The Abortion Caravan
This week in 1970 brought the culmination of Canada’s Abortion Caravan. Led by the Vancouver Women’s Caucus, several feminist organizations banded together to campaign for the decriminalization of abortion. A group of 18 women travelled from Vancouver to Ottawa with a Volkswagon van blazing their trail, decorated in feminist slogans and a coffin filled with coat hangers on the roof.
At the time abortions were only permissible when pregnancy threatened a woman’s life or health, and had to be authorized by a committee, typically comprised of male doctors. Nineteen out of 20 who requested an abortion were refused and an estimated 2,000 people died each year from botched abortions. This galvanized many feminist groups that had not previously worked together to form an alliance.
The Caravan, which first made stops in Kamloops, Calgary, Edmonton, Saskatoon, Regina, Winnipeg and Ontario, was met with anti-choice protestors, and supporters who joined along the way. Signs reading, “The women are coming! The women are coming!” greeted the Caravan when they reached Ottawa. They went on to lead a crowd of roughly 500 people to the Supreme Court, the first documented national women's march in Canada's history.
After making a sparsely attended speech to members of parliament on May 8, Caravan members decided on a bolder tactic. On Monday May 11th over 30 women chained themselves to gallery seats in the House of Commons amidst outcry from MP's, and one by one, rose to speak:
“Every year, thousands of women die or are maimed from illegal or backstreet abortions.”
“These are poor women, working-class women, Native women.”
“Women have the right to control our own bodies.”
Every woman spoke out before guards could arrive with wire cutters to unchain and remove them. A monumental moment for democracy, it was the first time in history that the House of Commons had been shut down by protest. Eighteen years later in 1988, the Supreme Court struck down the laws around abortion, which is currently considered an essential health service with no laws distinguishing it from other medical care.
"The threat of Roe v. Wade being overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court is a brutal reminder that our hard-fought victories in Canada remain fragile," said Judith Darcy, who was an organizer of the Caravan, and the former B.C. Minister of Mental Health and Addictions.
"Our work is far from over, but it is inspiring to hear a diverse array of women speaking out, calling on governments to safeguard and expand the right to comprehensive health care. As a feminist and a fighter for over 50 years, it fills my heart with hope," said Darcy.
Today we want to express our gratitude to those who fought for the hard-earned reproductive rights we have in Canada, while also acknowledging that we must continue pushing for their expansion so all those who can get pregnant, including trans folks, indigenous, racialized and rural women, have access to safe abortion care.