Canada Abortion Advocates Launch New Coalition to Promote Abortions

National   |   Steven Ertelt   |   Oct 17, 2005   |   9:00AM   |   WASHINGTON, DC

Canada Abortion Advocates Launch New Coalition to Promote Abortions Email this article
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by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
October 17, 2005

Ottawa, Canada (LifeNews.com) — Abortion is legal in Canada, but pro-abortion groups are gathering together to launch a new coalition aimed at increasing the number of abortion businesses there. The Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada will debut this week to defend abortion rights and promote abortions.

"Abortion is often called a settled issue in Canada, but in reality it is
still politicized and that impedes access," said Joyce Arthur, a Vancouver
spokesperson for ARCC.

The group also plans to put together a fundraising network that would help poor Canadian women pay for abortions who don’t have them paid for under the Canada Health Act, the country’s nationalized medical plan.

"No woman should have to pay for an abortion, but every year, about 9,000 women pay out-of-pocket for their abortions," Arthur said. There were 105,154 abortions performed in Canada in 2002, according to Statistics Canada.

Arthur says just one in five Canadian hospitals perform abortions and fewer medical students are interested in performing abortions as a part of their medical practice. The new coalition hopes to change that.

The group will also be active on the political front and will try to stop the Conservative Party from winning elections and limiting abortions.

Unlike in the United States, Canada does not allow use of the dangerous RU 486 abortion drug.

Some 15.4 of every 1,000 Canadian women 14 to 44 years old had an abortion in 2002, a rate which has been steady since the Canadian Supreme Court ruled abortions could be allowed in 1988.