'Watching rights erode away': U.S. woman moving to B.C. over abortion rights
A Virginia woman is packing up her life and moving her family to Vancouver Island in response to the U.S. Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade.
Jo Kreyling says she's moving to Nanaimo, B.C., because she and her husband want a better life for their young child.
"People were kind of watching rights erode away," Kreyling told CTV News on Thursday.
One of those rights includes the right to choose an abortion.
"People in a situation where they may have a miscarriage or an ectopic pregnancy were having the decisions regarding their pregnancies made by people who medically didn’t even understand those concepts," she said.
While abortion is currently legal in Virginia, Kreyling says she's still concerned about the future and the fragmented range of laws in the U.S.
"Just by crossing state lines, will I be able to get medical assistance? Will I be able to get help if my pregnancy goes wrong?" she said. "It feels dangerous to start trying to have a family."
Abortion-rights protesters fill Indiana Statehouse corridors and cheer outside legislative chambers, Friday, Aug. 5, 2022, as lawmakers vote to concur on a near-total abortion ban, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Arleigh Rodgers)
Kreyling, a video game developer, hopes to move to Nanaimo by the spring. She says she understands that moving to Canada is a privilege.
"The thought of a life in Canada has given me more hope than I’ve had all pandemic," she said.
'ALREADY A STRESSED SYSTEM'
Meanwhile, in Nanaimo, a local nurse who works at a clinic that offers abortion services says she expects to see more U.S. residents coming to Canada for help.
"We’re going to see a lot of people crossing a lot of borders to seek abortion care," said Kassidy Delcaro, a nurse at Women's Vita Medical Clinic.
"It’s already a stressed system and it’s already difficult for somebody, even locally, to find abortion care," she said.
Kreyling hopes American abortion rights are re-instated so that others won't have to take such a drastic measure going forward.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.