Abstract

PIP: In this commentary, Dr. Henry Morgentaler notes that the US Supreme Court's Roe vs. Wade decision inspired him to openly challenge the Canadian abortion law by publicly announcing in 1973 that he had performed more than 5000 abortions at his Montreal clinic. This caused Morgentaler to be subjected to a long judicial process that finally ended when the Supreme Court of Canada declared the abortion law invalid in 1988. 10 years later, abortion access is relatively good across the country, but the provincial governments have tried unsuccessfully to obstruct efforts to establish abortion clinics. The eight Morgentaler clinics in Canada handle a third of all Canadian abortions with a complication rate of only 1.1%. Positive results of abortion accessibility include a drop in the perinatal mortality rate because women with high-risk pregnancies can obtain abortions and the disappearance of institutions that house unwanted babies. The court decisions in the US and Canada have optimized maternal health, protected women's health, eliminated the dangers of illegal abortion, and increased the well-being of children. Vigilance is needed to protect these gains from erosion and to expand and improve upon them.