The government of Quebec presented, on Monday, an action plan aimed at reaffirming the fundamental right of Quebec women to choose whether to continue or terminate a pregnancy.
The plan contains 28 measures grouped according to four objectives, for investments of $7.5 million, to be carried out by 2027: improve access to abortion services throughout the territory, fight against disinformation, improve information on contraception and encourage research.
It was the Minister responsible for the Status of Women, Martine Biron, who gave the details during a press briefing in the morning.
Since taking office in 2023, the latter says she has consulted groups of women, health professionals, professional orders as well as experts on the subject and has made two observations: the first concerning access times to abortion services in certain regions of Quebec and the second concerning the lack of reliable and truthful information.
“Delays in the region can reach up to five weeks,” said M.me Biron, also adding that “anti-choice groups are active in Quebec, often under misleading names, and do not offer neutral support.”
The minister recalled that one in three women will resort to abortion once in their life in Quebec. And even if it is “a sensitive and taboo subject”, she recalls that the right to abortion “is based on a broad consensus in Quebec”. In fact, 90% of Quebecers, men and women, are in favor of this right.
“A woman’s decision whether or not to carry her pregnancy to term is entirely up to her. In Quebec, abortion is recognized as safe health care which must be accessible to women who make this choice, regardless of the region where they reside,” declared the Minister of Health, Christian Dubé, in a press release.
