In light of the Supreme Court of the US decision overturning Roe v. Wade, sexual and reproductive health (SRH) advocates in BC join voices across the country to demand reproductive justice throughout Canada.
In their statement, more than 20 organizations are calling on the federal and provincial governments to take real action to improve people’s access to SRH in Canada.
Equity within SRH care includes making contraception free, allowing abortion pills to be sold over the counter, strengthening access to abortion in rural and remote areas, implementing $10 a day childcare, enforcing the Canada Health Act against provinces that fail to provide adequate SRH, implementing comprehensive sexual health education in all Canadian schools, increasing healthcare funding to provinces to expand SRH, and more.
Ian Bushfield, Executive Director, BC Humanist Association:
“Dr Henry Morgentaler was the first president of Humanist Canada and he would be dismayed that 34 years after his historic victory we’re still so far from universal access to reproductive healthcare. We need to guarantee access to abortion and reproductive healthcare for all people in these lands, regardless of geographic location, race, Indigenity, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression. We need our government to guarantee the same standards of reproductive healthcare whether you are at VGH or St Paul’s. And we need to stop tolerating the misogynistic anti-choice activists that would roll back these hard-fought rights.”
We encourage everyone to reach out to your MLA and MP to ensure that SRH is an issue they are prepared to address and fund.
Sponsoring organizations and campaigns:
- Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada
- AccessBC Campaign for free prescription contraception
- BC Humanist Association
- Options for Sexual Health
- UBC Social Justice Centre
The statement and list of signers is also available here in English, French, Spanish, and Mandarin.