Quebec aims to boost access to abortion pills, contraception

An abortion-rights activist holds a box of mifepristone pills as demonstrators from both anti-abortion and abortion-rights groups rally outside the Supreme Court in Washington, Tuesday, March 26, 2024. (AP-Amanda Andrade-Rhoades/The Canadian Press)

Quebec wants to increase access to abortion pills as part of a new plan aimed at reaffirming the province's commitment to reproductive rights.

Martine Biron, Quebec's minister for the status of women, says it's important to reinforce women's rights at a time when they are declining around the world, and that one out of three women in Canada will have an abortion.

Biron says Quebecers living in regions outside Montreal sometimes wait up to five weeks before receiving an abortion, adding that better access to abortion medications could help reduce delays.

The government says abortion pills accounted for 17 per cent of pregnancy terminations in Quebec in 2022, compared to 32 per cent in Ontario, 53 per cent in the United States and 72 per cent in France.

Quebec's $7.5-million plan also contains measures to fight disinformation and improve access to contraception.

The plan says that the 2022 United States Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade has mobilized anti-choice groups in Quebec and the rest of Canada.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 18, 2024.