Canada's Prince Edward Island ends abortion ban in province

Premier Wade MacLauchlan announced plans Thursday to build
reproductive health centre to start providing abortions by the end
of the year

Ashifa Kassam in Toronto
Thursday 31 March 2016 23.11 BST

After a decades-long battle by pro-choice groups, Canada’s Prince Edward Island will abandon a policy that saw the province become the only one in the country where women cannot access an abortion.

Wade MacLauchlan, the Liberal premier of PEI, announced plans on Thursday to build a reproductive health centre on the island that will offer medical and surgical abortions, among other services. The aim is to begin providing abortions by the end of the year.

The issue has been a flashpoint for decades in the province, where advocates say the last abortion was carried out in the early 1980s. In 1988, after Canada’s supreme court struck down the federal criminal law on abortion, PEI passed a resolution opposing abortions in the province.

In January, a pro-choice group took the government to court, arguing that the province has an obligation to provide unrestricted, publicly funded abortions. On Thursday, MacLauchlan said that while many in his cabinet and caucus have differing opinions on abortion, the government realised it likely would not be able to defend itself against the legal challenge and had been forced to change course.

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