Improving abortion access in Canada

Area of Science:

• Reproductive Health
• Public Policy
• Bioethics

Background:

• Abortion is a legal medical procedure in Canada.
• Existing policies and professional practices create significant barriers to accessing abortion services.
• These barriers disproportionately affect individuals seeking reproductive healthcare.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the extra-legal barriers to abortion access in Canada.
• To argue that these barriers are unjust due to unjustified restrictions on autonomy.
• To propose policy measures for improving abortion access.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of existing Canadian healthcare policies related to abortion.
• Examination of individual medical professionals' actions impacting access.
• Ethical argument based on principles of autonomy and justice.

Main Results:

• Numerous extra-legal barriers impede abortion access across Canada.
• These barriers are not justified by sound ethical or practical reasoning.
• Current restrictions on autonomy are deemed unjust.

Conclusions:

• Policy interventions are necessary to dismantle existing barriers to abortion.
• Improving abortion access requires addressing systemic and individual-level obstacles.
• Upholding reproductive autonomy necessitates equitable access to abortion services.