Two Quebec groups who promote women’s rights hailed the 20th anniversary of the decriminalization of abortion on Monday, but warned that the battle is far from over.
La Fédération du Québec pour le planning de naissances (FQPN) and the Féderation des femmes du Québec (FFQ) drew attention to the landmark ruling of Jan. 28, 1998 that made abortion legal in Canada, but said that certain conservative groups have started to make inroads to turn back the clock.
Now is not the time to sit back and become complacent, said spokespersons for both women’s groups. The fight for a woman’s legal right to decide what to do with her body is by no means over despite the passing of two decades.
“There is a current of new conservatism,” said Monika Dunn, coordinator of the FQPN. “It is wrong to think that the right to abortion is set in stone.”
Pro-Life groups like the US-based Focus on Family have set up a Canadian base and begun lobbying politicians said FFQ president Michele Asselin.
Dunn and Asselin pointed out that while free, legal and safe abortions are widely available in large metropolitan centres like Montreal, people in other provinces and even in remote areas of Quebec do not have the option.
“There are no clinics in Prince Edward Island,” Dunn said.
Both women urged supporters of pro-choice to remain vigilant and fight to keep the rights granted by the Supreme Court in 1998.
“We would also like to keep pushing for more sexual education in schools, more access to contraception and better discussions about sexuality with young people,” Asselin said.
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