Protesters quickly took to the streets in countries around the world, including here in Canada protesting in solidarity against the United States Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe V. Wade.
Roe V Wade provided constitutional protections for women as it pertains to the right to have an abortion in the U.S. for nearly 5 decades.
Over the weekend, while in North Bay, Nipissing-Timiskaming MP Anthony Rota was asked for his thoughts on the matter.
“It was more of a shock than anything else. When you look at it, these are rights that people fought for and it is theirs,” said Rota.
“And when we see something like that in the United States, where one president has changed the make up of the Supreme Court, and we see a judgment change and rights taken away, it is worrisome.”
Rota said while Canada doesn’t share the same system “we have to be careful here so that we don’t lose rights.”
The Nipissing-Timiskaming MP noted that historically, abortions weren’t always available in Canada.
“And when we look in the United States it wasn’t available there and usually when it starts in one country it goes to the other and we do have a lot in common. My concern is what we’re seeing is a strong right-wing movement in the United States that wants to bring us back 50 years,” said Rota.
“Now we’ve seen it with the truckers(Freedom Convoy). We’ve seen it with other groups in Canada who want to bring us back. And I want to say that, I say the truckers but it wasn’t all the truckers, that were there. Ninety per cent of them are vaccinated. So when we look at the small group who appropriate a name and then run with it they almost find each other and start making trouble and that is something that concerns me here because there are groups that can find themselves on the internet and influence the way the country goes.”
Rota was asked about accessibility to abortions in Canada.
“That is something that is more of a provincial matter with the health, but it is important that it be legal. And if a woman wants to have an abortion then that is her right to do so. It is her body, and she has the right to make that decision.”
