About twenty women demonstrated on Saturday morning in front of the American consulate in Quebec, to defend the right to abortion.
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“My body, my choice!”, “No ovaries, no comments”, chanted the demonstrators in particular, some of whom were in sports bras and even topless.
After about ten minutes on the Dufferin terrace, the demonstrators headed in front of the American consulate to send a clear message.
On Wednesday evening, the State of Oklahoma became the first state to ban abortion upon fertilization.
“We know that women are going to have abortions anyway. And if they don’t do it in a safe and legal way, they will find other ways, and that’s where we put women’s lives at risk. Every year, there are women who die as a result of unsafe abortion, ”says one of the protesters to TVA Nouvelles.
Many fear that the rollback of abortion rights in the United States will influence those who share the same ideology in Canada.
“The case law in Canada is very strong on abortion rights. We feel solid about that. Except that it is sure that we fear that it could give energy to the anti-choice group or to the political or religious right, ”explains Élise Landriault-Dupont, of the Regroupement des femmes de la Capitale-Nationale.
Women’s rights in Ukraine are also of great concern to protesters.
“We are currently seeing Ukrainian women who are refugees in Poland and who do not have access to abortion following the rapes they suffered during that war. This is absolutely unacceptable,” denounced one of them.