Reports and Tools
Lists of Anti-choice Groups in Canada
The following lists are frequently updated.
- Comparisons of anti-choice and pro-choice groups: overall numbers including charitable tax status, a list of reproductive rights groups across Canada, and links to the following detailed tables:
- Anti-Choice Groups, alphabetical – All anti-choice groups sorted by name.
- Anti-Choice Groups, by province/city – All anti-choice groups sorted by province and city.
- Anti-Choice Charities, alphabetical – Anti-choice groups with charitable tax status, sorted by name.
- Anti-Choice Charities, by province/city – Anti-choice groups with charitable tax status, sorted by province and city.
- Crisis Pregnancy Centres (CPCs), alphabetical.
- Top 25 Largest, Wealthiest, or Worst Anti-choice Groups in Canada – Oct 2023. Descriptions of their mandates, activities, income if known, and other key information.
- How to Identify Fake Clinics – It can be hard to identify a fake clinic (CPC) when browsing its website or social media. We list terminology and other typical red flags to watch out for.
Looking for reputable post-abortion support? Don’t be fooled by anti-choice “crisis pregnancy centres.” Instead find a professional counsellor through Post-Abortion Therapy, a patient-focused, secular organization providing care for those who have experienced abortion. Their values include being pro-choice, anti-racist, and anti-oppressive, with a commitment to providing inclusive, ethical, and feminist care.
Frequently Used Resources
Take action page – what you can do to protect abortion rights.
Abortion Clinics and Services in Canada
- In Mandarin: 加拿大人工流产医疗诊所及服务列表
List of anti-choice MPs – March 2024
- 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 2024
Court Decisions in Canada on Abortion – April 2024. A compilation of all court cases related to abortion rights in Canada (with summaries and links).
Safe Access Zone Laws and Court Injunctions in Canada – June 2024. A description of laws and court injunctions in Canada that protect clinics/hospitals from anti-choice protesters (with links and resources).
Apply for a small grant from ARCC – We provide grants of up to $1000 to small, low-resource, or new groups in Canada to fund expenses associated with group events, projects, or campaigns related to reproductive rights and access.
ARCC Activist workshops – We periodically offer workshops designed to train people in reproductive rights advocacy.
Viewpoint: Reproductive Justice – ARCC’s Rabble.ca blog.
Tools to Counter Anti-choice Advertising and Graphic Images
- Take action against aborted fetus images in public!
- Did you receive a flyer or see a sign showing graphic images of aborted fetuses? Please share your story to help get these images banned or regulated.
- Provincial Trespass Act Remedy. Give notice to the anti-choice group under your province’s Trespass Act to stop delivering graphic flyers of aborted fetuses to your home.
- Submitting Complaints Against Anti-choice Ads – A step-by-step guide to the Ad Standards complaint process, explaining what information to include when you complain about a paid anti-abortion such as on a bus.
- How Local Governments Can Regulate Public Messaging – a comprehensive report for municipalities on what they can do to ban or limit graphic imagery and inaccurate anti-choice advertising.
- Quick Assessment Guide for Cities to Evaluate Public Messaging Requests – 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.
- Compiled Flyer Bylaws – A complete collection of the text of the “viewer discretion” type bylaws passed by numerous cities. The bylaw requires flyers that depict alleged aborted fetuses to be put in sealed opaque envelopes with a trigger warning and the sender’s name and address.
- Compilation of municipal bylaws and policies – A detailed spreadsheet of regulations related to public messaging (eg, signs, advertising, proclamations, flyers, transit, etc.)
Studies and Research Papers
Examining Legal Strategies and Caselaw for Restricting Anti-Abortion Speech in Municipal Advertising* – September 2024. By Ceilidh Feetham, University of New Brunswick, Faculty of Law, on behalf of Pro Bono Students Canada. This report provides city decision-makers with the legal information regarding the regulation of anti-abortion messaging. It outlines the current legal framework upon which municipalities may base decisions on how to regulate anti-abortion messaging in public spaces.
Efficacy of the Canada Health Act in Protecting Reproductive Justice* – July 2024. By Morgan Joan Sims, University of New Brunswick, Faculty of Law, on behalf of Pro Bono Students Canada. This paper addresses the provincial and federal applications of the Canada Health Act as it relates to reproductive rights and access to services, specifically abortion. It highlights gaps and discrepancies in the Act’s application to reproductive health care and analyzes the impacts.
Charity Tax Status and How it Affects Reproductive Rights in Canada* – March 2024. By Erin Davies, University of New Brunswick, Faculty of Law, on behalf of Pro Bono Students Canada. This paper defines what having charitable status means, describes each of the four allowable charitable purposes in Canada, and explains charitable requirements under legislation and case law to shed light on how anti-choice groups may be contravening some requirements.
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. 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: The above four reports were created by student volunteers with Pro Bono Students Canada 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.
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
Older Resources
Abortion Rights and Healthcare during COVID-19 – Jan 2022. Pandemic info and resources specific to abortion and other sexual and reproductive healthcare.
Information for pregnant Queer and Trans people – (2021) Are you queer, transgender or non-binary, and getting an abortion? Check out our brochures with helpful info, considerations, affirmations, and resources.
Anti-choice Terrorism: Murders and Attempted Murders – Dec 2015. A chronological table listing 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.
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.
The Morgentaler Decision – a 25th anniversary celebration – A legacy page by ARCC from 2013 – about the decision, Dr. Henry Morgentaler, the history, and a snapshot of access issues in 2013.
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.
Abortion Chronology – A comprehensive timeline of abortion-related events and news that includes both Canada and the United States (covers mid 1800’s to April 2007).
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