee of at least three doctors). To have an abortion the TAC must believe that pregnancy puts a woman’s life or health in danger. The same bill, originally introduce in 1967 by Pierre Trudeau (Minister of Justice), also decriminalized contraception.
1970: The Vancouver Women's Caucus organizes political opposition to Section 251, the section of the Criminal Code that prohibits abortion without the permission of TACs. The Vancouver Women’s Caucus organizes the ‘Abortion Caravan’, which travels from Vancouver to Ottawa. Once the Caravan reaches Ottawa, two days of protest are held at Parliament Hill, causing the closure of Parliament hill for the first time ever.
1973: The U.S. decriminalizes abortion in the Roe. V. Wade decision
1973: A Montréal doctor, Dr. Henry Morgentaler, admits that he has performed more than 5,000 abortions, going against current Canadian law, which requires TAC approval before a woman can have an abortion.
1977: 20.1% of Canadian general hospitals provide abortion services to women, given that they have the approval of a TAC (Report of the Committee on the Operation of Abortion Law. Ministry of Supply and Services Canada.)
1988: In the famous R v. Morgentaler decision, by the Supreme Court of Canada, it is decided that the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms protects a woman’s right to continue or terminate a pregnancy. This decision results in the removal of restrictions (including the requirement of TAC approval) from abortion.
1989: The case of Tremblay v Daigle comes before the Supreme Court of Canada. It is ruled that choosing to terminate a pregnancy or carrying a pregnancy to completion is a woman’s choice; the fetus has no legal status as a person.
1989: The government tries to make a new law regarding abortion. According to the proposed bill, any doctor who approves an abortion for a woman whose life is not in danger would face jail time. The bill is eventually defeated in the Senate, and the government gives up its attempt to regulate abortion
2003: According to a report by the Canadian Abortion Rights Action League (CARAL), only 17.8% of general hospitals in Canada provide abortion services to women.
2006: Liberal MP Paul Steckle introduces a private member’s bill (Bill C-338) to the House of Commons; Steckle’s bill proposes banning abortions after 20 weeks of gestation.