In recent decades the medical procedure of abortion has received considerable attention regarding its legality and availability while often creating controversy within society. By definition, the term abortion refers to the medical practice of terminating pregnancy resulting I the death of a fetus. There are a variety of reasons why a woman would be in the position to consider an abortion, however, this option varies depending on the country where the woman resides. A woman living in Canada is able to receive the procedure as it is provided by the Canadian government and funded by the provincial health care. However, for many women across the globe this is not the case. Depending on the country that the women lives in, abortion can be completely forbidden. The intent of this essay will be to discuss abortion a controversial issue within our society; is abortion a crime or is it a violation of human rights by making a woman carry an unwanted pregnancy to term?.
History of Abortion in Canada.
In the year of 1969, the Canadian Parliament passed a law for the abortion procedure to be able to occur under certain circumstances, with the main reason being to protect the health of the mother, however, health was not defined nor was it limited to any particular ailment (Boland & Katzive, 2008). Following this law, Pierre Trudeau, minister of Justice, introduced a bill to ament Section 251 of the Criminal Code of Canada. This bill provided abortions to be permitted where the health of the woman was at risk if the pregnancy was to continue (Boland & Katzive, 2008). The amendment outlined that only accredited hospitals and licensed physicians could perform this procedure (Cook & Dickens, 2003). This amendment also made it clear that all other cases where the woman could possibly be looking for an abortion would still be subject to the criminal code, meaning that it would be a criminal offence if the procedure was had (Cook & Dickens, 2003).
