Canadian Supreme Court Overturns Abortion Law

TORONTO —  The Supreme Court of Canada struck down the nation’s restrictive abortion law Thursday, ruling it unconstitutional and a violation of a woman’s right to control her own body.

The 5-2 ruling vindicated abortion crusader Dr. Henry Morgentaler of Toronto, who has been fighting in the courts for 18 years to secure abortion-on-demand for Canadian women.

“I think it’s a wonderful victory for all the women in Canada,” Morgentaler, 64, told reporters in Ottawa where the verdict was announced.

About 60,000 legally approved abortions are performed in Canada each year. However, the number of Canadian women having abortions each year is difficult to determine because many go to the United States for the procedure.

The Canadian Supreme Court ruled that the current law permitting only “therapeutic” abortions approved by hospital committees violates fundamental justice as guaranteed in Canada’s constitution.

The court said the law specifically violates a section of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms enacted in 1982. That section says: “Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of the person and the right not to be deprived thereof except in accordance with the principles of fundamental justice.”

Morgentaler had asked the Supreme Court to overturn a 1985 Ontario decision ordering a new trial on charges of conspiring to perform illegal abortions. He was acquitted in an earlier trial.

In Thursday’s majority ruling, Chief Justice Brian Dickson said the abortion section of Canada’s Criminal Code “clearly interferes with a woman’s physical and bodily integrity.”

“Forcing a woman by threat of criminal sanctions to carry a fetus to term unless she meets certain criteria unrelated to her own priorities and aspirations is a profound interference with a woman’s body and thus an infringement of security of the person,” Dickson said.

He said a woman’s rights are breached “as a result of the delay in obtaining therapeutic abortions caused by the mandatory procedures” of the law, with “a higher probability of complications and greater risk. The harm to the psychological integrity of women seeking abortions was also clearly established.”

The judge also said the law cannot be justified on the grounds of protecting a mother’s health since abortions are performed just as safely in clinics as in approved hospitals. Most abortions in Quebec Province, for instance, are performed in clinics.