Abortion to Abolition: Reproductive Health and Justice in Canada

by Martha Paynter, Julia Hutt (Illustrator)

Overview

The history of abortion decriminalization and critical advocacy efforts to improve access in Canada deserve to be better known. Ordinary people persevered to make Canada the most progressive country in the world with respect to abortion care. But while abortion access is poorly understood, so too are the persistent threats to reproductive justice in this country: sexual violence, gun violence, homophobia and transphobia, criminalization of sex work, reproductive oppression of Indigenous women and girls, privatization of fertility health services, and the racism and colonialism of policing and the prison system. This beautifully illustrated book tells the empowering true stories behind the struggles for reproductive justice in Canada, celebrating past wins and revealing how prison abolitionism is key to the path forward.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781773635255
Publisher:	Fernwood Publishing
Publication date:	05/25/2022
Sold by:	De Marque
Format:	eBook
Pages:	201
File size:	13 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Martha Paynter is a registered nurse providing abortion and postpartum care in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The founder and chair of Wellness Within: An Organization for Health and Justice, and a doctoral candidate at the Dalhousie University School of Nursing, Martha has 20 years of experience working to advance gender health equity. Her practice, teaching and research focus on the intersection of reproductive health and the justice system. A frequent contributor to Briarpatch, CBC, the Coast, the Conversation, the Halifax Examiner, and Saltwire, Martha writes about publicly-funded health care, prison abolition, and gender equity.

Julia Hutt is a self-taught multi-disciplinary artist residing in Kjipuktuk. Inspired by her own experience with pregnancy, birthing and baby-raising, Julia works with both traditional and digital illustration to create anecdotal scenes that portray snapshots of early parenthood. Her work challenges the capitalist devaluation of child rearing and traditionally gendered work. She produces work with Wellness Within and Martha Paynter to raise awareness about reproductive justice in the Canadian prison system.

Table of Contents

Beyond Abortion 1

1 Bodily Autonomy 11

Heidi Rathjen 17

Justice Claire L'Heureux-Dubé 23

Synthia Kavanagh 29

Terri-Jean Bedford 35

Santina Rao 41

2 Not Having Children 46

Dr. Emily Stowe 51

Dorothea Palmer 57

Chantal Daigle 63

Clinic 554 67

Iamkarats 73

3 Having Children 78

Leilani Muir 83

Leia Picard (Swanberg) 89

Kirsti Mathers McHenry 93

4 Parenting in Safety 97

Motherisk 101

Donna George 105

Baby H 111

Fatuma Alyaan 117

Water Protectors 121

5 Parenting in Prison 127

Emily Boyle 131

Renee Acoby 135

Lisa Whitford 139

Amanda Inglis 145

Julie Bitotta 151

Toward Reproductive Health and Justice 156

Acknowledgements 160

References 162

Index 186

Editorial Reviews

The U.S. Supreme Court’s horrific overturning of the landmark decision Roe v. Wade should not lead to a haughty defence of the state of reproductive rights in Canada. Instead, it should lead to the opposite: A radical investigation into every way Canada fails to achieve reproductive justice for any and all peoples, which is precisely what Abortion to Abolition does.

Spring Mag - Maya Campo

This critical reading offers insight into Canadian histories of reproductive health access and the manifold violence of Canada’s carceral system, while communicating the vital hope embedded in politics and action at the intersection of reproductive justice and abolition.

Dr. Catherine Bryan

In Abortion to Abolition, Martha Paynter unflinchingly names the carceral state as the foremost threat to reproductive justice in so-called Canada. Paynter takes great care to experiences of carceral maternity, demonstrating that incarceration (particularly of Indigenous women) enables the continued separation of parents from their children, a fundamental design element in any colonial project. After decades of frontline nursing and advocacy, Paynter deftly illuminates that fight for reproductive justice doesn’t end with abortion access and must include the fight to abolish the violence of prisons.

Meenakshi Mannoe