B.C. nurse 'heartbroken' over U.S. abortion ruling highlights ways to support Canadian reproductive rights
A nurse and sexual health educator from Nanaimo, B.C., says she's "heartbroken" about the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to overturn its Roe V. Wade ruling, allowing for individual states to ban abortions.
Friday's vote could trigger abortion bans in roughly half of all U.S. states.
"I almost didn't believe it when I saw," said Nanaimo nurse Kassidy Delcaro. "It's really heartbreaking for everybody involved – all the providers, all the patients, it's heartbreaking."
Delcaro says the U.S. Supreme Court's decision won't stop women from getting abortions, but it will stop safe abortions from happening.
She added that the ruling will disproportionally impact minorities as well.
"I think it's just an overall feeling of powerlessness and loss of control that we're feeling right now," she said.
"As the world has continued we've gained a lot of rights [for women] in a lot of ways, but the fact that there's this really big one that they took away so easily, it's scary," said Delcaro.
The Nanaimo nurse says she's also concerned that the ruling endorses a sentiment that abortions are immoral.
"It's kind of giving [supporters] confirmation that it is wrong," she said. "It's the 21st century, it's ridiculous that I'm speaking here."
While the ruling was only made official Friday morning, Delcaro says there's already a local website which has resources on how to support and improve reproductive rights in Canada.
The website is home to what it calls the B.C. Reproductive Justice Manifesto, which lays out ways the provincial and federal governments could improve access, funding and protection for abortion and contraceptive services in B.C. and Canada.
"There's a lot of different things you can sign, a lot of differing organizations you can sign up for," said Delcaro.
"I think just knowing that there's a huge amount of people in a lot of different groups, and lot of different people and providers who are going to keep fighting for this right [is important]," she said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Louis Gossett Jr., 1st Black man to win supporting actor Oscar, dies at 87
Louis Gossett Jr., the first Black man to win a supporting actor Oscar and an Emmy winner for his role in the seminal TV miniseries 'Roots,' has died. He was 87.
Weather alerts issued for 7 provinces, 1 territory
Warnings of up to 60 millimetres of rain and other alerts have been issued for seven Canadian provinces and one territory ahead of the Easter weekend.
He didn't trust police but sought their help anyway. Two days later, he was dead
Jameek Lowery was among more than 330 Black people who died after police stopped them with tactics that aren’t supposed to be deadly, like physical restraint and use of stun guns, The Associated Press found.
Luxury cruise line selling world cruise suite for US$1.7 million
Luxury operator Regent Seven Seas Cruises is raising their price tag to eye-watering levels, with a suite on an upcoming 140-day world voyage costing US$1.7 million.
CRA no longer requiring 'bare trust' reporting in 2023 tax return
The Canada Revenue Agency announced Thursday it will not require 'bare trust' reporting from Canadians that it introduced for the 2024 tax season, just four days before the April 2 deadline.
A Filipino villager is nailed to a cross for the 35th time on Good Friday to pray for world peace
A Filipino villager has been nailed to a wooden cross for the 35th time to reenact Jesus Christ’s suffering in a brutal Good Friday tradition he said he would devote to pray for peace in Ukraine, Gaza and the disputed South China Sea.
Ontario homeowner on the hook for $27,000 when contractor severed power line
An Ontario man who built a garage on his property has been locked in a battle with his electricity provider for a year and half over a severed power line.
Fluid in eye cells can 'boil' if you watch the eclipse without protection: expert
Millions of people in parts of Eastern and Atlantic Canada will be able to see the rare solar eclipse happening on April 8. But they should only look up if they have proper eye protection, experts say.
Grandparent scam: London, Ont., senior beats fraudsters not once, but twice
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.