Judicial Reasoning About Pregnancy and Choice

Women in Canada are at risk of abortion becoming increasingly difficult to access. In its landmark 1988 ruling, R. v. Morgentaler, the Supreme Court of Canada struck down the prohibition of abortion in section 251 of the Criminal Code on the grounds that it violated a section of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms which guarantees, among other things, security of the person . However, all of the justices who ruled that section 25 unconstitutional nonetheless claimed that protecting the fetus is a valid objective of federal legislation, leaving open the possibility that a different and carefully crafted law against abortion might be constitutional. Abortion opponents organized in response to the decision, and in 1990, an attempt was made to re-criminalize abortion. This attempt, Bill C-43 came very close to succeeding. In light of the possibility of the reintroduction of criminal law legislation against abortion an important question for women is whether Canadian courts would find a newly·written restrictive abortion law to violate the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. In seeking to answer this question, we were keen to find out whether there are any arguments already present in judicial reasoning about choice in reproduction or about a woman\u27s entitlement to make certain choices, that could be used to beat back the threat of the re-criminalization of abortion. We also wanted to determine whether there are ways of interpreting the concept of reproductive choice that can be found in judicial reasoning that are damaging to the illlerests of women. For these reasons, we embarked upon a systematic review of how the concept of choice has been used in Canadian judicial reasoning about reproduction since Morgentaler (1988). Specifically. we sought to find out how judges think about the relationship between pregnancy and choice

Speaking and the world : a phenomenology of voice

The aim of this work is to describe how the human speaking voice can be simultaneously present and absent to those who hear and listen. A significant portion of the work is devoted to a study of Joseph Conrad's novel Heart of Darkness with a focus on the character Kurtz who is described as "little more than a voice". As well, I investigate Maurice Merleau-Ponty's idea of "authentic speech" and how that relates to a phenomenon I describe as "speech projecting a world". In the last section of the thesis I confront some realist presuppositions about how we understand the meaning of the term "the world" in order to show that realism is inadequate. The work concludes with a consideration of the ontological and metaphysical implications of saying that the human voice in speech is both present and absent

Reproductive Choice in Canadian Courts: An Evidence-Based Call for a Move to Relational Autonomy

In matters of reproduction, choice is a word laden with political and ethical connotations. The moral norm of respecting a woman\u27s reproductive choice deserves our best defence. However, it is not often recognized that there can be a danger inherent in claiming that women have made reproductive choices — to become pregnant, to continue a pregnancy, or alternatively to terminate a pregnancy — when choices were not in fact made. In some legal cases, the outcome can turn on whether the judge believes a woman made a particular reproductive choice. If the judge believes, mistakenly, that the woman made a particular choice, then the resulting ruling can be damaging to her interests. This paper examines the role of judicial beliefs about reproductive choice and the harm that mistaken beliefs can cause. It suggests some ways to avoid these harms

Reproductive Choice in Canadian Courts: An Evidence-Based Call for a Move to Relational Autonomy

In matters of reproduction, choice is a word laden with political and ethical connotations. The moral norm of respecting a woman\u27s reproductive choice deserves our best defence. However, it is not often recognized that there can be a danger inherent in claiming that women have made reproductive choices — to become pregnant, to continue a pregnancy, or alternatively to terminate a pregnancy — when choices were not in fact made. In some legal cases, the outcome can turn on whether the judge believes a woman made a particular reproductive choice. If the judge believes, mistakenly, that the woman made a particular choice, then the resulting ruling can be damaging to her interests. This paper examines the role of judicial beliefs about reproductive choice and the harm that mistaken beliefs can cause. It suggests some ways to avoid these harms

Judicial Reasoning About Pregnancy and Choice

Women in Canada are at risk of abortion becoming increasingly difficult to access. In its landmark 1988 ruling, R. v. Morgentaler, the Supreme Court of Canada struck down the prohibition of abortion in section 251 of the Criminal Code on the grounds that it violated a section of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms which guarantees, among other things, security of the person . However, all of the justices who ruled that section 25 unconstitutional nonetheless claimed that protecting the fetus is a valid objective of federal legislation, leaving open the possibility that a different and carefully crafted law against abortion might be constitutional. Abortion opponents organized in response to the decision, and in 1990, an attempt was made to re-criminalize abortion. This attempt, Bill C-43 came very close to succeeding. In light of the possibility of the reintroduction of criminal law legislation against abortion an important question for women is whether Canadian courts would find a newly·written restrictive abortion law to violate the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. In seeking to answer this question, we were keen to find out whether there are any arguments already present in judicial reasoning about choice in reproduction or about a woman\u27s entitlement to make certain choices, that could be used to beat back the threat of the re-criminalization of abortion. We also wanted to determine whether there are ways of interpreting the concept of reproductive choice that can be found in judicial reasoning that are damaging to the illlerests of women. For these reasons, we embarked upon a systematic review of how the concept of choice has been used in Canadian judicial reasoning about reproduction since Morgentaler (1988). Specifically. we sought to find out how judges think about the relationship between pregnancy and choice

Clinical ethics issues in HIV care in Canada: an institutional ethnographic study

Abstract Background This is a study involving three HIV clinics in the Canadian provinces of Newfoundland and Labrador, and Manitoba. We sought to identify ethical issues involving health care providers and clinic clients in these settings, and to gain an understanding of how different ethical issues are managed by these groups. Methods We used an institutional ethnographic method to investigate ethical issues in HIV clinics. Our researcher conducted in-depth semi-structured interviews, compiled participant observation notes, and studied health records in order to document ethical issues in the clinics, and to understand how health care providers and clinic clients manage and resolve these issues. Results We found that health care providers and clinic clients have developed work processes for managing ethical issues of various types: conflicts between client-autonomy and public health priorities (“treatment as prevention”), difficulties associated with the criminalization of nondisclosure of HIV positive status, challenges with non-adherence to HIV treatment, the protection of confidentiality, barriers to treatment access, and negative social determinants of health and well-being. Conclusions Some ethical issues resulted from structural disadvantages experienced by clinic clients. The most striking findings in our study were the negative social determinants of health and well-being experienced by some clinic clients – such as experiences of violence and trauma, poverty, racism, colonization, homelessness, and other factors affecting well-being such as problematic substance use. These negative determinants were at the root of other ethical issues, and are themselves of ethical concern

Documenting research with transgender and gender diverse people: protocol for an evidence map and thematic analysis

Abstract Background There is limited information about how transgender, gender diverse, and Two-Spirit (trans) people have been represented and studied by researchers. The objectives of this study are to (1) map and describe trans research in the social sciences, sciences, humanities, health, education, and business, (2) identify evidence gaps and opportunities for more responsible research with trans people, (3) assess the use of text mining for study identification, and (4) increase access to trans research for key stakeholders through the creation of a web-based evidence map. Methods Study design was informed by community consultations and pilot searches. Eligibility criteria were established to include all original research of any design, including trans people or their health information, and published in English in peer-reviewed journals. A complex electronic search strategy based on relevant concepts in 15 databases was developed to obtain a broad range of results linked to transgender, gender diverse, and Two-Spirit individuals and communities. Searches conducted in early 2015 resulted in 25,242 references after removal of duplicates. Based on the number of references, resources, and an objective to capture upwards of 90% of the existing literature, this study is a good candidate for text mining using Latent Dirichlet Allocation to improve efficiency of the screening process. The following information will be collected for evidence mapping: study topic, study design, methods and data sources, recruitment strategies, sample size, sample demographics, researcher name and affiliation, country where research was conducted, funding source, and year of publication. Discussion The proposed research incorporates an extensive search strategy, text mining, and evidence map; it therefore has the potential to build on knowledge in several fields. Review results will increase awareness of existing trans research, identify evidence gaps, and inform strategic research prioritization. Publishing the map online will improve access to research for key stakeholders including community members, policy makers, and healthcare providers. This study will also contribute to knowledge in the area of text mining for study identification by providing an example of how semi-automation performs for screening on title and abstract and on full text

Additional file 1: of Documenting research with transgender and gender diverse people: protocol for an evidence map and thematic analysis

PRISMA-P Checklist. Completed PRISMA-P Checklist including relevant source information. (PDF 54 kb