Abortion Rights: New York To Prince Edward Island

In the United States, where abortion rights are under direct attack, The Doula Project is promoting services for women who are terminating their pregnancies.

The remit of a doula is to provide non-medical support through the latter stages of pregnancy and birth.

American States have passed over eighty laws this year restricting a woman’s right to choose. The active promotion of abortion doula services in New York State, a relatively easy place to terminate a pregnancy, is a creative form of activism. In addition, activists in New York provide accommodation for women and their partners or parents travelling for abortions.

Lauren Mitchell, who co-founded The Doula Project with Mary Mahoney, says that their aim is to provide services to people who have limited financial resources. She said of concerns that a doula service might seem wishy-washy to pro-choice activists, “We come from the reproductive justice movement, which is more holistic and looks at people’s feelings and individual experiences, not just policy.”

Although Canadian women have the right to an abortion, it remains a live issue in Canada. On Prince Edward Island abortions, though legal, haven’t been performed since 1982. Women who want a safe termination are required to travel out of the province. With the blessing of two doctors women are given a referral to a Nova Scotia or New Brunswick hospital. Without dual consent, PEI women are obliged to spend huge amounts of money on an abortion at a private hospital.

Candace Hagen of the PEI Reproductive Rights Organization (PRRO) is one of many women who had to go off-island for an abortion. She related her story recently on CBC radio. After receiving substandard care and limited information from her GP which compromised her care at New Brunswick’s Morgentaler Clinic, Hagen began campaigning for the legal rights of women on the island.

Psychologist and researcher Colleen MacQuarrie asserts in the same CBC program that PEI is in contravention of the UN Declaration of Human Rights by contributing to the deterioration of women’s health. She cites a 14-year-old woman who took part in her study at the University of PEI, who engaged in two weeks of self-harm to induce labour. This included ingesting chemicals and bruising herself. MacQuarrie says the province’s policy of forcing women to seek an abortion off-island disadvantages the most vulnerable — the young and financially disadvantaged.

The idea of self-inducing labour in order to qualify for an abortion without leaving the island or gaining the consent of two doctors is, according to MacQuarrie’s study into reproductive injustice, pervasive amongst women under fifteen. She quotes a participant who said, “If you limit options, it breeds desperation.”

Health and Wellness Minister Doug Currie confirmed to the CBC that abortion services are not provided in the province. He also claims to have never had a formal request from an organization or clinician to start providing the service. He said that due to pressure and demand on system, there are services which aren’t provided to the 144,000 people living on the island. He said, “From a provincial focus, it’s definitely not on the radar.”

Campaigners for abortion services on the island have received support from the Green Party.

Speaking to the CBC, Tomlins said there is no denial of abortions in life-threatening circumstances, and abortion is otherwise not a medical necessity — “What we don’t want is killing on this island, and that’s what abortion is.”

The argument for abortion services seems solid. This is already a legal right, and PEI is denying this to Canadian women who reside on the island. The people most disadvantaged by the restrictions are young and poor women, and there is evidence to show that women’s health is directly affected by the island policy.

The argument against the service seems to be driven by the patronizing notion that women need time to think about whether they want to be pregnant. As though women can’t decide for ourselves whether we need time for reflection.

The lack of political support may be driven by the electorate in PEI. This will hopefully change with the growing voice of campaigning groups like PRRO and the work of people like Colleen MacQuarrie.

Contact the author here: miriam@morningquickie.com