Canada will guarantee border officials know Americans can journey for abortion: Mendicino – National

Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino says he might be speaking with the Canada Border Companies Agency to ensure its workers know People looking for abortions can come to Canada for care.

Speaking with reporters on Wednesday, Mendicino said folks in the U.S. may be feeling doubt about whether or not they'll have the ability to access abortion if Roe v. Wade is overturned, as a leaked draft ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court suggested earlier this week is imminent.

NEW: Minister @marcomendicino says he’s talking with @CanBorder to ensure there are clear tips so People who may not be capable of entry an abortion can come to Canada to do so. Says ability to do so isn’t in query however he needs to make sure issues are clear. pic.twitter.com/qEqVQuUKJT

— Abigail Bimman (@AbigailBimman) Could 4, 2022

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Mendicino stated the ability of People to return to Canada for abortions is just not in question, but he needs to ensure that position is evident to those working on the frontlines on the border.

“I’ve engaged CBSA, my workplace is at the moment working with them to ensure there are clear guidelines so that girls who might not be able to access healthcare including abortions are able to come to Canada,” he said.

“If some women want to come to Canada to access these procedures, I have given them the directive to welcome them,” he added in French.

Mendicino billed the move as a “measure of warning” within the event Roe v. Wade is overturned and described the hope as being to “remove any ambiguity” that border officers may have as as to whether somebody travelling to Canada for an abortion is eligible to enter the nation.

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What's unclear at this time is whether any info on these individuals can be shared with American law enforcement or state officers trying to prosecute people for travelling for an abortion, as some experts have prompt might be next if Roe v. Wade falls.

Canada and the U.S. have extensive cross-border information sharing agreements designed to make it simpler to flag people who may pose a danger to national safety, or who are violating immigration rules.

Alexander Cohen, director of communications for Mendicino’s office, stated the federal government does not share normal data concerning the purpose of journey for Americans coming to Canada, “and that would come with those that come to Canada for reproductive health purposes.”

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May Canada develop into an abortion 'safe haven'?

In the context of abortion rights, jurisdictions that provide access to those outside their borders are sometimes called “safe havens.”

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States like California have vowed to enshrine abortion access more strongly in their legal guidelines in the wake of the leaked U.S. Supreme Courtroom draft ruling on Roe v. Wade, while specialists are also elevating the chance that for Americans close to the Canadian border, this country may become their nearest safe haven.

Read more: Roe v. Wade draft ruling places U.S. abortion rights in crosshairs. Right here’s what to know

“I think the massive challenges for Canadians are going to be ongoing entry to abortion if Canada turns into a safe haven of Americans,” stated Dr. Dustin Costescu, an associate professor at McMaster College as well as a family planning and sexual well being specialist.

Costescu mentioned all the data available proper now suggests there will remain abortion entry in quite a lot of states alongside the Jap Seaboard if Roe v. Wade falls, together with New York.

That would mean Ontario, Quebec and the Maritimes could not see a “important” stage of spillover.

“Michigan, on the other hand, turns into a little bit of a scorching spot when it comes to whether or not abortion is accessible. As we move westward into the U.S. Midwest, that’s the place we see pockets of states that can fall when Roe v Wade falls,” he added.

“Geographically, this is considered ‘frontier nation.’ These are large distances. But if people have to choose to go tons of of kilometers south or north [to access abortion], they might come up north.”

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Read more: How abortion access differs across U.S. — and how overturning Roe v. Wade could change it

Autumn Reinhardt-Simpson is the founder of the Alberta Abortion Access Network, and works as what’s known as an abortion doula. Which means her job helps individuals who need abortions entry them.

The support she and other abortion doulas supply includes help arranging journey, pickup and drop-off at sexual health clinics or abortion clinics, assist arranging lodging if a person has to go away their residence neighborhood to get the abortion, help accessing correct info, in addition to emotional assist.

She told World News on Tuesday that resources in many components of her province are already stretched.

“Access in Alberta is best than some places, however still not nice,” she mentioned. “We still have a hard time getting folks in rural areas into the cities for his or her appointments, especially as a result of there are so few medical doctors that are yet prescribing abortion medication.”

Reinhardt-Simpson said an inflow of individuals coming north could add to these challenges.

“We’re probably not geared up for dealing with Albertans who need abortion care. We cannot even present complete well being services for girls or trans and non-binary individuals in our personal province,” she said.

“So for positive, if people did come up here in giant numbers, there could be a very large downside.”

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