There are growing concerns about access to abortion in Canada after the leak of a draft document that suggests U.S. Supreme Court justices are planning to overturn the Roe v. Wade abortion rights ruling south of the border.
As it stands, there are currently no Canadian laws that explicitly guarantee access to abortion as a right.
While abortion was decriminalized in Canada in 1988 as a result of the landmark R. v. Morgentaler case in which the Supreme Court of Canada struck down a federal law, no legislation was ever passed to replace it, and the issue remains an ongoing topic of political conversation in this country.
To protect abortion rights in the future under all governments, constitutional law expert and University of Ottawa professor Daphne Gilbert told CTV’s Your Morning the federal government would have to make an amendment to the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. However, she said this likely would not happen.
“They’d have to try to amend the charter to have an explicit right to abortion in the Constitution, and I think that’s a pretty unlikely scenario,” Gilbert said in an interview.
Gilbert said it is more likely instead that the Liberals will make good on their election promise to strengthen the Canada Health Act to ensure that provinces have to comply with “equality of access to abortion” across the country.
In their 2021 election campaign, the Liberals promised to establish regulations under the Canada Health Act governing accessibility for sexual and reproductive health services to make clear that no matter where someone lives, they have access to sexual and reproductive health services.
The Liberals also vowed to give Health Canada $10 million to set up a portal for sexual and reproductive health information, including countering misinformation about abortion, and provide funding to youth-led organizations focused on young people’s reproductive health needs.
If a party were to introduce legislation to re-criminalize abortion in Canada in the future, Gilbert said it would be “extremely difficult” for such an attempt to withstand constitutional challenge.
Gilbert said jurisprudence involving Canada’s charter cases “has evolved so much” that if the Supreme Court weighed in, “it would be impossible for me to imagine that they say there’s no right.”
R. V. MORGENTALER
However, the right to an abortion doesn’t exist in Canada in the same way it is enshrined in Roe v. Wade.
The Morgentaler ruling in 1988 didn’t concern abortion as a right, but focused on the requirement that a woman must get approval from a committee of doctors in order for the procedure to be carried out legally.
The 5-2 decision ruled that aspect of the procedure was unconstitutional, and effectively removed the criminal punishment for women who got an abortion without consultation.
Justice Bertha Wilson, who was the only female on the court, found that Section 7 which deals with life, liberty and security of person, along with other parts of Canada’s Charter, did affirm a woman’s right to an abortion.
But despite this, no bill has ever been passed to enshrine abortion access into law and it’s also not considered a constitutionally-protected right under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Since the Morgentaler decision, Gilbert said Canadian courts have made a number of decisions about the importance of decision-making autonomy in regards to Section 7. There have been several opinions issued at various levels of the legal system that say Canadians have the right to make fundamental decisions about their life and health, the most recent being 2015’s Carter decision that legalized medical assistance in dying (MAiD).
Gilbert said the right to an abortion is no different.
“I think it would be unlikely [given Section 7] that any attempt to criminally regulate abortion could withstand constitutional challenge,” she said.
ABORTION IN CANADA
Across Canadian provinces, abortions are regulated similarly to other health-care procedures. Through the Canada Health Act, Canadians have a right to access sexual and reproductive health services, which includes abortion.
However, it remains difficult to obtain in many provinces.
Abortions can be done medically via a pill or other medication taken at home, however, if the fetus is over 12 weeks old, a surgical abortion is required.
According to Planned Parenthood Toronto, there are only 11 clinics in Ontario that offer surgical abortion, most of which are located in the southern region of the province. New Brunswick, for example, doesn’t have a single clinic offering surgical abortion.
According to a study published by Action Canada for Sexual Health and Rights in 2019, no providers in Canada offer abortion services more than 23 weeks and six days into a pregnancy. Those who are this far into their pregnancy and looking for an abortion often travel to the United States for the procedure instead, which would be in jeopardy should Roe v. Wade be overturned.
While politicians here have stressed that Canadas’s abortion law is secure, Gilbert said she worries about “opening up this conversation again.”
“In Canada, our anti-choice groups are heavily funded by American anti-choice groups and so I expect we’re going to be seeing a real concerted effort to make this a conversation in Canada,” she said.
Since there are currently no Canadian laws that explicitly guarantee access to abortion as a right, Gilbert said “there is absolutely no doubt” that provinces could implement barriers to abortion access as it is a matter of health care, something that is provincially regulated.
She noted that limits on how late in a pregnancy an abortion can be performed are determined at the provincial or territorial level in Canada, and enforced by the medical community, not the courts.
“Over the past few years we’ve dismantled many of those barriers, like needing a doctor referral to get an abortion or refusal to pay for clinic abortions or out-of-province abortions, but some of these things could come back up as provincial issues,” she said.
Because of this, Gilbert said the rollback of Roe v. Wade in the U.S. should put activists, officials and those who may need or seek an abortion in Canada on high alert.
“We could see waiting periods, we could see mandatory counselling scripts, and those are things that I think we have to be very watchful for and not be complacent in Canada,” she said.
A draft opinion, published by Politico on May 2, revealed that a majority of the U.S. Supreme Court’s nine justices were in favour of striking down the decision. Written by Justice Samuel Alito, the ruling would allow individual U.S. states to decide whether or not to restrict access on abortion and the legal regulations around the procedure.
The release of the draft itself will not immediately affect access to abortions in the U.S. However, if the majority votes as predicted, the decision would be overturned with the formal release of the court’s ruling, which is likely to take place in June.
Montreal Alouettes wide receiver Tyson Philpot has announced he will be out for the rest of the CFL season.
The Delta, B.C., native posted the news on his Instagram page Thursday.
“To Be Continued. Shoutout my team, the fans of the CFL and the whole city of Montreal! I can’t wait to be back healthy and write this next chapter in 2025,” the statement read.
Philpot, 24, injured his foot in a 33-23 win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Aug. 10 and was placed on the six-game injured list the next week.
The six-foot-one, 195-pound receiver had 58 receptions, 779 yards and five touchdowns in nine games for the league-leading Alouettes in his third season.
Philpot scored the game-winning touchdown in Montreal’s Grey Cup win last season to punctuate a six-reception, 63-yard performance.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa sustained a concussion for the third time in his NFL career, leaving his team’s game Thursday night against Buffalo after running into defensive back Damar Hamlin and hitting the back of his head against the turf.
Tagovailoa remained down for about two minutes before getting to his feet and walking to the sideline after the play in the third quarter. He made his way to the tunnel not long afterward, looking into the stands before smiling and departing toward the locker room.
The Dolphins needed almost no time before announcing it was a concussion. The team said he had two during the 2022 season, and Tagovailoa was diagnosed with another concussion when he was a college player at Alabama.
Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said Tagovailoa would get “proper procedural evaluation” and “appropriate care” on Friday.
“The furthest thing from my mind is, ‘What is the timeline?’ We just need to evaluate and just worry about my teammate, like the rest of the guys are,” McDaniel said. “We’ll get more information tomorrow and take it day by day from here.”
Some players saw Tagovailoa in the locker room after the game and said they were encouraged. Tagovailoa spoke with some players and then went home after the game, McDaniel said.
“I have a lot of love for Tua, built a great relationship with him,” said quarterback Skylar Thompson, who replaced Tagovailoa after the injury. “You care about the person more than the player and everybody in the organization would say the same thing. Just really praying for Tua and hopefully everything will come out all right.”
Tagovailoa signed a four-year, $212 million extension before this season — a deal that makes him one of the highest-paid players in the NFL — and was the NFL’s leading passer in Week 1 this season. Tagovailoa left with the Dolphins trailing 31-10, and that was the final score.
“If you know Tua outside of football, you can’t help but feel for him,” Bills quarterback Josh Allen said on Amazon following the game. “He’s a great football player but he’s an even greater human being. He’s one of the best humans on the planet. I’ve got a lot of love for him and I’m just praying for him and his family, hoping everything’s OK. But it’s tough, man. This game of football that we play, it’s got its highs and it’s got its lows — and this is one of the lows.”
Tagovailoa’s college years and first three NFL seasons were marred by injury, though he positioned himself for a big pay bump with an injury-free and productive 2023 as he led the Dolphins into the playoffs. He threw for 29 touchdowns and a league-best 4,624 yards last year.
When, or if, he can come back this season is anyone’s guess. Tagovailoa said in April 2023 that the concussions he had in the 2022 season left him contemplating his playing future. “I think I considered it for a time,” he said then, when asked if he considered stepping away from the game to protect himself.
McDaniel said it’s not his place to say if Tagovailoa should return to football. “He’ll be evaluated and we’ll have conversations and progress as appropriate,” McDaniel said.
Tagovailoa was hurt Thursday on a fourth-down keeper with about 4:30 left in the third. He went straight ahead into Hamlin and did not slide, leading with his right shoulder instead.
Hamlin was the player who suffered a cardiac arrest after making a tackle during a Monday night game in January 2023 at Cincinnati, causing the NFL to suspend a pivotal game that quickly lost significance in the aftermath of a scary scene that unfolded in front of a national television audience.
Tagovailoa wound up on his back, both his hands in the air and Bills players immediately pointed at him as if to suggest there was an injury. Dolphins center Aaron Brewer quickly did the same, waving to the sideline.
Tagovailoa appeared to be making a fist with his right hand as he lay on the ground. It was movement consistent with something that is referred to as the “fencing response,” which can be common after a traumatic brain injury.
Tagovailoa eventually got to his feet. McDaniel grabbed the side of his quarterback’s head and gave him a kiss on the cheek as Tagovailoa departed. Thompson came into the game to take Tagovailoa’s spot.
“I love Tua on and off the football field,” Bills edge Von Miller said. “I’m a huge fan of him. I can empathize and sympathize with him because I’ve been there. I wish him the best.”
Tagovailoa’s history with concussions — and how he has since worked to avoid them — is a huge part of the story of his career, and now comes to the forefront once again.
He had at least two concussions during the 2022 season. He was hurt in a Week 3 game against Buffalo and cleared concussion protocol, though he appeared disoriented on that play but returned to the game.
The NFL later changed its concussion protocol to mandate that if a player shows possible concussion symptoms — including a lack of balance or stability — he must sit out the rest of the game.
Less than a week later, in a Thursday night game at Cincinnati, Tagovailoa was concussed on a scary hit that briefly knocked him unconscious and led to him being taken off the field on a stretcher.
His second known concussion of that season came in a December game against Green Bay, and he didn’t play for the rest of the 2022 season. After that, Tagovailoa began studying ways where he may be able to fall more safely and protect himself against further injury — including studying jiu-jitsu.
“I’m not worried about anything that’s out of my hands,” McDaniel said. “I’m just worried about the human being.”
NEW YORK (AP) — When her husband turns on the television to hear news about the upcoming presidential election, that’s often a signal for Lori Johnson Malveaux to leave the room.
It can get to be too much. Often, she’ll go to a TV in another room to watch a movie on the Hallmark Channel or BET. She craves something comforting and entertaining. And in that, she has company.
While about half of Americans say they are following political news “extremely” or “very” closely, about 6 in 10 say they need to limit how much information they consume about the government and politics to avoid feeling overloaded or fatigued, according to a new survey from the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research and USAFacts.
Make no mistake: Malveaux plans to vote. She always does. “I just get to the point where I don’t want to hear the rhetoric,” she said.
The 54-year-old Democrat said she’s most bothered when she hears people on the news telling her that something she saw with her own eyes — like the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol — didn’t really happen.
“I feel like I’m being gaslit. That’s the way to put it,” she said.
Sometimes it feels like ‘a bombardment’
Caleb Pack, 23, a Republican from Ardmore, Oklahoma, who works in IT, tries to keep informed through the news feeds on his phone, which is stocked with a variety of sources, including CNN, Fox News, The Wall Street Journal and The Associated Press.
Yet sometimes, Pack says, it seems like a bombardment.
“It’s good to know what’s going on, but both sides are pulling a little bit extreme,” he said. “It just feels like it’s a conversation piece everywhere, and it’s hard to escape it.”
Media fatigue isn’t a new phenomenon. A Pew Research Center survey conducted in late 2019 found roughly two in three Americans felt worn out by the amount of news there is, about the same as in a poll taken in early 2018. During the 2016 presidential campaign, about 6 in 10 people felt overloaded by campaign news.
But it can be particularly acute with news related to politics. The AP-NORC/USAFacts poll found that half of Americans feel a need to limit their consumption of information related to crime or overseas conflicts, while only about 4 in 10 are limiting news about the economy and jobs.
It’s easy to understand, with television outlets like CNN, Fox News Channel and MSNBC full of political talk and a wide array of political news online, sometimes complicated by disinformation.
“There’s a glut of information,” said Richard Coffin, director of research and advocacy for USAFacts, “and people are having a hard time figuring out what is true or not.”
Women are more likely to feel they need to limit media
In the AP-NORC poll, about 6 in 10 men said they follow news about elections and politics at least “very” closely, compared to about half of women. For all types of news, not just politics, women are more likely than men to report the need to limit their media consumption, the survey found.
White adults are also more likely than Black or Hispanic adults to say they need to limit media consumption on politics, the poll found.
Kaleb Aravzo, 19, a Democrat, gets a baseline of news by listening to National Public Radio in the morning at home in Logan, Utah. Too much politics, particularly when he’s on social media sites like TikTok and Instagram, can trigger anxiety and depression.
“If it pops up on my page when I’m on social media,” he said, “I’ll just scroll past it.”
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Sanders reported from Washington. David Bauder writes about media for the AP. Follow him at http://x.com/dbauder.
The AP poll of 1,019 adults was conducted July 29-August 8, 2024, using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 4.0 percentage points.
