Canadians open their doors to Americans seeking abortions
Canadians open their doors to Americans seeking abortions
Canadians open their doors to Americans seeking abortions
With the overturning of Roe v. Wade opening the door to abortion bans in the U.S., Canadian Tiktokers are welcoming Americans who are considering travelling north of the border to get an abortion.
“To my American besties: I live 20 minutes from the Michigan border,” one TikTok user wrote in a video post. “If you want to come ‘see my cows’ for the weekend let me know. I can give you a safe space while you recover from ‘seeing my cows.’”
Canadian TikTokers, using the hashtag #wegodowntogether, are offering Americans a place to stay and recover, often under the guise of an innocuous activity, like “camping” or “visiting friends.”
“I’m 90 minutes from the U.S. border at Niagara Falls and wine country,” wrote another TikToker. “My 4 sisters and I would love to go ‘wine tasting’ with you and spend a few days recovering. Let’s hang out. We’ve got you.”
But what are the legal implications of Americans actually seeking the medical procedure in Canada?
Pam Hrick, general counsel for Women’s Legal Education and Action Fund, says the issues that could arise depend on the particular state Americans are coming from.
“There are no legal issues to come into the country and access that healthcare procedure,” she told CTV’s Your Morning on Tuesday. “There are no laws right now in the States, criminalizing crossing the borders to get an abortion somewhere where it is legal. However, that might change. So it’s going to be important for people who are seeking the procedure to check in with local abortion care providers and supports to understand what the state of law is at the time of their thinking about access.”
Hrick also pointed out that, although Canadian healthcare does not have legal parameters that restrict abortion procedures, access complications are still a reality for many Canadians.
“Right now here in Canada we have access issues as well. There are no laws applicable to abortion care, and it is treated as healthcare,” Hrick said.
“Whether or not you could actually access that healthcare in this country depends on where you live, whether you can take time off work and you have to travel in order to access an abortion, whether there are local providers in your community. So it really isn’t equitable across the country, and we need to take urgent action to address that,” she added.
Carolyn Egan, with the Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada, said Americans seeking abortion would need to pay for the procedures themselves, which would not affect Canada’s healthcare system.
“We have situations now where the clinics in Toronto do offer abortions, mostly for people who might be internationals. They pay directly to the clinic. So it’s not an expense to [Canada’s] healthcare system. If any women chooses to come here from the United States, they would not be accessing hospital abortions. They would be going to the free-standing clinics,” she explained
Despite the viral trend on TikTok, Egan says the number of Americans coming to Canada for the procedure is “fairly low.”
“For the most part, Americans do not have passports. There are usually going to be more vulnerable women from low-income communities, Black and Hispanic communities, and the understanding that we have is that they will be given access to procedures in another state,” she said.
“Certainly Canadians are happy to welcome them if they do come,” Egan added.
This story has been updated to correct that there are no laws right now in the states criminalizing cross the borders to get an abortion somewhere it is legal.
Exposure to synthetic ‘forever chemicals’ often polluting the environment has been linked to the most common type of liver cancer, according to a recent study.
An Ontario nurse is facing charges in connection with the alleged assault of a two-year-old boy with “significant medical limitations” in Niagara Region.
Ontario MP Pierre Poilievre remains the heavy favourite to be the next Conservative party leader but he trails opponent Jean Charest for support among Canadians as a whole.
With inflation rising at its fastest pace in nearly 40 years, the cost of everything from food to gas has skyrocketed. Canadians across the country are feeling squeezed, but big families with multiple children are at times shouldering much of the higher costs — and changing demographics and consumer patterns have left some of them more exposed to inflation than in previous generations.
A new study found that people with regular menstruation cycles and those who typically do not menstruate either experienced a heavier flow or breakthrough bleeding after being vaccinated against COVID-19.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump will be questioned under oath Wednesday in the New York attorney general's long-running civil investigation into his dealings as a real estate mogul, he confirmed in a post on his Truth Social account.
The ingredients in a 2,300-year-old ancient Chinese chemistry formula have finally been identified, revealing new secrets about metallurgy in ancient China.
An ICU physician is criticizing Ont. Premier Doug Ford's throne speech, saying the government 'has no plan' to help health-care workers and may not believe 'there's any type of crisis' in the province's overburdened hospital system.
A state of emergency remains in place in central Newfoundland due to out-of-control forest fires, but a major highway that had been closed for days has been reopened, allowing supplies to be delivered to stranded communities.
Ontario is set to introduce legislation today to give large municipal leaders so-called strong mayor powers as a way to get housing built more quickly.
With inflation rising at its fastest pace in nearly 40 years, the cost of everything from food to gas has skyrocketed. Canadians across the country are feeling squeezed, but big families with multiple children are at times shouldering much of the higher costs — and changing demographics and consumer patterns have left some of them more exposed to inflation than in previous generations.
An Ontario nurse is facing charges in connection with the alleged assault of a two-year-old boy with “significant medical limitations” in Niagara Region.
The man who claims to be one of the people seen 'surfing' on the roof of a moving subway train in Toronto is speaking exclusively to CTV News about his stunts and the looming threat of a police arrest.
China on Wednesday reaffirmed its threat to use military force to bring self-governing Taiwan under its control, amid threatening Chinese military exercises that have raised tensions between the sides to their highest level in years.
A former Twitter employee has been convicted of failing to register as an agent for Saudi Arabia and other charges after accessing private data on users critical of the kingdom's government in a spy case that spanned from Silicon Valley to the Middle East.
Police announced a breakthrough Tuesday in the killings of four Muslim men in Albuquerque, New Mexico, charging a man from Afghanistan – himself a Muslim – with two of the slayings and identifying him as a prime suspect in the other killings that put the entire community on edge.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump will be questioned under oath Wednesday in the New York attorney general's long-running civil investigation into his dealings as a real estate mogul, he confirmed in a post on his Truth Social account.
As Britain swelters through a roasting summer, and braces for a cold financial reckoning in the fall, calls for the Conservative government to act are getting louder.
Ontario MP Pierre Poilievre remains the heavy favourite to be the next Conservative party leader but he trails opponent Jean Charest for support among Canadians as a whole.
The government is working hard to meet its end-of-year deadline to deliver dental-care coverage to kids, the deputy prime minister said Tuesday, but added providing new services is 'complicated.'
Expressing concerns over the RCMP's yearslong use of spyware in major investigations, privacy and civil liberties experts say the previously undisclosed tools are 'extremely intrusive' and they are calling for stronger oversight and regulation of spyware Canada-wide.
A Nebraska woman has been charged with helping her teenage daughter end her pregnancy at about 24 weeks after investigators uncovered Facebook messages in which the two discussed using medication to induce an abortion and plans to burn the fetus afterward.
A new study found that people with regular menstruation cycles and those who typically do not menstruate either experienced a heavier flow or breakthrough bleeding after being vaccinated against COVID-19.
Two new features being introduced on WhatsApp, which will let you choose who can see when you're active, and to leave groups silently, will start rolling out to all WhatsApp users this month.
Snapchat on Tuesday introduced its first parental control center, nearly 10 months after an executive from the company told Congress it was developing tools aimed at helping parents keep their teens safe.
The ingredients in a 2,300-year-old ancient Chinese chemistry formula have finally been identified, revealing new secrets about metallurgy in ancient China.
Socially conscious rockers The Tragically Hip, eminent broadcaster Barbara Frum and music video visionary Director X are among the homegrown icons set to be inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame.
Bob Odenkirk has said he would have been 'dead in a few minutes' if he had not received CPR after suffering a heart attack on the set of 'Better Call Saul' last year.
Firefighters on Tuesday finally overcame what officials described as the worst fire in Cuba's history that over five days destroyed 40% of the Caribbean island's main fuel storage facility and caused massive blackouts.
Oil shipments from Russia through a critical pipeline to several European countries should resume soon after a problem over payments for transit was resolved, Slovakia's Economy Minister Richard Sulik said on Wednesday.
European stock markets opened higher while Asia fell Wednesday ahead of the release of U.S. inflation data that traders worry will show upward pressure on prices still is too strong for the U.S. Federal Reserve to ease off interest rate hikes.
At the age of 13, Wyatt Sharpe has interviewed the prime minister, a premier, party leaders and cabinet ministers -- and he's not even in high school yet.
TripAdvisor has ranked the best excursions in Canada, according to travellers. The activities include driving an ATV through the wilderness of B.C., exploring snow-blanketed caves in Alberta, and whale-watching in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Not only will Team Canada be playing on home soil when they face Latvia in their first game of the tournament on Wednesday, they'll be doing so during a period of intense scrutiny for Canadian hockey.
The World Cup in Qatar could start one day earlier than scheduled with FIFA looking at a plan to let the host nation play Ecuador on Nov. 20, a person familiar with the proposal told The Associated Press on Wednesday.
A new 24-club super league that aims to revolutionize soccer in Africa and become its richest competition was launched by Confederation of African Football president Patrice Motsepe on Wednesday, just hours after his organization reported a loss of nearly US$50 million for last year.
Bolivia's decision to open an alternate route to its historic 'Death Road' - a serpentine dirt path across the towering Andes hills known for its deadly cliffs - has led to a resurgence of wildlife in the area, according to an environmental group.
Bicycles have long been a means of transport in China and once outnumbered cars on city streets. Now cycling is increasingly also seen as a sport by an urban middle class that has benefited from China's growth into the world's second largest economy.
The new plan to encourage Americans to buy more electric vehicles built in North America, instead of just the United States, has cleared its tallest hurdle, and for the Canadian auto industry, the stakes are enormous.
