Reports and Tools

Lists of Anti-choice Groups in Canada 

The following lists are frequently updated.

Studies and Research Papers

Regulation of Belief-Based Care Denial in Canada –  March 2023.  By Caitlin Grogan, University of New Brunswick, Faculty of Law, on behalf of Pro Bono Students Canada*.  Across Canada, physicians who personally object to a treatment requested by a patient can refuse care, and in most provinces are not even required to provide a referral. This paper examines laws, bills, regulations, policies, and legal cases related to belief-based care denial in Canada (aka “conscientious objection”).

* Disclaimer: This report was created by a Pro Bono Students Canada student volunteer from the UNB Law Chapter and approved by a lawyer supervisor. The student’s work embodies objective legal information and is not legal advice tailored to ARCC’s advocacy initiatives. ARCC received permission from the student to use this work to support ARCC’s advocacy initiatives.

Study: Anti-abortion “crisis pregnancy centres” mislead and manipulate – March 8, 2023. A study by the ARCC and the BC Humanist Association has re-examined all of the websites of “crisis pregnancy centres” in Canada. The study is a follow-up to our similar study of 2016 and expands upon it. Most websites continue to present misinformation on abortion or sexual health issues, and/or fail to disclose their anti-choice or religious agenda or that they are not medical clinics. However, the language on many websites has become more guarded and less transparent in terms of their agenda.

Comparative Analysis of Crisis Pregnancy Centres – Canada and International ** – March 2022. A review of CPC regulation in Canada and five western countries – what can we learn from other jurisdictions in order to regulate CPCs in Canada?

Safe Access Zone Laws in Atlantic Canada ** – April 2022. An analysis of how well safe access zones are working in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland/Labrador, and a review of historical efforts to pass such laws in PEI and New Brunswick.

** Disclaimer: The above two reports were created by Pro Bono Students Canada student volunteers from the UNB Law Chapter and approved by a lawyer supervisor. The students’ work embodies objective legal information and is not legal advice tailored to ARCC’s advocacy initiatives. ARCC received permission from the students to use this work to support ARCC’s advocacy initiatives.

Review of “Crisis Pregnancy Centre” Websites in Canada –  May 2016. An ARCC study that examined all of the websites of “crisis pregnancy centres” in Canada, showing that most websites present misinformation on abortion or sexual health issues, and/or fail to disclose their anti-abortion or religious agenda or that they are not medical clinics.

A Survey of Anti-Choice Protesting Activity at Canadian Abortion Clinics – Oct 2010. A survey by ARCC revealing that 64% of abortion clinics in Canada clinics experience protest activity, while a further 15% have had protesters in the past. (18 pages)

Exposing Crisis Pregnancy Centres in BC – Feb 2009. A research report by the Pro-Choice Action Network. Anti-abortion “counselling” agencies rely on deception, misinformation, and emotional manipulation to persuade women against abortion. (65 pages)  Executive Summary

Tools and Data Compilations

Frequently used tools:

Abortion Clinics and Services in Canada – frequently updated.

• In Mandarin: 加拿大人工流产医疗诊所及服务列表

List of anti-choice MPs – March 2023. Including those with unknown or indeterminate stance, and pro-choice Conservatives.

• In Mandarin: 持反对选择权的 国会议员名单.

Anti-Choice Private Member Bills and Motions – March 2023. At least 48 anti-choice private member bills or motions have been introduced in Canada’s Parliament since 1987.

Up-to-date abortion statistics – April 2023

Anti-choice advertising and graphic images:

• Take action against aborted fetus images in public!
• Provincial Trespass Act Remedy – for graphic flyers of aborted fetuses delivered to homes
• Courts have endorsed use of the Canadian Code of Advertising Standards – April 2022. A tool for cities and other host advertisers to help them justify limiting anti-choice messaging in public (eg, bus ads, billboards, graphic flyers and signs, etc.)
• Quick Assessment Guide for Cities to Evaluate Public Messaging Requests – Feb 2022. A flowchart designed to help local governments make well-justified decisions on whether to permit or reject messaging that may contravene the Canadian Code of Advertising Standards, or Canadian laws including the Charter.

Resource pages:

Take action page – what you can do to protect abortion rights

Multimedia page – with videos, podcasts, infographics and other resources

Activist workshops – ARCC periodically offers workshops designed to train people in reproductive rights advocacy

Apply for a small grant from ARCC

Viewpoint: Reproductive Justice – ARCC’s Rabble.ca blog

Other data compilations:

Bubble Zones and Court Injunctions in Canada – June 2022. A description of each bubble zone law and court injunction in Canada that protects clinics/hospitals from anti-choice protesters.

• Clinic protesters raise the risk of medical complications for women – June 2018 

Abortion Court Decisions and Laws in Canada – Sept 2021. A compilation of court cases (with summaries and links) and laws related to abortion rights in Canada.

Anti-choice Terrorism: Murders and Attempted Murders – Dec 2015. A chronological table listnig all murders (13) and attempted murders (29) of abortion providers and clinic staff (as well as patients, escorts, and clinic defenders) in North America, and one murder in Australia.

Abortion Chronology – Mid 1800’s to April 2007. A comprehensive timeline of abortion-related events and news that includes both Canada and the United States.

Older Resources

Abortion Rights and Healthcare during COVID-19 – Jan 2022. Pandemic info and resources specific to abortion and other sexual and reproductive healthcare.

Canada Health Act requires full funding for private abortion clinics – evidence from the government:

• Jan 1995 letter from then-federal Health Minister Diane Marleau, instructing provinces and territories to fund medically required procedures in private clinics

• Oct 1995 follow-up statement from Marleau, warning provinces that have not yet complied that they will face penalties

ARCC’s Submissions to the Saskatchewan College of Physicians and Surgeons regarding its draft “Conscientious Refusal” policy. March to Aug 2015.

ARCC’s Submissions to the Ontario College of Physicians and Surgeons:

• Submission #1 to the Ontario College of Physicians and Surgeons, by Joyce Arthur and Christian Fiala. July 31, 2014.

• Submission #2 to the Ontario College of Physicians and Surgeons, by Joyce Arthur. February 2015.

Are Anti-Choice Crisis Pregnancy Centres Targeting Female Students on Ontario University Campuses? – by Sara Tilley, 2013 (student research paper for Department of Political Science, University of Toronto).

Abortion Law in Canada: Whose Choice? by Josey W.G. Ross, April 2011. Honours Thesis for Women’s Studies 499, University of Victoria (posted with permission by the author). Discusses bills introduced in Canada over the years by anti-choice MPs and Senators. (PDF file, 80 pages)

How to Establish a Pro-Choice Group on Campus – Aug 2008. Learn the basics for starting and running your own pro-choice group on campus. Researched and written by a Simon Fraser University student.

Student Toolkit – 2008. A range of campus organizing tools and resources, which are free to use and distribute.