Abortion remains a taboo issue following the recent federal election, as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made clear on the campaign trail that all Liberal MPs have to vote pro-choice. Big Brother-style conscience control aside, this declaration, and the lukewarm reaction from Liberal candidates, is indicative of the overall attitude toward abortion in Canada. Not only do all the federal political parties seem to err on the side of avoiding the issue, provincial governments are leading the way in muzzling the debate.
Both Ontario and British Columbia have exemptions in their Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Acts that prevent the release of abortion-related data to the public. These exemptions are made with no legal grounds and with no real public debate. Such measures infringe on the public’s ability to access information regarding how their tax dollars are spent.
Despite abortion being a fully funded medical procedure, it is the only medical procedure where hospitals and clinics do not have to report statistics. This matters because transparency matters and, despite what governments and some media may tell you, Canadians are not united on the issue of abortion. In fact, up to 92 per cent of Canadians think there should be some restrictions on abortion, whether to eliminate late-term abortions, sex-selective abortions or other human rights violations.
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