Canadians support access to abortion services at home and abroad, poll shows

Open this photo in gallery:People take part in the March For Life on Parliament Hill in May. An Abacus Data poll found that 65 per cent of Canadians surveyed agree Ottawa should play a leading role globally to protect abortion rights.Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian PressAs Canada joins other Western countries in cutting back on foreign aid in favour of defence spending, a new poll reveals that Canadians want the federal government to keep supporting access to abortion services and reproductive care around the world. Action Canada for Sexual Health and Rights, incorporated as Planned Parenthood Canada, and MSI Reproductive Choices, an international NGO based in London, commissioned a poll conducted by Abacus Data that found that 81 per cent of Canadians surveyed support the right to abortion and 65 per cent agree that Canada should play a leading role globally to protect abortion rights. The online survey was conducted between Aug. 21 and 26 and included 2,036 adults, with a margin of error of plus or minus 2.17 per cent, 19 times out of 20.Meghan Doherty, the director of policy and advocacy for Action Canada, said the findings show that, despite the threats Canada is facing from around the world, Canadians still want to see the country play a leadership role on access to abortion. She said this is particularly important now that the United States has cut all its funding for sexual and reproductive health care. “We see that Canadians see access to abortion and sexual and reproductive rights more broadly as being a Canadian value that they want Canada to stand up for in the world,” she said. Eighty-three per cent of those surveyed agree that everyone should have access to the same reproductive health care and rights. Seventy-one per cent said they are proud of Canada’s support for abortion rights and reproductive health care worldwide. Access to abortion services in Ontario substantially increased in five years after mifepristone made available, study findsLast fall, Ottawa announced it was cutting $2.7-billion in foreign assistance and used global health care as an example of where Canada’s spending had “grown disproportionately” compared with that of other countries. Ms. Doherty said Canada made a 10-year commitment to fund sexual and reproductive health initiatives years ago and has noticed that Ottawa has been “less visible” in promoting that commitment. She said her organization was concerned when the federal government announced it was cutting foreign aid, but there are still few details about where the cuts will be made. And fortunately, she added, many projects were funded under the 10-year commitment and are continuing – though there’s little information about future commitments. Ms. Doherty said she hopes the survey’s findings show the government that Canadians care about this issue and that the funding makes a difference – even though the government is currently emphasizing trade and security. “What we consistently try to communicate to the government is that investing in global health, sexual and reproductive health, women’s rights, gender equality − all of these things are critical for strong economies. They are critical for strong democracies,” she said. “Sexual and reproductive health, access to abortion, they’re not niche issues, they’re not add-ons that you can just drop when things get tough. They’re actually the backbone of the achievement of these larger policies in relation to the economy, security and democracy.” She said the international aid system is going through an upheaval, particularly because of the U.S. cuts. The gap left by the U.S., she said, is too large for any one country or organization to fill. But Ms. Doherty said she wants the Canadian government to understand Canada’s value on this issue, particularly because it’s supported so broadly. Opinion: At age 159, Canada is finally a power on the world stageThe survey found that when asked if they agree with Canada playing a leading role in protecting abortion rights, 83 per cent of NDP voters said yes, followed by 74 per cent of Liberal voters and 51 per cent of Conservative voters.“Canadians reject this idea of the politicization of abortion as a political football, which is very different than in a lot of other countries. And so Canada has this really unique positioning domestically to have the legitimacy, the credibility and the support of Canadians to be taking this leadership role globally,” Ms. Doherty said. Patrick Kinemo, the country director for MSI Tanzania, said the Canadian government previously supported his organization by funding it directly, and while it is currently not doing so, it does provide assistance to the Tanzanian government’s health services, with a small portion going to family planning. Mr. Kinemo said that before the U.S. cuts, there were a lot of organizations supporting the Tanzanian government with reproductive health initiatives. He said MSI is among the few left. “We are stretched because the need is still there, but there’s few of us who are actually providing the services,” he said. And contraceptive commodities, he added, were heavily funded by donors, so now there’s a huge shortage. He said that prior to the Trump administration’s cuts, there were family planning products that had already been purchased, but the shipments never arrived. “We’re really sort of living almost on a month-by-month basis, looking at the commodity pipeline and trying to woo other donors to come and support,” he said, adding that Canada had always been a strong supporter of sexual and reproductive health and rights in the past. “I understand there’s a lot of challenges in Canada at the moment with the trade wars going on with the U.S., but nevertheless, I think it’s important still for Canada to continue supporting women and children across the world and especially in African countries, where resources are constrained. We really look forward to more support around this area to help save lives.”