Wellness Within Urges Government of Nova Scotia to Combat the Spread of Misinformation Surrounding Abortion Care
We at Wellness Within recognize the detrimental impact misinformation has on those accessing reproductive services and abortion care. Anti-abortion protesters have been present on the streets of Halifax, Nova Scotia — notably on the weekend of June 10, 2023 in multiple areas across the peninsula. In addition to the presence of protestors, flyers were also distributed to residential mailboxes. These protestors often use jarring phrases and graphic images to spread feelings of fear and shame when it comes to abortion.
CRISIS PREGNANCY CENTRES AND THEIR ROLE IN THE SPREAD OF MISINFORMATION
We want to take this opportunity to highlight a major source of misleading and false information when it comes to abortion care: Crisis Pregnancy Centres (CPCs). These are unlicensed pregnancy counselling centres posing as full-service health centres but often they hide within them an anti-abortion agenda and many are religiously affiliated. When individuals go to these clinics, they believe they are being counselled on their reproductive options but the services they receive are biased and trying to dissuade them from having an abortion. A study done by the Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada released in March 2023 examined the websites of these anti-choice CPCs and found the provided information to be “misleading and manipulative”.
CALL TO ACTION/HOW TO ACCESS ABORTION IN NS
Wellness Within is calling for the immediate release of factual information regarding abortion access by the government of Nova Scotia. It is important now more than ever, when reproductive rights and abortion access are continually under attack in the United States, that people know where they can access safe and timely abortion care. Abortion in Nova Scotia can be easily accessed through a centralized self-referral line at 1-833-352-0719. No doctor’s referral is required, and this service can be accessed from any area of the province. Nurses from the clinic will contact patients who leave a message at the referral line to arrange bloodwork, ultrasound, and abortion appointments. Patients also have access to free, non-judgmental and unbiased counselling via social work that can be arranged by clinic staff.
RECOMMENDATIONS TO REGULATE CRISIS PREGNANCY CENTRES
Additionally, Wellness Within echoes the call to action made by the Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada calling for the regulation of CPCs. Regulation of CPCs should include that CPCs “be required to disclose their anti-choice and religious stance, be stopped from providing unregulated medical services such as ultrasounds, not be publicly funded, be removed from referral lists used by legitimate medical facilities, have their charitable tax status revoked for those that are charities, be stopped from teaching sex education in public schools, and not be allowed to place misleading advertising in public” (ARCC, 2023). We ask that the government of Nova Scotia join us in the fight to stop the spread of misinformation and help individuals access unbiased, non-judgmental reproductive care.
Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada March 2023 Study: Examining The Websites of Anti-Choice "Crisis Pregnancy Centres" (arcc-cdac.ca)
Take action: Write to your MLA and the Minister of Health about this issue.
Minister Michelle Thompson:
Department of Health and Wellness
Barrington Tower
1894 Barrington Street
P.O. Box 488
Halifax, NS
B3J 2R8
Phone: 902-424-5818
Fax: 902-424-0559
Health.Minister@novascotia.ca
About Wellness Within
Wellness Within: An Organization for Health and Justice is a registered non-profit organization working for reproductive justice, prison abolition, and health equity in K'jipuktuk, Mi'kma'ki (Halifax, Nova Scotia). Wellness Within volunteers provide full spectrum doula support to pregnant people in prisons in Nova Scotia and experiencing criminalization in the community.
Contact: Dr. Martha Paynter, Director of Research 902-292-7082, martha.paynter@unb.ca