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House Hansard - 240

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
October 26, 2023 10:00AM
Context: House Hansard - 240 - Oct/26/23
Ms. Pam Damoff (Oakville North—Burlington, Lib.)
  • Oct/26/23 2:07:58 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, October is Women's History Month. I want to highlight the brave feminists who fought for abortion access in our country and the women who were forced to give their children up for adoption in postwar Canada. Earlier this year, I read the book Looking for Jane by Heather Marshall. While the book is historical fiction, it includes real events like the Abortion Caravan that descended on Parliament Hill in the 1970s and laid the groundwork for the removal of abortion from the Criminal Code. The book also shares the heartbreaking stories of unmarried women who were housed in so-called maternity homes and were forced to put their children up for adoption, which was the subject of a Senate study entitled “The Shame is Ours”. We still have much to do in this country to ensure abortion is accessible to all who choose it, and that forced adoptions are recognized in Canada for the trauma they caused young mothers and their children.
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