Activists raise concerns Americans face cost, other barriers in accessing abortion in Canada
'Someone from Detroit is not going to Vancouver,' says U.S. abortion provider
American activists are raising concerns about barriers faced by people considering travelling to Canada for an abortion following last week's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
A handful of states — including Texas, Missouri and Utah — have already banned abortions since the U.S. Supreme Court decision.
"I think that women will eventually resort to self-abortion," said Renee Chelian, an abortion provider and founder of Northland Family Planning Centres, which has three facilities in Michigan that offer abortion services.
"The reason half of our patients choose abortion is to take care of the children they already have," said Chelian. "I can't believe the government has turned their back on us."
Also called a self-managed abortion, a self-abortion is one that occurs without medical supervision or input. According to the World Health Organization, people who don't have access to abortions may resort to unsafe ways to end a pregnancy.
WATCH | Renee Chelian speaks on the issues of Americans considering Canada for an abortion:
Chelian said half of the United States is on track to becoming an abortion desert because of last week's decision.
"I don't know how half of the United States will take care of the entire country," she said, highlighting the potential impact on Canadian abortion providers.
Currently, abortions are banned in six states. A handful more are pending an abortion ban or surrounded by uncertainty because of "trigger laws."
A trigger law refers to a state ban on abortions that had passed before Roe v. Wade was overturned, but they couldn't be implemented at that time. Now, with Roe v. Wade out of the way, those laws can finally be activated and enforced on a state-by-state basis.
Some states are considering an abortion ban with an exception for rape or incest. Other states, like Missouri, make exceptions for "cases of medical emergency".
"If they can handle American patients and patients can get to them, I'm grateful to them for their compassion, and their understanding and their willingness to help," Chelian said. "But someone from Detroit is not going to Vancouver ... I don't believe the hospital systems where abortions are done in Canada are going to be able to handle the surge."
Last week, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called the Supreme Court's decision a "horrific" development that threatens women's rights.
I have granddaughters. I'm fighting this fight not just for them ... but for everyone that someone else loves who may need an abortion.- Renee Chilean, founder of Northland Family Planning Centres in the U.S.
But Danielle Atkinson, founding director of the group Mothering Justice, a grassroots policy-advocacy organization based in the U.S., said that sentiment isn't enough.
"We need the prime minister to make more than a statement... We need the prime minister to really make sure people can go into the country safely and easily."
She said accessing abortion services outside the U.S. is not easy for most people.
"We couldn't necessarily go to a hospital [in Canada] and get an abortion. The nearest city to us, Windsor, there isn't a place — there isn't a clinic to access it."
Chelian said she's been trying to bridge the gap.
"I talked to our doctors and we set up a meeting for this morning to work out a short-term and a longer-term plan to be able to try and accommodate patients from Ohio. But we also know Indiana will go. I don't know where patients from Kentucky are going to go. We haven't had a chance to think about that."
It's bringing on a feeling of hopelessness for some.
"I heard a woman on the news say, 'My country doesn't love me,' and it felt so true," Chelian said, her voice shaking. "I have granddaughters. I'm fighting this fight not just for them ... but for everyone that someone else loves who may need an abortion... I hate to think that I will die and the United States will still not have abortion services in every single state."
Windsor Regional Hospital declined to comment when asked about Chelian's concerns.
On Wednesday, CBC News reached out to the Ontario Ministry of Health to find out what the provincial government is preparing for, if anything, in light of the Supreme Court decision last Friday.
The ministry responded with a brief statement indicating it had no information to share.
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With files from Chris Ensing and Yasmine Mehdi