Canada begins major crackdown on pro-life groups
The Trudeau administration on Tuesday announced new legislation to crack down on nonprofit pregnancy support centers.
Pregnancy support centers educate women who are considering abortion about their options and offer resources and services to help them give birth. Some women visit these centers after having taken the abortion pill mifepristone to receive abortion pill reversal (APR) treatment. This involves the woman taking FDA-approved progesterone supplements, which have been shown to successfully reverse the abortion pill’s effects and lead to healthy births.
According to the proposed law, any pregnancy support center that does not also provide women with abortion resources is considered an “anti-choice organization.”
“Concerns have been raised that some registered charities that offer reproductive health services to women, including pregnancy options counselling, may be spreading misinformation by presenting themselves as neutral, full-service pregnancy support service organizations when they are in fact anti-choice organizations that push women away from accessing the reproductive care of their choice,” the Department of Finance said in an announcement Tuesday.
“By concealing the true nature of their services, these anti-choice organizations are restricting the rights of vulnerable pregnant women to choose the reproductive care appropriate to them and their circumstances.”
Pro-life groups must disclose refusal to refer abortion services
Any pregnancy support group that does not also offer abortion services must say so on all their communications and tax filings, according to the legislation. They must also disclose if they do not provide referrals to abortion and birth control providers. These disclosures must be placed on any ads, posters, websites, social media channels, or other communication directed to the public.
An organization that fails to do so would lose its tax-exempt charity status.
“Today’s action to protect reproductive freedom is about stopping dishonest organizations from restricting a woman’s access to the reproductive care that is best for her,” said Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland in a statement. “We are ensuring women have better access to the physical and emotional care they need and deserve when making the most personal of decisions.”
The bill would also make contraceptives, as well as diabetes medication and dental care, free for Canadians.
