Aborsh

Today’s episode is a feed swap with Hard Truths , the podcast from Generation Squeeze, whose founder Dr. Paul Kershaw you might remember from our housing episode. In this conversation, Paul shares surprising new data: home ownership among young Canadians (under 35) has climbed to 44%—the highest level in five decades—with 18% owning mortgage-free. What does this means for the future? Canada is shi...

There are many reasons why someone may require a third-trimester abortion, including both fetal implications and maternal implications (such as health diagnoses and difficult life circumstances). Dr. Shelley Sella, retired OB-GYN, first woman to openly provide third-trimester abortion care in the U.S., and author of Beyond Limits: Stories of Third-Trimester Abortion Care, sits down to share her ex...

Erin shares her experience having a termination for medical reasons—a rare procedure, making up fewer than 1% of abortions in Canada annually. Often taking place later in pregnancy, these abortions are surrounded by political controversy but are, in reality, life-saving care in heartbreaking circumstances and an essential part of reproductive justice. Plus, it’s served with a side of housing justi...

What do abortion and housing have in common? Well, they are both recognized as human rights by the UN and multiple other international organizations and agreements. But you wouldn’t necessarily know it from living in Canada as the ongoing housing crisis locks people into unaffordable living situations. In this episode, we explore the gendered impacts of the housing affordability crisis and how it...

For Karen, her abortion was a straightforward and empowering decision. In this episode, she shares how making the right choice for herself at the time set her on the path to where she is today — and why she has no regrets. “It was a relatively, you know, I want to say ‘good’ experience. And I kind of never looked back, to be honest. I never thought twice about it. It was absolutely the right decis...

As people delay starting families and the average age of first-time parents increases, the demand for continuous caregiving — from cradle to grave — grows. In this episode, we broaden the conversation around caregiving and reproductive choice to include the often overlooked responsibility of caring for adult dependents such as aging parents. We explore the intersection of paid and unpaid caregivin...

Erica deconstructs the arbitrary limits we place on reproductive choices and challenges the stigma around abortion, especially when you need more than one. “I remember saying to him, ‘I can't do a third one. Like, three abortions? Non-negotiable — I'm not doing that.’ Why’s there a number? It shouldn't matter. And I talked myself out of it and was like, ‘Erica, don't be ridiculous. That's the patr...

Abortion and sex work are two issues that you may not immediately think have a lot in common. In reality, they share many parallels because, at their core, they are both issues of bodily autonomy and both call into play deeply rooted cultural beliefs about female sexuality. In this episode, we draw on those parallels to discuss how criminalizing and restricting abortion and sex work only makes the...

As a healthcare provider working with families through pregnancy loss and terminations, Diana offers a compassionate perspective on these deeply personal and complex decisions. Drawing parallels to her own experience, she discusses the shared emotional journey of relief, sadness and all the emotions in between. “No matter the reason, no matter the gestation, all those emotions are similar to what...

In this episode, nurse and educator Martha Paynter and Métis midwife Cheryllee Bourgeois explore how abolition and decolonization are fundamentally intertwined with feminism. We discuss the need for a societal transformation that ensures body sovereignty, freedom and safety for all—because imprisoning and criminalizing people cannot coexist with these principles. We envision a Canada where resourc...

Driving through a sea of anti-abortion billboards, Megan wondered why pro-choice voices can’t occupy the same amount of space. Inspired by a road trip conversation, she shares her journey of reclaiming public narratives and advocating for abortion as a visible and unapologetic right. “ We had about a four-hour drive and on the way there we passed like 10 anti-abortion signs on our way there. And I...

In this episode, we speak with the research initiative Abortion On Screen about the portrayal of abortion in TV and film and journalists Nora Loreto and Liz Renzetti about the media's role in perpetuating misconceptions and stereotypes about abortion. We examine the framing and portrayals that shape cultural narratives around abortion and influence public perceptions of pregnancy and choice. See t...

This week’s guest is author Kerry Clare, who talks about learning how to openly discuss abortion and share her personal experience. Once she found her voice, she made it her mission to keep the conversation going: “I was one of those people who said, ‘I really am pro-choice, but it would never be a choice I'd make myself,’ which just seems like a really handy way to put it.” See the play that insp...

Like abortion, sex ed is a human right, and in this episode, we draw parallels between comprehensive sex education and abortion access. We discuss how the moral panic around sex education fuels harmful taboos and enables abuse, and how terms like “pro-life” and “parental rights” are often weaponized to disguise far-right political agendas — one that strip kids, women, queer and trans people of the...

Christa’s abortion story is intertwined with other profound experiences of grief and the duality often present in life’s defining decisions. As captured by a friend's advice: “She told me about other people who had had abortions that she knew. And it helped a lot. And she gave me advice that I've applied many points in my life. She said, if you'd had a kid, it would have been really hard. And it w...

In this episode, we're diving into a topic we touched on last season, one that’s often at the beginning of many abortion stories: birth control. What we love about it. What we wish was better about it. Why it should be part of publicly funded health care, and how it can even help reframe conversations about abortion. See the play that inspired the podcast. ‘ Hypothetical Baby ’ is on stage in Toro...

Get your tickets to Hypothetical Baby , the play that inspired Aborsh ! Running February 22–March 8 in Toronto. Tickets at www.rachelcairns.ca .

For more episodes of Expectant, listen here

A complete list of guests from this season: Joyce Arthur founder of Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada Chantal Parkinson from the Pro-Choice Society of Lethbridge and Southern Alberta Fred Chabot from Action Canada for Sexual Health and Rights Jessi Taylor from Reproductive Justice New Brunswick Rachael Johnstone Judy Rebick Darrah Teitel Tom Hooper Carolyn Egan from the Ontario Coalition for Abo...

Further reading: Institute for Gender and the Economy The Gender Pay Gap - Canadian Women’s Foundation:   The Pandemic delivered a surprise to Nordic countries: a baby boom Fifty Years Later: Child Care and the Royal Commission on the Status of Women Iceland shows ways to parental equality with fathers leave All the facts you need to know about paternity leave in Canada Being denied abortion...

Further reading:   Access BC Black Physicians of Canada Henrietta Lacks The Mothers of Modern Gynecology - Anarcha, Lucy, Betsy  Tuskegee Syphilis Study LA Times - Pregnant people of colour more likely to get procedures they didn’t consent to, study finds National Collaborating Centre for Determinants of Health - Racism and Health Equity Perspectives on Health and Well Being in Black Com...

Further reading: Reproductive Justice New Brunswick National Aboriginal Council of Midwives Sister Song - h istory of reproductive justice  An Act of Genocide: Colonialism and the Sterilization of Aboriginal Women by Karen Stote  21 Things You May Not Know About the Indian Act by Bob Joseph The Secret Life of Canada - S2: The Indian Act  The Midwives with Mettle in Nunavik   &n...

Further reading: Learn more about Dr Dustin Costescu and his practice  FAQs about The Abortion Pill (Mifegymiso) by Action Canada  Article: Access to surgical abortions in northwest BC a concern due to doctor shortages   Article: The Complicated Life of the Abortion Pill  Take Action: Action Canada for Sexual Health and Rights has created an AMAZING LIST of the many ways you ca...

Further reading:  Concrete actions Canada needs to take to ensure equal access to abortion and reproductive choice – The Conversation, by RN and abortion trainer Martha Paynter  Canada should focus on abortion access, not legislation – The Guardian, a piece by Aborsh’s story editor Tracey Lindeman After Morgentaler: The Politics of Abortion in Canada by Rachael Johnstone:  The 1988...

Further Reading The Fruit Machine - Secret Life of Canada Queering ’69: The Recriminalization of Homosexuality in Canada Learn more about the We Demand protest  Learn about the White Paper , which attempted to abolish previous legal documents relating to Indigenous peoples in Canada, including the Indian Act and treaties . Learn about Everett Klippert ,  the only Canadian ever declared a...