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BԪַNo appetiteBԪַ to ban abortions in Canada amid U.S. bills, expert says

Alabama ban could see abortions become a felony, with no exception for rape or incest
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FILE - In this April 17, 2019, file photo, Bianca Cameron-Schwiesow, from left, Kari Crowe and Margeaux Hartline, dressed as handmaids, protest against a bill banning nearly all abortions at the Alabama State House in Montgomery, Ala. As abortion opponents cheer the passage of fetal heartbeat laws and other restrictions on the procedure, abortion-rights groups have been waging a quieter battle in courthouses around the country to overturn limits on providers. (Mickey Welsh/The Montgomery Advertiser via AP, File)

A recently-passed abortion ban in Alabama wonBԪַt affect womenBԪַs access to services here in Canada, a University of British Columbia professor says.

Dr. Ellen Wiebe said that unlike in America where there are laws governing abortion access, BԪַwe have no abortion law here in Canada.BԪַ

BԪַAbortion is a medical procedure and itBԪַs regulated in the medical field,BԪַ said Wiebe, who is also the medical director at the Willow WomenBԪַs Clinic.

Despite there being BԪַprivate members bills trying to get a law in CanadaBԪַ I donBԪַt think thereBԪַs any appetite to change it here.BԪַ

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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters in France Thursday he regrets the choices U.S. lawmakers made.

Trudeau re-affirmed his own pro-choice stance and said Canada would remain unequivocal in its defence of a womanBԪַs right to end a pregnancy.

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Abortions became legal in Canada in 1988, with no limits, although some doctors and hospitals do not provide, or are not equipped, for later-term abortions.

In B.C., medical abortion are available up to nine weeks and procedures using the drug Mifegymiso became free in early 2018.

Alabama legislators gave final approval this week to a ban that would make abortion a felony punishable by 99 years in jail. There was no exception made for rape or incest.

Earlier this year, Kentucky, Mississippi, Ohio and Georgia approved bans on abortion once a fetal heartbeat is detected, which can occur in about the sixth week of pregnancy BԪַ before many women know theyBԪַre pregnant.

Wiebe said she doesnBԪַt expect any BԪַabortion tourismBԪַ to come to Canada, as most women will choose to either the west or east coast in America, where laws are more lax.

BԪַButBԪַs terrible they would have to travel away from their own homes. ItBԪַs so discriminatory for people who are poor, people who have trouble getting off work and daycare,BԪַ Wiebe said.

Wiebe said the abortion bans in the U.S. will negatively affect womenBԪַs health care as a whole, as abortion providers like Planned Parenthood also provide contraception, cancer screens and other medical care.

BԪַThere will be more unplanned pregnancies,BԪַ Wiebe said, as well as more BԪַcoathangerBԪַ abortions.

BԪַPeople will be desperate and they will try to do it themselves,BԪַ she said.

BԪַIBԪַm very glad that we live in Canada.BԪַ

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BԪַ with files from The Canadian Press


katya.slepian@bpdigital.ca

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