Threatened Litigation Returns Abortion Access to Prince Edward Island after 34 Years

On March 31, 2016, the government of Prince Edward Island committed to provide medical and surgical abortions in a public health facility in the Province by the end of the year, for the first time since 1982. The Province's announcement was a direct response to threatened Charter litigation initiated by a group of local veteran activists called Abortion Access Now PEI Inc., which challenged the government's policy not to provide abortion services in the Province. In this commentary, legal counsel for Abortion Access Now PEI Inc. situate the recent litigation efforts within the history of abortion access and advocacy in PEI. They attribute the reversal of the government's position to the successful refraining of the Province's abortion policy in the threatened litigation and the sustained and creative approaches employed by abortion access activists.