There are likely many people who have no idea about the societal, emotional, and cultural impact the Roe v. Wade decision has had worldwide since it was brought down by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1973.

The decision protected the right to have an abortion. In June 2022, the Supreme Court reversed that decision, ending the constitutional right to abortion in the U.S.

The continuing impact of the original decision, and its reversal, was not lost on a small group of women and men that marched through Kelowna streets Monday (June 24). 

Women91裸聊视频檚 Strike - A March for Reproductive Justice events took place in communities across Canada and the States.

91裸聊视频淲e held a march on the year it was overturned, and we wanted to come out in solidarity on that anniversary,91裸聊视频� Candace Banks, Kelowna march organizer, explained.

She added that the issue is not just about abortion, but all reproductive rights.

91裸聊视频淭here is a giant scope within that. We91裸聊视频檙e talking about individuals who own uteruses, whether they identify as cis-gendered women, or trans-gendered individuals, or non-binaries, this is so they are taken seriously and not pushed down.91裸聊视频�

Approximately 15 people marched from the Sails to the Kelowna courthouse with signs and chanting 91裸聊视频淢y body, my choice91裸聊视频� and 91裸聊视频淎bortion is healthcare.91裸聊视频�

91裸聊视频淣ot every abortion is to terminate a pregnancy that the person doesn91裸聊视频檛 feel like that they want to carry through,91裸聊视频� said march co-organizer Andyrea Couwenhoven. 91裸聊视频淭o gain access to these procedures ensures safety and health for that individual and the people it impacts.91裸聊视频�

Comparing Canada to the U.S., Banks said this country is at a standstill in providing abortion services.

91裸聊视频淲e91裸聊视频檙e not seeing increased access to it. There are still many provinces that don91裸聊视频檛 have viable access to abortion and reproductive health.91裸聊视频� 

Couwenhoven noted services are far better in B.C.

91裸聊视频淲e have Options for Sexual Health, which is a clinic that provides pregnancy counselling, it91裸聊视频檚 not only abortion access. There is STI testing and birth control available.91裸聊视频�

However, she said there are limited options for surgical abortions. She noted that individuals also have barriers to accessing IVF treatments and birth control.

Banks and Couwenhoven are concerned with what they see as an American-style evangelical, far-right bent creeping into Canadian politics around the abortion debate.

91裸聊视频淲e91裸聊视频檙e here to say that overwhelming Canadians want choice,91裸聊视频� Couwenhoven added. 91裸聊视频淭o push that not only is healthcare universal but abortion is healthcare and it should also be enshrined in our laws.91裸聊视频�

She said it is an issue that impacts a larger scope than many people realize.

91裸聊视频淭hese kinds of regressive policies are wildly unpopular. It91裸聊视频檚 a select few pushing that message. Our hope is that we are speaking for most Canadians when we see what91裸聊视频檚 going on in other countries and we don91裸聊视频檛 agree with that.91裸聊视频�