The Back-Alley Revisited: On Antigonish’s Abortion Access

Donald J. Trump, president-elect of the United States of America has stated that he is proud to have overturned Roe V. Wade and suggests that there should be some kind of punishment for abortion. Due to this, as well as his flawed character traits and policies I, much like many of you, woke up on November 6th, 2024, to the results of the election and reacted with sadness and anger.

As U.S and Canadian politics are certainly entangled, it is worth noting that we are not our neighbours. However, the re-elect of Trump made me start to question abortion access in our very own town. Upon research, I was disheartened by the availability of these reproductive rights here in Antigonish.

Many STFX students are familiar with St. Martha’s Hospital, the main healthcare facility serving the area. Astonishingly, according to a 2020 article by The Walrus, the hospital does not provide abortions, nor will it offer referrals to physicians who do.

Moreover, Antigonish is a small community, which is one of my favourite things about living here. Whether it be studying in the library or on a night out, I almost always run into a friend. However, this only adds to the increasingly apparent abortion taboo in a predominantly Catholic area. Consider seeking an abortion in the hospital, only to see the same doctor who turned you away the next day in town.

I looked elsewhere after discovering St. Martha’s did not provide abortion services. The STFX health and counselling centre offers many great resources for students. They provide IUD insertions, pregnancy and STI testing as well as emergency contraception. However, there is no mention of abortions being offered on the website. Likewise, The Antigonish Women's Centre, while they do great work for the community, do not provide abortions, as said by a member of their team.

According to the Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada, the closest place that performs abortions is the ROSE clinic in Halifax, a five-hour round trip away. This imposes many financial and social constraints on an already controversial medical procedure.

Additionally, considering that sexual violence is rampant on university campuses with 1 in 10 women having been assaulted at a post-secondary institution in Canada since 2019 5; it is even more imperative that abortions be made more accessible in our university town.

If we want to ensure back-alley abortions are never revisited, Antigonish needs to do better.

-

Rose Clinic Self-Referral Form:

https://forms-beta.novascotia.ca/NewSubmission/2500e7a6-0218-46e3-800e-f47f447e5147