Fall of Roe v. Wade prompts increase of traffic on Canadian abortion clinic websites

The fall of Roe v. Wade has prompted an increase in traffic on Canadian abortion clinic websites.

With the supreme court’s decision to end constitutional protections for abortion one advocacy group says it has opened the real possibility of Americans using Canada’s already strained system.

TK Pritchard is the Executive Director of Shore Centre, an abortion clinic that provides services across Waterloo, Guelph, and beyond. “We really so dearly want to support everyone who needs access to abortion and one of the difficult realities is that we are operating at capacity,” Pritchard said.

Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada says clinics are experiencing all across the country.

Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba, which already struggle with access could see Americans coming from states like Idaho, North Dakota, and South Dakota, which have banned abortion through trigger laws that went into effect after the supreme court ruling.

Joyce Arthur of Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada says, “the day of the decision, Friday, June 24th, our website traffic increased 60 times over what it normally is.”

Advocacy groups are raising awareness about provinces like New Brunswick. The Canadian Civil Liberties Association has launched a court challenge there since that province only funds surgical abortion services in three hospitals in just 2 cities.

Americans could be paying $500 for abortion pills but it could also be upwards of $3,000 if a surgical procedure is required.