Abortion to Abolition Event:
Promoting Public Understanding of Abortion Care in Nova Scotia
For immediate release: On Thursday, February 2, Wellness Within, in partnership with Venus Envy Halifax and Fernwood Publishing, are hosting “Abortion to Abolition,” a book reading and conversation to openly share information about access to abortion care in Nova Scotia. The event marks the 35th anniversary of the Morgentaler Decision of 1988 and will be held in person and online.
Despite radical improvements to access to abortion in Nova Scotia in recent years, some barriers to care persist, the greatest of which is lack of information and misinformation about services. To address these issues, speakers include Dr. Martha Paynter, founder of Wellness Within and author of Abortion to Abolition: Reproductive Health and Justice in Canada; Dr. Lianne Yoshida, family doctor and co-medical director of the Nova Scotia Women’s Choice Clinic; Danielle LeBlanc, abortion care nurse and abortion care coordinator for Wellness Within; and Kristen Turtle, abortion care nurse and director of finance for Wellness Within.
Advances to abortion care in Nova Scotia
In 2017, mifepristone for medication abortion became widely available, and the government of Nova Scotia agreed to fund the pills through Medicare. In 2018, the Nova Scotia Women’s Choice Clinic at the VG Hospital launched a centralized provincial toll-free self-referral line, 1-833-352-0719, allowing patients anywhere in the province to be directly connected with medication and surgical abortion services as close to home as possible. There are now over 30 medication abortion prescribers across the province, and three sites for surgical care: Halifax, Kentville, and Truro.
In 2020, Dalhousie University launched Canada’s first interprofessional abortion care course across the Faculties of Health and Medicine, and the course is presently in its sixth iteration. Wellness Within, a registered non-profit, has security clearance to provide full spectrum doula support, including for abortion, to any pregnant person experiencing incarceration in the provincial adult, youth and federal facilities in Nova Scotia.
About the event
The hybrid event is free and begins at 7 p.m. AST
In person at Venus Envy Halifax
1727 Barrington Street Halifax, Nova Scotia, B3J 1Z6 (*new location)
Capacity limited & first come first serve; no registration; masks required
Virtually via zoom
Registration is required in advance to receive the link
Learn more here: https://venusenvy.ca/products/abortion-to-abolition-halifax-event
About the Morgentaler Decision
The Morgentaler Decision in 1988 was a decision of the Supreme Court of Canada which held that the abortion provision in the Criminal Code was unconstitutional as it violated section 7 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the right to security of the person. This landmark decision has meant that for 35 years, abortion in Canada has been completely decriminalized.
Wellness Within is a registered non-profit organization working for reproductive justice, prison abolition, and health equity in K’jipuktuk, Mi’kma’ki (Halifax, Nova Scotia).
6579 Edinburgh street, Halifax, NS B3L1W7
https://wellnesswithinns.org/
@WWHealthJustice
Contact: Dr. Martha Paynter, Wellness Within Director of Research, martha.paynter@gmail.com, 902-292-7082
