American activists are raising concerns about barriers facing people considering traveling to Canada for an abortion after last week’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
Several states – including Texas, Missouri and Utah – have already banned abortions following the US Supreme Court ruling.
“I think women will end up resorting to self-abortion,” said Rene Chelian, an abortion provider and founder of Northland Family Planning Centers, which has three facilities in Michigan that offer abortion services.
“The reason half of our patients choose abortion is to take care of the children they already have,” Chelian said. “I can’t believe the government has turned its back on us.
Also called a self-supervised abortion, a self-abortion is one that occurs without medical supervision or involvement. According to the World Health Organization, people who do not have access to abortions may resort to unsafe ways to terminate a pregnancy.
WATCH | Renee Chelian speaks on the issues of Americans considering Canada for abortion:
This Abortion Provider Says ‘Half of the United States Is About to Become an Abortion Desert’
Rene Chelian is an American abortion provider and founder of Northland Family Planning Centers.
Chelian said half the United States is about to become an abortion desert because of last week’s decision.
“I don’t know how half the United States is going to take care of the whole country,” she said, highlighting the potential impact on Canadian abortion providers.
Abortion is currently banned in six states. Several others are pending abortion bans or surrounded by uncertainty due to “trigger laws.”
A trigger law refers to a state abortion ban that was passed before Roe v. Wade was overturned, but they could not be enforced at the time. Now that Roe v. Wade has been struck down, these laws can finally be activated and enforced for every state.
Some states are considering banning abortion except in cases of rape or incest. Other states, such as Missouri, make exceptions for “medical emergencies.”
“If they can handle American patients and the patients can get to them, I’m grateful for their compassion, understanding and willingness to help,” Chelian said. “But someone from Detroit isn’t going to go to Vancouver. … I don’t believe the abortion hospital systems in Canada are going to be able to handle that surge.”
Last week, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called the Supreme Court ruling a “horrifying” development that threatens women’s rights.
I have granddaughters. I’m fighting this fight not just for them… but for anyone someone else loves who may need an abortion.- Rene Chilian, founder of Northland Family Planning Centers in the US
But Daniel Atkinson, founding director of the group Mothering Justice, a US-based grassroots advocacy group, said self-confidence is not enough.
“We need the Prime Minister to do more than make a statement… We need the Prime Minister to really ensure that people can enter the country safely and easily.”
She said accessing abortion services outside the US is not easy for most people.
“We don’t have to go to the hospital [in Canada] and had an abortion. The nearest town to us, Windsor, doesn’t have the space – there’s no clinic to do it.”
Chelian said he is trying to bridge the gap.
“I’ve talked to our doctors and we’ve scheduled a meeting for this morning to come up with a short-term and longer-term plan so we can try to get patients from Ohio. But we also know Indiana will go. we don’t know where Kentucky patients will go. We haven’t had a chance to think about it.”
This creates a sense of hopelessness in some.
“I heard a woman on the news say, ‘My country doesn’t love me,’ and it seemed so true,” Chelian said, her voice shaking. “I have granddaughters. I’m fighting this fight not only for them… but for everyone someone else loves who might need an abortion… I hate to think that I’m going to die and the United States still won’t have abortion services in every state.”
Windsor Regional Hospital declined to comment when asked about Chelian’s concerns.
On Wednesday, CBC News reached out to Ontario’s Ministry of Health to find out what, if anything, the provincial government is up to in light of last Friday’s Supreme Court decision.
The ministry responded with a brief statement saying it had no information to share.
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