Justin Trudeau, the prime minister of Canada, described the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to repeal the fundamental right to an abortion as “horrific.”
Justin Trudeau claimed he “can’t comprehend the dread and outrage” that Americans are feeling right now in a series of tweets he made on Friday.
Several decades of court decisions preserving the right to an abortion were overruled by the Supreme Court on Friday in a 5-4 decision, paving the stage for dozens of states to outlaw the operation.
The decision was made more than a month after a draught judgment that suggested the court was ready to make such a decision leaked, reviving interest in abortion rights on both sides of the border.
After the “devastating setback” in the United States, Justin Trudeau said Canada will continue to fight to preserve everyone’s rights while speaking at a press conference in Rwanda with Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly.
According to Joly, the decision to overturn Roe v. Wade is a “reversal of hard-won victories” for women. No country in the world, including Canada, is immune to the impacts of what happens in the United States, she said, calling it “a dark day.”
The Liberal government declared in early May that it will invest $3.5 million to increase access to abortion in Canada in response to the U.S. Supreme Court bombshell.
Additionally, the Liberals pledged to introduce new legislation last fall that would make access to abortion a condition of receiving government funds under the Canada Health Act.
Abortion Rights Raised By Justin Trudeau
Justin Trudeau previously mentioned the possibility of codifying abortion rights in law instead, making it more difficult for future administrations to modify those rights.
As things stand, there are no laws in Canada that formally recognize the right to an abortion.
Despite the fact that abortion was made legal in Canada in 1988 as a result of the Supreme Court of Canada overturning a federal statute in the famous R. v. Morgentaler case, no legislation to replace it was ever passed, and the matter still dominates political discourse in this nation.
The U.S. Supreme Court has essentially “walked back” women’s rights in that nation, according to NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, who also pleaded with the Liberal government to make abortions even more accessible for Canadian women living in rural areas.
In a statement released on Friday, interim Conservative leader Candice Bergen said that her party’s position on abortion has not changed, accusing the Liberals of politicizing American abortion rights in an effort to polarise Canadians.
U.S. President Joe Biden voiced his disappointment during a press conference from the White House and vowed to fight to safeguard abortion rights in that nation, including a woman’s ability to travel across state lines to obtain an abortion.
