The possible annulment of Roe v. Wade in the United States is sparking conversations across North America about women’s rights and access to abortion services.
A leaked US Supreme Court document suggests the court’s conservative majority may soon reverse the landmark decision that legalized abortion.
CBC Calgary News at 6 anchor Rob Brown spoke with Calgary attorney Kathleen Mahoney about the news Tuesday. Mahoney is a professor of law at the University of Calgary with more than 35 years of experience.
She is also the founder of the Women’s Legal Education and Action Fund, which was created to ensure equal rights for women and girls under the law.
CLOCK | How could the Roe v. Wade impact abortion access and the body politic here in Alberta?
CBC Calgary News 6 anchor Rob Brown talks with local legal expert Kathleen Mahoney about Roe v. Wade and what it could mean for Canadians if it is overturned. 8:58
The conversation has been edited for clarity and length.
Brown: Kathleen, what did you think of this leak when you heard about it?
Mahoney: Well, it was kind of disturbing to think that the security of the United States Supreme Court was lax enough that this could happen. His decisions, of course, are very influential, not only in the United States, but elsewhere. So this has created quite a ruckus, and it’s unfortunate that this has happened.
Do you take comfort in the fact that what was leaked was a draft?
I mean, the drafts are distributed and the judges comment, and often the drafts are changed. So I’m sure some of the people now demonstrating in front of the court in Washington think they could influence the court, but that in itself is also not good in terms of the administration of justice.
Judges are supposed to be fair and impartial and decide cases based on the law and facts and are not influenced by demonstrations. So if they change their minds now, then… I think the final decision will be somewhat attacked, for being influenced by the people on the street. So it’s a bad situation any way you look at it.
If the final decision topples Roe v. Wade, it’s overturned, can you explain what that could mean for women and girls in the US?
It could be disastrous. We know that before Roe v. Wade in the US and before our Morgentaler decision in Canada, thousands of women died from illegal and unsafe abortions. And we know that when women do get pregnant, some people just don’t want to get pregnant and can’t for all sorts of reasons, and will get abortions no matter how available or legal they are. So it’s going to put hundreds of thousands of women at risk, in my opinion, if this law is struck down.
In the US, each state creates its own criminal laws. So I think what will result if Roe v. Wade is that there will be a great mosaic of states, some that will allow abortions, some that will make them criminal offenses, some of them already are.
So it will really have an impact on women who probably need the service more than most women, who are poor and disadvantaged women to begin with.
On this side of the border, the federal Minister of Families and Social Development is saying that Americans who want an abortion and who obviously can afford to come to Canada will get it. Can we handle that kind of demand here?
Well, that’s going to be interesting to watch. I mean, access to abortion in Canada is not equitable, it is not equitable.
In British Columbia, there is much more access, for example, than in Alberta. There is access in Calgary and Edmonton, but if you live in rural areas, the access is not there. Ontario has better access than Manitoba, so it varies across the country because even though we don’t criminalize abortion in this country, the Canada Health Act doesn’t require provinces to absolutely provide it.
It depends on the provinces exercising discretion, how they spend their money, how they allow hospitals to set their own mandates, how doctors can set standards and so on.
So the problem goes both ways. But I definitely think what we’re going to see in Canada is an influx of American women trying to access abortion in this country, and whether or not our facilities can handle that is a very good question.
And if the US Supreme Court strikes down the abortion law, do you think it could influence our body politic?
I mean, it’s always been a latent issue in some way in Canada. Ever since the Morgentaler decision, which was in 1988, there have been attempts to restrict abortion…in fact, there are absolutely no restrictions on access to abortion, from a legal perspective.
As I said, access is a different matter. And so there have been attempts to put some limits around the permissible situation that we have.
So what you could do is generate and fuel the anti-abortion rhetoric and political stance that is being taken.
Do you have any reason to think that this could happen in our province?
Well, it’s hard to predict politicians and what they will do to win votes. I think a lot of this would depend on them taking the population’s temperature.
I think now in Canada, every time there are polls… the vast majority of Canadians would not like to see abortion restrictions put back in place, certainly not criminalized.
So anything is possible if people can see a political advantage in it.
Reference-www.cbc.ca