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Abortion standard must be consistent
Read the article / show / issue that provoked me to write a letter and my response below that or go straight to my response
Date Posted on this Site
June 25, 2007
Publication
Guelph Mercury
Publication Date
June 22, 2007
Published Content
The annual Sexuality Conference at the University of Guelph is known for breaking new ground when it comes to sexual health and reproductive issues and no one at any of the workshops ever minces words or shies away from provocative subjects. But one seminar this week turned out to be especially disturbing in terms of trends in abortion access at hospitals across the country.
At a session dealing with access to abortion in Canada, researcher Jessica Shaw told those in attendance how she phoned all 718 hospitals across the country, posing as a pregnant woman and seeking information on abortion services. The response is distressing -- 15.9 per cent of hospitals provide accessible abortion services, based on her calls in 2006, compared to 17.8 per cent in 2003. In addition to the numbers, the treatment Shaw received over the phone from people at different hospitals was disturbing. Someone at a British Columbia hospital told her if she wanted to have a baby after having an abortion her cervix would have to be sewn shut and she would have to stay in bed for her entire pregnancy so the baby wouldn't fall out. Over the course of her research she was also laughed at, hung up on and directed to a hospital's psychiatric ward. All of these incidents are troubling for a country where abortion is legal and needs to be accessible.
Pregnancy, whether planned or not, can be both exciting and frightening. Women, if they seek information on abortion, shouldn't have to deal with hospital staff who are unhelpful and condescending.
The researcher in this case has a substantial qualitative sampling that should trouble policy-makers, politicians, health-care providers and women and their partners and spouses. Questions need to be asked. Policies need to be reviewed. Hospitals and their employees need to be reminded -- not that they should have to be, though -- that abortion is legal in Canada and should be accessible. This standard needs to be consistent across the country.
My Response Letter
The Guelph Mercury is right about one thing: there needs to be consistency across Canada when it comes to abortion. However, the paper is mistaken if it believes it is speaking for Canadians by advocating unfettered access to the practice. Opinion polls (Gallop, 2001 and Leger, 2003) have consistently shown that Canadians want legal protections for unborn children. Unfortunately, politicians and the media are not listening.
Jason Gennaro
Was my response published?
No