Russia puts Ukrainian President Zelenskyy on its wanted list
Russia has put Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on its wanted list, Russian state media reported Saturday, citing the interior ministry’s database.
Canadian advocates supporting abortion rights caution against complacency regarding protections in place in this country -- after a landmark ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, effectively ending America’s constitutional protections for abortion for the last nearly 50 years.
While abortion was decriminalized in Canada in 1988, no legislation was ever passed to replace it, and the issue remains an ongoing topic of political conversation in this country.
Experts also say that there are several barriers to access to abortion in the country, including geography, equity and immigration status.
“(This) is a signal for us in Canada and around the world to not be complacent with the rights that we have,” Kelly Bowden, director of policy and advocacy at Action Canada, told CTV News Channel.
“While we have a well-protected right to access abortion here in Canada, we should be vigilant about protecting and defending that right.”
The ruling in the U.S. is likely to hit racialized women the hardest, Pam Hrick, the executive director and general council at Women’s Legal Education and Action Fund (LEAF), told CTV News Channel.
“I am angry and I am heartbroken for the millions of women and pregnant people in the United States who are going to be impacted by this decision … and will be forced to carry pregnancies to turn that they do not want to put their health and in some cases, their lives at risk,” she said.
“And, we have to be clear this is not going to be an impact that is equitable across women and pregnant people. It will be disproportionately borne by Black, racialized, poor and otherwise marginalized people.”
Speaking at a press briefing in Rwanda, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Canada will continue to fight to protect the rights of everyone after the "devastating setback" in the United States.
Following the U.S. Supreme Court leak, the Liberal government announced in early May it plans to spend $3.5 million to improve abortion access in Canada. However, advocates have warned that more permanent funding and legislation for sexual and reproductive health care are needed in Canada.
Hrick says that the possibility of improving abortion access in the U.S. now depends on the state level and to what extent they will implement bans on abortions.
“So, there will be I certainly hope, a tremendous fight and focus on state legislatures and people trying to elect pro-choice, progressive people into those positions to make decisions that will actually give and respect the rights of women to be able to access this incredibly important medical procedure,” she said.
Bowden says that abortion rights and access will impact the younger generations of women from racialized and marginalized communities in Canada the most, and these are the faces she’s seeing more of in pro-choice rallies.
“The majority of the people (in pro-choice rallies) were young women, young Trans folks and people of colour who have come out because they know that this is an issue that will impact their lives, their livelihoods, their ability to choose and how and when they want to have families.
“And, I'm proud and pleased to see young people who are standing up and speaking out in defence of these rights. And what we do have them here in Canada,” she said.
Bowden says she advocates a “wait and watch” approach to see if there will be a spillover effect to the overturning of Roe V. Wade in Canada, and that Action Canada will be monitoring the situation closely.
“The actual numerical impact of that is yet to come in the U.S. as well as, enshrined right here in Canada is that Canadians continue to face barriers to access here.
“So, we also need to concentrate on ensuring that our system is strong and that the universal health care of abortion which we are granted as a convenience is actually accessible here as well.”
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Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, CTVNews.ca wants to hear from Canadians who have had an abortion.
Did you struggle to access abortion services or information in Canada? Was it difficult to secure an appointment?
Tell us your story by emailing dotcom@bellmedia.ca, and include your name and location. Your comments may be used in a CTVNews.ca story.
Russia has put Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on its wanted list, Russian state media reported Saturday, citing the interior ministry’s database.
A man was denied a $5,000 payout from his brother after a B.C. tribunal dismissed his claim disputing how many kittens were born in a litter.
A Chinese truck driver was praised in local media Saturday for parking his vehicle across a highway and preventing more cars from tumbling down a slope after a section of the road in the country's mountainous south collapsed and killed at least 48 people.
A man accused of arson in a January Old Strathcona apartment fire is expected to be charged with manslaughter after a body was discovered in the burned building late last month.
Ontario Provincial Police say two people were killed after a car and a transport truck collided in the westbound lanes of Highway 417 near Limoges, Ont. on Tuesday afternoon.
A Quebec man who pleaded guilty to threatening Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier François Legault has been sentenced to 20 months in jail.
A candidate for Chancellor Olaf Scholz's center-left party in next month's election for the European Parliament was beaten up and seriously injured while campaigning in an eastern city, the party said Saturday.
Police are investigating after a BMW exploded in the St-Lambert Exo train station parking lot on Montreal's South Shore.
A group of lawyers has written what they call a groundbreaking book about how mental health is perceived in the legal profession.
Alberta Ballet's double-bill production of 'Der Wolf' and 'The Rite of Spring' marks not only its final show of the season, but the last production for twin sisters Alexandra and Jennifer Gibson.
A British Columbia mayor has been censured by city council – stripping him of his travel and lobbying budgets and removing him from city committees – for allegedly distributing a book that questions the history of Indigenous residential schools in Canada.
Three men in Quebec from the same family have fathered more than 600 children.
A group of SaskPower workers recently received special recognition at the legislature – for their efforts in repairing one of Saskatchewan's largest power plants after it was knocked offline for months following a serious flood last summer.
A police officer on Montreal's South Shore anonymously donated a kidney that wound up drastically changing the life of a schoolteacher living on dialysis.
Since 1932, Montreal's Henri Henri has been filled to the brim with every possible kind of hat, from newsboy caps to feathered fedoras.
Police in Oak Bay, B.C., had to close a stretch of road Sunday to help an elephant seal named Emerson get safely back into the water.
Out of more than 9,000 entries from over 2,000 breweries in 50 countries, a handful of B.C. brews landed on the podium at the World Beer Cup this week.
Raneem, 10, lives with a neurological condition and liver disease and needs Cholbam, a medication, for a longer and healthier life.