Reproductive health care must be supported

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 13/07/2022 (1479 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The U.S. Supreme Court recently turned the clock back 50 years by overturning Roe v. Wade, a 1973 legal ruling which said that the U.S. Constitution essentially guaranteed citizens’ rights to choose to have abortions.

This is exactly what myself and other pro-choice advocates had been warning people about for years. Critics wrote us off, saying it would never happen. Others have said there is no threat to abortion rights here in Manitoba. The reversal of Roe v. Wade makes it clear the threat to our bodies is ever-present.

This threat does exist in Manitoba as well, as many Progressive Conservative MLAs are anti-choice. The former interim premier and current cabinet minister Kelvin Goertzen (MLA for Steinbach) openly spoke at an anti-abortion rally while he was the acting health minister in 2018. James Teitsma (Radisson) was a director with the Association for Reformed Political Action, a group which actively fights against abortion and same-sex marriage. In 2019, Teitsma spoke at the Winnipeg March for Life, an anti-choice event. Ralph Eichler (Lakeside) spoke against abortions funded by taxpayers and has stated he is anti-choice.

In total, 27 out of 36 Conservative MLAs – or 75 per cent – hold anti-choice views, according to the anti-choice Campaign Life Coalition. This means that 75 per cent of the governing PC caucus does not want women, girls and gender-diverse folks to have the right to make decisions about their own reproductive health. In fact, the PCs don’t seem to agree reproductive health is even health care, which was made clear when they switched ministerial responsibility for reproductive health from the department of health to status of women.

It’s therefore no surprise Heather Stefanson’s PCs have repeatedly refused to support legislation protecting people seeking abortions. The PCs have voted five times against my bill which would create protest-buffer zones around facilities offering abortion services. It’s one thing for abortion to be legal, it’s completely different for it to be readily accessible to everyone. Anti-choice protestors intimidating people who are trying to access abortion services reduces accessibility.

It’s more important than ever that we push elected officials to support reproductive health care, including abortion services. Reproductive health care services need to be expanded and all efforts should be made to increase accessibility.

You can contact my office about this issue or any other concern you have at (204) 582-1550 or email me at nahanni.fontaine@yourmanitoba.ca