NDP: Women’s rights must be protected and advanced in Canada

The Leader of Canada's NDP, Jagmeet Singh, made the following statement:

“Today, the United States Supreme Court walked back women’s rights by making abortion effectively illegal in half the country.

Women in the United States are devastated by this ruling and by what it will mean for their right to make decisions about their own bodies. You cannot make abortion illegal; you can only make safe abortion illegal. Women will die as a result of this devastating decision.

These dangerous policies that threaten women’s health and women’s lives must not be allowed to take root in Canada. There is so much more the government can do to ensure better access to health care services for women living in rural and remote communities.

The Liberals say the right things about being pro-choice but that isn’t enough. Women in many parts of the country, particularly in rural communities, have to drive hundreds of miles to access the care they need. This is wrong. It has never been more important for the Liberals to make the much-needed and long-overdue investments in women’s health care services.

New Democrats have been calling on the Liberal government to expand abortion services across the country. Now, with so many women in the United States having their rights denied, it is possible that more of them will start coming to Canada for these procedures. It’s crucial that the government invests in women’s health care and expands access to ensure Canadians can get the help they need, when they need it.

We have also called on the government to take urgent action to ensure contraceptives are available for free. Removing barriers for people to get contraceptives is an immediate action the government can take to make it easier for women to take care of themselves.

Canadian women reading this news today are understandably concerned and angry that this could happen in 2022. It has taken decades of advocacy for women to earn their hard-fought rights – nothing must threaten that. To all the women reading this news today, New Democrats will always stand with you. We will fight to ensure your rights are not just upheld but expanded in Canada."