A Step Forward for Women
/Building stronger communities through banning protestors outside abortion clinics
On Wednesday October 24, 2017, a new law passed in favor of women in the province of Ontario. A bill was passed making it illegal for protesters to be within 50-150 meters of any abortion clinic. This ban is also going to apply to the homes of the abortion staff and the health professionals who provide this much needed service to women.
At last some good news! A law like this one should have been made years ago, but at least finally, the government has realized that this is a real issue. Why is this an issue you may ask?
When a woman is going to get an abortion done, she has over a thousand things going through her brain, she is probably scared, has anxieties or maybe she is perfectly calm but the absolute last thing she needs is someone screaming in her face that she’s a murderer or that she’s going to hell.
What this new law is doing is providing stronger community support for women, and giving them the trust they need with these clinics.
Why should Nova Scotia adopt this policy? Women need this kind of support when it comes to abortion. And that should not be so trivial to people. It really blows my mind that other people think that they have some god given right to shove their opinions in other peoples faces or in women’s uteruses. Maybe you don’t agree with abortion, that’s fine, no one is telling you that you must agree with it, but sometimes your opinion doesn’t matter if the issue does not apply to you in any way shape or form.
The people that protest outside of these clinics don’t realize the impact that they are having on the women that are seeking this treatment. These protesters are scaring away women and sometimes preventing women from getting this medical help.
Or rather the proper attention, when women feel like they do not have safe access to an abortion clinic it can leave them to seek help at unsafe abortion practices, doctors that are not qualified to perform an abortion, or using unclean instruments. Often leading to complications in the women’s overall health, and sometimes leading to death.
Women fear the judgement that these people push on them, and in small towns if they want to keep something like this private, how can they when they have their neighbors casting judgement on them?
Getting an abortion done is a medical procedure, that is a choice for women to have done. You never see people protesting vasectomies, yet when it comes to a women’s reproductive rights, immediately everyone thinks that their opinion should have a say in this women’s choice about HER body.
New Brunswick has already made it illegal to protest outside of the Bathurst Hospital. A spokesperson from the hospital said that it is the goal to “[ensure] safe access to health-care services without harassment or intimidation.” Right now, Nova Scotia only has 1 place to get an abortion done and that’s at the Queen Elizabeth II hospital. Yet, they don’t have a law enforced that protesters cannot stand outside the hospital. It’s time for Nova Scotia to wakeup and realize how important this law is for women. It’s ensuring their safety, and the right to have access to proper health care.
A law like this being enforced will show women that they have people and government behind them- supporting them and showing that they care about their safety. Every province should have this law enforced, abortion rights are human rights. And every woman should have access to a safe, judgement free, harassment free, abortion. No questions asked.
