Access to Abortion:
An International Human Rights Perspective on Canadian Law
Logo, UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)
By Isabel Dávila, J.D. candidate, Osgoode Hall Law School
Canadian abortion policy historically derives both from case law and international instruments. In 1969, Parliament partially legalised abortion under s. 251 of the Criminal Code, which permitted abortion as long as a Therapeutic Abortion Committee decided the abortion was necessary for the woman’s health. In 1981, Canada ratified the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), which sets out a woman’s right to reproductive choice, although it does not specifically refer to a right to abortion.
The ratification of CEDAW was followed shortly by the 1982 adoption of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The Charter, combined with CEDAW and other new legal developments, opened up the possibility of a Supreme Court challenge to Canadian abortion laws. This challenge was eventually launched by famed Montreal physician Henry Morgentaler in the late 1980’s.
