Abortion Rights

There have been many cases in Canada’s legal system some more complicated and time consuming than others. It is a never ending process that has occurred throughout history as society’s beliefs continued to change and various new issues arose. Most people at the time would believe that majority of the cases in court would be to apprehend criminals in the eyes of the law with no other benefit to society. Unfortunately this perception was nothing but an illusion that had been imprinted in the minds of society.

In fact if people had paid more attention to details as well as researched various the issues thoroughly, they would have discovered just how much each and every case had an effect on the world around them. Of these cases there has been a few which stood out for having a major impact on society whether or not people were aware of it. But the one that stood out the most among them was Abortion rights R. V. Mergenthaler, {1988} 1 S. C. R. 30. The case Abortion rights R. V. Mergenthaler, {1988} 1 S. C. R. 30 has changed Canadian society for the better due to the major impact it had on one of the most controversial issues.

Firstly the major reason to why this case had changed society for the better is because of the fact that it had protected the lives of those who reside in it. In an In-depth explanation of this is that at the time women faced a lot of hate and criticism from society if they were to seek abortion. This also led them to develop various emotional problems which could have later turned into more serious health problems such as depression. It did not end here another health problem that women had faced at this time was that they had they experienced “excessive physiological pressure” (Klassen, Jeff and Clydesdale, Jacqui.

Abortion: An Overview: Canadian Points of View Reference Centre, 2009) in the process of trying to obtain an approval for an abortion from a therapeutic abortion committee in an accredited hospital because they would worry if their application would get rejected or not. Another common occurrence was that the time it took in order to get an approval for abortion increased the risks of problems occurring when doctors performed the medical procedure. Also a cold reality was that some women had died because their bodies were unfit to give birth and the doctors refused to perform the abortion rocedure unless they were approved by the committee which caused them to die a death that could have otherwise been prevented. This situation is portrayed in the newspaper article ‘Change your abortion law to save lives’ grieving father tells Irish PM’ (Chamberlain, Gethin. ‘Change your abortion law to save lives’ grieving: thegurdian, Saturday 17 November 2012). where it tells the story of a girl whose life was at risk because her body could not handle giving birth and she was refused abortion due to Irelands abortion laws which led her to die.

Fortunately these events have now been prevented and the lives of the women in the future have been saved due to this case making it a case that had truly changed society. Secondly it had stopped the injustice and discrimination for the women who sought an abortion in Canada had faced. The reason for this is because it is a biased decision that women had to get an approval at an accredited hospital in order to get an abortion. There simply was no need for this to occur as many of them had developed health problems due to delays or rejections by the committee.

People also should not have had the right to decide whether or not someone should get an abortion or not it is the parent of the unborn child’s decision. Also in what these laws were cruel and inhumane as they had forced women who were no able to obtain an approval to bare an unwanted child and go through the various stages of pregnancy. This can be the same as if girl were raped by someone in order to force her to bear a child except in this case it is the law that is the one that forced the girl to bear a child.

There was also the problem with the fact that Criminal code restricted abortion causing it to infringe the rights of women as stated in one of sub sections of section 7 of the Canadian Charter of Rights called Security of the person. In this section it states that because the criminal code restricted abortions and affected their health it was unconstitutional. Therefore this case has saved women from the discrimination and injustice they were faced with from society and the law which changed how they would be treated in the future.

Lastly it saved the lives of the future that would otherwise have been neglected or wasted. Anyone would have been able to decipher this without a second thought and it would have caused them to realize what would have happened to the unwanted child that the mother wanted aborted if it were born into this world. Many would have tried to believe that everything would have been fine and go on with their lives. But unfortunately it would have been hard to believe that the child would have been treated the same by its mother like another mother who actually wanted a child would treat it.

The child would have actually been mistreated and neglected as if it were a burden because the mother did not want it in the first place. These events would have developed emotion problems in the child earlier on in their childhood which would have affected them the rest of their lives and would not have allowed them to live a normal happy life. This is due to society’s beliefs at the time that had been blinded by the ignorance and made them forget that “No one wants to see unwanted children brought into the world” (Lerman, Evelyn.

Nobody Likes Abortion: Canadian Points of View Reference Centre, 2000). So they basically fought for no abortion laws while not foreseeing what would have happened to children who were born from mothers who wanted abortions. Thankfully this case had made sure that abortion laws were changed so that the lives which would have been neglected or wasted were not put in this world so they could have been happier. In conclusion it can be determined that this case truly did change Canadian society.

As it helped save the lives of the women by making sure the abortion laws were changed as well as prevented the women of the future from experiencing the problems that they had to face in order to get an abortion. The injustice and discrimination of the women in was also nullified giving women more rights and a better place in society. It also helped save the lives of the future that would have otherwise been neglected or wasted. In the end this case is truly outstanding and deserves a place in Canadian history for the great accomplishments that it has brought to Canadian society.