Join us as we discuss ground-breaking cases on abortion rights through the lenses of Canadian jurisprudence and international law (EN/ES/FR)
by Avocats sans frontières Canada
Thursday, 27 April 2023 12-1pm in Toronto (5-6pm London)
WEBSITE Reserve a spot on Eventbrite
Speakers: Prof Rebecca Cook, Julia Tétrault-Provencher
Presented by: Karine Ruel
Languages: English with French and Spanish interpretation
Throughout the last decades, international human rights law has strengthened the right to access health care services, including abortion services.
At the national level, the case of Chantale Daigle was a key turning point in the development of a jurisprudence in favor of reproductive and sexual rights for Canadians. More than 30 years later, in March 2023, a new case was brought before the Interamerican Court of Human Rights. The case of Beatriz, a young Salvadoran woman who was denied abortion services despite medical advice (her pregnancy was life-threatening and the fetus, unviable) could be groundbreaking. The State of El Salvador is in fact one of the most restrictive countries in the world when it comes to abortion services: it is illegal to access such services – including when the life of the pregnant person is in danger or in cases of fetal malformation – and the mere fact of getting an abortion can lead to up to 50 years in jail.
According to international standards, restrictive abortion laws constitute discrimination against women and people who can become pregnant. In some instances, denying access to abortion is a form of gender-based violence that can amount to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.