Aborsh

Today’s episode is a feed swap with Hard Truths, the podcast from Generation Squeeze, whose founder Dr. Paul Kershaw you might remember from our housing episode.In this conversation, Paul shares surprising new data: home ownership among young Canadians (under 35) has climbed to 44%—the highest level in five decades—with 18% owning mortgage-free. What does this means for the future? Canada is shifting away from a meritocracy toward a kind of landed aristocracy—where access to secure housing and wealth increasingly depends on the family you’re born into.

There are many reasons why someone may require a third-trimester abortion, including both fetal implications and maternal implications (such as health diagnoses and difficult life circumstances). Dr. Shelley Sella, retired OB-GYN, first woman to openly provide third-trimester abortion care in the U.S., and author of Beyond Limits: Stories of Third-Trimester Abortion Care, sits down to share her expertise, discuss the multitude of reasons why someone seeks a third-trimester abortion, and touch on the personal stories shared in the book.Dr. Sella became involved in the women’s health movement in college, which eventually sent her to medical school to begin her journey studying to be an OB-GYN. Dr. Sella was mentored by Dr. George Tiller, who provided late term abortions and who was assassinated in Kansas in 2009. Beyond Limits follows Dr. Sella during a week at the abortion clinic, sharing stories of patients requiring third-trimester abortions for a myriad of reasons. Link: https://www.reprosfightback.com/episodes-blog/dr-shelley-sella-on-her-new-book-beyond-limitListen to more rePROs Fight Back: https://www.reprosfightback.com/

Erin shares her experience having a termination for medical reasons—a rare procedure, making up fewer than 1% of abortions in Canada annually. Often taking place later in pregnancy, these abortions are surrounded by political controversy but are, in reality, life-saving care in heartbreaking circumstances and an essential part of reproductive justice. Plus, it’s served with a side of housing justice. 

What do abortion and housing have in common? Well, they are both recognized as human rights by the UN and multiple other international organizations and agreements. But you wouldn’t necessarily know it from living in Canada as the ongoing housing crisis locks people into unaffordable living situations. In this episode, we explore the gendered impacts of the housing affordability crisis and how it impacts reproductive decisions, with insights from the Women’s National Housing and Homelessness Network, the National Right to Housing Network, and the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.

For Karen, her abortion was a straightforward and empowering decision. In this episode, she shares how making the right choice for herself at the time set her on the path to where she is today — and why she has no regrets. “It was a relatively, you know, I want to say ‘good’ experience. And I kind of never looked back, to be honest. I never thought twice about it. It was absolutely the right decision for me at that time in my life and brought me to where I am today.” Now working at the intersection of mental and reproductive health, Karen shares how her experience informs her work, including a pilot project between YWCA Hamilton and McMaster University that provides respite beds and wraparound support for pregnant people experiencing homelessness.

As people delay starting families and the average age of first-time parents increases, the demand for continuous caregiving — from cradle to grave — grows. In this episode, we broaden the conversation around caregiving and reproductive choice to include the often overlooked responsibility of caring for adult dependents such as aging parents. We explore the intersection of paid and unpaid caregiving and its contributions to creating healthy communities and society. Featuring insights from CanAge, the National Institute of Aging, the Child Care Research Unit and Child Care Now.

Abortion and sex work are two issues that you may not immediately think have a lot in common. In reality, they share many parallels because, at their core, they are both issues of bodily autonomy and both call into play deeply rooted cultural beliefs about female sexuality. In this episode, we draw on those parallels to discuss how criminalizing and restricting abortion and sex work only makes them more dangerous and harmful. Join us in conversation with the Canadian Alliance for Sex Work Law Reform, the Canadian Public Health Association, and social scientist Cecelia Benoit to examine these issues and their impact on public health and human rights.See the play that inspired the podcast. Get your tickets to “Hypothetical Baby” on stage in Toronto from Feb 22 to Mar 8, hailed for its “sharp and witty writing and nuanced exploration of wider social issues” (She Does the City) from “one of the country’s most original actors.” (The Globe and Mail). Podcast listeners can use the code ABORSH10 for tickets!

As a healthcare provider working with families through pregnancy loss and terminations, Diana offers a compassionate perspective on these deeply personal and complex decisions. Drawing parallels to her own experience, she discusses the shared emotional journey of relief, sadness and all the emotions in between. “No matter the reason, no matter the gestation, all those emotions are similar to what I went through in terms of that roller coaster of making the decision that feels right, even though it's not an easy decision in any way.”See the play that inspired the podcast. Get your tickets to “Hypothetical Baby,” on stage in Toronto from Feb 22 to Mar 8, hailed for its “sharp and witty writing and nuanced exploration of wider social issues” (She Does the City) from “one of the country’s most original actors.” (The Globe and Mail). Podcast listeners can use the code ABORSH10 for tickets!

In this episode, nurse and educator Martha Paynter and Métis midwife Cheryllee Bourgeois explore how abolition and decolonization are fundamentally intertwined with feminism. We discuss the need for a societal transformation that ensures body sovereignty, freedom and safety for all—because imprisoning and criminalizing people cannot coexist with these principles. We envision a Canada where resources are redirected from the carceral system to programs that meet essential needs like income support, housing, health care, and transportation. This shift is crucial to upholding the core tenets of reproductive justice, ensuring that everyone has the autonomy and stability necessary to thrive.See the play that inspired the podcast. Get your tickets to “Hypothetical Baby,” on stage in Toronto from Feb 22 to Mar 8, hailed for its “sharp and witty writing and nuanced exploration of wider social issues” (She Does the City) from “one of the country’s most original actors.” (The Globe and Mail). Podcast listeners can use the code ABORSH10 for tickets!

Driving through a sea of anti-abortion billboards, Megan wondered why pro-choice voices can’t occupy the same amount of space. Inspired by a road trip conversation, she shares her journey of reclaiming public narratives and advocating for abortion as a visible and unapologetic right. “ We had about a four-hour drive and on the way there we passed like 10 anti-abortion signs on our way there. And I was like, ‘Why can't I put up a pro-abortion billboard?’ and my friend was like, ‘Why can't you?’”See the play that inspired the podcast. Get your tickets to “Hypothetical Baby,” on stage in Toronto from Feb 22 to Mar 8, hailed for its “sharp and witty writing and nuanced exploration of wider social issues” (She Does the City) from “one of the country’s most original actors.” (The Globe and Mail) 

In this episode, we speak with the research initiative Abortion On Screen about the portrayal of abortion in TV and film and journalists Nora Loreto and Liz Renzetti about the media's role in perpetuating misconceptions and stereotypes about abortion. We examine the framing and portrayals that shape cultural narratives around abortion and influence public perceptions of pregnancy and choice.See the play that inspired the podcast. Get your tickets to “Hypothetical Baby,” on stage in Toronto from Feb 22 to Mar 8, hailed for its “sharp and witty writing and nuanced exploration of wider social issues” (She Does the City) from “one of the country’s most original actors.” (The Globe and Mail)

This week’s guest is author Kerry Clare, who talks about learning how to openly discuss abortion and share her personal experience. Once she found her voice, she made it her mission to keep the conversation going: “I was one of those people who said, ‘I really am pro-choice, but it would never be a choice I'd make myself,’ which just seems like a really handy way to put it.”See the play that inspired the podcast. Get your tickets to ‘Hypothetical Baby,’ on stage in Toronto from Feb 22 - Mar 8.

Like abortion, sex ed is a human right, and in this episode, we draw parallels between comprehensive sex education and abortion access. We discuss how the moral panic around sex education fuels harmful taboos and enables abuse, and how terms like “pro-life” and “parental rights” are often weaponized to disguise far-right political agendas — one that strip kids, women, queer and trans people of their human rights by going after their safe spaces.Featuring author Sheima Benembarek and Janani Suthan from the Canadian Centre for Gender and Sexual DiversitySee the play that inspired the podcast. Get your tickets to Hypothetical Baby, on stage in Toronto from Feb 22 - Mar 8th. Rachel Cairns follows up the launch of the second season of her podcast ABORSH (Winner of the Planned Parenthood Toronto’s Choice Award for excellence in Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights advocacy and education) with this highly anticipated remount production that mixes data and drama to publicly talk about abortion the way we do privately—with neurotic vulnerability, unflinching honesty, and frank irreverence.

Christa’s abortion story is intertwined with other profound experiences of grief and the duality often present in life’s defining decisions. As captured by a friend's advice: “She told me about other people who had had abortions that she knew. And it helped a lot. And she gave me advice that I've applied many points in my life. She said, if you'd had a kid, it would have been really hard. And it would have been beautiful. And now you've chosen not to, and it's going to be really hard, and it's going to be beautiful.”See the play that inspired the podcast. Get your tickets to Hypothetical Baby, on stage in Toronto from Feb 22 - Mar 8. Rachel Cairns follows up the launch of the second season of ABORSH (Winner of the Planned Parenthood Toronto’s Choice Award for excellence in Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights advocacy and education) with the highly anticipated remount production of Hypothetical Baby, a play that mixes data and drama to present an autobiographical work that dares to publicly talk about abortion the way we do privately—with neurotic vulnerability, unflinching honesty, and frank irreverence.Check out Christa Couture’s work at christacouture.com—discover her writing, music, and other inspiring projects. 

In this episode, we're diving into a topic we touched on last season, one that’s often at the beginning of many abortion stories: birth control. What we love about it. What we wish was better about it. Why it should be part of publicly funded health care, and how it can even help reframe conversations about abortion. See the play that inspired the podcast. ‘Hypothetical Baby’ is on stage in Toronto from Feb 22 - Mar 8. Get your tickets here.Rachel Cairns follows up the launch of the second season ofABORSH (Winner of the Planned Parenthood Toronto’s Choice Award for excellence in Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights advocacy and education) with this highly anticipated remount production of Hypothetical Baby, a play that mixes data and drama to publicly talk about abortion the way we do privately — with neurotic vulnerability, unflinching honesty, and frank irreverence.Episode Sources: https://www.guttmacher.org/state-policy/explore/state-policies-abortion-banshttps://health.wusf.usf.edu/health-news-florida/2024-02-05/politifact-fl-how-many-women-live-in-states-with-abortion-bans-fact-checking-vp-harrishttps://www.forbes.com/sites/alisondurkee/2024/08/20/how-americans-really-feel-about-abortion-the-sometimes-surprising-poll-results-as-dnc-gets-underway/https://www.forbes.com/sites/alisondurkee/2024/08/20/how-americans-really-feel-about-abortion-the-sometimes-surprising-poll-results-as-dnc-gets-underway/https://reproductiverights.org/trump-presidency-2024-threats-reproductive-freedoms/https://jessica.substack.com/p/project-2025-abortion-explainer?open=false#§how-project-enables-clinic-violencehttps://populationmatters.org/news/2019/03/gender-equality-boosts-teen-contraceptive-use/https://kinfertility.com.au/blog/how-easy-is-it-to-get-the-pill-around-the-world#:~:text=Indeed%2C%20the%20pill%20was%20only,women%20%5B3%5D%5B4%5Dhttps://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-09-09/japan-s-gender-pay-gap-seen-higher-than-oecd-peers-through-2054https://www.humanrightsresearch.org/post/inside-japan-s-challenge-to-remain-equalhttps://english.kyodonews.net/news/2024/06/d578aaf9c1f4-japan-ranks-118th-in-2024-gender-gap-report-still-far-worst-among-g7.html#:~:text=Japan%20ranked%20118th%20among%20146,World%20Economic%20Forum%20said%20Wednesdayhttps://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/women-and-educationhttps://www.statista.com/statistics/447858/enrollment-of-postsecondary-students-in-canada-by-gender/#:~:text=Canada%3A%20university%2Fcollege%20enrollment%202000%2D2021%2C%20by%20gender&text=In%202021%2C%20around%201.2%20million,institutions%20in%20that%20same%20yearhttps://www.un.org/development/desa/pd/sites/www.un.org.development.desa.pd/files/files/documents/2023/Feb/undesa_pd_2022_world-family-planning.pdfhttps://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29433012/https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2019/sep/08/jennifer-gunter-gynaecologist-womens-health-bodies-myths-and-medicinehttps://osf.io/xwv7k/https://thewalrus.ca/why-women-hate-the-pill/?gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwmMayBhDuARIsAM9HM8fdvUj8NgU3Y8mW7MQDvTMgRgkQNAEf3iKhArC0MbY5zVv6_HJsAxEaAhoxEALw_wcBhttps://vajenda.substack.com/p/yes-theres-a-new-paper-on-hormonalhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5505765/#:~:text=Fifty%2Done%20percent%20of%20women,a%20current%20method%20of%20contraceptionhttps://briarpatchmagazine.com/articles/view/birth-control-and-reproductive-justicehttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5505765/#:~:text=More%20Canadian%20women%20are%20relying,Gynaecologists%20of%20Canada%20(SOGC)https://med-fom-cart-grac.sites.olt.ubc.ca/files/2020/12/2015-BC-Sexual-Health-Indicators-CART-CSHS_2017-06-15.pdfhttps://www.cbc.ca/radio/checkup/checkup-canada-pharmacare-ai-in-workplace-1.7129412#:~:text=About%201%20in%205%20Canadians,cost%20roughly%201.5%20billion%20dollarshttps://cancer.ca/en/about-us/media-releases/2024/national-pharmacare/

Get your tickets to Hypothetical Baby, the play that inspired Aborsh! Running February 22–March 8 in Toronto. Tickets at www.rachelcairns.ca.

For more episodes of Expectant, listen here

A complete list of guests from this season:Joyce Arthur founder of Abortion Rights Coalition of CanadaChantal Parkinson from the Pro-Choice Society of Lethbridge and Southern AlbertaFred Chabot from Action Canada for Sexual Health and RightsJessi Taylor from Reproductive Justice New BrunswickRachael JohnstoneJudy RebickDarrah TeitelTom HooperCarolyn Egan from the Ontario Coalition for Abortion ClinicsDr Dustin CostescuClaire Dion Fletcher co-chair of the National Aboriginal Council of MidwivesDr Ruth HabteDr Tunde-Byass President of the Black Physicians of CanadaSarah Kaplan founder of the Institute for Gender and the Economy

Further reading:Institute for Gender and the EconomyThe Gender Pay Gap - Canadian Women’s Foundation: The Pandemic delivered a surprise to Nordic countries: a baby boomFifty Years Later: Child Care and the Royal Commission on the Status of WomenIceland shows ways to parental equality with fathers leaveAll the facts you need to know about paternity leave in CanadaBeing denied abortion has lasting impacts on health and financesThe facts: women and pandemicsTake Action:Action Canada for Sexual Health and Rights has created an AMAZING LIST of the many ways you can support reproductive rights locally, nationally, and globally! Resources:Myabortionoptions.ca offers a host of resources and tools for abortion in Canada.List of abortion services in Canada – Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada Action Canada Access Line: a toll-free, confidential phone and text line. Call 1-888-642-2725 or text 613-800-6757 Monday to Sunday between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. ET: The National Abortion Federation Hotline Fund: the largest national, toll-free, multilingual hotline for abortion referrals and financial assistance in the U.S. and Canada. Hotline: 1-800-772-9100 / Referral Line 1-877-257-0012Choice Connect app helps connect you to abortion providers in your area

Further reading: Access BCBlack Physicians of CanadaHenrietta LacksThe Mothers of Modern Gynecology - Anarcha, Lucy, Betsy Tuskegee Syphilis StudyLA Times - Pregnant people of colour more likely to get procedures they didn’t consent to, study findsNational Collaborating Centre for Determinants of Health - Racism and Health EquityPerspectives on Health and Well Being in Black Communities in TorontoWomb CareBIPOC Women’s Health Network