Pamela Pizarro is a sexual and reproductive rights activist based in Ontario, Canada. She previously worked for the Youth Coalition for Sexual and Reproductive Rights where her interest in the field of youth and adolescent rights developed. Her main interests are women's rights, the right to abortion, and the rights of youth to adequate sexual education and health services.
Women in most parts of Canada will soon be able to access emergency contraception over-the-counter. But the lack of centralized health care policy means women in Quebec will still need to consult pharmacists first.
We are all looking for a sense of community and somewhere to belong, but I won’t belong to a church that believes that I have no rights.
When it comes to motherhood, Canada may offer some benefits and social programs that American mothers envy, but not still not enough to make having children accessible to all women.
Medical students in Canada are not receiving the training that they need to become abortion providers. Many medical schools do not include the subject in their curriculum, so students wishing to learn the procedure must take it upon themselves to become trained providers.
The “Unborn Victims of Crime” Act is far closer to becoming law in Canada than any pro-choice advocates would like to believe.
Women’s access to unbiased, medically-sound reproductive health care in Canada is being compromised by doctors hiding behind conscience clauses to refuse services and referrals.
Think that religious policing only applies to abortion and contraceptives? Doctors in Canada are now refusing to perform pap smears on young women, citing “religious beliefs.”
As Canada’s pro-choice community gets ready to celebrate the anniversary of legal abortion in Canada, the media campaign of an anti-choice group ramps up.
The Canadian government is currently reviewing a proposed “Unborn Victims of Violence Bill” that would open the door for fetal rights arguments once again.
Here in Canada there are a number of issues that are going to come up in the new year in regards to sexual and reproductive health and rights — perhaps most prominently, the Unborn Victims of Violence Bill.
