OTTAWA, ON, March 6, 2026 /CNW/ - Women in Canada should always have free and unfettered access to the rights and health services they are entitled to, regardless of where they live or their level of income. Canadian women have fought hard for these rights, but we must remain vigilant. As a nation, we cannot take women's sexual and reproductive rights for granted.

On International Women's Day, the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada (SOGC) pledges to continue to fight for and defend the rights of Canadian women to access the full range of obstetrical and gynaecological health services. We must always safeguard access to abortion, contraception, gender-affirming care and gynaecological consultations and surgeries, within acceptable wait times.

While Canada has made significant progress over the last few decades in advancing sexual and reproductive health and rights for women, emerging threats to these rights remain an evergreen concern. We have observed deeply concerning setbacks to abortion access in the United States in the wake of the 2022 U.S. Supreme Court decision that overturned Roe v. Wade. American women have been forced to navigate eroding reproductive care pathways due to the criminalization of abortion care in some states. They have also borne the brunt of shifting health advice and policies based in disinformation and ideologically motivated movements that disproportionately target sexual and reproductive health care.

Canada is not immune to these setbacks in health care access for women. We must not let our guard down. We must ensure all reproductive health services continue to be treated solely as medical decisions between a woman and her physician. We must ensure criminalization measures are not enacted that could lead to more limited access to reproductive care. And we must ensure health policies that govern women and gender-diverse individuals are based in evidence and not on ideology.

On International Women's Day, the SOGC urges provincial, territorial and federal governments and health authorities to recognize and protect the right of every woman in Canada to receive the health care she needs. They must also do more to expand access to these services, especially for marginalized women and those living in rural and remote parts of the country.

"On this International Women's Day, we must not forget the hard-fought rights for each woman to make their own decisions about their bodies and their health care. The SOGC will continue to be a national voice for all women seeking protection of these rights and for better access to care. All Canadian women deserve to feel supported in their choices and confident that their sexual and reproductive health needs will be met at every stage of life." – Dr. Lynn Murphy-Kaulbeck, President, Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada.

SOURCE The Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada