WHC is so pleased that Bill 8 has been officially given royal assent in Manitoba!

This means that it is now against the law to harass people who try to access abortion services or to harass any abortion provider within 50 metres of their place of work or home. We count this as a huge win for everyone trying to access any kind of reproductive healthcare.

When anti-choice protesters show up with graphic imagery and misinformation, they are disturbing folks who have decided to do what is right for them. These protesters are also encroaching on the privacy of people seeking a legal, safe, and common healthcare procedure.

If you wouldn’t protest someone trying to access cancer treatment, a pap smear, or treatment for strep throat, why would you protest someone accessing abortion care?

It is not helpful, it does harm. And it makes people who access our clinic for the wide range of services we offer feel unsafe.

Everyone accessing medical care of any kind should feel safe and welcomed, no matter where they receive care and what their circumstance may be.

If you see anyone protesting outside of our sites, please let our staff know when you come in for a visit. 

The next step in the process is passing supporting regulation identifying the sites where protest is illegal, and establishing legal consequences should anyone attempt to break the law. This will be created in consultation with the community and should be passed in the autumn of 2024.

As a grassroots feminist organization, we welcome (and encourage!) peaceful protest. But we welcome it at places that are appropriate, such as the Manitoba Legislative Building.

Engaging in anti-choice protest in front of a clinic is harassment. We are relieved this bill has finally passed into law.