Paul Tuns: The medical journal Family Practice published a report co-authored by nine researchers led by Wendy V. Norman at the University of British Columbia, that examined how physicians in Canada maintained abortion services during the pandemic restrictions and found that they were able to continue committing abortions because they and policymakers considered abortion “essential.” They found that access “was often maintained [...]
Oswald Clark Operation Rescue reports in its annual survey of abortuaries in the United States that the number of stand-alone facilities that commit abortions and the number of abortion pills distributed both rose in 2021. In a two-part report, Operation Rescue examined “The Status of American Abortion Facilities: Telemedicine’s Impact in 2021” and The Status of American Abortion Facilities: Chemical Abortions Gain [...]
By Paul Tuns: Researchers say telemedicine abortion pill dispensing put women at risk A study published in the January edition of the journal Family Practice noted that during the pandemic, many Canadian abortion providers – most of them family physicians -- moved to a telemedicine model of delivering abortion services. Telemedicine is when a doctor consults with a patient over the phone [...]
Oswald Clark If Roe v. Wade is reversed, the abortion issue will likely be dealt with by state legislatures unless Congress passes a law that federalizes the issue. Over the past four years, 19 state legislatures considered bans on all or most abortions, including several that take effect if Roe is overturned. In 2021, 12 total abortion bans statutes were debated in [...]
JUSTICE CLARENCE THOMAS: General Stewart, you focus on the right to abortion, but our jurisprudence seems to -- seem to focus on, in Casey, autonomy; in Roe, privacy. Does it make a difference that we focus on privacy or autonomy or more specifically on abortion? SCOTT STEWART: I think whichever one of those you’re focusing on, Your Honor, particularly if you’re focusing [...]
Paul Tuns I listened out of both duty and interest to the oral arguments before the Supreme Court, and followed along on Twitter and a number of people live-blogging the proceedings. Since the Court accepted the case, I’ve assumed that it would uphold Roe v. Wade but amend it by permitting supposedly severe restrictions before the commonly accepted point of viability point [...]
Rory Leishman Judging from the questions and comments during oral arguments in the Supreme Court of the United States on Dec. 1 in the Mississippi abortion case Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, it seems likely, although far from certain, that the Court will finally decide in its ruling in Dobbs next June to reverse the calamitous judgment in Roe v. Wade [...]
Oswald Clark and Paul Tuns Analysis “Roe versus Wade and Planned Parenthood versus Casey haunt our country.” So began testimony of Mississippi Solicitor General Scott Stewart’s oral arguments in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization before the Supreme Court as the nine justices questioned three lawyers in a case that could overturn the 49-year-old precedent that created the right to abortion in [...]
Paul Tuns The Scott Moe government in Saskatchewan introduced and swiftly passed Bill 48, The Public Health (Safe Access to Hospitals) Amendment Act, 2021, that creates a so-called “safe access zone” of 50 metres around hospital property in which any non-union protests will be prohibited. The Bill passed on Nov. 24 and the law has a sunset clause to expire in two [...]
Paul Tuns Bill C-3, An Act to amend the Criminal Code and the Canada Labour Code, is an omnibus bill that if passed will amend the Criminal Code to make it a crime to impede others from obtaining or providing health services. It will also amend the Canada Labour Code to provide employees with up to 10 days of medical leave of [...]
In one of Kafka’s haunting parables, “An Imperial Message,” we read of an august Emperor who dispatches a daring, trusted messenger with a communication from his deathbed which is specifically for you, the most humble subject in his realm. But although this emissary is full of dignity, authority, and power his errand is hopeless. Layers upon layers of walls and palaces, and [...]
Paul Tuns On Oct. 22, Federal Court Justice Catherine Kane found that the federal government’s Summer Job Program requirement that recipients declare themselves in favour of abortion in order to get funding was constitutionally valid. In December 2017, the Justin Trudeau government released new rules for companies and organizations that received Summer Jobs Program subsidies to hire students that required recipients to [...]
Paul Tuns Editor’s Note: Part I appeared in the November edition of The Interim and is available here. Pro-life leaders generally agree that the movement must do a better job reaching beyond its current scope of organizational supporters, although there is not as much agreement about how to do that. Jakki Jeffs, executive director of Alliance for Life Ontario, told The Interim [...]
Josie Luetke Interim writer, Josie Luetke, Talk Turkey “Every woman in Canada has a right to a safe and legal abortion,” according to none other than Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. “Access to safe, legal abortion is a fundamental right of women, irrespective of where they live,” according to a 2006 publication from the World Health Organization. One of Campaign Life Coalition’s [...]
Interim Staff The Association for Reformed Political Action (ARPA) and it’s local chapter launched a legal challenge against the city of Hamilton after its transit service rejected one of their advertisements. Hamilton Street Railway (HSR), the city’s transit service, refused to run ads stating ““We’re for women’s rights” with the word “hers” accompanying photos of girls in her 20s, her teens, as [...]