On the front lines of pregnancy and abortion care

With the recent Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe vs. Wade in the United States, the abortion debate has heated up, even in Canada.

While Canada does not have any abortion laws, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau weighed into the decision south of the border saying it was “an attack on women’s freedoms” and adding,  “in Canada we will always defend women’s rights to choose.”

But unplanned pregnancy - and the decisions that follow - are complex. Wrought with emotion, many pregnant women feel isolated and alone, including Jennifer Burley. She was about to graduate high school when she found out she was pregnant. Her parents decided for her: she would abort the baby.

But there are pregnancy support centres that help women navigate the emotions and realities of pregnancy and motherhood.

Maggie John sits down with Lois Benham-Smith from Atwell Centre - a pregnancy options support centre in Hamilton, Jennifer Burley, and Randy Lowe to hear their personal stories of post-abortion grief so many years after making the difficult decision.