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1,800 Canadians, 921 of whom were women, were surveyed in August
two in five Canadian women say they know a close friend or family member who has had an abortion
majority of both women who have had an abortion and women who carried an unwanted pregnancy to term feel they made the right decision and stand by their choice — although the rate of regret was slightly lower among those who got an abortion.
Abortion is legal in Canada, but it isn’t protected federally
Women who voted Conservative were the most likely to have gotten an abortion, at 18 per cent, compared to 14 per cent of women who voted Liberal and 16 per cent of women who voted NDP.
Just a comment on the ‘not protected federally’ bit - several women’s health orgs focused on abortion care in Canada have sent formal statements out that they would like to keep the status quo. Any work to introduce federal legislation would invite debate, which is not needed or wanted given the current political climate (in Canada and our neighbours down south) and other factors (healthcare being provincial adds to the complexity). I’d say focusing on improving access outside of urban centres would be the thing to push and campaign for if you’re at all interested. There’s also some movement in the midwifery field to expand their work into abortion care, particularly medical. Source: I work for a well known name in women’s healthcare who have signed onto this. If I can track down the actual signed statement I will include it!